My Route to Arnet 21K Buenos Aires

Introduction

I considered running the Helsinki Half Marathon as just one tough practice, but nothing more. Maybe I should have respected it a bit more and not run my new weekly record of 146 km the following week. I did not recover properly. To further go over the top with the training load on me was the change of training environment from pancake flat Buenos Aires streets to up and down Helsinki gravel routes. My right thigh got over exhausted and tight up for not giving up on running quantity and going even harder as I ran the half marathon race. As I scroll back my training log the first time I mention pain in my right thigh area is on 20th of June. That is 13 days after the half marathon race. I developed an upper thigh pain that hurt every fast or slow running step I took. I think running the downhills was the main cause of the injury as they were too violent for my current flatlander legs to handle.

Figure 1: Finnish Summer in bloom.

It SUCKS being injured. Often you feel you could overcome the pain and just push through it, but sadly that does not solve the problem. On the contrary it might prolong the injury and make it even worse. But an athlete can't stop every time she feels pain. Therefore it is an important skill to be able to judge when it is time to push through, slow down, take a rest day or stop running for some time. Having a good coach would be very useful in this matter.

Figure 2: Sartorius muscle.

The Nerve Compression Syndrome

I ran two weeks through the pain waiting for it to get better. On the second week I got a diagnose and sports massage on my thigh. My right leg sartorius muscle was very tight. It was almost in a chronic cramp. I gave up on running for couple days to see if I could heal the injury by self massage and rest. I continued running but the thigh was like before. I gave up on running and started cycling to keep up my aerobic fitness while being unable to run. The thigh was "ok" while riding bike except when I pedaled standing. After doing exclusively cycling for one week (314 km) I had to give up on that activity as well. I then took a complete rest for one week. I tried to return to running, but the thigh was still hurting. Then I started aqua running, 45 minutes every day. I did it in swimming halls and lakes. Finally at the end of July I went back to my masseur and he figured out that my lower back, buttocks and thighs had been so tight that they were compressing the nerves. It's called nerve compression syndrome and that was what caused the pain in my thigh. The massage helped to ease some of the pain and my masseur gave me advice to stretch my leg muscles once every hour or two to release the tension of the muscles and the nerves. The next day I was already running again, eager to get on with my training. I could still feel some minor pain in my thigh but it got better in a few days after intensive stretching. The pinned nerve(s) had been released. This injury bothered me for total of 7 weeks.

Running Again

My training plan was adjusted dramatically while being injured and I had lost time battling with the thigh injury. I made a new plan to run the 21K Buenos Aires (7th of September) and 42K Buenos Aires (12th of October). I was able to squeeze in 6 weeks of Fundamental training (instead of 10) and the 4 week Sharpening period for the Marathon. My running fitness had taken a hit and I had to get going again. I decided that my 21K would be the main event although I was doing modified marathon training. That was because my gut would tell me that I would not have the time to get enough long running under my belt for the marathon. But for the 21K the Long Runs would be sufficient and I just had to get me in shape for running 21K. That can be achieved in less time. And of course I had already built up a nice base condition during a couple years of running.

Table 1: Tuesday Tempo Intervals/Intervals pace @5K.

Table 2: Thursday Tempo Run pace @10K-mara.

Table 3: Sunday Long Run.

In the three tables on the right are presented my key-workout progression after returning to running. I did three key-workouts at different paces per week: Tuesdays at 5K pace and faster, Thursdays at 10K to marathon pace, and Sundays the Long Run. Let's see where this kind of shorter training period takes me. I feel that this might work out pretty well for me. I feel I develop the specific-endurance pretty fast. This might turn out to be a really useful experiment how to train myself. Last year I had already peaked before my marathon and had to abandon the race at 26 km. The speedsters usually peak faster than the endurance monsters and indeed that might be my case as well.

Arnet 21K Buenos Aires

The Route to the start line is seldom straight, but after all there I will be tomorrow and even healthy. The race starts tomorrow morning at 7:30 AM right after the sunrise. It has been raining pretty hard last couple mornings, but for tomorrow morning the forecast is of clear sky and the temperature at about 10 C with a wind of 12 km/h. Those are some good conditions to run a fast time on the flat streets of Buenos Aires. Oh and I have a secret weapon: Racing shoes that my old friend Atte (Thanks mate!) donated me. The shoes will premier tomorrow.

Figure 3: The Runner's Kit