Weekly Update

I think I might have finally reached the point when I can start regularly updating the blog again. I just finished a week of training that was a respectable enough to write about. I havent started doing workouts, but I have been running at a decent pace and a decent distance.
I managed to get in 6 days of running last week even with loads and loads of snow (February record for DC). The total was 50 miles, comprised mainly of running through neighborhood streets at night, carefully avoiding black ice at every intersection. The only real notable run was todays long run. I headed over to Rock Creek for 13.6 in 1:25:41 (6:18 pace). I really didnt think that I was getting overzealous, but apparently that was not the case. I was running a little easier than the start of last weeks long run, but I think I ended up going a little too fast right after I turned around. I think I should have realized that when I hit my first gradual uphill mile in 5:51. Oh well, I kept up and as I neared the end of the run, I ended up stopping at the top of a couple of big hills, therefore turning my long run into somewhat of an interval workout. After the run I checked to see that my second to last full mile was 6:49 (ouch!). Magically(read: thanks to the stopping), I ended up finishing my last .6 at 6 flat pace.

Running

I have been doing this crazy thing called running recently. Its oddly familiar, like something I did years ago. If I remember correctly, I used to run a lot faster and farther. I guess most importantly I have been running without pain. This has been step 1 of my 3 step process to recovery. The next step involves adding strides (the action that caused my achilles injury late last february) and finally workouts to complete the process.
Recently I have been around 40 miles a week at 6:40-7 minute pace.

A Tale of Two Runs

As I move closer to a full year of achilles tendonitis, I am still learning a few do's an dont's. I have found some shoes that work well and some excercises that help my feet become more responsive as they hit the ground (helping to relieve some stress off the achilles). I have also found a number of shoes that dont work. Last week I started a run in a pair of these shoes and had to turn around and switch into the good shoes. It would seem as if armed with this knowledge I might be able to progress a little. Fortunately, I have made a little progress. I have run 30 miles the last two weeks and am on pace to run even more this week. Unfortunately, I have had painful runs in the good shoes... hence "A Tale of Two Runs". Even worse, I have had some good runs in other shoes.

The trick over the past few weeks has been to focus on the current week and the next week no matter how well things are going. I have had some definite days where I was feeling great and had to fight off thoughts of 40, 50, 60.... mile weeks. All I can really do is stick with one of my favorite corporate slogans over the past couple of years.... "I am what I am"

Wheres Waldo

... remember that childhood game? Well thats kind of like my running over the past couple of years. Every so often when I least expect it, I see that striped hat, but more often than not I am just blankly staring into open spaces.
Last month I was starting to feel pretty good, albeit over the course of pretty short runs (30-50 min). Now I am dealing with some slight plantar issues, but I have been on the stationary bike 5 days a week for around 60 min over the past couple weeks.
I am finally heading to PT today, so I am hopeful for the future. The surprising thing is that I have never been really frustrated over the past couple years. I have been good at not letting running take over, but that might be because I have run so little that I havent really built myself up too much.

RITZ....12:56!

Update

The achilles has calmed down a bit, which has allowed to attempt a long base phase. I still plan on heading to PT in October since I still have a bump on my achilles. At the moment I am just running 30-40 minutes a day 5-6 days a week. Depending on how I feel, I am going to slowly creep up the durations of the run. At some point I am going to have to start running with people because comebacks are usually slow when its just one person on their own.

Still Injured

My achilles is still bothering but I have least found a pair of shoes I can run in that minimizes the pain. At the moment I am trying to save a little cash for pt. I was getting treatment until my health plan switched over in june. I have talked to a couple people and it sounds like this injury could take some time to treat, but I have all the time in the world (or at least until I hit my early 30's).