Last training week

If I can call it "training", but would you believe 3 weeks are left till Bighorn 100?!?!
Anyway, while my legs feel somewhat understandably heavy (actually, not really understandably, since I really slacked - I ran totally even splits in Silver State 50, I was at mile 23.5 in 5:30 and at the finish in 11:16, what is almost faster, and I walked last rocky hill a lot down, and the second half had a monster climb, what means - slacker! in ultras even splits considered when you have 10% add-on in second half!), where was I...my chronic compartment syndrom is seriously kicking and debilitating my runs. For years I thought I can live with it, it most likely takes under an hour for the pain to subside from unbearable (ask Lisa how talkative I was at Chuckanut in first stretch) and only a few times it went up to 2 hrs. I mean, common, in a race that takes me over 10 hrs to finish (or over 24) why would I care for a couple of hours? If anything, it lets me start slow and save myself for later. But the thing is, as the "peak season" approaching, the pain gets worse, and my training goes down. How would I run intervals either on track or on hills well if I need like 5 miles to warm up? My daily runs of 6-8 miles twice are all (or most) non-enjoyable till the last couple, when I am ready to go home (you can see why I can easily skip my daily runs and stick always with long weekend adventures). Of course I learned little tricks of special shuffle, where to walk, how to put my foot down, how to push off with the power of hip flexors (I am unable to flex at the ankle during the "bad times"), but p-l-e-a-s-e I am so freakin' tired of it! When I need to focus for the "A" race for the last few weeks, I get into worst scenario with my legs! I'lll have massage and Graston, but these are nothing, just to relieve pain at rest. I am ready. I think I am finally ready to get my mind around surgery. I need to pick up time. Me think right after Thanksgiving (I just got comp entry into Luis' Santa Barbara 9 Trails ) would be good, I could take December off...although if I get into WS100, it will leave me with a mere 5 months to train and I'd need to begin with walking...Another option get it after Grand Teton races in early September, but only if I manage to finish a 100M this year as a qualifier so I can forgo Dick Collins' Firetrails 50...what I don't want to do as I heard tons of good stuff and have great friends in SanFran...but one thing I am positive about - I am calling my OHSU doctor who tried to convince me 2 years ago and making appointments.

Other than that life is wonderful. Since I didn't push all that hard, the hormonal screw-up (a.k.a. post-race depression) was practically non-exsistent, just tired. I ran 4 times so far this week and will do a couple of more shorter (argh!) runs tomorrow, take off Friday, as for the weekend I have a neat plan: on Saturday I will run in the Gorge for 30+ prescribed miles with a couple of hill repeats and on Sunday I'll participate in Forest Park Trail Run 50k put on by a great group from CA PCTR. This will alow me to test "running legs" after using them as "climbing/downhill legs". And especially good because my two faithful running partners - Gail and Mike - are leaving for the weekend, so this will ensure that I put on the miles.

And when I am ready to come back after surgery, I'll contact a coach and listen and obey! Oops, sorry, back to "broken CD". Never mind me.

The weather is awesome. The flowers are blooming. My lab is going hiking to Dog Mountain on Friday (photo by Ronda). And I keep my smile fresh and pretty:) Here you go again:)