Thursday, May 13, 2010

Recovering

I've been really busy lately with work and preparing for a much-needed vacation to Hawaii (I'm writing this on the plane) so I haven't been blogging lately. I haven't been running much lately either as I still have knee pain. I want to rest my knee for a while before I decide to train for another race. The 50K was great but I would have liked to finish stronger. It's only 6 miles longer than a marathon yet I started to fall apart just after 26 miles.

So, my knee... I'm worried that it's another physical problem like a meniscus tear and I'll have to consider surgery again. I hope that it's something that can be fixed with physical therapy and improving my running form. I have an appointment with my family practice doctor when I get back from Hawaii. I hope that they'll cover an MRI to get a better look.

I'm reading Born To Run (who isn't, right?) and I'm trying to take the story with a big grain of salt. I want to believe that running shoes are the problem and that running barefoot or with minimal shoes will solve everything but at my height and weight, I don't think I can get to that point. I think that it's more realistic for smaller / lighter guys who have pretty good running form already. The book presents it as a simple fix-it for all running pain (along with not stretching) but I just can't buy it wholesale.

I do plan to find a grass field near work and incorporate some barefoot running into my training and see if I notice any difference in my form or foot stability. I'm already trying to work on my running form during my regular runs. I do 1/4 mile form drills on the treadmill and outdoors where I run upright with a very straight back and work on taking shorter steps while landing mid to forefoot. It's hard to keep up for any length of time. I don't notice any differences yet.

So the running...

I've gone for two runs in the last week. One was last Sunday around home, and the other was 2 miles on the treadmill at the gym on Wednesday.

Sunday's run was the one store loop. The weather was great, high 60s and sunny. I wanted to test out the Icebreaker shirt that I got free from I Run Far. It's a black shirt which I thought would make it pretty warm but that wasn't the case. The wicking material did it's job and I didn't feet sweaty during the run. There are panels of more minimal fabric under the arms and in the middle of the back. It has flat-lock stitching which I couldn't even feel rubbing against my skin. (a good thing) I forgot to try out the key / gel pocket. The sizing runs quite large. Mine is size medium and it comes down half way over my shorts. Normally I have to get large or even XL shirts so that they're long enough but this makes me look like I'm wearing a tent flapping in the wind due to the extra width. I like the long meduim sizing. The shirt is a little stretchy as well. I wonder how a size small would fit? I barely noticed the shirt during the run which is exactly what I hoped for. I would definitely recommend Icebreaker tech running shirts.

So my mileage this month will be very low. I hope to spend most of my time in Hawaii near or in the water with the family but I'll still get out for a run or two. I'm sure there will be trails around nearby.

Mahalo!


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2 comments:

Melissa said...

I hope you had/are having a great time in Hawaii!!!

Thanks again for being soooo nice

nrmrvrk said...

Thanks, I did. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.