Expectations

When I started this blog, I expected it to be full of ecstatic effusions on my new-found joy of running, deep existential realizations, meditations on the wonders of the body and on the natural world as I race by. I did not expect this blog to be full of medical terms and technical issues and boring details of workout plans. I mean, of course I knew there would be some of that. But I also thought I'd transcend the mundane details at some point and get to profundity a lot sooner.

Why?

I've learned not to come to a meditation retreat with expectations of anything but experiencing the moment, whether the moment is serene or blissful or agonizing or just plain boring as hell. I thought I was approaching running in the same way.

Not.

So far running has been: physical pain, wishing I could stop, wanting to throw up, and being really, really glad when each run is over. There's a lesson in this, but I don't yet know what it is. Anyway, here's to plugging along. A new plan and a new medical term:

Medial tibial stress syndrome, a.k.a. shin splits

I went to see Matt Sheehy again last Friday. Took him my X-ray from Maryland Kaiser. He ran his thumb along my inside shin and said, "You have shin splints, here (Ouch!) and here (Ouch!) and right here (Ouch! Ouch!)" He could feel these little knots in the tendon and knew exactly where the pain would be before I winced. He showed me how to massage my leg, told me to do it every morning along with ice, and recommended running only 3 times this week, again no more than 2 miles.

Matt also evaluated my running and told me I was improving a lot. Still need to work on keeping the right leg straight. The key to ending all this bloody suffering, according to Matt, will be to straighten up this damned leg. I thought I WAS keeping it straight!

A New Running Plan

Once again, I'm revising my plan. I think that in order to complete the 1/2 marathon on October 22, I'm going to have to give in and walk some of it. It's the only way I'll get in all the training without ruining my leg. So, I'm modifying John Bingham's Run/Walk plan from Marathoning for Mortals. Instead of running continuously, I'll do intervals of running and walking, which is actually what I had planned on doing from the very beginning before the trainers at 24-Hour Fitness filled my head with delusions of Super Heroic grandeur.

Thursday, after figuring out how to set the interval timer on my new Timex Ironman Triathlon watch, I did intervals of 3 minutes running and 2 minutes walking for 45 minutes. It was nice to follow my old route out to Berkeley campus and back. The walking intervals were a relief but also a let down. My ego had gotten so inflated. Each time I stopped to walk, I'd glance around, embarrassed and humiliated, to see who was watching.

If this running thing is teaching me nothing else, it's that I'm not nearly as enlightened as I thought I was! It's kind of cool, in a way. Like being hit over the head repeatedly with a blunt instrument could be cool, in a way.

Just like starting over...

Wow. I have so much to catch up on. I lost momentum. Being unable to run, I felt lost. I had no program to follow. It was difficult to get to the gym when I had so little motivation. And it was difficult to bring myself to write about it when I felt so disoriented.

But help is on the way in the form of Matt Sheehy, my physical therapist at Kaiser. I had my appointment with him this past Friday. Matt is a runner himself and his specialty is sports rehab. Not only did he examine my body, but he put me on the treadmill and observed my running form, noting 4 things I'm doing wrong which are contributing to knee problems:

1) Holding my posture straight up. Instead, I should lean forward from the ankles, like a skier. This prevents the next thing...

2) Landing on my heels. I should be landing on my midfoot. Landing on the heels is like putting on the brakes. It causes a lot of impact on the knees. Leaning forward will help me land correctly.

3) Allowing my right foot to turn outward. I already knew this was a problem. Matt says I can correct it by doing hip adduction exercises (squeezing in with the thigh) as well as simply focusing on keeping that leg straight at all times, especially when running. It feels really strange to keep it straight. He says if I am diligent, I should be able to correct it myself within a month. And after examining me, he feels that my muscles are strong enough that there should be no reason they can't hold my leg straight with practice. It's just a weird habit that has developed over time rather than an actual defect in my body.

4) Low stride rate. He counted 78 strides per minute. I should be running 85 strides per minute, taking quicker, shorter strides. This will help me land with less impact. He wants me to purchase a clip-on metronome to help me learn to run at the correct rate.

Some other things he wants me to do:

1) Read the book, ChiRunning, by Danny Dreyer, and learn to run using the form described in the book, which is based on principles of Tai Chi. This form includes the forward lean, landing on the midfoot, relaxing the lower leg and ankle and using more of the core muscles to run, and picking up the feet. Matt says that all his running patients cleared up their knee problems by adopting this running style. And he was able to demonstrate it for me himself; so as strange as it feels, I know it can be done.

2) Switch to soft Bio-foam insoles. He thinks Superfeet insoles, which I have been using, are too hard for running. And he agrees with Dr. Augé that I should be wearing well-cushioned neutral shoes rather than the heavy motion control shoes I was wearing.

3) Use a different stretch for my quads after each run that is less stressful on my knees.

4) Run 3-4 times per week, only 1-2 miles each time, focusing on improving my form rather than on speed or distance. Then, come back to him in 3 weeks for evaluation.

So, I purchased the book as soon as I left his office and have done 2 runs since then. So far, no knee pain whatsoever. The form feels very strange, but I'm actually able to run faster than I ever have before. Yesterday, I ran a 10:24 mile on the treadmill: my fastest yet. The forward lean is like a gas pedal, according to Dreyer. The more you lean, the longer your stride has to be to keep you from falling, and if you maintain your stride rate, you will go faster.

The only pain I'm having now is the soreness in the left side of my right shin. Dreyer says that shin pain is caused by overusing the lower legs and also landing on the toes and balls of the feet rather than the midfoot. I do think that I have been overcompensating for the heel strike by landing on the balls instead. My next run, I'll focus on picking up my feet and landing flat-footed.

So, new plan: I still have an opportunity to participate in the San Francisco Marathon. I found out today that they have a Progressive Marathon. You fill out a sheet showing runs you've done in the last few months adding up to 23.1 miles and then complete the final 3.1 miles in a 5K race during the SF Marathon. You can run or walk the 5K, so I can still do it even though I'm not supposed to run more than 2 miles. Then, you end up with a medal and a T-shirt. It will be nice to salvage something from my previous plan!

As far as the Nike Women's Marathon: Matt thinks I should switch to the 1/2 Marathon on October 22, which agrees with Dr. Augé's opinion. I'll see how I do in the next few weeks before I make that decision.

Hmmm...

The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer arrived today! Sadly, the promise of training you to run a marathon in 16-weeks has a catch that was not divulged on the Amazon.com web site. The 16 weeks does not begin until you are able to jog continuously for 30 minutes! The authors stress that it is extremely important to slowly work up to the 30 minutes so as to train the bones and muscles of the feet and legs and to avoid injury. The book includes a preliminary training program which must be completed before the official 16-week program begins.

You begin the program at your current level. The first 4 weeks are walking only. I can skip those because I can easily walk 15 minutes/mile for 45 minutes. Week 5 is intervals of jogging 5 minutes and walking 5 minutes for 30 minutes. This is where I will have to begin.

My knees are already sore from the work outs with Tuelo and the running/walking on the tradmill that I have been doing. And I don't even run for 5 minutes at a time! Realistically, I won't be ready for the marathon by July 30. This is sad for me because I already announced to everyone that I was going to do it. But I don't want to ruin my knees. I don't want knee replacement surgery when I'm Mom's age. And I don't want to injure myself so that I can't complete a marathon at a later date.

I think I will have to switch to one of the half marathons on July 30. I don't think I will get a refund of the full fee that I paid. (The half marathon is less expensive than the full marathon.) But it's just money, right?

Training Guides...

One Wednesday, I ordered The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer from Amazon.com, which promises to train you to run a marathon in 16 weeks. I have about 16 weeks before the San Francisco Marathon on July 30. I hope the book arrives soon.

In the mean time, I picked up a couple of other books at the Berkeley library today: The Complete Book Of Running For Women and The Beginning Runner's Handbook: The Proven 13-Week Walk-Run Program. Tonight, I have already read The Complete Book of Running for Women from cover to cover. I am so excited by all this!

I just hope that I will get past all the reading and buying accoutrements and actually have the fortitude and stamina to do all the running! No, I know I can. That's what I told myself a few mornings ago when I was walking as fast as I could the 5 miles from my house to Lake Merritt BART station before work. My shins were on fire as I walked. But I kept repeating, "I know I can do this. I know I can do this." Which I think is a much more powerful mantra than simply, "I can do this."