Recovery

I made use of the Holy Week break to build up on my weekly distance from 20+km to around 30+km. The problem was that I developed shin splints on my right lower leg and felt it on Easter Monday. After reading up on it, I decided to take a break from running for the week. I also decided not to run so much in my neighborhood to avoid shin splints coming back. According to Runner's World, my shin splints could have been caused by too much hill runs or the sudden increase in mileage since I had so much time to run during the Holy Week. Anyway, by Wednesday, the pain was gone and just to play it safe, I scheduled my next run on the next Sunday.

While I normally would do 5 rounds easily around the UP Academic Oval, that Sunday, I had to work hard for it. I had to rehydrate after my 3rd round and I was slugging it out on the 5th.

Then last week, I was not able to run at all partly because of work and partly because of the strange rainy weather. So when my running buddies said they were running on Saturday, I decided on running 6.6km with them around the UP Oval just to get back into the groove. After 2 rounds, my whole body was complaining and so I went as far as 2 and a half and then I decided to call it a day.

I couldn't understand it. Around 5.5km was all I could do after all that rest!

Anyway, my run this morning was a bit better. After my run yesterday, my legs were a bit stiff as they were getting used to running again. I chose to run in the Ateneo campus just to have a change in routine. I did 7.5km along the main road of the school and felt good after it. I met some really good friends along the route and I wished I had spent more time to talk to them. On my way back to the car, I decided to take a scenic route through the school's lagoon and I loved it so much, I had to turn off my mp3 player to savor the experience of walking through a man-made forest with the sound of cicadas overwhelming me.

I realized how beautiful the school is and that I should run here more often. Maybe I can convince my running buddies to try out this route.

Running Injuries

I've been reading a lot about running injuries lately and most of what I've read so far have lead me to postpone my plans of trying out for a full marathon for next year just to be sure. I've read about shin splints, knee injuries, ITB injuries, Achilles Tendinitis and cardiac arrests during and after marathons. This made me think about why I started running in the first place and about being sidelined for a few months and I just shuddered at the thought.

The March issue of Men's Health has an article that warns that the risk of a heart attack goes up 6.5 times in a marathon. The articles goes on to say that one should be running at least 72 kilometers a week to bring that risk down to an acceptable level.

Personally, there have even been times when after an intense run, my shins or my achilles tendon would feel a bit sore. Before, I'd take it all in stride. I'd rest for a day, put ice on it and run again the next day. There have also been times that in my excitement to run, I'd cut short my warm up and limbering exercises. And finally, I'm not sure if I've stretched enough after a run.

To add to my growing paranoia on injuries, I just read an article about how most running injuries are cumulative in nature and that it is the repeated pounding on the road that does most of the damage on our knees, ankles and feet. A few pages after the article is another one that talks about the importance of rest days and easy runs. Phew! So much info all of a sudden and I'm surprised about how risky I've been going about my training.

So now I'm faced with a dilemna of wanting to train really hard and push my limits, but then doing it in s way that I don't injure myself.

Based on what I read so far, below are essential to people who do endurance training:

1. Build Up Slowly
2. Have the Proper Form
3. Warm Up, Cool Down and Stretch Properly
4. Cross Train, Strength Train
5. Plan Hydration
6. Improve Nutrition
7. Pay Attention to Heart Rate
8. Read Up on Injuries and Injury Prevention

I started running last September 2008 and I've been wanting to build up my distance to be able to run a marathon. But I figure that I don't need to rush and run the marathon this year. I'll take it slower for now just to be sure.