The Train/Pain Cycle

The previous training cycle was a long and difficult road and planning ahead was they initial key to my success. Little did I know that even with the best plan, things could still go wrong.

The first week of 2010 was the starting point for training for my first full marathon. I had looked through several marathon training programs online and made a hybrid of a few of them that would not only suit my lifestyle, but my running style as well. Many of the programs called for runs four to five times a week, but with four kids, a full-time job, and my wife and I both being full-time college students, that kind of program just would not work. I made my own plan using time and distance, laying it out on a spreadsheet and kept the runs to three times a week. Weekdays (Mon, Wed, Fri) were short to medium runs (3-7 miles) and Saturdays were set for my longer runs (anything over 8 miles). The off days during the week I had intentionally set for cross training at the gym to include weights, stationary bike and eliptical.

So, I had my plan and knew what days I would be doing what. I printed a calendar with all of my runs/cross-x days and posted it on the wall above my computer. I knew, and could reference at any time, when I would have long runs, weight training days, and speed or fartlek days. Mentally this truly helped me and it also helped to keep me on task throughout the training cycle. I had a plan and I was going to stick to that plan!

In addition to the plan I also had another tool at my disposal. While training for my first half marathon the previous year I decided to invest in a Camel Back water system. This was a great help as it allowed me to run with water, but without having to carry a water bottle. This was a huge help in distance runs (anything over 6.5 miles), but it also helped in other ways for this year. Little did I know at first that this hydration system would help increase my breathing once I stopped wearing it. When running with the Camel Back I would draw the shoulder straps and chest straps tightly so as to remove any sliding or jostling around during my runs. What I found was that after I stopped wearing it I could breath better, could take deeper breaths, and run much faster and harder (especially at distances under 6 miles). I continued to train with this knowing the added benefits. One last note on the Camel Back, with the shoulder and chest straps I never had any chaffing issues on my chest or back.

Shoes. I thought I had tried nearly every brand of shoe under the sun while in the Marine Corps, but I missed a particular brand that would prove crucial to my running success. When I started running again a few years ago I found Saucony shoes and instantly fell in love with them. I am now on my third pair in two years and use them only for running. For this current training cycle I went ahead and bought two pairs of the same shoe knowing that I would burn through them as long as I stuck to my plan. I try not to put more than 350 - 400 miles on a single pair of shoes. In addition to Saucony Grid Ignition shoes for this training cycle, I also bought the Dr. Sholl’s sport inserts for added comfort. This combination of shoe/insert has proven quite effective and played a huge roll in the Flying Pig half marathon 2010 (more on that in another post). My feet never felt tired or achy and I always felt like I had a spring in my step, I felt like I could really run.

Training program, check. Hydration system, check. Proper shoes, check. Let’s get running.

January 2010 in southern Ohio was weird. We endured a pretty mild late fall and early winter, but after the turn of the new year all of that changed. We had snow, ice, and more snow and this made training rather difficult. I am fortunate enough to have had a pair of Yak Trax to pull over my shoes to keep me from slipping and sliding all over the place, and they were much needed and used early on. It seemed like everything was coming together nicely and January went by without any issues. I ran, trained at the gym and felt really good.

February came around and things started to go badly. The weather was not improving and the snow/ice combination was making it nearly impossible to do any real outside running. Add to that a new round of classes that were more in depth and difficult, these classes demanded a lot of time, reading, and mounds of required work. The few runs I got in early just were not enough. And then a hamstring issue. One of the few nice days in February (a Saturday by chance), I decided to get in an easy 7-8 mile run. I was using the local state park and its hills to train for the hills in the Flying Pig. At the bottom of one such hill I started feeling a tightening in my hamstring. My truck was parked at the top of the hill, and I was five miles into the run. I had just over a mile back and painfully made my way back, drove home in disappointment and began healing. Little to no running for two weeks.

March had a promising opening which brought me back into pain free running and I got back on track with my training plan. Things were beginning to look good again. Part way into the month I was back at the state park (different area this time) doing a nice 10 mile run. Somewhere around mile 7 I started feeling pain in my left knee. This time I was about 1.5 miles away from the truck (see a pattern evolving), but was fortunate enough that there weren’t any hills in my way. Disappointed again, I resolved that I would soon make the decision as to whether I would do the full marathon or half for the Flying Pig. Another week of rest and a decision would be made.

April began equally as good as March and January. Temps started stabilizing a bit and when not running with the Camel Back I started noticing a drastic increase in speed in the 3 - 6 mile runs. Things were looking good. I was prepared to make the decision by April 5th as to the full/half Pig. Sadly the decision was made for me four weeks before the Pig. Injury this time grabbed me, but not while running. I had merely stepped off of the back porch at a friends house and my left ankle just went sideways. Two days later the doctor told me there were no broken bones, but that I should stay off of it for 10 days - no work, no running, no weights, no nothing. The first few days were difficult to move around the house, but it got better. 11 days after the incident I returned to the pavement and put in a short 3.5 mile run. Each mile got better and faster and I breathed a sigh of relief. Two and a half weeks away from the Pig I was now convinced that I would be able to run the half, but was not sure I would beat the time I put in the previous year.

And so I finished a newly re-modified training plan and prepared for my third half marathon in less than 365 days.