Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow

Ogden NUTS Half Marathon. Ran 1:12:54, a PR by over a minute. Offical clock was started late, so that is my watch time. This was a pretty good race and made me feel better about my early-spring fitness level.

Splits:

5:18 (mile short?)

5:49 (mile long?)

5:27

5:40

5:23

5:36

5:30

5:25

5:33

5:32

5:41

5:35

5:48

0:32 (0.1, jogged)

The course is the first half of the Ogden Marathon, so gentle downhill (400 ft drop) over the first 8 miles, and then mild rolling hills with very little net elevation change for the last 5 miles. Conditions were good: about 45 degrees, overcast, occasional sprinkles, and only occasional mild wind.

Tim Wight and I took off early and broke away from the pack by Mile 3 or so. We knew that Nate Long was lurking somewhere back there, and sure enough he caught up around Mile 6. Tim and I, in the meantime, were having trouble finding a consistent pace and bounced around pace-wise in the first half for some reason (see mile splits). I'm not sure why this occurred or how much I lost in efficiency, but we sure weren't trying to surge or anything. At Mile 8 the descent ended and we turned to go around Pineview Reservoir, the rolling part of the course. Near that point Nate took over and I hopped on with him; Tim did not go with the move, but ran steady from behind. Without the downhill and with the increased pace, I began to labor more, whereas Nate was barely breathing. However, Nate turned out to be an extremely nice and generous guy, and paced and encouraged me over the tough miles and offered to take the wind for me whenever it picked up. This definitely aided me greatly and helped me get more out of the race. Nate's pacing was much steadier than mine, and we locked in on consistent 5:30-5:40 pace over the rolling hills, which I was very happy with (even splits overall for the race). We cruised into the finish together; he got a good workout and I got a nice PR. Tim ended up somewhere in the 1:13s, maybe up to a minute behind (haven't seen results yet).

This race was encouraging to me, and makes me think I can run a good Ogden Marathon, perhaps in the low 2:30s, or even sub-2:30, if I can make some fitness and biomechanical improvements in the next six weeks. My mileage is finally up to the 75-80 mile range, and I think my fitness is finally getting there. I still need to lose 10lbs, which will help greatly, I believe.

If my body feels good tomorrow and Monday, I will most likely register for the Ogden Marathon, but making sure my back and knee can handle hard training and racing is the first priority. During the race today, my knee felt good (didn't notice it at all, but my back was pretty tight. However, I felt smoother than any race to date. Through physical therapy, the flexibility of my hamstrings and back joints have increased dramatically, and that will only help my running and injury control.

Scheduled day off. Legs, especially quads, VERY sore from race on Saturday. I am surprised at my lack of conditioning for downhill running.

Did some very light jogging with the dog.

Still VERY sore from the NUTS half marathon. Almost marathon-level soreness, which surprises me. I figured after running four training races early in the winter/spring, my recovery would be better, but I guess I was not ready for a long downhill.

It's hard to tell how my knee feels, because there is so much background soreness in both my quads, but my back is definitely very stiff and sore.

Easy miles. I'm still quite sore from the half marathon, but at least I'm able to run again. I was not planning on taking essentially three days off, so this is a bit of a setback, but definitely better to recover properly than to force it and cause injury or burnout.

While I met my personal time standard for running the Ogden Marathon (I told myself I had to run in the 1:12 range for half marathon to make it worth my while), I don't think my body is holding up to the standard I set for it (ability to recover). Right now I am leaning toward not running Ogden, working on base and letting my body heal for a month, and getting ready for the summer racing season. Right now a fast half marathon effort at Salt Lake City in June sounds tempting; may be my place to break 1:10. We'll see. I hate to put all my marbles into St. George, but right now I see running Ogden as hurting my St. George goals rather than helping.

Back is still very sore, much like yesterday. Knee feels so-so, really not too bad considering the punishment I gave it.

1 mile running; 6 miles elliptical.

I have decided that my body needs a time of healing before I can proceed with quality racing. I am taking April "off" in terms of workouts, and will be working on only base,up to 80 miles/week, about half of which will come from the elliptical. In the meantime I will continue rehabbing my knee and back, and increase my core strength.

Looking ahead, I think I will do the Salt Lake Half Marathon. I've decided that it's key that if I am to have a legit shot at breaking 2:22 at St. George, I need to be able to run under 1:10 on a flat half course. So Salt Lake City and Great Salt Lake half marathons may be key races for me this year on route to St. George.

7 miles running; 3 miles elliptical

6 miles elliptical; 5.5 miles running.

The elliptical is getting slightly less boring, and I can actually get a decent workout on it (HR ave 150 today). Definitely can't do that running without pounding my legs. Next time I may actually try some threshold intervals on it and see if I can sustain my HR around 170-180 (85-90% max).

Medium-long run of 16 miles. I don't expect to be going over 18 miles until at least May.

Today was my only real run of the week that was 100% running (no elliptical). I felt pretty good, knee and back were back to their "standard" bearable levels of discomfort, opposed to how they felt earlier in the week. We pick it up coming back down the river trail a bit, so I got a little bit of running at a brisk pace.

The week definitely ended a lot better than it started, mileage-wise. I'd like to sit on 80 miles/week for the rest of April, with some marathon-paced workouts on the road and threshold-paced workouts on the elliptical. I'm going to ignore VO2Max until May, since that can develop in a relatively short period of time.

Easy distance on the roads. Felt strong during the first half, but then my quads got sore then second half of the run, probably because of downhill running yesterday and the race the weekend before. Still, it felt good to be outside on a beautiful Sunday morning!

7 miles elliptical, 2.5 miles running.

7 miles elliptical, 3 miles running. I finally got a new heart rate transmitter, so I decided to try a threshold workout on the elliptical just based on HR. Since my max HR is ~200, I tried 2x7:30 intervals with my HR at 170-175 (85-87%) with 2:30 rest between. It took a little fiddling with the machine to get the proper resistance (I initially had it too high and went anaerobic quickly--not good for an LT workout), but I finally found a sustainable setting where I could keep my HR in the 170s and get a threshold "feel". It seemed to work out fine, although I was probably annoying the other people next to me by my profuse sweating. This little "experiment" was short, but now that I know it works I'll probably do 4x7:30 intervals next time. The great thing about the elliptical is that I should be able to do LT workouts more frequently, since my recovery should be faster in a non-impact setting.

Ave HR for entire session: 148

Ave HR for LT intervals: 172

6 miles easy running; 6 miles elliptical, 5 of which were at "mp" effort.

I originally wanted to just run today, but my knee was fairly sore, so I kept the running down and hopped on the elliptical instead. The good news is that my back has been feeling pretty good the last couple days, and also my weight has finally dipped below 140. If good for nothing else, the elliptical helps shed pounds. My clothes are noticeably looser.

I'm trying to pin down what sort of heart rate I need on the elliptical to get a threshold or a marathon pace workout. I assumed that my threshold HR would be 175-180 and my marathon HR would be 160-170. I decided one way to figure it out would be to look at my HR records from races over the last three years (yes, I wear a monitor when I race). Here's the breakdown of AVERAGE HR:

Marathons:

Ogden (05): 173

Park City (05): 170

Des News (05): 168

TOU (03): 178

TOU (04): 179

TOU (05): 170

St. George (05): 179

Typically for these marathons my HR started near 150 and drifted up to the 190s by the end of the race. I'm going to say that my MP heartrate for elliptical workouts is 170-175.

Half Marathons

Moab (04): 186 (hot that year)

Moab (05): 184

Great Salt Lake (03): 182

Great Salt Lake (04): 180

Surprisingly, not a ton different from my MP heartrate. Actually, not a whole lot surprising in some ways, since my half pace is about the same as my marathon pace. I'll put my threshold HR at 180-185.

10k

SLC Classic (03): 186

SLC Classic (04): 184

Des News (03): 183

Ogden NUTS (06): 185

Not at all different from half marathon.

5k

Draper (03): 183

Draper (04): 183

Heart of Holladay (03): 184

Not at all different from half marathon or 10k. VO2Max HR? I suppose over 190...

Looking back, I've recorded max HR's of over 200 for all distances, from 5k through marathon.

My body told me a take a day off and I listened to it. Slept in and got some rest.

6 miles elliptical. Ave HR 145.

5.5 miles running. Ave HR 136.

Running today felt a lot better than on Wednesday, as my knee was much less sore. My back didn't feel too bad, although it was pretty stiff we I got up. Stretched my hip flexors and SI joint after my run and felt quite a bit looser.

18-mile long run with Dave, Ben, and Jon. Ran up to Spring Creek Campground and back, so about half was on dirt, which felt good. Jon and I picked it up to about 6:00/mile pace for several miles during the second half of the run, and that felt pretty good. Ave HR for entire run: 143; Ave HR during "brisk" portion of run: ~160.

My knee and back both felt okay, but still have a ways to go. If they feel good tomorrow I may do some light running and then back to the elliptical for next week.

I'm having some weird issues with other areas of my body though. The outside part of my left quad is slightly numb. I've never experienced this before. My wife thinks it could be from a pinched sciatic nerve in my lower back. Although it doesn't bother me or affect daily activities, I don't like it when my body does weird things, so if it's still numb by Monday I'll give my PT a call and see what he thinks.

Also, the bottom of my left foot from the rear of my arch to my heel feels "bruised". It's not a sharp pain, nor from a specific point location, but I'm always paranoid when it comes to foot pain because the first thing that comes to mind is "stress fracture". I've never had a stress fracture though, and don't know what they feel like. It could be my arch supports, so I've got a new pair of Brooks in the closet that I'll start wearing and see if that makes a difference. A lot of my random aches and pains just go away on their own in a few days, but I want to keep on eye on this.

Easy, enjoyable Easter run. Ave HR: 129

2.5 miles easy running; Ave HR: 130. 8 miles elliptical with 3x7:30 threshold intervals. Ave HR on intervals: 175-180.

I set a time PR for elliptical today: 55 minutes. It's definitely getting mentally easier to stay on longer. Threshold intervals felt pretty good, and my breathing felt similar to what it would be like if I was running. Next time I may try 4 intervals.

2 miles running; 9.5 miles elliptical. New time PR for elliptial: 65 minutes! Ave HR of running: 137; Ave HR of elliptical: 155. Did 20 minutes in the middle of the elliptical workout at "MP" effort and sustained heart rates of 165-170.

I'm pretty sure what's going on with my foot is plantar fasciitis. I can run on it okay, but it hurts the most after I get out of bed or after I've been sitting for awhile. I've start doing some stretches for it, and they seem to relieve the pain well. It doesn't hurt on the elliptical at all, so that's good.

8.5 miles running (Ave HR: 138); 4.5 miles elliptical (Ave HR: 150). A bit of an easy day today, despite the mileage. My HR seemed high for the pace we were running, meaning either I'm not recovered from the last two days or I'm a little under the weather.

I've lost another pound and am down to 138. This puts me at the halfway point: 5 down and 5 to go!

Day off. I was feeling run-down and a bit sick (sore throat, etc.) last night, so I slept in and got some rest. I feel better today and hopefully will continue to improve.

I'm a bit frustrated right now. I feel very fit from cross training and am shedding pounds, which is great, but my nagging injuries don't seem to be getting better. I don't think the elliptical is nearly as hard on my knee as running, but apparently it is preventing proper healing that only rest can provide. As much as I hate to do this, I've decided to can the idea of early-summer racing and am going to take some time off and start over. October is still a long ways away for my peak race (St. George), and there's some other good races along the way in August and September. I'm not going to resume a normal training volume until I am completely pain-free, which may take a couple weeks or a couple months, I don't know. It will be better for the long term. I figure if I ran 2:26 at St. George last year with a disfunctional body, I should be able to go faster if I let myself get compeltely healthy. In the meantime, I may jog a few miles here and there and hop on the elliptical for SHORT periods a fews day a week just to keep the weight off. I'll continue with my stretching and core strengthening and improve on that during my time off. I may explore the option of pool running, which is a fantastic non-impact cross training method, but I don't have access to a pool in the near vincinity...but it may be an option.

Another day off. My knee is already starting to feel a bit better than it has in a while, an encouraging sign. Same thing with my back. My left quad is still numb and my left hip flexor is quite irritated. I spoke with my PT yesterday and it seems that the two are probably related, so I've laid off any exercise that stretches the hip flexor over the last few days. My foot is the worst out of all the injuries. I even walk with a limp, although the severity is variable over the course of a day. Seems to exhibit every symptom of plantar fasciitis, but I haven't had it officially diagnosed yet. I've been stretching my calves, arch, and achilles, and I'm thinking about getting a "night boot", which will passively stretch it while I sleep. Any other suggestions on how to deal with this are welcome...

Easy 5 miles with Jon, Dave, and James. Knee and back felt very stable. My foot felt no different than previous days. In all reality, I can run on it okay, but I want to lay off activity to let it heal faster. I think what I will do for these first couple weeks of recovery is to do elliptical twice a week and run a few miles on Saturday. That should allow me to heal up and still keep a baseline fitness level.

Another day off running...one of what will be many days off by all indicators. My back was pretty stiff this morning, but has loosend up a bit after going to the gym and doing some light lifting and core exercises.

I made an appointment with a podiastrist to get my foot officially diagnosed. If it is indeed plantar fasciitis, from what I've read, I should expect to be out at least 4-6 weeks...if things go well. For some people it takes over a year to heal.

It's crossed my mind several times that there's a possibility that I may not run competitively again, at least at the same level. My body has been messed up for a year now. You have to been able to train hard to be fast, and if I am unable to train hard...Well, I can't really think like that at this point, but it's in the back of my mind: what would life be like without running and racing?

The answer is: pretty good. I have a wife who loves me, a satisfying career, a good group of friends, and MOST importantly, a God that loves me and promises salvation through grace as well as a life in full here on earth.

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 8:38-39

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

John 10:10

Life will go on and be good with or without running, and I feel blessed to have had the chance to do what I already have.

Those thoughts have kept me grounded and given me peace about being injured. If all thing go well, I could be base training again by June or so, and run St. George well. Even if I can't run until July, I could run St. George well. If not until beyond that, well, I guess keep trying. I'm young. (although I feel like I'm 80-years old sometimes)

No running. Rode bike to and from work and did core exercises/stretches and icing in evening. My knee feel a bit better today.

No running. Went to gym in morning to do some light lifting, core exercises, and few minutes of spinning on the bike just to get loose.

Still more improvement on the knee, so the layoff is finally starting to pay off. My foot is roughly the same, but definitely no worse. My left hip flexor is still inflamed, and quad muscle still numb; no change. I'll try icing my hip flexor tonight to see if that helps. My lower back has been stiff when I wake up the last few mornings, and loosens up during the day. Kind of annoying, but not too dehabilitating.

No running, just stretching and core strength.

I went to the ortho clinic today to see a podiatrist. I got my official diagnosis of plantar fasciitis there. The stretching, icing, and ibuprofin I've already been doing are good and I will continue with that (except stretch more frequently). He also gave my heel a shot of cortisone (anti-inflammitory steriod). The doc says the first step is to get rid of inflammation, then healing can begin.

The doctor seemed very interested about my other multitude of injuries. The IHC Med Center here in Logan has a facility that does a running gait analysis through video tape and foot sensors while running on a treadmill. The sensors are particularly important, because they can show quickly what imbalances and assymetries a runner has that video cannot detect. Then they can mold custom orthotics to fix the problems.

It has occurred to me that this rash of injuries could be a trickle-down from a common source. Perhaps it is my feet or leg length. I am signed up to do this analysis, and they'll probably have a slot for me in a month or so. In the meantime, my foot needs to heal before I can do any sort of running anyway.

No running. Rode my bike to work and did some core exercises and stretching.

It seems like the cortizone shot is kicking in. Last night and today my foot has felt much better, and I walk with much less of a limp. I will have to restrain myself from running if this trend continues. My knee has been feeling great too. Not 100% yet (I can still feel it if I go into a complete squat), but it does not affect daily life. I wonder if the steroid shot to my foot is reducing inflamation to my knee as well?

If things continue to improve I may start some cardio cross training again (probably recumbant bike).

No running. Biked to the gym (took the long way; beautiful day!), where I did my core strength workout and some light lifting. I also jumped on the elliptical for 5 minutes, just to see how it felt. Although it didn't really hurt, I could feel my foot some, so it may not be a great cross training method at this point. Recumbant bike may be safer, although harder to get a good workout on. I'll have to call my podiatrist and ask what cross training methods will be best for my foot. Especially with that steriod injection, I don't want any weird side effects.