What Am I Doing Wrong?

I haven't looked at your logs yet, but from your description above, your mileage increases seem fine. You've identified, in a few places, that you tend to push the pace. There really really really is value in running a lot of slow miles. So that's my guess #1.

The injuries and niggles that you mention jump to shoes for me. How much mileage on your current pair and are you certain you're in the right shoe for your foot strike? Do you know your foot strike? Are you sure? Some kid at Dick's probably didn't evaluate you correctly if that's where you went. Do you have a local running store that can help you with this regard?

Also, when I went to a sports medicine place in October to look at my IT band and foot, he looked at my gait and the wear on my work shoes and said it looked like I had a pretty neutral stride.

I think my current pair was purchased in early October...Hmmm.

Maybe time to get a new pair and have them re-analyze my gait. Can't hurt.

Re: pushing the pace, I've run every run for the last month in zone two, with heart rates below 150. Good start. Anybody else?

Why not take the time off now to give your knee/feet a chance to rest? Scaling down the plan to the HH intermediate doesn't sound so bad. What plan are you currently using?

I have knee problems that have stopped me cold for many months at a time, so I might be on the cautious side.

I think you could stand to hone in on this a bit more. If you are a neutral runner in a motion control or stability shoe, it would not be at all surprising to learn that you're feeling it in the knees and, ultimately, having issues show up in the IT band.

See what running 2 runs per week in Zone 1 feels like. I'm serious. I'm currently in 19:30 5k shape and ran my recovery run this morning at an 8:58 pace ... right at the top end of my Zone 1. That's pretty typical for me at least twice per week. You won't lose any speed and you'll be far more fresh to really nail any of the speed workouts you want to employ to eventually get faster. Right now, though, if I were you, I'd be focusing on volume at a very easy pace (again, to include some into your Z1 range). 

After you get your injuries sorted out. 

Your thinking in line with what I am thinking of.  I personally go to a chiropractor who specializes in sports issues and utilizes ART.  He of course cannot prescribe me PT but he's able to tell me what is most likely causing my issues and make recommendations as to what to do to prevent them from coming back.

Agree with your point about neutral gait with motion control shoes which Saucony Guides are.  It is entirely possible that your gait has changed since you were set up 2 years ago in the Guides.  Get re-evaluated, talk to them about what is going on perhaps try a more neutral shoe. 

Left knee. Dead center of leg just above knee, kind of like a dull achy weakness - like getting jabbed with the blunt end of a dull stick. Hurts every time I land on that foot. No discomfort whatsoever just walking - literally 5 seconds after I stop it feels fine.

Not sure how likely it is to be a coincidence, but I had knee discomfort on the trainer last night for the first time as well, except that was more stabby on a line connecting middle inside of left knee to upper outside.

Dull aches in right foot whenever I put any weight on it - even lightly resting it on the ground at my desk. In the ball of the foot. I find myself constantly moving it around touching the ground, kind of like a sore tooth, checking to see if it still hurts. I've actually switched out my work shoes as that's helped in the past but no luck this time.

I pretty frequently walk around with my three year old, we go on 1-2 mile walks 2-4 times per week. Went shopping on Friday, spent 2-3 hours in Nordstrom walking around and trying on clothes.

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Not sure how helpful that all is, but love to hear what you can make of it.

Edited by bruce_v 2011-12-13 1:19 PM

Are you alternating two pairs of running shoes and using a quality ortho-insert?  Running that kind of mileage doesn't give the one pair's foam to recover - best to alternate shoes and keep track of what shoe you ran in last by the pair which has the quality insert.

Agreed. Ortho inserts are over used and over prescribed. I run in the same pair of shoes for training ... 6 days a week ... for up to 70 miles a week. And I weigh 195 lbs. You don't need two pair of trainers.

It's only been a few days. First experience was going down a hill 10.5 miles into run, naturally sped up a bit and it started hurting, then started feeling a little better going up the next hill. Second experience was on flat track, started 2.5 miles in, but no elevation to discuss. Third experience on trainer, started when I started doing warmup intervals.

I was diagnosed with Morton's Neuroma back in October - did all the exercises, etc., to strengthen hips, stretch IT band, etc., and it seemed to be going away. When I had that, though, I had an 'electric twizzler' feeling that showed up intermittently in ball of feet and in between third and fourth toes, especially first thing in the morning and immediately after runs. This definitely feels more constant and bruise-y and more toward fourth toe / fifth toe...insofar as feelings are even remotely indicative. No cramping in my toes (except for occasionally during swims).

I would recommend going to an orthopedist.  The dull pain whenever you put weight on your foot sounds like you could have fractured a bone in your foot.  A good orthopedist specializing in sports medicine or knees/ankles can tell you exactly what's wrong, take x-rays to confirm, and send you to a PT.  If the specialize in sports medicine, they can probably tell you what type of shoe you should be wearing also.

My wife had IT band issues over the summer, she went to an orthopedist then PT.  She found out that she needed motion control shoes and needed to shorten her stride and increase her cadence. Now we are training for a half mary in March.  She is back running stronger than ever without any pain.

Here's the update.  I went to a sports medicine place and there's [something - muscle/ligament/cord, I can't remember] that runs from the ball of my foot and up my calf that's just not moving like it should.  He did a lot of range of motion stuff on my left leg and doesn't see any problems over there.  The right ankle is another story.  Basically any time he put pressure on my toes upward it hurt, and when he pulled downward on the top of my foot/ankle I wanted to scream.  He ran some x-rays that he'll review to be sure there's not another problem.

Here's his view: my ankle and toes can't flex the way they should.  I have an odd callus pattern that indicates that I've been spinning my foot rather than lifting and striding and taking smaller steps / lifting up earlier with the right leg to compensate.  This loads up my left leg up and that's probably the cause of left knee discomfort.

Prescription: Take a few days off, use The Stick on foot and especially calf, follow up in two days.  From there we'll talk about shoes and whether I need to make a change in what I do with that foot through the running motion.

Thanks for your advice everyone.  One followup...vis-a-vis the 10% rule, how do I adjust to a 'missed' week?  Continue on and break the 10% next week or move the whole plan back or what?

EDIT: He also gave me some things to stick inside my shoes that go just below the ball of my foot that should help distribute the weight across my toes better.

You gave yourself an answer here.

Great to hear, thanks.  I went to Greenapple Sports Medicine, as they've been great in the past for me and for some real athletes.  I just looked on the website to see what the indicated credentials were for my particular person: D.C., C.C.E.P. MEd.  I don't really know what any of those means.

As I was telling my wife last night, though, what I really like about him/them is that I can tell what he's checking for, how he narrows it down, and then builds enough of a narrative around what's going on that I can understand it.  When I leave there, I understand it enough that I can tell it like a story, "This happened, so I started doing this, which caused this other problem, and when it couldn't hold up any more, that's why suddenly I couldn't walk."