I'm Back!

It's been a minute folks... but i'm finally feelin' myself! It took close to 4 months to come back and start training. I just needed a break and now i feel refreshed! Yesterday was my first day coming back. I also hit the weight room last night, so i'm sore from both activities! I only ran 25 min. Just want to start easy just in case my body wants to give me problems starting up to fast. It's been one crazy but great summer! If only I could tell my stories! haha! Maybe if you are a close friend and you request them! I will keep everyone posted on how things are going for me. My plans are to be ready by Nov. Much Love everyone!

Iliotibial Band

I'm just coming off some ups and downs in my training with the most recent being a bout with my IT band.

DEFINITION

Pronunciation: /ˌī-ˈtē- band/

1. :a fibrous thickening of the fascia lata, the origin is the anterior iliac distress. It extends down the lateral part of the thigh to the insertion point, the lateral epiwannacryle. When these two are simultaneously stretched it triggers the vocal cords to create a grunt or yelp usually followed by a very visual limp

2. :or something like that

...well enough medical talk, I was on the bike for a while but I'm happy to be back running again.

I'm not a hobbyjogger.

But apparently I look like one right now.

As I finished a run the other day someone asked me, "How was your jog?"
Ummm...I wasn't jogging....I was running thank you very much...but yeah it was good. Not that I'm saying there is anything wrong with being a hobbyjogger, it's just that I don't want to be one till I'm at least 50. I hope that they were not offended at the look of irritation I gave them, I was really just trying to get the sweat out of my eyes.

After spending about the last 3 and half weeks just running for minutes and getting time in on the feet, I *THINK* (and I say this as I cross the fingers, knock on wood, and toss salt over both shoulders, because I've said it before and been wrong) things are getting back on track. All told, I wasn't "out", as in not running altogether, for that long. It's just that I don't count 30 minute runs a few times a week as legitimate training, so it feels like much longer. After getting needled in the foot/shin about a dozen times, and even in the butt-cheek once, and sorting out a few mechanical issues that will hopefully resolve with time and effort, I've been able to spend the last three weeks getting in more miles, and putting in less time biking and pool-running, and have still had things make good progress, and that is an encouraging positive. It would be great to get out of The Rut. The Rut is a crappy place to be, not to mention lonely, and is starting to look a little too familiar.

Today I did my first on-land workout in a while (I've been doing all my intervals in the pool for the last few weeks) and it went well! I did five sets of 4 minutes hard, 2 minutes easy. Pretty simple, and it went alright. I felt pretty good and I feel like the legs are coming around, and the pace wasn't far off of where it usually is. I am hoping to jump into a low-key 5k on the 17th; my sole goal for that one being to get an idea of where things stand fitness-wise without embarrassing myself in the process. Thankfully it's a women's-only race so there will be no strutting, preening, male egos to deal with (no offense guys, but we all know it's true), and no high school boys flinging elbows taking the pace out in 3 minute miles for the first 600 meters, because that's just straight-up annoying. And a couple weeks after that if all is still going well then I would like to do the Classic 10k, then probably just train for a while. A few weeks back I had the intention of doing a few out of state races this summer; namely the USATF Club Champs for track to get a fast 10k in since I messed up by staying off the track last spring, and then the Bix 7 Miler in late July, and then the US 20k Champs in September, but things didn't quite pan out that way and I'm in no position to press my luck and rush things, and I'm not about to cram for a 20k. If things are just great and everything's perfect, I might do the Women's 10 Mile Champs in October, but that's just a possibility and no sure thing. But first things first, and I have to get all the way out of the woods to start with. I'm trying to not get ahead of myself here even though I always get really excited when things start to look up and I want to go do everything and make up for lost time because it feels like the ball-and-chain is finally off, but one day at a time I guess.

I am pretty glad I don't feel like this guy anymore though...

I'm actually having a solid summer of racing after last year's over-training fiasco. I was first at the Superior Downhill Mile on the 4th in 4:00 (actually 3:59.xx, but they rounded up). It seems that my best racing always comes when I don't think too much about it and just focus on having fun. Has anyone else noticed this? Last summer I stressed about my training and racing and my performance suffered; this summer I'm just trying to enjoy running.

I'm off to England next Wednesday to conduct research for the dissertation. I hope everyone is having a good summer.

Pete

Why you shouldn't study...

I haven't updated in awhile because not much is happening with me as far as running goes unfortunately. Things were on track and then bam, two weeks ago I pulled another muscle. This time I have had a really hard time getting back on track, BUT the good news is I think I finally figured out why in May I suddenly got a hamstring injury and then haven't really been able to run since.

You see, I was studying...a lot. I had a big board exam that I had to pass so I could get licensed and finally start a real career. My days were full of runs and then sitting in a chair or on my couch in front of a computer and a text book for hours at a time. That lead to some lower back issues that I think probably aggravated everything and also probably increased my propensity to keep hurting that left leg. Last week at a very low point, I couldn't sleep because of radiating pain down the back of my left leg, my left hip and my left lower back. I was stumped and starting to really worry that I had a bigger issue than we suspected, like maybe a stress fracture or a tear either in my hip area or near the hamstring and/or adductor attachments. However, with a few lower back exercises the radiating pain stopped and I got some major relief.

So, now I am biding my time...doing a little jogging, some walking, lots of PT exercises and some climbing. We'll see what happens in the coming weeks. My hope is that by this time next week I will be running without feeling nerve pain on the left side, without my foot strike feeling off and with some bounce in my step! If that happens, well then my next goal is to get back to some shorter racing, hopefully by the middle of August.

I got last in a race.

After almost 6 weeks off I am back in action. Thats the longest break I have taken since I started running and it was hard. A couple of weeks is no problem for me but 6 is a bit much. Since I'm a race junkie and had some previous commitments on my schedule I jumped back in pretty quick and ran 3 "races" in the span of a week around Memorial day. I ran a 10 miler on Saturday, a mile on Monday, and a 5k the following Saturday. Running hard felt incredibly awkward especially in the road mile. I figured I would blink and it would be over but it felt like I was running through sand in slow motion. I'm pretty pumped about the time, 4:46 (with a decent downhill), but getting last wasn't the most fun I've ever had.

Now I'm just trying to get back into the swing of training again and get my race schedule lined up for fall. I'm really trying to find people to train with. I used to do everything on my own but realized in the last year or so how much it helps to have someone else there. Its hard to coordinate since everyone has different coaches and schedules, I like to run early, and sometimes I'm in Boulder. I met up with Amanda a couple times this week and today we warmed up and cooled down together since we had different workouts. It was nice to at least have someone there.

Other than that life has been busy as usual. No major tenant disasters lately but I'm trying to rent a condo in Boulder. And my best friend is getting married this weekend and its going to be an awesome wedding!

Long time, no see.

Well, it's been a while since I've posted. Ok, a long while. Well, since then much has happened and I will just give a brief summary of my running since then. Last I posted was just before I ran the Cherry Creek Sneak. I ran this race as a tune up for the US 25k. It did not go well. I trained right through it and had no legs that morning. I felt good in the race for about a mile and then had the pleasure of suffering in no man's land for 4 miles. I was happy to be second but very disappointed that I couldn't even manage to hit my 25k goal pace for just 5 miles. Needless to say, I did not get the confidence boost for the 25k i was looking for but rather just the opposite.
At the 25k things went much differently. This race is held in Grand Rapids MI and is a homecoming for me. I grew up nearby and have watched this race my whole life so I really wanted to have a good one. I felt good the days before and the morning of the race. The conditions weren't ideal for most but I do love me some nasty weather so I didn't mind one bit. It was about 45 with light rain when I was warming up but at least the rain stopped by race time. I had hoped to run 5:0x for the race and set out from the gun to do this. I chose not to chase the lead group from the gun as they went out in 4:45ish and I didn't want to get in debt too early in a 15 mile race. I was out with the chase group at 5:10. This chase group was lead by myself and old college teammate Nate Peck. During the second mile we let some others control the pace into the wind hoping to get some rest in the draft. This was a mistake, we hit a 5:22. What a joke, we wasted 12+ seconds for no reason as hitting another 5:10 would have been no problem. At this point Nate and I went back to the front and started dropping 5:04's which served to shatter the group. By mile 5 we were alone and this wouldn't change for the duration. We continued to hit solid miles by ourselves all the way until mile 13. At this point Nate dropped off me a bit and I thought he was done. This was not the case as he regained me by 14 and by 14.5 he had a gap on me. Shortly thereafter I caught him again and we finished shoulder to shoulder. We were 12th and 13th (they gave me 13th) and I was very happy to have this place in a US Championship. We had run 1:20:03 which was a 5:09/mile average. I had achieved my goal but hadn't quite cracked 1:20:00 as I had hoped (curse that 2nd mile!).
From the 25k I tried to hold my fitness through the Bolderboulder. This did not happen. I tried to go out with the front knowing that if I could hold my 25k I would be around top 5. Turns out this was true, however I didn't have the legs to do it. I got the 'pleasure' of going backwards in a race but I don't regret my choice to try to hang up front.
After Bolderboulder I took a break and I am just going to build a big base of mileage over this summer. My next big race will be the Chicago Marathon in October. My goal for this race is clear, qualify for the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials. 2:18:59 or better here I come.

Change of plans, psychoanalysis, and Mid-Year Resolutions

So lately I have been thinking about how to approach training and racing from perhaps a bit of a different angle. After all, they say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result....so maybe I should stop doing the same things over and over and expecting a different result.

I keep training logs, and have since my sophomore year in high school. As incredibly nerdy as that sounds (I am pretty sure that as a sophomore in high school I was supposed to be writing in diaries about boys and aspiring to be a cheerleader. But I didn't.), it can be awfully handy at times. Not to mention when I'm feeling a little sentimental I can look over various entries and sigh and remember all those great (and sometimes not so great) runs and workouts and all the ups and downs and what lead to what and so on. But anyhow, I've been looking over the last four to five years in particular--since I would think of those as the years where I think I most developed as a runner and also experienced a vast array of differnt training approaches--to try and figure out where some of the glitches are and what I can do to turn things around and stop getting de-railed every three months or so by some silly hang-up. Since I always wrote down what I felt like and a lot times what I thought about, then it's easy to pick up on where the mindset was at the time too (that's the psychology degree talking right there).

In that regard, the biggest change has been that somewhere along the way there was a switch from basically having the willingness to charge headlong into anything without really wondering whether or not I could do it (which only occasionally proved to be not very advantageous), to having almost too much trepidation and hesitation and doubt in regards to being able to accomplish a certain goal or to tackle a certain training regimen out of fear of another poor outcome (which has never really proved to be very advantageous). Basically a mindset of feeling like that one greek guy Sassafrass or Sisyphus or Syphillis or whoever, who was in Hades doing all that work rolling that giant rock uphill for all eternity even though he knew it was going to roll down again as soon as he got it to the top, and he'd have to start all over at the bottom (I will accept compliments for that freaking awesome metaphor in the comment box below).

That's the first huge piece of garbage that has got to go.

As far as just looking subjectively at training, I'm no coach or exercise physiologist, but I think my main focus is just going to be mixing things up a lot more. More things at different speeds for the most part. I think I have kind of gotten it in my head that I can do less than I used to be capable of and don't do certain things well, so I don't do them. As the great Dr. Jack Daniels says, until you get old and start to decline the human body does not get worse, it only gets better. Well I'm not old so logically I'm getting better. Training though is always a process of trial and error, so I think those pieces will fall into place once things get back on track from where they are now.

As for getting back on track, things are going in that direction. I've gotten some okay runs in over the last week and a half, so hopefully I'll be able to keep weaning myself off of the bike/pool and get more solid workouts in on land. As for races, I've decided that if I can get at least four solid weeks of training in, then the Bix 7 Miler (U.S. 7 mile championships) will be next on the list. Anything in between will be icing on the cake.

Till then, best of luck to anyone competing in the Garden of the Gods 10 miler this Saturday! I'll have an eye on the results.

Super Kara

I have officially started the next phase of the progression of me turning from master shuffler and compensator to "Good Kara" as Jon kept calling it today. In my mind, though, I will call the new me "Super Kara", and I will be able to recover faster, run more miles, run faster than ever before, and maybe even fly! While all that may happen (well probably not the flying part but everything else) I am going to have to work hard to get there first. And the worst part is while working hard I am going to have to endure the giggles of the professionals around me as my body tries to forget old habits and learn new, proper ones. Today, I started doing a few drills and while some my body will never forget from the college days (like the good old grapevine) the others I looked foolish and had to listen to the laughter of Jon and his wife, Kim, while I attempted to do the drills. Jon and Kim both had to show me how they were done and I am sure neither has done any of these drills in years, yet they were both models of perfection. They would search for ways to describe what they were wanting to see in an effort to trigger some spontaneous reflex where I would immediately start doing them correctly. Unfortunately that didn't happen and I have a lot of work ahead of me to get it figured out (shocking, I know). I also made a trip to my physical therapist today to let him know what I had observed in the morning, what Jon observed and some revelations I had after looking at some photos of me running. So, I again endured laughter and sarcasm as I attempted the progression of exercises that we will use to help reinforce proper mechanics. I was sarcastically offered a helmet due to my propensity of losing my balance and was also laughed at by the PT and the person shadowing him. We did discover that the lack of balance and control with my left leg and my core is astounding but I feel like I can only get better from here.

On a side note some major life changes have happened for me: I officially finished up my master's degree--I got my diploma in the mail yesterday!!, I was offered a job (contingent on my passing my board exam), I turned 30 (back in April but I am just coming to grips with it), and I can do pull ups and chin ups again!!!!! Well, that last one might not be a major life change, but I felt I had to share. I am so proud of myself. I haven't been able to do them since college but thanks to rock climbing my upper body is actually semi-strong now. Although I am sure no one can tell that I have any strength at all since I don't really build muscle (see attached picture).

That is all for now, hopefully in the next blog post I will have some more news about my transformation into a super hero.

Bolder Boulder

What to say about the Bolder Boulder...it's a race that has unpredictable outcomes and each year brings a different element. Some years its been wind, rain, or blazing heat, others years its been a stomach ache or being placed in the wrong heat. This year's element...surprise!! I knew I was in good shape, I was excited to compete, and I was prepared to fight for one of the top three positions in the citizen's race. I surprised myself, and a few others, by winning!!

Here is a summary of the race...
I started back a few rows to let the many young guys that want to win the first half mile go for their dream. For once I went out conservative and at the mile Russ (husband) and David (coach) were screaming that I was in 3rd and the other girls were within reach. I told myself to get them by mile 2, sure enough I did and hoped for some help with the pace. No such luck, so I moved on ahead and kept trekkin. There was plenty of guys to catch and a good group of guys running with me. At mile 3 I realized "I'm in the lead and I can win this." The crowd was amazing and boosted my adrenaline and confidence with each cheer. With a mile and a half to go a guy next to me, who had been with me for a few miles, turned and said "girl you are very inspirational." I was shoked to hear this and it gave me the final boost I needed to keep the pace. Russ and David cheered me on with a mile to go. The last hill...it got me again, but I held on tight and picked up the pace in the stadium to finish with a smile and excitement.

I think the best part was that my dad, stepmom, and Russ' parents and friends were all in the stands to be a part of a wonderful day. Some years I detest the BB, this year everything was just right.