May Totals

Call me crazy, but time is accelerating more and more all the time. Or, I'm just getting old. Both, I think.

May has come and gone and, I'm happy to report, it was a very good training month for me.

I'll get the negative comments out of the way first. My left knee is still an issue. It's not stopping me from running, but I feel pain from time to time, especially running uphill. I actually feel it more when walking or hiking than when running. Also, my right heel (the injury that hit me after my 2010 marathon) is making its presence known. Like the knee, not enough to affect my running —yet— but enough to be an annoyance.

The hip, on the other hand, seems to be very gradually improving. I was a little worried a few weeks ago that I may have re-torn the labrum, due to how sore it was. But, based on how it's felt the last few weeks, I'm pretty sure it's fine.

On to the numbers. I hit a milestone last month. I ran not one, but two ten-milers in May! It was the first time I've done a double-digit run in 18 months. While neither felt perfect (nor easy), they were confidence builders. I came out of both runs unscathed, although the above mentioned heel wasn't too happy after the second one. I also threw in one fast mile during a 4 mile run a few days ago. It felt hard, but I thought I was closer to 7:30-7:40 than the 7:17 I ran it in.

I also started mixing in some climbs in the little bit of cycling I'm doing. Since the running seems to be going pretty well, cycling is being relegated to mere cross-training at this point. My current plan is for one or two rides per week, along with 3-4 runs, and at least one weights session.

Swimming? What the heck is that? ;-)

MAY 2017

• Runs: 14
• Run Miles: 69.5 (highest in over 4 years!)
• Long Run: 10 mi. (twice)
• Rides: 6
• Ride Miles: 141.5
• Long Ride: 36.7 mi.

I've got my eye on a few races later this year. I'm kicking around the idea of running a little 5k on Father's Day, but I may skip it. Not only do I not feel race-ready, I'm afraid it'll kick my brain into full-on race mode, and I'll get the bug and rush my training. There are a few local 5k's in July that might work. Beyond that, the two I'm seriously considering are a 10k in Sandpoint, ID in mid-September, and the Spokane Half Marathon on October 8th. That was my very first half marathon, back in 2009. It's a tough course, but it would be fun to revisit it and compare notes.

Double Digits

Well, whaddya know? I ran 10 miles this week! No, not my total for the week, but in one run. It's been almost exactly 18 months since I've done a double-digit run.

The verdict? Not guilty...of shutting me down. I felt a few aches during the run, but nothing terrible. In fact, my hip didn't hurt as much as it had been recently. The knee wasn't an issue, either. My right heel (the injury that shut me down for a long time after my marathon) has been making itself known, so I'm a bit worried about that. But the day after the run, my heel feels fine, for whatever that's worth.

I'll stick with the three runs per week for now, with two days of cross-training and two days of weight training. Seems like a solid plan for the foreseeable future. But...I am itching to add in a little speed work. Nothing like intervals, nor anything too intense. Maybe a couple of half mile surges during an otherwise easy run. I'm starting to feel like I'm in a pace rut, where most of my runs end up being run at very similar paces to one another.

So, for this guy who "officially" retired from running a few months ago, I guess I'm "officially" back. Fingers are still crossed, though. I've witnessed this body break down one too many times to get too comfortable with the idea of being all the way "back" as a runner.

But I'm cautiously optimistic.

Pullups, Puppies & Pain

I'll start with some news that you may be most interested in: the well-being of my 1-yr old lab Apollo. In my previous post, I mentioned that he was having some physical problems (being barely able to walk, being very lethargic and not eating). We rushed him to the animal hospital. They could only speculate on why he was acting as he was. He had his blood drawn (which came back clean) then went on pain meds for a few days. The meds helped a little. He improved slightly, but was still sluggish. This past Saturday, he started showing signs of life, so I shut down the meds. Yesterday, he was bouncing off the walls and seemed to be his old self (miraculously), so I'm hoping we're out of the woods. We had to take him for a walk for the first time in over a week just to burn off some of his pent-up energy. I still have no idea what his problem was. I'll walk him a few more times before I take him for a short run.

Just a quick update on one of my goofy little PR quests. Three weeks ago, I set a new PR for pushups in a week (1005). Last week, I decided to try the same thing with pullups. My old PR was 273. I managed to crank out 305* last week...and "boy, are my arms tired!" I know I won't be able to set these little PR's indefinitely, but these are the sorts of things that motivate me to train.

Now, regarding the 'pain' portion of the blog post title. I ran with my running club on Saturday for the first time in ages. I managed 6 miles on a relatively hilly course. As you may know, hills don't play nice with my heel. However, this run went well. I kept up (for me, currently) a solid pace (8:07) and only had some slight heel discomfort.

Two days later...today...I ran 5 miles, with all miles easy except mile 3 (7:29). My heel was still angry about Saturday's jaunt and made it clear about halfway through the run. In hindsight, this should have been a shorter, easy day.

I'm running a local 5k this coming weekend. I don't expect a fast time (gee, I've never said THAT before), but as always, I do plan on putting forth the effort. I'll do an easy run on Wednesday, then shut it down until Saturday's race.


*Real pullups. Slow up and down. Not those cheating, kipping things the Crossfitters do.

HEEL PAIN STAT-O-RAMA

Do you like numbers? Statistical breakdowns? If so, you're going to LOVE this post. If not, put on some goggles and a nose plug, because your head is about to swim.

Unless you're new to this blog, you know the battle I've been having with my right heel for over two years now. I won't get into the causes or just what's going on with it (I've bludgeoned that horse already), but it has affected my running in a huge way, unfortunately.

Being a stats geek, I finally did a little numerical study on what types of shoes—and runs—may be aggravating my heel and Achilles the most.

I'm obviously not a statistician, but I had to do this study for my own peace of mind.

The conclusion? Hold onto your sweaty sidesplit running shorts...

First, let me say that I've been rating my heel pain during each run ever since my injury first hit me in late May of 2010. I use a 0-5 scale; zero meaning no hint of pain, five meaning excruciating pain (fortunately I've never recorded a five. A few fours, but never a five).

SHOES
Since my recent acquisition of a pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 12's, I now have four active pairs of running shoes. I've run in the Adrenalines 6 times, so I ran the numbers on the 6 most recent runs in each pair of shoes:

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 12 - 28.8 mi - 9:45/mi avg - 1.33/run heel pain

Brooks Launch                 - 23.6 mi - 8:00/mi avg - 1.00/run heel pain

Brooks Defyance 3           - 25.2 mi - 10:11/mi avg - 1.00/run heel pain

Brooks Ghost 4               - 26.3 mi - 9:49/mi avg - 1.25/run heel pain

Conclusion? I'm not sure there's a big enough spread in average heel pain to draw much of a conclusion.

Since I've worn three pair of shoes in my training for several more runs than the Adrenalines, I ran the full numbers on them (part of 2011 and all of 2012 so far):

Brooks Launch                 - 55.3 mi   - 8:10/mi avg - 0.45/run heel pain

Brooks Defyance 3           - 170.7 mi - 9:17/mi avg - 0.73/run heel pain

Brooks Ghost 4               - 85.1 mi   - 9:31/mi avg - 0.71/run heel pain

Hmm. It looks like the overall heel pain is lower if I go back far enough. What surprised me was the fact that the lightest, least supportive shoe (Launch) has given me the least amount of heel pain, at least based on this sample.

Since there wasn't enough data variance to say, "Aha! I'll just stop wearing THAT shoe," I decided to track the types of runs I've done (all of 2011+2012 to-date):

Easy        - 118 runs - 0.69/run heel pain

Tempo     - 13 runs   - 0.85/run heel pain 

Interval   - 21 runs   - 0.76/run heel pain

Race       - 9 runs     - 0.33/run heel pain

5+ mi.    - 9 runs     - 1.22/run heel pain

Anything shocking and/or definitive here? What's shocking to me is that racing doesn't seem to hurt my heel! At least not the short 5k races I've been doing. So I think I've solved the problem here. I'll limit all of my running to races only. Thanks for playing along at home.

;-) Seriously, I'm assuming that race-day adrenaline plays a part in that number. As a side note, all races were run while wearing the Launches.

What does stand out somewhat (based on an admittedly small sample) is what I already suspected. Long(ish) runs hurt the heel more than shorter runs. It does surprise me, though, that the tempo and interval running pain numbers aren't higher.

How about the higher pain entries? Fortunately, I haven't gone over a 3 since late 2010. Here's how my 3's and 2's look:

3/5 - 6 runs - 100% easy runs

2/5 - 15 runs - 9 easy, 4 interval, 2 tempo

Well, that didn't help much, did it? It's interesting that all of my 3's were during easy runs.

Now...for the disclaimer that may make these numbers less relevant than they already may be. I don't track the heel pain I may feel the evening after a run, on an off day, or the day or two after a race. The numbers ONLY reflect how my heel feels during each run. I also didn't run the numbers on back-to-back (or more) runs, but there honestly haven't been many of them the past couple of years.

Also, let me throw this out there. The heel pain numbers may be a tad subjective to begin with. If I had an otherwise excellent run, but had some heel pain, that number may have been a tad lower in my mind. On the flip side, if the run was horrible, but the heel didn't feel too bad, I may have bumped the pain number up unintentionally. I don't think I let any bias affect my numbers, but I can't promise that.

How will these results affect my running? I plan to nix the over 5 mile runs for the time being. I'm also ready, after 10 weeks of it, to give the Zone 2 heart rate training a rest. I'd like to include a tempo and an interval day every week in an attempt to boost my speed just a little. I think I may also wear my Brooks Launches a bit more than I have been ;-)

Okay, you can de-glaze your eyes and stop yawning...