Still Still Injured

This is not an unfamiliar injury for me, I admit it. I started having back problems when I was thirteen, when I stopped playing Atari and joined cross country, wrestling, and basketball during their respective seasons. I'll have to direct you to my chiropractor for more specific details about what was wrong with my back, but I can say that by the time I got through high school, I was generally used to having some sort of ache going on above my ass and below my crown (the crown of my hair, of course, my real crown has not yet arrived in the mail, even to this day).

I quit those sports and snowboarded for a year. I quit that and worked at the mill. I started writing poetry at a cramped antique desk underneath a heavy duty word processor. I worked for a mason. I worked at another steel mill. I did other things. All the while, some sort of ache -- at times more serious than others.

I only mean to say, by all this, that my back is not so terribly bad this week, but it's showing potential to be much worse. I have the luxury of taking a few days off or a week off without destroying my training entirely, and I am taking advantage of that, but pain is embarrassing. Especially pain that has no outward and physical proof.

My back feels better every day, even though I continue to do stupid things like pick up my daughter when she falls asleep on the couch, and (though I could easily set her on the hardwood floor and push her to her room and roll her into her bed) I carry her around and tuck her in (though, again, I could easily just drop a whole bunch of towels and stuffed animals on her -- I mean the house is already pretty warm).

I suppose this is one of the most frustrating feelings for anybody who's injured -- the ways in which the injury affects not only our athletic pursuits, but also our day-to-day activities. It's lame, and I hate not being able to do the things I'm supposed to do like beat the kids at ping pong. They deserve that from me, don't they? At least if I had crutches, they might feel a little more like I'm injured and not just worried that one day soon they will be better than I at ping pong.


Still, a friend did rescue me from my continuing self pity by insisting that I go for a walk with him yesterday. I realized that the brisk walk did not aggravate my back the way a run would, so I'm going to have to start figuring out some reasons why I can't go for walks until my back is better or else I'm going to look foolish in retrospect.

Eleven Day Tally 

Thursday: -----
Friday: 4.0
Saturday: 4.0
Sunday: 9.9
Monday: 4.0
Tuesday: 4.0
Wednesday: -----
Thursday: -----
Friday: -----
Saturday: -----
Sunday: -----
Monday: -----

Previous:172.5 miles
Year To Date: 172.5miles.

Running Days: 31
Days off: 13


Ugh, and that eleven-day tally was so beautiful just a week ago.

Still Injured

I'm guessing I'll be out of commission for another few days. My back feels somewhat better, but still quite sore. While I stand beside my initial comment that being injured is dumb, I'm trying to maintain a positive attitude, trying not to punish myself for taking time off. Traditionally, that is, when I've been hurt in the past, I go to the other extreme of health -- I seek out fast food and buy gallons of ice cream; I stay up too late and slouch through the hallways; I grow despondent and blame the world for my own shortcomings.

Today, though, I'm willing myself to have a better attitude about the whole mess. Always a fan of the fake-it-till-you-make it approach to most things in life, I'm going to think of this nonrunning time as a stretch where my body can recuperate in full -- not just my back injury but all the little creaks and groans that have been coursing around for the past month and a half. When I start back up, I plan to be stronger and more focused than I was three days ago.

Meantime, I really wanted to run last night -- it had been a long day at the end of a long week, and I wanted to sweat some of it out. Avoiding an extra thousand calories of cookies yesterday was a major success. I expect you all are applauding this moment, so I'll give pause until that passes . . .


 . . .


. . . and you all are doing great as well. In fact, this weblog has helped me notice other runners in the world, helped me to see so many folks on the roads and biketrail and sidewalks around town. It has also helped me see so many facebook friends who are updating running logs and including workouts in their statuses (or is that stati?). So good on you all. Another round of applause.

Eleven Day Tally 

Monday: 3.4
Tuesday: 4.0
Wednesday: 16.0
Thursday: -----
Friday: 4.0
Saturday: 4.0
Sunday: 9.9
Monday: 4.0
Tuesday: 4.0
Wednesday: -----
Thursday: -----
Friday: -----

Previous:172.5 miles
Year To Date: 172.5miles.

Running Days: 31
Days off: 10

Running tip for the injured: red tea, keep drinking it. Apparently the stuff's good for you whether you're training for a marathon or sitting on an icepack.

On Being Injured

Okay, I admit it, maybe playing basketball last night after my run was not the best decision of the new year. And, while I am loathe to give up one of my high intensity runs, my back hurts too much to get out there. I'm taking an unscheduled day off. It sucks. I was looking forward to hill repeats today.

I'm trying to be Zen about this. I blame myself. Which is the most reasonable thing, I think, since it's my fault. I simply haven't cared this much about a sustained, consistent training for fifteen years, so the idea of taking a day off makes me sad.

Meanwhile, one might think that taking a day off from running would suddenly open up glorious gluts of free time to do all kinds of things that I wouldn't otherwise do. One would think I'd find myself getting bored. Instead, my life fills right up with other things.

So I'll rest tonight and take an Advil. As soon as I feel able, I'll try a maintenance run. Being injured is dumb.

Awful Running Tips from a Lousy Mammal

Four miles (32:30) on the treadmill today, another much needed run. I do often ask myself, self, why do you run? And I don't always know how to answer myself. I don't always know why I run. But days like today, when I'm worn out by prepping, grading and teaching, it's a much easier question to answer. It's not a good answer, necessarily, but days like today, running feels good.

I kept my regular 9:00 minute pace, and added six quarter-mile up tempos (nothing fantastic 4X7:30 and 2X6:00 pace). I also ran the first 2.7 miles at an incline of 1.0. I don't know why I did that, really. Probably for the same reason I added the up-tempos . . . because I don't know why.

I'm full of answers this evening.

Now for my dietary tip: better eat those leftover ice-cream-sandwich cookies j and l left here after the Super Bowl before they go bad. . . . I'm not a very good human.

Eleven Day Tally 

Friday: 3.4
Saturday: 3.4
Sunday: 6.0
Monday: 3.4
Tuesday: 4.0
Wednesday: 16.0
Thursday: -----
Friday: 4.0
Saturday: 4.0
Sunday: 9.9
Monday: 4.0
Tuesday: 4.0

Previous:168.5 miles
Year To Date: 172.5miles.

Running Days: 31
Days off: 7

Meanwhile, my lower back is a touch sore, so maybe I shouldn't push so hard -- I'll start that after my hill workout tomorrow.

Maintenance And Choosing One's Shoes

Last night, I dragged the crapradoodle around in the dark for 40:00 minutes. We got in our 4.0 mile maintenance loop and even managed to fun fast for a few short stretches. I needed a run last night -- as the day went by and went by, I kept coming up with reasons to stay inside, though I really wanted to get out. As a result, I admit it, the kitchen is a mess. I have more grading to do today than I otherwise would. And I didn't get to watch the most recent episode of Downton Abbey.

But there are only those certain number of hours in a day -- I've heard 24, but I swear when I'm about to fall asleep, it seems like I've been up for weeks; and it seems like I've only had two-and-a-half hours to get everything done -- I believe Dad would say, "It's like trying to fit ten pounds of shit into a five-pound bag." Yes, if I were Forrest Gump, that's what life would be like according to me.

Meanwhile, there has been a lot of speculation about my shoes. I thought today would be a good day to share what I know about footwear.

For instance, these are my teaching shoes:

I wear them to teach in, because they're lightweight, have lots of cushioning, and when I hand back graded paper assignments, I can run like hell.

These are my carpentry shoes:

I wear them to build things in, because they're lightweight, have lots of cushioning, and when someone asks me to give them a hand around the house, I can run like hell.

And these are my running shoes:

I wear them to run in because I like the way they look.

Eleven Day Tally 

Thursday: 6.1
Friday: 3.4
Saturday: 3.4
Sunday: 6.0
Monday: 3.4
Tuesday: 4.0
Wednesday: 16.0
Thursday: -----
Friday: 4.0
Saturday: 4.0
Sunday: 9.9
Monday: 4.0

Previous:164.5 miles
Year To Date: 168.5miles.

Running Days: 30
Days off: 7


Next week: I'll include a photo of and lecture concerning my masonry shoes.

My Bellyaching

Thursday:

Off, and once again, I found myself wanting to get out for a run on the only day I force myself to take a day off. It's like Modest Mouse tells us: "I know what I have and want, but I don't know what I need." I've often heard that the most important day of a runner's week is the day off. It makes sense, logically and physically, and one would think that would be enough, but I don't know what I need.

Friday:

I ran an extended version of my maintenance loop, such that I ended up going 4.0 miles (33:30). I'm going to start increasing my maintenance miles, hoping that it will help on my longer runs.

Saturday:

Another, though slightly different 4.0 mile maintenance loop (36:00). I have begun adding small bits of speed to my maintenance runs as well. I figure I might enjoy maintenance more if I vary the speeds, maybe find a few new routes.

Sunday

My first concern as I started my run today was this: I wasn't entirely convinced I'd recovered from my long run on Wednesday. I still felt a certain tightness, an additional tiredness, that I was attributing to the 16-miler. I decided to take a bit of a longer warm up than usual to help limber up. But before that:

I had in mind to run my Lancaster hill workout today. That flopped when I couldn't find my watch. I waffled for a bit about whether I should run the workout anyway without the watch. You know, man, just go with the flow, run hard and enjoy the sunshine, don't worry about my time, man, it's cool, just relax and enjoy it.

Nope. I dismissed that idea outright. I decided to run the 2.2 miles to the rec center to help with the tightness. Once there, I ran another mile warm up on the treadmill and eleven quarter-mile repeats at 11 mph (5:27-pace) with about two minutes in between. Then I ran the 2.2 miles home. Why 11, Jackson? Why not twelve or ten? What's with the odd prime number?

Well, here's the thing. I had in mind to run 12 quarter-mile repeats, followed by a very fast tenth of a mile, in order to simulate a 5K. That seems like a fun thing to do. The first few were relatively easy. The recovery minutes were necessary, but I wasn't desperate for them, just getting into a comfortable stride.

I hit the middle third and started . . . I don't want to say struggling, but . . . I was definitely feeling the burn. It was a fine burn, followed by much needed recovery time.

When I got around to the final third, I was really pushing hard on each uptempo run. My legs and lungs were feeling the workout, true, but more important to this particular scenario, my belly was objecting to something I must have eaten last night. After my tenth quarter-mile, I had to sit down. After eleven, I had to sit, and I wasn't sure if I'd get back up. I decided the twelfth quarter-mile might do more harm than good, so I called it a day. The run home was slow, I'll wager, but since I didn't have my watch on me, there's no telling, really, how slow.

Eleven Day Tally 

Wednesday: 3.4
Thursday: 6.1
Friday: 3.4
Saturday: 3.4
Sunday: 6.0
Monday: 3.4
Tuesday: 4.0
Wednesday: 16.0
Thursday: -----
Friday: 4.0
Saturday: 4.0
Sunday: 9.9

Previous:146.6 miles
Year To Date: 164.5miles.

Running Days: 29
Days off: 7


The good news is: I'm certain, at this point, that I'm over the soreness from last week's long run.

Longest Run So Far This Month

Prerun meal: one cup of coffee, one cup of Kefir, two handfuls of peanuts. Yum!

I should mention that last night I decided to run my long run all at once, all in the morning, for fear that I would get caught up in other things . . . and I think I've made the right choice, but before I say any more about that:

Have you tried Kefir? It's a dream. Probiotic, 11g of protein. It's got carbs, it's easy on the stomach . . . it's the milk that drinks like a pudding! I came up with that slogan on my long run this morning. Thought I'd share it, so everybody could join me in celebrating.

I had in mind to run my 7.5-mile loop twice, but I changed my mind midstride and ended up running until I ran out of bike trail -- I figured, in part, I'd be less likely to stop in at my house after one 7.5-mile loop. I like my house, but it's too easy to stop in for a pee and find myself caught up for the next five hours taking care of the kids or grading papers or fixing the p-drain in the bathroom sink.

The bike trail is nice -- flat, predictable, uncrowded, goosey -- but a touch boring. I prefer hills, have always preferred hills. And turns. And to run along it for a total of fifteen miles, well, that's a lot to ask of this guy:



I kept a little bit better than a 9-minute pace, and turned around after eight miles (1:15:18). I did run a negative split (1:12:50). That's apparently good, I heard someone say in high school. And I've often checked folks' times and said, "Oooooh, negative splits. Way to go." But I don't know why I say that. Just something to say, I guess.

The two noteworthy events of the run are: 1.) first time in my life that the middle third of a run has been the best, most pleasant, easiest. While my knees and hips ached during miles 5-10, and I had sometimes a great notion * during 11-16, I coasted along miles 6-10. I felt fine. I even thought, maybe I'll add on my 3.4 mile loop to celebrate the long run when I get home. Nope! When I got home, I had another cup of Kefir -- Kefir, where have you been all these years -- some leftover green curry my spouse made the other day, and all the water in the spigot.

* Sometimes I live in the country,
Sometimes I live in the town,
Sometimes I take a great notion,
To jump in the river and drown.

And 2.) when I had about 35 minutes remaining in the run (1:55), I just about hit the wall. No specific ailments -- I didn't suddenly cramp up or get dizzy or dehydrated; I didn't lose my breath; my legs didn't give out -- I simply felt like I couldn't go on. Then I recalled an article from Runner's World and I'm going to guess it was from summer 2008 that focused on the psychology of exhaustion. The claim of the piece is that we (humans) tend to begin feeling exhausted just before we reach the halfway point of our physical limitations. I thought, yeah, right, I'll show you physical limitations, and I kept my same pace with the new determination to collapse sometime soon. That'll show Psychology! Unfortunately, I started feeling better after another mile and a half, and made it hope without losing my shit, so to speak.

At any rate, it's true, I celebrate folks who run the ultramarathons, especially as I have yet to run a half, but my celebration of the great distance runners shouldn't stop me from being very pleased with my own version of the long run. So, here's to me. I'm happy about today's run.

Eleven Day Tally 

Sunday: 15.3
Monday: -----
Tuesday: 5.1
Wednesday: 3.4
Thursday: 6.1
Friday: 3.4
Saturday: 3.4
Sunday: 6.0
Monday: 3.4
Tuesday: 4.0
Wednesday: 16.0


Previous:126.6 miles
Year To Date: 146.6miles.

Running Days: 26
Days off: 6

Today's example of math: For anybody who can't find their abacus, I'll do the math for you: if I keep up at this rate, I'll run 435 miles this month . . .