Strong Success

Week 3 - Complete! What a great week...I was able to return to my Tuesday and Thursday morning runs. My third ART treatment was last Monday, which has sustained me through a 4 mile run on Tuesday and Thursday, as well as a 9 mile run today. Today's run was 8 miles of bridge repeats and my knee was quite merciful on me. I would say that as the week has gone by, my pain has decreased during each run. Today's struggle was simply the tortuous heat! My knee pain was only about a 3 or 4 out of 10. I definitely feel that changing my pace group, as well as, interval time has contributed to a much more enjoyable run. It's a great feeling to run strong. Looking forward to the week ahead.

Picture Me Smiling

There were no tears today, well maybe happy tears, I suppose. I’m still coming down from the runners high I experienced this morning. Let me back up though and tell you about the week and my new pre-race rituals…since my last post I recovered from the dreadful run and the humidity has been merciful this week in general. Instead of running my usual Tuesday and Thursday mornings, I continued with spin class and Pilates. I visited my chiropractor again for my second treatment of Active Release and my very supportive husband has been using the “rolling pin” gadget we got at a running expo last year on my outside hip and thigh twice a day. I experience excruciating pain during the Active Release treatment and the rolling pin isn’t much better. But, I manage to suck it up and realize the benefits afterwards. So today was week 2 of training and we were scheduled to do bridge repeats which would total 5-7 miles depending on how many we could do. Given the fact that last week I gave up at mile 3, I wasn’t sure what today would look like since all of our mileage would be on the bridge. And it’s a doozie of a bridge for sure. However, my spirits were up and I was rather hopeful today. I managed to get out of bed this morning rather easily and walked my way to the kitchen to prepare the magical concoctions. First, I prepared a green tea for when I came home from the run. Then I noticed the Emergen-C packets on my counter…the label states there are 24 nutrients and antioxidants, along with electrolytes and B-vitamins. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try it before a run…so I did. Then I mixed my sports drink, Accelerade. This particular drink is an advanced sports drink that extends endurance, speeds muscle recovery, and enhances rehydration. It is one of few sports drinks that contains protein. I retrieved my hand held Gatorade bottle from the freezer, and I was on my way to meet the group. On my drive to the run, I took something called “Dextro Energy”. One of my friends got this for me and thought it would help in my stamina. I took one tablet and the taste was good, sweet. As I met with the group and we started out on our walk to the start, I was puzzled that my knee was already talking to me. I would rate it at a 5 out of 10 pain. I tried not to focus on that and told myself I would just do the best I could. We progressed into a run and I decided this week I would change pace groups which additionally changed my run/walk intervals. Instead of doing 3:1 intervals, I was doing 2:1. On the first lap over the bridge my pain escalated to 7 out of 10. I stayed focused and tried to continue running. Once I got up and over the incline, the pain level decreased. After mile 2, I was really feeling great. The weather was on my side today and provided a lovely breeze. I saw the sun rise and was leading the pace group in very good company today. Before too long, we were on our last lap over the bridge and heading back to our cars! I accomplished 7 miles today, 6 miles being BRIDGE REPEATS!!! And I feel great! I started my car to head home and the pain in my knee was less than 1, maybe a .5 at the most! I am convinced that Active Release is the right treatment for me. I am also convinced that Emergen-C and Dextro Energy will be my staple for optimal running performance. Here is what I learned when I googled the Dextro…it is a natural sugar substance that is found in fruits and honey. It is obtained from starches and then split into individual molecules with the help of enzymes. The most important attribute of Dextrose, is that it does not need to be digested. It goes straight to the bloodstream and is transported to all cells and organs in the body. As a result, this provides direct energy! (To read more go to: www.dextro-energy.com) I didn’t have any increase in my heart rate and feel great post run. I’m looking forward to next week. I will have my third Active Release treatment on Monday.

The first of many more to come!

Well, today was our first training run with the running group. It was a scheduled 10K race to begin the season. Leading up to the race, I was hopeful that my Active Release Treatment on Thursday would prove to improve the pain in my knee while running. Although I was hopeful, I struggled to crawl out of bed this morning and made the mistake of not eating breakfast before the run. Despite my poor planning, I approached the start line eager to test out my knee. As a runner, it’s typical to flock to your pace group and activate the competitive rush to finish with a “good” time. Today was different for me. I only know a handful of the runners in this group so far, and I almost felt like the new kid at a new school! I said hello to those that I knew, but really felt myself concentrating on me, myself, and I. There was a combination of feelings and emotions, but I didn’t want to get caught up in keeping up with a particular pace today. My goal was to concentrate on my body and listen to what feels right in terms of pace, run/walk intervals, and when it would be time to ease up on running and finish the race walking. As I said in my last post, I haven’t been running the last 2 weeks. My last attempt before today was on the treadmill at my gym and I had to stop 1 ½ minutes after I started running. The pain had been too severe, like a steak knife was stabbing my left knee. Today was certainly more hopeful since I had the treatment on Thursday. I run on a 3 minute interval cycle and then walk for 1 minute. (Also known as the Galloway Method.) Today, each time my foot hit the ground I knew I could take another step. Before long, I realized I had run a mile. And then another. The turn-around mark was at mile 3 and I had been running on a pain level of about 5 out of 10. Along the route is a rather large bridge, which always kicks my butt, and much steeper than it looks. I was careful on the up climb and down slope to integrate more walking than the interval cycle called for since the incline/slope can really aggravate IT Band pain. While I could deal with 5/10 pain, I was sucking wind to run through the heat and humidity today. One of my flaws of being a Type A personality type, is my obsession with over analyzing. What I mean by this is, instead of me just staying in the zone and plowing through the mileage, my mind was all over the place analyzing what had gone wrong during my 2 weeks rest. I had been conscientious to stay active in cross-training, specifically in spin classes to maintain my cardio baseline. I was so discouraged to feel how much I had regressed in just 2 short weeks. So when I came to the turn-around mark and made my way back towards the finish line, perhaps it was a combination of things that led to my decision to walk back. My lungs were gasping for air, my stomach was cramping, and above all, my knee was screaming at me. The decision to walk back was discouraging, embarrassing and humbling. I can honestly say that I wanted to cry my eyes out! What a baby!! My pride kept the tears inside and I stayed focused on getting to the finish. The fact is, I woke up, I got out of bed, and I was giving it an effort. That’s all I am in control of. The rest is how my body responds to that effort. I believe that sometimes our thoughts create little subconscious prayers that we aren’t even aware of. And there he was….just as I reached the top of the bridge heading back, I saw my running coach from earlier in the year. I waved hello and figured he would just keep running past me. But, he stopped and he turned around to walk with me. He asked how I was doing and I told him about my recent IT Band injury. I told him that I was seeing a Chiropractor for Active Release and he nodded approval that I was doing the right thing. I confessed to him that I was discouraged with my breathing and overall stamina having only taken 2 weeks off running. He told me that the heat and humidity inflicts extreme setbacks for a runner. He assured me that after several weeks of training in the humidity, I would see improvement. During the fall/winter months, we had been running in very cool weather with no humidity. The fact that I am coming out of an injury and on my way to recovery, along with the heat, I was probably running at 75%. One of his many attributes as a coach is his ability to motivate me. I believe that his passion for running and genuine concern for my success as a runner is invigorating. After we walked together, he patted me on the back and told me to keep up the good work; he turned around and continued his run. Wow. Just what I needed. A little pep talk goes along way with me. Whether it’s my Type A personality, over-analyzing, or obsession with perfection I can be very very hard on myself. And as I write this post, now the tears are flowing. I realize how down my spirits were today. “But look at the bright side!!!!” I keep telling myself. You ran 3 miles today!!! Yet another angel appeared, just as I was approaching the final stretch, I saw my friend Stephanie walking towards me. She must have been concerned for me and came out to “fetch” me. I really appreciated her concern. I do NOT like being at the back of the line and she made it a little easier to come into the finish line with a slight limp. To my surprise, I wasn’t the last one to finish either! As a runner in Florida, or anywhere during these summer months, it is critical to plan for upcoming summer months of extreme heat and humidity. Early start times make for slightly better heat conditions. Today we started at 6am and it was shockingly very warm and humid. Of all the adversities for a runner, heat is number one. According to marathonguide.com, Mindy Solkin reports that because heat is the number one offender, it brings with it the risk of dehydration and overheating. She states that it takes 2 weeks of consistent running to adapt to warmer climates. It’s imperative to carry fluids during a run and drink 4-8 ounces of water and/or sports drink every 15-20 minutes. Following a run, it is important to continue drinking fluids until urine is clear. Pretzels and tomato juice are good sources of salt. And always check the heat index chart which calculates the air temperature with the relative humidity to determine what the temperature feels like and if there is a risk of heat-related illness. (http://www.marathonguide.com/training/coachmindy/heat.cfm)

When the going gets tough....the tough cross trains!

It's been a while since my last post. As one of my fans would say...it's been 17 days to be exact. During my last half marathon in February I started to experience severe left knee pain. It has become progressively worse and as a result, I have not been able to run in the last 2 weeks. Instead, I have focused my efforts lifting weights, spin class, and pilates. I will admit, when my body tells me it needs to rest, it is very difficult to listen! I certainly haven't been myself since I have stopped running. As most runners will say, however, the commitment to cross training is imperative to overall health and strength. Many different forms of exercises focus on different muscle groups and can allow for a stronger run as a result. As a matter of fact, Runners World Magazine published an article in August 2004 on the "Eight Benefits of Cross-Training". The first benefit is injury prevention: cross-training improves endurance without beating up on vulnerable joints, muscles, and connective tissues. The second benefit is rehabilitation: by maintaining fitness and/or correcting the cause of the injury. Next is achieving greater running fitness: almost every runner can run faster by cross-training than by simply running alone. Specifically, a runner can enhance running efficiency, increase running power, and increase time before fatigue or injury occurs. An active recovery is another benefit to cross-training. A high intensity workout is most important to performance. If a runner is injured, the cross-train activity can mimic runs in intensity, duration, and structure. Also, enhanced motivation is a benefit of cross-training. We all know that doing the same thing day after day can get boring! One of the key benefits of cross-training is to stay motivated to run and ultimately perform better in races. Rejuvenation is also a key benefit. No runner can train hard all year long. The body and mind need a recovery period after a big race. Typically, the winter months can classify as an "off season" which equates to 2 weeks of complete rest, no activity. Following a good rest, informal training can be re-introduced during weeks 2-8. This can be in the form of yoga, swimming, or weights. Additionally, enjoying other sports is quite beneficial. Endurance can be highly transferable to other activities. A strong heart and good lungs are the foundation to endurance. Lastly, cross-training can benefit a fit pregnancy. Pregnancy and motherhood does not equate to a career ending decision for competitive female athletes. (Click on this post's title to be connected to full article) For my current knee pain, I decided to research my options. Since I wasn't overly eager to deal with timely testing, toxic medicinal options, or who knows what else....I reached out to a friend. He is a chiropractor on the East Coast of Florida. I described my symptoms and he predicted I was suffering from "IT Band" pain. He referred me to research local chiropractors who provide treatment called "Active Release Technique". After some searching, I scheduled an appointment with one of two chiropractors in my area that are certified in this technique. I met the doctor today and she proceeded to tell me that she believed she could help my pain. I agreed and was eager to see what this "A.R.T." would be like. First, let me say that Active Release is the gold standard in soft tissue treatment. It's so effective that it is actually been granted a medical patent. In order to be an A.R.T. provider, a professional must undergo extensive hands on instruction and testing. (To locate an A.R.T. provider in your area go to www.ActiveRelease.com). After I endured the pain during her treatment, I can say that my entire left leg feels better than before my appointment. My first training run of the season is this Saturday (6 miles) and I will attempt to do what I can. I am scheduled for another appointment with this chiropractor next week. Stay tuned for more updates and as always I welcome your comments!!!