Injury impact on marathon (SCMM 2014 )training

This is not an uncommon occurrence with regular runners training for an event. All the workouts are going well, one is feeling quite confident of achieving the race goal and then suddenly the whole flow is disrupted due to an injury. Few things can be more frustrating for a runner. The workouts of week 8/16 had gone very well including a 32Km/2:48 long run. However, I had a severe strain in my left glutes and left calf during the week 7/16 intervals (3 x (2 x 1200m) in Kanteerva stadium. And for the first time since May 2013 I did not complete my planned workout and decided to abort  the training   after pushing through the 5th interval. Since then the training has been irregular punctuated by interactions with Dr. Gladson of Attitudeprime.  Of course I am down  both physically and mentally . SCMM is one of the most important events in my running calendar - not least because I have been running it every year since it started in 2004. It is well organised event with fantastic spectator support and I have been lucky enough to improve my FM timing every year. The PB of 3:37:20 in last year's edition got me a place in Boston 2014. The way my training was going  I was looking forward to matching or slightly bettering last year's time (3:35). Now the last few weeks I was not even sure whether I would make it to the starting line. 

I am not able to figure out the cause for this injury. It could be a combination of one or more of the following:

• Muscle fatigue due to doing a tempo run and a fast long run(21K/1:45) within a week of the fastish 50Km at the Bangalore Ultra
• Lack of flexibility due to inadequate and/or incorrect stretching post the workout
• Lack of strength - it has been 8 months since I stopped the strengthening sessions at Manipal hospital(though I am doing  leg curls, leg press and calf press in my apartment complex gym apart from squats and lunges)
• Change of shoes  - I switched to a new Brooks Defyance5 after the ultra - the previous one having put in nearly 1500Kms
• Fatigue due to back to back workouts without adequate rest for recovery - due to travel schedule I ran a 12K tempo run on 1st Dec afternoon within 36 hours of running a fairly fast 32Km on 30th morning

Following is the summary of my workouts the past 3 weeks:

Week 7 of 16

Dec 1  - 12Km/60 mins  tempo run

Dec 3  - 26.5Kms/50 mins cycling

Dec 4 - 5 x 1200m intervals

No long run

Week 6 of 16

Dec 9  - 9Km Tempo run

Dec 10 - 23.38K/45 mins cycling

Dec 12 - 23.4K/45 mins cycling

Dec 15 - 21.2K/1:50 long run (goal was to do 32Km but had to stop due to pain in glutes,hamstring and numbness in sole - all on the left side)

No intervals

Week 5 of 16

Dec 16 23.56Km/45 mins cycling

Dec 19 5k/30 mins easy run

Dec 22 16Km Tempo run

No long run

No intervals

Based on discussions with Dr. Gladson I have decided not to do any more interval training. Though the glutes are better now the left side l does not feel normal and I dont want to take any chances. For the remaining 3 weeks I am going to stay with a tempo run, an easy run and a long run and 1 or 2 cycling workouts. The 32Km long run this weekend , probably on 29th Dec, will be the most crucial run to determine my readiness for Mumbai. I will determine my strategy for the race based on how that goes. In any case I am keen on not missing Mumbai - in the worst case I will not race and will run to finish around 4 hours or so - keeping fingers crossed!

Marathon training post injury lay-off

Injury is a bane of all experienced/regular runners - having to stay away from something that one is passionate about due to injury of all things is a dreadful phase for a runner to go through. But injuries are a fact of life for runners. There are various statistics floating around about running injuries. One popular one is that 70% of runners will get injured in a given year. Of course this is too vague as both the definition of runner and injury can vary. Another way of looking at it is that in most cases there may not be a strict line between being injured or not. The closest a runner(specially one doing Half marathon and longer distances regularly) maybe to being 'injury-free' is when he/she is able to run freely without pain and even then the runner maybe balancing several weaknesses,imbalances, scar tissues etc.

Fortunately I have  not to be laid of weeks together due to a running related injury since I did my 2nd Full marathon in 2005. Though I have had breaks from running due tom sickness, travel and even just to give my legs and body some rest. However the 2013-14 running season started with injury woes.. While training for TCS 10K 2013 using the 'Run Less, Run Faster' training program from FIRST I got hit with pain in my left calf/ankle   and I had to consult a sports physio and adjust my goal for the race. A week before the race my right calf got hurt so bad that  I had to abandon my medium pace  training run after 2 Km or so and almost decided to skip the TCS 10K. However, I ended up running the race and while trying to push for around 45 minutes time I tore  a muscle in my right calf. Based on the Physio's advice I took 3 weeks completely off from running- doing light cycling, rowing and stretching to keep myself fit. After the TCS 10K race on 19th of May my next run was a slow 10K as part of the Mother Earth run on 9th June!!

Getting back to training after an injury layoff is quite tricky.One should pick up the pace and distance very gradually however much there is temptation to do otherwise due to the eagerness to catch up on lost training time. If the stressing demands of running are introduced at a rate and volume that the body is not ready for—especially after time off after an injury—it makes recovery difficult and makes the body vulnerable to new injuries due to compromised form. The key for a successful return is allowing the soft tissues to have the chance to adapt. More in this article in Competitor - a great online resource for running. As another article in the same site states:

A  running plan post an injury should be formed strategically based on  the following five factors:

1. 1. The severity of the injury—a stress fracture or injury that required surgery differs vastly from tendonitis.
2. 2. How long one was  sidelined from running.
3. 3. One's  fitness level prior to getting injured.
4. 4. How many years of experience one  have as a runner.
5. 5. Whether one  could cross-train during the  layoff.

Here's another nice perspective - this one from RunnesConnect on how to get back to training after injury,sickness or missing training.

In my  case after some nice easy runs during the week of 10th June to build mileage I started my training for Airtel Hyderabad marathon 2013 with 6 x 800m intervals at Kanteerva stadium on 19th June jumping into week 10 of the 16 weeks 'Run Less, Run Faster' training program. I did not push myself during the intervals which I was doing after a break of over 2 months. The 33Km slow run up and down Nandi hills on June 23rd was the longest run since SCMM in January 2013. Though exhausted at the end of the run there was no pain in either calf - so my injury seemed to have fully healed.

The next 8 weeks of training went off quite well. Was able to do most of the workouts - skipped a couple of tempo runs and a couple of cycling workouts due to travel. Most of the running workouts went well specially the long runs. Also managed to get in two 33Km runs and one 36Km run. And work out for about 15 minutes on the foam roller and do about 45 minutes of stretching at least once a day while not travelling. This was complimented by strength training - rowing, leg press, calf press, leg raises, squats, lunges, step ups 2 days a week.  My weight varied in the range 118 lbs to 123 lbs and body fat dipped just under 10% for the first time ever. Except during the tapering fortnight , when I am going through the usual jitters, doubts, aches and pains, overall I feel well trained , fitter than ever before and ready for my first marathon of the season!! .

Injury woes

It is a well known fact that injuries are the bane of pretty much all runners - very few runners are fortunate enough to be completely injury free for years together. Personally I have been lucky to have avoided a major injury that has prevented me from running for extended periods of time. I have been nagged with stress/pain in my left glutes and left calf specially when trying to push my pace. These along with occasional numbness in the left sole plagued me in the 2011-12 running season so much so that I took nearly 2 months completely off from running or cycling at the end of that season.  As stated in my previous post I did not take any time off after the admittedly more grueling 2012-13 season in which I did two sub 3:40 full marathons. This seems to have impacted my fitness and may even have caused (what I hope is) a minor injury. For the first time since I started training using the 'Run Less, Run Faster' training program in early 2011 I had  4 consecutive below par runs - two short tempo runs,  6 x 800m intervals and a 16K long-tempo run  were all below target pace. Not only that I had to stop and slow down in the tempo runs due to pain in my left ankle/calf. So I decided to skip this weekend's long-tempo pace run and consult a physio therapist. It seems I might be suffering from mild Peroneal Tendonitis  though my stress is more in the lower calf than the ankle and there is no swelling anywhere. I have now decided to take 10 days off from running and cycling, focus on strengthening and stretching during this period and hope this helps recovery. This also means I  have had to further downgrade my goal for the TCS world 10K on 19th May. After starting with an aggressive target of 42:55 I would now be happy if I can beat my PB of 45:57 and would be thrilled if I manage a sub 45. Depending on how it goes when I resume training in a week I may even decide to take it easy and not worry about timing like I did last year. After some dilly-dallying I went ahead and registered for the event yesterday as this is one of the 3 races where I have a streak going  - the other two being SCMM and the Bangalore Ultra. 

Not being able to train to plan at the beginning of a running season is for sure  disappointing  for a runner ;in my case it impacts my frame of mind significantly and leaves me quite irritated and restless. Extra care also needs to be taken to avoid adding too much weight. While I am very tempted not to take more than a couple of days off from running, I dont want to jeopardise the training and performance in the 3 marathons that I am targeting in the season.