Looking Back/Looking Ahead, or What The Heck Happened to 2013?

Well, it's hard to believe how quickly 2013 flew by. I guess it's time for the obligatory "year-in-review" and "what's ahead" post.

So...here we go!

First, I'll post last year's numbers. While some fitness-related numbers were satisfactory, my endurance numbers were sad.

• Running Miles: 400
• Races: 2 (both 10k's)
• Walking/Hiking Miles: 255
• Cycling Miles (outdoors): 268
• Cycling Miles (trainer): 141
• Pushups (as part of a Facebook challenge): 20,700 (PR)
• Bench Press max: 220 lbs (PR)

I track several other exercise numbers, but I won't bore you (or myself) with them.

So, what happened to the "Resurrected Runner" in 2013? He once again fell victim to his fragile body and unwise training. The end of 2012 and start of 2013 looked promising. I was once again putting in 30-mile weeks. I ran within 4 seconds of my 5k PR in December of 2012. Encouraged by that, I made the mistake of hitting the track in February of 2013 for a far more intense speed workout than I had business doing. I managed to strain a hamstring during a couple of all-out 200m repeats. Instead of backing off, I continued to train on it and, in fact, raced a 10k. Shortly after that, the hamstring forced me to shut down all running. I was in the process of selling my house and moving my family across the state, so I suppose the timing was okay (although the timing for getting injured is never truly "okay".)

I ran a few times during the summer, with some hamstring discomfort. I refocused my efforts in September and October, eclipsing 20 miles in 3 straight weeks, but after an ill-advised 8-mile run that had my hamstring in painful, tight spasms, the writing was on the wall.

I switched to cycling in the late summer/early fall, but failed to ride nearly as much as I should have (I hope to join a local cycling club in 2014).

Weight training became my focus a few times, but as always, pushing too hard/too soon led to a few pulls of lower back muscles. Currently, I'm working on a modified weight training program that will hopefully spare my injury-prone body parts. Translation: I'm doing pinky curls.

So, as of today, I'm a good 15-18 lbs. above what I consider my "race weight." I'm not alarmed at this point, since I'm confident that I can shed that within a couple of focused months of training. Assuming I can put together a couple of focused months of training.

What will that training look like in 2014? I'm still not entirely sure.

Here are my goals (which I'm honestly figuring out as I type this):

• Reach 10,000 career running miles (currently 208 shy)
• Cycle at least 1,000 miles (outdoors)
• Complete first "century" bike ride
• 25,000 pushups (again, a Facebook group challenge)
• Walk/hike 500 miles (not all at once)
• Bench Press PR

These are relatively humble goals. I hesitate to get too ambitious at this point. You'll notice I didn't really list a running mileage goal, other than to hit a milestone for lifetime mileage. I'll plan on testing the waters a few times and take what I can get. Although I've considered "retiring" as a runner this year, my wife reminds me that running is in my blood (having run competitively, on and off, since 1979). I'm sure I'll be back. However, as I get closer to age 50, my focus is shifting more toward being consistent and healthy rather than seeing just how much and/or how fast I can run. The starting and stopping of my training has become very frustrating. If I can even become a consistent recreational runner (I won't say the "j" word), I'll take it.

Many of my online running friends have been very successful in their training and racing in 2013, which still inspires me. Keep on keeping on, my friends, and much success to all of you in 2014!

An Injury With A Heartbeat, Wrapped In Flesh

Yep, that pretty much describes me at this moment.

Aside from this chronic hamstring problem, I've now injured my lower back (pretty seriously) for the third time in as many months. That happened five days ago (alas, while lifting weights...even though it was from a movement that had little to do with my back), and I'm still in serious pain. I took a cringeworthy 3-mile walk this afternoon, thinking it might loosen my back a little. Nope. Perhaps the 14 degree temps had something to do with that, but even after a hot bath, it still hurts.

Oh, and the hamstring hurt during the walk as well.

Yes, I'm a whining mess of a human right now.

My "one mile run per day" experiment lasted 16 days. Not only did my hamstring pain not diminish, it started getting worse.

So, skipping any further whining, I'm shutting things down once again.

I even hinted to my wife today that I may retire from running. She laughed and said, "you'll never retire from running!" She may be right. At the very least, I need to reach 10,000 career miles. I'm still 208 shy of that goal.

I'll get there...

A Daily Mile

As I posted on the website Daily Mile, I'm now literally a "daily miler."

I've decided that, instead of not running at all, I would try to coax my hamstring to get stronger and recover by running a single slow mile on a daily basis. Smart? Probably not. But a similar approach seemed to put my old heel injury behind me over a year ago. This might be a different situation, though, since muscle tissue is involved, whereas that was more of a bone/tendon issue.

My hamstring has become slightly more sore as the week has progressed (I'm on day 7 of my daily mile regimen.) It's not to the point where running hurts it. It actually hurts more when I'm not running...although I know it would tweak out pretty seriously if I tried to run fast.

I'm a very stubborn runner, so hopefully I'll know when to say when. But my real hope is that, after an initial period of slight hamstring pain, the muscles will start to strengthen and the pain will subside. That might be more of a dream than a reality...but five months of ZERO running earlier this year did little to fix my hammy, so I might as well give this a shot.

More as things develop...

Biding My Time

First, I need to give a shout-out to my daughter's cross-country team (Central Valley High School in Spokane, WA), who finished 4th our state meet yesterday. The boys finished 3rd. Every girl on varsity will return next year, so they should place in state once again. Natalie and I made the 2+ hour drive each way to cheer on her team. It was a hoot!

Anyway...I'm shut down my running program yet again. I tried coaxing my ailing hamstring along for several weeks, but it just isn't having any of that running business. I ran 8 miles a couple of weeks ago, but even a slow, easy 3-miler ended up making my hamstring sore for a couple of days after.

So, here I am trying to figure out when to give it a shot again, and how to approach it. Until then, it's strength training and Airdyne rides for me.

My tentative plan is to hold off on all running the rest of this month, then start with 1 mile jogs every other day for a few weeks. No more climbing my way back to 20+ mile weeks sooner than I should.

My body is giving me every indication that I should permanently consider a different form of exercise, but I'm still stubbornly holding onto the belief that I can run and race again regularly. I may be dreaming, who knows. Perhaps I should give in to the idea of splitting my endurance training evenly between cycling and running, doing each no more than 3x per week. At this point, I honestly don't know the answer. I'll have to play it by ear.

Which is pretty much what I've been doing since my first major injury, post-marathon, over 3 years ago.

It's frustrating, but at least it continually gives me something to work toward. If I ever do figure out how to fully recover and avoid future injuries, I'm going to bottle and sell it.

Okay, time to walk the dog. I can still do that, at least!

Interesting Documentary

I'll admit to being a full-fledged running geek. I would have loved to do a study like the one the Danes did in this documentary. I've heard many theories over the years about why the Kenyans are superior distance runners, but I had never heard about this particular theory.

I won't spoil it, in case you're interested in watching this (and if you do, you're a fellow running geek, for sure!), but I will say that I was surprised by their conclusion. This was filmed in 2001.

232 Miles

That number is what I need to run to reach 10,000 miles in my running career. I've actually been pretty close to 10k for quite some time. These pesky injuries have made the last 1,000 miles a very long and slow journey. I will reach it, though. It may not be by the end of 2013, as I was hoping, but the milestone will be reached, rest assured.

In the meantime, I'm in "Do What I Can Do" mode. I put in 37.5 miles in two bike rides this week, while the nice weather hangs on. It looks like it'll cool down at least 20°F next week, so I'll either be riding while being bundled up, or I'll dig out my trainer and try to stave off boredom. I'm also trying to get back into the weights more, minus deadlifts, which severely injured my back a few weeks ago. Or, I should say, they pushed my already temperamental back over the edge.

I may opt for some very short runs here and there, just to keep those muscles familiar with running, but if the hamstring objects, I'll stop.

Which leads me to a tangent. Like a good sports geek, I play fantasy football (for fun & bragging rights, not for money). I have two fantasy teams. I was noticing lately just how many of my players are coming down with hamstring injuries, and have been reading the notes about just how long those injuries take to heal. Trust me, I'm no professional athlete, but I can relate. It feels like this injury could take a very long time to heal (it already has), and I'm 15-20 years older than these athletes...who have the very best medical care available.

I wish there was a way to instantly fix it, but that day hasn't yet come 8-)

Reboot

Well, I tried.

I had a couple weeks of decent mileage. Felt some minor pains, but not quite enough to convince me to pull back.

Until now.

Or, Monday, to be precise. Having run a couple of six milers and a seven miler in the last two weeks, I decided that—come hell or high water—I was running 8 miles on Monday. And so I did.

I felt clunky. I never got into that comfortable groove. In hindsight, I think the tightness in my hamstring was causing me to alter my stride slightly. At around mile 5, both my right hamstring and my right knee started aching. Oh, and my right big toe, too. I ran the 8 miles at a faster pace than I should have (although not terribly fast).

I iced the knee and hamstring, then applied heat to the hamstring.

I had an easy 4-miler (with the dog) planned for Tuesday, so off I went, curious about how my body would react. I made it through the run, but later that day, I knew I was done for a while.

This has been a tough year for this old (feeling) body. I'm also nursing some other non running-related injuries, so my body is currently a mess.

Aside from a short & slow pre-donut run I promised my youngest daughter this coming Saturday, I'm taking a few days off from all exercise. Then, I'm going to basically start over. Everything will be short, light and easy for a while. I'm going to vary my workouts quite a bit. I may do a short run one day, bodyweight exercises another, ride my Schwinn Airdyne on another, lift light weights on another, skip rope, ride the bike trainer, etc. Basically, it'll be a general fitness program until I can get past these aggravating injuries.

Oh, I'm not done as a runner. My body just wasn't ready for what I was asking quite yet.

Until it is, I'll see if I can slowly get this body back to where it should be...i.e. not hurting!

Vitamin I

I'm not a big fan of downing ibuprofen on a regular basis (least of all before a run...which I avoid), but the end of this week provided enough pain for me to resort to a few rounds of vitamin I.

Here were this week's totals:

M - 7.0 mile run
T - 4.0 mile run
W - off
T - 6.0 mile run
F - 4.0 mile run + weights (ouch)
S - off (ouch)
S - 17:00 spin on the Airdyne

Miles Run: 21.0

The positive news of the week was starting off with a 7-mile run, which is my longest run since early March.

On the flip side, Friday wasn't a fun day for me. My hamstring had been feeling more or less okay during the week. Friday's run was no different. After the run, however, it was bothering me quite a bit. After that run, since I had been neglecting it, I decided to do a short workout with the weights. I did some pullups, bench presses, then moved on to the deadlift. I haven't been deadlifting a lot of weight for a while due to a cranky lower back, so I figured I could handle this with no problems. Oh, how wrong I was. During the third rep, I felt and heard an audible pop in my lower back. I immediately dropped the weight. I did finish my workout (dumb), and my lower back proceeded to hurt and lock up quite a bit.

Upon waking up the last two mornings, I can barely bend. Putting on my socks is agonizing (and nearly impossible.) Thankfully, my back gradually loosens up a bit as the day wears on, but it's going to take a week or two to mend.

As for the hamstring, I'm not sure what to do. I rode my neglected Schwinn Airdyne today, since I'm able to sit upright on it (as opposed to my racing bike, which would kill my back), so I at least got in a short cardio workout. I'll play it by ear as to whether or not I'll run soon. In the meantime, I'm doing the usual: ice, heat, stretching, for both my back and hamstring.

Getting old is getting old.

Good Week

I just wrapped up my first 20+ mile week since the beginning of March. While I'm still injured, I think I can manage the issues and still run, as long as I keep it slow(ish) and flat.

Here are the numbers:

M - 6 mi
T - 4 mi
W - off
Th - 6 mi
F - 3 mi
S - 3 mi
S - off

Total: 22 miles

Mmm...pumpkin spice post-run recovery!

I had a fun morning with my daughter. My wife and youngest daughter are out of town. Natalie has been injured and unable to race with her cross country team, so this morning I took her down to the Centennial Trail (paved) where we did an easy out and back. After the run, I treated her to a donut & hot chocolate at Krispy Kreme. It was a fun morning. She's a freshman in high school, and I know she'll be gone before long, so I want to get in as many of these "daddy dates" as I can over the next few years.

Have a great weekend!

Bumpy!

My Stick arrived two days ago, and I've been putting it to the test on my right hamstring.

First of all, it's quite an upper body workout! To hit the hamstring effectively (when it's not tense), I lay on my back and bend my right knee straight up (foot on the floor). Then I roll up and down on the hamstring. The Stick is meant to really dig in, so that's what I do.

I can tell you with confidence that my right hamstring is a complete mess! When I roll over it, it feels like a bumpy road, especially compared to my left hamstring. My guess is that I've got a lot of scar tissue built up, which may be why it's taking so long to heal, and why it often feels tight & like it's pulling during some runs.

I've decided to stop stretching it for the time being (which usually felt uncomfortable, anyway). I'm also going to hold off on the ice and heat. I really want to see if I can break things up in there first, so I'll have a good idea whether or not the Stick is making a difference.

So, after a couple of days of really working it over, it's pretty sore. I'm going to run on it in a couple of hours. I'm sure it's too soon to feel a significant difference, but over the long term, I'm optimistic that I can undo most, if not all, of the damage.

Fingers crossed...