Running Update

From melting snow to blooming fireweed…..just like that. Time just goes by so fast it seems. But, lots of things have been happening during that time which is mostly really good, but some…well uh, not so good.

So first the bad news…..

My running was going great! I felt great! I was running about 30 miles a week and feeling pretty strong on a fairly hilly course. Everything was going really good. Too good, apparently. I started feeling some tightness in my left calf which led to tension on the achilles (I have a history of achilles problems). I wasn’t having any pain so I continued to run. The pain came later in the day after the run and the symptoms were consistent with achilles tendonitis! So, I was off from running… for three weeks it turns out! I would try to run periodically just to test my achilles, but the tenderness remained until this past week.

How does this happen when everything is going so great!!!

Okay, I kinda do have some idea…..

I buy running shoes and wear them until they need to be replaced. I rarely buy a second pair before the first pair wears out. So, that means I don’t have any real transition time into the new shoes. Basically, I bought a new pair of running shoes which were the same type, style, and year of my current running shoes. I did zero transition miles, yes that is correct, none! I was running 30 miles a week in brand new shoes! To be honest, I really didn’t think anything about it. It is the same shoe, right? And it’s new so even better, right? Wrong! Well, sort of….my muscles, ligaments, and tendons adjusted to the increasing mileage in the current shoes, but new shoes are more stiff and not worn in so they are NOT going to wear the same way which can put a lot of strain on those muscles, tendons, and ligaments. And to add insult to injury (ha ha no pun intended), I had just added speed work to my schedule. If this doesn’t spell set up for injury, I don’t know what does! Geeezzz, will I ever learn????

I run in Saucony Zealots and I love them. But, they do have a low heel to toe drop of 4mm. Because I need to take some tension off the achilles, I tried other shoes that were more of a 10-12 mm offset, but I felt like I was just clunking along on the treadmill while trying them out. I didn’t think just 6-8mm more would make that much of a difference but it does! So, I settled for Saucony Triumphs which have an 8mm heel to toe drop. They are also a little more cushioned than the Zealots. However, they do have more of a stiffer sole; I am not sure how I feel about that yet.

I only ran 2 miles in them the first day. Took a day off and then ran 3 miles. When I got up to 4 a couple of days later without pain or stiffness, I was just soooo happy!!! Super happy just to be running. But, I do have to continue to take it easy since I am running in new shoes. I don’t feel like I have much choice in the matter right now because I can’t exactly go back to running in my worn out Zealots nor do I think it is going to be helpful to run in the new Zealots. So, that is where I am with all of that.

I am hoping to get back on the marathon training schedule soon.

I did have to miss the Her Tern Half Marathon, but I didn’t get too down about it. After all, my goal is Chicago, and because I have missed the first few weeks of training, I am a little worried about it. But, I still have some time.

Now don’t go and feel too sad for me because I wasn’t just sitting around mourning my injury……The good news is I was out camping with my hubby and grandkids which I will be posting about very soon. Plus a little extra specialness that has happened over the last couple of months 🙂