Sunday, November 27, 2005

A Pain In The Neck

For the last year or so, I have been having some awful pain in my upper back. It flares up, sometimes as often as every few weeks, and takes up to a week to go away. Usually, I get trigger point massage and it clears up in a few days. This episode is particularly bad, and the massage hasn't worked. Running with it isn't that bad, but it definitely takes my focus away from the run. The pain tends to put a negative spin on the run no matter how well it might be going. Each run is more suffering than satisfaction.

One day at a time, I will get through it. Just like this past week. Ninety-four miles in 7 runs, a new one-week record for me. I've been focusing on keeping the pace reasonable and simply getting the time and miles on my legs. I think that's how Lydiard puts it. I've noticed a kind of heaviness or pressure in my legs on the longer runs that I don't remember from my previous long runs. After about ninety minutes, I get a sensation almost like DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) without the pain, and it goes away within a minute or two after the run. It's an interesting sensation.

Here is the week in review:

Sunday :: 26.2 in 3:06:11
Monday :: 8 in 1:00:37
Tuesday :: 14 in 1:41:32
Wednesday :: 10 in 1:12:30
Thursday :: 13 in 1:33:42
Friday :: 13 in 1:31:52
Saturday :: 10 in 1:12:15
Total :: 94.2 in 11:18:39 (7:12 pace)

My legs have been feeling really good, which is surprising. It's early still, but it's definitely a positive sign. I'm not sure if I will go for 100 yet this week. I did a three-hour long run this morning, so I have a shot at it, provided I keep feeling strong.

2 Comments:

Blogger Mike

Sorry to hear about the back problems, nerve pain is the worst for sure. Getting three hours in at the top of the week after going 90+ last week bodes well for getting to 100+. I'm familiar with that "thick" feeling in the legs too, in my case it did go away after a few weeks, and I'll hope yours does the same. Nice job.

11/28/2005 12:05:00 PM  
Blogger Mike

Thanks for the tip on the duct tape, I think I'll try it. Hey, you need to update, I like to keep an eye on you fast guys.

12/03/2005 01:26:00 PM  

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