Well it’s the end of April and although things continue to improve and my running felt good, I have been unable to get in a really long run and test my form.
One thing that always helps is setting a goal, and registering for a race. That makes the training much more meaningful and puts “skin in the game,” if you don’t train you’re going to feel pain and possibly failure.
So the races are on the calendar with a big race in mid-July (100 Km) and a precursor 12 hour ultra in mid-May.
Getting in some trail miles in the evening. First decent run in weeks!
Well it’s been quiet here at FFoF. A bit of travel at the end of February put a small wrinkle in my training and racing plans. I continued to run, but ran less miles per run and less frequently for a couple of weeks. But worst of all, I came home with a virus that sidelined me from any running for two weeks. This meant no ultras in Feb or March.
Even after it passed a bad cough lingered and I felt lethargic and unmotivated. I started running regularly again in mid-late March but never found my groove. Just a few months ago I was running 10 miles a day and feeling great. Now I my legs dragged as soon as I ran out the door and it was a struggle to run just a few miles, I felt like walking most of the time. Ugh.
What to do?
Well since I seemed healthy and wasn’t suffering from any injuries, it was likely just the interruption in my running that had thrown me off and I decided to run through it. It is important to “know thyself,” and I have had similar experiences in the past, especially when cycling; a break of more than a few days wreaks havoc on ability and motivation.
So I have been running and pushing regardless of how sluggish I feel. And that has made it hard to get out and run sometimes, I’m not thrilled at the prospect of heading out the door and struggling for a couple of hours. On Sunday during a night trail run, I skimmed a lot of roots and rocks, never a good sign. Then I stumbled, recovered and took a few more steps thinking I had survived, when my foot caught a rock and I slammed in to the dirt. Thankfully landing on my “good” shoulder.
It was a good wake up call. I haven’t fallen in a long time, despite putting in a lot miles on the trail and in the dark. I’m usually pretty careful, staying light on my feet and bouncing a little to ensure good ground clearance. I was really off my game.
So with renewed awareness, I plodded on. I’m happy to say that yesterday, finally, I actually put in some good miles (18), many on the trail, and I felt good to the end. I feel good this morning. So I’m hoping the sluggish streak is over and I can start looking ahead to some long runs and some races.
I plan to do a long trail run this Saturday, hopefully that will go well and I can sign up for a some races!
Well with bit of traveling recently, and now sick (likely from a bug picked up on the flight), my mileage has plummeted. I have been out of commission for four straight days, but am now on antibiotics and hope to hit the road in the next day or two.
I was looking forward to heading down to Florida at the end of the month to do the Fools Fifty, but a conflict has arisen — I might have to skip it. But with the way my training has been going the last few weeks, that is probably a good thing.
It’s time to nail down a date and get back in the groove.
About to start out on my run, snow was falling lightly.
On Monday Feb 10, 2014, with snow predicted over the next few days I made sure to get all my runs in until it fell. That meant that there were a couple of wet, cold ones.
When the snow began to fall on Wed Feb 12, I managed to get one in before it got too bad. Actually, it wasn’t too bad when I left on my run but it was pretty bad when I got back! I had trouble seeing at times as there was so much snow blowing in my face, and when I got home my head was frozen! I had snow and ice caked on my head.
With so much snow and ice on the ground over the next few days, I took Thur-Sat off from running but kept active, riding the trainer and hitting the ice on Saturday (Feb 15) for an easy fun skate. On Sunday the roads looked pretty clear so I hit the road for a run. My local trail was a muddy mess, so I skipped that and forged a new road route. I felt good, but need to get in some long runs this week.
I took it easy this weekend (Feb 1-2), dialed back the running, but stayed active.
I love skating. I learned to skate growing up in Africa where I lived just down the road from a rink. I played a bit of hockey before finding surfing. Then took up hockey again while living in London in the 90s. A few years ago, as part of my cross-training for cycling I got back into skating, and this time I did short track speed skating and loved it! I finally had to choose between cycling and short track, cycling won out but I loved speed skating more, fast, exciting and lots of fun. Unfortunately also expensive and inconvenient.
On Sun the weather was fantastic, and it was the last day the outdoor rink would be open, so I headed down to the rink in my running shorts for a bit of cross-training.
Around Christmas time my daughter and I head to a small, temporary, outdoor rink for a Christmas skate. Sunday was the last day before the rink closed, and with the weather looking good we were determined to get in one last skate — that’s three this year!
By midday, when I stepped outside to check the temperature, it was in the 60s! Great, but too warm for my usual skating attire, so I changed into my running shorts, grabbed my CCM 652’s (about 20 years old) and we headed to the rink.
Good decision. Skating is hard, hot work, even in the usual cold conditions, on this day I was sweating on my first couple of laps! The sun was out and I could have used some sunglasses and maybe even some lotion… but what a fabulous day.
We spent an hour and a half on the ice and had a blast. On Monday it’s back to the road and the trail… refreshed!
We don’t like to think about it much, but there are plenty of dangers awaiting the unwary runner. I’ve encountered my fair share running.
Town traffic on my morning run.
There’s the obvious stuff, like the road itself, particularly the traffic on it. If you do any amount of running on the road you’re likely to encounter a couple of close shaves here and there. My daily route includes a section on a busy road with no sidewalks, I have to run in the road in the bicycle lane. Every now and then a car will come towards me with a distracted driver with his wheels on or over the lane line and will veer out of the cycling lane when the driver spots me.
What the hell are they looking at if not the road in front of them?
As a longtime cyclist who put in a lot of miles on the road, I have had some very scary moments. A few years ago a very good cyclist and teammate was killed on the road. Shortly afterwards a few members of the team were on a training ride and a car ploughed into the group sending a few people to hospital, luckily there were no fatalities or crippling injuries.
If you can, stay off the road and on the sidewalk and be alert when crossing roads and side roads. Some drivers will pause at a stop, or turn, and glance at you, acting as if they have seen you, and then continue on. Treat them with mistrust.
It hardly needs saying,… Vehicles are heavy, hard, fast stuff. We runners are are delicate, soft, slow stuff. Only one is going to survive that kind of confrontation. Stay out of their way and give them lots of room.
In part II I will look at some of the hidden hazards of running. Be happy but be safe.
A few things actually, but let’s talk about underfoot for a second. I’ve only had a few pairs of running shoes in my life, but my favorites are my current shoes, Brooks Cascadia 7.
I dread the day they become unrunnable. I’m always nervous changing shoes, even if it’s the same brand and model. For now though, it’s Brooks Cascadia 7.
I used to switch shoes for the road, and sometimes wear my alternate trail shoes on the trail, but it was always a sacrifice. Finally I thought, if I like my Cascadia’s so much, why don’t I just wear them every time I run? So that’s what I now do.
They have just the right amount of cushioning for me that I need to pay attention to my technique and not get sloppy, but as long as I do I’m comfortable, even on a long run. After 8 hours on the trail the only thing that is not hurting are my feet.
She’s a looker, isn’t she?
Still a bit of snow on the ground, nothing my Cascadia’s couldn’t handle, the a couple of icy spots on the road were a problem!
Despite a couple of years of abuse, my Cascadia 7’s are still going strong.
