Thought I'd stop at 2. Figured I'd push it to 3.5. Did a 10K.
Foreign that I felt it in the lungs. Moved like molasses for the last mile. Calves were acting like they hadn't been run on before.
I could feel the strain in the foot for the first mile or so, but it largely vanished. I'm sore in other places now, which may be masking the original problem. Will have to wait and see how things shape up tomorrow, I suppose. I tried to focus this time on not limiting my landings to the balls of my feet, and to allow the whole foot to land (in order to try and more evenly distribute the impact). Don't know if that helps.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Postcard from the Edge.
It's distressing to see the date on that last post. Haven't run since that day. Extreme cabin fever.
Not sure which is worse, the edginess or the occasional creeping sense that another day off is okay. These last few days have been special torment, as the foot has been 99% fine, but that 1% has been loud enough that I didn't want to chance it.
In any event. I'm off for a test run now. Hope it (and my pace) won't suffer too badly. Wish me luck.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Gahhhhhhhhhh
No running since Friday.
The tender ankle was aggravated to the point that I was running with what felt like a pronounced limp. I should mention even still that this is different from the past; it feels more like the arch than the ankle (although there's some of that in there as well). It's difficult to explain but again, entirely walkable. 3 miles on the track Friday, plus one on the treadmill. I'd found in the past that the treadmill was easier on the ankle, if only by comparison: the track I run is 17.5 laps/mile, which means almost constantly turning.
Skipped the Saturday long run, which is actually in some ways a blessing. That trail was becoming a little rote, and it's nice to take the break mentally. It's also something of an object lesson in patience—I'm overly prone to overdoing it, and it's far too easy to feel like I've really dropped the ball when I've only taken a day or two off. It's probably important to look back and realize that I'd only even started doing long runs maybe 2 months ago. It's already progressed to a point that I now feel a bit lazy if I don't do a half-marathon in the woods on Saturdays. Funny, that.
One additional note? I did spend a full day in the woods on Sunday, swinging fake swords at other people. It gave me a good excuse to try out this recipe for Pinole, as inspired by Chris McDougall's Born to Run. Who knows if it's anything near authentic, but it actually tasted alright, was dead simple to make, and I'd take it over a Clif bar any day of the week. Will have to see if I can pack some with me next time.
And now to return to meditating beyond the fact that I need to take another day off.
The tender ankle was aggravated to the point that I was running with what felt like a pronounced limp. I should mention even still that this is different from the past; it feels more like the arch than the ankle (although there's some of that in there as well). It's difficult to explain but again, entirely walkable. 3 miles on the track Friday, plus one on the treadmill. I'd found in the past that the treadmill was easier on the ankle, if only by comparison: the track I run is 17.5 laps/mile, which means almost constantly turning.
Skipped the Saturday long run, which is actually in some ways a blessing. That trail was becoming a little rote, and it's nice to take the break mentally. It's also something of an object lesson in patience—I'm overly prone to overdoing it, and it's far too easy to feel like I've really dropped the ball when I've only taken a day or two off. It's probably important to look back and realize that I'd only even started doing long runs maybe 2 months ago. It's already progressed to a point that I now feel a bit lazy if I don't do a half-marathon in the woods on Saturdays. Funny, that.
One additional note? I did spend a full day in the woods on Sunday, swinging fake swords at other people. It gave me a good excuse to try out this recipe for Pinole, as inspired by Chris McDougall's Born to Run. Who knows if it's anything near authentic, but it actually tasted alright, was dead simple to make, and I'd take it over a Clif bar any day of the week. Will have to see if I can pack some with me next time.
And now to return to meditating beyond the fact that I need to take another day off.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
...
7 miles. Track. Ankle is officially Not Happy With Me.
It's strange, however—this pain is qualitatively different from the chronic tendonitis I periodically suffer from—that variety is debilitating, and typically prevents me from walking almost entirely. This merely feels like an over-exerted set of muscles. I'm hoping that that is a strange kind of good sign.
It played hell with my form: I know I was really babying that foot for the last mile and a half or so, but even still, I feel like I'm struggling with understanding proper posture, and how much of a lean I should be adopting. In recent past I'd been experimenting with something between the Barefoot Ken Bob and Lee Saxby methods, which (as I understand it) is essentially like squatting. It feels balanced, but slower. I will occasionally adopt a stance which is much more upright and a pronounced forward lean. Faster but less relaxed.
It's strange, however—this pain is qualitatively different from the chronic tendonitis I periodically suffer from—that variety is debilitating, and typically prevents me from walking almost entirely. This merely feels like an over-exerted set of muscles. I'm hoping that that is a strange kind of good sign.
It played hell with my form: I know I was really babying that foot for the last mile and a half or so, but even still, I feel like I'm struggling with understanding proper posture, and how much of a lean I should be adopting. In recent past I'd been experimenting with something between the Barefoot Ken Bob and Lee Saxby methods, which (as I understand it) is essentially like squatting. It feels balanced, but slower. I will occasionally adopt a stance which is much more upright and a pronounced forward lean. Faster but less relaxed.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)