Question for runners

lyttlewon

fitmama0914 wrote: »

Roxiegirl2008 wrote: »

I am training for my 1st marathon in January but here is what my week looks like:

Sunday- long run (right now I am at 18 miles)*
Monday- Spin Class
Tuesday- run 5-6 miles or depending on the week active recovery (yoga typically)*
Wednesday- body pump/ab class
Thursday- cross/weight training with my trainer
Friday-run 7-9 miles*
Saturday- cross/weight training with my trainer

*When I wasn't training I would run by would decrease the mileage.

On my running days I will do different paces. For example on the short day I will run my 5k pace. On the longer day my 1/2 pace and on my long day I will use my marathon pace (or what I want it to be).

I would try getting one of those headlamps. When I used one for the first time I felt like a total dork. HA But hey its better than being road kill.

The most important thing for me was getting fitted for the right shoes. Silly me, when I started I thought I could just go down to Foot Locker and get a pair of nikes and call it a day. I ended up with horrible shin splints. I went to a running store and got my stride looked at (free at most running stores) and I found I was wearing the completely wrong shoes. Once I got that taken care of I was set.

Today, after the walk yesterday, the outside of my left calf hurts. Idk if it's from the snow, or the shoes, or the way I walk. I know that my left ankle is weak as it is, because every time I walk down stairs it feels like it wants to give out. And when I walk, my toes point out, but Idk if that's normal, or not.

It could be all of the above. I have strength imbalance in my legs from spending 6 months in a cast and never working to balance back out. I had 4% atrophy in my foot (i think it's the achilles tendon)after physical therapy. What I taught myself to do is guard the weak leg by favouring it. That exacerbated the problem. When I would get tired during a run I would drag my toe. Most of the time it didn't actually touch the ground, but if you watched me run you could see it. Had lots of pain and muscle tightening issues with it.

I had a gait and body strength analysis done and have been working on balancing it back out. I am to the point now where I am not guarding when I run. I will catch myself doing it other places, like when I barbell squat I have to concentrate on not leaning on the dominant leg.

loratliff

My schedule:

Sunday - Rest or Yoga
Monday - Run
Tuesday - Strength
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - Run
Friday - Strength
Saturday - Run

fitmama0914

CodeMonkey78 wrote: »

Today, after the walk yesterday, the outside of my left calf hurts. Idk if it's from the snow, or the shoes, or the way I walk. I know that my left ankle is weak as it is, because every time I walk down stairs it feels like it wants to give out. And when I walk, my toes point out, but Idk if that's normal, or not.

Have you had a gait analysis? You calf pain may be a result of your walking/running gait -- you may be able to correct this with orthotic inserts.

Nope, I'd never heard of gait analysis before reading mfp forums, but I do plan to look into it. All I actually know is that I have flat feet. I have to figure out where a shoe place is near me.

fitmama0914

lyttlewon wrote: »

fitmama0914 wrote: »

Roxiegirl2008 wrote: »

I am training for my 1st marathon in January but here is what my week looks like:

Sunday- long run (right now I am at 18 miles)*
Monday- Spin Class
Tuesday- run 5-6 miles or depending on the week active recovery (yoga typically)*
Wednesday- body pump/ab class
Thursday- cross/weight training with my trainer
Friday-run 7-9 miles*
Saturday- cross/weight training with my trainer

*When I wasn't training I would run by would decrease the mileage.

On my running days I will do different paces. For example on the short day I will run my 5k pace. On the longer day my 1/2 pace and on my long day I will use my marathon pace (or what I want it to be).

I would try getting one of those headlamps. When I used one for the first time I felt like a total dork. HA But hey its better than being road kill.

The most important thing for me was getting fitted for the right shoes. Silly me, when I started I thought I could just go down to Foot Locker and get a pair of nikes and call it a day. I ended up with horrible shin splints. I went to a running store and got my stride looked at (free at most running stores) and I found I was wearing the completely wrong shoes. Once I got that taken care of I was set.

Today, after the walk yesterday, the outside of my left calf hurts. Idk if it's from the snow, or the shoes, or the way I walk. I know that my left ankle is weak as it is, because every time I walk down stairs it feels like it wants to give out. And when I walk, my toes point out, but Idk if that's normal, or not.

It could be all of the above. I have strength imbalance in my legs from spending 6 months in a cast and never working to balance back out. I had 4% atrophy in my foot (i think it's the achilles tendon)after physical therapy. What I taught myself to do is guard the weak leg by favouring it. That exacerbated the problem. When I would get tired during a run I would drag my toe. Most of the time it didn't actually touch the ground, but if you watched me run you could see it. Had lots of pain and muscle tightening issues with it.

I had a gait and body strength analysis done and have been working on balancing it back out. I am to the point now where I am not guarding when I run. I will catch myself doing it other places, like when I barbell squat I have to concentrate on not leaning on the dominant leg.

I definitely try not to put weight on it.

lyttlewon

Is it injury related? If you are in an unusual amount of pain you might want an evaluation from someone with more training than a shoe store provides. I went to a person who specializes in sports medicine, but a standard physical therapist would work. Soreness and adaptation to a new routine is expected, but pain would concern me.

fitmama0914

lyttlewon wrote: »

Is it injury related? If you are in an unusual amount of pain you might want an evaluation from someone with more training than a shoe store provides. I went to a person who specializes in sports medicine, but a standard physical therapist would work. Soreness and adaptation to a new routine is expected, but pain would concern me.

I'm pretty sure the leg pain is from the walk. I didn't stretch before it either.
And I've been paying attention to to how I walk with that foot, and I definitely put most of my weight on the inside edge. I was reading that weak ankles are usually caused by previous injuries, but if that's the case, it happened so long ago that I can't remember it. I do recall wearing stablizers over the years because they try to give out. You can't sprain it and not know it, right?

lyttlewon

I wouldn't say that, but a sprain will usually swell. If it doesn't hurt, stretch and foam roll if you can. I do a stretch specifically for my ankle where I write the alphabet in the air. It really helps.

arussell134

I'm nearing the peak of my half marathon training schedule, so I'm only strength training 2 days right now (I was doing three a couple months ago). I think weight training is so essential to keeping up my strength!

Here is my week, this past week:

Monday: 4 mile run, plus 20 minutes strength training
Tuesday: 3 mile run
Wednesday: REST
Thursday: 12 mile run
Friday: 2 mile run (recovery)
Saturday: 2 mile run, plus 30 minutes strenght training
Sunday: I'm about to do 6 miles

Totals: just under an hour of strength training
Mileage: 29 miles

I like to vary distances and intensity for running. While distance is my main focus now, earlier in this training cycle I did about one speed workout or hill repeat workout per week. I sometimes also throw in other forms of cardio - preferably stairmill or rower.

GL! Fun question!

CodeMonkey78

fitmama0914 wrote: »

CodeMonkey78 wrote: »

Today, after the walk yesterday, the outside of my left calf hurts. Idk if it's from the snow, or the shoes, or the way I walk. I know that my left ankle is weak as it is, because every time I walk down stairs it feels like it wants to give out. And when I walk, my toes point out, but Idk if that's normal, or not.

Have you had a gait analysis? You calf pain may be a result of your walking/running gait -- you may be able to correct this with orthotic inserts.

Nope, I'd never heard of gait analysis before reading mfp forums, but I do plan to look into it. All I actually know is that I have flat feet. I have to figure out where a shoe place is near me.

I would highly recommend doing this first. Having flat feet can cause pain after walking or running for periods of time. If you have your gait analyzed at the running store, they can show you what you body is actually doing in slow motion and recommend proper shoes or orthotic inserts to help prevent similar injuries.

I would also recommend having them fit you for shoes whether you are in a position to purchase them or not. This will give you the info that you need when you are ready to purchase new shoes so you are not just taking a "shot in the dark" when looking for sales, etc.

HTH.