Spring Running Thread

[OakLeaf]

Well.

First of all, nothing catastrophic with the injuries. I've mostly been offline because of the move back north. Always super stressful and disorienting to me, never mind just the physical energy it takes to close up a house. Slowly trying to re-engage my head and my body now that they can be in the same place together.

So things just kind of are what they are. I'm still planning to run next week, still feel like I've got a reasonably good chance of finishing without aggravating anything much, but trying to prepare emotionally for a DNF. I'm kind of okay with the idea of it (which might or might not be a sign of how depressed I've been, sigh), but actually putting it into practice and knowing if it's time to bail - that will be the challenge.

There is some silver lining though, and that's the fact that four years after my fall and decades after the cumulative injuries that set me up, I am FINALLY, really, starting to get better. I knew I was taking a risk by keeping on with all the aggressive, problem-focused bodywork at the same time I was training for a race, but I'd wasted so much time with incompetent practitioners, and I've still been in so much discomfort, that when I finally found good chiropractors in both locations, I really needed to keep going with it and d*mn the torpedoes. And it's those changes in my biomechanics that have brought me down at the moment, but I'm also at a point where I can really feel the positive side of it. Really my run on Friday was the first time I've been so aware of everything coming together, my lumbar curve, hip extension, pelvic rotation, all felt amazingly right and so different from what they've been the past 40 years.

And it's all connected, holey moley. You want an illustration of how everything in the body is connected ... that's come very clear. Turns out, when I sprained my right ankle at 12 years old, all that thoracolumbar dysfunction, that weird twist in my lower spine and pelvis, all those thick bands of adhesions in my right obliques and QL, all that stuff I've had for decades ... all of that was compensating for the weak ankle. So when I finally started getting all that stuff worked out ... the first thing I said when my ankle hurt was that it felt "sprain-y," and that was right, it's called sinus tarsi syndrome, and it's a complication of old sprains. It's unusual for it to rear its head after so much time (it's been at least ten years since the last time I sprained that ankle), but now I understand why. It's a pretty mild case, and I'm optimistic about being able to rehab it properly after race day is over one way or the other. Besides just the risk of aggravating something, my biggest issue now with the race is the fact that there are muscles that just aren't trained because they weren't working right until a couple of weeks ago. The peroneals on that side, particularly, are awfully sore for not a lot of running.

The other Achilles - THAT was my left glute not firing properly since all of a sudden it's now in a completely different relationship with everything else. My first clue was how my usual Achilles remedies involving the foot and calf weren't doing a single thing to help; my second clue was how very, very weird my left glute felt after my last session with the LMT when he really worked out the knots where it had been fighting its new alignment. I probably inadvertently aggravated that with the deep water running I was doing to spare the other ankle, sigh - DWR is good for a lot of things, but not so much the posterior chain. I've got the glute taped now (not so hard to do myself really ), paying close attention to keeping it relaxed when I'm running, did a yoga video focused on integrating the feet and hips, and it's much, much better.

I've got so much tape on me at this point I should audition for "The Mummy." Except I'm not sure if they had pink argyle in ancient Egypt.

Weather - yeah me too. Bit of a culture shock going from waiting (sometimes futilely) for the humidity to drop below 90% before I run, to waiting for the temperature to rise above freezing. I'd have got out earlier today if I'd realized that that high of 55° we were supposed to have, wasn't actually supposed to happen until 7 pm, ha. Had a few flakes of snow on my run Thursday, took yesterday off when it was really falling.

RnR, all's good with your hamstring and glute? Yay if so!

Onward.

[rocknrollgirl]

I hear you about doing all the body work while training. I had that conversation with myself many, many times over the past 10 weeks. I just figured/hoped that at some point it would all come together and I would feel stronger. If not for this race, then for the next. But I have never been this sore from cross training while I was training.

But yes, the hamstring and glute are feeling good. I have kept up with all of the exercises and have added in some stuff for the front chain, quads and VMO. we have not been cycling as much this winter and I do not want all of the glute/hamstring/ IT exercises to set up an imbalance.

It sounds like you are in the mend but the timing is just not great. It is SO hard going into any race with injury on your mind, especially a big race. I really feel for you. You will make the right decision when the time comes.

Add moving to your plate and you have a lot going on. I hate moving. The actual moving part, not the living somewhere new part.

Keep us posted on how you are doing this week. I have two friends racing at Boston also, that I will be tracking, so I will be following the race.

[rocknrollgirl]

Good Luck on Monday Oak!

Not sure if you are traveling yet, but just wanted to give a shout out.

Boston Marathon!!!!

[OakLeaf]

Thanks! For some reason the temperature in Boston is supposed to be perfect for running every day this week except Monday, when it will be pretty warm. Not so bad for running injured though, and the silver lining is that it looks like we'll have a bit of a tailwind after all. Unless they change the forecast again before then!

[Crankin]

Nah, the forecast is still for 70-72 at the high point of the day. No humidity. By the time you get to Boylston St., though it will be going down to the 60s.

[Pax]

Go Oak!!! Wishing you all the best today.

[rocknrollgirl]

Go Oak!!! Wishing you all the best today.

She is doing great, through the 25k mark, still holding a great pace!!!

Go Oak!!

[Pax]

Looks like she finished! Way to go Oak!!

[OakLeaf]

Thanks all! I was very happy to finish, and re-qualified with a decent margin. Even if I'm still healthy next year I'm not sure I really want to run another spring marathon, it's a huge hassle with the move and all, but just qualifying is a milestone in itself. The Achilles is a little iffy right now but the other ankle held up fine, and I'm feeling much better after doing a yin yoga video. Thinking about going back downstairs for dessert.

[rocknrollgirl]

Congrats Oak. My two friends that ran said it was warm and windy , so great job. I hope the Achilles feels better soon. Do you move every winter?

[OakLeaf]

The weather was kind of a double-edged sword, and I'm pretty sure people who started in earlier waves would've had it a lot rougher than I did. It was very hot at the staging area in Hopkinton, but the wind turned within my first 5K and the temperature dropped by 10 degrees almost immediately, nearly 20 degrees by the time I finished. I definitely noticed the wind in places - actually more so than I did last year, even though the recorded wind speed was less - but since the wind brought the cool ocean temperature, I thought it was a net benefit. Having trained in heat definitely helped too.

Yep, we head south every winter. There are pros and cons, but not having to try to run on slush-narrowed roads in February is huge! Hope your other friends had good races, too.

[Pax]

Be glad you headed home when you did, it's actually warmer in the upper Midwest than it is here. It's been cool and tremendously windy here the last couple of weeks.

[OakLeaf]

We actually left for Boston before the hot weather hit at home, hopefully the rain will be done by the time we get back, and it should be more spring-like. With the rain and then drier weather, it should be good mushroom hunting this weekend!

This year the Marathon was commemorating the 50th anniversary of women running, and I thought it was extra fitting that it's the 50th anniversary of Bobbi Gibb's bandit run and not Kathrine Switzer's sneaky registration the following year. At first I thought it was odd to commemorate a bandit, then I realized it just shows the continued importance of civil disobedience in establishing the rights of marginalized people.

[Catrin]

Good observation Oakleaf!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk

[Pax]

Oak - absolutely. Playing "by the rules" when the rules are designed to oppress, is a suckers bet.