Injuries: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Injuries, that dreaded word – a word we don’t want to hear.  It is easy to see the bad and ugly with injuries but how do we see the good.  The bad is obvious in that when we get injured we do not get to do what we want to do; run, ride, swim or some other activity.  The ugly is that injuries are painful and disruptive in more than our running or other athletic activities but also often affect other areas of life, yes there areas other than athletics.  Since we can pretty much all find the bad and ugly with injuries I am going to look at the good side of them since as far as what is good that is often much more difficult to discern.  However, there is good to be found in injuries, we just have to find it.  If we do not find the good there is a “good” possibility that more injuries and disruptions are to come.  So as to work towards seeing the good in this latest injury here is some background on my current injury.

Those of you that know me know I have been dealing with what seems to be Plantar Fasciitis, I say "seems like" since it may be more than just PF, for the past year, but for others here is a little history.  Last June (2017) I was doing a harder tempo run and with 4 miles to go my calf cramped and I ran slowly home, in hindsight I should have walked – but my mind did not want to walk 4 miles – mistake in looking back.  This led to the back of my heel being sore and feeling it in the Achilles some.  With the Hood to Coast Relay coming up in August (2017) I took a couple weeks off to let the heel calm down.  During this time I did some stretching but was careful not wanting to aggravate the Achilles and it got reasonably better but not fully.  When I started running again I continued stretching and working my calves being careful to keep things easy so that I could run the relay in a little over a month.  While not entirely healed my foot did feel better so I ran the Hood to Coast Relay and looking back that may have not ben the best decision but at the time the lure of doing a race such as Hood to Coast and being able to handle the soreness I went for it.    If you have ever run a relay like Hood to Coast, or The Bourbon Chase, you know you run hard then jump in a van to get to the next exchange zone.  If you are the last person in a van, #6 or #12, you might get some time to cool but not anyone else because it is pretty much also race to get to the next exchange area.  What I expect happened is my tight calves just rebelled no matter how much I rolled and stretch in the van but being seated in the van they just tightened up.  So after the race things were pretty sore.

From that time on I have been dealing with heel issues that move around from the bottom to the side of my heel.  I work to stretch as much as I can and not sit too long for work, even getting a standing desk, and while I was able to get back to running, after a couple week rest, I never was fully healed but not limping or anything like that.   I did have to pass on the Land Between the Lakes 50 miler in March of 2018 due to not feeling right.  Thus I did not race and ran easy so my foot was feeling somewhat better but was in truth not better.  I then ran a 10k trail race in May to get ready for the Yamacraw 50K and was hopeful things would work out even though my foot was still sore, especially on downhills – not good thing to have on trail races.  I ran Yamacraw and my foot just felt like it got beat up and downhills, where I can usually pick up time, were even more painful so did not have a great race but looking back considering my training and injury I guess it was a good run.  I again took a couple weeks off to rest my foot and got back to training and running slow so as to keep things good on my foot.

I did run a 10hr run getting 56.5 miles and my foot was sore but not too bad during the race as the course was a flat horse track so no downhill to deal with.  However once again when done the foot was sore again and as I had planned on The Back Yard Classic in August and Tunnel Hill in November I got back to easy training.  Things were sore but seemed to slowly getting better.  Then I did, looking back, a really stupid thing.  I had been out driving around doing errands all day and got home and as it was supposed to be raining for the next few days with thunderstorms I got home and rushed out and went on a hard 8 mile tempo run.  Coming down a steep hill, there is that downhill thing again, right by my house at the end of the run and my heel suddenly got very sore and from then on things have not been good.  I took another couple weeks off and came back in July to run a 10K and 5K to test my foot and while I got through the race I was limping afterwards and thus I again took time off, this time 3 weeks.  Now during this time I got back to riding my bike as it does not seem to aggravate my foot issues.  I came back to run after the three weeks as my heel had been sore but feeling better.  When I started back to running it was sore again and the soreness was not just on the run or just after but extended to the next day and was making me limp even more.  I had been riding more so after these first few easy and short runs I decided it was time to take more time off and get rid of this issue.  While maybe not the smartest things I decided, as I was in So. Cal for work, I was going to do the Mt. Baldy Run-to-the-Top trail race (7 miles and 4000ft) and then start at least 2 months off.  I am also thankful to Steve Durbin as he allowed me to take my entry for Tunnel Hill, as there was no way I could run it even if I dropped down in distance, and defer it to another race next year.

So that is where I am as it has been about a week since the Mt. Baldy run and I have started my 2-month layoff from running.  In this time I will be riding to be ready to do a Century in October then will take a month off from both riding and running as it works out to be a good time to just take a rest as even when I took my intermittent 2 week rests I was always doing something..  During this rest period I will be stretching and working to get things right functionally.  I am pretty sure my issue is not simply a foot issue as I find issues usually start further up or down the chain from where the issue shows itself.  If I get to November and the foot is still questionable I will take another month but will be back to riding after a month off from it in October.

Injury in 2016, hmm - did it start here?

I should add as I looked back I have had had issues with my right foot, the one troubling me now, foot, injury back in 2016 that I never figured out what it was but had to rest it up and with hindsight being 20/20 I can see how this may all be connected – I slap my forehead.
longer than the last year.  Initially I thought about how when I ran my first 50 miler at Land Between the Lakes in 2017 and got done my right foot felt really beat up.  I chalked it up to not enough cushioning in my shoes and a really sloppy course but looking back it may have been a precursor to
what I am experiencing now.  This soreness then reared itself at the 2017 Yamacraw where I had a good race but again had a very sore right foot.  But then I remembered how I wrote about an ankle, same

So that was a long way of saying I am fed up with taking days and weeks off here and there and avoiding the obvious need to shut it down for an extended period of time.  I tend to struggle with this mentality, as my inclination is to push through things but in truth - why.  I am not a pro or someone that makes their living off of running, and even if I did I still would need to take longer rests but it would play into things more, so should take a view that is more long term.

Also, I should add that while I don't like to not start races I enter I work to not let the fact I have paid for an entry influence if I race or not.  In accounting terms it is a “sunk cost” meaning it is paid for and the funds are gone, whether I run or not the money is spent.  What should drive our decision to race or not is not what you have spent but the cost of racing – that is the cost to your body and future running and health.   I’m thankful, as mentioned before, to race directors like Steve Durbin who has let me defer my entry on two races now.  That said even if I could not defer the entry fee, as has happened more than once, I would still pass on races that would be a detriment to my health and future running.

My decision to shut it down for at least 2 months was driven by my foot soreness but also by plans for 2019/2020.  My goal for 2019 is to qualify for Boston for 2020 when I turn 60 and my goal race to do this is the 2019 Derby Marathon in late April.  Also, as part of this I will run some shorter races to prepare for Boston and limit my longer races to 50K, which in truth seems to be the distance I like the most.  Also next year I have plans to run a R-2-R-2-R at the Grand Canyon in late September with Doug Lynch and any others that may want to join in.  As this run not a race and
I want to do this for fun and adventure it fits my schedule and will work to help build for Boston 2020.

Those that know me know that I believe that nothing happens by chance and that all things work together for good (Romans 8:28) and while I readily admit this injury is not pleasant there is good that has come out of it.  For one I have rekindled my love for cycling.  While I have been running for a long time I have also ridden for maybe 37 years, but not so much the last 10 years.  I have been able to get out and do some long rides and even raced a Time Trial and am remembering how much I loved riding.  The other good side of this is I am going to keep riding once I am back to running and work to use both activities to help each other and hopefully avoid injuries.  Way back in the 80’s I took up riding due to a knee issue and the riding solved that problem, a problem that I no longer have, and maybe that is what I needed to learn, I need riding to be better balanced in my body as riding works things differently than running.  Also, another good, and this is sort of a universal truth with most injuries I will get some concentrated rest and not just a day or week here and there.  Our bodies need rest and they will get it one way or another, usually if you are like me it is via an injury as when I am doing well it is hard to take the needed rest.  Also, even having this injury get me to write my thoughts that helped me to look back farther than just my discomfort at Land Between the Lakes in 2017 but to when I did some sort of strain to it in 2016.  All to let me see I need to not only rest my foot, stretch it and the connected areas but also to work to strengthen what may be weakened.  Thus my 2months, or more, rest will not be a matter of doing nothing but working to build up a weak area.

Ok after all that explanation and trying to help see how I have seen good in this injury I really hope there are lessons you can take from this to help you in your running, in no particular order:

• Make sure to be honest with yourself with regards to injuries
• Remember you are not a pro, unless you are reading this and are one, and taking time off has to be on the table
• You can miss a race you have paid for if the result of running it may be to be detrimental to your health and future running
• Realize that more often than not short rests when injured can be good but often they just postpone the longer break you need
• Make sure to have down time in your training routine, when you are healthy, so as to help minimize the risk of injury
• Realize that your body does not necessarily recognize miles but stress so if you cross train, and I recommend it, make sure not to add more simply because it is not running
• If you have particular injuries consider taking up biking, or other activity,  to get aerobic work in with less stress on the body – if you ride just make sure your bike is set up correctly
• While I tend to only do this after it is too late, take time to stop and look back over the last year or more and see if you can see any trends.
• Have long term goals, they may change but having them can be important in making decisions with regards to injuries as when we think short term we, or at least I do, tend to try and just push through but this can only be done for s short time and will in the end be a detriment to long term goals.
• I am sure there are more things and will add them as they come to mind and if you take time you may come up with others

While I am not excited about being injured and was hoping for a good year if you can learn from my troubles then I truly am thankful my injury can have a positive side to it .  Also, I will be posting later the exercises and stretches I have found that work best to deal with my PF issues but want to work through a few things first to nail down what are the best things to do.

When Will I Learn – Take a Break Before You’re Broke

You would think after 45 years I would have learned my lesson but no, I keep repeating the same thing I am always telling other not to do.  So often I get a nagging injury and I take a day or two off thinking if I just rest a few days I can get back into it and not miss much.  But all too often I do this cycle over and over and the injury is still there till finally I have to take two plus weeks off.   To add insult to “injury”, pun intended, since my reason for trying to keep running usually is an up coming event so what tends to happen is the that I finally have to take time off right at the events date and miss the run as it is.  Now taking the two weeks off at the start, or just avoiding the injury all together but more on that in a moment, may or may not have solved the issue but it invariably would have been a better choice and leave me with a better opportunity to race later.

I understand why even experienced runners who can afford it have coaches because no matter how much you know there seems to be that element of “DO as I say NOT as I DO.”  When you coach others you can look at them from a perspective that often you cannot see about yourself and that loss of perspective can lead to decisions and directions that may end up being detrimental.  Now, even if you do not have a coach you can surround yourself with those that are not afraid to tell you to “take a break” which may also be able to help avoid the injury trap.  Now when I speak of injuries I am not talking about those that may come from other areas of life but those that crop up due most often to over-use or maybe just going to far too fast.  Whatever the reason it often takes a perspective that is detached from you to see the issue.  I do not say this to give myself an excuse but I have to admit I often from my perspective am not over doing it.  When I look back I can see that while I may not have been suddenly throwing in a 100 mile week after never running more than 40 but instead because I was feeling good I just kept going and did not take a break from training or racing as I should have.

The lesson I need to learn is that we need to take a break before we are broke – hey maybe I need to copywrite that but then again I am sure someone has said that before.  I was joking with my wife the other day that taking time off would be easy if I disliked running but then again I run because I enjoy it.  Thus, while I admit there are times I want a certain amount of miles or need to run a certain distance to make sure I can tick of my training box more often than not I cut my rest short just because I like to run.  That does not mean I enjoy every run but as a whole I just like to run.

So what of this latest issue?  While I do not have Plantar Fasciitis, yet, I do have a very sore heel where the achilles attaches.   If I look back the achilles issue did not come directly from too many miles but stems from calf issues that came about during a hard run after having quite a few miles.  The miles themselves were not necessarily high but looking back I can see I had not had a long enough period of rest when I needed it and not just wait till it is convenient.  Sad thing on my part was that I had this issue the year before and had talked about taking a break every 5 weeks or so but in the midst of travel and work and racing I just ended up not taking those needed days thus never taking a planned break.  Well my body said it is time for one and that is not the way I, we, should decide on when to take a break.

I had been struggling with calf issues and was trying to keep up the training as I had Hood to Coast coming up so tried to run through it and in many ways was able to but it was not always comfortable.  I had planned after Hood to Coast during a family vacation to take a week or two off.  Well my love for running and especially finding trials up mountains got in the way.  I had told myself that a 16 mile run up 3500ft would be no big deal and the previous 4 miler was just a shakeout run.  The issue is that what those runs did, while enjoyable with a little pain, was disrupt the rest so that while I may have only run three days during the week I did not get the consecutive days of rest my achilles needed.  To top this off we were driving back from Idaho across the county back home to KY and of course I had to run in Yellowstone as well as another run on a beautiful morning but the part I had not accounted for was how driving a few thousand miles would affect my Achilles especially when I would run in the AM then get in the car and drive – let me tell you that is a bad idea if you can avoid it do so.  I then took a week off of running once I got home before I had to go back out to CA for work and rode 3 days, telling myself that it was not running, but then I got to CA and was sore from flying and went for a short run – another bad idea and a stop to a week off from running before I actually got the week – do you see a trend here.  I then took one more day off and the heel felt a little better and I tried to run the next day and while sore it was not unbearable, that is until later that night and all the next day.  Man did it hurt the next day and it did not subside most of the day.

So that is where I am.  I wrote some time ago about having a long term perspective and that perspective is to run long term and while I do have “A” Races and Goals running for long into the future is at the top of my list.  When I see things from that perspective and put aside my pride in not running a race I had planned on it makes things easier, not easy but easier, to say whoa.  I am not one to enter lots of races and do not show up as I only enter races I plan on running but this year due to work and now injuries I have had to back out of a few races.  The reason I am going to shut it down for a month or so from racing and thus pass on The Bourbon Chase Relay in KY which I really wanted to run as well as the Colossal-Vail 50 Miler in AZ is that it is the wise thing to do.  I have some big plans for next year which include the Land Between the Lakes 50 miler in March 2018 and the Yamacraw 50K (this is a maybe as it is 30 days after LBL but may do it as a training run) in April then my first 100 miler at Tunnel Hill in 2018.  After that my current plan is to work to qualify for Boston at The Kentucky Derby Marathon in 2019 so I can run the 2020 Boston when I am 60.  I think taking the rest now and then training so that these events in the future can take place is what needs to be done.  There is a chance I may be able to run a 30K in mid November but only if I have no pain and also it will be a pretty much day of the race decision and it will be run in a manner that readies me for the future and not jeopardize it.

Also, when taking a look back at my last two years of trying I have had some very good weeks but I have a hard time making it to November as I had to DNS the Indy Marathon due to issues.  This tells me I am not taking the mid-season break that I need and will factor that in this coming year.  Also, in this coming year I need to work on more mobility and strength and not just say I will do it.  I just need to figure out how to make time even if it means running less.

Well that is a quick look at how things are ending for my year and I hope you can learn some Lessons from my mistakes.  I may not learn quickly but I hope you do.  Take to heart to that rest is much a part of training and the activity of training is and make sure you “Take a Break Before You Are Broke.”  Do not put off what needs to be done, rest, as your body will make you rest at some point and that point is usually more painful and often conflicts with what you avoided rest to try and do.  If you can afford a coach, and you may even find your company may even cover part of it like they do for some people with health clubs, do so and if not find people who will help you progress.  With this be careful not to surround yourself with people like you as often that means the advise will be “just gut it out”, or “work through it.”  It is OK to have those people but make sure you have those that will be honest with you and say take a break when you need it or will tell you to cut back when you are maybe getting a little over zealous.

Again -  “Take a Break Before You're Broke”

Follow on post on Recovery

The Big Picture: Injuries

I had thought about a series of blog posts that deal with the “Big Picture” and deal any number of

areas from Faith, Family, Training, Diet, Racing, Injuries and other topics as they relate to Running and the “Big Picture.”  That said I did not contemplate that my first “Big Picture” post would on injuries.  The truth is I would rather not speak of them, what runner does, but providentially I had a foot injury this past week so here we are.

Injuries and how you deal with them are largely influenced by how one views their running and the “Big Picture” you have with regards to your running.  I guess having a “Big Picture” outlook depends on if you have taken the time to formulate one.  As my posts I am sure will be read, if read at all, by the average runner and not the people who run as a living that will be where I will tend to direct this post, and future ones.  I should add that the significance of having a greater view of why one runs is that it helps with how one deals with running’s relationship to the rest of life.  I will post a separate post on developing a “Big Picture” outlook at a later date.  Probably should have done it first but that is not how things have fallen into place so let’s look at “The Big Picture and Injuries.”

Recently, I was running a couple loops (11.3 miles and 2100 FT) of a trail run that while having a fair amount of vertical, 1000+FT in 5.65 miles, is far from technical but is steep in areas, basically on dirt roads.  On the second loop I was letting things just go running down hill and suddenly my right foot starting hurting when it landed.  I did not hit a rut or a rock that I could tell but basically it seems something just went.  So I hobbled the rest of the way through the run and finished up in some pain.  The next day my foot was swollen below the ankle and it hurt to walk on so decided there would be no running for a few days to see how it would be.  

As I had a ½ marathon trail run coming up, The Rugged Red, I figured it would be best to rest up if I even wanted the possibility of running it, around 11 days from when I hurt my foot.  3 days after hurting my foot it was still swollen, see the picture on this page, and hurt when doing other than walking, which itself was not comfortable.  On writing this post it has been 6 days and it is still swollen and sore.  Not sure how it will be for running in the up coming week so I have decided to get an X-ray in a couple days to make sure it is not more than a strain before I run on it again.  I foresee some riding in the future to keep in shape for other up coming races and runs.

So how does this all relate to the “Big Picture?”  First, I need to share at least part of what I consider my “Big Picture” view of my running.  I have to remember that running, at my stage in life especially, is a part of my life that keeps me in shape and helps as a relaxing, yes relaxing, activity that I enjoy but it is not all there is.  While I enjoy racing and do so when I can I need to make sure that when faced with decisions related to injuries and races I think about how the decision will affect other areas of my life as well as my future running and racing.  Let me also add here that I do not believe in accidents or coincidences and while I may not know why things happen I do understand that they happen for a purpose, again even if I do not at the moment understand the purpose.  So this all becomes part of my “Big Picture” view of running.

So as I face what to do about a trail race I have been looking forward to do since I ran it a year ago, running a less than stellar race, I have to keep in mind how doing it with an injury fits with my overall view of running and life.  With that in mind while I might be able to gut out and suffer through the trail race with my foot still sore less than a week out and not knowing how injured it is going through with a race such as the The Rugged Race would be less than wise. The Rugged Red is not only a ½ marathon trail race it also has in many places technical sections, both up and downhill, that would put lots of stress where it is not needed.  Thus, with the possibility of not only hurting myself more and not being able to run for even longer but also, as it is a point to point race, being stuck out there if I injured it even more, I will hold off running it this year and hope to run it next year.

Not sure about everyone else but holding off going to a race is not the top of my list.  Having a “Big Picture” view of my running helps in making such as decision as I have made.  It does not make it easy but does help in making the correct decision.   Usually I first struggle with the fact I have paid for the race so need to run it.  The fault there is that while it is paid for the funds are gone and thus not running really does not cost any more monetarily but may cost from a health perspective.  Secondly, when I enter races they are ones I enjoy and want to do since I find little reason just to enter races.  This is especially true of trail races as I very much enjoy the challenge of running trails thus making this decision even more difficult.

While I still would like to run and being 6 days out I keep telling myself I may be OK it is best to just decide now so that I can make a long term plan for what to do now to get over this injury.  With having a couple 5Ks on the schedule over the next two months, the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon in Early November along with my first 50 miler in March of 2017 wisdom, and seeing the “Big Picture ,” allows me to be comfortable with taking time off to get well and then training in such a manner as to be ready for those up coming races. 

While I will write more on the idea of having a “Big Picture” I encourage you to work to formulate one for yourself as it truly does make dealing with injuries easier, not easy but easier.

Update: Sept 6th, 2016
Got in to see my doctor today and got a couple X-rays.  The good news is nothing is broken, the bad news is I still need to rest it for the rest of the week so The Rugged Red  1/2 Trail Marathon is for sure out.  The good news is I can set my bike up in the basement and at least get some activity in for the rest of the week.  Also, looks like with 2.5 weeks till my next 5K I should be OK.   Gives me plenty of time before my 5K in October and Indy Marathon November 5th as well.  Now to just rest it up and get back to training and not hurt it again.  I know my penchant is to jump right back in where I ended but I need to ease back in to stop it from flaring up and creating more problems.