March 22, 2009

Running with Injuries

As I warmed up for my long run today, which was only supposed to be 1 hour 20 min max, the thoughts slipped into my mind again. The knees, the feet, the heels, the back and the hips are all experiencing nagging injuries. And all I can say that after this year: No More Ironman. Of course, the next sentence out of mouth is usually:

“Well, at least for awhile”

But the thought of not doing it again is really starting to take hold. You see I am trying to make it through this training without seeing any doctors. Swimming and biking are fine but running is a mental chore. I’ve had these knee injuries before and I know what I need to do to prevent them. Or at least lessen their impact. I need to do the exercises my PT taught me to warm the knee up. But between work, training and life in general, the plate is always full. There is no time for anything else. Of course it will force my hand if the injuries worsen and then I’ll tell myself that I told you so.

This morning seemed a little different. I think the warm up actually helped. But the left toes are still giving me that hot nerve like pain. That is a result of my shoes, I think. I run in Saucony Hurricanes. I was a big fan of the 8’s but I am running in the 9’s and they are different. Don’t you hate when the manufacturer does that?! Change the shoes and maybe alleviate the pain. We’ll see.

Anyway, this whole training odyssey is about keeping sane and not letting the intensity and frequency of the workouts get you down. Just don’t look too far ahead in the schedule. It’s just another part of the discipline required to get you through it all.

2 comments:

Mel-2nd Chances said...

i know what you mean about not fitting in the little exercises. I often think that they're so insignificant in training, but wonder if I should be more diligent in these little things my sports doc has shown me... specific stretches/exercises. Wonder if it would help that much! Good luck with your training, keeping my fingers crossed that you get through this training, and will do others :) stay strong.

Katie said...

Hang in there! Hopefully your nagging injuries are just that -- nags and not something more significant. I'm impressed at your ability to keep pushing through!