Gina Kolata, in yesterday’s NY Times, laments her injury problem in training, jeopardizing her running this year’s NY Marathon. We all feel for her. As a 59 year old runner, I have arrived at a few notions about injuries.
The most salient conclusion is, it is better to sacrifice optimal training for injury prevention. Those problems which are apparent in stride should never be ignored. Healing is slower as we age. If I start a run and feel an injury, I walk home. If that same injury is present the next day, I will defer the run for as much as a week. This isn’t to say I don’t cross train. Without cycling, I’d lose aerobic fitness. If pain arises during the run and does not resolve in a reasonable time, I walk home.
Which brings us to the necessity of maintaining aerobic fitness. There is no substitute for this. When I broke a rib snowboarding 4 years ago, I got on a stationary bike the next day. In just a bit over a month I was running in and around my PB. Looking back at my running history, I would guess that 10 years of continuous aerobic base accounts for a lot. An older athlete doesn’t have the luxury of time to get back into shape.
I have come to appreciate the difference between muscle soreness and true muscle fatigue. You can train on the former but must recover first before training with fatigue. Been there and done that: spent months recovering from too much for too long without recovery. Going hard 3 days in a row feels great when it works. But if I don’t back down and recover I am toast: no power, no speed. Pushing one more time is not only uncomfortable, it is a fool’s errand. Recovery will make you stronger but pushing hard ahead will break you down. Going into the red affects my performance on the bike as well. There is little as humiliating as falling off the back on an easy club ride.
So how is my current training going? Less than perfect. I personally committed myself to running the grand prix half marathon series back in the winter. Between injuries and an overly ambitious event schedule on wheel and foot, my weekly mileage is pitiful. Speed work with the club on Tuesdays has been important. But you can’t live on icing alone. There is no substitute for mileage. I’ve been using my half marathons as long runs, a less than perfect strategy. Currently injury-free, the rabbit keeps getting bigger and the hat smaller.
The term “injury-fee” at my age is a euphemism for “between injuries.” The math is getting difficult. However, being an optimist also accounts for a lot.