I think I am figuring my disastrous run causes. OK, the first and most stupid was the fact that I didn't eat enough. I am somewhat better in a 50 miler (and first 50 of a 100M). The thing is, I am not a fast runner, and 50k is a bit of on a short distance for me. I go out too speedy (for me, of course, it's all relative) and get so consumed with breathing and working, I forget to swallow extra gel. I did have total of 2 bottles with Pro-Carb and 3 gels, but gels started late, and it might have not been enough for me. The "fat from thighs" didn't come to play due to speed yet again - we all know that fat conversion to energy happens at slow speed, what helps me in a longer/slower runs. Something to pound on.
Second, my compartment. OK, this is inevitable for me. I've had it for years, last year just about this time I was at the point to have surgery, but found John and his Graston technique, and slowly but surely (twice a week for 5 months) we put it to a level it almost wasn't noticeable. I kept going for preventive treatment twice a month afterward, but sue to my job loss and insurance problems stopped. SO this worries me, but not too much, it can be done again.
Hamstring. This is a biggie. I ruined it somehow at Miwok last year (end of April) and it was on and off ever since. Usually it doesn't stop me from running, but it almost always felt as nagging pain. I tried massage, Graston, rest, anti-inflammatory, ice and the whole nine yards - nothing. I changed my gait to smaller steps and worked on stretching/strengthening. Well, may be need more work.
The "pain in a butt" thing. The realization hit me today at the gym. I have very tight piriformis/gluteus medium and when I visit John, he always works on it by employing deep active release technique (simply described as digging his thumbs into my butt muscles, what hurts like hell, but has a weird masochistic pleasure in it). I had done it so many times, including the day before the race, but apparently, because I had missed 2 full months of this treatment, it made my ass sore. Now, reliving the pain at the race, it hit me - it's the same kind of "masochistic" pain at exactly same places! Well, at least this one is easy to avoid.
Now, all in all it doesn't make me much happier for how my race went. Mostly my emotions. Mike says I keep my emotions right on my shoulder and it jumps off any second. I am such a girl! Gee...I am not sure to work on that one. Most of my crying comes not from pain, but from self-doubt and self-punishing. Since it's been developing throughout my life, it's the one that most likely will not get fixed. Unless, of course, I go to a shrink:) what I won't.
Mike Burke ran a superb 4:40, and Tom Riley finished in 5:13 (woo-hoo!). Caroline had her own struggles with asthma triggered by swolloing a bug, and I heard her coughing behind (pour thing, I feel bad, but she still smiled!). The marking of the course was wonderful, even though you'd think there is only one way around the lake - Ronda and Stacey didn't have shortage of chalk and ribbons. People who worked the aid stations were all knowledgable ultrarunners and helped tremendously with words and advice, and the finish line with soup and hot dogs made my day. Love the soup!
Some stuff to think about...and hopefully learn a bit of a lesson.
Thanks to all the nice words. Happy running.
Oh, and on placing. It rarely shows how good or bad anyone is, but how good or bad a day for those around you and who came to this particular race. So I usually judge my time, not place. Though it is nice.
A Mountain Soul
If you're lucky enough to be in the mountains, you are lucky enough.
When something bad happens, you have three choices: let it define you, let it destroy you, or let it strengthen you.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Diary of the Hagg week.
Long post, read at your own risk. I started writing this draft on Tuesday, so if you don't feel like getting into deatils - I had a bad day, very bad, by many means, but it all ended up somehow OK.
Tuesday:
I go out for a morning speed workout and in the first steps notice a very bad pain in my left shin. So much for posting about injury prevention...did I jinxed myself? Nope, I knew it was coming. My compartment syndrome is back. It’s been picking up its head for the last two weeks and today roared loudly. I make it for a mile hoping to warm the leg up, but decide to turn around and call it quits. 2 miles and a cross training on Stairmaster. Do I call myself a sissy or is it a smart act? Worries set in...Plus I put on 3 lbs on top of those 3 lbs I gained last month. Darn
Wednesday:
Spin class in the morning, leg aches mildly at rest. I plan on going for a run in afternoon. Trails...boy, I missed them, and it’s only been 2 days! They revive me, and I’ve been pretty badly stressed out lately about lots of things. Besides, been an avid addict to lots of things throughout my life means if I have an addiction, it’s all or nothing. I carefully start out, testing the leg. The pain rises, but not too bad, dull, and I am able to continue the run. I try not to push and go by least hilly trails (if Tryon park has them), though in second half I pick up the pace slightly. I still stand a chance. The whole lower leg is aching for the rest of the day though. I use The Stick to massage it.
Thursday:
Meet Gail in Forest park. I tell her, at least one pressure is off - Kami Semick is registered, so we know the winner. Now it’s between me and Caroline Klug. And, of course, a bunch of girls I just never saw before....the usual. I whisper my goal - to break 5 hrs. Should be possible, banned serious problems. My PR is 4:47 on road (Central park inner loop 8 times, first ultra). Hagg course has no more than 1500 feet gain total, runable (who said I like to run for that long non-stop?). I have to work on mental part of been in a race - don’t give up, fight it...”head down and run”. OK, I'll take 5:10.
We run easily for an hour. I feel pretty good, more uncomfortable than painful. Duh! Should have used The Stick all year long, that's why I bought it! Gail recommends to drop out if I have the pain coming back. I can't promise...
Friday:
Day off, but my body is crazy and wakes up anyway. I go for a short swim - with my technique and speed it's the same as a day off. Go finally to see Master John. He tortures me with Graston. I missed him. It feels good. He is working finish line at Hagg. Mike W. emails me asking who my competition is. Everybody? Myself? I am nervous.
Saturday:
Mike Burke picks me up at 6:30 am. We joke about my Montrail outfit. By the time we arrived, I realized I left my I-Pod at home. What a start! I am so used to it since SD100, I can't focus on racing or tuning into my body without it!
I ask around if anyone has a spare, but no. Oh, well. I meet all my friends (and even more people I don’t know but who somehow call my name), and, of course, Darcy. What a sweet girl! I am preoccupied, though, with what’s to come and how to run. I am not much social before the race. Last year, when there were 3 of them in a month, I got much calmer and thought nothing of another race, but now it’s suddenly a big deal!
We start on 3M out and back on dirt road, 1.5M up, then down. I run for a couple of minutes with Kami Semick and tell her how much I admire her and how I’ll be routing for her at WS this year. She says right now she has a hip pain (she did drop after the first loop), and I send her off with the front guys. I run quite fast and at the start of a lake loop see 24 min for 3 miles. Damn fast! Tom Riley joins me, and we run together. My compartment filled up with built in pressure, but by mile 7 or so (Dam road) it works itself out. I am happy with the development and think 5 hrs...There are more hills than I care to remember but it's OK and justifies walk breaks. By mile 10 my left hamstring (old injury) locks up and I bid goodbye to Tom. By mile 11 I have an unbearable pain in both hip joints, hamstrings and buttocks. It is a very muddy course (even on a dry spell) and you get to use all those small muscles you never thought existed. Pain gets sharper. On top of it I get a fuzzy head and a blurry vision and it takes me another couple of miles to realize I am bonking, and it’s completely my fault!! Like it’s my first time, right? Everybody knows how I don’t eat enough at an ultra. I get to an aid station at mile 13, worked by Liz and Kamm, and they force a gel into me. I am not picking up on lost fuel yet, and the start/finish area makes it hard to continue. I cry out to Mike McCarthy that I want to drop. He immediately says “I know you haven’t been eating” and puts some powder into my bottle (mine, but I forgot I carried it with me). Another 6 or so miles go by. Caroline Klug, who was on my heals all time (a great girl and a very good friend of mine, a very strong runner), gets close, and I ask her to please pass so I can relax. I am crying at this point and hating myself. Between a pain and a bonk, and not been able to push through this, I feel so sorry for myself. She says no way. I run on. Finally, by mile 24, I caught up on lost glycogen and my vision improves, the legs don’t feel like lead anymore - but the pain is still there. The muddiest section is right here, last 7 miles, made worse by over a 100 pairs of feet gone by (50k and 25k runners). I struggle to stay upright. Pass on the last aid station, apologizing to ladies for not smiling and not talking (not my usual self known around), I decide to give it all I have. Just about time! I lost Caroline behind, and pass a couple of guys (who at the finish said they were almost PO to see me gliding by - boy, they had no idea I had tears). 1M to go sign - I know it’s downhill and flat. Nobody passes me on downhill, ever! I grind my teeth and try to may be at least break last year’s time. Nope, not to happen. 5:22. Over. I find Mike Burke and sob for a few minutes on his shoulder. He says he hasn’t seen people finishing so smooth and then hobbling so badly. He drags me to the car to change. I keep sobbing and hating myself. I want to quit ultras, I am not tough enough, I don’t deserve to be there, I don’t want to be on a team!!! Change of clothes, a chat with a few people, some soup - OK, I am still hobbling, but feeling better. Out of nowhere I hear my name and don’t understand why. I took 3rd place. Go figure.
Tuesday:
I go out for a morning speed workout and in the first steps notice a very bad pain in my left shin. So much for posting about injury prevention...did I jinxed myself? Nope, I knew it was coming. My compartment syndrome is back. It’s been picking up its head for the last two weeks and today roared loudly. I make it for a mile hoping to warm the leg up, but decide to turn around and call it quits. 2 miles and a cross training on Stairmaster. Do I call myself a sissy or is it a smart act? Worries set in...Plus I put on 3 lbs on top of those 3 lbs I gained last month. Darn
Wednesday:
Spin class in the morning, leg aches mildly at rest. I plan on going for a run in afternoon. Trails...boy, I missed them, and it’s only been 2 days! They revive me, and I’ve been pretty badly stressed out lately about lots of things. Besides, been an avid addict to lots of things throughout my life means if I have an addiction, it’s all or nothing. I carefully start out, testing the leg. The pain rises, but not too bad, dull, and I am able to continue the run. I try not to push and go by least hilly trails (if Tryon park has them), though in second half I pick up the pace slightly. I still stand a chance. The whole lower leg is aching for the rest of the day though. I use The Stick to massage it.
Thursday:
Meet Gail in Forest park. I tell her, at least one pressure is off - Kami Semick is registered, so we know the winner. Now it’s between me and Caroline Klug. And, of course, a bunch of girls I just never saw before....the usual. I whisper my goal - to break 5 hrs. Should be possible, banned serious problems. My PR is 4:47 on road (Central park inner loop 8 times, first ultra). Hagg course has no more than 1500 feet gain total, runable (who said I like to run for that long non-stop?). I have to work on mental part of been in a race - don’t give up, fight it...”head down and run”. OK, I'll take 5:10.
We run easily for an hour. I feel pretty good, more uncomfortable than painful. Duh! Should have used The Stick all year long, that's why I bought it! Gail recommends to drop out if I have the pain coming back. I can't promise...
Friday:
Day off, but my body is crazy and wakes up anyway. I go for a short swim - with my technique and speed it's the same as a day off. Go finally to see Master John. He tortures me with Graston. I missed him. It feels good. He is working finish line at Hagg. Mike W. emails me asking who my competition is. Everybody? Myself? I am nervous.
Saturday:
Mike Burke picks me up at 6:30 am. We joke about my Montrail outfit. By the time we arrived, I realized I left my I-Pod at home. What a start! I am so used to it since SD100, I can't focus on racing or tuning into my body without it!
I ask around if anyone has a spare, but no. Oh, well. I meet all my friends (and even more people I don’t know but who somehow call my name), and, of course, Darcy. What a sweet girl! I am preoccupied, though, with what’s to come and how to run. I am not much social before the race. Last year, when there were 3 of them in a month, I got much calmer and thought nothing of another race, but now it’s suddenly a big deal!
We start on 3M out and back on dirt road, 1.5M up, then down. I run for a couple of minutes with Kami Semick and tell her how much I admire her and how I’ll be routing for her at WS this year. She says right now she has a hip pain (she did drop after the first loop), and I send her off with the front guys. I run quite fast and at the start of a lake loop see 24 min for 3 miles. Damn fast! Tom Riley joins me, and we run together. My compartment filled up with built in pressure, but by mile 7 or so (Dam road) it works itself out. I am happy with the development and think 5 hrs...There are more hills than I care to remember but it's OK and justifies walk breaks. By mile 10 my left hamstring (old injury) locks up and I bid goodbye to Tom. By mile 11 I have an unbearable pain in both hip joints, hamstrings and buttocks. It is a very muddy course (even on a dry spell) and you get to use all those small muscles you never thought existed. Pain gets sharper. On top of it I get a fuzzy head and a blurry vision and it takes me another couple of miles to realize I am bonking, and it’s completely my fault!! Like it’s my first time, right? Everybody knows how I don’t eat enough at an ultra. I get to an aid station at mile 13, worked by Liz and Kamm, and they force a gel into me. I am not picking up on lost fuel yet, and the start/finish area makes it hard to continue. I cry out to Mike McCarthy that I want to drop. He immediately says “I know you haven’t been eating” and puts some powder into my bottle (mine, but I forgot I carried it with me). Another 6 or so miles go by. Caroline Klug, who was on my heals all time (a great girl and a very good friend of mine, a very strong runner), gets close, and I ask her to please pass so I can relax. I am crying at this point and hating myself. Between a pain and a bonk, and not been able to push through this, I feel so sorry for myself. She says no way. I run on. Finally, by mile 24, I caught up on lost glycogen and my vision improves, the legs don’t feel like lead anymore - but the pain is still there. The muddiest section is right here, last 7 miles, made worse by over a 100 pairs of feet gone by (50k and 25k runners). I struggle to stay upright. Pass on the last aid station, apologizing to ladies for not smiling and not talking (not my usual self known around), I decide to give it all I have. Just about time! I lost Caroline behind, and pass a couple of guys (who at the finish said they were almost PO to see me gliding by - boy, they had no idea I had tears). 1M to go sign - I know it’s downhill and flat. Nobody passes me on downhill, ever! I grind my teeth and try to may be at least break last year’s time. Nope, not to happen. 5:22. Over. I find Mike Burke and sob for a few minutes on his shoulder. He says he hasn’t seen people finishing so smooth and then hobbling so badly. He drags me to the car to change. I keep sobbing and hating myself. I want to quit ultras, I am not tough enough, I don’t deserve to be there, I don’t want to be on a team!!! Change of clothes, a chat with a few people, some soup - OK, I am still hobbling, but feeling better. Out of nowhere I hear my name and don’t understand why. I took 3rd place. Go figure.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Miles and miles.
I’d like to explain a bit of my view on mileage. Last week’s high miles wasn’t all that high for me, it was only 75, though it was biggest this season. I had been keeping it in 60-70 range so far with a base of 50. I am changing my perspective somewhat on simply putting miles in. My first year of running ultras (ok, second, the year I trained for first WS100 in 2004) I was obsessed about logging miles. I went a few times to high 90, but most of it were junk ones. I didn’t have any hills where I lived, and ran to and from work as well as to and from my yoga studio. Miles rolled easy. I did do speed sessions with local running club on a track (short intervals though as they were all training for half and full marathons) and may be a few hill workouts (what now I wouldn’t even call hills). Second year, in 2005, when I hired Scott Jurek for my second WS100 attempt, I started training smarter. There were more tempo runs and longer intervals, and hills increased in length and steepness. Luckily, I moved to Oregon, and finding hilly trails and fast training partners for weekend runs stopped been a problem. I also hit high 90th a few weeks, and there were quality weeks as well.
I am however very prone to injuries. Any kind of them, anything you can find in a running book. I need to be even more focused on how I build up and where I run. So this year I swore to be smarter in my training. With Lisa, I am able to split my days and do miles hard, fast or a mix of two. I will get to the same point of doing close to a 100 mpw, but that can wait. I am not that overwhelmed with numbers anymore, they will come when needed and when I am ready for it. No more just going out to put extra 10 to have a nice ending mileage, I don’t even count until the week is over. But the quality increased, and the understanding of the purpose for each workout is much clearer. I hope this will bring me to a better racing season and fewer aches and pains.
Obviously, those weeks that I did my 100M races went over 115, but that doesn’t count. Some people can easily withstand high miles, and it is helping them. I am working on faster turn-over, building threshold and uphill muscle. I am tired, but mostly because of quality, not quantity. I can fit in more miles, but don’t see a point of it anymore. Nor do I feel getting 3 x 15M runs would help me to become a better runner, I rather have those 45 split up. And if I miss a day, I don’t make up, I just move ahead. My cross-training days are hard, but use different muscle, so it’s kind of a rest, yet very fulfilling and serving a purpose.
Today was that x-training day. And then we took Stephen for a hike at Columbia river gorge. He is a great hiker, can kick my butt on any given day! Then we had fun running all the way down and went for a burger:)
I am getting calmer for upcoming Hagg lake and started making plans for the race. I like this feeling, between butterflies in my stomach and cold hard thinking of times and fuel. That’s why I race, for this feeling. Last year I went to races so often, I almost lost both of these feelings, and now they are coming back.
Have fun, everyone!
I am however very prone to injuries. Any kind of them, anything you can find in a running book. I need to be even more focused on how I build up and where I run. So this year I swore to be smarter in my training. With Lisa, I am able to split my days and do miles hard, fast or a mix of two. I will get to the same point of doing close to a 100 mpw, but that can wait. I am not that overwhelmed with numbers anymore, they will come when needed and when I am ready for it. No more just going out to put extra 10 to have a nice ending mileage, I don’t even count until the week is over. But the quality increased, and the understanding of the purpose for each workout is much clearer. I hope this will bring me to a better racing season and fewer aches and pains.
Obviously, those weeks that I did my 100M races went over 115, but that doesn’t count. Some people can easily withstand high miles, and it is helping them. I am working on faster turn-over, building threshold and uphill muscle. I am tired, but mostly because of quality, not quantity. I can fit in more miles, but don’t see a point of it anymore. Nor do I feel getting 3 x 15M runs would help me to become a better runner, I rather have those 45 split up. And if I miss a day, I don’t make up, I just move ahead. My cross-training days are hard, but use different muscle, so it’s kind of a rest, yet very fulfilling and serving a purpose.
Today was that x-training day. And then we took Stephen for a hike at Columbia river gorge. He is a great hiker, can kick my butt on any given day! Then we had fun running all the way down and went for a burger:)
I am getting calmer for upcoming Hagg lake and started making plans for the race. I like this feeling, between butterflies in my stomach and cold hard thinking of times and fuel. That’s why I race, for this feeling. Last year I went to races so often, I almost lost both of these feelings, and now they are coming back.
Have fun, everyone!
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