All right. I sort of feel like an ass posting my problem here `cause I think I’m older than almost everyone else and FEMALE, no less, but of all the training forums I’ve seen on the web, this one seems to have the most knowledgeable crowd. And I’m really frustrated and don’t have anyone else to ask for help.
Here’s the deal: I’m 39. I started training for masters track and field four years ago. I had coached gymnastics and done weight training for years before that, so I had a lot of strength and static flexibility when I started. But the only running I’d done was recreational jogging, which I hate (when I was kid, I was always the fastest one in my class, so I knew I had some sprint in me).
A track coach saw that I had a lot of upper body strength and suggested I give the heptathlon a try. (Don’t laugh - at the masters level, the participants range is from highly competitive ex-collegians to recreational nobodies like me, so it’s not as weird as it sounds.) I threw myself into training and learning the events because I really liked it and it was a great challenge. I watched other master track athletes compete and was amazed at what some of them could do, so I was hopeful.
But as you might have guessed, I’ve been injured almost non-stop. For the past couple of years, it’s been a series of pulled hamstrings, one after another, that seem to happen when I start increasing my sprint work. Even without the pulled muscles, my hams are constantly tight and I have difficulty sitting for long periods of time. I’m just sick of it. I could blame the earlier injuries on a lack of preparation for the intensity of the training, but after four years of this stuff, shouldn’t I be prepared?
And yes, I’m making training adjustments for my age, and yes, I’ve learned a lot from stupid training mistakes I made at first, when I didn’t know what I was doing (not that I’m an expert now). But why did I pull a hamstring again just last night?
Is the volume of work? Well, here’s what a typical training week might look like for me in the spring, if I have the time to work out six days a week:
M/W – tempo runs (some mix of 100s, 200s, and 300s totaling 1600M at about 60 % with interval recovery)
T/Th – strength training (lots of medicine ball work and bodyweight exercises like pull-ups and dips, with some bench press, deadlifts, and light plyometric work when I’m feeling strong)
Friday – hurdle mobility work (i.e. 5 reps over 5 hurdles) and jumps (i.e. 10 or more long jump pop-ups with a 4-8 step approach)
Saturday - rest
Sunday – sprint workout (low volume, high intensity; for example, 4-5 200s at 90% with full recovery)
I substitute in some javelin or shot put work on T/Th, and some triple jump/high jump work on F, when I can.
I know I’m old, but that volume of training doesn’t look so high, does it?
I’ve also tried ART when I’ve had the money and standard massage when I haven’t. I now use ice on my hams and an EMT unit. And I stretch (micro-stretching and a more gymnastics-type stretching) a lot more often than I used to, always when I’m warm, post-workout.
Admittedly, I didn’t train like that and didn’t do all that recovery stuff when I first started out. But since I’ve learned my lesson (the hard way), why am I still pulling hamstrings all the time? A coach told me that because I came into the track training with a lot of strength from weight training, my static strength is outgunning my joint/tendon strength, which may be the root of my persistent injuries, particularly with the hamstrings.
Does that sound plausible? And if so, what the heck am I supposed to do to keep training without having hamstring pain all the time or pulling muscles? Anyone out there have experience with old athlete wannabes? Anyone out there just plain old but still training (relatively) injury-free?
Don’t tell me to take up swimming. I suck at swimming.
