Being Smart

Goal: 

8x1000m at 320-324 with 2 min jog rest

Actual:

11.3 Easy miles

Typically I wouldn't post about a workout that I bailed on.  However, I think it's an important reminder that sometimes you have to make the right decision for the long term. 

Today I woke up at 510AM and it felt like any other workout day as I went through my regular routines.  Once I got out onto the roads, I noticed that my left IT Band was much tighter than usual.  Immediately memories from January resurfaced:   

• Limping down Dilworth Road East, waiting for Jordan to come pick me up in his car since my IT Band was pulling so much on my knee that I couldn't even walk, let alone run. 
• Spending my entire FSA allotment for the year in just the month of January on physical therapy
• Icing my bruised leg from "scraping" treatment

Given my history with IT Band, I knew it would be dumb to start this work out, even though I had recruited a solid group of four guys to do this (Stephen, David, Eric, and Billy).  I know that speed can aggravate the IT, so I opted for an easy run around Dilworth.  Carolyn and Dalena ran by just as I made this critical decision, so I was able to log miles with them. 

While the last thing I want right now is to miss a work out, I would rather miss it now than in December.  I don't want to have a sporadic month of training due to IT Band issues, so I am being smart in October.  I will continue my band exercises three times a week and begin my lifting regime twice a week.  I've been slacking on the little things, which could lead to bigger, badder things further down the line.  I'm confident that I'll be good to go with the right focus on the pre-hab activities.  On the plus side, I am not in any pain!

7x3 Min Solo on the Dilworth Speed Loop

Goal:
6-8x3 min with 2:30-3:00 min rest at 5k pace (5:29)

Actual:
4 mile warmup
7x3 min with 2:45 min rest at 5:20-5:28 pace
~2 mile cool down for 11.3 miles total

Upon hearing that it was supposed to be almost 60 degrees today, I opted to run my workout later in the day. Since my normal cohorts - Jordan and Meagan - were out of town selling their brands to various running stores, I was to run solo for this workout. To my surprise, the last time I worked out by myself while in the city of Charlotte was in August. I was a little nervous about working out by myself, knowing that I was going to have to push myself all on my own, without the motivation of Meagan flying by me to propel my legs forward. To replace their fabulous company, I decided to let Mr. Garmin do all the work and to beep at me when 3 minutes was over and then again when my 2:45 rest was over.

I enjoyed an easy 4 mile warmup from my house to Freedom Park on the Sugar Creek Greenway. I passed by Rebecca's house, looked for Jordan's headlamp on the porch, and then continued on to the start of the 800m loop. I did a couple of strides and drills to test out my IT Band. Everything was working properly and without any glitches, I began my first interval. Of course, I technically went out too hard. I think I split 5:19 pace and was somewhere below 80 for the first 400m. I powered through the 800m with about a 1-2 second difference and hoped that I'd be able to continue this speedy trend for the entirety.

Luckily, I was able to maintain my form, composure, and mental tenacity throughout the workout. I felt strong on all of the intervals, except for number 6, where I seemed to be overly sensitive to the sudden increase in wind speed. I focused a lot on the portion after the 400m mark because at that point the course begins to have a slight incline that definitely could impact the pace. I tried to go out a little bit easier on the first 400m and then to make a conscious effort to pump my arms to drive my legs to push harder. This mental tactic seemed to work quite well as I came through all of my 2nd 400m splits about the same pace as the first 400m splits.

I wanted to do 8 intervals, but I could feel the effects of the lifting I had done the previous day as part of physical therapy and I could feel a slight discomfort in my knee. I didn't want to run one last interval to find myself stranded two miles from my house, so I played it safe and began my way back home.* As a side note, Will Isenhour made this mistake in May last year, and his knee gave out...I didn't see him running again until three months later!

I am happy that this workout went well but I wish I had gotten in another one of these workouts a couple of weeks ago. Due to sickness, travel, and IT Band related issues, I had to drop a couple of these workouts. Besides minuters and 6x5 min, I haven't really focused too much on speed. I'm hoping that my strength and endurance will allow me to achieve a new half marathon PR in just 10 days.

*Note: After this workout, my knee felt good and I stretched a lot. However, this evening I feel more discomfort than normal (not pain though), kind of like a tightness or pulling sensation on my knee. I will continue to ice!

Regime for IT Band

So at least three or four people have asked me how to either (1) get their IT Band to stop hurting or (2) what exercises should one perform in order to strengthen your Glutes. Since (1) and (2) are inevitably tied to the other, I figured I would shed some of the knowledge that I've gained over the course of the past two weeks to help my running friends either prevent an injury or cure an injury.

The keys to improving your IT Band ailments are to:

1) Foam Roll for 3-5 minutes 3x daily (Perform Better has the best one here)

2) Perform Body weights 3x a week (I only do legs, plan below)

3) Ice 20 minutes every hour

4) Stretch your glute

*Remember, if it hurts, do not run through it. There is a difference between pain and discomfort. Make smart decisions and stop running if it feels like someone is stabbing you in the knee, if it feels like your leg is going to blow up to pieces, or if you are limping. Taking one or two days off is much better than running through pain and having to take 4-12 weeks off.

Most IT Band problems stem from an inherent weakness in your gluteus medeus or your hamstrings. In order to test the strength of your glutes, you can do 20 single leg hops on each leg and count to the number that you begin to feel fatigued on one leg compared to the other. This will tell you if one leg is weaker than the other and then you can tailor your lifting program to incorporate 2-3 more reps on the weaker leg (ex 3x10 on left leg, 3x12 on right leg).

A lot of the exercises can be done from the comfort of your own home. All you need is a bench, a theraband, and a rope. I've included some of my exercises below with a youtube video that demonstrates basically what the exercise is.

Exercises:
3x15 each leg Clam Shells
3x15 Fire Hydrant Exercise (dog peeing on a bush)
2x20m Side Walk with Theraband
3x15 each leg step-ups
3x15 walking forward lunge (don't let your lead knee go over your ankle)
Side leg lift with circles each leg

For the stretches, just ask me on a run because those are harder to explain, but basically you want to do any stretch that stretches the side of your leg or your glutes. Or you can youtube stretches and you can find some physical therapist that has posted a video with good stretches...Hope this helps!

Week in Review

74 Miles
9 Runs
4 Days of Pain Free Running
1 Bruised IT Band
1 (Temporary) third roommate in Jordan

So this week started off with a snow storm, followed the next day by ice, and then followed the next day with ice remaining on the sidewalks of uptown. Needless to say, there were three days that I spent on the treadmill because my physical therapist warned me that running on a slick surface could make my IT Band condition worse instead of improve. Fortunately for me, I had company for 13 miles on the treadmill with John, Jay, and Meagan in the morning and a double later that evening. Given the icy conditions of the sidewalks and roads, I am glad that I had a Pura Vida gym membership so that I could still get my runs in without worrying about re-injuring my IT Band.

With the ice, that meant that I had to drop one workout (8x3 min) and just do two workouts within two days of each other: 3x2 Mile and tempo + long run. Given that I ran my first discomfort free run in over two weeks on Thursday, both these workouts went better than expected and were good indicators that my goals for the Houston Half Marathon are still within reach. While I did have a scare on Sunday after my tempo, with a stabbing pain in my knee, I iced and heated in hopes that it would be fine by Monday. I was right as I was able to walk down stairs pain free and run across the street the next day. I also updated my orthotics (they were over two years old), which will again correct my leg length discrepancy. I'm hoping this will help prevent me from having issues again.

On a personal note, Jordan ran with me three out of the four days this week. He also became our third roommate for the weekend as Meagan was out of town winning the 13.1 Los Angeles race. John, Jordan, Garrett and I all enjoyed a lazy day of calf massages, blog updating, tv watching, and eating together. It was a fun way to enjoy my last weekend in Charlotte before I head off to Asheville this weekend, Houston next weekend, and Las Vegas the following weekend.

I will also note that several people have reached out to me offering advice on IT Band recovery, which has been really helpful! On the same note, however, several people have asked me what I've been doing that allows me to continue running 70+ miles without pain. Look for a blog post early this week with my keys to IT Band recovery!

7 Mile Tempo at McAlpine

Goal:

60 Min Tempo at 6:15-6:25 Pace (adjusted due to surface)

Actual:

7 Mile Tempo for 44:09 at 6:18 pace

After visiting my Physical Therapist, Angela, at Carolinas Rehabilitation on Thursday, I had developed a large bruise 7 inches long on my IT Band after a Scraping therapy session. Angela used the Graston tool to scrape along my IT Band 9 times. While I was warned of bruising, I will admit that it made foam rolling a bit more painful. The morning of this tempo, I was flaunting the awesome bruise below. Good thing it is winter so I didn't scare any people away with my discolored leg.

I had been warned that the cold would make it harder for my IT Band to feel good, so I took the necessary precaution and warmed my leg during my drive to Mcalpine to meet Stephen and Megan. The temps at the start of our run were in the upper teens, which did not bode well for me. Megan and I met at the main entrance and ran to meet Stephen halfway on the way to Old Bell. After catching up with some good conversation (I hadn't seen Stephen or Megan in over a month), we started our tempo.

With the start of the tempo, I didn't feel too bad. I was glad that my knee actually was pain free, and I wondered if it was due to the IT Band Wrap I was wearing that has been endorsed by Scott Jurek. Stephen was our fearless leader as he lead me through the first three miles in a 615 pace average.

Once we got onto the asphault portion of the trail, however, every good thing unraveled. Little did we know that the next two miles of aspault would be covered with black ice, making it very difficult to go fast. This also put much more wear and tear on my IT Bands and I could feel them getting more and more fatigued with each slippery step. I told Stephen that they were getting tired, and we kept trucking along. We ran our slowest mile here (6:27) and I didn't want the rest of the miles to be that slow. At the 4 mile turnaround, I made a very conscious effort to pick it back up to a respectable pace, which we did. However, I felt like I had spent every ounce of my energy on those two miles of ice, and my legs were working much harder than they should be.

After 6 miles, I informed Stephen that I would be ending early, at the 7 mile mark. He was a good trooper and when we stopped, he informed me that I didn't feel too good on my last tempo before Twin Cities and still ran a sub-2:42. I think that Stephen and I both work well together because we know how to listen to our bodies and minds to know when enough is enough. We also know that it is pointless to spend too much time talking or thinking about a workout that was below our own expectations. The best thing to do is to recognize a weakness for the day and to move on. I know that I ran 26.2 miles 8 seconds faster than I did in this tempo today, but the important thing is that I did get a good effort in. I hope that I can run 6 min pace or faster at Houston, but the key will be to get my IT Band feeling normal again.

I enjoyed a long 4 mile cool down with both Stephen and Megan, where I learned more about Stephen got into running. He went from a 2:42 to a 2:38 to a 2:32! That's pretty much amazing. Megan is less than 100 days from the Boston Marathon, where she will revisit the city where she ran a blazing 2:37:xx marathon at the 2008 Olympic Trials. I believe that all the hard work she's been putting in will definitely pay off come April.

Splits:
616
611
620
627
618
619
614

6x5 Min at McAlpine

Goal:
6x5 Min at sub 5:45 pace with 2 min rest

Actual:
2.64 miles warmup
6x5 Min at 5:37-5:42 pace with 2 min jog rest
~1 mile cool down for 10 miles total

I recruited Meagan and Heidi to run this workout with me so that I would have some company at McAlpine. Heidi runs for NYAC, graduated from Duke XC/TF in '04, and heard about the CRC through the Club XC race. Jordan of course showed up to support his girlfriend and to pace us ladies through the mud.

I was worried about my IT Band rubbing against my knee, so I took all the necessary precautions beforehand: I alternated ice/heat (ending with heat), stretched, and performed my strengthening exercises that I found on youtube. I even curled up on my heated blanket to ensure that my entire IT Band received enough warmth to be ready for the soon-to-be assault on my body. Finally, I tucked a hand warmer into my capris so that my IT Band connector would be warm.

After a 20 minute warmup, we made our way to the 1.75 mile marker at McAlpine in an effort to avoid all hills (big or small) and all cambered surfaces. The plan was to make our way towards Old Bell, turn around and then head back onto the first two miles of the XC Course, skipping the hill. Jordan and I lead the way for the first 2, and I felt strong and consistent on these. My breathing felt a little out of whack, so I'm not sure what that was all about. By the 3rd and 4th intervals, Meagan and Jordan had created a 5 meter gap on me, so I made a surge to finish back up with Meagan by the finish. I was not as lucky on the 5th and 6th ones, as Jordan and Meagan made a sizable gap on me of at least 10-20 meters. I was still maintaining my original pace of 5:40, so I'm guessing she was running 5:30-5:34 pace.

For each of the intervals, I tended to finish about halfway in between the 1.2k and 1.6k marks, a little past 1.4k. I felt the worst on the 5th and 6th intervals because my IT Bands on both sides just felt very weak and fatigued. It could be from the exercises I've been doing, or just from general weakness in those areas. It could also have been from the increased number of turns and the uneven, soft surfaces that were causing me to utilize my IT Band more for balance. ALl said and done, considering that I felt no pain in the side of my knee and that I hit a faster pace than my goal Half Marathon pace, I am really pleased with this workout.

Meagan should be very happy and confident about her workout as well because not only did she rock the 6x5 min portion of the workout, but then she knocked out a 20 min tempo afterward. While her decision to run the Houston Marathon is still to be determined, it is clear that she is definitely strong enough to post some fast times within the next couple of weeks. It will be fun to watch, even if from behind!

Splits
1: 5:40 pace (.88 miles)
2: 5:37 pace (.89 miles)
3: 5:37 pace (.89 miles)
4: 5:40 pace (.88 miles)
5: 5:42 pace (.875 miles)
6: 5:42 pace (.875 miles)

Now I'm off to see Dr. Price, in hopes that he can give me some more pointers to getting my IT Band back to normal!

Fantastic Workout, Craptastic Knee

Goal: 15x1 min on/off
Actual: 11.5 miles total, 15x1 min on/off, hurt IT Band/Knee

After procrastinating about 8 hours of the day away at the timeshare on Newport Coast, I finally got ready for a workout. This was difficult to do considering that all I did today was watch Discovery Channel, read Franzen's book The Corrections, eat food, and take a nap. Once my parents drove off to pick Sally up in Long Beach, I decided 3:30pm was a good time to go running because 1) it had stopped raining and 2) I would finish before the sun fell below the ocean line.

I ran down the mountain that defines Newport Coast Drive and made my way to the Crystal Cove State Park, where I ran along the cliffs overlooking the ocean. I enjoyed watching the sun drop lower and lower until it finally seemed to touch the ocean and reflect its brilliance straight into my sensitive eyes (I forgot my sweet new Nike sunglasses Garrett's parents gave me at the timeshare).

I noticed for the first 5 miles of my warmup that the wind was terribly strong going one direction, so I started my fartlek with the wind at my back to make it easier. For the first 9 minuters, I ran with the wind. I felt really good and my legs felt like they had lots of bounce to them. However, everything changed once I turned around when the wind was in my face. It was difficult to get my legs up, I was leaning forward too much, and my hair was blowing all into my face. I'm sure I looked like a terrible mess. I finished out the workout, and slowed to a stop, and knelt down to stretch for a moment.

As soon as I stood up, all my confidence from having a good workout slipped away as a sharp, persistent pain pulsed through my knee. A pain that literally came out of nowhere worried the crap out of me, and I wondered if I could even make it home the next three miles. The sun had already set and I knew that if I were any tick past 5:30, my parents would be really worried. Fortunately, the pain seemed to subside just a bit so that I could run to the bottom of the big mountain. I walked/jogged up the mountain and counted down every second until I made it to my temporary abode. As soon as I walked into the timeshare, I grabbed some ice and stretched.

Online research commenced and the pain worsened. I determined that my IT Band was rubbing against the side of my knee, causing inflammation and irritation. I could tell there was excess fluid in the attachment of the IT Band and the knee. I decided to take the next two days off and figured rest, ice, and massages from my mom would do the trick. I could only wait and see if it would actually be a magical formula to recovery.