change it up

Damn PS (Piriformis Syndrome) doesn’t appear to be going away. I’ve been trying for the last couple of weeks to run speedwork and it just isn’t working. At least not the fast stuff; short intervals and such. It doesn’t bother me enough to stop running. Guess, that means I’ll just layoff the speedwork until this thing goes away.

In the meantime, I’m going to ramp back up the mileage. 40-50 miles a week may have worked in the past, but higher mileage seems to work the best. Time to start running about 10 miles a day, seven days a week. No running streaks, I’ll take a break every once in awhile. Of course, I’ll have to be smart about it. Maybe start at around 8 miles a day for a few weeks and gradually build up to 70-80 miles per week.

Then again, running through this thing may be a mistake? Hell, who knows. It’s frustrating. Probably ought to go back out to the golf course once or twice a week. The soft surface would probably do some good. Shame we don’t have any decent trails in the Murfreesboro area. Hate to make another trip into Nashville to run the trails on the weekend. I’m in Nashville every day. Maybe I could run the Nashville trails after work, once a week or so.

Causes of PS from here. The one thing that was news to me, "a longer second toe". Really? or just something to add to the laundry list. Still think my root cause is over striding in a speed workout. All of the other stuff, probably contribute but not the direct cause of the irritation. They could probably add driving a stick shift car in stop and go traffic.

• reading in bed with your knees bent or otherwise sitting so that the majority of your weight is on your buttocks
• sitting on the floor, especially with your knees bent up in front of you
• sitting on your foot
• catching yourself from falling, or other sudden muscle overload
• a direct blow to the muscle
• twisting sideways while bending and lifting something heavy
• forceful rotation of your body while your weight is on one leg
• twisting repeatedly while throwing something behind you
• running
• in women, spreading the legs during intercourse
• car accidents, particularly when struck from the driver's side (even for passengers)
• driving for long periods
• a longer second toe
• foot pronation
• one leg shorter than the other
• over-correcting a shorter leg with a lift that is too high
• chronic pelvic inflammatory disease
• infectious sacroiliitis
• arthritis of the hip joint or hip replacement surgery, although I believe usually the trigger points likely came first and were untreated for many years
• the sacroiliac joint out-of-alignment

Chasing the pack

The WSM  650 5k is 2 weeks before my goal 5k. My plan for this one was to start easy, not look at my watch and have some kick left at the end. This would be the complete opposite of how most of my 5k races go. I usually start out to fast. It feels so easy for the first mile. Look at the watch and see a 5:50 mile, panic/struggle and slow down for the second mile. Lead legs in the last mile and runners blasting by to the line.

Really started having doubts earlier in the week that this would even be a race and not a parade like so many of the races have become. I was only able to find last years times and they were pretty slow. No online map and no course certification. Worst case scenario, I brought the MP3 player so I could at least enjoy some tunes if it was a parade.

Standing around at registration it was really starting to look like the last parade at the zoo. No course map anywhere, but a couple of the fast guys from my age group did show up. Race on. Talked to JF for awhile at the start and headed out for my warmup. I'd even made a race playlist, in case this thing played out as a parade. Good tunes for the warmup. Slogged around for 2 miles and came back to put on the racing flats. Sure had been a long time since I'd last worn them.

The first part of my plan was to not look at my watch. It wasn't a hard fast rule. Didn't wear the GPS for the warmup only the Timex. For the goal race, I'll probably just go watchless, then it won't be an issue. Put the GPS on for this race, because I wanted the data to see if any of my training was actually working.

The second part of my plan was to start out easy. I placed myself back from the start line away from the 3 guys I was planning on racing. I wanted to keep them in sight, but not go out to fast. The gun fired and I was in the middle of the pack. This worked out well, the fast guys were ahead of me by 20 yards before we'd even started to thin out. Once the little kids started fading at a quarter mile I settled into a pace.

By the time the half mile mark came up, I was already within striking distance of my first target. Way to early to pass him, so I sat off the shoulder of the only young lady ahead of me. Well, not really on her shoulder that's just to creepy for an old fart like me. This was the first time I looked at my watch, 6:17 pace. About where I wanted to be, I was thinking 6:20 mile one, 6:15 mile two and then 6:05 or better for the last mile. Thought about just riding out another mile or so behind her, but went ahead and pushed on by. No one else seemed to be pushing the pace, they were holding steady.

I was only able to pass one more runner before the finish that was JF. Pushed by with authority so he wouldn't try to stay with me. Thankfully he didn't, because it sure seemed like I heard him breathing down my neck for the rest of the race. Never did look at my watch again until the finish. In hindsight, that was a mistake. I would have seen that mile two, I slowed down. Should have tried to stay with the one runner who did pass me, right after I'd passed JF. Spent the rest of the race trying to close the gap on the one runner in front of me that was catchable. Only got within 6 seconds at the line, and another plastic trophy.

Really surprised to see the clock at 18:xx as I approached. Pushed hard to the line and hit it at 18:50. Didn't seem like that kind of effort. It wasn't, short course 2.94 miles according to the GPS. I'll take it. Nice training  effort, but it didn't hurt enough. That was the cool thing about the 5k distance, it sure is over quick. Now I need to decide what training to be able to push into the pain and hold it. 800 meters? Probably, 1,000 meter repeats, that's the one distance I seem to struggle at the most in training.

PS, what a pain in the ass

Piriformis syndrome, at least that's my internet aided self diagnosis on Friday. According to the experts, at runningahead, lots of different ways to treat it. I'd already massaged with "the stick". Looked like I was trying to ride a broom, in order to hit the tight spot. Did some sitting in a chair attempts at the Pigeon Pose, that seemed to help. But, what really seemed to work was changing my stride.

Tuesday mornings speed workout is when this thing first surfaced. I must have overstrided trying to run fast on my 400 meter repeat. (Dumb, trying to run someone else's pace) It hasn't been the same since. More of a tightness and discomfort in the glute, just below the belt line and deep down attached to the pelvis. Really frustrated on Friday mornings tempo effort. Barely able to hit the paces and felt every stride in my rear end.

Saturday's recovery slog seems to be the turning point. I'd been reading a thread on the local board about the energy cost of shoes. I decided to try out the 180 steps per minute. It just seemed to aggravate the pain in my rear. But, it did make me realize that I hadn't really been running effortlessly, lately. The lifting of the knees, and lighter foot strikes. All the things form drills, ingrain in your brain, started to come back.

A mom pointed out to her daughter, my stride. I'd like to think she was telling her, about my great running form. Actually, it was probably "look at the goofy old bastard trying to run fast". The effort hadn't increased but the pace was about a minute quicker than my typical slog in the last couple of weeks. The best thing, the tightness is gone. Still some soreness. And the run, it felt effortless.

Greenway, Blueway and Bikeway Master Plan - Meeting March 13

Reposting this straight from the Murfreesboro Bicycle Clubs web page.

Please - we need as many people as possible at this meeting - there's a group out there trying to stop Greenway and Bikeway expansion in Rutherford County - we need your support! Keith and I received harassing emails from a group because we participated in the Rutherford County Comprehensive Plan -and they have their eyes on this Greenway, Blueway and Bikeway Master Plan. I can't be there due to a prior committment -but I hope many of you can stop by and show your support.

-- The city’s Parks and Recreation Department is hosting a public input meeting to guide the creation of its Greenway, Blueway and Bikeway Master Plan.

The meeting will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 13 in the dining room at Patterson Park Community Center, 521 Mercury Blvd. The plan will guide the development of these corridors for the next 25 years.
For more information, contact Angela Jackson at 615-890-5333 or ajackson@murfreesborotn.gov. 

Found this on the Daily News Journal website


Rutherford transportation could net $107M for growth


While the Rutherford County list includes traditional road widening and interchange projects, it heavily focuses on alternative transportation, such as adding sidewalks, bicycle paths, bus transit improvements, bus equipment, traffic camera monitoring equipment and expansion of greenways. Installation of 7.1 miles of fiber optic cables, associated closed circuit TV cameras, traffic signal support and related equipment at traffic operations center and various locations along State Route 1/2, S.R. 10, S.R. 96, Middle Tennessee Boulevard, Fortress Boulevard, and Medical Center Parkway in Murfreesboro.

Not sure if this is the same project. Really wonder why anyone would be opposed?

sunshine

We escaped all of the wrath of the storms that swirled around the Middle Tennessee area on Friday. Took this picture before heading home on Friday night. Worst we got was the nickel size hail, that sounded like it was going to punch holes through the roof at the office. Though the drive home wasn't completely smooth sailing. Torrential rain, hail, wind.

Random thoughts bubbling through my head, as I ran in the sunshine and cold Saturday morning.

• Polar opposites attract, why?
• There's always a calm after the storm, but it isn't always rainbows.
• The early morning sun is like a day glow strobe lite when it filters through the trees and brush.
• Sunshine warms the body even when the temperatures are below freezing.
• Solo runs with the mp3 player, rock sometimes. Grateful Dead, James Taylor.
• Good to see groups out for a run and familiar faces.
• Which has better odds, the craps table at the casino or decent weather in a marathon?
• Early spring has got to be one of the best times to run, but isn't it really still winter?
• If you're running in a group and its time for your walk break, don't clog the whole path.
• April 2009 was when the tornado's touched down in our area, are the storms getting here earlier?

2 weeks of Jack

Finished the 2nd week worth of Jack Daniels workouts this morning. BQ1 came out as well. And the speed workout wouldn't be complete without the wind. Warm and humid as well. I'd like to say these workouts are getting easier, but I was only able to hit the short repeat numbers. Great to have BQ1 to chase after on the longer stuff.

Either I'm going to hard on the short stuff or I'm wimping out on the longer stuff. Probably a combination of the two. The relaxed fast pace seems to click rather easily on the shorter repeats. The longer stuff, I could feel my quad complaining. So, probably not pushing hard enough to keep up with BQ1. He didn't have any problems hitting his times.

Never looked at my watch, except at the end to record the split. Ran by perceived effort. That, might also be why the 1,000 meter repeats were 3-5 seconds off per rep. Ran just a little bit to comfortably, not a hard fast effort.