Sunday, July 25, 2010

Marathon training - week 5 (modified): Done! ...and an update.

“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other”
Walter Elliot

First, the cool tee I got from Patrick at The Road [A Multi-Sport Blog]...I love it! Thanks Patrick :)

Here's how things have been going with the knee and the running. On Friday, I did my first bare sock run on the treadmill. I slipped off my shoes and tried to be discreet because I was told that some gyms don't allow it. They never noticed. I walked, then ran slowly, then ran at a closer to normal speed (for me). On the treadmill, it is a lot easier to keep the 3 steps/second rythm, as you have the time right there in front of you. Seriously, I felt great. I was floating along with my little energizer bunny short stride and my bare socks. It was so comfortable and great that even though I knew I needed to be cautious and not run too long...I had to force myself to put my shoes back on when I reached 2K. It didn't take long, once I had my shoes on, to feel some mild pain. After 1K with the shoes on, I thought I'd try to go back to no shoes and see if the pain went away. It didn't work, once the pain starts, that's it. So after another K of running in my socks, the shoes went back on. I stopped at 4.8K (too much pain) and walked until I reached 5K.

On Saturday, I woke up with sore calfs, but good workout sore (they were definitely a little tight after running barefoot). Still, I went for a 4K run outside. I'm getting pretty good at following the 3 steps/second cadence, but I needed to check my watch regularly to make sure I was on track. Sometimes I was a little off and sometimes I was right on. The way I do it is that I start counting when I'm on an even number, I count to 90 steps and then I check back to see if that was 30 seconds. It's pretty easy to do. The pain started at around 3K, but it was still controllable. However, closer to 4K there were a few stabs of pain, still, it remained bearable, but I decided to stop. The cool thing, is that I could feel myself landing much more on the front of my foot and not at all on the heel. In the evening I decided to use the roller on my calfs, just to be sure they don't get too tight. Felt real good.

Today, Sunday, was a long slow run, so we were doing 10/1, which seemed to help. I only started to feel mild pain around 5K. I then went down to 5/1 for another 3K, for a total of 8K.
Ready to go!

Today, we were hooking up with my brother, who was running his 32K
I am so freaking proud of him!!

Back to todays run: The pain remained bearable and was not constant. I'm getting pretty good at maintaining my 3 steps/second cadence, although I still need to do my 30 second check regularly. Sometimes I'm one second off, but mostly I'm pretty much on. I'm pleased :). So far so good with the homework from my PT...healing seems to be going in the right direction. Oh...and I always ice my knee after my runs.

Tomorrow, I plan on trying another bare sock run on the treadmill at the gym. Then Tuesday is my next appointment with the PT...I'll keep you posted!
Hope the racing went well this weekend!
Cheers!

20 comments:

Jennifer said...

Good job on the runs and taking it slow and listening to your body! I have never tried to run without shoes, but I do want to try it sometime, if nothing else just say I did. Stay well, with plenty of TLC and have a great week!

Giorgio said...

I'm delighted to hear that your long slow run went well (only mild pain around 5K). Go with your Marathon training and your goal, Anne, go!

Teamarcia said...

It sounds like things are moving along nicely for you! Love your cute pic and how great that your bro runs too!

Angie said...

Great job, girl! Here for you every step of the way!

misszippy said...

You seem to be keeping it in check, so keep up the good work. Let's hope it continues to keep the knee under control.

mommaof3ontherun said...

Great job! Sounds like you are on track!

Irene said...

Love that t shirt!

ajh said...

You are like me and good at following dr's directions or pt or whoever. Hope you healing continues on the right track.

Jamie said...

Keep up the good work!

Kelsey: the Blonde Bullet said...

Love the tee shirt! Too bad to hear your knees are bugging you though. I feel your pain!! It's so true that once the pain starts, it won't quit.

I'm also feeling more and more inspired everyday to shoeless run. The socks on the treadmill is a good idea!

Kelsey: the Blonde Bullet said...

I just saw the prednisone comments to the right and I had to chuckle. Hah, so many flashbacks. God I hate that stuff. I spent half my life on that stuff. It tastes so bad and it made me so emotional! It's crazy how much running actually improves my asthma. It's better than any drug... and yet so many parents don't let their kids exercise with asthma-- makes me sad.

I take Symbicort and I find it to be extremely effective. Ive been on pretty much every inhaler/medication available (I'm sure you have too!) and it seems to work best for me. Just thought I''d let you know :) Sorry if I'm just ranting....

Iron Mike said...

I hope you start the bare foot treadmill revolution at your gym.
You are doing great!

Johann said...

Keep it up but take it easy. I really hope this will sort things out for you. You are so committed! Have a great week!

Jamoosh said...

Running barefoot has always been easier on my knees

Anne said...

I'm sure you've already been told this, but you must be careful when you run on roads. They tilt for drainage and therefore your body doesn't align evenly as you run on the sides of roads, in shoes or not. That's one nice thing about treadmills - they are truly flat in surface. Here's hoping the knee pain continues to subside over the next few weeks.

Marlene said...

Glad you had a nice run in the socks! I have heard that the calves really feel it without shoes.

Good for you working on that cadence too.

Black Knight said...

Good job and don't push until the day of the complete recover. The "dreadmill" helps. All the best Anne.

Amy said...

Barefoot on a treamill - wow! Hope things keep improving. It sounds like they will.
Thanks also for your well wishes for my dad! So far so good...

Molly said...

Nice job with the run!! Hope all goes well at PT!

momof3 said...

And now you've taught ME something - I struggled with counting my steps for months... Thanks for just writing down HOW you go about counting your steps.