For the first seven days everything was great. I felt very energetic and excited about how the mild winter and sunny days were really helping me stick to my goal. The weather held up but my energy and my body didn't. When a runner or any athlete "overtrains" or exceeds what their body is comfortable handling in training the body responds by having an increased heart rate. Some runners will experience an inability to sleep or irritability. I began to sleep less and less. I can fall asleep easily but wake up early and cannot go back to sleep. Wednesday night I had to announce to Dean and Parker that I was irritable, not because they couldn't already see it for themselves but because if I warn them sometimes they are nicer to me!
Thursday morning was my 8th consecutive run. It was the longish run of 7 miles. It went very well, I didn't feel tired until mile 7. So far so good. I went to lunch with friends, came home, sat on the couch and talked to Parker for a while and when I got up I had a pain. At first I thought it was just the stiffness setting in. After walking around and working out most of the stiffness I had a lingering pain running down the outside of my left leg.
Parker said it was probably my IT band (Iliotibial band). I got out the foam roller and rolled the side of my leg while whining loudly! I performed a stretch for the IT band that stretched my lower back more than my leg. The foam roller was painful but after doing it the pain was much less.
Today was a recovery run anyway and it was rainy so I ran one mile gently.I then read two articles on running to help me continue my journey. Runner's World writer and runner, Amby Burfoot has written an article entitled The 10 Laws of Injury Prevention. The article doesn't really include anything new or earth shattering it just reminds runners of the things we need to do to stay healthy. Many of us do not enjoy stretching and particularly do not enjoy stretching the backs of our legs which is number 8 on the list.
Rule number 1 is Know Your Limits. Hmm. I am hoping that running for 30 consecutive days will not prove to be beyond my limit! The article does give the sage and ubiquitous guideline: "10-percent rule: Build your weekly training mileage by no more than 10 percent per week. If you run 10 miles the first week, do just 11 miles the second week, 12 miles the third week, and so on." The problem here is that I began this project to get me back into more regular running and to get me off the couch and out the door. In each of the two weeks prior to beginning the 30 consecutive days of running project I had not run more than 13 miles. Theoretically I shouldn't be running over 14.3 miles per week. This week I will probably run 21-23 miles which obviously exceeds the 10 percent rule. In the last month, however, I did have a 15 mile week and a 19 mile week. I was just fluctuating wildly, some weeks running an ok week of 19 miles while other weeks I was barely getting out the door at all. Tomorrow I will run no more than 3 miles and possibly only one mile if I still have pain. I will be foam-rollering frequently and reluctantly stretching. I am the least flexible person on the planet!
To keep me motivated I read another Runner's World article, The Magic of Mantras. Christie Aschwanden states in her article: "To achieve your running goals, powerful legs and big lungs aren't enough—you also need a strong head. Doubts and distractions can derail your attempts, but a well-chosen mantra can keep you calm and on target". The article includes a handy "mantra maker" so that by choosing words from 4 lists you can create your own mantra. I created: "BE STRONG, BE BRAVE".
As I cautiously proceed on my 30 day journey I will try to follow (sort of) the rules of injury prevention and will repeat over and over in my head, "Be strong, be brave". Life is, after all, a balance between pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone and maintaining sanity and health. Happy running!
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