Running in Okinawa

I was plagued with injuries all last year: I pulled my hamstring in April and then pulled my achiles tendon in October. May 2010 be injury free!

I fully recovered from the hamstring injury in September and immediately starting building up mileage for a winter marathon when I pulled my achiles tendon.

I attribute my achiles tear to old shoes, under- and over-training. In October I ran Chicago Marathon as an easy-paced training run. I had no hopes of a good finishing time; just finishing would be an accomplishment since I hadn’t run farther than 16 miles before the marathon.

I ran well. My pace was faster then I’d anticipated, even with frequent potty breaks, partially due to the cold 30 degree weather and the flat course. I ran for Fred’s Team in honor of a charity to raise funds to fight cancer, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

I took a few days off to recover after the marathon and then was supposed to jump right back into training. I didn’t. In fact I only did two runs that week: one 8-miler at 6:10/mi pace and a 21-miler at 6:38/mi pace. Even though I felt great from beginning-to-end that icy-cold morning, it was only 30 minutes after the 21-miler that my achiles ruptured. I should have run a few days of recovery miles before my 21-mile attempt.

I’d finished the long run, immediately jumped in the car without any cool-down, and returned home to start the day. I’d showered and was half-way up the stairs when i felt the tear. I think I tore my achiles on the stairs. I think my shoes were a cause; they were old and worn and had thick-cushioned heels, like most running shoes on the market today, that restrict the body’s natural range of motion. You see achiles problems with women who wear high-heeled shoes often. I think thick-cushioned-running-shoes restrict the range of motion in the same manner. When I was walking up the stairs barefoot, i was using my achiles full range of motion, but it was shrunk trying to recover from the run and snapped like a rubber band.

After a year of experimenting with a heavier trainer-coined running shoe, Adidas Bostons, this year I’m changing back to Mizuno flats which I’d run in injury-free for two years.

I’ve heard once you’ve been injured, though, it’s easy to injure the same area. This year I want to start back at the basics, improve form and technique, and slowly build back into race shape.

I’d also like to mention in this post, in early 2009 i ran a 10k PR of 31:30 on a very hilly course. (note to self, i injured my hamstring the following day)

Lessons I learned from 2009
- take it easy after a race
- train consistently and smart
- run natural in lightweight shoes that don’t impede your stride.

I haven’t felt so tired since I ran Naha Marathon in 2006.  The pain in my legs was intensely drawn out from today’s point workout.  It was introduced to me by Hase who got it from his coach in Osaka who is also coaching one of Japan’s finest distance runners, Ogata Tsuyoshi.  Although I can’t disclose exactly what the workout was for obvious reasons, I met Ogata at last year’s World Championships in Osaka.  He does this exact workout, quite a bit faster than I do, of course, but it was a killer.  Between kilometers five and ten my legs were toast!  I anticipate doing a few more of these type workouts before I race Naha Marathon in December.

17.5 miles for the day, and what a day it was!

Slowly, but surely I’ve built up my base mileage and endurance to be able to run what I ran today.  My last week was the first week I’ve been able to do “total training” for a long time.  I ran 70 miles total which included two quality workouts:  1) 12000 meters at 4min/1k pace.  2) 12000 meters at 3:50/1k pace.  I’m building up for a December marathon.

Today’s workout couldn’t have gone better because I followed the plan.  I ran the first 8k at 4min/1k pace, and the last 8k at 3:35/1k pace to average 3:45 1k pace for 16k.

I started feeling worn down, exhausted around 9-10k, grabbed a power gel, and was rejouvinated and determined to finish the workout.  My family has been supporting me a great deal lately, and I couldn’t bare to have a failed workout.  Overall, I’m proud of what I did.  Another big deposit in my quest to be in shape for Naha.

I started this week off well by knocking out 20 miles the first day with two runs. I continued my efforts for the next four and a half days with two runs per day. Typhoon Sinlaku (Typhoon #13 is the Japanese name for it.) was in the area. It grew strength to a Category 4 typhoon, so we at FreeRun practice decided to take off Saturday practice. The typhoon died out over Taiwan, and didn’t affect Okinawa much. We didn’t go greater than TCCOR 3 (Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness).

Useful link: Refer to link to see Okinawa’s current typhoon condition of readiness.
http://weather.kadenaservices.com/update/tccor.htm

I started off the week with total determination to get back into competetive shape. I completed Wednesday’s quality 10k with Tommy who is training for Marine Corps Marathon. I took the next three days off, no running, (thurs, fri, sat) due to other priorities. I was sore too. I’m content that I was able to get 40 miles of running in for the week, which is more than I’ve done for the past 6 weeks, but I’m still hungry for that 80-100 mile week.

I’ve been gone for a while on a business trip, and haven’t had a chance to run for a while.  i went to free run practice saturday, and was positively influenced and motivated to get back in shape.  thus far i’ve ran four times since saturday and biked once.

slow & easy – 20080825 – 1 run 6.5 miles

sick – 20080826 – no run

sick – 20080827 – no run

early work – 20080828 – no run

slept in and had evening plans – 20080829 – no run

slow & easy – 20080830 – 1 run 3 miles

slow & easy – 20080831 – 2 runs 15.5 miles

bike and run – 20080901 – 1 bike 55 miles, 1 run 5.7 miles

Okay, I’ve pretty much brought you up to speed on what i’ve been doing.  These past couple days I’ve trained pretty hard with hopes to get in shape for Naha.  The marathon is three months away.  Remember running is a lifetime sport.  You get better the more you do it.  The world record holder in the marathon, Gabrselassie, for instance ran 10k to and from school every day, and because of such background is a phenominal runner now today.  He may be the greatest runner of all time.  You can’t perform at your peak level unless you’ve put in the time and training to do so.  That level of fitness doesn’t come with only three months training.  I have to wonder what level I’ll be come December.  You have to find that right balance for which to avoid injury, and also improve fitness.  College seasons are about three months long, and I read about all the injuries they prevail.  Hopefully this will be a good next three months.