JJSB Rundate 17296: IT Band Trouble

I feel that I have finally diagnosed the knee and hip issues that I have been having.  The first sign of trouble was back in June during an 8 mile run.  My hip felt out of place at the beginning of the run and during the last few miles, I began to experience hip and knee pain.  I wasn't sure exactly what the issue was but didn't really think too much of it until it kept reoccurring.  Not every time I ran but fairly frequently.  In addition, I had a loss of mobility in my leg and some knee pain along with it. And so I focused on the knee, thinking that was the source of the issue.  So, I began some knee exercises which I'm sure was great for me and my knee and leg muscles in general but didn't really seem to help with the reoccurring knee and hip pain much.  The climax of my issues occurred when I went for a 6 mile birthday run and experience some knee pain.  The next day, I had to call in sick to work because it was excruciatingly painful to move or put weight on my knee.  Now, I was really concerned.

Clinging to hope that this wasn't the end of my long distance running, I thought that one of the things that might be causing me problems was that my my current running shoes, the Hoka One One Cliftons, were approaching 500 miles and that perhaps the cushioning was depleted to the point that it was causing me problems with my knees.  I considered going back to the Brooks Adrenaline GTS because I had had a couple of pairs of them and they had worked well for me but decided to do a bit of internet research first.  As I researched, I began to find that many folks had had knee issues when running in the Hoka Clifton's.  It turned out that people either loved and swore by the Hokas or had issues with them, the most notabe issue being painful knee problems.

I decided to go with some Brooks Adrenalines and so I headed over to The Running Well store which is where I have been getting most of my running shoes over the past 5 years.  They recently began carrying Hokas so I talked to them a little about them versus the Brooks.  It turns out that the Hoka Clifton's are a neutral shoe and the Brooks Adrenaline are a stability shoe.  Although I have been assessed as a neutral runner (at that very store), which means that I should be able to run in any type of shoe, it is almost certain that running in the neutral Hokas is the cause of my problems and that I need to be running in a stability shoe like the Brooks Adrenaline GTS or the Asics Gel-Kayano both of which are stability shoes and both of which I have run in in the past and have had no issues with.  I pretty much just switched to the Hoka's because I wanted something that might give just a bit more heel cushion for very long runs and there were a lot of very favorable reviews on them.  Big mistake and lesson learned.  If you have a particular shoe that is working for you, DON'T MAKE A CHANGE!  Incidentally, I am losing confidence in The Running Well Store because they really don't educate folks enough in my opinion.  I feel that I didn't get complete information regarding shoe types until I had issues and began asking questions.  I feel like cautions should be given up front like, "Your treadmill stride evaluation classifies you as a neutral runner which means you should be able to run in any type of shoe.  We'll have you try the Brooks adrenaline which is a stability shoe and see how it works for you.  Although a neutral runner should be able to run in any type of shoe, some still need a stability shoe so try it out and see how it works.  If you have issues, you may need to switch to a running shoe."  Something to that affect.  I mean, they are supposed to be experts who educate people and I didn't learn all of these things until I started asking very specific questions and challenging the sales person.

At any rate, I'm now I am back in the Brooks Adrenaline GTS and am hoping this will help solve at least part of the problem.

The other thing I found was that running in a neutral shoe when you should be running in a stability shoe (or vice versa) can cause a lot of problems with something called the IT (Iliotibial) band which is something that I had no idea even existed.  Turns out that issues with this band (or ligament) are fairly common among runners.  You can read about it here: Iliotibial Band Syndrome.   The issue I was having were described exactly in the symptoms of IT band syndrome and I read of many accounts of folks changing shoe types only to irritate the IT band in doing so.  Finding this was actually great news.  a good exercise that works well to keep my hips and lower back aligned.  I've had issues over the years where my hip feels out of place and my left leg is shorter than my right.  I found an exercise that works very well for me: Leg Swing Exercise  The very first time I did this exercise, I felt my hip and lower back realign and now I am performing this both before and after runs.  I started off slow for the first couple of weeks-- one short 3 mile run once a week and am going to try to start a half marathon training plan this week.

I'll try to post updates about how it is going with the IT band as I progress through the plan.

Thanks for reading!

JJSB Rundate 17242: Working on speed

Hey friends.  I'm checking in with a quick update post.  I've still trying to get myself back into a regular running routine.  I mentioned in my last post that my plan was to start a half marathon training plan but the time commitment required just wasn't working out with all that I have going on right now.  I have a lot of home improvement projects in the works and although I love doing them, they take time and I just can't add running every day into the mix or I'll be worn out and won't enjoy any of it.  So my current goal is to run every other day and work on my speed again.  I was getting a bit discouraged because my pace has slipped considerably over the past couple of years.  Some of this may be due to getting older, but there is certainly an element of me not pushing myself as hard or as often as I used to.  My goal right now is to always be under 10min/mile pace and to shoot for a low 9min/mile pace consistently.  Longer runs (8 miles or more) would be a different matter at least for now.  I'd try to stay at least below 10:30 pace on those.  Of course, all of this is dependent on the outside temps which vary quite a bit at this time of the year and can make huge difference.

Well, that's it for now.   I'll try to post an update on how it's going in a week or two.

Peace!

JJSB Rundate 17225: My Complaining Knee

Hey friends.  So,it's been about an month and a half since I last posted to this blog.  I last posted just after completing a month of running every day of the month.  Toward the end of that month, I began to have some discomfort in my left knee.  It wasn't excruciating but there was definitely some pain.  Enough pain to have to push through it, especially on long runs.   It didn't feel like there was any major damage but instead that I may have pulled a muscle or that something was "out of place".  In addition, the range of motion in that knee was not nearly what it had once been.  Kind of like the joint was swollen.

Because we were going to Florida for vacation in the middle of July, I decided it would be a good time to give my knee a rest and although I was tempted to run while in Florida, and almost gave in to the temptation a couple of times, I rested the knee the entire week and a half and then another week after I returned.  Over the next couple of weeks, I took short 2 mile runs just to gauge my progress and was still having discomfort.  During this entire time, I was also trying to do stretching exercises to try to help improve my range of motion.  I was actually really beginning to worry about falling out of the habit of running and I've seen so many health benefits from it that it was quite discouraging.

Well, after another week of no-running rest, I took a short (three-mile) very slow paced run today and didn't experience any discomfort or even any of the tightness in my knee.  This is very encouraging.  My plan is to start a half-marathon training plan and see how it goes.  Right now, I'm not sure if I'll ever regain the speed that I once had but I have to keep reminding myself that it's not about the speed.  It's about putting in time and distance.

So, anyway, this was just kind of an update on where I'm at with my running for those who actually read this blog.  I appreciate the support that has been shown by those who simply read and also all the encouragement that I've received throughout the last five years of my running career.  Thanks to all!

JJSB Rundate 17182: June Running Goal Achieved and The Benefits

Yesterday, I wrapped up my running for the month of June and am very satisfied to write that not only did I achieve my goal of running every day of the month, I also completed over 100 miles in the month of June.  It was the first time that I have ever run every day in a month and it was definitely a challenge some days as the temperatures rose into the 90's and the aches and pains poked and prodded at my body.

This last week was a particular challenge, as I did something to my left leg - not sure what but it felt like it was out of place and my knee area was very tight and painful.  It started mostly after my 8 mile run last Sunday but I didn't feel it until some time after the run was complete.  So, this week I was very cognizant of altering my stride and putting as little impact as possible on my knee while doing some stretching in between runs.  I'm glad to say that the knee discomfort continued to improve throughout the week and is back to near normal today.

This month has been really good for me in a few ways.

First, if you read my last blog post, Setting Goals, near the beginning of the month, I was struggling with depression and the main reason I set the goal of running every day in June was to keep myself focused on something to occupy my thoughts.  I'm glad to say that it definitely helped my mental state and gave me reason and purpose.

Second, it helped bolster my self image.  Every goal that we set and achieve brings a sense of accomplishment and with it increased self appreciation.  The importance of goals in life cannot be over emphasized because goals are tied directly to hope.

Third, I had to be strategic this month which is essential to increased mental acumen.  Running every day meant none of the rest days that are so important to a long term running regime.  Muscles need time to rest and with running every day, one can easily get caught up in increasing the speed and distance to the point of over exerting the muscles, joints and bones of the body.  I had to intentionally run very short and slow on my scheduled "rest" days and continue to monitor myself throughout each run to ensure that I was running in a sustainable fashion.  There were a number of times that I wanted to run hard and fast on the rest days (and unfortunately, a couple of times I did) but I constantly reminded myself about the overall goal of being able to run every day.  If I had over exerted myself early on, I very likely wouldn't have been able to achieve the goal I set for the month.

So, here I am on July 1st and this will be the first run free day after running 31 days in a row.  The immediate goal now in front of me related to running is to let my knee have a few days of complete rest from running and then decide what's in store for July.  I'll be in Florida for a bit so it's always exciting to plan runs in new areas so I'm sure that will fit somewhere into the plans.

As always, thanks to those who take the time to read.  Happy Running!

JJSB Rundate 17155: Setting Goals and Exploring Line Creek Trail

Right now I'm just trying to keep myself going in the midst of a wasteland of depression.  I keep thinking its getting better but the "better" turns out to be nebulous and transitory.  I'm desperately trying to grasp onto whatever I can to keep myself going.  I'm reflecting on what I should be thankful for and intentionally expressing thankfulness for those things.  I'm also trying to set goals in an attempt to keep myself from sinking into "the pit" and occupy as many of my waking hours as possible. 

One of the time occupying goals I've set before myself  is to run every day of this month of June.  I've never done an entire month of running every day so I thought it would be a nice summer goal and definitely a good way to keep me focused on something.  Anything.
At the same time, I also know it's important to rest the body between runs.  Because of this, some of my usual days off from running will be only short 1-2 mile easy, slow paced runs.

I'm four days in and I'm really glad that I challenged myself to do this.

Yesterday was my favorite run this month so far because I ran on the southern portion of the Line Creek Trail, a part that I haven't been on in at least a year (maybe two).  It's a gorgeous trail and when I reached Riverside, I discovered that they've finally extended it further south which greatly excites me as it gives me more trail to explore.  My only disappointment was that shortly after I entered Riverside, it was time to turn around and run the 4 miles back to my starting point and I didn't get a chance to explore the trails further.  Next Week!

                                                              I made it to Riverside!

The wildlife I saw yesterday was fantastic.  I saw a turtle, ducks, several groundhogs, a myriad of rabbits and some far too "friendly" squirrels.  No snakes today (which I often see warming themselves on the concrete path) but on the return leg, I looked over into the creek and saw some gar swimming around in the clear moving water.  Gar!  I never realized that there were gar in that creek but I looked it up after I got home and sure enough they are there!

I look forward to discovering new features along this trail in the weeks to come.

                                                   Box Turtle I saw walking next to the trail

Some of the smaller Line Creek falls

JJSB RunDate 17048: February Update

Hi gang!

Just dropping in to give a quick update on my February running goal.
At the end of January, I found myself struggling to get out and run and one of the ways I decided to try and jump start myself was to set a goal of topping the total number of miles I have ever run in February.  You can read about that here:  Somewhere Slump and Crisis

But before I started, I knew I needed a well laid out running schedule so I went to guy I always go to:  Mr. Hal Higdon,
I've done quite a few of his different training schedules but this time, I decided to go with his Half-Marathon Novice 2 Training Program.  It just felt like a nice gradual return to a steady running program.

So far, it's going quite well.  I had several somewhat cold days at the beginning of the training, but the weather as of late in KC has been much warmer than typical for February so the conditions are ideal for me to surpass my goal.  I'm on week 3 so I'll b e running 6 miles today.  It;s currently 53F at 9am and is supposed to get up to around 72F.  I'll actually need to get out there before it gets too warm.  Unheard of for February in these parts!

My total miles for Feb. so far is 31.24 so after today's run, I'll be around 37.24.  72% of the way to setting a personal Feb. record!
I've missed one day of the training program so it set me just a bit behind but I'm still on course to pass 51.85 just before the end of the month.

The one day I missed was a 4 mile run on Wednesday of this week.  It was kind of a rough day which ended with parent-teacher conferences that went until 7:00pm or so and I was just kind of sick to my stomach.
At least I did follow what I have learned and stuck to my schedule for the next night.  When I missed Wednesday, I thought, oh, I'll make it up the next night or run and extra night (Friday) but I reminded myself that when a day is missed, it's almost always better just to stick to the schedule.

Anyway, just wanted to give an update.

Get out and run folks!

Peace to you!

JJSB RunDate 17035: One Example of The Therapy of Running

As I've mentioned in previous posts, one of the main reasons that I run is for mental health.  I'm extremely thankful that over the past several years of running, I have been able to use it to combat anxiety on a number of different levels.  I used to take medication to deal with my anxiety but through the strategic use of running, I was able to move away from having to take medication every day.  Although there have been many times running has helped me, it has taken me a while to learn how to best use running in this area of my life.  Today was a good example, so I thought I would share it.

There's a friend of mine that I've had a bit of a falling out with.  This friend and I sent a couple of emails back and forth sort of calling each other out and the last one sent was by me the day before yesterday, on Thursday evening.  I was pretty upset about the last email I had received so the response I sent was quite terse.  I spent the rest of the evening feeling more hurt that I had in a long time and just contemplating the whole situation.
Now, I knew that there would likely be a response and I suspected that it would be somewhat confrontational and would come the next morning.

I didn't get around to checking my email the next day (Friday) until well after noon but when I did, sure enough, there was a response.

I didn't read it.

Instead, I left it sitting there.

Rather than reading it and taking a chance on ruining my work day, my evening or my sleep last night, I just let it sit.

Rather than letting it possibly ruin my Saturday morning, I let it sit,.

In fact, I let it sit until just before I went for my Saturday run.

This is my mental strategy now.  As much as I am able, I gear stressful circumstances around my running schedule.

And it works.  Yes, the email response from my friend was terse and passive aggressively provocative, but as soon as I was finished reading it, I went running.
While running, I had time to think, contemplate, reflect and form a cogent and honest response.
As I ran, my breathing steady and my senses clear, I experienced calm, peace and clarity.

And hopefully the email response that I just sent a couple of hours ago reflected that.

Whatever the case may be, I feel good about what I said and the manner in which I conveyed it and running helped me achieve that.

JJSB RunDate 17029:Somewhere Between Slump and Crisis - Looking for Inspiration

I thought I was in a running slump.  That's what I thought.  But this isn't a running slump.

It's not a running crisis either.

It's somewhere in between.

But it is serious.

I'm really having trouble getting out the door.  Every time I go out, I'm having to force myself with everything I have.

And the more times there are that I don't get out the door, the harder it is when I do get out the door.

I looked back at all of my December/January mile totals since I started running and this year is dismal in comparison to previous years.

Yeah, I've had some slow months here and there but the slow down was always fairly brief and then I was able to refocus and get back into the swing of things.

But the numbers don't lie:

Dec 2012/Jan 2013 - 138 miles

Dec 2013/Jan 2014 - 66 miles

Dec 2014/Jan 2015 - 59 miles

Dec 2015/Jan 2016 - 100 miles

Dec 2016/Jan 2017 -  33 miles

Or, if you prefer, here it is in graph form so you can easily see just how far I have backslidden:

That's right.  This year Dec/Jan I ran a total of only 33 miles.  That's 33 miles in 9 weeks or roughly 3.7 miles per week.

So if I consider a slump to be somewhere between 40 - 50 miles and crisis as 0 - 10, you can understand why I say that I'm somewhere between slump and crisis  (Sorry for the data, but it's what I do)

I'm trying desperately to regroup, set some goals for myself and find inspiration any place I can get it.

One thing I am doing is reflecting on myself in an attempt to figure out exactly why I'm having so much trouble keeping up a running schedule.

There have been a number of factors that I have mentioned in previous posts but one which I have always minimized is the support and encouragement of friends.  Don't get me wrong, I've always appreciated the support of others.  I just didn't realize exactly how much it means to me until the group of people supporting me kind of tapered off.  Now I realize how wrong I am about that.

The one tangible thing I am going to do for now is set a realistic February goal to try to jump start things and get back on track.  My goal is to set a personal record for total miles in February this year.

Since I began running, my highest total for February has been 51.85 miles so my goal is to top that for February 2017.

I will also be appealing more to others for encouragement as it obviously does have an effect on my running activities.