Running On, Feb 21-27

[colby]

Where's those race reports!!

12 miles in my FiveFingers today (which is about my base long run mileage, but less than half of my total weekly mileage). Got a blister on the bottom of my feet between my big/second toes-ish, which is a similar location to where I get them in shoes. I think I have places where hard skin meets soft skin on the outside of my big toe that feel tender after a few miles and it changes how I plant my feet to put pressure on the first and second toes differently (rather than the tender skin). So, today I tried to spread my toes to put the pressure on the right foot the SAME as the left foot, but I should have started thinking that way sooner. Also, I need to get rid of whatever that tough skin crap is, it's been bugging me for a while.

Calves sore, of course, from all the ankle flexing. Also, the bottom of my feet had that feeling you get when you've been walking on pavement or standing for a really long time (walking on grass felt so good). However, my shins much prefer the FiveFingers, which is awesome. They used to be SUPER tender after a long run and hurt for days regularly, now they are fine. I also think my hip/knee/ankle system prefer them. Probably dropped 30 seconds/mile over the course of the entire run, but I started underfueled (bad, bad Colby).

[yellow]

Well, my race report is that I am on the road to recovery and doing really well. My surgery was last Thursday (2/18) and I was in the hospital for 4 days. It's nice to be home with my hubby and dogs.

The surgery went really well. The surgeon removed the few chunks (that's how he described it) of disk material that was left, put a plastic cage about the size of a dime in between L5 and S1, put some bone material in the cage, and then stabilized L5 and S1 with a plate that has 2 screws in each vertebra. The back pain was gone when I woke up in recovery. I have a little bit of nerve pain in my legs still and my back gets fatigued if I'm up for a longish time but that old familiar pain that I used to have is completely gone. Poof. Just like that. The 4" incision is what hurts the most, but that will heal. I am quite shocked that I'm not in more pain. I was expecting it to really suck, but it only mildly sucks, which is OK by me! I went into the surgery really strong, and that is really benefiting me right now.

So my long walks are about 3-4 minutes max right now, with several one to two minute intervals throughout the day Hope to work up to the end of the block and back (which would probably take about 5 minutes) by next week!

[OakLeaf]

That's great Yellow! Hope your recovery continues to go as smoothly.

I think this is the part where you start to get antsy... hope you don't go too crazy resisting the temptation to move more than you're supposed to!

[colby]

Hooray, Yellow!! Here's to a speedy (yet safe) recovery.

Thanks for the book recommendation, URLea, I'm going to pick it up. I could use the tips.

Congrats OakLeaf on your 22 miles. You're practically there.

[Grog]

Wow, Yellow, that sounds great! Now no headstands until the weekend, ok?

**

The weather was GORGEOUS yesterday - sunny skies, 2 Celcius at the start, just a bit of wind - but I had an okay half-marathon. Exactly on time, but not on 'energy budget'. To meet my time goal (1 hour 55 minutes) I had to run 5m27s per kilometer. However it's a very hilly course. I did 5 minute kilometers for a while until I started hitting the big hills, thinking I'd "save" a few seconds for later use. Well maybe that wasn't such a good strategy: I have been training for distance, not for speed, and I did not often run that fast recently. Moreover, the race was not that well organized and there wasn't enough water on the course, and I didn't bring my own, so I was pretty much unable to eat, having only two Clif bloks (maybe 60 calories???) over the whole distance.

At around 17 km I realized that I had more big hills and no slack if I wanted to meet my time goal. I "pressed the pace" (which by that time was quite relative) but it really wasn't fun. I love to finish a race feeling like I could still go five more kilometers, but really that was not the case yesterday.

Thankfully water and food were plentiful after the race, but by then it was a bit too late. They even had diluted tomato soup, which felt great.

Lesson: I will need to do a little bit of speed work as I prepare for my marathon. Not a lot, I need to focus on distance. But a little.

**

On a separate note: The race started and finished in some historic fort built at the beginning of the British Columbia colony (Fort Langley). In one of the historic building there was an exhibit containing the governor's diary from year 1828, opened at the week of February 18th or so. On the same date, 182 years ago, the weather was the same - crisp, beautiful views of the mountains, sunny - but much colder: the river in front of the fort was frozen over, although not so hard since some guy was recorded to have drowned when the ice broke under his weight. That river hasn't been frozen in a while...

[colby]

The weather was GORGEOUS yesterday - sunny skies, 2 Celcius at the start, just a bit of wind - but I had an okay half-marathon. Exactly on time, but not on 'energy budget'. To meet my time goal (1 hour 55 minutes) I had to run 5m27s per kilometer. However it's a very hilly course. I did 5 minute kilometers for a while until I started hitting the big hills, thinking I'd "save" a few seconds for later use. Well maybe that wasn't such a good strategy: I have been training for distance, not for speed, and I did not often run that fast recently. Moreover, the race was not that well organized and there wasn't enough water on the course, and I didn't bring my own, so I was pretty much unable to eat, having only two Clif bloks (maybe 60 calories???) over the whole distance.

At around 17 km I realized that I had more big hills and no slack if I wanted to meet my time goal. I "pressed the pace" (which by that time was quite relative) but it really wasn't fun. I love to finish a race feeling like I could still go five more kilometers, but really that was not the case yesterday.

Thankfully water and food were plentiful after the race, but by then it was a bit too late. They even had diluted tomato soup, which felt great.

Lesson: I will need to do a little bit of speed work as I prepare for my marathon. Not a lot, I need to focus on distance. But a little.

**

On a separate note: The race started and finished in some historic fort built at the beginning of the British Columbia colony (Fort Langley). In one of the historic building there was an exhibit containing the governor's diary from year 1828, opened at the week of February 18th or so. On the same date, 182 years ago, the weather was the same - crisp, beautiful views of the mountains, sunny - but much colder: the river in front of the fort was frozen over, although not so hard since some guy was recorded to have drowned when the ice broke under his weight. That river hasn't been frozen in a while...

That's really cool, Grog. Well, the part about the beautiful weather and the diary. The part about being short on water sounds really rough. I'm glad you made it on time, though, and learned something.

Congrats! Now you earned some rest (and food).

[Bike Chick]

Congrats on your half, Grog! It sounds like a really tough race--especially the limited water part.

Yellow, I'm glad your surgery was a success and you are doing so well. Best wishes for a speedy recovery. Take care of yourself!

[OakLeaf]

Grog, good job meeting your time goal, especially under those conditions! Congratulations.

That stinks about not having enough water. That race looks big enough that it really should have been better organized.

Glad the weather was nice for you though, and the history sounds cool. Now enjoy your recovery!

[limewave]

Yellow--Glad your recovery is going well. I know how frustrating life can be after a surgery, so I'm glad you are feeling good and getting some walks in (even if they are brief).

I had 6.5 mile pace run on Sunday. I was supposed to run 10:15min/miles and I ended up averaging 10:30. However, I ran with a friend and we were talking the entire time, so I figured we did pretty good.

[Veronica]

That's great news Yellow. Now don't overdo it.


Veronica

[kacie tri-ing]

heal up yellow!

I had a good/hilly speed workout this weekend. 6.5 miles in 1 hour and one minute. Then, I had to do it again at race pace, so I the same loop again in 50:30! Yippie! I feel like I am slowly getting stronger! Made for a nice 13 miles, and a lift in my confidence!

[Urlea]

Spent most of last week snowboarding in the mountains. My body handled the switch in training pretty well & I was encouraged that I could still get somewhat of a long run in on Saturday once we were home.

I spent so much time in stiff boots riding that I decided to go with the VFFs for this run. Ended up going 13.1 miles at close to race pace most of the time. Felt good! That's the longest I've run in the VFFs yet, a fresh dusting of snow was nice footing.

Colby- You may want to consider getting the book "Fixing your feet" by John Vonhof. I'm a chronic blisterer and there is a lot of good info on how to start preventing them in the book.

Yellow- Glad the surgery went well! Hope you continue to recovery goes just as well!

[WindingRoad]

Did 6 yesterday, hilly and cold out too. At least I'm pretty sure I did 6, my GPS died and I'm in the process of finding a replacement. Hoping the weather improves soon. Everyone get well and stay well!

[OakLeaf]

22 miles, and for the first time, I can totally envision 26.2.

And, I made it home before the big storm.

Kat, Grog, hope you both had great races - looking forward to your race reports!