Up until yesterday, I was really excited to write this post about my week in training. I had been feeling really good, settling into 50 mile weeks and hitting all my paces for speed and tempo workouts. The weather was finally better this week and I didn’t have to run on the treadmill at all.
Week of 1/12/14-1/18/14
Sunday 1/12: Rest day: 60 minutes reflexion yoga
Monday 1/13: AM- 8.1 miles: 5 x 1k at 5k pace (8:47 pace overall), core, PM- Body Pump
Tuesday 1/14: AM- 6.1 miles easy with strides at the end (9:37 pace), core work PM- Runner’s Core stage 3 level 2, 30 min yoga
Wednesday 1/15: 10 miles easy with 6 at goal marathon pace (9:00 pace overall), core work
Thursday 1/16: 6.12 miles easy (9:42 pace), core PM: Runner’s Core stage 3 level 2
Friday 1/17: 5.1 miles easy with strides at the end (9:20 pace), core
Saturday 1/18: 11 miles (cut it short- was planning to do 15-16)
Total: 46.42
On Monday I did speed work for the first time of the training cycle. My plan called for 5 1ks at 7:43 pace. I finally used the workout feature on my watch and it went really well! I knew I could run faster than 7:43 but I also didn’t want to overdo it with this being my first speed session. My intervals ended up being 7:38, 7:34, 7:30, 7:13, 7:07. I went to Body Pump that night, because I knew I had an easy day the next day. Last week I thought it made my tempo run harder by doing Body Pump the day before.
After an easy run on Tuesday, I ran 10 miles on Wednesday (in the fog!) with the middle 6 at goal marathon pace. I was just about right on target (8:28-8:50). During this run I noticed my achilles felt just slightly off. This has happened before and I didn’t think much of it. When I got back I did some self-massage around that area which usually helps to settle it down. Everything felt fine during the rest of the day.
On Thursday and Friday I had easy runs, which went really well. I threw some more hills in than usual and was feeling fully recovered from the harder workouts. On Thursday I had to do some more walking for work than usual, and I wasn’t wearing the most comfortable shoes, and my heel hurt a little bit (same side as the achilles). I had zero pain with running on Thursday and Friday so I just blamed it on the shoes.
In fact, Friday I had one of those awesome runs where everything just falls into place and feels great. I was really looking forward to my long run on Saturday, thinking I would be even more prepared than last week when I was still some what recovering from other workouts.
After work on Friday when I took off my shoes, my left ankle felt a little sore. (Again, I was not wearing the most ideal shoes.) I used a tennis ball to massage the bottom of my foot and used the stick and foam roller on my calf. I iced it and wore compression socks to bed, hoping that it would feel better in the morning.
When I woke up on Saturday everything felt find and I planned to do my run and see how it felt. When I started it felt a little funny but it went away and felt fine for awhile. Around mile 6 I thought about stopping after feeling a couple twinges, but nothing that I would have called pain. Around mile 9 I knew it was not 100% and didn’t want to overdue it and cause a real injury, and so I ended up doing 11 miles.
I am not exactly sure what the problem is but I have a couple theories. I did notice that my calves were really tight, as well as the bottom of my feet (that silly little plantar fascia band). So I am working on loosening up those areas using my trigger point massage ball, the stick, my foam roller, and my own hands. I have also been icing on and on and I put on KT tape. I would say my complaint is heel pain, but I am not sure what the underlying problem is. My shoes are not worn out (I keep track of the mileage and rotate them). I am also working on strengthening my feet and calves. I am doing this by doing heel lifts off a step and things like picking up a towel with my toes. I read about these exercises last year is the book “Anatomy for Runners” by Jay Dicharry.
Most importantly I am trying to stay relaxed, be smart, and not freak out about this. I go back to my chiropractor in a week and a half, but if its not getting any better this week I am going to try to get in sooner to see what he thinks. I am hoping this is just a minor setback and I caught it early enough that it will rehab quickly. Not sure when I will try running again, but I will probably test it out in a couple days to see where things are.
Any tips or theories about my foot problem?
How was your week in training?
Also, I am an affiliate of Procompression and they always have great deals going on. Right now you can save $10 on your order using code FUN20. I think I am going to be wearing compression socks 24/7 to get my calves and feet feeling better!
I have no clue for you – as came up over at Megan’s blog the very important point about extra warming up in cold weather is very important. I take it extra slow as I get started on cold mornings, but never really thought about the benefit!
I had a pretty good week, did some cool stuff and tried not to catch the sickness that landed my wife and younger son on antibiotics!
Good luck this week!
Yes I read that article Megan posted about injuries in cold weather! Very interesting…I do try to warm up inside and then start slowly when I go out running, but I think I am going to focus even more on making sure that I am warmed up properly and dressed warm enough.
Hope you stay healthy despite the sickness going around!
I am sorry that your heel is bothering! I hope it starts to turn around. Take a little time and listen to your body while you wait for your chiropractor appointment. I am glad the rest of your training went so well though!
Thanks! It has been doing better but I am still paying very close attention to it:)