I can’t believe my first half marathon is exactly two weeks from tomorrow. Eek! I’m getting so excited!
Unfortunately, I am also getting frustrated.
Two and a half weeks ago, I took 3 much-needed rest days because of a twinging left IT band. After a few days off, I was ready for a long run, and did an amazing 7 miles! I followed it with a ton of foam rolling, stretching, and icing.
Three days later, I tried to do another long run, but had to stop after 3.5 miles because of shin splints in my left leg. So, I took some more time off of running to let my shins feel better.
This week, I got a great 4 miler in, and planned to do 8 miles yesterday. However, the inside of my left knee has been tender and swollen for the past few days, so I will not be running until tomorrow at the earliest.
Essentially, every time I run, a different part of my left leg hurts for the next few days. I’m doing lots of foam rolling, icing, and strength training, and my shoes are not even close to being worn out.
So what’s the issue here? Why do I keep feeling different injuries? What am I doing wrong?
And also, what do I do for the rest of my training? I was supposed to do 8 miles yesterday, a few shorter runs plus a nine miler next week, and then one or two short runs with a few days rest before the Big Day the week after. Should I still try to do the longer training runs, or just the shorter 3-5 mile ones? I’m trying to find that tricky balance between being well prepared for the half marathon, without being injured.
Any advice would be welcome, and appreciated!
Despite my workout frustrations, there were lots of great things going on this week, too, like:
1. The opening of my Open Sky Shop! Check it out; even though this is just my ‘Sneak Peek,’ there are already a lot of exciting products for sale there. Like the Cacao Bliss I reviewed the other day!
2. A Red Mango fro-yo date with the lovely Allison, Kristie, and Holly.
3. E-Week, or Engineer’s Week. At UW-Madison, the entire week is filled with fun competitions and games between the student orgs, as well as some charity events. I participated in the Food Drive, and Box Top collection, as well as the Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament, Engineer’s Spelling Bee (the word ‘permittivity’ was my downfall…couldn’t remember if there was one t or two!), and E-Weekopoly (the Engineering Campus Monopoly game). To wrap up the week, I watched the Mr. and Mrs. Engineer ‘pageant.’ Overall, SWE took fourth for the week, I think!
4. A great 4-mile run, and two intense strength training workouts!
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
I am in the same boat as you and have been many times over my marathon career. I just posted about my frustration a couple of days ago. Its especially hard when you know other people running the event and hear about their training. . . when you can’t! I would recommend waiting until late tomorrow at the latest to run, and to keep icing. Does biking/elliptical hurt? You can get a similar cardio workout which will help you physically but also give you some mental peace of mind. Your body knows how to run, you have been running for months and are in great shape. It won’t forget before the 1/2, I promise! Getting there uninjured is most important.
It has taken years, but I now realize that sometimes rest is THE most important part of my training for 1/2 and full marathons. Good luck!
Exactly! The friends I am running with have gotten up to 10-12.5 miles in their training, and I’m only up to 7. I haven’t tried biking, but I did some incline walking today, which hurt much less than running.
Thanks for the advice!
I don’t really know your schedule, but I had a similar problem one week. I cut way back on the strength training for now because it is hard enough on my body to add miles, so I decided the strength training could wait. I only do arms, and I skip all workouts the day before my long run. That seemed to stop my problems. Also, I don’t know if anyone besides Katie (maybe) is planning on running the whole thing, so don’t beat yourself up too much. Listen to your body and rest when it tells you to and you will be fine
Thanks, Feest. Apparently, UHS has free (for students) drop-in appointments with sports therapists Monday-Thursday, so I’m going to try to go between class and SWE tomorrow. Hopefully they’ll help me figure out what to do so I can still run!
ah soo sorry i missed that meet up- i truly lost track of time
try not to get frustrated even though i can totally see why. i know there are plenty of amazing bloggers who will give you fabulous advice!
Ah girl, sorry about the leg problems
The only thing I csn think of as far as making sure you are prepared for the half endurance-wise is maybe doing some high incline treadmill walking for 1, 1/2 hours like Angela does… but I’ve never really tried that so can’t say how it works personally. I’m hoping your legs start cooperating soon though!
Great idea, Kristie! I was in a lot of pain as soon as I started to run this morning, so I switched to incline walking for an hour, which didn’t hurt much at all. Thanks!
for engineering week at my office i made cupcakes with icing drawn calculators and T-square shaped cookies.
ha.
Seriously? Please tell me you took pictures. That is adorable.
Might I suggest that your legs are telling you something that your mind doesn’t want to hear?? I am fit, 50+ lady who has learned how to listen to her body. If I ache, my “Body Window” is trying to tell me something. Too long to go into here.
My website will explain it all if you are interested,
Warmest wishes to you,
Elle
Hi! First time commenter here! I really enjoy reading your blog and I think I may know the cause of your leg injuries: your first injury was the IT band. Since then, you tried running, but got more injuries on the same leg. I think you might have been compensating for the IT band injury and might have favored other parts of the left leg or put more weight on a different part. That stress is probably the cause of your knee and other injuries…? Just my thoughts. I hope you feel better for the half! good luck!
First, thanks for coming out of the woodwork and leaving a comment!
Second, I think you may be on to something here! Beneath it all, my IT band has been tight, so you’re probably right about the compensating thing. I’ll be seeing a sports therapist at the university health office tomorrow to see what they suggest for my IT band!
Aww good luck with the injuries!After my ankle started “bugging” me, different parts of the opposite leg (knee, hammie, Achilles) would act up. I think as Eliza said it may be do to over compensation. I hope EVERYTHING ends up working out!!
Hahaha there was a rock, paper sissors tournament??
I think Eliza is right, too! University sports doctors will tell me tomorrow, hopefully.
And yes, there was a rock, paper, scissors tournament. They set up a bracket and everything!
I am training for my first half marathon as well I have a bit longer than you though. 3 more weeks… But I have been having hip pain whenever I run more than 3 miles. I did some research and found out that I really needed to modify my warm up routine. What I was told to do by a trainer at my gym is to walk about half a mile at a brisk pace and then stretch since the muscles will be warm. This decreases running injuries by an insane amount! I really haven’t had any problems with my hip since warming up after walking. Try this out! I hope your injuries subside!
I don’t have any advice for you but wanted to wish you good luck! I am training for my first halfie as well. I get hip and knee pain pretty often. I have to ice and stretch like a banshee! Oh and I love Cacao Bliss!!
I know! It makes me wonder if certain bodies are just more prone to injury/not made for long distance running… I felt the same way when I kept getting injured at the same place in my training. Makes me just want to work harder though. :-/
please please please please tell me we can go get fro yo when im in town.
ive never been to redmango, but my mouth is actually WATERING as i sit here and think about it.
wait.
i just remembered.
babcock.
chocolate shoppe.
michaels frozen custard.
oh my gosh. im going to be eating frozen treats for EVERY MEAL.