Sunday, April 7, 2013

On Taking Risks... and Being Broken

Lots of thoughts in my head right now... let's see if I can communicate them in any coherent way?

I've written before about searching for the edge... the cliff... where you're pushing in training because you're trying to improve and get faster... and at some point if you want to race to win you must do this. So we push until we sense that we're right near the edge of the cliff and then (if we're smart ad patient) we back off and rest/recover and then repeat... and then next time the edge is a little further out than it was before. All good stuff!

Sometimes though this means we end up flat on our backs under a tree mid run, or walking off the track in tears... Which means maybe we took a step (or three) too far and actually started falling off that cliff. It's easy to do, you know, when you're hungry and pushing and you just get greedy and go after a few more watts on the bike or a few seconds faster on that 800... This is what I have gone through this past week and now I'm paying the price.

Of course I sent an SOS email to coach that started off something like "So, um, how trashed should I be??" In all honesty the training I was trying to do was not outrageous but I guess 3 weeks post IM it was just too much as my body just wasn't ready to go as hard as I was trying to make it go. So when the plan calls for 1/2 IM effort on the bike and I rip 1/2IM watts out of my legs even though they don't want to do that today, well, I'm just digging a deeper hole for myself every day! Lesson: 1/2IM effort and 1/2IM watts are not always the same thing. Got.it.

My other issue is that apparently my body just does.not.like.running.fast. It is so freaking frustrating, you know?? I've got this great big base so now trying to get faster, which means I need to run faster... so I'm trying to run faster and my body is just rebelling in every way. Before Cabo is was my hip and my foot. My expectation was that I was going to be completely crippled post Cabo but to my pleasant surprise I was not... hip and foot are good... so ok... game on let's start working that run again and them BAM. Hamstring is pissed. If it's not one thing its another with me and this damn running. Clearly I am doing something mechanically incorrect when I try to pick up the pace on these runs so I am still trying to figure out what this is. Interesting to me that if I'm running easy/slow I can run 50+mpw no problems at all but if I'm trying to run faster, 30mpw and I'm injured.

So the plan going forward? I don't know. Coach yanked my power meter for the next 2 weeks on the bike b/c it makes me work too hard as I'm chasing the numbers I want to see. I need to listen to my body vs the gadget and only give what body wants to give that day... ok. And back off the speed work again on the run b/c clearly my body hates that stuff... but how frustrating is that? I want to make my run more competitive by running faster than 9' pace all the time but pushing and taking that risk is backfiring at the moment so I guess we just be more patient. BLAH. I hate being broken.

6 comments:

Steve said...

I love ya Michelle. I have trained for 4 or 5 marathons, and showed up for zero lately. Sometimes meant to be is meant to be, and take the lessons that bring.

You didn't do anything wrong, but you are being told something different.

You know what I mean??

xo

mmmonyka said...

Have you had someone look at you when you run? I think that 80% of my itb issue is running mechanics related.
Find someone knowledgeable and make that person observe you when you run. From side, from behind, from front, when you run fast, when you run slow.
Or ask someone to take videos of you running, from different angles. Then send it to people who know something about running (send it also to me).
It might be worth a try.

Rebecca DeWire said...

Hi Michelle, Injuries are so frustrating and tracking down the cause of them is even more frustrating. I have a totally random idea for you that is related to my own injury journey. Have you ever assessed if your arm swing is totally symmetrical? Check it out in both walking and running. If this is slightly off balance, this could throw off the biomechanics in your lower body. Arm swing symmetry is critical, but is easily overlooked.

Unknown said...

try running with sticks! Totally helpful and keeps you in balance. I just started doing this and although you look like a crazy person, it keeps your body symmetrical and in line and actually seems to help....just a thought
You were looking good the other day when you totally ignored me....twice :-)

goSonja said...

I think you might have hit the nail on the head when you talked about running 50 slow or 30 with speed. Of course these are your coaches decisions and he/she has a solid plan for you I am sure, but I just want to maybe provide a little support that less can be more. You are such an uber biker that you may have more success with less running??? You can use the extra time to work on convincing yourself that less is enough (because that's probably the hardest part of running less). Completely honest here...I really don't run over 25 miles a week. If that. I know that's just me, but I find that it's generally better to reach the line healthy, than with too much run mileage in me. As long as I fuel properly, this usually does the trick. So bummed you are experiencing setbacks. Hope you find a solution.

Jennifer Harrison said...

Hmm, do you have a PT there that you love and trust who can watch you run? Perhaps your pelvis is off when you run? Or your gait is off....because clearly you are fit and if you can just figure out this one piece of the puzzle - BAM.

I have a gal who could not get past her shin splints and hip issues. Come to find out - she was externally rotating her pelvis and it was cranking on her lower back/hamstrings and hip flexors were tight...so she is working with a PT to get her running right again.

I know it is not "that" easy - but just trying to throw out options!!