Calcium Cures Shinsplints

Last year my GI doctor told me to take 2x600 mg calcium with D twice a day because the acid reducers I'm on (permanently - thanks, 1997 surgery?) can reduce calcium uptake. I didn't have shinsplints when I ran years ago, and I probably pronated just as much then as I do now. In The Lore of Running, Tim Noakes suggests that shin pain can be caused by muscle tension on weak bones due to low blood calcium. Yes, it took some outdated running encyclopedia to save me from three years of pain. How's that for sad?

Running has been going so well, I hurt myself. Don't take that the wrong way - it had nothing to do with my shins. I strained a hip flexor (there are about six of them - take your pick) two weeks ago yesterday and took almost a week off. But yesterday I ran 14 miles!! The training chart above covers through today with the weekly and monthly totals, so I think we're covered for a mileage update. Below is the 14 mile route around Binghamton. Any local runners will know how hard the south side section is east of the University Plaza!


Technical question: Who can tell me how accurate Google Maps is when calculating mileages? I've done routes in ESRI ArcMap and they seem to be about 3.5% longer than GMaps. I'd trust ArcMap for geeky projection accuracy reasons, but I'd like to know for sure.

Updates and Stuff

OK, maybe just a mileage update...

Thursday, March 12: 4.5 easy miles on the treadmill

Saturday, March 14: I do believe that I have already mentioned the 10.32 miles I ran that day, oh yes I did. Average pace 9:05/mi.

Sunday, March 15: walk/jog/run recovery 2.9 miles

Mileage update: week 21.47 (18 planned); March to date 38.37; YTD 150.73

Today: 4.0 on the treadmill with some bursts around 7.0 mph to try a quick turnover drill (> 180 steps/min). Note to self: old thick cotton socks too tight with old 858's. Those SofSock people have turned me after all.

Second note to self: NO SPEED WORK ON EASY DAYS. I KNOW 9:22/mi PACE IS BOOORRRING BUT IT KEEPS YOU FROM HURTING YOURSELF. AND THAT'S FROM www.runbayou.com. So there.

Longer Update

My first run since last time was Saturday, February 21, when the plan was to do 6 easy on the treadmill. I did it, but my tib. anteriors were still crampy and it hurt to run as slow as 6.3 mph. Maybe that's an in-between speed where my form and foot strike are weird. I took two breaks to stretch and ran a couple of faster bursts which felt better form-wise.

Mileage update: 13.27 for the week ending 2/22, 47.14 for the month and 96.26 YTD.

Monday, Feb. 23: 4.0 in 42:15, running at up to 6.5 mph, some at 7.0 mph.

Wednesday, Feb. 25: 5x800's totaling 5.0 miles. I ran the 800's at 8 mph (7:30 pace) which is my target pace for Yasso 800's. This season I am trying not to do the speed work faster than the target paces - maybe that will keep me from getting hurt.

Saturday, Feb. 28: Johnson City 10K route in 57:20 (8:57 avg. pace). This was longer than my target distance for the day, but I had to run a couple extra for my friend and coworker whose wife is in the hospital. Run plus cool-down totaled 7.0 miles. Everything felt just fine on the run and it turns out this is a good sub-4:00 marathon pace.

Today: 2.5 easy walk/run/jog on the treadmill as recovery. Almost everything felt OK, but I admit I was probably still mildly hangover-dehydrated. Later, I now have some deep hamstring soreness and my left tib. anterior is sore and tight. I think the tib. anterior stuff is going to work itself out as long as I take it slow and easy.

Mileage update: week - 18.5, February 63.14, March to date 2.5, YTD 114.76. This is behind last year by about 90 miles, but I am fine with that. I think the early hard miles actually hurt me by June and I was too burned out and injured to do the marathon training then.

Catching Up, Again

Step one in catching up: check own blog to see How Far Back you have to go. In this case, it's Monday, January 26. Oh boy, two weeks... All runs are on the treadmill unless specified otherwise.

Wednesday, January 28: 0.76/2.0/0.24 for 3 easy miles running at 6.4 mph (9:22 pace)

Friday, January 30: 0.76/1.44/0.3 for 2.5 easy miles

Sunday, February 1: The plan was to do 6 total on the treadmill, but I wanted to make up for missing the last January Freeze 10K, so I ran 6.3 miles. w/u was 0.5, then 6.3 in 59:47 (9:29 avg. pace) mostly at 6.3 mph, with 1 mile at 6.4 mph and 1 mile at 6.5 mile and a strong finish. 0.5 c/d totaled 7.3 miles in 76:08.

Mileage update: 14.88 for the week, 49.12 for January, 56.42 YTD.

Monday, February 2: I needed to recover from the Sunday run so I got in 2.0 miles walking and jogging, which felt great.

Wednesday, February 4: 0.75/2 easy/0.25 totaling 3.0 with 0.5 at 7 mph and 0.5 at 7.5 mph. L tib anterior cramped up - I need to stretch everything!

Saturday, February 7: 0.77/1.93/0.3 for 3.0 total, pyramid up +0.1 mph each 0.1 mi from 6.0 to 6.9 mph, 0.1 mi at 8 mph, back down to 6 mph. L tib anterior still crampy.

Sunday, February 8: 0.65/3.0/0.35 for 4.0 total with 1 mi at 6.3 mph, 1 at 7 mph with break for L tib anterior cramp (will I learn? find out!), fast finish with 0.35 mi at 7 mph, 0.3 mi at 8 mph.

Mileage update: 12 for the week, 19.3 February to date, 68.42 YTD

Tuesday, February 10: Ran modified Lee Barta 5K route totaling 3.27 miles in 29:54, averaged 8:11 pace for last 2.18 miles. Felt pretty good running hard, but R tib anterior tight later.

Wednesday, February 11: 0.75/3.0 at 6.4 mph/0.25 for 4.0 total. R tib anterior still sore. L tib posterior tendon sore immediately after but not lasting. Today, I actually took the day off except for walking about a mile to work. The R tib anterior is better but still pretty shredded. It's a shallow, hard, tight muscle that seems to be undergoing some "training effect" - or it would if I'd leave it alone for a few days.

OK, I swear that's it for now. Go read something interesting.

What a coincidence - something interesting. Author Jason Cohen, who inspired the 37signals post on copying commented on the other commenters thusly, in part:

I NEVER SAID you should never copy or not be inspired or totally ignore successes. I said you can’t copy blindly and expect success. I said you need need to filter rules through your own world-view. I said you should think about having a unique path.

Why do people need to explain these things??? WHY???

Good Week, Recap, Amateur Podiatry

I ran Tuesday and Thursday this week, 3.0 and 3.25 miles. These were easy treadmill runs at 6.4 mph, with 2x0.25 at 7 to 8 mph. Nothing serious, just good, easy miles in the bank. I slacked on the upper/core stuff, but I did 3x15 push-ups twice and I can feel some response already.

Yesterday, I wanted to do a race pace run on the treadmill since I didn't make the 10K in the morning. The plan was to run 5 miles at 50:00 10K pace or average 8:03/mile (7.45 mph, rounded up to 7.5 mph). I thought I'd run from 6.5 mph to 7.5 mph over the first 10:00, then cruise for 15-20 minutes, then accelerate to 8 mph or more, if possible. It went pretty well, and I was able to keep my stride rate around 180. I broke down around 33:00 and needed a minute break but got back into pace and overall I did the 5 miles in 40:52 or an average 8:10/7.34 mph pace. With warm-up and cool-down, total miles for the day was 6.3. I also got my HR up to 185, which by some calculations is my theoretical maximum - so was it a tempo run, or something else?

The amateur podiatry involved some modification to my old NB 858's. I know the midsole is mostly gone because they must have over 300 miles on them, but the old insoles are totally unused. The heel wedge on my orthotics would make the heel too high, which is not only uncomfortable, but encourages heel striking. So I cut the heel off the insoles and layered them in - perfect! They felt great to run in, helped me use a mid-foot strike, and provided some pronation support. So I don't have any posterior tibial pain today - it's great to have large-muscle soreness, the good kind that lets you know you did some good work.

I'm planning to do an easy 2-mile walk/jog today, but might not have time since it's already 3:00 and there's grocery shopping to do.

Two Quickies

Tuesday and today I did 3.5 miles on the treadmill, with a 1 mile w/u, run 2.2 easy and cool down. I'm planning the next few weeks on the schedule - up to 15 miles/week by this time next month, then slowly building back up to 20/week in preparation for early races.

TCRC has a January Freeze 10K series which I was planning on running, but no love so far - for one thing, they have them at 10 am! Who's up that early anyway? Last week I thought they'd use a snow day and cancel due to the 2-3 inches of snow and 15 degree temps, but 78 people showed up to race. Freaks. This week the race time forecast is 0 degrees with a windchill of -12. Only Steve would run in that. For variety, he would also get hit by a car.

I'm also keeping up with the upper body/core stuff, except for today when I managed 2x15 push-ups (oof! good!) but skipped the side planks 'cause I'm full of beer and fries... Yay!

Speaking of beer, and in the interest of full disclosure, I weighed 185 pounds at the beginning of the year. Part of the near-term plan is to lose 2 pounds per month. Right now, it seems I'm on track to lose 3-4/month, but stay tuned.

Third in a Week

Pretty good for lately - and two days in a row! I went 4.0 miles today on the treadmill in 43:26, with a 10 minute warm-up (about 0.7 miles), ran to 3.6 at 6.3-7 mph, and cooled down to 4.0. I also got in 2x10 push-ups and 1 ea. side plank of 0:30. That's seconds, not minutes, BTW.

Mileage: 9.49 for the week, 16.99 for January and YTD.

Breakin' In the Shoes

Yesterday afternoon I jumped on the treadmill (or as Steve maligns it, the suckmill). Instead of running for time, which I had been doing last month in the taking-it-easy department, I ran for distance. I warmed up by walking and jogging 1.0, then running 2.0 at 6.3 mph, which included 0.25 at 7 mph, 0.25 at 6.1 and 5%, and 0.25 at 7-7.5, followed by 0.5 cool-down for a total of 4.0 miles in my new shoes. Remember when you had to break shoes in? I'm not sure what sort of evil materials they're using these days, but they're good almost out of the box.

For the week beginning January 1, it's time for a weekly mileage wrap-up. Thursday and Sunday totaled 7.5 miles for the week, month and year. That was easy!

Today I added a ton of races to my training calendar. (For those of you interested enough to check it out, I wrapped up the 2008 stats and started a new page for 2009.) These races are all on the Triple Cities Runners Club calendar for this year or last year. Of course I won't run all of them, but I'm making a New Year's Resolution to run with my club members more than a couple of times. That's why I joined last year - to run with people - and I went to one meeting, and said Hi to a few members, although not on runs.

At the risk of turning this into a run-on post, there's an interesting column in the February Runner's World about runners waving, of course to each other, but with more emphasis on non-wavers. I will tell both of my readers right now that I am a waver. Not a goofy spaz who wants to give you a big, sweaty hug, but just a guy who acknowledges the existence of his fellow human beings with a quick look in the eye and either a slightly upraised hand or a nod of the head. In this area, most people I've come across are strict non-wavers. As responses go, I get an even mix of nothing (usually other runners) and what the hell is that guy doing running on the sidewalk, in my neighborhood, during MY walk? If a person can look confused, disgusted and irritated at the same time, that's Binghamton pedestrians for you. Readers, feel free to explain. Local readers and TCRC members, what gives??

2008 Year In Review, New Year's Run

Happy new year! (To both of my readers...?) It's time for all bloggers to recap 2008, right? I didn't read much new content yesterday, except from some of you people, but then I was busy getting in a New Year's Day run myself (so there!).

Let's get yesterday's run details out of the way first: 1.35 mi walking w/u, 2.0 mi in about 15:30 for a >somewhat unwise?< average run pace of 7:45/mi and a total of 4.0 miles. Not a bad way to kick things off. I didn't wear my NEW NB 859's THANKS MOM AND DAD but I'm breaking them in and expect to run in them soon.

Now, about that 2008 recap, which brings me to the subtitle you've read above all year - Dave did not run his first marathon and instead suffered the nagging tibial tendinitis you were bored hearing about for several months. I should probably change up the heading graphic one of these months - we'll see how long that takes...

December: 29.59 miles
2008: 643.7 miles (beats last year by almost 100 miles)

Next up: developing a reasonable training plan and putting some races on the calendar.

New Mileage

I have over 23 miles to report between October 2 and today. This is not a great accomplishment, but it is one nonetheless. I'm up to 35 minutes on the treadmill every other day, walking and jogging for a 15-minute warmup, running for 15 minutes, and walking a 5-minute cooldown. This is so I can fit into my pants between now and January 2. Maybe later I'll start thinking about racing next season.

Weekly total: 8.1, 8.1 December to date, 622.21 YTD.

I Can't Promise Nuthin'

I ran Monday and today. Very short, very slow - no funny stuff.

I have no plan, but I need to make the time. The new job is hard, and I need to have my mind healthy. Running does that.

Catching Up

Four runs in the last week - not too bad. I'm actually trying to go easy and not hurt anything. Besides, next week is my annual Adirondacks trip so there's some hiking to be done in the near future.

Monday 8/25: 4.0 total (treadmill)
Wednesday 8/27: same
Friday 8/29: same
Monday 9/1: 4.75 with 2.08 on the road in 18:26 (8:52 pace)

Mileage update: August 30.12, YTD 561.43 (yay! this beats last year)

Short Road Run, Thater 5K Race

No, not race results. I actually went to watch the race this morning and it honestly felt weird to be on the outside of the ropes. Since I watched my dad run races years ago, I've really never seen another race. I've been running a few every year since 2005, when in my first race, I came in second in my age group (that's how they get you hooked - with hardware).

Yesterday, I ran on the road for the first time since June 23. Erm, I'm not very pleased. I walked and jogged about 3/4 mile, then ran 1.3, then walked home 0.3 for a total of 2.3. The run pace averaged 8:36, which means I probably ran between 9:00 and 8:00, with a moderately fast finish. I always run like that no matter how far I'm going - but I probably should keep the pace below 8:30 - period - for now.

I read somewhere recently that amateur runners should not do any speed work at all for the first two years - anyone ever hear that? As depressing as it is, considering my performance this year in racing and running longer distances, it does make sense. Eh. Crap.

Starting Slowly

I may be in the process of getting one of those electro-stim ETPS units I mentioned last week. My insurance may actually cover it, so woo-hoo! There's $400 I won't have to come up with...

I guess I didn't want to jinx anything by posting about it, but I did an easy 3.0 mile treadmill run on Tuesday and a little harder 4.0 miles today, both without any lingering pain. Today I was concentrating on keeping my toes loose and my footstrike light. I think the toe-clenching aggravates the tibialis posterior/flexor hallucis longus, which has been my nagging problem. So far there's been no need for ice, Biofreeze, or a frustrated call to physical therapy.

My regular "A" race is Sunday - the Chris Thater 5K, in which I usually set a new PR. I know rationally that if I run it, I will race it, and racing on pavement hurts. On the flip side, it would be the first time I get to see the world-class racers - the men's winner usually puts down something in the 13:40 range. These two are the 2006 and 2007 winners.

I don't have a plan right now, except to do easy runs of slowly increasing mileage, and start back on the road very slowly. Wish me luck. I'm not sure I know how to do "slowly."

Long Run, New Bike, Short Run

Learned this week: Don't run without the orthotics. Buying a bike can be confusing and expensive. Riding a bike is hard on the legs. Kool-Aid has a tasty new flavor. Damn, it's hot outside.

Last Wednesday I ran 5.25 on the treadmill, including 1.0 mi at 7.0 mph (max HR 183!). The leg pain/shinsplints hover around a pain level of "almost noticeable" most of the time, but as long as it doesn't go above that, I think I can manage things. Slow and steady progress is my new training maxim.

I bought a bike on Thursday night. Say hello to my little friend:


Biking is hard on the knees and quads, especially when you haven't ridden a bike in 15-20 years. I want to commute on the bike at least 3 times a week until the snow files; the trip is about a mile one way, which isn't much, but it keeps me from using the car.

Today I warmed up then did a mile on the treadmill, then ran the 2.08 mile loop around the neighborhood in 16:58 (pretty hard 8:09 pace). Total mileage was about 4.1.

In nutrition news, Kool-Aid has a new flavor - Invisible Watermelon Kiwi. I made some homemade Gatorade with it today and I can recommend it. (The recipe: one 1/2 liter water bottle, 1/4 packet of unsweetened Kool-Aid, medium pinch of kosher salt, small pinch of Lite Salt - for the potassium, sugar to taste - 1-2 tablespoons, water to fill.)

Weekly total: 12.83, 27.83 July to date, 527.81 YTD. 11 weeks to Wineglass Marathon, which is looking less and less likely.

Easy Run Day

I hope my podiatrist doesn't read this, but I ran WITHOUT MY ORTHOSES today! Remember recently when I said I wanted to run barefoot, caveman-style? This is as close as I will venture right now - and I think there's something in it. I will run a few times without the supplemental support, just the motion-control shoes alone, to see how my legs react. Feeling stronger, pain no worse? Go for it! Crippled tomorrow? OK, I'll put them back in. It's possible that the prescription I got in January was "too strong" - and the heel wedges are too wedge-y. Maybe wearing orthotics for three years has allowed my legs to actually get weaker since my heels and arches are so jacked up. It's a tough problem to figure out.

Today I ran 3.5 miles total, with the core 2.5 miles at up to 7 mph (8:30 pace). I'm trying to keep my footstrike outside-ball when I'm running faster than about 9:00, and it usually works, although I immediately roll through a flat-footed transition to toe-off. I've been thinking about having a neighbor coach me a few times this summer - it would be nice to get some advice about my mechanics, especially if it can help me stay injury-minimized.

Catching Up

I've been running again, every other day, keeping the distances low and doing it on the treadmill - this is so I don't aggravate the tendinitis again. I can still run these short distances at an easy pace of up to 6.6 mph (9:06 pace) and I'm running pick-ups of up to 1/4 mile at 8 mph (7:30 pace), and 1/10 mile at 9 mph (6:40).

• Tuesday, July 8: 3.5
• Thursday, July 10: 4.0
• Saturday, July 12: 4.0
  

I've started a new spreadsheet with every run this year logged with distance, level of difficulty, and surface (road or treadmill), and I'm starting to track pain in my training log. Level of difficulty is 1.0 for a typical easy treadmill run, 1.4 for a tempo/moderate run, up to 2 or more for a race. I'm trying to figure out what causes my injuries - is it high mileage, increasing mileage too quickly, too much road running, or something else? I'm also multiplying miles run by difficulty and a surface factor to see if this "effective mileage" is a good indicator of stress. When I get a good graph together, I'll post something. If you've got any suggestions for this kind of analysis, I'd love to hear them.

Weekly total: 11.5, 37.86 June total, 15.0 July to date, 514.98 YTD. 12 weeks to Wineglass Marathon.

Last Race Tune-Up

Yesterday was supposed to be an "easy" day, but I ran 3.46 miles in 26:55 (amazing 7:47 pace), with 4 pickups of about 100-200 yds each. With my luck, I won't be sore until tomorrow! I am away from home and got to run on a bike/ped trail in Schenectady, up past Union College towards the Mohawk River. The weather's been cool for mid-June, and it's pouring right now, but tomorrow should be great for the Corporate Challenge. I was apprehensive about my tendinitis and fitness level, but I'm feeling pretty good about running tomorrow.

Easy Run, Race Goal Declaration

4.8 miles in 43:02 (8:58 pace). This would be an "endurance" run in preparation for the Corporate Challenge. I was shooting for 45-50 minutes, but I was satisfied with the distance I covered in what I did, and it wasn't easy. The endurance just isn't there - I know I've run 15 miles or more three times this year, but it's slipped completely out of reach for now. I've been doing the P.T. exercises every day since last Wednesday, and I have a P.T. session tomorrow morning, so we'll see if I can slowly increase my mileage again.

Here are my goals for the Corporate Challenge: 5k - 24:30, 1 mile in relay - 7:00. These aren't PRs, but I think there's some room for improvement. Last year's 5K was a dismal 26:51 but it was in the 90's and no one had a good race that day.

Weekly total: 13.7, 23.9 June to date, 486.02 YTD. 16 weeks to Wineglass Marathon.

It's Two Runs in One!

Post, that is. Yes, after nearly two weeks off due to the tendinitis and my wife's surgery, I got one run in Wednesday while we were in Rochester. It was three 1.3 mile laps around the neighborhood for a total of 3.9 miles in 34:10, and with negative lap splits of 12:00, 11:22 and 10:48. It was about as hard as you'd expect but not too hard.

Yesterday I did a small pyramid interval workout after a 1 mi warmup with 400 walk/jog intervals and an 800 cool-down:

• 400 at 9 mph (6:40 pace) - goal mile pace
  
• 800 at 8.2 mph (7:19)
• 1 mile at 7.5 to 7.8 mph (8:00-7:42) - goal 5K pace
  
• 800 at 8.2 mph (7:19)
• 400 at 9 to 10 mph (6:40-6:00)

I did 5 miles in 52:05 and it was pretty hard, but I could tell that there was still some fitness left over from last month's 69 miles. Consider this week "cramming" for the 5K and one mile in next week's Corporate Challenge.

Since I really hurt my left posterial tibial tendon, I've been going to physical therapy about once a week. The PT suggested that I run every other day, since I inflamed it again by running 20 miles in 3 days between 5/30 and 6/1. That was supposed to be the weekend of the 37 Mile Birthday Challenge, but with the minor injury and preparing for my wife's surgery out of town, there was no way I was going to get it done. Maybe I can do it later this summer after I work my way back up. I'm disappointed by these developments, and I'm leaving my training log alone for now. It's discouraging to have to blank out 50 miles of training.