Current Injury - Outer Quadriceps / IT Band

So, I've recently concluded that my left side is cursed. I'd screwed with my hip / and pelvic cradle are a few years back while lifting awkward things at my job. Since then, it's been an uphill battle with weakness and injuries from waist to foot.

Now, after about three weeks of discomfort, I've concluded that my outer left quad is injured, which has caused problems in both the quad tendon and especially the IT band. I can't remember a single incident that led to the injury, so I'm chalking it up to overuse. Too much mileage, not enough conditioning, overly difficult terrain. And I'm paying the price for it. As with my foot injury a few months back, there's been no extremely noticeable pain or discomfort while doing daily activities. But this all changes when I run. And it comes in the form of pain around the outside of the knee. During the marathon, it wasn't exactly crippling until about mile 11.5, then periodic walks started. By mile 18 I couldn't run anymore. Afterward, I thought just the IT Band was injured. But after much massaging, etc. my quad just aches. And the strength is gone. Finally an answer!

So, over the end of Fall I will work significantly on lower body maintenance, rehab, and strengthening. And I will do this before any significant running starts again. I resolve to not do much more than a short jog until the aching and stiffness has gone from the quad and its "base level" of strength has returned. There are no two ways around this.

NOTE: Fortunatel, my right side has experienced no difficulty in training except for my hip flexors locking up from overcompensating for the left leg, and an increased volume of blisters on the sole from the same. To keep both sets of hip flexors intact I will need to make sure my hip strength is up on both sides and that my running form is good.

Strong Feet

Obviously, one of the initial keys to running is strong feet and ankles. Without these sets of bones, tendons, ligaments and muscles being healthy and in good alignment, running performance will suffer.

A few months ago (early August), I was doing a routine cleanup of my yard and garden when I suddenly slipped on a muddy spot while dumping clippings over a hillside. I slid about ten feet down on my right side until catching myself with my left foot. Getting up, I initially felt the pains from the abrasions along the side if my body. But as I began to resume work, my left foot felt funny. There was a mild pop every time I took a stride. No significant pain, but it felt funny. I didn't think it would interfere with running, but sure enough, it did. After anything over a few miles, the outer forefoot would become swollen and stiff for a few days. Weight bearing wasn't that painful, but my foot just lacked strength.

In summary, it took two months to get full strength back, no matter what I did. This is simply because it needed to heal. Seeing as how I'd just started my intense running program, my feet were still weak and non-muscular for the most part. And due to the injury, my right foot quickly passed the left, growing more muscle and veins. My left simply would not do the same until it had healed more. As of the Marshall Marathon, my left foot is now 100% healthy. I'm happy with my feet and ready to move forward with my training.

Here are a list of my key ingredients to running with good feet and ankles:

Marshall University Marathon - Race Report

Goals:

For one, finish. Second, if feeling good, shoot for a 4:30 time. I'd been battling left knee tendonitises (quad, IT band) for the past month so I had no real expectations for the entire 26.2. Also, considering I'd never traveled that far on foot, I knew that I was probably in for a royal schooling of some sort. Then, there was the aspect of me having to drive 5 hours home directly after the event. All things to be wary of before gun time.

Results / Commentary:

5:22. I did great during the first half, clocking in a solid 2:12, which was consistent with my training runs of that length. I couldn't really even feel myself slowing down until I noticed people passing me. The 4:30 pace group whizzed past at the 11 mile mark and within the next mile were out of sight. That's when the tendonitis really started to bother me. I'd dispensed with the quad tendonitis the week before, but the IT band variety is what bothered me here. Whenever my quad/shin muscles tensed up yay much, there would be a debilitating twang that would briefly stop me in my tracks, but luckily this only happened three total times. Then, having to compensate for the left with my right side, my hip flexor took an absolute beating. After mile 18, I couldn't run at all, as both legs were locked up, mainly in those two areas. Muscle oxidation and lactic acid buildup were pretty bad, too, which reflected my undertraining. Another product of that was my feet. They felt strong and structurally sound (great news!), but the inner balls were absolute toast. This meant blisters, meaning the entire surface of them - one giant blister on each. The blister pain only bothered me so bad, though, as I can run with blisters. The fact that I couldn't physically move enough to run bothered me more. No, check that. There were people who finished behind me who could still run. They should've beaten me. That bothers me.

So, those last 7+ miles seemed like they'd never end, but I powerlimped as fast as I could straight to the finish without stopping. In fact, being not a tremendously large marathon (~2000 competitors), I was more or less alone out there once the 4:30 group went by. After that, it was lone runners passing infrequently. Then there were headwinds that ripped into me, draining my body heat. Comically enough, I had no sweat at the finish because the wind had dried it all as I powerlimped.

I was happy with my calorie fueling (three PowerGels and two Clif bars), but I certainly could've benefited from  a bit more hydration and likely a few salt tablets. I took on as much water as I could, but the water stops didn't have enough for my liking. For this, I will carry a handheld in future events.

Conclusion:

Both Emme and I should've run the half marathon. We were simply too banged up and it dampened our experience. Also, the marathon wasn't tremendously well-organized, so I wouldn't do Marshall again. But, the people in and around Huntington, WV were very nice and it was an overall pleasant and positive environment to be in.

My 10 Keys To Running Success

So, this year's been an eye opener as far as learning about my mind and body and what it will take to be any kind of competitive athlete. After nagging problems and not being able to use my energy to run when I want and as far as I want, I've decided to take a step back and come up with some things that are key to my success, and would probably be to any relatively new runner like me.

Here's my list:

1. Overall Diet. 

Naturally, nothing is more critical than a good diet for a runner. Without this foundation, there can be little improvement in building and maintaining muscle, strength, speed, endurance, injury prevention/recovery and a high level of  performance. Additionally, there can be buildups of toxins in places like the lower digestive tract and muscles that can be detrimental to the quality of these items.

I will not specify what diet one "needs", because most athletes already know what kinds of things they should/shouldn't eat. I *will* list some of my top things, however...

Shoulds:
- Protein shakes (before and/or after a run). With water or milk. Muscle building and repair formula. A must.
- Nuts, specifically Almonds (unless you have nut allergies). High in good fats, protein, fiber.
- Fruits and vegetables. These *should* be your main (if not only) source of organic sugars.
- Organic carbohydrates. Examples: oats, rice, limited amounts of pasta.
- Low-fat or fat-free dairy products. Butter, cheese, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese.
- Poultry
- Seafood (fish, crustaceans)
- Morton's "light salt". NaKCl. MUCH better for runners than table salt.
- Bacon (once or twice a month)
- Sugar substitutes. E.g. maltodextrin. Non-depressing. Easier to process for running energy.

That's basically it! You can whip up many different meals and concoctions with these things, enough so to keep you busy and happy.

Shouldn'ts:
- Starchy carbs. A few roasted/baked potatoes are good every now and then.
- Excessive amounts of table salt or foods too high in sodium.
- Oily / greasy foods. Use stuff like spray olive oil instead. NO fried foods, sorry.
- Refined sugar. Yeah, this rules out pretty much all sugary junk food. Sorry.
- Excessive amounts of processed carbs. Example: breads, crackers, chips.


2. Cross-Training.

Although XT is an open invitation for you to improve yourself, it's also pretty much a MUST, especially when it's not race season. Get something like the P90X program, and do it. A strong body from head to toe will ensure you become a better runner without being prone to injury. During race season, make your own list of exercises with your desired number of reps, and DO IT. You won't regret it.

3. Hill Training

If you want to get good at running hilly races, or pretty much ANY trail race, you NEED hill work. These are much different than running on the flats or a treadmill. If you aren't conditioned for them, you will likely wear out and get hurt. Take a day and do nothing but hills for ~5 miles. Push a little more each time, but don't continue pushing if there's extreme discomfort or shooting pain. Train your joints and muscles to work at severe angles. For trail work, simply find a trail with a couple big hills, or use power line rights-of-way.

4. Muscle Maintenance

This has been an utter key for me as of late. If you're sore after a run, you NEED to address it. Remaining stiffness in muscles, either from overuse or toxin buildup, may not go away in a timely fashion. And if the problems linger, they will not only damage your performance, but will also create injury scenarios down the line. People overvalue stretching, for one thing. A good diet and training regimen should limit the amount of stretching you need to do. If you're constantly stopping to stretch because you're stiffening up somewhere, something is amiss with your diet or training program.

And, even if no pain, you should periodically examine your muscle groups for knots and kinks. GET THEM OUT. Especially in legs, if you run with knotted quads, hamstrings, or shin muscles, there WILL be problems, specifically tendonitis. You're actually lucky if you get acute tendonitis, because this indicates a muscle or group has knots or stiffness that needs to be worked out - doing so will make it go away. Chronic tendonitis can be much more difficult to address.

My Muscle Tools / Injury Menders and Preventers
- The Stick (or substitute). A thin rolling pin or PVC broom handle can get the job done. Roll out all your leg muscle groups in a linear fashion, focusing on knots/kinks. Use both arms and apply as much pressure as you can handle.
- Your fingers. If you find a knot, sometimes it cannot be rolled. Use one or more fingers and push as hard as you can directly in the center of the knot and hold for 30 seconds before moving to the next. Yes, this can be painful, but is more effective than massaging back and forth. You may be temporarily sore or stiff after, but you'll be completely loose and comfy within a day or two in most cases, unless injured.
- Foam Roller. This is a gentle way to get knots out of your lower body muscle groups. Find a PDF diagram somewhere that tells you how to use one and on what areas. Buy a good one, that's not too soft.
- ICE. If you have lower leg pain after a hard or long run, ice it down as soon as possible. Bagged vegetables and flexible ice wraps are good, but an ice bath is best. Use a garbage can or cooler with a bag of ice, fill with water, and dip the legs in. Go all the way up to your quads if necessary but no further. Ice increases blood flow to sensitive areas and can aid in dissipating knots, especially if using the Dixie cup massage (Google it).
- HEAT. Do not use on an injury unless later into the rehab phases. Use when and where necessary to limber stiff muscles.
- Compression. Socks, sleeves, suits, wraps, and braces can hold muscle/joint groups in place and provide warmth to keep them loose at the same time.

5. Sleep (in a GOOD bed)
6. Equipment
7. Mid-run Fuel
8. Foot health.
9. Terrain Variation
10. Speed Work.