Tuesday 110210

1.) Good read on Salazar, Ritz.  Check out the linked video from there too.  Salazar is certainly an amazing figure in distance running.  When you consider who the best runners in US history, Salazar needs to be a part of the conversation.  Arguably he did not perform at the Olympics, but it is hard to overlook his ARs of 13:11 for 5k, 27:25 for 10k, a 2nd and 4th finish at World Cross and his wins in the marathons at NYC and Boston.  Add into that his Comrades win (along with a bunch of other stuff I have not mentioned) and what he is doing now in coaching … wow.  Still, I find myself, sadly, a bit cynical, as his performances have been questioned in various circles in terms of possible PEDs.  Ack.

2.) AM – 4 miles, super easy dog jog.

3.) I found Vance’s write up on cramping in the later part of the race (namely triathlon) interesting.  While I have suspected that it could be due to some electrolyte deficiency, I have also thought that I cramp at Pikes because – I have not run that far up for that long at that pace. 

4.) Mr Mike is dealing with a sport’s hernia, perhaps one of the least understood injuries in running – and I certainly do not consider myself an expert in this arena.  I dealt, and to some extent still do deal with this injury.  Messing around with my wife and my daughter in January of 2008, I pulled something “down low.”  I did not think much of it, but it became clear in the days and weeks that followed I was messed up.  Unlike other injuries I had dealt with in my life to that point, this one struck at my core, and did not seem to get better over the course of days or weeks.  Instead, it slowly healed over months, and to some extent it is still a weak spot for me.  Some guys grumble about their Achilles post run.  For me, I wince just at the idea of sneezing post run because it pulls on the lower abs in a way that, well, hurts.  Ask me to pick up something off the ground while standing post a long run and you will see how I still deal with this weakness (which, if I had an ounce of discipline) is address-able.  Unfortunately my counsel to the folks that deal with this injury is this:  expect to be jacked for a long time, do not go under the knife because the results (based on my unscientific polling method) appear to be variable, and be ready to deal with this for a long time.

5.) Follow up on Alicia Shay.

6.) NYC has a good live stream site.  Good to see this sort of stuff coming from the big city marathons, as I think they will serve as a standard, and hence an expectation of coverage that we should see in the MUT race community.

7.)  For the IPOD, Solinsky interview.  He is on the show with his fellow fat man Macca.  The interview with Macca, where he talks about the Germans is CLASSIC stuff.

8.) PM – 9 miles easy.  AHR = 139, Max = 149.

10.)  Hmmm … easy miles come some days at 7:30 pace (meaning sub 150 HR).  Real easy miles (say HR = 140ish) are around 8-8:20.  There are days where I have abused myself the day (or night) before where I have to run the miles like that.  Hard stuff is at 6 minute pace these day, or faster.  This brings my HR to 175ish fairly quickly.  So … what benefit do I get from runs like yesterday at 6:50 to 7:10 pace at 150-155?

11.) Thought I might jump in the Rotary Challenge XC race this weekend but it appears that ain’t gonna happen.  One of the Z clan has a soccer game in Golden, the other in Westminster, and both in the AM.  But, it is the last weekend of soccer for a bit.

Thursday 062608, ... more running and ...FAQ

Today's quote /lyric... from RHD:
All the needles broke, so I drive by feel ...
It keeps my wheels turnin', reminds me that it is real ...
I use to care like you, I don't give a damn ...
Hop inside my TransAM!

AM - 45 minutes.  I specifically went out and about on the trails in my neighborhood looking for a big hill.  The reason I need this?  I'd like to have a local substitute for Linden hills.  Lindens are a great hill workout (first introduced to me by a guy who has done well at Pikes) but it will take me  half an hour just to drive there.  I'll do that occasionally, but I need to have a substitute when I am forced for time.  The substitute hill needs to have a steady grade, steeper being better and will take me about four minutes on a pressed stretch.  I think I found a possibility on the Lake Link trail, climbing to the water tanks from a low point on the hill.  I don't think this hill is quite the same as Linden, but will look to test it out this week (probably tomorrow).  I will also continue looking through there as there appear to be some social trails or cow paths I could use too.

Anyway, felt great on this run ... had to hold back, which was kind of nice.  I have been trying to focus more on my hydration as of late.  There is no good excuse for this but I often overlook appropriate hydration.  Again, it is stupid, but I sometimes get busy enough that I forget to drink.  This in turn effects my recovery, and then my next run, and it starts a downward cycle.  On the other side, if I hydrate well, it starts an upward cycle.  Coincidently, Lucho posted a good read on hydration today.

PM - ... continuing on the hydration front ...  I got my 70oz Camelback last night and decided to try it out today.  Apparently it weighs only five something pounds when filled.  I jogged with this on the Marshall Mesa (51 minutes, super easy ... smaller loop than what I have done in the past as I parked at the Greenbelt lot).  It works well, meaning for me that it does not bounce around.

So 96 minutes on the day. 

Tracy asked me the other day, "Can we talk about that thing we are not supposed to talk about?"  Meaning the "hernia."  I have been asked about this a few times and have been avoiding talking about it but ... a bit of an FAQ:

What is up with your hernia?  Is it getting better?
Yes, it is slightly better.  I'd say that it is about 10-15% better on my own personally subjective scale.  There are some days it is better than that, there are some days that are worse.  It feels like a constant side stitch except in a different place.  If I focus enough on not focusing on it (try that), then I can deal with it ... and I have gotten pretty good at this.  So essentially, I don't talk about it or focus on it.  It is just something I have to deal with.  Focusing on it as a problem versus something that just is, won't bring me anything good.  So it is an attribute of this journey.  Heck, I could wake up race day, and find out the race is canceled.

What are you plans for Pikes?  Will you do the Ascent?  Will you do the Marathon?  Will you do the Double?
I don't know yet.  If I had to choose today, I would do the Double, as I don't think I am in a position to make a splash in either single event.  I'd like to get into a position where my fitness allows me to choose beyond this, and ultimately choose to do the marathon solely.  I am not there yet.  Of course, I have a bit of mental inertia in the Double now and would like to get the nifty poster (pic) ... so more to come on this point.  And of course, it is worth recalling ... "I could wake up race day, and find out the race is canceled."

What do you think of Western States being canceled (okay, not a FAQ but one I was asked today)? 
Did I mention the WS100 race is canceled?  You have to feel for those folks who trained, sacrificed, traveled to, paid, etc, for that day.  Yet, you also know that it was the right decision to be made because you could not really put folks in jeopardy by having them race, volunteer, etc (I do wonder if some will race however).  I don't quite understand why it could not be rescheduled, but I honestly have not given it a lot of thought.  I hope that those folks can realize that such events are often more about the journey than the destination.  I know that sounds cliche, and if I were in their shoes I probably not want to hear that.  All I can say is it sucks, but at some point we all need to realize this is all just folly in light of other circumstances.

Wednesday 052108, Green Mountain

Various tidbits ...

• The talk of who is going to do what in the marathon is starting over at the PPMB. I need to get back to posting some "tale of the tape" predictive stuff. It is a bit tough to wade through some of that stuff because a lot folks put their time based on their ascent or their best marathon.
• My doc called back and said, "hey - your CT scan looks fine. Nothing abnormal. Guess we should do an MRI." Whatever.
• I had yesterday off from work (well sort of ... off from my office job but moving boxes). It was probably the warmest day we had in the Boulder area all year (so far). I went to pick up the kids at school and was a.) in shorts, b.) in work boots, c.) did not have a shirt on. My daughter comes out, looks at me as I am waiting for her at the car and asks, "Dad, do you see any other Dad's here without their shirt on. You are so embarrassing."
  ... I guess I can cross that one off the list.

Did Green today on a warm afternoon. I did not intend to "tag" it but realized about 2/3 of the way up I was moving fairly well (intermediate splits were 5:10 at Baseline-Amp turn off, 21:30 at rock over look, 37:40 at first step to final climb and 42:50 at the top. On the way down I realized that I'd have a shot at breaking 70 for the first time this year and pressed the gas a touch (although not really stretching it out). 69:10. Might be something in the tank after all.

Tuesday 052008 75 minutes

It was a crazy day today with house moving activities, or more rather preparation for house moving activities.  In other words, signing a bunch of documents that provide a good deal of money to other people.  From the new place, I set out.  This meant running more flats than hills.  The issue with this sort of running is

a.) I have to keep it easy to keep stress on my groin at an acceptable level
b.) hence, I cannot run fast
c.)  I have not done a lot of this running as of late, so generally speaking my muscular endurance for these sort of runs is a bit compromised.  Overcoming this is the very purpose of these sorts of runs - simply build muscular endurance so that I have some degree of staying power over longer distances.

Today it was hot.  Not San Diego hot, but it was definitely the warmest day it has been all year.  It felt good to run bareback, smell the smoldering of my skin (okay, not literally), and to check out a whole network of trails near our new place.  The views are quite epic.  I am going to enjoy a lot of miles out there.  I did 75 minutes.  Felt good and got in good work.

A few comment responses ...

====================================================

Justin M wrote:  Geo, I wish you were healthy and not doubling at Pikes. I think we could have a true road v. trail showdown. You run hills and trails every day. I run around Wash Park, City Park, and Cheesman Park and maybe get on the trails on Sundays. I'm hoping to change gears in time for Pikes, but still, it won't be anything like you do.

Okay Justin, first thing:  consider the throw down on.  Bring your best game.  Loser buys the winner beverage of their choice (but you'll have to wait until post the marathon if you are paying up).

Second (and this is less geared at Justin as much as it is an observation I have made), I have been amazed at how I have been categorized now as a trail runner by road runners.  Trail runners consider me a road runner.  CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG? 

Seriously, it is odd how we do this division of runners ... it is all running.   Most of the fastest folks at Pikes or on the trails are also pretty damn fast on the roads (Carpenter is often pointed out for "only" running a 2:18 marathon, but I have heard he also ran a 65 minute half - indicating a pretty strong pedigree there too).  Yeah, there are the exceptions, and yes, we all have things that we are stronger at.  My point:  to do well at a trail race like Pikes, it takes hill work, road work, track work, long runs, altitude acclimation and some stupidity to run out of your head on the down hills.  At this point I am more focused on hills because that is where I can get the most training for my buck - it stresses my aerobic / anaerobic neuromuscular / cardiovascular systems without straining parts of me that get hurt while running on the roads.  I'd love to be complimenting this stuff with road work, but I can't right now - so I am capitalizing with what I can do.

There is, however, a certain romance with guys that are strictly trail taking it to guys that are strictly track and road.  Sets up for that sort of Bob Costas commentary that we will all hear too much of out of China later this summer.

=======================================================

Matt ... Pikes is almost entirely up on the Ascent.  It is 13.x miles with 7800 plus vertical.  There are a few very short sections of down, but you almost dread them ... because it means that you need to go back up!  The marathon, of course is nearly all down on the return trip- because you run from the top back down to town after following the Ascent course.  This has redefined to me what is meant by pain.  See the course description, it has a ridiculous level of detail.  Or, if you are Google Earth ready, check out this fly over.

=========================================================

JV - I have had my ass handed to me by Mackey when he wore a shirt that had one of those "woman in a bikini" paintings air brushed on it.  And I don't think he had anything else on under it.  And seriously, I think he won the Bolder Basic in denim jeans one year.  We could start a whole thing of Mackey like Chuck Norris.

========================================================

Brett - I ain't conceding anything to Lance yet. Unless there is a bike involved.

Monday 051908, CT Scan, Treadmillin'

The day started early, with me at the local hospital getting a CT scan. I hit the in door at 6:30, and was out by 7:00. I have never had one before so I had to get a bit of briefing on how " 0.16 in 1000 people have adverse effects that result in death due to the iodine contrast solution." I also had to hear "you might get a hot feeling, a bad taste in your mouth, or the feeling that you just wet your pants." Thankfully now of that happened, all went well (technologist administering IV for solution: "I could hit your veins with a dart across the room!") and I should have the results within a couple of days.

I was pressed for time in the afternoon, so despite the mountains SCREAMIN' at me to come and play, I went the economical route and ran on the mill at work. Mile at 15% (13:40), then 3 miles at 1.5% at "tempo" ... tempo is pretty slow simply because my legs are not used to this pace. Aerobically, I am functioning fine at these paces, mechanically I am just out of "practice." (7:10, 6:30, 6:06). Then a mile relaxed at 1.5%, then 10 x 2 min on, 1 min off with the odd minutes at 15% and the even minutes at 1.5%. The objective here is to provide different stresses to the system: steep uphills, but then followed by rolling terrain. I then closed off with a few easy miles, the last being at 15% again. 90 minutes total. A decent workout: not super hard but stressed me a bit more than I am used to. Under different circumstances, I'd be concerned that this workout was not hard enough ... almost one of those middle "get lost" workouts, but this stuff is serving as a good transition for me right now.

I confess ... I get crazy ideas at times that even though I have lost a lot of training for this year, I could some how glue it together and have a good race. I browse results, look at entry lists, look at pix from last year and the mind starts racing and the fire rises in the belly ... thinking about workouts I want to do, workouts I ought to do, playing out the race in my head, who I am going to compete against. Reality reminds me of how big that damn hill is and brings me back to earth. Still ... there is a part of me that not thrown the towel in yet.

Various tidbits ...

• JV ran a great race down at Jemez 20k. Unfortunately, he got off course, and that jacked his time and his placing. He is rounding into shape nicely. Now if we can get him to do a bit of "speed" work ... ;-)
• Fellow Fleet Feet-er Justin Mock won the Colfax Marathon and has started a foray into the blog world. Nice work Mock, but shootin' the pistolas at the finish? I don't know about that. Hmm, Justin got pulled off course too. Wonder if there is something in the air with the full moon and all.
• JW won his age group at Xterra West this weekend. Watching the journey that JW has been on ... it has motivated me to put an Xterra event in that list of things I want to do someday, along with Leadville. JW bettered his time over last year by 10 mins. His lady BG ran a damn hot 21k and did awesome. You two - keep rippin' it!

Sunday 051808, Green, Week wrap up

I got out this AM for a jaunt up Green, electing to take the Mesa trail to Bear Canyon.  This route is longer, and hence the grade is not nearly as difficult.  My calves were still a bit fatigued from yesterday's road / flat effort (in a good way) so I went easy on this.  The weather was gorgeous although it was a bit chilly for my tank top & shorts in the shadows of the canyon.  I reached the "lower" four way post in 52, the upper post (at the top of Green Bear trail) in 65 and the top of Green in 70.  I came back down in 32 (as is typical these days).

Week wrap up

M - Flagstaff, 68 min
T - 90 min on the mill
W - 90 min on the mill, mixing speeds and grades
Th- Green - 75 min
F - Flagstaff, 2nd Flatiron - 75 min
Sa - 82 min road running
Su - 102 min, Green

Total time was 582, or ~9.5 hours of training.  On whole it was a decent week.  I will look to continue focus on mostly uphill efforts, mixing in a road run periodically to help with muscular endurance, along with an effort that is longer (time) to ready me for the length of the marathon.  Obviously, I will avoid short faster efforts that strain my groin.  Overall volume will remain around 8-10 hours a week.  My goal is to get as strong as I can on outright uphills, understanding that I will not be able to exploit faster paces at more level stuff - since I cannot effectively train that system right now.

On Friday night I went to the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships.  I showed up around 7, so at the end of the day, just expecting to watch the 10K for the women and the men.  When I got there there were about a dozen plus women in a lead pack, 2K into the race, and moving, relatively slow (6min/mi pace).  I was struck at how gorgeous it was out:  the sun setting on the Flatirons, 60 degrees, no breeze to speak of (seriously, the flags on the flagpoles were hugging the poles).  I had come in from the east side and so I wandered over to the north end of the track to enjoy the race.  Standing there was the Iowa State distance coach.  Each time the ladies came around, there were nervous looks between them:  who would go?  when?  how hard?  One ISU runner kept looking at this coach, and with each lap he'd say "not yet," or "relax," or "wait."  Then with about 2 miles to go he said "Ok, press for a few laps."  The race that had been going at 90 second laps for the first two miles, then 84s for the next two was suddenly blown open by the race's eventual winner, who bolted off several laps of 76-77.  She won by over 100 yards, all gained in the last two miles.  It was quite impressive to see. To say that the conditions were idyllic would be an understatement.  There was a freaking rainbow cast over the track as the runners made their way around!

I made my way over the stands for the men's 10k, hooking up with the crew of Fleet Feet-ers.  In this shot: Rickey Gates, Andy Ames (these two guys are probably discussing what races to do in Italy or how they will rip Mount Washington), Dan Sturgis, Jon Peeters, Ryan Padilla, and James Johnson.   There were lots of other folks there too of course - distance events in Boulder always get a good draw.

CU men dominated this race from start to finish ... coming through 5K in 15:10, and just a group of CU guys working together through the race.  Their front pack was as large as four at one point, diminished to three, but they ended up taking the top 5 in about 30:40 - an amazing run at altitude.  Finish of the men's race (again this is cheap video!)

 

Of course, we were thirsty for a beverage after watching guys work that hard ... JJ and Matt Hill are obviously not interested in Ryan's throwing down of the Jackson but find Aaron's tatoo of his dog to be fascinating.

Despite being out late on Friday, we made it up early for the Erie Balloon Launch on Saturday morning.  Here are some shots  ... KZ and JZ watching the filling of a balloon.

 

There were balloons everywhere!

Looking up and into one ... flame on!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think there were something like over 60 balloons launched.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, I spent a good part of the afternoon working on bikes.  I ended up replacing my front wheel on my mountain bike (as the axle was totally trashed, the bearings it were crushed).  With school ending soon for the kids, I am going to start biking to the office more.

Oh yeah - CT scan for the hernia is scheduled tomorrow.  I predict nothing will be found, at which point they will then recommend an MRI.  Then they will find some sort of tear, claim it is not a hernia and recommend long term rest to correct it - or wait to until it "herniates" so they can operate on it.

All that said, I realized on my trip up Green today, I was doing a couple of things that I would have found impossible not too long ago.  Running for 90 minutes?  Running up a mountain?  I take it for granted now - and am pissed that I can't fly up the mountain the way I like.  It was not too long ago that doing these activities would have been out of the realm of imagination - and that is when I was wholly healthy!

Saturday, 051708, 82 min

I was beat tired for most of the day - primarily a function of the late night extracurricular activities and the early rise for the Erie Balloon launch (more on these later in the weekend wrap up).  After a nap in the afternoon I got to what I had been putting off for most of the day:  actual running.  I had thought of sneaking to the hills but did not want to take up half the day away from the family, or haul butt into Boulder.

KZ agreed to ride bike with me while I ran.  I had no expectations of how far I'd go or how I would feel.  It has been a LONG time since I have run on open flats and roads without the excuse of a mountain to hold me back.  I knew I would take it easy, but I was still a bit nervous as to how this would play out. 

It basically felt the same as it did four months ago.  It hurts when I run.  I can bear it, but it has a debilitating effect on my stride, my ability to move well.  OH WELL.  I ran easy, chatting it up with Kali, figuring that if this thing ain't going to get better, I will just deal with it as well as I can. 

I thought we'd go for a half an hour or so before I'd circle back with her but she was enjoying the single tracks and the conversation - and I was loving her company.  One hour and 22 minutes later we found our way home, both a bit dehydrated as we were not expecting that length of effort.  It was real easy running - jogging actually.  My legs were enjoying the warm buzz of being taxed in a way they have not been for several months, but being out there with KZ; shooting the breeze about anything, everything, was the highlight of my day.   I was impressed with how far she went too!

Evaluation re: sports hernia

Day started with TZ telling me that she was coming with me to the evaluation with general surgery.  I welcomed this of course, because she has my best interests at heart.  At the same time, I confess, it made me a bit anxious because I know that she would push in areas that I perhaps not be as outright comfortable with.  That is good in the grand scheme of things but ...

TZ's take was that I was not driving the idea into the docs head that rest for a long time was not acceptable for me.  A long time of rest has been hinted as a year.  Rest for a year and this might heal, or surgery short term and this might heal.  She wanted to be sure that the docs knew that athletic performance, at a significant level (not elite by any stretch of the imagination but more than the average American) was important to me and that waiting a year was not an option for me.  TZ said: "You are an athlete.  You need to let them know that."  I guess I thought I had, but admittedly I had not been so blunt to say, "I am an athlete damn it."  I am still not sure I could say that.  Weird, yeah I know.

Anyway, TZ and I reviewed the whole situation with this sports hernia, how much of a PITA patient I had been with the PT, and what we hoped to accomplish in this next session.  Personally, I did not have high expectations of this next appointment.  I simply expected the PT to ask some questions, get an understanding of the situation, and then order up some sort of diagnostic imaging to get a better understanding of what was happening in there.

We met with the doc, I described the situation, history, etc.  He did an evaluation (cough test, various palpations).  Short of it:  he could not feel anything and so it was not a hernia ("it is not a hernia" has to be said in an Arnold type voice).  His recommendation was that I get a CT scan so that he could do further evaluation to determine if there was any sort of hernia.  He stated it could be very likely that we find nothing with this and then we could do additional diagnostic work with an MRI.  If a tear that was not a hernia was found, his recommendation would be rest for as long as it takes and not surgical intervention.  In other words, unless it is a hernia - which by definition is a tear in which material is protruding through, he is not going to do surgery.

In some regards, this is pretty frustrating.  I expected his recommendation of diagnostic imaging, but I did not expect a call that stated if it was not a true hernia, that nothing could be done other than rest for a long time.  I am a also a bit frustrated that I  drop a 20 or 30 dollar deductable payments for these 15 minute sessions, that feel like they are going nowhere.  Obviously I have the option of going outside my network, but that has a cost (literally).  

I need to take a breath and think about my next steps.  I am looking forward to relaxing at the Big 12 10K races tonight at Potts Field as a mental break from this for a bit.

All that said ... I am a pretty lucky guy.  And I am pretty sure I will do Green Mountain this afternoon.

Wednesday 051408, PT appointment, treadmill lovin ...

I was evaluated by my PT today.  5 minute evaluation, agreed that the situation had not significantly improved and so was referred to general surgery for additional evaluation (assumedly an MRI or something to that effect).  I have an appointment with them on Friday.  So things are moving along, but too slowly for my liking. 

Obviously I could be a bit pissed with the fact that I have lost four weeks to determine if this thing would heal, especially when the community consensus was that it would not.  I can't change that, and obviously if it had worked, I'd be better off.  So I will deal with what is reality today, versus harp on what could have been. 

I have not completely reconciled this in my mind, but since rest is not helping this, I think I will train at a level that I can bear.  It will be less than ideal training for what I want to do, but some is better than none.  I know that doing the hundred mile weeks will essentially debilitate me to be unable to train.  I will work back into a scheme that begins to move my fitness along to some degree, but is also conscious of my hernia driven limitations.

Of course, that might all change post this next level of evaluation on Friday.  Actually, if we continue as we have, I'd expect to have a conversation with a doc that bleeds me another co-pay, and sets me up for another session where the actual evaluation occurs.

Schedule was a mess today with the appointment, so I leveraged the office mill again, despite the weather being great.  I got the idea that I'd try a workout that JW (yes, that is him in the pic) recommended, but key it back a bit to see how it felt.

Run 6×2minute hills at AT, jog down.
Run 5minutes at AT on the flat
Run 6×1minute hills at AT, jog down
Run 5minutes at AT on the flat

So I did this on the mill.  I warmed up with a mile at 15% grade (~14), then one at 1.5% grade (~8), just to mix up the grades and the speeds.  I took a quick bio break, setup the fan, and did the 2 minute intervals at 15% grade.  I started these at 5.x mph, so not too quick, definitely not sprinting but a more than "hiking" and something to put a bit of a burn in the legs ... but not too much being a first go in a bit.  Since I could not jog down, I simply kept the pace the same or a little less and just would drop the incline to 1.5.  I did a rest on 90 seconds, but would start the incline back up at 75 seconds into the rest and then push the pace back up.  I ended at a bit over 6.x mph on these. 

I was concerned about the flat and how it would feel - I have not run flat in weeks!  I moved pace to slowly sub seven.  Of course, I felt this in my groin, but no worse then it has been for say the last four months.  I did the five here, and felt rather comfortable from a leg and breathing perspective. 

I then did the one minute hills, starting at 6.x mph and building with each one, with a min rest, bringing the incline and speed back up at 45 seconds.  Did the second five minutes flat at sub 6:30 pace and felt fine.  Closed out with a mile at 15% real easy, and a mile at 7:30 at 1.5%

All in all, 90 minutes.  I like this workout and its varied speed element and would like to dig into it a bit more.

Thursday, 050808, Office Treadmillin ...

The work day got away from me so I took advantage of the treadmill in the office gym.  15% mile (14:16), 12% mile (12:32), 15% mile (13:58), 12% mile (12:10), 15% mile (14:02), 12% mile (12:27) and then 5 minutes of walking.  85 minutes, 4.3k and change of vertical.

I was talking to someone the other day about injuries, training, goals, etc.  They were impressed with the fact that I was getting in 8-10 hours a week of training.  And so when you hear this "I am impressed" feedback, you can, or maybe rather I can, get to be a bit impressed with yourself.

There are reminders however that make me realize how impressed I ought to be, or maybe rather I shouldn't be.  That reminder comes in the form one my watch first and foremost.  Yesterday's descent took 34 minutes.  Mind you, to some that is impressive.  It ain't a walk down the hill.  It is also a far cry from the 24s I was dropping coming down the hill last year after ascending nearly 10 minutes faster.  Hmmm ... how impressed are you with yourself now Zack?  RT's in sub 65 last year, easy days in 75 and now it is some work to do it in 85.

I know athletes are supposed to have this mentality of bullet-proof-ed-ness.  But it is because we jump in front of bullets with our training so much that we know what our weaknesses are.  Right now I see a king sized cannonball heading towards me called Pikes Peak.  Of course I am electing to jump in front of that projectile and take it between the eyes. 

All that said, I think it is the return trip down that has me concerned the most at this point.  Running, hiking, biking for 90 minutes a day ... well, it just does not prepare you for that down. 

Yeah, it is the down.  Talk to the Pikes folks and they talk about two things that hurt them ... the altitude and the return trip.  These are two physical attributes of the race that you just cannot overcome ...  a lack of 02 at higher elevations and gravity wearing on you as you drive 13 miles of granite back into your frame as you haul ass back to Manitou Springs.  It is one of those things that if I were training well, I'd be concerned about.  With no significant work over two hours ... well, I am a bit more than concerned.

The first segment of down is nice.  You are, after all, going down.  This is a very welcome change after going up for nearly three hours.  You are also getting more 02 with each step down, which is also nice.  You are running by people as well who are still coming up.  Typically these people are very nice, get out of the way and cheer you on.  It is all very motivating. 

Then you get to treeline or the A-frame.  You realize that you have been running a long time.  You realize you have a long way to go.  You ache.  You are tired.  You realize that it is getting warmer.  You start seeing less and less people, and the ones you see are typically not ones that are really happy anyway.  But you press on ... it is a marathon after all, right? 

Then you get to Barr Camp.  The run from there will break your flesh.  It gets hot.  There are uphills again (okay, they are hardly real uphills but at this point those little risers hurt like hell).  There is nobody out there.  You are beyond tired.  You are raw.  It is you, the trees, a long long run, and you get stripped to what this whole thing is really about.  You knew it would hurt this bad but you hoped that this time it wouldn't.  But it does.  Again.  And it hurts more than you remembered it in the off season ... but now you remember it.   You remember how this hurt is different than the hurt of a mile race or that of a 10K.  The flesh becomes broken, you get spiritual, emotional, reconsider goals, the importance of all this ... And your teeth sweat.

No other way I'd rather have it I guess.  If were easy, it probably would not be worth doing.

Tuesday 050608 ... long post, mill work

Long day at the office with back to back to back to  ... you get the idea ... meetings. 

It was such a nice evening out, I thought about how wonderful it would be to go out and run in it.  That however is not a luxury in which I will partake at this time.  For a moment, I seriouslyt contemplated a late night run up Green with the headlamp.  Those sort of efforts are actually kind of fun, but a bit nerve wracking (can I hear the mountain lion better if I take off this IPOD?).   And there is a bit of travel around both ends of it.   So then I contemplated bringing my treadmill outside, but I can't really move it on my own.  Ah well.  To the gerbil machine in the basement at 830PM.  2 miles at 15% (14:20, 13:06, so yes ... hiking), 2 miles at 12% (11:41, 10:54),  mile at 15% (13:46), mile at 12% (12:32), mile at 15% (14:02) (total time was a few ticks north of 90 minutes) ... abs felt great, this was some work in the legs, and a lot of sweat (even though I had the fan blowing).  Total vertical was about 5k feet (which sounds weird with a mill when you actually are really going nowhere).

Various tidbits ... (this is a bit long today so I apologize ... but that is the beauty of an RSS feed ... you can delete what you don't want to read)

• I had this exchange with someone at work today ..."how you doing?" "Good, how are you?"  "well, GZ ...let's just say, it is all about what you decide to worry about, aint it?"  I don't think it gets anymore profound - Zen than that.
  
• TZ hurt her knee in soccer on Friday night.  Apparently she popped her knee cap (patella) out.  She is in a brace now but still gimping.  Ought to make the move interesting. 
  
• McDuff - great talking to you today!  Hope you recover soon!  Your call motivated me for my run tonight.
  
• Lucho, oh Lucho ... where have you gone?
  
• JW continues to have a great season ... watching James is like watching a great show.  The guy is killin' it.  You can't help but cheer for him.  I even want to see certain things play out, kind of like you do when you are watchin' a good movie.
  
• For "mini-society" in school, daughter KZ is making and selling ... "ZACKSACKs."  TG and I coined the term ISAC (ala the IPOD) but that did not fly.
  
• TG and I had a good conversation yesterday ... but similar to what our conversations have been:  short, on a crappy cell connection, and then we need to go be Dads and Husbands.  We talk about seasons lost, seasons to come, being fast, being slow, and the ISAC.  We are sharing a common thread of getting older, not being as fast, figuring out what is next and the balance of it all.  I owe TG a lot when it comes to running ... he has long been a sounding board, gave me a good verbal kick in the arse when I needed it, motivated me, and shared a lot of miles.
  
• Clarification on the post from yesterday regarding the Fern Trail conditions ... the trail has lost most of its ice and so that is not really a problem any more.  My note on the trail being in crappy condition is that exactly - it is a poor trail.  Much of the upper stretches of trail have begun to erode badly and turn into a gravel sand.  It has really gotten much worse over the last two years.  If I had infinite time, I would be glad to dedicate time to help reconstruct the trail with water bars, etc ... it desperately needs it.
  
• I have received some questions on my sports hernia.  Since I have been doing some vertical and some hiking I have been asked if this thing is getting better.  Short answer:  NO.  Longer answer:  Any thing I do that is short carriage, i.e. biking, running up hill, hiking, etc does not aggravate the hernia.  Longer stride stuff (say running sub 8 pace) does.  I can bear that pain if I elect to, but it does degrade my ability to train there - and so I am not!  Also, coughing, sneezing, and sleeping seem to bother it as well.  Why sleeping?  I think because I sleep face down and usually with a pillow under part of my torso (as I have for 30 something years) it pitches me back on my upper half a bit.  I have tried to correct this by sleeping on my back, but inevitably ... I end up back in this position.  Overall, this pain is (on a 1-10 scale) like a 3 or a 4.  Enough to throw you off, but bearable most of the time.   All that said, I expect to have a conversation with my PT at my next appointment (May 14) that essentially has me saying "I have been doing my exercises, I have not been doing anything to particularly aggravate this thing and it still hurts.  Current approach is obviously not working.  What is next?"  In fact, I expect to seed this conversation before the appt via email.  Of course, I could wake up tomorrow and all will be better ... until I sneeze.   I expect this will result in some truer diagnostics of the condition (ultrasound, MRI). ... and yes, I hope it all just gets magically better in the next couple of days ...
  
• A clarification on what "gearing in" is for me ... as I approach race day or an event, I begin to gear in.  I watch my hydration more, I begin to watch my diet more (drop beer, drop seconds, avoid desserts, etc) ... and just try to do the little things a bit more than I normally would.  The opposite end of this is gearing out, where I will not care as much ... typically that is in the late fall.  I find it hard to maintain this mentality or physicality (particularly race weight) all year round.  I look at it in quarters with each quarter "upping the ante" a bit more ... really, this is nothing huge either way (in our out) but the little things add up over the weeks and months leading up to race day.
  
• Facebook is ... ridiculous.  I have been playing with it over the last couple of days.  It seems to connect me back with more people I knew from the 80s and 90s than anything else.  That is nice, but it is a bit weird to recall some of those chapters.   I am in a bit of Internet overload today with the typical 300+ emails I receive a day, plus the 100 or so blog feeds, 40 or so podcasts, playing with Wordpress, Facebook, MuddySocks, etc.  Good mental floss but my mental gums hurt ...
  

Pushy with the PT

I started getting pushy with my PT today.   I hesitate to post the exact dialogue of our email conversation here, because ... well, he did not sign up for that.  But this is what I asked:

FYI - I have continued to rest, and perform the exercises and there has been no change in the condition. I will continue to follow this program through our next appointment.
From the research that I have done (web, speaking to people that have had this injury), it seems that there are two approaches to resolve this 1.) long term rest and rehab. This is a path that can take as much as a year or more 2.) surgery to resolve. Most of the information that I have is that resolution via option 1 is less than likely.
Again, I will look for improvement via the prescribed program through our next appointment, but I want to understand what is the expected timeline to resolution via this program, and when alternatives (and what those are) are considered.

Basically, I was told to chill out (more politely than that), to focus on this rehab program, and not expect results in a week.  I totally respect that.  If endurance running has taught me anything, don't always expect short term results. 

But ... I have also heard this rest thing is just a delay of the inevitable and if anything, is just prolonging the recovery process.  So, while I don't want surgery, I don't want to screw around with this hernia thing for a freaking year if I don't have to.

My goal here is not to self prescribe surgery. My goal is to a.) fully attempt to rehab via the program prescribed but also b.) be prepared to move through the next steps (and hence understand what those steps are and how we accomplish them).  I don't want a program of a long term rest (it has been hinted that this rehab program might take 9 months), then followed by additional long rest due to surgery.

I am pretty certain that I am being seen as a bit difficult with my PT.  That is not my intent, but I am not willing to just take this one "lying down."

Monday 04212008, Various tidbits and last week in review

First ... props to Ken (2:42:04) ;, Ryan (2:35:15) and Todd (2:44:51)for their Boston runs today. Nice job guys - I want to hear race reports.

Second -  someone I know is planning to be out here late August, early September and is looking for a race in the Boulder Denver area, ideally the half marathon distance, something on dirt.  I did some quick research and am thinking that the CU Alumni Time Trial  provides something on Labor Day weekend, is 8K (which is short of course, but that is negotiable), has stiff competition (really), is local to CU, on dirt at the Buff Ranch course (not a blade of grass in site).  Any other suggestions?  This is the race that Wetmore usually uses to weed out some stragglers, begin to make some early determinations as to who is on the squad and who is not - but it attracts a pretty good depth of local talent as well (not as deep as the Rocky Mountain Shootout in early October but pretty dang good).

I got in 75 minutes on the bike today ... starting at the new office ... drilling around and about looking for new trails that someday I will get to run on.  It was a good ride ... I ended up heading west out of the new office to the east end of Rocky Flats, and then headed south around Stanley Lake.  There ain't a tree to be see in a lot of this terrain, but there are some good hills, and some good views.

I confess ... I was discouraged today.  It has seemed so long since I could run.  Really run.  The results coming in from Boston, Greenland, Fruita, the weekend 5Ks ... played in my mind today.  I am committed to not run a step  this week to see if I can really heal this thing up. 

My mind is turning on my expectations for this summer. It has too. 

As a parent, I often find myself in the situation where I see how other parents struggle with their kids.  When you are out of the situation, it seems so easy to figure out the parent ought to act to address that situation.  You know, in other words, exactly how to parent someone else's kids. 

... of course, that seems to all go to pot when you are with your  kids.  When we get into the situation, "things are different."  We get mixed up with our wants, desires, our emotions ... they cloud the situation and make judgement, logic, and what to do more difficult to see.   You cling to certain desires, and this muddies the situation.

And so it is with this race for me.  I had expectations that I am clinging to with this race.  Since I finished it last year, I had expectations as to what I was going to do this year ... how I was going to prepare, how I was going to take it on, how I would not be broken as I was last year.

Outsiders have said, "well, maybe this is not your year with this injury."  Frankly, when they say this, it pisses me off.  Who are they to tell me what is not my  year.  "Screw 'em"  I think.  "Maybe you should take some time off,"  they say.  "Bite me.  What do you know?  I can recover with easy running."    And on it goes.  But like the outsider parent observing the child, they probably have a clearer understanding of what is reality, as opposed to what I am clinging to.

The journey ... it still teaches I guess.  Even when the lessons are not ones I like.

So I am in the midst of changing my expectations.  I'd love to report that they have fully changed and I have come to a new Epiphany.  But it is a bit more a process for me than that. 

Last week in review ...

M - 7, 2500v, Bear (85 min)
Tu - 7, 2500v, Green (80 min)
We - 2, 1000v, Tmill, 75 min cycling stat - (90 min)
Th - 7, 3000v, Sanitas, 90 min
Fri - 2 hrs cycling stat
Sat - 80 min outdoor ride
Sun - 75 min "hike," 80 min biking outdoor (155 min)

Total - 28 miles on feet - running, 8000v, 6 hours
6 hours of biking
12 hours on week

Friday 041808

My company was moving buildings today, so nearly everyone was working from home.  I started work early and setup with my rice bag.  What is the rice bag?  My daughter got this cloth bag, wrapped in fleece.  In the cloth there is rice.  I heat this bag in the microwave for a couple of minutes which gets it nice and hot.   I put this over my lower stomach.  I think the heat to the area helps improve blood flow, and help healing.  The bag can also be thrown into the freezer to provide a cold pack, but I don't think it serves as effective as say a bag of peas that hold the cold better.

I am not feeling any adverse effects from yesterdays climb and "run." 

I hit the rec center mid day so that I could bike and work.  After 55 minutes of easy spinning, I bumped up the resistance for five minute repeats.  Each minute in these repeats I would up the resistance one "level."  I then would take five minutes easy where I would spin it back up at lower resistance.  I did six of these so that I had 30 minutes hard.  Total ride was 2 hours.  The resistance repeats ... ow!  Good sting and sweat.  No idea on the supposed distance.

In the afternoon, I jogged a mile and a half.  It was really a jog as it was a charity jog with the students at my kids school.

Various tidbits ...

• Great post by J-dub today re: a workout with hills.  Can't wait to try this one ... I am thinking I'd do this at Buff Ranch.
• A good read out of the NYTimes re: Sara Hall and some form drills.
• A New mountain running blog!
• News in the running world has been pretty exciting lately.  It is hard not to be excited to at least some degree about what Ryan Hall did at London if you are a fan of the sport.  The Boston Marathon is next week.  A fellow local runner and friend Ken Pliska is running in his 19th Boston - good luck Ken!  There is a great podcast up by Steve Runner on the 1983 Boston  - the last time it was won by an American.  I find a lot of what Steve has to say about his personal journey resonates with me and this jogger's journey to Pikes.
• The other night as I was fading away, I flicked on the tube and ended up watching this thing on Sumo wrestling.  At first glance, I'd say Sumo is about the complete opposite of endurance running and I have little interest in it.  The National Geographic episode on it though was well done (I like all the Nat Geo stuff however) and I was drawn to the story because it highlights the human experience of competition.  I am pretty much a competition junkie and can be a fan of sumo as much as endurance racing if the competition story is compelling.

Thursday 041508, Sanitas x 2 (7 miles, 2600+ vertical)

The temptation for me to run is large. I saw Lucho and JK running this morning and I was incredibly jealous. But I need to stick to my plan of doing activities that do not aggravate my hernia - so that it has a chance to heal.

For what it is worth, I have actually been "resting" for two weeks, with a focus on "short carriage" work - the bike and the uphill running. And for what it is worth, that has been actually driving some degree of progress in healing ... although nominally. My debate on this whole thing really comes down to a question of discipline and patience (are discipline and patience the same thing?)I know I have waxed too long on this but ... this sports hernia thing simply puts a couple of objectives at odds for me. One objective is to completely heal. If it were September 1, I think I could do that more easily ... I'd take time off from everything, drink a few beers, go sit in the man cave and relax. But it is April 17. I want to play. So I get a bit conflicted on it all. And I am trying to walk this fine line of doing enough so that I can play, but not really jack myself.

Did a couple of laps on Sanitas, as it was the only thing clear and the Cub Scout den was going to be out there. I started up the west trail, realized I forgot my camera and so back tracked to the car. Did an easy (?) up (20:48) and down (13:53) with no sign of the den. Headed up the east trail and found them and so walked with them for a bit. Did a second loop (>23), and down (14:10). Easy but I am not in great Sanitas shape. I want to keep these efforts easy, but am begining to think about attempting couple where I push it.

Couple of pix ... Cub Scouts heading down the east trail, armed with various sticks they located. Flagstaff, Saddle Rock and Green in the background, looking south.

Looking south at Green from the Sanitas summit.

The game plan

I got asked tonight, in light of my diagnosis, "what is the game plan?"

Honestly, I don't know all of it yet.  But here is the general idea ...

1.)  Cross train like all hell for April and early May.  A lot of time on the bike.  The short carriage of it makes it so that it does cause any strain.  I think I need to push the volume up on the bike work that I have been doing, simply because it is less stress than running.

2.)  Run uphill on the mill as much as I can.  Again, the short carriage of this means little strain.  I don't list this as first, because I do think that while this creates less strain, it does create some. 

It is also worthwhile to mention what I need to avoid:

3.)  Faster running.  It is pretty clear that I begin to feel some strain on this bugger when doing more miles, and more of them at a pace faster (something faster than say 8, 7:30).   This means no racing until I get ... "better."

It would seem that 2 would compliment my prep for Pikes.  I think it does.  I also think that one needs a good dose of speed and the ability to move for that race.  Cutting back on speed will be an issue, but I will look to minimize it as much as possible.

4.)  I need to be cautious with longer efforts in terms of number 2. 

The other downside of this is that without longer runs, I may compromise my muscular endurance necessary for a marathon.  I think to be successful at the marathon, longer runs are necessary.  At Pikes, that means for me the ability to tap into a base of 3 and 4 hour runs.  I don't think I will have as many of those as I like to have.

Other principles ....

5.)  do my exercises as per my PT

6.)  begin the summer "trim down" (this is something I'd start to do soon anyway even without the injury ... cutting beer, seconds at dinner, etc)

7.)  push the hard days, relax the easy days.  (this is part of the plan that I feel a need to noodle on a bit more and get more specific about).

8.)  Realize that I am living a great life, enjoy this trip with myself, my family and others - and their trips too! 

Still snowing here!

Live it.
GZ

Wednesday 041608

I ran easy 2 miles (25 minutes, 10-15 % grade) as part of a shoe fit test for a local shoe vendor.  I then hit the rec center did some work on the bike (30 min, 10+ for a distance).  Yapped with TZ (25 min) for a bit and then back on the bike (45 min, 17 for a distance).  100 minutes of work on the day.  Oh yes, it was snowing pretty hard today ... after being 80 plus degrees yesterday!

My PT and I conversed some more (I am pretty sure I am considered a high maintenance patient).  He clearly has the expectation that after one month of doing the exercises every day and resting that I will  feel significantly better.  He also thinks that while I may not be cured in that time, I will be definitely better. If after a month I don't feel any different , then he thinks we will need to look into other imaging tests to try to figure out why things are not improving.

I will openly admit, I am cynical about this approach at this time - simply because it feels like it is only delaying something I think that is inevitable.  I am going to, of course, do these exercises religiously.  And I will rest by biking and running in an up direction.  Both of these exercises keep my "carriage" short, and do not seem to aggravate my gut. 

TG - no, I don't want surgery. But if I am going to need it, I want to get it done.  And I don't want you to get any tough guy PRs on me either.  (he knows something about surgery ...)

PT appointment, sport hernia.

I had an appointment with a PT today through my medical provider.  After discussing my situation with him, and revisiting my history, the PT ran me through a few tests to assess the situation.  The tests were putting me through a variety of motions (mostly looking like some form of a sit-up).  We put a pretty tight belt around my lower abdomen and ran through the exercises again to see if that helped abate the pain.  It did not.

The conclusion from the PT was this was indeed a sports hernia.  His thought was that this could be addressed via a.)  rest and b.)  some exercises that will help strengthen the area.

I expressed my concern about this injury and that I had heard that rest and exercise does not resolve this and that ultimately, it is only resolvable via surgery.   I quickly realized that the PT was not in the position to make that sort of call and could only suggest that we do this for another month and then assess at that time.  There is no threshold that he could speak to as to when to get surgery.   In other words, I could tell that was not his decision and he was giving me a plan based on what he could prescribe. 

I understand that a medical provider is going to recommend an approach that is non-invasive, and look to avoid surgery.  I respect and appreciate that.  I am going to need to better understand though at what point they make the conclusion to go that route.  While I'd love this thing to just heal up with rest, I am less than convinced that it will.  I am not in a rush to go under the knife, but I do want this fixed.  What I am reading and hearing is that I am wasting my time a bit with this rest and exercise approach.  I got to give some thought as to how I am going to proceed on a broader scale. 

Okay - so what is rest then?  I can do any activity that "does not aggravate" my groin.  The exercises ... well, I will get a picture of what I was given and post that later.