My 2008 Spring Ultras and Training Program
It was -8 yesterday with a wind chill of -25 or -30. I went X-C skiing for an hour but my fingers ached when I took my gloves off for only a few seconds to start my GPS. I think I will be smarter and stay inside today, despite how fast the snow was and how empty the ski trails were.
That bright sun today sure is deceiving!
Despite how bitterly cold it is outside, it is time for me to start thinking seriously about training for my spring ultras. My main goal for spring 2008 will be to run the Rocky Mountain Double Marathon (52.4 miles) on Memorial Day weekend. At over 8,000 feet, it will be the highest altitude ultra that will have attempted to date.
A few weeks before that, I will do the Greenland Trail 50-k in Colorado as "training." These races still seem like they are a long way off. However, according to my training program, beginning this week I will begin increasing my mileage and become more serious about my running.
After taking a few weeks completely off from running after my fall 50 mile ultra in Chicago, I have been only running 3 or 4 days per week to maintain over the winter. During the off-season, I cut my distances and the length of time by 50% or more compared to what I normally do during the spring, summer and fall. My mid-week runs have only been in the 4 to 6 mile range and my every other week long runs only in the 12 to 14 mile range. I have rarely gone further than 20-25 miles as my weekly mileage for the last several weeks. The off-season is a nice break from the rigors of more hard-core training during the rest of the year.
This winter, I have also been doing quite a bit of cross training by X-C skiing two or three days a week. X-C skiing is excellent for cardiovascular conditioning. Unlike running, it is low impact and thus a good way to maintain fitness while minimizing injury. It also trains a slightly different set of muscles. Perhaps someday I may attempt a X-C ski ultramarathon such as the American Birkebeiner in northern Wisconsin. However, with our upcoming move to South Dakota, this year is not a good time to think about training for a X-C ski race too.
I really like the Santa Clarita Runners Training Program below because it allows you to put in the date and length of your race (50-k or 50-m). Then it calculates an individualized training program for you.
However, one limitation of this program is that it does not specify which day(s) you should do your "speed" training nor what type. That's actually OK because I prefer to individualize that part of my training based on my needs. I find what works best for me is if I do one day per week in the middle of the week of either 1/2 or 1 mile intervals or instead a moderate distance run which also includes 3 to 5 miles of tempo running. That has seemed to be adequate for me without resulting in overtraining.
Another limitation of this training program is that I have found it difficult to do back-to-back long runs every weekend without risking injury. I feel the Sunday semi-long runs are optional. I will not hesitate to cut the distance or to not run at all if I need to. Instead of doing a back-to-back, sometimes I just may do a longer run on Saturday than what is specified per the schedule and take an extra rest day on Sunday.
I also find it better to not go long every single weekend but instead go long for two out of every three or four weekends. It seems to work better for me.
Also, even though this is a mileage-based training program, later in my training I tend to focus on the number of hours on my feet instead of the actual mileage. I try to do as many of my long runs on the trails as I can. Although running on trails is a greater effort, because of the softer surface and the irregularities of the terrain, I do not get overuse injuries as often as I did when I trained entirely on the road.
Of course, you do have to be more careful and pay attention to where your feet are… once I tripped on a log and got a stress fracture! I was looking up admiring the scenery when I should have been paying attention to the trail.
Duh!
When running long on a trail, I don't exactly follow the mileage as specified for the training program, Instead, I estimate about how long it would take me to go that distance if I did it on the road. Then, I run for at least that time duration on the trails. It doesn't matter to me if I only went 20 instead of 24 miles, as long as I ran for an equivalent amount of time.
I also use my long trail runs as an opportunity to experiment with new gear, energy replacement, hydration, and to perfect my ratio of run to walk breaks that I will use in my race. Never try something new or for the first time in a race is a great piece of advice that I always try to follow.
Besides all of the potential training benefits, running on the trails is more fun and relaxing. I prefer to not breathe in the exhaust of motor vehicles and hear them rushing by at 70 miles an hour. I'd rather enjoy the peaceful quiet and aroma of the forest and listen to the birds sing!
What's the point of running anyway, if you are not going to enjoy yourself?
Besides all of the running, I do some resistance and strength training as well. Earlier in the season, I usually do 2 or 3 sets of 10 reps for strengthening 3 days a week. Then later I change to 3 sets of 15 reps at lower weight once or twice a week to maintain strength endurance. I do vary my exercise program every few weeks. Some might find the early season fewer reps of higher weights to build too much muscle mass but that has never been a problem for me. I tend towards an ectomorphic rather than mesomorphic physique.
I always do single-leg squats, calf raises and some variation of lunges- all while holding dumb bells for extra weight. Anterior toe curls with dorsiflexion using a resistance band have worked well to treat and prevent shin splints. Lateral leg raises with ankle weights help keep away ITB problems. I do a variety of crunches and other core exercises. Strength and stability of the lower extremities and the core is essential if one is going to maintain good running form and continue to run for hour after hour.
Finally, I also do upper body strengthening exercises. When I first started running ultras I was amazed how sore and tired my upper body would become, especially my shoulders after a particularly long run. That should not be a surprise, swinging the arms back and forth and holding water bottles all day is a lot of work. On at least one ultra, I used my arms to pull myself up a slippery trail while holding on to saplings and tree branches. With upper body conditioning, I can run more relaxed and with a better posture, even when tired.
Many of us runners don't much like strength training and I used to be one of them. We would rather just go run. However, running can result in muscle imbalances that later flare up as an injury. Before I added strength training to my schedule, I was plagued by injuries such as ITB. It was not until I religiously added strengthening to my program that I succeed in keeping these under control.
I also try to stretch at least a 2-3 times a week but I admit that I need to be better about this. I am sure that I am not alone in being a runner who needs to stretch more. I do a better job of remembering when I am recovering from an injury. I know that stretching is for injury prevention and not only for treatment. I just have to get more consistent at it.
This is the training program that I do now and what has worked for me in the past. I am sure that I will make changes as I move up in distance or if I develop any injuries or new muscle imbalances. Every one of us is an individual and what works for one may not work for someone else. For that matter, what has worked for any of us in the past may not always work for us in the future.
Best wishes to all and good luck on achieving all of your running and non-running goals for 2008.
Run on!
Acupuncture for Metatarsalgia
Last week (before our snow all melted), I went X-C skiing with my brand new skis on four days. Some aerobic cross training with a less weight bearing exercise does me good. The snow was cold and fast; it was great.
However, my orthotics wouldn't quite fit into my ski boots so I left them out.
By the weekend, I started having pain in ball of my right foot, particularly under the 2nd, 3rd and 4th metatarsal heads. It was painful to walk on. I didn't want to start running again for fear of exacerbating it. After a few days, the pain hadn't improved.
As a runner, I have experienced almost every type of injury that you can imagine: iliotibial band syndrome, shin splints, plantar fasciitis, stress fractures and many others. These have kept me from running for as short as only a few days to as long as a few months. The fear of injury keeps many of us observant and self-aware of our bodies. I know that I am not alone in worrying about the occasional little tweaks I feel: is that just a minor ache that will be gone to tomorrow or is that the beginning of yet another injury? The line between optimum fitness and overtrained is a fine one indeed. One never knows when another injury may occur that keeps you out of a race or from following your training program. Fortunately, I do not have any races planned for months and am still in my off-season.
I had never had pain quite like this before. After doing some reading, I learned that what I had was metatarsalgia. Apparently the repetitive push-off when skiing had caused an injury that I had never gotten from running.
What was I to do?
Some recommend metatarsal pads, which I promptly ordered from Hapad, Inc. In the meantime, I also tried some NSAIDs and ice. This helped a bit, but not enough to allow me to run pain-free.
While I was doing a search of the medical literature on another topic, I decided to do a quick search for metatarsalgia. I was surprised to find an article: Metatarsalgia: Treatment with Acupuncture. I was intrigued because among other things, I know how to perform acupuncture.
As a physician, I have been trained to have a natural skepticism of new or emerging therapies. However, several years ago a physician friend who knew acupuncture offered to give me my first treatment. Even though I am skeptical, I am also open-minded. I always try to learn as much as I can about new treatment modalities before passing any judgement one way or the other.
After that first treatment, I was a believer! There were tenderpoints and areas of muscle stiffness that I had had for years which had disappeared completely. I had thought they were simply chronic annoying little aches and pains that I was going to have to live with for the rest of my life. Now they were gone!
I received several other treatments after that. However, shortly thereafter we moved away. I didn't know of any acupuncturists locally from whom I could receive treament. So I learned how to do acupuncture. I don't provide this service to my patients because it is not really a part of my specialty. Rather, I learned how to do acupuncture primarily so that I would always have an acupuncturist readily at hand, no matter where I was. I don't believe that acupuncture can do everything (there is no treatment that can do that) but it does seem to work very well for managing pain as well as musculoskeletal overuse injuries.
The article on metatarsalgia suggested a 93% response rate (but the number of participants was very small and there was no placebo group) so decided to try the treatment for myself. I modified the needling locations to over the 3rd metatarsal head where the maximum area of tenderness was. I used Seirin L No. 3's and left them in for about 15 minutes which was longer than suggested in the article. From personal experience I have found that I get a better response if I leave the needles in until the body is no longer "grabbing" them and they are almost ready of fall out on their own.
If you have never received acupuncture, the best I can describe the sensation of being needled is like a dull but pleasant ache. It is almost like the kind of pleasant pain you feel during a good massage. Other times, instead of an ache, the feeling is more of a spreading warmth. Sometimes the muscles twitch. The needles are so fine and sharp, that it doesn't hurt like when getting an injection.
I felt the ache immediately and knew that I had found some good points to needle. The next morning, my metatarsal pain had disappeared completely! I waited another day before running and was surprised that it did not return.
Amazing! Usually I get improvement but not complete resolution of symptoms after the first treatment.
The metatarsal pads finally came in the mail today. I am still going to put them in my ski boots to hopefully prevent any future recurrence.
If the pain returns I will certainly get out my acupuncture needles again.
4 Below at 4 AM
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
That's the sound my foot falls made this morning.
We are in a bit of a cold snap up here in the nort' country. It was especially cold today- four degrees below zero- and that was straight temp not windchill. I love how the snow gets so dry and squeaky, almost like corn starch when the temperatures are so low.
I have run in much colder weather before, I think my lowest was -28 degrees. If you bundle up and cover all exposed flesh it is not too bad- even enjoyable. If we didn't run when it is cold, well then we would not run much at all this time of year. Of course, a temp of -4 or even -28 is nothing from what my friends in Alaska tell me.
To keep warm I dress in layers. On my feet I had two pairs of thick socks under my shoes, on my legs I wore long underwear, my tights plus an extra layer of windstopping long pants, on my upper body I had on a cool-max long t-shirt, two thick polypro long undershirts and an outer layer of a windbreaker, on my hands I had on my running gloves covered with wool mittens and then finally on my head I wore a balaclava, a polypro fleece hat and a neck warmer.
Most mornings I can peel off a layer or two after I warm up in a few miles-but not today!
It is always hard for me to drag myself out of bed these cold dark winter mornings. Sometimes I wonder what kind of crazy fool I must be to get up out of my nice cozy bed and go for a run. Instead I could be snuggling and warm next to my lovely wife for an extra hour or two! However, once I warm up and find my rythym, I never ever regret getting out and seeing the world at a time when few others do.
It's just the getting up and getting going that is the tough part.
The sky this morning was crystal clear and the stars were brilliant. There was a crescent moon to provide some light reflecting off of the snow. The frost sparkled from my head lamp. As I passed each farmhouse, I caught a whiff of the pungent smoke from the wood stoves that many of us heat with up here. Many mornings, I see the local dairy farmers getting up to start their day. However, this morning all of the houses I ran by were still black. The inhabitants must have been more sane than I and were still asleep in their beds. Only the dogs barked to announce my presence.
The forest was dead-quiet. There was only the sound of my breathing and my foot falls to keep me company. It was too dark and early for birds to be stirring. The only other creature that I have ever seen moving around on such a cold early winter morning is our local red fox. But I didn't see him today. I guess even foxes know when to stay in bed.
At times, I felt as if I was barely moving. Layers of thick clothes and occasional patches of black ice under the snow are not conducive to a fast pace. After such runs, I always feel awake, alive and invigorated. They wake me up better than a cup of coffee (but I will still have that cup of coffee too- thank you).
We are supposed to have warmer temps this weekend- up to the 30s and 40s- with possible freezing rain. What a bummer. My wife and I received new cross country skis for Christmas and would have loved another weekend to enjoy them. If we must have winter, we would rather have it at least be cold and snowy enough so that we can get out there and enjoy it. I hate freezing rain.
Oh well, winter is not over yet, I am sure that we shall have more snowy weather to come.
I would be lying if I said that I enjoy running in these bitter cold dark winter mornings as much as I do on a sunny warm spring day. However, in running as in life, to appreciate the good sometimes we must also experience the not-so-good. When every day is warm and sunny, you begin to forget how much you should appreciate them. We used to live outside Reno, Nevada but didn't appreciate how awesome the weather was there until after we left.
Keep on running shuffling but watch out for black ice!
