Beginners and Beyond

123

Reassessing Goals... (Read 139 times)

Better I Leave


    I've been fighting tremendous frustration lately. It's difficult to "accept" an injury/chronic pain, is it not? I have the Davis Stampede Half this Sunday. I will finish. My "ultimate goal" is to hit a sub 2 hour goal. My last half in December was 2:14 and I could have made it then had I not been met with hip/knee pain in the latter half forcing me to walk about 3 of the miles.

     

    I'm a pretty driven person and I know that my legs and my lungs can certainly meet that goal...But lately it's been either my damn hip or knee that begins to give me grief at 6 plus miles. 10K? No prob...Did that in 56 minutes and felt good. This last Monday I made it to 6 miles and I then experiencing shooting pain through my left knee...I backed off and walked another quarter and stopped. I haven't run since and I feel good right now. It's my hope that the rest will make me strong and healthy for my half this Sunday.

     

    Has anyone else had to "rest" for a number of days prior to a HM? Please tell me you have and you did well. I need some reassurance that I'm doing the right thing by resting/recovering prior to my half.

     

    I would like to hit my goal, but as long as I can beat my previous time...I'll be happy. Smile

    Love the Half


      There are two separate things going on here.  Are you doing the right thing by resting?  Yes.  When you are hurt, you have to allow your body to heal.  Will you beat your previous time?  Unknown.  You may but you may also end up hurting yourself worse.  Ask yourself if the risk of being out for several weeks is worth it to run this race.  The smart move may be to take a DNS and rest.  If world class runners occasionally make that decision, sloggers like us should as well when it is appropriate.

      Short term goal: 17:59 5K

      Mid term goal:  2:54:59 marathon

      Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life.  (I started running at age 45).

      happylily


        +1 on what LTH (the real one or the troll, I'm all confused, now) said. But whatever you decide, I wish you good luck, PGD! But please be careful, ok?

        PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013

                Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013

        18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010


        Mostly harmless

          My 2 cents: Run it but don't race it.

          "It doesn’t matter how often you do it or how much you accomplish, in general, not running is a lot easier than running." - Meb Keflezighi

          paulski66


          miscreant

            My 2 cents: Run it but don't race it.

             

            Mine: don't run it or race it. You'll only risk making things worse and increasing your frustration with a lengthy injury recovery.

             

             

            I'm happy, hope you're happy too...

            Anonymous Guest


               

              Mine: don't run it or race it. You'll only risk making things worse and increasing your frustration with a lengthy injury recovery.

               

              Mine: go see a doctor. Or even a good chiropractor. Don't just "accept" injury/chronic pain.

               

              *If you've already seen a doctor, ignore the above. Instead, ask your doctor's opinion, which is probably more informed than a bunch of people on a running forum.

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              wcrunner2


              Are we there, yet?

                It's time to take a DNS. It's unlikely you'd make your goal and there's a significant probability that you'll further injure yourself and delay healing.

                 2024 Races:

                      03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles

                      05/11 - D3 50K
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                  how long would one need to sit out?

                   

                  I have been having knee pains, but it hasnt been bad enough to cut a run short yet. I dont have a race on the schedule.

                  ”Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”

                  “Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.”

                   

                  Tomas

                  LRB


                    To be honest with you, you probably should have shut it down after having to walk during your event two months ago. Finding the root cause of your ITB problem is your top priority, as the beginning of the running season is on the horizon. 

                     

                    There have been other members who have been faced with the same situation, who were able to run the event.  Having had to walk home after ITB flared up during a training run however, I personally would not, but that is just me.

                     

                    The thing with ITB most often is, taking off time doesn't always cure the problem.  Finding the cause of the problem while you are taking off time does.  I took off five weeks for it once, changed a whole bunch of stuff and knock on wood, that issue is long in my past.

                     

                    You should learn as much as you can about ITB, then compare what you find with how you feel, when your pain started, and the other things about yourself that only you know.  Whether you should run it or not, is up to you.  All I will say is good luck with whatever you decide!

                    Hipfan


                    Proud Calgarian

                      Good luck on the HM this weekend, the good news is that nothing you pretty much do in terms of exercise in this final week will make a difference - the training is essentially done and a few extra rest days, whether for a taper or for injury recovery, won't affect your racing fitness. However this race goes, make sure you play it smart though...this race isn't the "be all to end all", I would think. You might consider going easy this weekend, treating the injury, and thinking about running long-term rather than blowing something out and spending 6 months to a year on the sideline, right?

                      2015 Goals and PRs:

                      5k - 17:59 (18:05);  10k - 35:59 (36:42);   HM - 1:19:19 (1:19:59);   FM - 2:49:59 (3:05:46)

                      Love the Half


                        +1 on what LTH (the real one or the troll, I'm all confused, now) said. But whatever you decide, I wish you good luck, PGD! But please be careful, ok?

                         

                        Click on the profile.  The real one brings up my actual profile.  That and the fact that I don't get into internet pissing matches.  And the fact that I know the difference between a Maibock and a Dopplebock without looking it up.  Wink

                        Short term goal: 17:59 5K

                        Mid term goal:  2:54:59 marathon

                        Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life.  (I started running at age 45).

                        Docket_Rocket


                          I would not run it or if so, not race it for a PR.  You need to find the root of your injury.  Running with pain is not the norm.  Good luck with what you decide.

                          Damaris

                           

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                          Love the Half


                            how long would one need to sit out?

                             

                            I have been having knee pains, but it hasnt been bad enough to cut a run short yet. I dont have a race on the schedule.

                             

                            I have run through some very painful stuff before so take this with a grain of salt.

                             

                            If I only ran when nothing hurt, I'd never run.  I'm 50.  Something always hurts.  But, I ask myself some questions.

                             

                            1.  Does running make it worse?  Sometimes, I have things that fade into the background after a mile or so.  In those cases, I just run through it.  I have had some kind of problem at the head of my right 5th metatarsal for a long time now.  It hurts like hell when I start and I can't even walk barefoot on hardwood floors without pain but the pain recedes after a mile so I just keep running.  Early in my running career, I developed bursitis in my right hip that was extremely painful but, again after a mile or so, the pain went away so I ran through it.  Eventually, it healed.  However, when I hurt my achilles, the pain would get worse and worse as I ran.  That knocked me out for six weeks.

                             

                            2.  Does resting make it better?  In January, 2011, I hurt my left hamstring.  It has never healed completely and even that six weeks off with the achilles injury didn't heal it.  Given that resting doesn't make it better, I might as well keep running.

                             

                            3.  Is it due to physiological changes?  Over the last 18 months or so, my body has been gradually shifting from a heel strike on my left foot to more of a forefoot strike.  I haven't been trying to do this intentionally and it may be related to the hamstring problem.  Regardless, it put significant additional strain on my left calf.  When it got bad, running more made it worse so I had to back off on my mileage at times.  At other times, I had to deliberately heel strike to make some of the discomfort go away.

                             

                            How long it takes something to heal is impossible to predict.  It varies by the nature of the injury and by individual.  Plus, we all have different levels of pain tolerance.

                            Short term goal: 17:59 5K

                            Mid term goal:  2:54:59 marathon

                            Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life.  (I started running at age 45).

                              I agree with others who say you need to figure out what's causing the pain.

                               

                              It could be something as simple as your shoes. A few years ago I started having a pain in one of my ankles and eventually figured out it was a particular pair of shoes that was causing it. Once I quit wearing them the ankle pain stopped.

                              Better I Leave


                                Hmm...A few "schools of thought" here. Thanks for all the input. Now I need to look at the differing opinions and weigh them against what I "think" I can (or should) do.

                                 

                                I do know this much right now...Should I decide to enter, I most certainly will not be shooting for my goal. I've decided that perhaps Oakland on 3/24 is the race to attain my goal. I also know that if I don't do it, there's always another day and another race, yes? Hell...I'm registered for 5 HMs for the year already! LOL!

                                 

                                Thanks again for all your input as it most certainly gives me some things to consider.

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