Running Through Injury

Last week my regular training schedule was in flux. I spent Monday through Wednesday at a Pastors' Prayer Summit. While I was there, I met another pastor who has 11 marathons under his belt. We planned a run early Tuesday and went out for a quick 6. The next day we ran another 4. So that left my usual speed workout day for later in the week.

On Friday I went to the high school track and did some speed intervals (a weekly part of my training plan). On deck that day were 4x100m ad 2x200m. As I was putting in the rest of my mileage for the day I threw in one more 200m aerobic interval. I think I was a little too aggressive on the sprints--soreness in my quads and lower abs.

Sunday's long run was to be 13.4 miles. Here in Paradise, CA there is very little flat ground and the route I chose for this run had a lot of ambitiously rolling hills. Apparently the combination of a tough speed day followed by a hilly long run really strained my lower abs. Spent the rest of Sunday and Monday doing the "old man shuffle."

So yesterday I knew I had to take it easy. My friend Ryan wanted to do an easy 2 mile run in the morning. He's just starting to run again and his training has him alternating running/walking. Let me tell you, I was thankful for every one of those walk portions. That evening I put in another 1.5 miles just to keep my mileage up. I felt so much better.

There is a something kind of cool and counterintuitive about running through the minor strains and pains of running. Of course, I've been through other difficulties other this training program--shins, knees, IT band, hams--and so far I've found that a lot of listening to my body and a little research (to find out how to address issues as they come up) enables me to keep on truckin'!