Running Modification Experiment

As I reflect back on my disappointing 10k, I wonder what I did wrong, aside from being wholly unprepared.  Was there anything I could have done to do better?  Could I have done something to prevent injury and other mishaps throughout the race?  In my head, the answer was a resounding yes!

Yes, I could have been better prepared by being able to run a 10k ahead of time.

Yes, I could have done more stretching before the start of the race.

Yes, I could have eaten something like a banana or even some kind of energy gel before a race, even if it's a little overkill.

Yes, I could have been better prepared for the road course layout.

Still, while those were things that I could do, I still had something nagging at me.  Was my running style the problem?  Since I'm not a runner, do I just suck at it?  I always assumed that I would run and I would know what felt right.  Well since I felt so wrong through the race, maybe that was my body's way of telling my head that what I'm doing isn't the right way to do it. 

One of the things that stood out in my mind was how loud of a runner I was compared to others.  I passed some folks and also got passed by others through the race.  What I did notice was that my foot strikes were loud.  I smack the pavement with each step.  Others tended to glide and hardly made any noise.  It wasn't all just in my head, was it..?  No, I was pretty convinced that when I run, I will smack the ground with the force of Thor.  

Over the last few days, I rummaged through message boards and Youtube videos and Google to help me try to figure out what I might be doing wrong.  Could my running style contribute to my shin splints or any of the other maladies I was facing?  Is there a particular style that might at least ease the pressure I put on my shin?  Well, apparently based on my findings, that whole foot striking thing wasn't good and was a likely contributor to my shin issues.  

It seems that I have a long stride, which I don't disagree with.  I'm not a tall guy.  When walking with a group of friends that are taller than me, I tend to compensate with longer strides, not with smaller, faster strides.  It's not a huge surprise that I would do the same thing when running.  With a long stride, I'll strike the ground with my heel and the rest of my foot would come down hard and smack the ground.  

For the next couple of weeks, I decided I'd try to determine if I can avoid shin splints with a mid-foot strike.  I know this won't come natural for me as I'll need to shorten my stride and I'll just feel like I'm running really goofy as a result.  Still, I'd rather run goofy than to consistently be in pain from the running.  I'm going to focus on where my foot is landing as I run, try very hard to make sure I'm not striking with my heel, and do a few other things to try and glide in my gait than to try and stomp a mudhole through everything.  I'm also going to be more aware of my posture as I run.

There are plenty of other things I can do to try and find improvement, but I'd rather take a few at a time than try to implement a whole bunch of changes at once.  If I find success with my foot strike and my posture, then I'll move on to breathing and stretching and cadence and yadda yadda.  I'll post my results in a few weeks.  

Training Week of 5/29/17

Even though these types of posts seem pretty useless, I've found that posting my schedule and my results for all two people to see is enough to hold me accountable and force me to keep things going.  Here's the plan, I'll update later with results.

Monday: Rest

Normally I would plan for Mondays to be some kind of crosstraining exercise.  Since it was Memorial Day, I opted to take a day off.  On top of that, I ended up doing a good amount of yardwork, including the removal of a tree and some bushes from my yard.  I'm in the appropriate amount of hurt right now, so I consider that to have been a crosstraining exercise.

Tuesday: Run 1.5 Miles

I wanted to start slow considering I'm trying to be aware of my gait and my posture as I run.  Hip seemed a little wonky, but aside from that, I was able to run and not have any other flareups.  That's a win for me!

Wednesday: 30 Minute Core

Didn't work my core, but told myself I'd make it up by doing something else before the end of the week.

Thursday: Run 1.5 Miles

This is just another easy run to test my new running style and get more comfortable with landing on my mid-foot.  I'm still going a little slower than usual, but I was able to go through another pain-free run, so things are looking up.

Friday: Rest

Saturday: Run 3.5 Miles

I should have looked at my blog to figure out how long I had planned to run.  Thinking I knew my own routine, I just punched in 3.0 miles.  Oh well, half a mile short.  Anyway, I was able to run a sub 11:00 pace for the 3 miles, which was faster than what I had done earlier in the week and consistent with what I was doing during the last 10k.  Felt pretty good, powered through a small side stitch near the end.  No problems again with shin splints.  I could have easily ran the other half mile with no problems.

Sunday: Rest

After taking the kids to the pool (my son's first visit to the pool!), I arranged to meet up with my brother to play some tennis.  Instead of playing an official set where there's a lot of resting and walking, we play a modified game that gets us moving more often.  Anyway, I logged a good 45 minutes with him in the afternoon sun.  I feel like tennis was a good substitute for missing my core workout earlier this week.  

Race 1: Run the Vines 10k 5/20/17

Wanting to salvage the first half of the year by running some kind of race, I signed up for the Run the Vines 10k in Dobson, NC.  The theme is based on the fact that the race ends at Shelton Vineyards.

I'll preface this by saying that I wasn't trained up for this.  With all the injuries I had, I took a long break, didn't get back into running until just a few weeks prior.  I definitely lost the gains that I had made while training several months ago.  My final run was 5 miles the Monday before the race, and I could not go the full distance without stopping, although I was convinced that I could will myself to do better come race time.

I took the family with me.  My wife was going to do the 5k and strollers were permitted, allowing her to push the dual jogging stroller and bring my two kids along for the ride.  We checked in that afternoon, forgoing a trip to 'Mayberry' (Mt Airy, NC) because the weather was pretty nasty.  

Swag bag consisted of a cotton blend t-shirt, a pair of New Balance socks, a Tommy Hilfiger hat, a couple pens, a plastic sports bottle, an offer for some free Chick-Fil-A, a sample of Biofreeze, and some brochures.  

Race day was pretty exciting.  I haven't been involved in an organized race in over ten years.  The race started at a nearby Hampton Inn that was located right off the interstate. Some folks were dressed up.  Noticed others warming up.  Seemed to be a larger crowd running the 5k.  A recording of the Star Spangled Banner was played and then it was go time!

I started off strong, trying to discipline myself to not go too hard and keep up with the people around me.  I think I did okay with that since I purposely started near the back, knowing that I wasn't going to go fast, with my goal being that I run the entire time and not stop.  I had an app running to track my time and distance, but refrained from running with music.  Most races prefer for participants to not have headphones on and I thought it would be good to try and do the run without wearing any.  

Not even a mile in, I could feel my shin splints kick in.  Well crap, this was going to be a long race.  I powered through, ignoring the pain until it was manageable to run with.  Two miles in, we get to the first water station.  Drinking while running is something I need practice on.  I think more water got on my face than in my mouth.

I had expected a more level course, but should have known better, considering how close we were to the mountains.  There was more up/down than I had anticipated.  I watched a video of the 10k course.  Since it was taken from a bike's point of view, I guess I didn't notice as much of the uphill portions.

Halfway done, still going strong with the only exception that my feet were going numb.  They always go numb after about 3 miles and usually they'll go away as I continue to keep running.  At this point, I'm turning into the back of Shelton Vineyard's property.  There's a good little hill just before the turn point.  I was trying to speed up, take advantage of the downhill portions and slow down for the hills.  At that point, I decided to stop and take a short walk.  Bad idea, it was just a sign of things to come.

After making the turn and resuming running, I started to feel a cramp in my side, which I guess is a side stitch.  Part of the consequences of not being in proper shape and race-ready.  Had to stop and walk a bit, wait for the pain to subside.  Start again.  Feel the side stitch flare up.  Stop again.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  Spent the next mile trying to power through it.

At mile 4.5, they warn of an uphill stretch that continues for the next 1.25 miles.  It wasn't all that bad, but considering my shin splints, numb feet, and side stitch, it was a struggle.  I was averaging a 10:30 mile before the halfway point; I was probably closer to a 13:30 mile on the back end.  

Once we were in the home stretch, to the point that I could hear the music playing at the finish, I went ahead and pushed that extra gear.  I ran pretty hard for the last half mile and crossed the finish line at 1:12:25, which translates to an 11:40 mile.  

I caught up with my wife and kids shortly after race, grabbed an orange and some powerade for my post-race refreshments.  Took some pictures with the family since the grounds were so nice.  However, we knew the kids would be antsy, so we didn't stick around to do any tours or wine sampling or to stick around for the awards and other festivities.  

By then, the rest allowed my shin splints to come full circle.  I could not move my leg without feeling significant pain.  I had to use the jogging stroller as a crutch to very slowly get back to the car.  I couldn't bend my foot.  I couldn't curl my toes.  Pain was from the ankle to just under the knee, with some spots sensitive to the touch.  I tried to stretch it out, but the pain made that difficult.  Slowly but surely, I'd get a bit more movement in my body through the rest of the day.

It's been a few days now, I still feel a little pain when I'm walking briskly.  Starting tomorrow, I'm intending to do a short little jog, get back into the swing of things.  I didn't meet my goal of going the entire race without stopping.  I had an encouraging start, but wasn't in good enough shape to power through.  I have intentions to run another race on July 8, which gives me another good six weeks to train.  I'm hoping to take advantage of the next few weeks, as my goal is to cut at least 5 minutes off of my time and avoid stopping.  

Guess we'll see how that goes..