Sunday, October 26, 2008

Update On My Ass

Yesterday's long run was to test my sore ass. I was somewhat pain free the first 10 miles. After that, I had to spend time stopped on the trails stretching. The run went well, until I ran out of gas at mile 17. Besides an omelet for breakfast, I forgot to eat anything else or take anything with me...except water and a Clif bar. Doh!



Today's run was ok. Stiffness in my right calf, but my arse didn't bother me too much. Once again, some stretching during the run helped tremendously.

This Saturday is Wade's Big Adventure. I ran into Wade Saturday as he was out marking the white trail on the WRT. I am glad he picked the white trail...it's more of roller coaster ride that the others.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Pain in the Ass

I have not run for the past few days in hopes of healing up a nagging hip injury. My right hip has bothered me off and on for some time and, after last weeks long run, it has become more of a problem to run without significant pain or an altered gait (which creates even more problems!). I have diagnosed the problem as Piriformis syndrome

Here's what I look like after a dozen miles:



Hopefully the rest (with a lot of stretching) will be enough to allow me to run this weekend! I am not planning any runs over 10 miles since I have run long the past few weekends. There are two weeks to go before Wade's Big Adventure and a bit over a month for the St. Jude's Marathon, so I need to stay healthy and whole.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Today's Long Run

Getting ready for Wade's Big Adventure:



I had no idea if I was on the correct trail for Wade's (on the east side of Germantown Rd). There was a lot of overgrowth on some sections that made it very hard to run. Briars, brambles and sticker bushes were the norm. Every now and then, I would see orange trail marking tape hanging from trees, so I tried to follow. The trail petered out onto a sand bar on the Wolfe River, so that's were I turned around. I followed another trail half-way back, which was better maintained. This part of the trail had marking tape everywhere and there was no clear sense of direction. I was enjoying my run and still had water, so I just ran willy-nilly until I finally made it back to the original trail.

I took a right turn to exit back to Lowe's...well before I was supposed to and ended up with a 40 foot gully full of water blocking my way. I had run through this same gully earlier and it was bone dry! What the fuck?! Of course, looking at my GPS after the run I could see that I was not where I thought I was! I was out of water and figured I would follow a trail to the north and exit into the adjacent neighborhood and take the streets back to G'town Rd. This was probably not a great idea in the trail turned almost non-existent and very wet.

I finally made it back to the Circle K mini mart and had a quick lunch break. The next portion of the run was on the all to familiar white trail, heading to the ranger station for the next water refill. After that, I hit the Chickasaw trail and then about half of the Tour de Wolfe, exiting the park at the dog area and running back to G'town Rd and back to my car.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

The 40 Runner’s Commandments

Borrowed from Carey Smith's blog:

The 40 Runner’s Commandments
by Joe Kelly

1. Don’t be a whiner. Nobody likes a whiner, not even other whiners.
2. Walking out the door is often the toughest part of a run.
3. Don’t make running your life. Make it part of your life.
4. Keep promises, especially ones made to yourself.
5. The faster you are the less you should talk about your times.
6. Keep a quarter in your pocket. One day you’ll need to call for a ride.
7. Don’t compare yourself to other runners.
8. All runners are equal, some are just faster than others.
9. Keep in mind that the later in the day it gets, the more likely it is that you won’t run.
10. For a change of pace, get driven out and then run back.
11. If it was easy, everybody would be a runner.
12. When standing in starting lines, remind yourself how fortunate you are to be there.
13. Getting out of shape is much easier than getting into shape.
14. A bad day of running still beats a good day at work.
15. Don’t talk about your running injuries. People don’t want to hear about your sore knee or black toe.
16. Don’t always run alone.
17. Don’t always run with people.
18. Approach running as if the quality of your life depended on it.
19. No matter how slow, your run is still faster than someone sitting on a couch.
20. Keep in mind that the harder you run during training, the luckier you’ll get during racing.
21. Races aren’t just for those who can run fast.
22. There are no shortcuts to running excellence.
23. The best runs sometimes come on days when you didn’t feel like running.
24. There is nothing boring about running. There are, however, boring people who run.
25. Distance running is like cod liver oil. At first it makes you feel awful, then it makes you feel better.
26. Never throw away the instructions to your running watch.
27. Don’t try to outrun dogs.
28. Don’t wait for perfect weather. If you do, you won’t run very often.
29. When tempted to stop being a runner, make a list of the reasons you started.
30. Without goals, training has no purpose.
31. Go for broke, but be prepared to be broken.
32. Spend more time running on the roads than sitting on the couch.
33. Make progress in your training, but progress at your own rate.
34. “Winning” means different things to different people.
35. Unless you make your living as a runner, don’t take running too seriously.
36. Never tell a runner that he or she doesn’t look good in tights.
37. Never confuse the Ben-Gay tube with the toothpaste tube.
38. Preventing running injuries is easier than curing them.
39. Running is simple. Don’t make it complicated.
40. Running is always enjoyable. Sometimes, though, the joy doesn’t come until the end of the run.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Tour d'Esprit = Tour d'Pain

All seemed right before the start. I felt great and had no injuries. My initial plan was to cover 50 miles within the first 12 hours and then take it easy for the remaining 11 hours.

I needed to maintain about a 14 minute pace to reach 50 miles in 12 hours. Thinking my pace would slow after 6-7 hours, I tried to push the pace somewhat at first. All was going great until mile 16-17. My left knee slightly buckled and felt like someone had pushed a small stick into the lateral aspect of it. My initial thought was that I tore a ligament. I stopped running and tried to stretch it out. I then ran another 10 feet and the pain came back. I decided to continue to walk and the pain subsided. Thinking I had dodged a bullet, I began running the next lap. For about half a mile I took it easy, slowing my pace and praying for the best. The pain returned and so I just figured I would power hike and re-evaluate later.

At 8pm, Jennifer and Sydney brought me a delicious dinner of pizza! We sat in my little camp and chowed down. After a wonderful treat of pizza and seeing my beautiful wife, it was time to get back on the track. Sydney (who is 8) wanted to run a lap with me. After walking the first quarter mile to warm up and test the knee, we ran about a 13 minute pace the remainder of the lap. After saying our goodbyes, I got back to business.

The pain would come and go, depending on my pace. When it felt good, I ran. When it felt bad, I walked. I tried to keep the walking pace between 14 and 16 mpm. I was getting very discouraged and worried about my knee.

After 31 miles, I decided it best to pack up and not cause any further injury. It was a very hard decision and I took a lot of time making it. I felt like a failure, but knew if I had continued I would regret it.

I have yet to see the results of the race, but when I left James Holland was around 50 miles and Elizabeth Holliday was right behind him. They were both still running fresh! Jan Show was at mile 38 and was not slowing down. I hope they all did well as the night wore on!

Side note: I have decided to keep all races under 50k until I can get my weight under 200. I am at 225 now and my knees are taking a pounding running ultra distances. Hopefully by March '09 (the next MS50), I will be ready for a race greater than 50k.

EDIT: The results are in....I came in 2nd in my age group (the man in 1st just had 41 miles). Overall winner was James Holland with 93 miles. Elizabeth Holliday ended up with 81 and Jan Show with 76 miles. Ten time attendee Harry Strohm had 35. Full results here.

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