5 Miles on the Mall

Today the temperature dropped a little as did the humidity.  This made for a nice 5 mile quick run on the Mall and around the Tidal Basin and part of Haynes Point (which was mostly closed off again by the DC Park Police).

Again I focused on running negative splits and did pretty well with it.  Since tomorrow is a rest day I also ran quickly today, letting myself set my own pace instead of relying on the Garmin device.  I think I'm getting better at pacing myself too.  That is, when I actually focus on it I can do it.  Trouble is I still need to make a point of focusing on pace and not starting out too fast when I'm feeling good.

Handan made an awesome lentil and tuna salad last night that really fueled my run today.  It also provided some good post-run recovery snacking.

7 Miles - Haynes Point and the Tidal Basin

My plan was to run a few laps around Haynes Point and head back to work, but when I got there the main road was closed down! Lots of pissed off bicyclers were staring at the police barricades with bewildered expressions. I headed back around the Tidal Basin and then towards the Lincoln Memorial and then up the Mall to the Capitol and back to work.

I felt strong and worked on running reverse splits. I did pretty well at it too.

5 Humid Miles on the Mall

It was really humid this morning.  Somewhere around 85% humidity.  So even though the temperature was a comfortable 70ish the run was still pretty hard.  And I didn't do myself any favors by starting out too fast.  I got excited about running on the Mall again and my speed got away from me.  I paid for it in the 4th mile where I had to walk for a little bit.

But again, no pain in the foot (or anywhere else for that matter).

Tomorrow is a 7 miler.  Hopefully (but doubtfully) the humidity will lighten up a bit.

8 Miles on the W&OD

After the success of yesterday's test run I was excited to run again this morning.  I was on the trail by 6:00am and it was a beautiful morning for running.  The deer and rabbits were out for morning foraging and there were few others on the trail.  I wanted to slow down my pace from yesterday's overly ambitious pace and set my Garmin to 9:15/mile.  I stuck with that pace pretty well I think.

My initial goal was 9 miles but during the run I realized that I should not be pushing myself that hard this early in recovery.  Still, I was feeling good so when 6 miles came and went I decided to continue another mile or two.  In the end I ran 8 good miles.

And I feel no pain.  That's the best part.

I made a point today of loosening my laces as much as possible to see how it would feel.  Starting out the shoes were loose but comfortable; not sliding around, rubbing or chafing.  By the halfway point of the run I noticed that now my shoes were fitting comfortably.  They were no longer loose but weren't tight either.  I think they were just right for my swollen feet.

I'm icing now as a precaution.

Tomorrow I'll take off and then I'm back to the Tues, Wed, Thurs, Sat, Sun program.

6 Mile "Test Run"

After two weeks without any running today I went back out on the W&OD Trail to see how my foot would hold up to a few miles.  Following advice I'd read in some runner's forums, I loosened up my laces considerably to avoid putting too much pressure on the tendons on top of my foot.  Surprisingly my shoes did not slide around and rub against my foot the way I feared they would.  In fact I really enjoyed the way the loose-fitting shoes felt as I ran and wondered how I ever had run with them laced tightly!

The run itself was good, although I could feel the effects of having taken two weeks off.  Even though I was doing cross-training (mostly recumbent stationary bicycle) my legs felt weak at the start.  I ran slowly to start since I really wanted to listen to my body for any complaints.  After a few miles I couldn't feel any twinges or pains so I picked up the pace a little more each mile and set my sites on a 6 mile run.  By the last mile (thankfully mostly downhill) I was feeling pretty good.  Knock on wood... I feel like I'm back. :)

I iced my foot afterward as a precaution.

On another note, today was my first run with my new, replacement Garmin Forerunner 310xt.  I'd returned my Forerunner 405cx over a week ago after considerable negotiations with Garmin's support group.  Ultimately I found that they dealt fairly with me (after I applied some pressure) and I'm happy with the result.  The 310xt has a slightly larger body which is not as comfortable as the 405cx, but (1) the display is much easier to read, (2) it has vibrate alerts which I love, and (3) the controls are old-fashioned buttons which work no matter how sweaty the device gets!!!

So in summary, success on two fronts today.  I'm back to my training and I have a new tool that I'm happy with.  It's a good day.

Healing...

It's been one week since my last run of 10.5 miles.  Since then I've seen the orthopedist and been given a prescription to rest my foot for a few weeks.  The doctor also told me to get better shoes to wear during the day (more supportive) and also recommended I check out the Brooks Beast running shoe with more motion control.  I tried them out at Potomac River Running but didn't like the way they felt.  I think they over-correct for pronation.  I wanted to try out the Brooks Addiction too but they didn't have my size.  This afternoon I'll go to the other PRR store in Tysons Corner and try them there.

Meanwhile I'm using my recumbent exercise bike in the basement to keep my legs fresh and strong.  I've been re-watching John Adams during my exercise which makes the time pass quickly.  If you haven't seen it, it's a very good production from HBO with Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney as John and Abigale Adams. 

On another note, I got so frustrated with my Garmin Forerunner 405cx after my last run that I decided to return it. Basically the touch-sensitive bezel control becomes unusable if the moisture is too high. Since I sweat like a Roman fountain when I run, more times than not I have problems with it. On my last run the 405cx went into an uncontrollable frenzy of activity which effectively ended my run.

I've had the 405cx for over a year, but a little jawboning with the support folks at Garmin convinced them to offer me a swap. I sent in the 405cx and I'll get back a Forerunner 310xt. This is their water-proof Forerunner that they market to triathletes. It's slightly bigger than the 405cx but without that annoying bezel control I'm sure I'm going to love it.

(we'll see if that is true or not in a week or so when I'm back to running again)

Extensor Tendinitis (?)

After searching the internet for a bit I found a description of my foot problem that sounds like a good diagnosis.  It is extensor tendinitis.  My problems started on a day when I was running hills and there is certainly some swelling and pain when the tendons are stretched.  I ruled out a stress fracture based on the absence of pain when I press on the bones of the foot.


I will seek an orthopedist's opinion of course.

Today the pain is very much less than it was yesterday.  I continue to ice the top of my foot and that seems to help.  


I'm still hoping that I can continue my training after a break and run the marathon in October.  I'm depressed over this set-back but I have not given up hope.

...

more reading on the subject here

10.5 Miles on the W&OD Trail

I just came back an extremely frustrating run, mostly because of problems with my Garmin 405. I'm going to return it or sell it on craigslist or just trash it. It's SO FRUSTRATING!!!

I stopped for a bathroom break at 10.5 miles and afterward the Garmin went into some kind of out-of-control frenzy of activity. I think the humidity was making the bezel auto-navigate. I couldn't resume my run tracking and it kept beeping and showing different screens in rapid-fire succession.

I give up on it. I've had problems in the past, but this was the last straw. I was having my first long run since coming back from my injury and I really wanted to see how I was doing. This killed my momentum and I just called it quits.

Garmin, if you're listening... you should recall the 405s and offer refunds or exchanges to every poor sucker that bought one.

Meanwhile, my foot is hurting. I think I'll see a foot sports doctor next week. I have it iced now. 

Where is Jeremy?

One of my loyal readers called today to ask why I'm not blogging lately.  As I mentioned earlier, my foot was injured a week and a half ago and I was resting it.  Then I ran the Herndon 10K race last Sunday and while I was able to run very well and didn't have any significant issues, there was still a little soreness in my left foot afterward.  So I decided after the race to rest it for another week.

Yesterday and today it's been feeling 100% fine.  There's no pain or twinges or soreness or anything.  I almost want to run again tomorrow, but I'm going to stick with my plan and wait until Sunday.  Then I'll test it out with a medium long run (6 or 7 miles) and see how I'm doing.

So that's where I've been. :)

10K Race (2011 Herndon Festival)

All week I've been worried about my left foot which I injured last Sunday (one week ago).  I hadn't run on it until Friday when I tried it out for 2 miles and basically felt good despite a twinge or two.  Today's race was my first real test of it and I think it passed the test with flying colors!

I ran a fast race (for me).  I estimate my time at 51 minutes.  That's faster than I ran the MCM 10K last October.  I guess that makes it a personal record for me (which isn't saying much as I've only run two 10Ks... this one and the 2010 MCM 10K).

Edit: Official times are in.  50:35 for me (8:09 pace) and Handan ran in 1:11:27 (11:31 pace)

The only problem (or near-problem) was with my digestion.  In the 5th mile I realized that I hadn't (er... um...) evacuated 100% this morning.  But it wasn't such a strong urge as to slow me down.  Just a feeling I would rather not have had all things considered.

By the way, my wife Handan ran her first 10K race today and did amazingly well.  Nerves didn't bother her and she ran the entire distance and ran faster than she's ever run before.  She doesn't have a Garmin so we're still waiting for the official results to find out her exact time.  It was around 1:10 which is almost 5 minutes faster than she normally runs that distance!  Way to go sweetie!!!

2 Miles to test out my foot

I injured myself last weekend and this was my first run since. I wanted to test out my foot to see if it was healed enough to run the 10K on Sunday. Despite a little twinge I felt good. Maybe I'm deluding myself and the twinge was a warning sign. But how do you tell which is pain that can be run through and what's a warning?!? I guess I'll see how I feel tomorrow and on race day and decide.