Week 13 (first run): Run/Walk 1.5 hours
Saturday (3:25pm)
Distance: 4.80 miles
Duration: 1:12:58
Pace: 15:12
Shoes: Nike Lunarglide
Weather: Cloudy, 17C
Caught a cold on Tuesday and spent the whole week nursing that cold and I'm still not over it yet. Today, I finally went out for my first run since last Sunday's long run. I did "run 1 minute: walk 2 minutes." ITBS pain did not flare up but I definitely felt the IT band tighten went I ran up a hill.
It's counter-intuitive, instead of running slow to avoid pain, I have to remind myself to go fast to avoid the pain.
With the NYC marathon about one month away, I have pretty much raised the white flag, surrendered, and crawled away from the grueling marathon training.
I may try a 4-hr run/walk for the next 2 weekends. Probably using a light routine like today's "run 1 minute: walk 2 minutes." If I can survive this last month with no ITBS flare-up, I may attempt a "run 1 minute: walk 1 minute" on marathon day. Worse come to worst, I'll walk the whole marathon.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
September 20: Run/Walk 2 hours
Week 12 (long run): Run/Walk 2 hours
Sunday (6:52am)
Distance: 8.46 miles
Duration: 2:00:19
Pace: 14:13
Shoes: Nike Lunarglide
Weather: Sunny, 7-12C, 78-99% humidity
Because the run was so long the temperature climbed up 5C in that time. It was really misty this morning.
ITBS flared up!
Even at the beginning of the run, the left knee was tight. I did "run 3 minutes: walk 2 minutes." After an hour on the track, I went on the road and I tried to walk all the uphills and downhills and tried to run only on flat surfaces but my left knee was definitely slightly aching. I had to remind myself to not run through the pain, so I walked on the road a lot.
I went back to the track for the last 30 minutes trying to keep it slow. I reduced to "run 2 minutes: walk 2 minutes" but I couldn't run 2 minutes without the knee feeling real tight, so I reduced to "run 1 minute: walk 2 minutes." Even then it was achy to run 1 minute. Towards the last 10 minutes or so I got so sick and tired of slow achy running, I decided I'm going to go fast for the remainder of the time. Surprising the knee actually felt better running fast then slow. Well, I completed the 2 hours, slightly disappointed that the ITBS was still around and that I couldn't do much running on the road.
I really miss running up and down the tree-lined roads -- running wherever regardless of slope or incline or surface type. I really miss my care-free slow running!
The left knee was slightly sore and walking down the stairs produced some slight pain but otherwise I could walk with no pain.
I went to church then went to lunch with some friends. On the way to the restaurant while walking on some sloped pavement, I felt two sudden sharp pain just below the left knee on the outer lateral side. After that I had to walk slowly with no sudden jerks or I would feel more pain :(
Came home from lunch. Iced the knee, elevated it, did some stretches, took a long nap. Knee feels better now.
I don't think I'll ever recommend a friend to try to run a marathon. I never envisioned when I signed up and paid $171 that I had voluntarily placed myself in the Catch-22 marathon training/injury trap. Maybe I should plan to just walk the whole NYC marathon.
So what's in store for next week?
First run: Run/walk 45 minutes on the track...Run fast 2 minutes: walk 2 minutes.
Second run: Run/walk 1 hour on the track...Run fast 2 minutes: walk 2 minutes.
Third run: Run/walk 45 minutes on the road...Run fast 1 minute: walk 2 minutes.
Long run: Run/walk 2:30 hours on the track/road....Run fast 1 minute: walk 2 minutes.
Plus more ice, stretches and foam rolling (I'll write about this another day).
Sunday (6:52am)
Distance: 8.46 miles
Duration: 2:00:19
Pace: 14:13
Shoes: Nike Lunarglide
Weather: Sunny, 7-12C, 78-99% humidity
Because the run was so long the temperature climbed up 5C in that time. It was really misty this morning.
ITBS flared up!
Even at the beginning of the run, the left knee was tight. I did "run 3 minutes: walk 2 minutes." After an hour on the track, I went on the road and I tried to walk all the uphills and downhills and tried to run only on flat surfaces but my left knee was definitely slightly aching. I had to remind myself to not run through the pain, so I walked on the road a lot.
I went back to the track for the last 30 minutes trying to keep it slow. I reduced to "run 2 minutes: walk 2 minutes" but I couldn't run 2 minutes without the knee feeling real tight, so I reduced to "run 1 minute: walk 2 minutes." Even then it was achy to run 1 minute. Towards the last 10 minutes or so I got so sick and tired of slow achy running, I decided I'm going to go fast for the remainder of the time. Surprising the knee actually felt better running fast then slow. Well, I completed the 2 hours, slightly disappointed that the ITBS was still around and that I couldn't do much running on the road.
I really miss running up and down the tree-lined roads -- running wherever regardless of slope or incline or surface type. I really miss my care-free slow running!
The left knee was slightly sore and walking down the stairs produced some slight pain but otherwise I could walk with no pain.
I went to church then went to lunch with some friends. On the way to the restaurant while walking on some sloped pavement, I felt two sudden sharp pain just below the left knee on the outer lateral side. After that I had to walk slowly with no sudden jerks or I would feel more pain :(
Came home from lunch. Iced the knee, elevated it, did some stretches, took a long nap. Knee feels better now.
I don't think I'll ever recommend a friend to try to run a marathon. I never envisioned when I signed up and paid $171 that I had voluntarily placed myself in the Catch-22 marathon training/injury trap. Maybe I should plan to just walk the whole NYC marathon.
So what's in store for next week?
First run: Run/walk 45 minutes on the track...Run fast 2 minutes: walk 2 minutes.
Second run: Run/walk 1 hour on the track...Run fast 2 minutes: walk 2 minutes.
Third run: Run/walk 45 minutes on the road...Run fast 1 minute: walk 2 minutes.
Long run: Run/walk 2:30 hours on the track/road....Run fast 1 minute: walk 2 minutes.
Plus more ice, stretches and foam rolling (I'll write about this another day).
Saturday, September 19, 2009
September 18: Run/Walk 45 minutes
Week 12 (third run): Run/Walk 45 minutes
Friday (11:07am)
Distance: 3.25 miles
Duration: 45:21
Pace: 13:56
Shoes: Nike Lunarglide
Weather: Partly cloudy, 16C, 89% humidity
Now that the temperature is falling, I can run late morning/afternoon. This is good, I can run after I get back from research work and there are not many people all over the place. With very few cars in the parking lot, I could safely run there.
I kept to mostly running on asphalt for this run. Still running 3 minutes: walking 2 minutes. My left knee was ok for most of the run. It only started to feel tight towards the last 10 minutes of the run. I guess the ITBS is not totally gone yet.
I was tempted to skip a short run this week but managed to keep to the schedule. I cannot afford to skip more runs at this stage of the training schedule.
For this Sunday's 1 hour 45 minutes run, I plan to keep to "run 3 minutes: walk 2 minutes". Even though I feel ready to run again after walking 1 minute, I think I should stick to walking 2 minutes for the long run. I'll probably spend an hour on the track and less time on the road. If my left knee is ok after 1:45, I'll push for a 2-hour long run.
Friday (11:07am)
Distance: 3.25 miles
Duration: 45:21
Pace: 13:56
Shoes: Nike Lunarglide
Weather: Partly cloudy, 16C, 89% humidity
Now that the temperature is falling, I can run late morning/afternoon. This is good, I can run after I get back from research work and there are not many people all over the place. With very few cars in the parking lot, I could safely run there.
I kept to mostly running on asphalt for this run. Still running 3 minutes: walking 2 minutes. My left knee was ok for most of the run. It only started to feel tight towards the last 10 minutes of the run. I guess the ITBS is not totally gone yet.
I was tempted to skip a short run this week but managed to keep to the schedule. I cannot afford to skip more runs at this stage of the training schedule.
For this Sunday's 1 hour 45 minutes run, I plan to keep to "run 3 minutes: walk 2 minutes". Even though I feel ready to run again after walking 1 minute, I think I should stick to walking 2 minutes for the long run. I'll probably spend an hour on the track and less time on the road. If my left knee is ok after 1:45, I'll push for a 2-hour long run.
September 17: Run/Walk 60 minutes
Week 12 (second run): Run/Walk 60 minutes
Thursday (5:51pm)
Distance: 4.29 miles
Duration: 1:05:25
Pace:
Shoes: Nike Lunarglide
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 17C, 68% humidity
Reminder: Do not venture out to the track or trail on Thursday evenings!
Cross country season is on. I went out for my 1 hour run on the track but I was met with a whole bunch of college runners in training. They were everywhere: Running clockwise and counter-clockwise on the track; running across the parking lot; running on the wrong side of the road.
Needless to say I was very intimidated by the sight of them (even in my rocket science shoes!). I decided not to venture onto the track and kept walking to search for another place to run, preferably a soft and flat surface.
And I kept walking and walking. After about 30 minutes of walking and searching, I decided I should just get back to the track and get some of my running in. When I got back to the track, the athletes were gone. But there wasn't much light left, so I only managed 30 minutes of run 3 minutes: walk 2 minutes.
No left knee pain.
My rocket science shoes.
Thursday (5:51pm)
Distance: 4.29 miles
Duration: 1:05:25
Pace:
Shoes: Nike Lunarglide
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 17C, 68% humidity
Reminder: Do not venture out to the track or trail on Thursday evenings!
Cross country season is on. I went out for my 1 hour run on the track but I was met with a whole bunch of college runners in training. They were everywhere: Running clockwise and counter-clockwise on the track; running across the parking lot; running on the wrong side of the road.
Needless to say I was very intimidated by the sight of them (even in my rocket science shoes!). I decided not to venture onto the track and kept walking to search for another place to run, preferably a soft and flat surface.
And I kept walking and walking. After about 30 minutes of walking and searching, I decided I should just get back to the track and get some of my running in. When I got back to the track, the athletes were gone. But there wasn't much light left, so I only managed 30 minutes of run 3 minutes: walk 2 minutes.
No left knee pain.
My rocket science shoes.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
September 16: Run 45 minutes
Week 12 (first run): Run 45 minutes
Wednesday (11:01am)
Distance: 3.49 miles
Duration: 45:05
Pace: 12:55/mile
Shoes: Nike Lunarglide
Weather: Cloudy, 17C, 74% humidity
This was a surprisingly pleasant run. Kept to the "run 3 minutes: walk 2 minutes" schedule. Went on the running track, spent 25 minutes running clockwise and 20 minutes counter clockwise. Put on the ITB strap.
And no ITB tightness! My left knee felt good during the whole run. The only time it felt a little "off" was when I ran slowly across the football field towards the end of the run. Some people with ITBS said that their knees hurt more when they run slowly as opposed to fast running.
Wednesday (11:01am)
Distance: 3.49 miles
Duration: 45:05
Pace: 12:55/mile
Shoes: Nike Lunarglide
Weather: Cloudy, 17C, 74% humidity
This was a surprisingly pleasant run. Kept to the "run 3 minutes: walk 2 minutes" schedule. Went on the running track, spent 25 minutes running clockwise and 20 minutes counter clockwise. Put on the ITB strap.
And no ITB tightness! My left knee felt good during the whole run. The only time it felt a little "off" was when I ran slowly across the football field towards the end of the run. Some people with ITBS said that their knees hurt more when they run slowly as opposed to fast running.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
September 13: Run 1 hour
Week 11 ("long" run): Run 1 hour
Sunday (7:53am)
Distance: 4.52 miles
Duration: 1:00:09
Pace: 13:17/mile
Shoes: Nike Lunarglide
Weather: Partly cloudy, 17C
I've decided to drop mileage training and go by time instead. This way, even if I have to walk a lot, at least I'm getting the time on my feet in and I won't feel dejected if I can't get in such and such miles on a certain day.
I started out doing "run 4 min: walk 1 min" but after about 15 minutes I felt that it was a little too tough on my knees and decided to drop to "run 3 min: walk 2 min." That gave my left knee some time to recover after the short run.
I had on my IT band strap. Although it felt like it was sliding down my thigh but it was actually staying in place quite well. But I wasn't not sure if it was really working. The IT band started to feel tight but it wasn't painful. The run/walk helped a little. The knee did feel sore and tight after the run.
I did the whole run on the running track. Running on the track is one long boring exercise. Just round and round and round. Mentally it's much harder to run 1 hour on the track than it is on the road. At the moment, I don't think I should be pounding on the asphalt yet, plus the roads here have a lot on tiny uphills and downhills, so for my left knee sake I'll endure the track for now.
I went back to using the Nike+ sensor. For some crazy reasons, the Garmin refused to sync to the Garmin Center software. I should send them an email.
Anyway, since I'm going by time now, I don't need accurate measurement on the distance I covered. Whenever I see the pace provided by Nike+, I'll just remember that I'm much slower than that.
For the coming week, I'm thinking I'll work on this schedule:
1st run: Run/walk 45 minutes
2nd run: Run/walk 1 hour (try 15 minutes on the road)
3rd run: Run/walk 45 minutes (try 15 minutes on the road)
Long run: Run/walk 1:45 hours
Sunday (7:53am)
Distance: 4.52 miles
Duration: 1:00:09
Pace: 13:17/mile
Shoes: Nike Lunarglide
Weather: Partly cloudy, 17C
I've decided to drop mileage training and go by time instead. This way, even if I have to walk a lot, at least I'm getting the time on my feet in and I won't feel dejected if I can't get in such and such miles on a certain day.
I started out doing "run 4 min: walk 1 min" but after about 15 minutes I felt that it was a little too tough on my knees and decided to drop to "run 3 min: walk 2 min." That gave my left knee some time to recover after the short run.
I had on my IT band strap. Although it felt like it was sliding down my thigh but it was actually staying in place quite well. But I wasn't not sure if it was really working. The IT band started to feel tight but it wasn't painful. The run/walk helped a little. The knee did feel sore and tight after the run.
I did the whole run on the running track. Running on the track is one long boring exercise. Just round and round and round. Mentally it's much harder to run 1 hour on the track than it is on the road. At the moment, I don't think I should be pounding on the asphalt yet, plus the roads here have a lot on tiny uphills and downhills, so for my left knee sake I'll endure the track for now.
I went back to using the Nike+ sensor. For some crazy reasons, the Garmin refused to sync to the Garmin Center software. I should send them an email.
Anyway, since I'm going by time now, I don't need accurate measurement on the distance I covered. Whenever I see the pace provided by Nike+, I'll just remember that I'm much slower than that.
For the coming week, I'm thinking I'll work on this schedule:
1st run: Run/walk 45 minutes
2nd run: Run/walk 1 hour (try 15 minutes on the road)
3rd run: Run/walk 45 minutes (try 15 minutes on the road)
Long run: Run/walk 1:45 hours
Friday, September 11, 2009
September 9: Run 3 miles
Week 11 (first run): Run 3 miles
Wednesday (5:49pm)
Distance: 3.00 miles
Duration: 43:50
Pace: 14:36/mile
Shoes: Nike Lunarglide
My left knee was sore and hurting for many days after that painful 12-mile long run. I took more than a week off to let that knee recover. For the first few days, it was painful to go down the stairs. My left knee was so stiff that I was walking funny. I had to walk many minutes before the knee warmed up and then I could walk almost like a normal person. I had to ice my knee and did a lot of stretches.
I finally went for a trial run on this day. I bought an ITBS strap but when I tried it on it was very tight and it felt like it was slipping down, so I put on a jumper knee strap on my left knee instead.
Ran on grass, my left knee felt ok. Then moved on to asphalt, knee was still ok. Then went on a slight downhill and the lateral side of the left knee started to feel tight again. Not wanting to aggravate it again, I just walked the rest of the half mile.
So I'm kind of in a limbo now. I have not been able to keep up with the marathon training schedule. If I did, I'd probably get injured again. If I didn't, I'd really really suffer on marathon day.
Looking at the marathon schedule, I guess I'll have to throw that out of the window and just hope for the best.
All I know is that I can deal with the tiredness and soreness of long runs pre-August 30 but if I had to endure that ITBS pain during marathon day, I'd drop out.
I guess the plan now is:
1) Let the knee get better
2) Don't run through ITBS pain again
3) Try my best to avoid situations/terrains that may trigger the ITBS pain (run on grass or the running track for the mean time)
4) Stretch the IT band and strengthen specific muscles
5) Slowly try and build up the miles again
6) If I had to, I'll just walk through most of the marathon
7) I've been getting lazy and it's getting harder to go out for any run. It's a mix of laziness and fear of injury. I should start the training schedule again. I have to start getting out there, even if I can't run, I should get the time on my feet in.
Wednesday (5:49pm)
Distance: 3.00 miles
Duration: 43:50
Pace: 14:36/mile
Shoes: Nike Lunarglide
My left knee was sore and hurting for many days after that painful 12-mile long run. I took more than a week off to let that knee recover. For the first few days, it was painful to go down the stairs. My left knee was so stiff that I was walking funny. I had to walk many minutes before the knee warmed up and then I could walk almost like a normal person. I had to ice my knee and did a lot of stretches.
I finally went for a trial run on this day. I bought an ITBS strap but when I tried it on it was very tight and it felt like it was slipping down, so I put on a jumper knee strap on my left knee instead.
Ran on grass, my left knee felt ok. Then moved on to asphalt, knee was still ok. Then went on a slight downhill and the lateral side of the left knee started to feel tight again. Not wanting to aggravate it again, I just walked the rest of the half mile.
So I'm kind of in a limbo now. I have not been able to keep up with the marathon training schedule. If I did, I'd probably get injured again. If I didn't, I'd really really suffer on marathon day.
Looking at the marathon schedule, I guess I'll have to throw that out of the window and just hope for the best.
All I know is that I can deal with the tiredness and soreness of long runs pre-August 30 but if I had to endure that ITBS pain during marathon day, I'd drop out.
I guess the plan now is:
1) Let the knee get better
2) Don't run through ITBS pain again
3) Try my best to avoid situations/terrains that may trigger the ITBS pain (run on grass or the running track for the mean time)
4) Stretch the IT band and strengthen specific muscles
5) Slowly try and build up the miles again
6) If I had to, I'll just walk through most of the marathon
7) I've been getting lazy and it's getting harder to go out for any run. It's a mix of laziness and fear of injury. I should start the training schedule again. I have to start getting out there, even if I can't run, I should get the time on my feet in.
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