Last week I ran the miserable mile and as a result re-activated an old injury (plantar fasciitis - aka huge pain in the arch and heel of my foot causing me to limp for the past week). I hated it because I felt like I could not workout after feeling so gung-ho. With encouragement from my hubby I still got out there and went cycling as it was manageable with the foot pain.
Then came today. I was super busy and did not get to the gym to swim as planned to avoid being off my feet. I decided to try running as I was only limping slightly, but I went out thinking I wouldn't make it the full mile.
Surprise, surprise, my running form is poor and therefore running flat foot (or pounding hard into the pavement) did not hurt my foot. I ran and walked. I got embarrassed running in front of houses with people watching from their porches, especially if I was on a walking section gasping for air. It was particularly motivating to run past their houses instead of walk or push that extra distance.
As a result I went from a one mile run of 14 minutes 14 seconds to a one mile run of 13 minutes 37 seconds (with an injury no less). A whole 37 seconds faster! It was awesome! And, I only got a stitch in my side at the halfway mark instead of sooner than that. Any suggestions for side stitches would be welcomed if you have prevention or alleviating tips.
Hi Amber! I definitely love your enthusiasm, I always like that about you. However, it think that you should not ever run with poor running form because it makes your body do asymmetrical rebalancing that can injure your body in other ways. You might not even notice the rebalancing or subtle injuries, but if you look at much older people, you can notice obvious asymmetry in certain people's bodies. That started sometime, and it probably was *not* noticeable to them when it started. And the accompanying aches and pains from imbalance are also hard to detect when they start and why they start.
ReplyDeleteI know that it's very hard to wait out injuries--from my own experience with my broken thumb this year. 2 months out of the gym set me back, but it was the right thing for me to do. But it was so incredibly frustrating!
When your foot feels better, you'll still have your enthusiasm. Just based upon my experiences, I would wait it out.<<My 2 cents.
:-) Marion
That's great you were able to shave some time off. Just be careful!
ReplyDeleteHere are tips for side stitch we found on http://www.women-running-together.com/sidestitch.html, which are all good points:
ReplyDeleteAlways start your run by warming up with 10 minutes of easy running. Then pick up your pace.
Before racing or speed work, warm up with an easy 10 minute jog then do four to six strides. These can be 50 to 100 meters in length and you gradually increase the pace with each one. Walk or jog between each one.
Steadily build up your fitness levels. As you improve you can run further and faster.
Practice deep belly breathing when you run. If you find yourself taking short and shallow breaths back off the pace and get your breathing under control.
Strengthen your abdominal muscles with ab curls and side raises.
Strengthen and stretch your lower back.
Your tolerance for what to eat/drink and when to eat/drink before running is unique to you. Have a few test runs to work out what suits your stomach.
Drink cool or room temperature fluids before or during your run.