Base Training and Quadriceps Strain

Base Training

Figure 1: Going out for a run.

I started my 5-week Base Training on week 17. This training period aimed to increase the running distance I could handle per week by running at pretty low intensity: mainly Easy Runs and Recovery Runs. I have signed up for Helsinki Half Marathon (21K Race) on June 7th. That is why I ran one Tempo Run at goal half-marathon pace per week. I also did on my easier days (Monday and Friday) Steep Hill Sprints twice a week. I think it is very important to increase the weekly running distance at quite low intensity before cranking it up. Although my marathon training is not intense at the beginning of the training cycle. My current training goal is to be able to go out and run 10 times per week and cover over 150 km at the peak of this Marathon Training cycle.

Figure 2: Base Training.

I felt pretty good dropping down the intensity and emphasizing again on quantity in my training. My legs seemed ready to take the increased pounding of running more distance as I ran my new weekly record of 126 km on fourth week of Base Training. "It is the speed, not the distance, that kills." Check out the happy runner guy in Figure 1. But then the next day, on my Monday hill sprints, I strained one of my left leg quadriceps muscles. The same muscle had already stopped couple of times my hill sprints by cramping slightly. The hill sprinting is different than running on flat: one has to lift the knees a lot more. Hill sprinting makes your legs strong and help you run faster and with less injury on flat, but there is also quite high risk for me to get injured while sprinting the hills. Since my comeback I have already gotten several times hurt more or less in my hills practices. The positive thing is, that by running hills, my hamstrings are now much stronger than before. So my fifth and final week of Base Training was cut out because of a strain on my left quadriceps muscles. My Base Training progress is presented in the Figure 2. The green week is a recovery week.

Quadriceps Strain

On the sixth repetition of seven hill sprints I felt sudden sharp pain in my left leg quadriceps muscles. I wasn't even doing the repetitions aggressively, because I had had sensations for some time in that same muscle. I felt two snaps in my thigh and had to stop immediately. I think my injury is a mild grade 2 strain. I tried jogging but it was too painful and I felt I could just do more damage to the muscle if I jogged back home (about 3km).

Figure 3: The quadriceps muscles.

A grade 2 strain is a partial tear of the strained muscle. I strained one of the quadriceps muscles on my leg left. The muscle is called rectus femoris. The initial treatment for a strain includes icing, compression, and elevation to prevent further internal bleeding. If the strain is left untreated, it will just take a bit longer to heal. When a muscle strains it will try to protect itself from further damage by contracting. That's why gentle stretching is to be started as soon as the strained muscle allows it without pain. This way the muscle does not scar while being contracted and shorter. After a couple of days of rest and icing I started stretching the quadriceps and doing very easy strength training. I returned to very easy jogging 4 days after the incident.

At first, I thought this injury was similar in severity to my hamstring strain in January, but it seems that this one is less severe. I need to strengthen the quadriceps and hip muscles. I noticed that I haven't been doing drills like knee lifting and such. I will be picking up the pace gradually as my thigh gets better. It remains to be seen if the strain heals enough to run the Helsinki Half Marathon in two weeks. That race would serve as a measurement of starting level fitness at the beginning of my 20-week marathon training cycle.

Current Races on my Calendar:

Week 23: June 7th - Helsinki Half Marathon (21K)

Week 36: September 7th - Buenos Aires Half Marathon (21K)

Week 41: October 12th - Bank of America Chicago Marathon (42K)