Running the Streets

Man, this blogging thing is a pain in the sesamoid.

Ok, since my last post … Since it was after the half-marathon, I needed something else to work toward. Had my sights on the Big D, but I just simply couldn’t train for another one back-to-back. I was mad at myself, but decided to go a bit smaller with a 10K. It’s got an embarrasing name (the “Camper Scamper,” ugh), but I felt good about doing more than my past-usual 5K yet not quite a half. I guess I DID sort of skip the middle races. I went from doing 5Ks to training for a full marathon before paring down to a half marathon. Graduating might have been a good idea. Oh well, I’m a skipper. What can I say.

Chris mentioned that I NEED to get off the treadmill. But UNGH!! I absolutely, positively, no-way-in-the-universe can run in the mornings (unless I’m forced to because of a race), so I run at night. Even though the mean subdivision streets of Waxahachie are probably safe, I a) hate running in subdivisions, and b) don’t feel safe running anywhere else around here at night. I try to get on pavement or at least an indoor track on the weekends. Sometimes.

I’ve been hitting the weights, which I like lots. I’ve always liked weights. Makes carrying in the groceries and pushing Brian around easier. Pah! Anyways, I do machines and free weights alike, for all muscle groups. But my trouble spots have always been my calves, which I’m working on. F-L-A-C-I-D. But really, I have no idea if the calf is a pivotal muscle in running. Is it? I’ve got my quads up to snuff, I do believe, because I haven’t experienced knee trouble in a long time. Thank the Lord! That was making me crazy. But anything over 5 miles with sprints mixed in, and the ol’ IT band starts screaming. Can I just have that removed? Like an appendix? I could really just do without it, if you ask me.

I love the new New Balance ad campaign that’s out. About how running is a “LOVE/hate” thing. HELLO PREACH IT. I’ll post the clip in a minute.

When you’re training for a race with any sort of distance to it, you’ll start to experience at least one running-related injury along the way. Fact o’ life, what do you do.

I’ve already dealt with sesmoiditis, which I acquired from maniacally playing on multiple soccer teams at a time for three years straight. It’s still there, but it’s faded into the background thanks to simply not being on my feet in the same way I was for so long, from wearing ball-of-foot pads in my left shoes ad from finally getting a pair of perfectly-tailored-for-Christy’s-foot-type runners from Luke’s (the only pair I don’t have to wear a pad in).

Then I began experiencing pain in the inner left knee, which was frustrating. When Chris first mentioned that a lot of knee pain is caused by weak quads, I was all defensive like, MY QUADS ARE PERFECTLY STRONG, THANKYOUVERYMUCH. But I sucked it up and began working out the ol quads more. And by golly if the knee pain din’t reduced about 95 percent.

With pain in check, I finally felt completely ok enough to move forward with my half-marathon training at the pace I wanted.

Meanwhile, I’de heard fellow runners like Liz and Chris talk about having issues with their IT band (iliotibial band). I felt for them, but it meant nothing to me b/c I couldn’t imagine the kind of pain they were describing.

Well, the running gods paid me back for my lack of imagination yesterday around mile 8 during my first half-marathon (which I talk about in the post above). One of my favorite things about Austin, its hills, were my worst enemy. I’m a trail runner by heart and normally love running hills. But I’d trained to run 13 miles of flat, not 13 miles of up-and-down. The sharpest, most dibilitating of pain shot through the outside of my left knee (all my injuries are on my left side; what’s up with that?) to the point of stopping me dead in my tracks. Even walking hurt sooo. baaad. I tried to make myself run a bit, then walk a bit, but the running bits grew shorter and shorter. It wasn’t the kind of pain I could just ignore and suck up until I hit the finish line — it completely determined my performance.

It sucks. So, I’ll be doing many a Google search on prevention, and I’m taking any advice you have on the matter.