Nothing major and unusual for the week. I recovered much faster from a 50k with 7,300 feet of gain than from rather flattish 100k - by the 3 I was totally back to normal. The miracle of it all was that my knee suddenly seems to have almost healed! Go figure...I am keeping my fingers crossed and monitoring closely.
On Thursday Austin, TX finally, finally got to summer. Not that I was unhappy with all those weird cold fronts that kept popping up and moving in, staying a few days, lifting a bit and coming back all Spring! We had the wildebeest Spring I ever saw, and so did most of my friends (what makes us worried about upcoming summer, but hey, at least it's 6 weeks shorter for the summer now!). I am taking it with gratitude.
So, on Thursday I went at 4 pm for an 8 Mile trail run, wearing yoga shorts and sports bra...in 96F and 75% humidity...and I almost died out there. Boy, was it bad! As much as we're better adjusted to warmer temps, we are NOT adjusted to THIS yet! 2 bottles and a bandanna are making a come back. But the legs felt fine.
Saturday was a 20 miler with 20 repeats on a gnarly 0.42M Hill of Life and some 266 feet of gain per each, what gave me over 5,200 feet of gain for the total. I started at 6 am, and the first 10 went in a breeze (relatively speaking), much better than 10 I did after Kansas 100k. But then the dehydration accumulated, the heat and sun peaked up, and I was under-fueled too. So, somewhere past #13 it was grind and gritter. Thankfully, lots of people to support my efforts! Rogue Running store and their trail training group under Eric Stanley were doing 4M loops from the top, so the hollered and shared their cold water (I wouldn't have finished on what I stashed!). Austin Trail Funners (a.k.s. a side-kick to HCTR club) had their run begin from the top and top photos and made small talk. There were hikers doing 2-4 times repeats, backpackers training for their adventures and going up and down with packs 3-5 times, one guy doing 10 of his own however slowly (not sure of his deal, but he was cool), a Crossfit dude who walked down, then did lunges all the way to the top, an elderly couple who were totally inspiring and talkative, and all in all, they counted with me, and encouraged me, and I felt responsibility to get through it all - and I did.
The bad thing was that I had same bad leg twinges/tingling/sharp painful sensations after I was done like I did when I first went on Paleo/Whole30 back in October, and they lasted for an hour or so. The good thing is that my friend Bob Gentile set me up with a new product similar to First Endurance (Optigen and Ultragen), so as soon as I was done, I had 2 scoops of BRL Sports and back to being alive. A big omelet devoured, and 2 hrs working at Massage Envy later (one of the clients was a gal from CO having being sore from doing The Incline! What are the odds!), I was brand new, and the thought of having another run next day didn't threaten me anymore.
That's not to say I enjoyed that Sunday run much. It was humid, and I ran roads, and didn't want to go to gas station to refill my water bottle, as I it is too close to the house and I didn't want to battle getting to continue, so I asked a random person mowing the loan for some water - luckily he was nice! So, I finished, and yes, lived to get to work (Massage Envy is both days on the weekend), and to shop, and to chop for the week, and to prep a neat and healthy dinner with a little plus.
I am on 3 weeks to go to San Diego 100. Last big effort is this week, then heat acclimate, maintain and take care of the knee and the weight to be steady. I am looking forward the race - and to a downtime after that!
On Thursday Austin, TX finally, finally got to summer. Not that I was unhappy with all those weird cold fronts that kept popping up and moving in, staying a few days, lifting a bit and coming back all Spring! We had the wildebeest Spring I ever saw, and so did most of my friends (what makes us worried about upcoming summer, but hey, at least it's 6 weeks shorter for the summer now!). I am taking it with gratitude.
So, on Thursday I went at 4 pm for an 8 Mile trail run, wearing yoga shorts and sports bra...in 96F and 75% humidity...and I almost died out there. Boy, was it bad! As much as we're better adjusted to warmer temps, we are NOT adjusted to THIS yet! 2 bottles and a bandanna are making a come back. But the legs felt fine.
Saturday was a 20 miler with 20 repeats on a gnarly 0.42M Hill of Life and some 266 feet of gain per each, what gave me over 5,200 feet of gain for the total. I started at 6 am, and the first 10 went in a breeze (relatively speaking), much better than 10 I did after Kansas 100k. But then the dehydration accumulated, the heat and sun peaked up, and I was under-fueled too. So, somewhere past #13 it was grind and gritter. Thankfully, lots of people to support my efforts! Rogue Running store and their trail training group under Eric Stanley were doing 4M loops from the top, so the hollered and shared their cold water (I wouldn't have finished on what I stashed!). Austin Trail Funners (a.k.s. a side-kick to HCTR club) had their run begin from the top and top photos and made small talk. There were hikers doing 2-4 times repeats, backpackers training for their adventures and going up and down with packs 3-5 times, one guy doing 10 of his own however slowly (not sure of his deal, but he was cool), a Crossfit dude who walked down, then did lunges all the way to the top, an elderly couple who were totally inspiring and talkative, and all in all, they counted with me, and encouraged me, and I felt responsibility to get through it all - and I did.
That's not to say I enjoyed that Sunday run much. It was humid, and I ran roads, and didn't want to go to gas station to refill my water bottle, as I it is too close to the house and I didn't want to battle getting to continue, so I asked a random person mowing the loan for some water - luckily he was nice! So, I finished, and yes, lived to get to work (Massage Envy is both days on the weekend), and to shop, and to chop for the week, and to prep a neat and healthy dinner with a little plus.
6 comments:
Hi, fantastic and complete blog, I really like.
Looks like you're working hard, Olga! Can't wait to hear about San Diego - I'm super excited for you! I wish I could get down there to help out at the race. I have a conflict that weekend, but if it clears up, I'll holler at you on the course! :)
Come out and play with me, would be great to see you!
Olga - Can you say which BRL product you used? (I'd guess EnduraFuel?) @ultrarunnergirl has been posting about her experiences training and racing on #whole30 & has had some major leg pain issues (sound similar to yours), am wondering if it would help her. (see her posts here http://ultrarunnergirl.blogspot.com/2013/05/ultrarunning-and-fueling-on-whole30.html )Right now I think her approach is that she needs more fat. She also points to this discussion which talks about leg pain. http://forum.whole9life.com/topic/6783-severe-leg-pains-after-long-run/
I'm mostly paleo, inching toward whole30, and a distance (but not yet ultra) runner, so I'm very interested to learn! Always love to read your posts.
That discussion was by my husband:)
I used EnduraFuel after, yes. I started a week ago only, but do hear good things about it, and so far (I am yet to do more research on at list comparing the lists of ingredients) I think the difference between BRL and Recoveryte (Hammer) and Ultragen (First Endurance) is BCAA.
Hi Olga! Glad to find your blog and this discussion on leg cramps/pain.
Post a Comment