Mac and I ran on Tuesday. I drove to Salem, and we ran around Bush Park, and down to the waterfront. Then we ran back. It was a miserable experience for me.
I had run on Sunday with Bernie and Ed, and felt fine. My shins hurt a little at the end of that run (3.76 miles in 44:06, or a pace of 11:43), but I didn’t think much of it. On Monday I walked. Tuesday, Mac and I ran the four mile training run for his half-marathon prep.
We did the 4.00 miles in 40:49, or a pace of 10:12. That’s not too much faster than Sunday’s run, but all the same I felt like I was dying. The main problem came from my shins, especially my right shin. After the first mile, there was a lot of sharp pain. As a result, my breathing was labored, and my heart rate elevated (average of 186bpm).
When Mac and I ran in November, we did 3.35 miles in 34:15, which is a pace of about 10;13, almost exactly what we did on Tuesday. But back then, my legs didn’t hurt. My heart rate was still high (180bpm), but I didn’t feel like I was dying.
Anyhow, my point is that Mac is in much better physical shape than I am right now. He looks great: slim and strong. I’m confident that he’s going to complete his half-marathon in May no problem.
Today my right shin and right knee ache badly, but that’s okay. Under my new goals, all I need to do is move a mile every day. I don’t need to run. I can walk or bike instead.
This afternoon, for example, I went for a three mile walk around our neighborhood. It was a lovely day: about 13 degrees celsius, the sun shining, and people everywhere, walking the dog, playing basketball in the park, chatting with a neighbor at the end of the drive. It was wonderful.
After our run on Tuesday, Mac and I went out to eat. We both ordered a burger, but he ordered his without a bun. Plus he ordered steamed vegetables. I couldn’t finish my meal; there was simply too much food. (In the past, I would have wolfed it down anyhow, but not lately.) Later in the day, I felt sick to my stomach. A result of eating crap after a good workout?
(Actually, it’s more that 24 hours later, and since that meal, I’ve only had a few leaves of lettuce, half a slice of bread, some juice, and a vegetarian breakfast sandwich. And I’m still not hungry.)
I continue to track my exercise with the Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS exercise watch. It’s pretty keen. The software is clunkier than you can possibly imagine, but at least it collects the data. It’s fun for me to be able to look back at past “good” runs:
6/26/08: 4.00 miles in 36:29, for a pace of 9:07 (178bpm)
7/10/08: 5.00 miles in 49:14, for a pace of 9:50 (168bpm)
11/13/08: 3.35 miles in 34:15, for a pace of 10:13 (180bpm)
2/17/09: 4.00 miles in 40:49, for a pace of 10:12 (186bpm)
I look forward to more “good” runs in the future!
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Keep it up! Sorry you had a bad run, but at least you did it!!!
I don’t think it was the food (unless food poisoning). You might be coming down with something.
If something really hurts (minus the common muscle soreness) don’t run. I believe you’ve had trouble with shin splints in the past? When’s the last time you replaced your shoes? That might be part of it. Last thing you want to do is re-injure anything and be back to square one (or zero).
Good job on moving otherwise. And actually – the different between an 11:43 pace and 10:12 pace IS a lot faster. Figure out the mph and re-create it using your Garmin (if it does mph). If not, try it on a treadmill. You may be surprised.
During High School I decided I needed to be in the “guys” 500 mile club instead of the “girls” 300 mile club for our cross country team.
I got the t-shirt, and also ruined my right shin for the rest of my life. The best guess of the various people I’ve seen is that the when the hairline fracture I assumed was a shin splint healed it squished a nerve. Now extended walking or driving or standing really aggravates it but surprisingly running is OK.
Long story short. If something *hurts*… stop. Rest it, ice it, elevate it, see someone if it continues.
If it’s your shin only bothering you if you can bike instead that should take the pressure off of it. If its both the shin and the knee see if you can find a local pool that has open swimming (masters programs are good to look for because you can usually crash their practices). Slow lap swimming is very easy on the joints and really good for your cardio.
I think you should run slower and easier. Get fit SLOWLY. I seem to recall seeing this before last year when you tried to overdo it and got injured or was that Mac?
Sorry but just I had to post here.
You are running much too fast!!! I also did this error in the past.
You are 35, meaning your maximum heartrate is about 220- 35 = 185. To burn fat in an optimum way, you should run between 60 to 70 % of this heart rate which is between 111 and 129 bpm.
The higher you go beyond this target zone, the more you are in the anaerobic zone, meaning you are burning carbs instead of fat, and you are conditioning your body to burn carbs instead of fat. So you will crave carbs and not burn fat
. Plus running with such high bpm is no fun at all…
Please pick a book on the Maffetone Method which will explain this and correct usage of the heart rate monitor. You know the goal of the monitor is not to try to beat your personal record in the highest BPM
Plus to stay injury-free, make sure you have your stride analysed by a competent shop so that they give you the right shoes, depending on if you are pronator, suspinator or neutral in your stride.
And make sure you have plenty of recovery so that your body can heal/recover after each run, running like any training causes stress/micro-traumatisms to which your body will respond by making it stronger ONLY if you leave it sufficient time to recover. If not, it will break down in the long run.
Good luck (and keep us updated)
sorry to hear about your shins. how old are your shoes? I’ve had a lot of chronic shin problems in the past and whenever they start to flare up again, I know it’s either about time for new shoes or I’ve been running downhill more than I should. the faster pace (sorry, but almost 2 minutes difference is more than “not too much faster”) could have resulted in more pounding/longer strides and that’s a sure way to aggravate shins that are already on the edge of injury.
When my shin pain was at its worst, a running coach recommended that I take an ice cube (or 2) and rub my shins (aka “ice massage”) every day whether they hurt or not. It takes about 5-7 minutes and it really helps!
Bummer on the shin splints. When I get shin splints, I know that I’m not stretching enough. For me, I’ve also found that my back can influence my shins. If I’m not doing enough core work or stretching out all those leg and hip muscles, my shins are the first thing to ache before I get full blown back pain.
J.D.,
You’re doing it again! You set your “move a mile” a day goal, and then within a couple of weeks you’re going way overboard. I realize your goal is not to move ONLY a mile, but still, you’re overdoing it and you’re going to end up hurt again real fast.
You’re probably not fit enough (in terms of leg muscles) to get right back into full-0n running like this with this kind of mileage.
You know that running is really stressful on a body, you have to build your mileage gradually. I know you know this…I hope you don’t take on so much that you end up sidelined with an injury.
This definitely sounds like a shoe problem to me, and the rest of the (physical pain) issues are resulting from the over compensation that occurs. Look into a running shoe only store (ie not Dick’s, Footlocker, etc) in your area, most of them have treadmills and little cameras. They can video tape you running, and choose a shoe based around your stride style. The right shoes will clear up your shin splints, and allow you to run in a more natural stride. I also second the ice in a dixie cup method for cooling your shins when they do hurt.
I use to run in Bush Park sometimes, back when I worked in Salem (making the trip all the way from Eugene)!
I enjoy myGarmin Forerunner 305 ever since receiving if for Christmas. So much data to work with keeps the run more interesting!
Another program you might try to track your GPS data is SportTracks. You can see a true map with your route overlaid onto it, just like in Google Maps.
You are doing very god for someone who does not run regularly. I need to get out myself and start to run a bit.
Keep going.
I experienced a very similar problem a while back. I used to do regular 3 mile runs 2 times a week. My running had dramatically improved due to my short, itnense workout, my my kneed and shin hurt really bad. I stopped for a while, then started and then the pain came back. I have stopped running long distance since then, replacing most of my cardio with sledgehammer swings, shadowboxing, jump roping, and sprints. All I have to say, is be careful with the distance running. It does more harm than good.
Are you still posting on this site? Your absence is kind of conspicuous after your most recent (non-guest) post talked about how sore you were and choosing to eat worse than Mac.
Just wondering if Get Rich Slowly is a bigger priority than getting fit.