30-Day Fitness Rebound Begins

Ok so an 8-week layoff from running really sucks, especially when you are just sitting or lying around, in order stay off your feet so you can heal an injury. So this morning I am out doing my normal 6-mile run and I realize that I am probably running close to 60 seconds slower per mile than I did 8 weeks ago and I feel weaker too. Well, it was actually 9 weeks ago as I have already been running again for a week now. On the lighter side, how many people can lay off 8-weeks and then go out and do a 2-mile, 4-mile and 8-mile run in 4 days time? I have to be happy about that. And, I wasn’t nearly as sore as I thought I would be the next day after the 8-mile run last Sunday. I was sure I would be walking around like I had run a marathon instead of only 8 miles.

So I have lost some fitness for sure. Now I am thinking how much can I get back in the next 30 days, counting today? I had to go back to early May to find a run that came close to matching the same conditions. This run was 9 miles instead of 6 and it had a lot more elevation gain but I ran a 9:45 avg. pace. Because of the extra hills and distance I would handicap it and say I would probably have done about 9:30 on the same course and conditions as today. I suck when the temperature gets above 60 degrees with bright sunshine and a relatively high dew point of around 55. Today, according to Accuweather, it was 68 degrees at the finish with a dew point of 56 and bright sunshine to boot.

Ok, so now I have a baseline of a 9:30 pace in conditions of 66-68 degrees with bright sunshine starting my run at about 8:00 in the morning. I would easily be 30 seconds faster per mile at 55-60 degrees and a 6:00am start, but I started too late in the day. What a slacker I am. Never mind that I didn’t get to bed until 12:45am, but enough of the excuses, that was my own fault!

So this morning I ran 6 miles at a 10:43 Avg. pace per mile. My first mile was at a pace of 10:11 and my last mile was at a pace of 11:13. That is about a minute difference. Based on experience I know that these two extremes will get much closer together as I regain my fitness over the next 30 days. I also expect my overall pace to get faster. So I am going to look at 3 metrics for evaluation as to how much fitness I can regain in 30 days.

1. Average Heart Rate: Today it was 139.  My goal will be to be within 2 beats of this number, on either side, for my test on August 31.
2. Average pace per mile: Starting pace is 10:43 per mile.
3. First and last mile pace: Starting is 10:11 for first mile and 11:13 for the last mile.

Do I have a goal in mind you ask? Well certainly. My goal is to be back to an average pace of 9:30 per mile under the same conditions or as close as possible to the same conditions. Is it possible to reach that goal for a 60-year-old man? Yes, it is possible but not probable. So why do I set the goal so high? I always like to reach for the possible and maybe beyond what I might think possible! If I fail I still gave it all I had and made it a good fight. If I succeed then of course I set new and more challenging goals for myself in the future.

So what is my main goal for the remainder of 2013? I would like to qualify for the Boston Marathon again. To qualify I will need a marathon time of 3:55 or better. To actually be sure of getting accepted I will probably need closer to 3:45 or better because, the faster you are the earlier you are allowed to register. My personal best was almost 11 years ago at StGeorge, UT with a time of 3:33:40 for and average pace of 8:09 per mile. I would really love to match or beat that time from 11 years ago. Is it possible? Once again the answer is yes. Is it probable? Again, the answer is no. However, I am making it my goal to PR at the Tucson Marathon on December 8, 2013.  That would assure me an entry in the 2015 Boston Marathon.

Me at St George Marathon 2002 Where I qualified for Boston with a time of 3:33:40.

 

These are some lofty goals for me for sure, but first things first. That means I will be working on the 30-day fitness rebound goal. If I make that goal it greatly enhances my chances of meeting my year-end goal of a marathon PR and Boston Qualifier.

I’ll be sure to keep you updated on my progress and final results.

Happy Trails and see you at the finish line,

Russ

A Matter of the Heel

Those of you who have been following my blog know that I have been trying to rehab my left heal for the last 6 weeks after breaking three ribs two weeks earlier. The heel has been bothering me for well over two years now. The ribs are completely healed and I have started running again. Day one of running was yesterday for a slow 2 miles and day two was today for an even slower 4 miles with a dew point of 60 degrees. Very muggy run! Glad it was only two miles.

The heel was a little sore about 3 hours after my run yesterday and today it was a little sore and tight before I ran but not enough to cause a limp. The pain is kind of a warm burning sensation right at the attachment of the Achilles to the heel bone. As I started running this morning I had a little more ache, than when I was just walking, to the heel for the first half-mile then it went away and I was fine for the rest of the run. After the run I could feel a deep burning sensation just like before I started. It was the same feeling I had before starting rehab only not as intense. The rehab consisted of wearing a boot to keep the heel stationary, and twice a week physical therapy to strengthen my foot, calf and soleus muscles.

While I am not back to where I was when I started therapy, I can tell that the heel is basically doing the same thing as before. I will take tomorrow off and see if that helps but I am not confident that it will do much but calm down a little and then flare up when I run again. This is very frustrating! I feel as though I have wasted 8 weeks that I could have been running and would have only lost 2-3 weeks from the ribs.

I guess I will try and run 3 days a week, cycle 2-3 days and swim one or two days. Swimming can be done on the same day as a run or bike ride. Hopefully by cross training in this way I can still maintain my running fitness without aggravating the heel much more.

From here I guess I need to continue to try and convince the doctor(s) to help me find the true source of my problem. I still feel that it is a nerve problem stemming from my lower back, my hip or the piriformis muscle in the buttock area. This is called Piriformis Syndrome. This muscle can get inflamed and cause the sciatic nerve to become inflamed and subsequently affect the whole leg all the way down to the foot. The problem is getting insurance to cover doing the MRI,s needed to see exactly where the inflammation is occurring. Ugh, it is all so frustrating.

Either way I have decided to train for the Tucson marathon on December 8^th.  I should have plenty of time to train for it as it is about 19 weeks away. That gives me 16 weeks of training and 3 weeks to taper. Hoping to run 6-8 miles this Sunday, even if it is really slow.

Bottom line is that the conservative treatment, with therapy, has not worked at all. I didn’t really expect it to but I was hopeful, and that kept me focused during the whole ordeal. Here’s to hoping for miracles. I can run but I am held back from doing my best because of this stupid heel. Here goes cross training. I’ll keep you posted. Thanks for letting me vent! LOL!

Happy Trails,

Russ

PS. The interview with the Jester, AKA Ed Ettinghausen is in the works. Hopefully I will have it all ready sometime early next week.