Sunday, January 28, 2007

7.7 Miles, A Little Soccer and a Very Tender Heel



It isn't gone. It isn't even getting better. My heel (plantar fasciitis) seems to be worse.

I was worried that would happen.

I am not putting in the big miles like in my marathon training, but I am still running 4 or 5 days a week. And it hurts after every run. Now, even before running, pressing on my heel hurts.

I am now working on getting in to see a specialist to attack this thing head on. My chiropractor continues to increase my heel lift (right shoe) and thinks this will help the heel, but it isn't working. I told myself that I would train through to the marathon, then get this thing taken care of. So now it is time to get it done...

(whine over)

It was a beautiful Florida winter day. This means it is:

1) Sunny
2) Cool (around 63 deg)
3) Lower humidity (under 70%)

Perfect day for a run!!! :-)

I don't want to lose all those marathon training miles, so I am slowly building my long runs back up to the 10 mile-ish range. This week, I wanted to do around 7 miles. My run ended up being 6.5 miles before heading out with my daughter for our standard two laps around the block, adding another 1.2 miles. Both runs were very nice.

First run - easy long run keeping to my aerobic zone and listening to Phedip intervals.

Run 1 splits:
Mile 1: 11:00 min
Mile 2: 11:50 min
Mile 3: 12:12 min
Mile 4: 11:58 min
Mile 5: 12:21 min
Mile 6: 11:49 min
Mile 6.5: 5:30 min

Total time: 1:16:26 (approximate - without stops)
Pace: 11:44 min/mile
Avg Heart rate: 156 bpm (nice aerobic pace)

After brief rest, ran the block with my daughter.

Distance about 1.2 miles
Time: 16:27 min
Avg Heart rate: 143 bpm (recovery - aerobic pace)

By the end of run 2 my heel needed a break, but I had promised my younger daughter (age 7) that I would kick a soccer ball around.

Now I used to (operative word there 'used to') play soccer a long time ago, so this was going to be fun. The first time I stretched over to stop the ball from rolling out into the street I felt my lower back ache (ugh!). (Note to self: stretch better for soccer and play more soccer).

Once that was done, a little house stuff, a shower and finally, some ice.

Good runs with nice little cross train! Tomorrow it's the elliptical machine, then we will see how the heel feels. :-)

I am 72 miles into the Tinkoff 1000 challenge. OK, there is no official challenge - but my goal is to run a 1000 miles this year with Adam, from Burning 20. I am on the low side for my first month, but since I am planning to run a marathon or two, I think I will catch up. Last year when training for Disney I averaged about 120 miles/month in the 4 months before the race except for November, when I backed off to save my heel (there is that heel again, sheesh!).

3 comments:

Susan said...

Wow - you are working it like crazy! I hope you get your problem taken care of, one way or another!

Unknown said...

4 to 5 days a week with that injury... are you crazy. Wait. Don't answer that...

My non-medical-degree-not-having-stayed-at-a-holiday-inn-express opinion is that you should cut back your mileage by cutting down the days that you run. You need the extra rest day. Never underestimate the power of the rest day.

If you are going to be running more marathons this year, you need to be back to full strength, not 60-70% because you haven't taken a break. You will wear yourself out and perhaps not run any marathons.

Am I trying to scare you... yes, I am. BOO!

I understand that you are not going to stop running until your foot is completely better. I understand that fully! So what can you do to make it easy on your foot, and still get the 928 miles that you need for the rest of the year.

Run 3 times a week...

if your next marathon is close, the 3 days a week will keep your conditioning "up" while maximizing rest days. If your next marathon is not that close... (say May or June) then you back off the mileage, let your heel rest and then jump into a marathon training schedule at about week 12-14. Either way your foot is going to thank you. Plus if you are doing all these other cross training things, such as soccer you'll need to be rested.

3 Paces that you can live off of on a meager running budget: Easy, Long, and Tempo. And I wouldn't do a long run, longer than 6 or 8.

Remember, I want to see your race reports for the 2 marathons (and send me the bib pictures to Catch Me If You Can) and reach the 1000 mile mark with Adam.

MarathonChris said...

Terry - good tips. I had my suspicions about more rest.... it was my survival technique while training for Disney. Basically, never run two days in a row. I have found that when I rest the heel, it does better.

After the marathon, I think I was too enthusiastic about setting a new near term goal to run a PR for a near term 10K (in March). My next planned marathon is MCM - the end of October. So if I am going to back off on miles now is the time to do it.

I will give the 3 day plan a try, and also work the elliptical on the other day or so to help keep the cardio up. That does not appear to put any pressure on the heel. And I need to get in to that specialist! :-) Thanks again.