WANTED: (1) running groove. Will pay any price for it

It happens this time every single year, and I hate it.

I really do.

Every year when Spring marathon season ends for me, I fall right into the middle of what I call "post marathon funk." And it's anything but "funky".

This racing season went tremendously well for me. I set a marathon PR back in January in Disney, and I'm really stoked about that. I had a couple of less-than-stellar marathon performances mixed in as well, and they bother the crap out of me, honestly. But I can deal with it, you know? I just don't like it when I don't have a goal race to train for. That's where I'm at right now.

Did I mention how much I hate that fact?

Now, I've got races on the calendar for sure. But they're well over three/four months away, and that's too far for me to start a structured training program. It's just that when I'm not hard into a training regimen for a goal race, my running becomes something less than it should be. It becomes something I do sometimes as an act of obligation; self discipline; routine. That's not what running is about to me.

I long for that first day of my structured training plan. I really look forward to being able to start the training cycle and see where all the hard work takes my body, mind and strength. I love feeling the hard work every day, and then seeing the results on race morning. But I don't have that day on my calendar yet.

In the meantime, I'll keep plugging away the miles, adding them up when I can, making good excuses when I can't. I'll get around 30 miles per week every week, and I'll feel lousy that I'm not doing more. I just pray that this relatively restful period will put my body in a more recovered, refocused state for when training day really does begin.

The best I can tell, training will commence in around 32 days.

I can't wait...

Shifting to 10k training

Now that Spring Marathon season is officially concluded (aside from the upcoming Twisted Ankle Trail marathon in May, which is more of a survival exercise rather than a road race), I am converging to pre-summer 5k/10k training. With summertime marathons being non-existent in the southern part of the country, 5k, 10k, and short-distance triathlons are the only races that are taking place down here.

To switch up my training regimen, I am changing over to an advanced 10k training plan that will also help me with 5k races as well. From researching the plans out there, I'm happy with the one I have finally adapted to meet the mileage goals I have for myself, along with the kinds of hard efforts I am looking for. All in all, I think this plan will help me PR in both 5k and 10k races this Summer.

Without further delay, I present to you....

...THE PLAN

Since I'm still recovering from the two marathons in the past 30 days, I'm going to start the new training routine on next Monday, March 29. I will make my first post-marathon run tomorrow morning (Thursday) and spend Fri-Sun getting loosened back up in preparation for Monday's first training run. With about 2 weeks before the season's first 10k, I won't be in top shape for speed, but I am pretty confident I can PR my 10k time still the same. We'll see though. We'll see.

Hang in there, everyone. Have a good run today for me, ok?

Just What the Dr. Ordered (or the Physical Therapist, anyway)

I saw my orthopedist this morning at The Hughston Clinic in Columbus. This guy is a character, and aside from his unparalleled ability to cuss the paint off the walls, I really enjoy talking with him on occasion. We have actually built up a pretty decent working relationship. He knows my typical aches and pains that I present to him on occasion and I am usually pretty sure of what he is going to do for treatment. It's a symbiotic existence.

Since the marathon last Sunday, I had been able to pinpoint the exact location of some lateral knee pain that I have experienced during the past 12 months or so. Actually, I used a Sharpie to mark an "X" on the side of my right leg for reference. This proved to be helpful since I have been unable to pinpoint the exact location of the pain since it subsides as soon as I stop running. Being able to narrow it down to a certain spot helped the good Dr. determine that my problem was not ITB after all, but rather an issue with my achilles tendon as it attached to the head of my fibula. Being able to actually have a specific diagnosis is a great, great relief to me.

As he directed me to Physical Therapy for some treatment to relieve the inflammation as well as a consult with a PT regarding how I can best stretch and strengthen the Achilles, I felt such a sense of relief at having a name for my lingering knee issue that has plagued me the last 3 marathons I've competed in.

George, my PT, did a workup on my physical activities, training habits, regimens and previous medical history. Following the info gathering, he decided to perform a range of motion (ROM) exercise on me. As he had me stretch, reach, bend and touch, he actually used a protractor-looking device to see what degree of flexibility I exhibited. It felt like a Geometry lab.

After the measurements were completed, he said that my entire problem was completely due to having tight hamstrings. When he asked if I regularly stretched them, I had to say "No". After all, runners are typically not very disciplined at things other than running, so he wasn't the least bit surprised. I felt stupid though. If my last 3 races were sabotaged because I failed to do something as simple as stretching, I felt like an idiot. I'm not unfamiliar with that feeling, either.

George, my new best friend, then proceeded to show me how to PROPERLY stretch the calf muscles. He explained to me the physiology of what stretching is intended to accomplish, and it was fascinating. It made complete sense to me. He explained how my tight hamstrings likely made my quads feel much stronger and tighter after long distances (which is absolutely true) and why my running form isn't as efficient as it could be with hammies stretched properly and on a regular basis.

Needless to say, I've stretched them out more since 11:30am this morning than I have stretched them in 32 years. George says that 2 weeks will yield a noticeable difference, and I am confident that he is right. For now, I'm just excited to be doing something constructive that should improve my race day performances going forward.

I'll try to give some additional detail later about how to Properly stretch a hamstring. It's a beautiful thing !