Game Over…again

I feel like I’m starting to use my blog as a form of therapy…ranting into the internet ether about my injury frustrations!  In a strange kind of way it helps!

My morning started off so well after a 20minute jog last night didnt aggravate my foot I did another 20min run this morning and was actually almost painfree.  It was well taped (plantar, peroneals and tib. posterior as well as extensor dig. on the top of my foot) and this did the trick for the run.  My problem came after the run….a scheduled gym session in which I was only doing the warm up drills and a shooting pain came through my right foot again.  Sitting on the floor with the trainer stretching it out I knew that was it for the day.  And as it turns out, at least for this week.  Knowing how much I would be wanting to run he made me literally PROMISE not to run anytime before I see him on Monday.  Its just not healing while Im trying to run.  So, once again I am relegated to the bike and am going to have to develop a much much closer relationship with my foam roller and my ice pack!!!

I know its my body’s way of telling me ‘Whoa Nic…you’ve put us through too much, give us a chance!”….but that doesnt make it any easier to be sat on the sidelines.  And I finally surrendered to the fact I wont be running in Vegas in 2 weeks.  Gutted.  But, with a bit of luck and a lot of hard work on rehab stuff and supplemental strength and stability training that I have neglected for the past 10 years as a runner, I will be back stronger and faster for 2012.  Baby steps in the grand scheme of things towards a long term goal.  So easy to say – incredibly hard to truly believe and accept!

Sorry Kinesio office….back to being the grumpy injured runner again for a while!!!

Spoke too soon….

I dont even know where to start.  Frustration just doesnt even come close.  My bad foot is doing great….my good foot is not.  As you could tell from my previous post I was so happy to be back running, and pleasantly suprised that I wasn’s as horribly out of shape as I was expecting on my return.  A gradual build up from 5minutes jogging the first day to 60minutes of running after 2 weeks.  Again, pleasantly suprised that my left foot was feeling 100%…not even a nagging ache in the back of my mind to worry about…it was finally healed!

But then…BAM.  Pain in my right foot.  Similar place, but this time feeling more like soft tissue than the bone itself.  Limped back from a 20minute shuffle on Monday morning before my scheduled gym session, only for my trainer to cancel the gym session in favour of an hour of soft tissue work instead.  Wow.  A whole world of pain.  It would be quicker to list the muscles in my right leg that were not excessively tight than to list those that were.

Trying to get a new set of orthotics as soon as possible as I have no doubt that is going to help a lot….no progress on that yet though.  I need a total new assessment as my running form has definitely changed since I had the last pair made, and no doubt my foot mechnics have too.

So…that’s where I am now.  Not quite back to square one but feeling frustrated all over again.   Trying to put a positive spin on it, but thats getting more and more difficult as the days and weeks go by.  And now that the clocks have changed its too dark (not to mention cold now) to get out on my bike in the evening.  So its down to the gym to keep me sane until my foot forgives me…..

 

The endorphins have returned…

As promised I’m trying to do some more regular updates as I make my way along the road to fitness again.  I am finally back running, albeit it at a much lower volume initially.  Each day I am starting to feel more like a runner again…although still feeling more like an elephant than a gazelle (a comparison that causes much amusement in the Kinesio office).  But it seems that the cross training I did on the bike along with continued strength and stability work in the gym, I am actually not in as horrible shape as I was expecting to be after over a month of no running.  Maybe theres a slim chance this cloud will have a silver lining, now that I’ve got in the habit of the supplemental work in the gym I’m going to do my best to stick with it.  I guess you could say I’ve made a new years resolution in November!!!!

The rest of the staff are also relieved to see me back running as it also means the return of the endorphins, which I think I was having withdrawals from!  An injured runner makes for a very grumpy work colleague…or at least in my case anyway!  So after a few days of getting back in to running and a short run and as well as an hour in the gym before work this morning I am no doubt much more fun to be around today (Dorothy already confirmed that part in as polite a way as possible!) )

Anyway, just thought I’d share my cheerful day with anybody out there reading along…have a happy Thursday!

Oops – long time no blog…

In the midst of a crazy couple of months at Kinesio, my European travels, the Berlin Marathon and a frustrating month of injury….I somehow totally missed to post anything here.  So here’s my update….

Berlin went about as well as I could have expected after a less than ideal build up with below par training and preparation.  I finished in 2:44, which if you had asked me 8 weeks before if I would be happy with that, my response would have been “Hell NO”!  But if you had asked me the morning of the race I would have grabbed that time with both hands.  So all in all I was pleased with how I ran, and Berlin was an amazing race.  Definitely up there with my favourite races along with the London Marathon.  The big down side of the race came about an hour after the race.  Adrenaline had abated…excitement was over….and wow did my foot hurt.  Of course, I did the usual runner thing and just thought it would be gone the next day.  But it wasn’t.  Or the next day….or the next.  Oh no.

Off I went to see my local physio back in the UK (leg 4 of my European work ‘tour’)  and although it was too soon to really tell (only 48hours after the race) we were hopeful that I had just bruised a bone and that in a week it would be much better.  Unfortunately not.  So off I went to the doctor once back in Abq….xrays clear, next step MRI for a suspected stress reaction or two (lucky me) and with no improvements a few days later I was put in a boot.  At this point I was already going stir crazy having not run for 2 weeks and I couldnt even get on the cross trainer because that hurt.  I could bike though – a small consolation so I could at least get outdoors.

To cut the rest of a long story short: I didnt get a scan, I decided that regardless of the result the treatment was the same.  My foot was telling me for free what the MRI would tell me for a fee….so I just resigned myself to waiting til it stopped hurting.  Finally I’m there.  A full month after the marathon I went for my first 5 minute jog.  The next day 10 minutes – sore again so another couple of days rest.  10 minutes again…then 15….and today 20 minutes painfree.  Baby steps but fingers crossed I’m starting my comeback.

Next step is to try and figure out why it happened (second stress reaction in the same foot) and prevent it from recurring.  New orthotics is pretty high on the list - 2 years on a pair of orthotics is apparently a little (or a lot) too long!

Hoping to be back on the racing scene at the Rock n Roll in Las Vegas in December as my first race back….fingers crossed!

Now or Never

Yikes, things have been more than a little crazy since my last post after our Symposium in Orlando.  With trying to get some good training in, and with so much going on at the Kinesio office, I’m not sure what happened to July!!!  So now, with only 7 weeks until the Berlin Marathon…its now or never for my training.  Things have been gradually improving, but I’m still not there yet.  So the next month is a BIG push for me.  I could do with an extra few hours in the day to fit everything in, but I guess I just have to work with the 24 hours I get given!

September 4th is the Rock and Roll Virginia Beach 1/2 Marathon, so between now and then I need to get my head down and put in solid mileage and some good sessions.  I just read Charlie Spedding’s Book “From First to Last: How I became a Marathon Champion” and am in the middle of “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall…both must reads for any runner.  Reading Spedding’s book is a useful reminder that it is possible to run at a high level and work a full time job….ok so a full time athlete has way more rest time, treatment time and training time than I do….but back in the 70s full time athletes were few and far between, so if they did it while working full time, its doable.  What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?!

So…time to stop feeling sorry for myself and my busy lifestyle and be glad of everything I have going on and remember my favourite saying:

“Somewhere behind the athlete you’ve become, the practices, the coaches who pushed you, the meets you’ve competed in, the long time dedication, and the friendships you made along the way, there’s a little girl who fell in love with running; run for her.”

Long time since my last post…

I haven’t had much interesting to say recently, because I haven’t been doing my usual copious amounts of running!  Its been a busy few months with work…and June in particular has been crazy.  Spain, Denmark, UK for the first part of the month, and I just got back from our Symposium in Orlando, Florida.  Busy busy busy.  I was lucky enough to be able to take advantage of some of our Certified Kinesio Taping Instructors at the Symposium – after being on my feet so much I somehow managed to damage myself (calf pain) and by Sunday I was hobbling around.  Temporary fix I got taped up to get me through the final day and also take some of the swelling down (thanks Dr Hainz!) then at the end of the day I had time to get it looked at better.  This time by our instructor all the way from Australia.  As you can see from the photos Thuy did some assessments, and to cut a long story short, discovered I have a lot of issues!  A few exercises and pieces of tape and I was (relatively) painfree.  So with the promise I would try and include more stretching in my training schedule (notice the word ‘TRY’….stretching is one of my least favorite past times!) I bid farewell to our distant friends as I headed back to Albuquerque, and them to Sydney.  So thats technically 2 Archers with calf issues that the Bridges from Australia have rescued directly or indirectly!!!

 

I’m now looking forward to being in Albuquerque for the next couple of months to get some solid training in, ready for the next big goal…..Berlin Marathon, September 25.  Yikes, thats only 12 and a half weeks away, I need to get my act together!!!

 

Brother Flies the Flag for Team Archer

So Stanford was a write off…I got sick the night before the race and spent all day with a fever, not being able to eat, and with my head feeling like an elephant was standing on it.   But, as those who know me are well aware, I do have a stubborn streak, so I attempted to start the race.  Needless to say I didnt last long.  But enough said about my running for the time being….

This weekend it was the turn of someone else to fly the flag for Team Archer….this time it was my big brother in The North Face 100k.  No that’s not a typo….ONE HUNDRED KILOMETERS.  Sixty Two and a Half Miles.  Almost 2 and a half marathons.  The length of almost 912 football fields.  Whichever way you write it…its a long way.  And in the Blue Mountains of Australia – so not exactly easy terrain.  Then you add in the fact that a good part of it was in the dark.  And people say I’m the crazy one?! 

Anyway, he completed the 100k in 18 hours 49 minutes and 32 seconds, 372nd place.  Helped in part by Kinesio!  A couple of weeks ago he picked up an injury, and with the help of Kinesio Taping Australia he found a local CKTP for treatment and taping.  His report the day after the race was  “Still very sore, quads are trashed, ankles sore and my feet hurt!! Knee hammies and calves (all the bits held together by kinesio) are ok  “

So a proud weekend for Team Archer…only trouble is, if I want to hold every Archer record for running events, now when the time comes that I retire from competitive running I’m going to have to do a 100k (and also a 50k as he has that to his name too).  Sounds like a tough retirment to me.  Thanks brother.  Thanks a lot!

Update

Its been a while since I last blogged, so I figured I’d make a short post.  Not too much exciting in my running adventures recently…just trying to knuckle down to a solid period of training before Stanford next weekend.  A few niggles here and there, but with a little help from Kinesio nothing has got beyond the ‘niggle’ stage.  Shin splints are, as ever, giving me grief – but as long as its taped it is manageable (touch wood).

Anyway.  Next weekend I am excited to travel to California for the Stanford meet, and get chance to catch up with some friends out there at the same time.  Yokohama feels like a long time ago now, so I’m itching to get back racing – I just wish training had gone a little better the past few weeks!  Its sometimes hard to guage though…having to battle with 40km/h winds some days I have definitely got some strength training in!  Summer is coming though…with temperatures already up in the 70s or 80s most days, so it wont be long before we are basking in the Albuquerque sunshine and not worrying about those spring winds.  But summer also bring with it the temperature battles in the office of what to set the thermostat at.  Maybe I’m nesh, but I get cold under the air con….others argue that its my (and I quote) ’bean pole’ stature…hmm I’m not sure thats a compliment, but I guess its an occupational hazard of being a marathon runner!  On the bright side – we did discover yet another use for Kinesio tape…..taping cardboard over the air vent.  Come to think of it, I’ve made a few strange uses of it recently – fixing my beloved garmin watch after the strap broke in what the manufacturer tells me is a terminal place, pathcing up a split in my shower curtain, and repairing the fraying end of my favourite belt (with a very trendy blue and black colour combo).  So many uses, but none so important as keeping my legs functioning!!!

Things at the Kinesio office are busy, busy, busy with lots of projects on the go.  But we did make time for an Easter Egg hunt on todays lunch break – so its not (quite) all work and no play!  With that said though, I should get back to some ‘real’ work now that I’ve given a quick update.

Have a Happy Easter weekend!

A new week…

Well, to say last week was disappointing would be an understatement.  Very frustrating to have picked up a niggle on my shin so early in my return to training – but on the bright side I caught it early and a bit of TLC over the second part of last week seems to have rescued it and I’m already back running pain free (with a little help from Kinesio!).  My coach is always telling me that taking a day or two of rest or easy running now is better than being sidelined for much longer later is better…but I used to be very good at ignoring that advice and just pushing on regardless!  Strange to think that one of the most important lessons you can learn as a runner is when not to run…but its true.  No matter what level you run at (or any sport really for that matter), you have to learn to listen to what your body is trying to tell you.  I’m not saying that whenever I’m sore or tired I take a break…jeez if that was the case I’d never get anywhere!…just that knowing what is good pain and what is bad pain is key.

Anyway – so far so good this week.  A decent workout last night (I steered clear of the track for this one) and I’m feeling a little more optomistic again that I will be ready for my big race in Stanford in a little over 4 weeks from now.

As ever the Kinesio office is buzzing with activity – so between work and training I’m keeping myself very busy.  I had thought that now I am training just for a 10km race I would have more time on my hands….that would have been the case but with lower mileage I am trying hard to focus on some of the supplementary stuff that goes along with it, but i had neglected recently.  Core stability work, drills, active stretching…so I havent freed up any time at all.  But hey, I like to be busy….speaking of which – its time I got back to work……..

No pain, no gain…right?

Sometimes right, sometimes wrong.  Unfortunately my first week of track season specific training has exactly been a breeze…in part because of the VERY breezy weather in ABQ this week!  Spring has well and truly sprung, so welcome the spring winds here in the land of enchantment.  On my Monday evening run I thought I was going to get blown away!  Tuesday was my first track workout of the year…and I’ll be honest it wasn’t exactly the most fun I’ve had all year.  But first session done…that’s good, right?!  Hmmm, depends which way you look at it – or more specifically – which part of my body you ask!  If you ask my right shin and calf, you would definitely not get a positive story (and I’m pretty sure there would be a lot of expletives in there too).  But hey, first session under my belt and now I just have to nurse my leg through its mini tantrum and all will be good.  I work in a good place for a bit of self rehab though….for the second time today I am sat at my desk on my swiss ball chair, with my leg up on another swiss ball with ice and a massage machine on my leg (a treatment trick from Dr Kase himself…the machine that is – not the balancing on 2 swiss balls).  Interesting image, and fortunately no-one has come by with a camera!  So once this is done, I’ll throw on some Kinesio Tape and it’ll be good to go and ready for a good weekend of training.  Hopefully anyway. ..