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The problem with a game like 30/30 is that my competitive side wants to take over and win. Unfortunately, my goal for 2010 is not this game and therein lies the rub. That said, I feel like I played the game wisely.
My strategy for the game was to run each day at an easy pace. Basically, I walked out the door, started running and whatever pace my body wanted to run was what I ran. On most days that pace was somewhere around an 8:30 minute/mile.
In the first week, I was extremely cautious because I've never run more than 5 days in a row. After running 7 days straight, I thought I might need to take an off day which the game allowed for by doubling up on another. While I kept that as an option, I never used it.
As I logged more runs, running became easier and I felt like I was recovering within the time in between my runs. By the end of the second week, I felt like I could run for 30 days straight but I wanted to incorporate proactive measures in order to prevent injury. In hindsight, I think this might've been a mistake and I probably should've started this in December prior to the start of the game. Or perhaps running repeatedly day after day is just something my body is not capable of doing. I don't know.
In week three, I felt a mild "sensation" in my right Achilles region which caused some alarm. Rather than mess around, I went to my doctor who is well versed in runners and their need to keep running. He looked over my Achilles tendon and he found absolutely nothing wrong. With a pass from the doc, I continued the game but I remained cautious.
Entering the fourth week, I thought I was home free but after a few days into it, I woke up to pain on the bottom of my left foot towards the heel. Having gone through a bad case of plantar fasciitis 10 years ago, I was all too aware of what that pain meant. Unlike my previous encounter with this injury, I stopped running.
Unfortunately, I didn't keep a log of my pain back then so I don't have any notes of how long I ran before I had to stop. I just know that the injury eventually forced me to stop and I had to take time off to recover.
The log I keep now isn't anything more than a series of Word documents where I grade the pain, write a paragraph or two and date the entry. It's enough information that I can go back and refresh my memory. Otherwise, I'm left to what I remember and that's not typically accurate.
With 26 runs in a row, I had a tough decision to make. Should I continue to run and finish the game and ignore the pain or should I stop and listen to my body. I stopped. The decision was easy and hard simultaneously. In retrospect, the objective of the game was met. My heart rate was slowly decreasing over time through what I believe was efficiency. Despite not reaching the end with a perfect 30 runs, I feel like I've accomplished the real goal. But I was only 4 runs away!!! So close but yet so far.
With a regimen of icing, heating, and stretching, I attacked the injury. The goal was no longer to run 30 days in a row, it switched to being able to continue run training without a lingering injury. At the edge of injury, the inner dialogue turns to negotiation. Prior to feeling pain, the voices in my head were saying: "Run 30 days straight!" When I felt pain, the voices were saying: "We don't care about the game, as long as you can continue to run." Usually followed by: "As long as you only need to take a few days off..."
After taking a few days off from running, I felt like I was on top of whatever was going to happen and I decided to run on the 30th day. The workout was a scheduled brick which included a 30 minute run. During the run, I felt no pain but this injury has a habit of waiting a couple of days before rearing its ugly head.
I continued to ice, heat and stretch for the next few days and the pain did not reappear. As I am writing this nearly one week later and having logged an 11 mile run and two 5 mile runs, I think it's safe to say that the coast is clear. I will continue my protocol because I am paranoid. In fact, I don't know why I ever stop. Perhaps this will become part of my regular routine.
The question I'm asking myself now is... would I attempt 30/30 again? I think the answer is no but it's hard to ignore the benefit. The proof was in the 11 mile run on Tuesday where my heart rate locked in and didn't budge through the entire run. On a run of that length, I would expect to see a little bit of upward drift but there wasn't any. Perhaps 15/15 is something better suited for me. :) It's a compromise between the two where I can see some fitness gain without flirting so dangerously with injury.
I'm still experiencing that "sensation" in my Achilles region but I guess I can't do anything about it except for ice, heat, and stretching until it turns into something more than that.
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