Sean's Running Blog

I was going to do a 6-8 mile tempo run in the middle of my 18-20 miler today except after the first mile at a measly 5:40 I could not go any longer. I'm not sick per se, but I have been battling a croop. Today, it went to my chest and i had maybe 2/3 lung capacity which severely limits pushing any kind of decent pace. So I ran 6:45s just like a normal run. I took some inhaler but it didn't help much.

Lungs are still clogged and the pace was quite slow this morning as I had a weird pain in my lower left leg so i took it easy and stopped two miles early. I'm wondering if it's my shoes. I just realized I have about 800 miles on this pair which is 300 more than I normally put on a pair of shoes. So they are going to be retired today and I will start using a newer pair.

Shin is back to 100% but the left calf is not. I laid off the double yesterday to give it a rest and waited until things warmed out upside before running today. I ran the first mile very slowly..8:00 pace. The rest were at 7:00. Nothing hurt until Mile 6. I stopped to stretch and massage it every mile after it. I know I'm over compensating because my back hurts a bit now. I'm going to see my PT tomorrow morning. I'm supposed to do a cut-down tempo run tomorrow but I'm not so sure that will happen.

It was below frezzing this morning so with my calf issues I decided to stay indoors and run six miles on the treadmill. No pain at all but I don't know if that's because the distance was far shorter than normal or because I was running on a moving surface.

I saw my PT this morning and he recommended cutting back this week and eliminating doubles and any speed work. That pain me but not as much as a full blown injury would. So I'm shooting for a mid-70s week with no hard training. I was probably do a light week anyway. Planning on running a 20k on March 22nd so I need to get healthy for that.

I'm done for the week. My PT and coach pled with me to hang it up for the week as I have strained my calf muscle. I guess i risk more by pushing it than by hanging it up for a few days and hitting it again on Monday. It pains me to back off but it's important. I will try and do some biking the rest of the week to keep me from going crazy.

Just "ran" 4 miles on the elliptical. That definitely works a different set of muscles. According to the machine I did the 4 miles in 35 minutes. Man, I thought a treadmill was boring.

Another no run day. It's killing me. Taking away running is like taking away breakfast or breathing. Did 40 minutes and 10.1 miles on the stationary bike today. The last half I pushed my heart rate to the 130s trying to have some semblance of a workout. Monday I get to run again on a flat soft surface.

Easing back into things after four days off to recover from my calf problems. Ran 8 miles this morning and felt great other than the normal aches and pains associated with running after taking a few days off. No pain. No soreness. No tightness. I'm not out of the woods yet but it's encouraging. I;ll try 10 tomorrow and then 12 Wednesday. Probably no speed work this week. I'd be very happy if I ended the week with mid-70s mileage and no aggravation to the calf or anywhere else.

10 miles this morning along the lovely shores of Venice Beach in Santa Monica, CA. The weather is gorgeous. It was my first outdoor run in months that didn't involve a long sleeve shirt and gloves. I can't wait for June.

Zero problems in my calf. The shin problem has arisen again. Took me five miles before I could really extend the toe fully without significant resistance. I was able to soak it in the hot tub here for several minutes after the run and stretch it out really well. All these dings have screwed up my mechanic enough that my lower back hurts now, but not so much while i'm running. Turning 35 has brought with it some humbling physical realities.

Ran 12 glorious miles this afternoon with a running teammate. Minor tightness in the right shin but nothing concerning. Calf continues to be fine.

First cold and wet morning I've had to run in for a while. Only had time for 9 miles this morning. Hoping to get another 6 or so in tonight. Everything is feeling great.

Chilly but nice 12-miler this morning. Other than just being tired, all the body parts were in good shape. There's still a slight pain in my lower back but it only hurts when I'm not running. Probably 15-16 tomorrow with maybe a "slow" tempo run of 3-4 miles thrown in just to get my slow butt moving again.

42 degrees and a steady rain for the entire run this morning. But I was mostly able to ignore it because I was so focused on getting through by first speed workout in 10 days that the rain was barely a distraction.

Two mile warmup followed by 10 miles at 6:00 pace then two at 5:30 followed by a one-mile cool down.

Results:

1	7:14
2	6:45
3	5:57
4	6:00
5	5:57
6	5:55
7	5:55
8	5:59
9	5:52
10	5:56
11	5:50
12	5:52
13	5:21
14	5:23
15	6:48

I was very pleased at my pacing especially considering the conditions and the fact I was running alone. I was also exceedingly grateful that I had no tightness or soreness in any of the trouble spots. I only managed mid-60s mileage this week but I didn't want to push my luck. Should be back to mid 80s this week including a 20k race on Saturday.

I woke up this morning for my run and 30 seconds in had this weird pain in my knee that was crippling. I was fine when I walked but could do anything close to running. I was very disappointed as I've had trouble lately stringing together weeks of running without some kind of ding. I gave up this morning hoping to run later in the day, perhaps when it was a bit warmer. I managed to get 10+ miles in this evening without any problems. I hope it was a freak thing and nothing to be worried about long term. Still planning on a speed workout Wednesday at the UW indoor and then racing on Saturday in a 20k.

40 degrees and raining when I started. Had the gloves, hat and jacket on. By Mile 7 it was sunny and had to be in the mid-50s and just gorgeous. Very typical early spring day. It's now raining again.

Everything seems to be coming together. Tomorrow will be a big test as I'm doing some 800m repeats.

Three miles prior to speed workout at UW Indoor Track.

Tried to test my hip and only one mile in I could barely walk.

Well, after 12 LONG days of no running, I was able to get six miles in today. Two in the morning and four this afternoon. I'll write a more detailed explanation of what happened, but in short, I badly strained my right hip and glute muscles and it has sidelined me for 12 days. But after way too many hours on the bike and the elliptical and five or six visits to the PT, I may actuallty be on the mend.

I did a mile around the track this morning before I started feeling the same strong pain in my glute. I wanted to cry. So I walked back to my car only to realize my keys were locked inside. I had 20 minutes until my PT appointment and about a mile to the nearest phone. So I started walking to call my wife to come get me and realized I would never make my appointment unless I at least jogged. So I did. As I did, I realized two things. First, the pain was different this time. Rather than a sharp shooting pain, it was more of an ache indicating tightness more than damage. So I hummed along at 7:45 pace or so until I reached the has station. I called my wife and she came and got me and I made my PT appointment.

If I hadn't locked my keys in the car, I would have never run this afternoon because I would not have run long enough to get a proper diagnosis.

So this afternoon felt pretty good. It's still very tight but I my PT and I were able to narrow it to just the Gluteus Medias. The good news is we've isolated it. The bad news is it's a very difficult muscle to stretch.

So my plan is to increase mileage 1 mile per day the rest of this week stretching in the middle and afterward. No doubles. If all goes well, I should have 41 miles for the week and have a much better idea how to proceed next week.