AREC Training – Week 3 and Ankle Remediation Techniques

Tools of Recovery

Saturday, May 19^th was the third week of AREC marathon training. I wasn’t sure if I could make it this week because it was my weekend to work and waking up too early makes it difficult to make it through the night while on duty. Due to the unfortunate circumstance of my grandfather’s death last weekend, I am currently on bereavement leave.

 So back to the training run. More people showed up this week and it appeared close to double the number compared to the previous two. I even got to talk to a few people whom I haven’t seen for a while. Leila was there last week but I didn’t see her until we started and she was faster and too far ahead to catch. We were able to catch up a little bit before today’s start. The person I was surprised to see was Monica who I ran with a few times three years ago when she satisfied one of the must do things on her bucket list by running a marathon. I knew that she had moved to Texas some time last year and that’s why I was surprised to see her approaching me this morning. Two weeks ago, I happened to see someone with the same last name as Monica’s listed in the sign up roster and she confirmed that it was her daughter.

When we started running, I again tucked behind Michael and Rosie who were guiding the 12 minutes per mile runners. I saw Kim and asked her how married life was treating her because she mentioned last year that she was getting married soon. Well I was presumptuous because it’s not happening until June 2^nd (my birthday!). After a brief chat, I caught up with pacer Michael who had already ran 5 miles beforehand with Rosie and Nick. Wow, some of these peeps are hard core! I saw Kathy about 30 yards ahead and told Michael that I’ll try to keep her company. She told me she was recovering from an injury that she aggravated when she ran 21 miles at the Big Sur Marathon course four weeks ago. We were joined by another runner who was supposed to do the 4 mile course but gut waylaid and the three of us ran together until 4 miles where another lady whose name I didn’t catch pulled me to the finish. Actually, she didn’t know the course so I helped her with that while she pulled me along. When we finished, I went back on the course to look for Michael and Rosie. I joined them in finishing, then the three of us added another half mile plus so they could put 12 miles in. My guesstimate total was very close to 7 miles since I haven’t been wearing my GPS watch of late. Total miles ~7, total time = 1 hour and 15 minutes which is the most I’ve run since last year. Not bad for a gimp, I’d say.

Thus far, it doesn’t seem like I’ve aggravated the tendons in my ankles despite running twice a week for the last three weeks. I’ll have to wait till tomorrow and the next day to get a more accurate assessment of how the ~7 miles affected my posterior tibialis tendons. Here are the things I’ve been doing post run: When I get home and after showering, I apply some capsaicin ointment on my inner ankles, bind them in semi rigid braces, and pop a Motrin (after Saturday runs only). I have to keep the braces on for a few hours for two or three days to minimize movement and pain. Somehow this works better than icing which I stopped doing. This is what I call my ankle remediation techniques or damage control techniques. About the frequency of running? Well, twice a week seems to be working quite well so far. Thank goodness for that J.

The Ties That Bind

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AREC Long Beach Marathon Training 2012 Edition – Week 2

You can't wipe that smile off my face.

Darn! I thought the previous Saturday’s AREC run was the official kickoff for the Long Beach Marathon training program. Turns out it was just a preview. No wonder not many people showed up. Well last Saturday was the official beginning and in addition to the people who signed up the week before, a few more showed up. One of the clues was that the mileage was the same as the previous week. Normally, it would have increased by another mile.

 I can’t say my joints were fully recovered but what was surprising was the body part that hurt the most and longest was my lower back. The anticipated pain in the ankles was also present (mostly on the right) and I didn’t try running again until Thursday and that was just on the treadmill. I was trying to save my ankle tendons for Saturday. With the official kickoff came the lengthy introductions which some said lasted longer than usual and the people who have been coming out for years were getting antsy. It wasn’t until 7:50 a.m. that we got the running started. Once again I followed the 12 minutes per mile pacers – Michael and Rosie. We were joined by Jean and some new members: Jimena, Melissa, and a couple of others whose names escape me now. Michael led the 3 mile people and Rosie, the 5 mile group. With all the chatting the group did, I wasn’t aware that someone was taking pictures until we almost bumped into him. Thanks Ara! Jimena recently moved to Long Beach from Monterey, Mexico because her job was establishing an office here. In the past, she ran some major marathons like New York and Chicago. Another lady said she ran L.A. last March using the Galloway method doing 1 minute of running and 1 minute of walking, so running continuously was new to her. Melissa won a free entry to the Wrigley River Run when her name was picked during a random drawing during the introductions and she said she was going to do it even though she didn’t feel ready. So their stories kept us entertained which in turn kept my mind off my ankles and pretty soon we were cruising into the last mile at an easy pace effort. We finished in less than an hour so it was slightly below 12 minutes per mile. Good enough for a second consecutive week of running for me. Next week will be six miles. Would I want to wake up early again next Saturday morning? Stay tuned.

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