The

Undeniable

Ruth

®

…and the Ruth shall set you free!

  • Marathon Training Week 9 Recap – Back in KT Tape

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    Ruth Carter

    Number 9 Sign by tedeytan from Flickr (Creative Commons License)
    Number 9 Sign by tedeytan from Flickr (Creative Commons License)

    KT Tape is my friend. When I did the Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona half marathon in 2013, I think my feet and legs were taped up from November until after race day in January. Since doing physical therapy for my shin splints and re-working my running form earlier this year, my pain is greatly reduced, but I’ve been plagued by post-tib pain in my left leg lately. So I’m back in KT Tape for the foreseeable future. Here’s how this week of training went.

    Monday:  Rest day. My quads definitely feel like they ran a half marathon yesterday. My neck and back are bit sore too.

    Tuesday: It was a chilly start to the day – only 58 degrees when I started my run. I’ve given up on running on the treadmill and elliptical at the gym. Running in the real world may take longer, but it’s a lot more fun. I listened to an old episode of the Evo at 11 podcast wile I ran 4.5 miles – thanks for making me laugh.

    When I got back, I cranked out 100 push-ups: 4 sets of 22, 1 set of 12. I wonder, once I get up to doing 4 sets of 25, if I could increase it to 6 sets of 25, twice a week. I think that would be more efficient than doing 100 push-ups, 3 times week.

    Wednesday:  Another chilly morning run with Evo at 11 – 7 miles this time. It wasn’t that painful, but I felt like I was running exceptionally slow for the last 2 miles.

    Thursday: I had an early morning event so I moved today’s run to tomorrow. I finished my push-ups for the week in the evening: 4 sets of 23 and 1 set of 8. The last 3 reps of each long set were a bit challenging. I expect to be up to 4 sets of 25 by the end of next week and hope to be up to 6 sets of 25 within 2 weeks after that. I love having muscle definition in my arms.

    Taping my Post Tib with KT Tape - I'll probably have my leg taped up most of the time until after the marathon
    Taping my Post Tib with KT Tape – I’ll probably have my leg taped up most of the time until after the marathon

    Friday: I was in hurry this morning so I didn’t heat my hip before running 4.5 miles. That was a mistake.  It hurt like hell by Mile 2. The Creative Giant Show, a new podcast by Charlie Gilkey, kept me somewhat distracted.

    When I got back from my run, I decided it was time to step up the care for my left post tibialis that’s been sore so I taped it up with KT Tape. You can wear KT Tape for as long as it stays in place so I’ll be wearing and sleeping in knee socks for the next 9 weeks to keep it from rolling and catching on things.

    Saturday: I ran 10 miles today, and yes, I heated my hip before I headed out. It still hurt but it was much more manageable. As usual, I was entertained by the lovely Scott Mantz and Alicia Malone with their Profiles podcast. They featured Julia Roberts this week. I was bummed when they announced that they’re taking next week off so I’ll have to find something else to entertain me during my 15-mile run.

    Ironman Arizona is tomorrow. On the second half of my run, I saw a lot of fit people riding very expensive-looking bikes. I assumed they’re all Ironman athletes getting in one more ride before turning their bikes in for the race.

    Sunday:  It was weird getting on my bike after having a week off from cross-training. I rode for 19 miles and I noticed the ride is starting to get easier, except when I ran into a pretty strong head wind around Mile 3.  I hope it doesn’t cause any problems for the Ironman athletes.

    I think I’m starting to experience the constant soreness I’ve seen in other friends who are marathon runners and triathletes. Sometimes it hurts less to run than walk, and sometimes it hurts all the time, especially my hip when I go from sitting for period of time to walking around.

    Weekly Totals:
    Running:  26 miles
    Biking:   19 miles
    Push-ups: 200 push-ups

  • Marathon Training Week 4 Recap – More Strength More Pain

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    Ruth Carter

    Fence Number 4 by Ze'ev Barkan from Flickr (Creative Commons License)
    Fence Number 4 by Ze’ev Barkan from Flickr (Creative Commons License)

    I ran into quite a bit of pain this week as my miles are increasing, but it seems to have calmed down this weekend. I basically lived in KT tape the last time I trained for a half marathon. I put on fresh tape every Sunday and I’d wear it until after my run the following Thursday. I’m curious if that will happen with this training cycle.

    Running
    This week I ran 4.5 miles on Tuesday and Thursday, 6.5 miles on Wednesday, and 9 miles on Friday. The 9 mile run was scheduled for Saturday but I moved this past weekend so I knocked it out early. I had quite a bit of pain in my shins and my right hip. My physical therapist told me that a lot of runners get hip pain from lack of strength so I’m trying to keep my strong by doing lateral walks (side stepping) with a resistance band.

    I ran my 9 miles on the canal where I ran on dirt most of the time. The pain was much less than running on pavement. So my trail-running friends were right about that. I just wish there was an easy way to keep the little rocks out of my shoes.  The 9-mile run did a lot of good for taking the edge of my shin and hip pain.

    The miles increase pretty fast during marathon training. When I did the half marathon, the longest run I did was a 10-mile run during Week 11 of a 12-week training program. The fact that I’m already at 9 miles and doing fine makes me feel more confident about this race. I read somewhere that you shouldn’t increase you miles more than 10% week to week, but I’m pretty sure I’m doing more than that with this program some weeks but I don’t think there’s any getting around that.

    Cycling
    I moved this past weekend so now I have to figure out all new running and cycling routes. I thought about riding to Changing Hands bookstore which is about 9 miles away from the condo so round-trip would be 18 miles. I didn’t read my directions carefully and I don’t know that area of Tempe very well. I didn’t get lost but I didn’t know exactly where I was. Moving is stressful for me so my appetite has been non-existent so I opted to ride until I started getting tired and turned around.

    I checked my mileage when I got back and saw I only did 12 miles, but it was fun to ride on the awesome bike lanes in Tempe. I’ve spent plenty of time in Tempe, but this is the first time I’ve had the chance to see it from my bike.

    Push-ups
    Push-ups were awesome this week – 100 push-ups on Monday and 100 on Wednesday – 8 sets of 12 or 13 each time. I think this week I want to do 100 and 100 again and start increasing a few sets to 14 to start building myself up to doing 4 sets of 25 push-ups.

    I can tell I’m getting stronger legs too. There’s more definition in my quad muscles. I’m glad they’re not as sore this week as last week, except when I have to climb stairs.

    Week 4 Totals
    Running: 24.5 miles
    Cycling: 12 miles
    Push-ups: 200 push-ups

  • Treating my Shin Splints and Plantar Fasciitis with ASTYM and Dry Needling

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    Ruth Carter

    I ran the Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Half Marathon every year from 2010 to 2013, and every time I did the race, I seemed to have more problems with shin splints and foot pain than the previous race – and yes, I follow a really good half marathon training program by Hal Higdon. My legs hurt so much during the 2013 race, I was pretty sure I ran the race with three stress fractures in my tibias (two in my left, one in my right).

    After the 2013 half marathon I rested my legs for months, but I was in pain within weeks of trying to run again. I decided to suck it up and get professional help. I started with an informal evaluation at one of Runner’s Den’s weekly injury clinics. I described my pain to the doctor and he immediately referred me to Endurance Rehab for ASTYM®. And then he warned me – ASTYM hurts.

    I didn’t think much of it at the time. I used to be a gymnast. How bad could it be?

    The next day, I called to make an appointment at Endurance Rehab and relayed the injury clinic doctor’s recommendation that I receive ASTYM and she warned me – You know it’s going to hurt a lot, right?

    Ok now I started to worry a little bit if the receptionist was warning me. I did some research on YouTube to get an idea of what I was in for.

    A few days later I met with my physical therapist, Eric, who did a full athletic history and evaluation. He said my shin pain was due to the fact that I had a lot of scar tissue my legs, which is why they didn’t get better with rest alone. His plan of action: break up the scar tissue with ASTYM, strengthen my leg muscles, and train me on a better running posture to prevent recurrence.

    My calves after a session of ASTYM - early in the process
    My Legs after ASTYM – Early in the Process

    My ASTYM included both anterior tibialis muscles (front outside lower leg), my left posterior tibialis (front inside lower leg), both calves, and the bottoms of both feet. The video above must have been done on a person who didn’t have any injuries because Holy Fucking Shit ASTYM hurts! The first time Eric did ASTYM on me, it hurt so much I was shaking by the time he was halfway through. (He said I was the first person he’s seen have that reaction.) I never shook again, but it is not uncommon for me to cringe, grunt, scream, swear, and pound the table during ASTYM. I’ve pulled my foot away a few times, and each time Eric patiently holds out his hand until I give it back.

    And did I mention the bruising? We’re all glad I did this during winter because if I wore a dress or shorts outside, everyone would wonder who’s beating me.

    The good news is the pain gets better and the bruising decreases over time as the scar tissue breaks up. When he works on me, Eric uses ASTYM and manually massages my tibialis muscles. His hands are bright red from the pressure he’s putting on my muscles and except for a few small areas on my plantar fascia and my post tibialis, I’m pretty comfortable compared to when he first worked on me.

    Dry Needling - 20 Needles in my Post Tibialis
    Dry Needling – 20 Needles in my Post Tibialis

    We also did some dry needling in my post tibialis during physical therapy. Dry needling uses the same gauge needles as acupuncture but they go all the way into the muscles. It’s based on the premise that the needles cause micro-trauma where they’re inserted which stimulates the healing process. There are people on both sides of whether dry needling is an effective treatment or only placebo. I don’t care. It seemed to help me.

    It felt really intense when the needles were in my leg, especially when they were going in. I had an urge to point and flex my foot after the needles were in but I figured that would hurt a lot so I opted to do it with my non-needled foot instead.

    I’m happy to share that my legs are on the mend and I’m starting to run again. I’ll write another post soon about the process of learning to run with a completely different running form.