Boston Training Week 11-My new best friends.

" There is no satisfaction without a struggle first."- Marty Liquori

This was most definitely a week of struggle. After my Sunday long run of 20+ miles, I couldn't walk without pain on Monday.  My right achillches was so tight it hurt and no amount of stretching fixed it.  I also had pain in both knees.  There is a muscle right next to the knee cap, just to the inside of the legs. That muscle on my right leg often gives me problems. Well now both legs had muscle pain.  The good news it it isn't a stress fracture. I got one training for my first marathon. Since the pain was on both sides and got better with biofreeze  I knew it was in the muscle.

So this week biofreeze and ibuprofen became my new best friends. Both are good for pain and inflammation from over use.  I also made two visits to my awesome chiropractor Dr. Mark Drewicz. Treatment included ultrasound, muscle stimulation and adjustments, all done twice.  Dr. Mark treats many of the local long distance runners and tri-athletes. I was referred to him by local long distance runner Rick Stefanovic. 

Dr. Mark has also been very supportive of Team CMT. He has given out dozens of promotional pens with the Team CMT web site address and he is letting me put out fundraising fliers.

I had to adjust my workouts a bit due to the injuries as well. I reduced my speed workout by 10 minutes and changed my 9 mile tempo run to a 9 mile easy run.

The right knee was still a little sore after a night of skiing on Saturday. I went to bed with an ice pack, an application of biofreeze and a couple of ibuprofen.

Sunday I work up and it was 28F and snowing. We got 4 inches of wet snow on Friday night. I did not want to take a chance on slipping on the ice or of my injury getting worse. I decided to do a treadmill workout so I could stop if the knee got too bad.

I took a few ibuprofen and a couple of applications of biofreeze to get through the workout. I even did hill intervals to simulate the Boston course.  1.5 hours flat, 1.5 hours of increasing incline to stimulate the 10 miles of rolling hills and 6 minutes of high incline to simulate heartbreak hill.  The workout was finished in 4 hrs and 20 minutes.  I feel good with no pain. I guess tomorrow will be the real test.

It's tough when you're fighting an injury.   There is a fine line between trying to work through injury and over training. I've learned how to adapt my workouts to keep going when these injuries pop up.  This week I had to move my rest day from Friday to Wednesday to help me heal.  I don't think I have ever gotten through an entire 18 week training program without fighting a couple of injuries. Still it's tough mentally when an injury threatens to put you out of the race. Looks like this time I may have beaten it.

This week also saw the debut of the Team CMT page on the HNF site. Allison and her team did a really great job.  Be sure to check it out.     You can also set up your own profile and fundraising page.

Well up this week is an easy week. That's a relative term.  An easy week at this point is a 6 mile tempo run, a 12 mile long run and 5 miles on the other days. I get a rest day as well.  I'll also be meeting my new coach this week. He will be helping me to get ready for Nationals in Austin at the end of May.

All in all I feel satisfied and tired. But a good and satisfied tired.  I'm one week closer to Boston and feeling strong.  I know I'll be ready.

Chris Wodke
Founder & Manager Team CMT
http://www.run4cmt.com/


Team CMT is a group of athletes and supporters working to raise awareness and to find a cure for CMT. We have almost 100 members in 17 states. If you wish to join us visit our web site.

CMT or Charcot-Marie-Tooth is the most commonly inherited peripheral neuropathy. It affects over 155,000 Americans (as many as MS).  It is a disease of the nerves that control the muscles. It is slowly progressive, causing loss of normal function and or sensation in the lower legs/feet and arms/hands.

Symptoms include; muscle wasting in the lower legs and feet leading to foot drop, poor balance and gait problems Atrophy in the hands causes difficulty with manual dexterity.

Structural foot deformities such as high arches and hammer toes are common.

Poor tolerance for cool or cold temperatures and many people have chronically cold hands and feet.

Additional symptoms may include fatigue, sleep apnea, breathing difficulties and hearing loss.

Running, triathlons, impaired athlete, paratriathlon, USAT, running and CMT