Running Update 2-23-12

I know I talk about this all the time anyway, but I did want to let you know what's going on with the running lately. 

I'm currently training (officially, thank you Mom) for the Green Bay Marathon, which is taking place on May 20th this year.  I decided to follow along with the Hansons-Brooks plan discussed in an issue of Runners World last year, which would do two things differently than the training plans I had followed before:
1) More consistent weekly mileage (i.e. run nearly every day)
2) Longest run would be 16 miles
This departure from the norm stemmed from several things, including the fact that I had tried it last year before getting hurt (because of new shoes, I hope) and because I had been running almost every day anyway, so the schedule seemed to fit into what I was already running.  The only difference between what I had been doing for the past 6 months and the training plan was an increase number of miles per run. 

I'm about 5 weeks into the plan, and overall things are going well.  I've hit nearly all of my mileage marks (with only one run being cut short due to time), and I'm running faster than I have in a long time (due to my previous 6 months of running, which helped me to lose some weight since starting up).  I usually average somewhere around 8 minute miles, sticking just below that pace for my speed workouts.  I'm switching between two different pairs of shoes, both Asics (Speedstar 5 and Gel DS Sky Speed), which are different from my previous shoes in that they are much lighter and less cushioned than my previous pairs of shoes (such as the Gel Nimbus, the Cadillac of running shoes).  I think that they're probably assisting in my speed, but they also have a little less padding, which is making my legs a little more sore after my longer runs.

The main point right now that I want to get to is that, while the running is going well, I'm having a bit of concern about possible injuries.  It has nothing to do with the style of the shoes (i.e. I'm not having any foot problems), but the lack of cushioning compared to previous shoes has made the pounding on the pavement a little harsher on the legs.  I'm dealing with a number of chronic, but not too awful conditions, including hamstring tendonitis, shin splints, and (more recently) Achilles tendonitis.  None of these things are really affecting my running at all (i.e. I can still get out there), but I have to pay special attention to each of these areas to ensure that they don't become bigger problems.  The Achilles tendonitis is especially challenging, as I hadn't dealt with it specifically until recently.  Luckily, I put the question out about it on Daily Mile and Mark U. linked me to an article on Sweat Science, which discussed the effects of eccentric stretching on the Achilles and how effective it is at treating and preventing further problems.  If you look at the papers linked in the article, there are several figures showing the type of stretching that you need to do - and it turns out I had been doing that stretch last spring after getting advice from a physical therapist!  Looks like I need to add it back to my routine...

So, overall, things are going well.  I'm sticking to my numbers, taking a lot of time to stretch, and holding off when I need to.  I'm looking forward to continuing the training, getting some runs in on the grass, and racing that marathon this spring!