What is this wall? This is not supposed to be here!

September 1, 2007 12:24 PM

My first marathon is five weeks away and the training is taking its toll on my body. The last thing I want is to have to give up this late in the game because of an injury. What's my best plan of attack?

I had to cut my long run short today (goal was 17 miles, I did about 14 with a lot of walking and stretching) because my right calf felt like it had a rock in it. It wasn't bothering me at all until about halfway through, or a little after. This is after a fairly easy week - I ran a half marathon last weekend and maybe overdid it a bit, so I took a few days off and did some pretty easy cross training instead of logging the miles I was supposed to. I got my shoes a month ago and have been alternating them with older ones, so those should be fine. I only have two long runs left (18, then 20) before I'm set to taper off. Overall my training had been going pretty great until this past week.

So, where do I go from here? Keep on running? Stretch differently? See a doctor? Do cross training instead of running? I'm really unsure about what would be best.

(Additionally...yes, I've looked through the archives and this thread about calf muscles and this thread about injury prevention are helpful.)

posted by jetskiaccidents to sports, hobbies, & recreation (19 comments total)

professional massages, seriously. Once you hit the 30 mile a week and over mark, it can really help.
posted by overhauser at 12:57 PM on September 1, 2007

Have you considered cycling long distances?
posted by JaySunSee at 1:15 PM on September 1, 2007

I recently had to stop exercising because of extreme pain and swelling in my hip, to the point that I could barely walk. I saw a doctor who sent me to physical therapy, and I was AMAZED at the difference that only one session made.

It was time intensive - I went for therapy twice a week for five weeks, and spent about an hour a day icing my hip, and another hour doing stretches and exercises to correct the problem. I was pain-free by the second week. I did had to give up exercising for the first week but was back to full function after the second week.

Obviously your injury is different so your recovery might take a longer or shorter amount of time, but the right therapist, one who works with athletes, might be able to get you back on track in time for the marathon.

Good luck! It's incredibly frustrating to not being to work out due to an injury!
posted by suki at 2:38 PM on September 1, 2007

Yeah... I would definitely give your body a few days rest from running, particularly after a race. You've got five weeks, so you're by no means in any trouble. Yet.

For your first marathon, your main battle will just be endurance, getting your body to go that 26.2 mile distance... I guess I'm of the opinion that any exercise you get will help. Get out! Have fun! Don't sweat it if you're not running for a week or two, just go biking or swimming or hiking. Try and spend the equivalent amount of time on your feet, doing something.

Don't get me wrong, you're still gonna want to get those long runs in, but if you have to shift 'em back in your schedule by a week or two, it might not be a big deal. I wouldn't recommend doing a 20 the week before, but two weeks before, I bet that would be alright.
posted by ph00dz at 3:23 PM on September 1, 2007

My fourth marathon is, um, also about five weeks away. Last week was a "step back" week-- long run of 13 miles. I had to cut it to 12 because I had a similar problem with my calf tightening up. I stopped a couple of times to work out the knot and that at least got me home. It hurt for the rest of the day but I used The Stick on it several times that day and it was fine by the following day. I recommend The Stick highly. It's helped to work out the trigger points that grow in my legs that can cause a cascade effect of referred pain as my mileage goes up. It's a lot cheaper than a professional massage. Also, I take a cold bath after runs longer than 18 miles-- really helps with the inflammation!

The thing to keep in mind is that running these kinds of distances will hurt. Especially as your training peaks, you're going to have any number of aches and pains. The trick is twofold: 1. recognize the difference between pain that you can run through and injury, and 2. learn how to treat pain when it inevitably comes up.

Don't give up now-- treat pain as your body's way of communicating to you. I know this sounds nuts, but you really can run through pain that isn't actual injury.

Have a great race!
posted by hollisimo at 5:38 PM on September 1, 2007

You just need to start tapering your workouts earlier than you plan.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 6:06 PM on September 1, 2007

I ran into a groin muscle problem at about this point in training for my first (and only) marathon a few years ago. I got a little advice from an orthopedist on stretches, used ice, took Advil. And, I switched from straight running to the Jeff Galloway run-walk system (run five minutes, walk one minute, using a watch). This has a lot of benefits in allowing muscle recovery during your run. Info here.
posted by beagle at 6:33 PM on September 1, 2007

Thanks for the responses so far...

overhauser - Not a bad idea, except the thought of that stresses me out more than it should right now. (I don't have time to relax! Or something.)

JaySunSee - After today, yes...the only problem is my biking muscles are not great, and neither is my bike. But I'll think about it.

suki - thanks! It IS really frustrating to have to stop.

ph00dz - Although I'm worried about endurance, I'm a little more worried about my body being able to take it at this point.

hollisimo - The "running through the pain" is a big question I have...because I know I have to deal with some pain, but the bigger question is knowing what is pain and what is or could lead to injury. I really have no idea. Do you have any advice on that?

Cool Papa Bell - I'm not really sure what you mean...do a big run before my schedule says?

beagle - Yeah, I actually have a copy of the Galloway book. The walk-run thing wasn't working so great for me in the beginning, but now it's looking better...
posted by jetskiaccidents at 6:45 PM on September 1, 2007

Cool Papa Bell - I'm not really sure what you mean...do a big run before my schedule says?

No. Just flatten out the tapering schedule. Start easing up earlier.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 8:35 PM on September 1, 2007

Yeah... I dunno about tapering earlier. You really do wanna get those long runs if you can. They really serve two purposes:

1) Confidence. One of the toughest things about marathon running is just getting used to the idea that your body really can cover that distance. It's a lot easier to convince yourself it's possible to do 26 miles when you've done 20 and that's gone alright.

2) Getting a sense of pacing and general race strategy. By the time you hit any distance over say 18 miles, almost by default you're gonna have a pretty good sense of what your body needs in terms of fluids and nutrition at a given pace for your selected distance. This becomes increasingly important the further you go.

Out of curiosity, what marathon are you doing?

I should add one thing here -- when I did my first marathon, I don't think I did any runs over about 16 miles preparing for it. In retrospect, that was pretty foolish, but I did finish... albeit relatively slowly.

Be careful out there... It's really important to pay attention to your body, though. I injured myself a month before a marathon (ummm... doing another marathon) and had to drop out of the race at mile 18 because I could barely walk. I really messed myself up... luckily, I recovered fine over time, but it knocked me out of action completely for like three months. And that sucked.
posted by ph00dz at 11:55 PM on September 1, 2007

IANAR, but I have a friend who is a serious runner and who does marathons every year. She just had an AT band injury, which I don't think you have, but she offered this suggestion: don't think you have an injury after one disappointing run, unless it's severe, crushing pain. Try a couple more of your average runs and see if the pain is still there. If it is, go see a doctor [she couldn't emphasize this part enough]. Don't necessarily run through the pain at this point, but just take stock of it and see how you feel after stretching. Again, she did say to consult a doctor if the pain keeps up.
posted by cooker girl at 7:06 AM on September 2, 2007

Find a professional to teach you active isolated stretching.
posted by callmejay at 11:14 AM on September 2, 2007

ph00dz - I agree that I'm not quite ready to taper off yet. And I'm running the Twin Cities Marathon.

cooker girl - Thanks! That's good advice.
posted by jetskiaccidents at 1:34 PM on September 2, 2007

I have done many half and full marathons, and not all of them in the best condition. I have bailed on a few. Even when I hurt, I want to get out there and run but it always helps to remind myself that I would rather take a day off (or skip the event) and live to run another day then possibly injure myself and take myself out of competition for a longer period of time.
posted by m3thod4 at 12:52 AM on September 3, 2007

Are you varying your running distances, or just trying to build up to further and further runs?

href="http://http://www.marathontraining.com/marathon/m_mile.html">
posted by doppleradar at 7:59 AM on September 3, 2007

Are you varying your running distances, or just trying to build up to further and further runs?

Check out www.marathontraining.com/marathon.html

(I couldn't get it to link properly)
posted by doppleradar at 8:00 AM on September 3, 2007

Geez guys....sorry about the three answers. I guess now is the time to tell the newbie how to delete posts
posted by doppleradar at 8:01 AM on September 3, 2007

doppleradar - I vary them. (Also, you can't delete posts! Sorry! That's what the preview is for.)
posted by jetskiaccidents at 6:45 PM on September 3, 2007