Let me clarify, NO really bad things happened during MRTR. Except for my fall, and even that could have been so much worse than it was.
But there were a number of potential bad things that could have happened, and I am glad to say they did not. For example....
1) No forest fires disrupting the case and course. Last year fires in Oregon jeopardized the race, and while it went on the course was modified. This year there were no fires in the region. Yea!
2) NO BEES! Apparently there is a fair chance of bees on the course. Like maybe swarms of them. I don't think that I am allergic, but I've only been stung three times, many years apart, so who knows if there could be a latent allergy looming, to be brought out by an attack of killer bees. Really, I'm not kidding, bees and the potential of an unknown allergy were the only thing I was really afraid of before the run. I brought Benadryl in my pack. Luckily, not one bee was seen.
3) No bug bites. I did spray my legs with Bug Dope before the run, but forgot about it the rest of the day. No itchy problems for me though.
4) No nettles or poison ivy. I tend to hug the bushes, especially with people passing so much, but I did not encounter any noxious vegetation.
5) No 90+ temps! The weather stayed in the balmy low 80s, even by mid-afternoon. And the woods made it seem even cooler.
And an update from yesterday's mini-woes....
My blister seems to be getting smaller. Really, I think it is.
After a 4-day blank screen hiatus, my Garmin came back to life and is charging tonight! Hurrah! Of course the question remains...what if it dies again?
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Monday, September 17, 2012
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Running "comeback" after 50K
The big challenge after finishing MRTR was how and when to resume running and prep for the Twin Cities Marathon (coming up quickly on October 7!). I definitely wanted to give my body a rest, but I also wanted to parlay my endurance training into a strong marathon, and try to build back a little speed (just a little, I'm not asking for the moon!).
Sunday was a complete rest day, obviously. It was also the day we drove back to Washington, which made for a lot of hours of sitting. Luckily my Subaru is pretty comfortable and we did make a few stops where I could shake out my legs.
Saturday night, and into Sunday, and maybe Monday, I was pretty sore. Saturday night it was "achy body interferes with sleep" but after that it was less. More like my body froze up every time I sat down and I had to warm-up before moving again. As the overall achiness faded, DOMS hit my quads in a pretty big way. It took until at least Thursday for that to mostly dissipate. On the first couple days I wanted to shriek every time my cat jumped into my lap! Lucky thing my massage wasn't scheduled until Thursday.
On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I just cross-trained with an hour on the elliptical. I was pretty weak at first, but got a little stronger (and faster) every day. On Friday I even did about 10 minutes of intervals at the end.
On Thursday I decided to try my first run. I am not sure whether a little more recovery might have been good, but frankly I wanted a change from the elliptical. I had gotten up very early to take my parents to the airport. When I got home a little before 6 I was so tired, so I napped on the couch for 30-40 minutes before going out (best.nap.ever). Then I had some gear failure issues, so I didn't have a whole lot of time when I finally got outside.
That was probably for the best, though. I did manage to get my average pace to 10 minutes in the first three miles (by running an 8:30 in mile 3) and then did another 2.5 at 9:30-9:45 pace. But frankly, I was tired after three miles!
After ellipticalling on Friday (I made that word up), I was out again on Saturday. Once again I pushed myself into a sub-10 average pace, with some extra effort in mile 3. This time I didn't feel too tired until after about five miles (progress). I finished with 7.5 miles, all I had time to do as we were going to a brunch at Rod's folks' house later that morning.
Finally, today I dabbled in double digits, just over ten miles while Rod did some painting at his friends' house. Today I felt tired at mile...2? No, not really, but I was super sluggish and my overall average pace was 10:50.
I have also been hampered by a big Garmin fail issue. My one-year-old new Garmin, after running valiantly for eight hours on Saturday, gave me the blank screen of death on Thursday morning. This was after the screen froze up and I tried a hard reset. It won't charge when I plug it in either. I am trying to decide whether to buy a new one or what. I have read about people with the same problem where it miraculously started taking a charge a few days later. I am hoping that will happen to me....
Meanwhile I have used my old one with the unfixable broken band. On Thursday it was taped together with duct tape (that eventually falls off). On Saturday I carried it in my hand (irritating). Today I pinned it to my fuel belt. The only problem with that is I can't read it when I'm running...I think that is part of why I couldn't regulate my pace today. I know, I have Garmin co-dependency issues. Send me to therapy.
My other leftover irritation from MRTR is a persistent blister on my left big toe. I have drained it several times but it keeps popping back up! It doesn't prevent me from running but it does get uncomfortable after a while. This needs to go away soon. I'm not running 26.2 miles in (less than) three weeks with a blister before I start!
So that's it for the first week post 50K. I'm thinking 18 miles next weekend...then taper (again).
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday was a complete rest day, obviously. It was also the day we drove back to Washington, which made for a lot of hours of sitting. Luckily my Subaru is pretty comfortable and we did make a few stops where I could shake out my legs.
Saturday night, and into Sunday, and maybe Monday, I was pretty sore. Saturday night it was "achy body interferes with sleep" but after that it was less. More like my body froze up every time I sat down and I had to warm-up before moving again. As the overall achiness faded, DOMS hit my quads in a pretty big way. It took until at least Thursday for that to mostly dissipate. On the first couple days I wanted to shriek every time my cat jumped into my lap! Lucky thing my massage wasn't scheduled until Thursday.
On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I just cross-trained with an hour on the elliptical. I was pretty weak at first, but got a little stronger (and faster) every day. On Friday I even did about 10 minutes of intervals at the end.
On Thursday I decided to try my first run. I am not sure whether a little more recovery might have been good, but frankly I wanted a change from the elliptical. I had gotten up very early to take my parents to the airport. When I got home a little before 6 I was so tired, so I napped on the couch for 30-40 minutes before going out (best.nap.ever). Then I had some gear failure issues, so I didn't have a whole lot of time when I finally got outside.
That was probably for the best, though. I did manage to get my average pace to 10 minutes in the first three miles (by running an 8:30 in mile 3) and then did another 2.5 at 9:30-9:45 pace. But frankly, I was tired after three miles!
After ellipticalling on Friday (I made that word up), I was out again on Saturday. Once again I pushed myself into a sub-10 average pace, with some extra effort in mile 3. This time I didn't feel too tired until after about five miles (progress). I finished with 7.5 miles, all I had time to do as we were going to a brunch at Rod's folks' house later that morning.
Finally, today I dabbled in double digits, just over ten miles while Rod did some painting at his friends' house. Today I felt tired at mile...2? No, not really, but I was super sluggish and my overall average pace was 10:50.
I have also been hampered by a big Garmin fail issue. My one-year-old new Garmin, after running valiantly for eight hours on Saturday, gave me the blank screen of death on Thursday morning. This was after the screen froze up and I tried a hard reset. It won't charge when I plug it in either. I am trying to decide whether to buy a new one or what. I have read about people with the same problem where it miraculously started taking a charge a few days later. I am hoping that will happen to me....
Meanwhile I have used my old one with the unfixable broken band. On Thursday it was taped together with duct tape (that eventually falls off). On Saturday I carried it in my hand (irritating). Today I pinned it to my fuel belt. The only problem with that is I can't read it when I'm running...I think that is part of why I couldn't regulate my pace today. I know, I have Garmin co-dependency issues. Send me to therapy.
My other leftover irritation from MRTR is a persistent blister on my left big toe. I have drained it several times but it keeps popping back up! It doesn't prevent me from running but it does get uncomfortable after a while. This needs to go away soon. I'm not running 26.2 miles in (less than) three weeks with a blister before I start!
So that's it for the first week post 50K. I'm thinking 18 miles next weekend...then taper (again).
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
McKenzie River Trail Run 50K
It all began on Friday, September 7, with an early morning departure and drive to Eugene. By 8:30 a.m. we--me, Rod, and my parents--were piled into my car and heading south for the five-hour(ish) trip toward Eugene. I actually drove most of the way, all the way past Salem, which is quite an accomplishment as I am not much of a long-distance driver. Then Rod took over for the rest of the trip to Eugene and McKenzie River.
We stopped in Eugene for lunch and for Rod to get my dad an Oregon hat for his birthday. The shopping expedition was quite an ordeal trying to find just the right hat! In the end the one he got was very nice, and it will appear in several pictures throughout the weekend. At first my dad pretended to be uneasy over wearing an Oregon hat, but it got him quite a lot of attention (people assuming he was a fellow Duck fan) and he liked that.
It was very warm in Eugene, as well as in McKenzie Bridge when we got there around 5:00. It was in the 90s that afternoon...a little nervewracking for the following day!
We stayed in a lovely cabin at the Inn at the Bridge. It had two bedrooms and bathrooms (one each upstairs and downstairs), a full kitchen, nice rustic decor, a screened porch, and air conditioning. It also had a big screen satellite TV...what it did not have was a television station that got the Pac12 channel (which would be airing the Oregon game on Saturday). There has been an on-going dispute between the satellite networks and the Pac12, and satellite TV was all that was available in the rather remote McKenzie Bridge area. Troubling....
For pre-race dinner we decided to get a couple takeaway pizzas from Takoda's Restaurant. Convenient (and also the only restaurant in the area that was open). Takoda's was also the race packet picket site, which worked nicely!
Around 7 p.m. I collected my bib number, commemorative blanket, and bought a $10 shirt while Rod ordered our pizzas. The restaurant was pretty mobbed with pre-race diners. We brought the pizza back to the cabin and made it an early night. I was doing the 6:30 early start, so we planned to leave McKenzie Bridge at 5:30 to go to the start at Carmen Reservoir (it's about a half hour drive).
It was still pretty dark when we arrived, although it did lighten up in time for the start at 6:30. I had expected it to be in the 40s early, and much warmer later, so I wore a long-sleeved shirt over my sleeveless top to begin. It was actually in the 50s, so I didn't really need the extra shirt, but it gave me something to look forward to (taking the shirt off). I did have drop bags for the two aid stations and finish, although in the end I didn't really need them. I left the shirt at the first drop, but didn't even use my bag at the second. I had some extra fuel in each bag, plus bug spray in the first and sunscreen in the second (neither of which I used after the original application in the morning).
We took a couple pictures by the reservoir before heading to the starting spot, which was about 1/4 - 1/2 mile away from the check in. Rod walked over with me, and my parents waited at the car, where my mom was able to get a good picture of me as I ran by her.
The early start was a fairly small group, and the race photographer got some pictures with me in them! Easily recognizable thanks to the bright green cap. (Big thanks to Long Run Pictures for allowing free downloads!)
I had heard that the trails for this were pretty easy as trail races go, but I thought that the first half (at least) was very technical and hillier than I expected (though not as hilly as some of my summer runs). In the first eleven or so miles we ran up to Clear Lake and around it. It was sort of a modified out and back--only part of the trip retraced some trail that we had started on. The first five miles also included beds of black lava rock and a lots of rocks in the trails. These pretty pictures through the lava beds are a little misleading...although the trails are nice and smooth here, they soon turned to rocks.
The race photographer caught us on an uphill. So yes, we are walking. At least I managed to put a smile on my face!
Below, we are looking at Clear Lake on the left. The pictures do not reveal how clear and glassy it really was.
This is the first bridge (of many) that we crossed. The woman ahead of me on the bridge is named Claire. I was lucky to run in her vicinity a lot of the time, though somewhere in the second half she left me behind (meaning I never caught up to her again).
Looking at Clear Lake below...in the distance is where you can rent rowboats (though you can't see it in the picture). I could be wrong about chronology, but I believe it was just after taking this picture that I took my one fall of the day. (Although I am sure it was before the bridge, so maybe I am off.) Anyway I had just taken a picture, and was going to resume running on a nice wide dirt trail, that had one very large root. Next thing you know, I was sprawled on the ground. My knees had just barely recovered from the bruising the week before, and it hurt. However, I said I was fine (and I was) and got up and went on. I generated a lot of concern along the way, until later when the dirt from the trails combined with the dirt and blood from the fall, and you couldn't really see so clearly that I had fallen down.
Below, the mirror-like clearness of Clear Lake.
Although the lava rocks were done, the trail continued to be rocky and root-laden, with small rolling hills along the way. Also, a lot of the trail was along a sort of narrow ledge, with a drop toward the river on one side. I felt I needed to be very careful with my footing...I didn't want to fall again...or worse!
In the first few miles there were more people around me and I went with the flow on running versus walking in treacherous or hilly spots. When I was on my own I mostly ran (very slowly) but walked in any spot where I felt the ground was dangerous (including both uphill or downhill terrain). I also walked across pretty much every single bridge. Many of them (as you will see) had a railing only on one side, with a drop to a raging river below.
We passed this waterfall from the other side of the river on the way up. I didn't take a picture then (although the view would probably have been better), so I couldn't bypass it again. A lot of my photos have way too much sunlight in them...even though I wasn't in a big hurry, I didn't feel like spending too much time trying to get a "perfect" shot (after all, I wanted to finish in the same day!).
Here is one of the many single-railed bridges. Unfortunately, that is my finger in the frame.
The picture doesn't do justice to this pool, aptly named Blue Pool. It is an amazing shade of azure, best seen in person (or possible in someone else's photo).
By about halfway through, the trail had become much less technical and much more easy running through the woods. Of course, I was getting tired by then so it didn't seem all that easy. The most interesting views were of the river, from bridges, so I didn't really take any in the woodsy sections.
Somewhere along the way, maybe around 13 miles or so, I started thinking about going to the bathroom (not desperately, just thinking). At the 16 mile aid station I asked if there were any porta potties anywhere along the route. That's not as stupid as it sounds; even driving up to Carmen Reservoir I saw a potty along the road and I thought we might pass through some camping areas that had some. The answer, however, was no.
So it was going to be go in the woods, because I knew I couldn't last eight hours without a stop. For the next couple miles I kept an eye out for a good spot. Portions of the trail were narrow, with a drop from the side, and obviously no way I could safely get off the trail. Finally I was approaching a bridge with a lot of trees and stumps around, so I decided to go a ways off the trail and squat behind some trees. As I did so, I saw runners pass by, but I figured they were concentrating on the bridge ahead and probably didn't see me. And if they did...I don't care.
I would have thought that this one stop more than halfway through would have been enough, but apparently I was hydrating well because I had to go again about ten miles later. This time I found a stump pretty easily and there was no one else around to be seen. Ah, relief.
When I got to 26 miles and a little beyond, I was past the longest distance I had ever run (which would be a marathon plus another mile or so). I had long since passed the longest duration of time I had run (about 5.5 hours). I felt...okay. I think by now it might be a little like childbirth, in that the pain that I felt at the time has faded from my mind in the excitement of finishing, but I know that I wasn't suffering desperately.
I wanted to be done, no question about that. But as for actual pain...my knees had stopped hurting from the fall. Somewhere along the way I had felt like I was getting blisters on my feet, but that dissipated. (I did get one blister, but not in the spots that had been sore.) I did start to feel tired and achy in my entire body, not just my legs, but actually I felt less so than I had in the last miles of the Tunnel Marathon, when my back was really aching.
I did start walking a little more, when the trail went uphill (even if it wasn't a steep hill) or just as a little break. I contemplated trying a formal walk/run pattern, but whenever I walked I didn't really want to keep doing it for even a full minute, necessarily (unless it was uphill). For a while there was a young woman ahead of me who was running faster than me, so she would pull ahead, but then she would walk and I would catch up...this kept up for a while, and there was a portion of time when I was running at my sluggish pace and she was walking and it seemed like the distance between us still remained constant. But eventually I did pass her and, though I expected her to catch up again, she didn't. (Although I did see her at the final aid station at 29 miles, but I took off from there as she and a couple others arrived, and I never did see them again before the finish.)
I had been running the whole way without using headphones and music, which is big for me. In the beginning I decided to keep them out for a while and see how it went. The river was really noisy so that helped a little with drowning out the sound of my breath and footsteps. Additionally, the trail was so tricky, even in the beginning, that I felt like I had to focus all my attention on it, and even the slight distraction of music might make me trip. For a while I had a couple lines of Born to Run (the song) running through my head, but eventually that went away too.
After the 26 mile aid station I decided to go ahead and put on my music. The trail was pretty easy by then, and I really wanted to do something to give myself a kick of energy. (Besides the shot of Mountain Dew at the aid station, which was the BEST.THING.EVER.) I do think it helped, because after a couple of miles I pretty much stopped doing any walking, and after mile 29 I really picked up the pace to the finish. ("Picked up the pace" means a 12-13 minute mile pace...hardly burning up the ground, but fast for me on the trails.)
I took the picture below at 2:00, and it was the last one I took during the run. At that point I was probably about three miles from the finish!
There was a mini-aid station at 29 miles, where I slurped some water and took off for the finish. At that point my Garmin had started flashing low battery. I had not really expected it to last the whole way, so I had my old Garmin with the broken wrist band charged up in my pack to take over, had this one died after six hours or so. I was pretty impressed that it actually lasted over 8 hours! I had used a tip to reset the battery* so it had a longer life, and I guess it worked. I was at 30.25 miles when it stopped, and obviously I didn't bother to get out the spare.
Soon after I saw a guy who told me, 800 yards to the finish! I "sprinted" off, went up a little hill, and there it was!
We received a special finisher's hat at the finish line. I was feeling good, happy to be done, and just happy!
Here I might not look quite so happy....
During the morning while I was running, Rod and my parents went out to breakfast and then he took them on a scenic tour. Here are my parents with the rowboats at Clear Lake. I was somewhere along the perimeter of Clear Lake at the time.
Then they went up to see the lava fields near McKenzie Pass. The Sisters peaks are in the background.
My parents on the bridge.
The McKenzie River. Again.
It's a little hard to see, but this is the hot spring where the pool water comes from.
While I had been running in the wild, my parents and Rod learned some other big news--Dish network reached an agreement with the Pac12 and would air the Ducks game! We listened on the radio in the car, then went back to the cabin to watch the rest of the game and rest.
Later we went to Takoda's for dinner. I guessed that at least one person at every table there had run MRTR.
Still happy to be done!
I didn't take many pictures of the cabin (I think my mom has some, though), but this is the cool view from the upstairs loft. That is the river outside and a few people in Adirondack chairs.
A few final thoughts...I didn't really mention the heat, because it wasn't an issue at all. I think the temperature got into the low 80s by afternoon, but that was about ten degrees cooler than the day before, and it was much cooler in the woods. It didn't bother me at all.
My final time was 8 hours 13 minutes. Yes, slow....but that's the way I roll. It probably would have been a little less without the pictures--maybe under 8 hours--but this may well have been a once in a lifetime experience and I don't begrudge a little time taken to commemorate it. I had estimated that it would take me 8 hours to do it. I didn't set my sights high!
Speaking of once in a lifetime...I don't know that I intend to do another 50K. This was a special one that I really wanted to do. The area has special meaning to Rod (he has family history here), and it is so incredibly scenic, along the course and everywhere. Many of the other 50Ks I know of are loops of a shorter course and I have no real desire to do that, just to get in the distance. Plus the training was a little overwhelming...it virtually consumed my summer. (I plan to write a separate post on training for a 50K.) There are too many marathons (and half marathons) that I would like to do, to devote another training cycle to running a 50K trail run. (In future, I might do trail runs, but shorter, like half marathon or maybe up to 30K.)
There are some more nice pictures on my parents' camera, but I am too impatient to wait to add them. I might do a little addendum later. There is a good one of me at the beginning of the run, and some nice pictures from their sightseeing as well. I am so lucky that the race photographer posted pictures on facebook just before I finished this!
If you do want to do a 50K someday, and would like to travel to a lovely part of Oregon, I highly recommend the McKenzie River Trail Run. It is a little tricky to get into (there's a lottery), so check out the website for details!
*How to reset the battery on your Garmin 405: Charge battery to full power. Turn on Garmin and let it run until battery is fully drained. Recharge to full power plus an extra hour. I got eight hours of battery life out of mine after doing this!
Monday, September 10, 2012
The last few weeks (pre-50K)
I've started several blog posts since my last one (dog bite weekend), but they have failed for various reasons--e.g. Forgot to save (that was discouraging) and lack of time (working is so time consuming!).
A few bullet points of catch-up...
*After a couple days of recovery from The Incident, I was back on track with two runs on Wednesday and Thursday and a couple of medium long runs the weekend of August 11-12. Saturday - 15.21 miles in town, Sunday - 11.25 miles in town, met my parents at Starbucks and went out to their house to watch the Men's Olympic Marathon on tape.
*The Men's Marathon rocked! It was also great fast-forwarding through the commercials...it made for a very efficient use of time. LOVE Meb!
*The week of August 13-19 was my peak week (EVER!) and also my birthday week. Monday - 7.51 miles easy. Wednesday - 7.75 miles with 7 x 800. Thursday - 8.3 miles, and I can't remember if any were at approximate marathon pace. Saturday - 23.1 miles! Then I walked around an art show for about a mile, met my parents for lunch, then walked around some more and walked home for a total of 3.25 miles walking (total 26.35 miles on my feet = my Birthday Marathon). This was also a HOT day and I think I started around 6 a.m.
*Sunday, August 19 was my birthday. I celebrated at the Mud and Chocolate Half Marathon Trail Run. If the Half Marathon really was 13.1 miles (my Garmin measured a little short, but it was rather heavily wooded on the trails), then I ran a total of 14.7 miles with my warm-up and a little extra after. (Then I had a real birthday party at my parents' later, with lobster rolls and my favorite apple cake.)
*Total mileage for peak week 61.36 miles!
*Then I went into three weeks of taper. The first one was really just a typical cutback week...Tuesday - 6.27 miles easy, Wednesday 7.60 miles with five tempo-ish, Thursday 8.15 miles with 6 at sort of marathon pace (~10 minute). Saturday 12.75 miles, Sunday 10 miles in under 100 minutes (thanks to an intentionally fast mile 3 to "fix" my average pace). Total for that week 45.78 miles, which just happens to be 25% less than peak week. Sunday afternoon we went for a 15 mile bike ride through town and on the Centennial Trail (stopping for burgers at Cedarcrest on the way home).
*August 27-September 2 I knocked it down another 25% to 30.55 for the week. (There may be a flaw in my math but you get the idea.) This was also the first week all summer (except for when I did the Tunnel Marathon) where I ran only on one day (Saturday).
*I ran on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, all easy miles except for 8 x 800 on Wednesday.
*My total mileage for August - 205.34.
*My one weekend run was 9.32 miles on Saturday before Rod and I left for a weekend in Waterville. I ran in town and in the first mile I tripped on the sidewalk and fell hard on my knees. Luckily I was wearing capris so my knees didn't get too bloody, just a little fabric burn which did become scabs later in the week. The bruising was pretty painful, but I did plug on and managed to finish 15K. (Once upon a time I had 10 miles on my schedule but that was before I had travel plans for the day...I am just impressed at myself (a little) for getting up at 6 a.m. on Saturday to do the run early.)
*We left at about 9 to drive over east. Later in the afternoon we rode our mountain bikes around the hilly gravel roads at Rimrock, about 5.75 miles. We had a bit of an adventure (if you can call it that) in Waterville where we learned that our favorite restaurant was closed for a private party, and the few other places were closed for the Labor Day weekend! We were looking desperately at food options in the tiny market, when we found out that the Harvest House would let us come eat there anyway (despite the private party). We had really delicious steaks with gorgonzola sauce, and went back on Sunday for both lunch and dinner.
*On Monday morning I had a really nice run around Waterville. I have worked out a great loop route from Waterville, toward Badger Mountain Ski Hill, and back into Waterville on a different road. I think it would be about 10 miles if I went all the way to the ski hill, but I've never had time for that. This time I did the minimum distance to complete a loop, which turned out to be 7.5 miles. It was a beautiful day with the early morning sun lighting up the wheat fields.
*On Wednesday I did my last run before McKenzie, 6.25 miles with 4 x 400 on the track. Obviously quarter-mile speed work was absolutely unnecessary for a long, slow, trail run, but I wanted to give my legs one last reminder that they could run a little bit fast, in anticipation of trying to get some speed back after the 50K experiment was done!
Well, that's it, pretty much my whole month of August through the beginning of September. Next up, McKenzie River Trail Run. (Spoiler alert - I made it!)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
A few bullet points of catch-up...
*After a couple days of recovery from The Incident, I was back on track with two runs on Wednesday and Thursday and a couple of medium long runs the weekend of August 11-12. Saturday - 15.21 miles in town, Sunday - 11.25 miles in town, met my parents at Starbucks and went out to their house to watch the Men's Olympic Marathon on tape.
*The Men's Marathon rocked! It was also great fast-forwarding through the commercials...it made for a very efficient use of time. LOVE Meb!
*The week of August 13-19 was my peak week (EVER!) and also my birthday week. Monday - 7.51 miles easy. Wednesday - 7.75 miles with 7 x 800. Thursday - 8.3 miles, and I can't remember if any were at approximate marathon pace. Saturday - 23.1 miles! Then I walked around an art show for about a mile, met my parents for lunch, then walked around some more and walked home for a total of 3.25 miles walking (total 26.35 miles on my feet = my Birthday Marathon). This was also a HOT day and I think I started around 6 a.m.
*Sunday, August 19 was my birthday. I celebrated at the Mud and Chocolate Half Marathon Trail Run. If the Half Marathon really was 13.1 miles (my Garmin measured a little short, but it was rather heavily wooded on the trails), then I ran a total of 14.7 miles with my warm-up and a little extra after. (Then I had a real birthday party at my parents' later, with lobster rolls and my favorite apple cake.)
*Total mileage for peak week 61.36 miles!
*Then I went into three weeks of taper. The first one was really just a typical cutback week...Tuesday - 6.27 miles easy, Wednesday 7.60 miles with five tempo-ish, Thursday 8.15 miles with 6 at sort of marathon pace (~10 minute). Saturday 12.75 miles, Sunday 10 miles in under 100 minutes (thanks to an intentionally fast mile 3 to "fix" my average pace). Total for that week 45.78 miles, which just happens to be 25% less than peak week. Sunday afternoon we went for a 15 mile bike ride through town and on the Centennial Trail (stopping for burgers at Cedarcrest on the way home).
*August 27-September 2 I knocked it down another 25% to 30.55 for the week. (There may be a flaw in my math but you get the idea.) This was also the first week all summer (except for when I did the Tunnel Marathon) where I ran only on one day (Saturday).
*I ran on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, all easy miles except for 8 x 800 on Wednesday.
*My total mileage for August - 205.34.
*My one weekend run was 9.32 miles on Saturday before Rod and I left for a weekend in Waterville. I ran in town and in the first mile I tripped on the sidewalk and fell hard on my knees. Luckily I was wearing capris so my knees didn't get too bloody, just a little fabric burn which did become scabs later in the week. The bruising was pretty painful, but I did plug on and managed to finish 15K. (Once upon a time I had 10 miles on my schedule but that was before I had travel plans for the day...I am just impressed at myself (a little) for getting up at 6 a.m. on Saturday to do the run early.)
*We left at about 9 to drive over east. Later in the afternoon we rode our mountain bikes around the hilly gravel roads at Rimrock, about 5.75 miles. We had a bit of an adventure (if you can call it that) in Waterville where we learned that our favorite restaurant was closed for a private party, and the few other places were closed for the Labor Day weekend! We were looking desperately at food options in the tiny market, when we found out that the Harvest House would let us come eat there anyway (despite the private party). We had really delicious steaks with gorgonzola sauce, and went back on Sunday for both lunch and dinner.
*On Monday morning I had a really nice run around Waterville. I have worked out a great loop route from Waterville, toward Badger Mountain Ski Hill, and back into Waterville on a different road. I think it would be about 10 miles if I went all the way to the ski hill, but I've never had time for that. This time I did the minimum distance to complete a loop, which turned out to be 7.5 miles. It was a beautiful day with the early morning sun lighting up the wheat fields.
*On Wednesday I did my last run before McKenzie, 6.25 miles with 4 x 400 on the track. Obviously quarter-mile speed work was absolutely unnecessary for a long, slow, trail run, but I wanted to give my legs one last reminder that they could run a little bit fast, in anticipation of trying to get some speed back after the 50K experiment was done!
Well, that's it, pretty much my whole month of August through the beginning of September. Next up, McKenzie River Trail Run. (Spoiler alert - I made it!)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday, August 12, 2012
What happened this (last) weekend
Lots.
The Olympics continued and I continued my sporadic viewing. I am not capable of figuring out when stuff is on, for the most part, so I just catch what I can during the evening highlights and a few random weekend moments. I can't stay awake very late at night so I only see a couple hours of that...never the biggest events, which they seem to save for 11 p.m. or something. (Why, Bob Costas, why?) The event I've seen the most of is women's beach volleyball. I feel much better about it now that they're allowed to wear capris and leggings. (And diving. So much diving.)
I didn't even manage to successfully watch the women's marathon, the one event I really wanted to see. FAIL. For weeks I have been checking my local listings and it showed the time as 6 a.m. I figured it was on a time delay for Pacific time (which worked for me!). I had this plan to have my mother record it then run out to her house and watch. Good plan.
But at 5:15 Sunday morning I turned on the TV and there they were! Women! Marathoners! Running in London! I got to watch the final mile and the finish, and then the non-medalists come in. Even though they didn't win, it was nice to see Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher come in right after each other, 10th and 11th.
There was more on Sunday (more than missing the marathon? Yes!) but first there was Saturday. On Saturday I was signed up for the half marathon trail run at Grand Ridge trail (east of Issaquah) (they also had a 5-mile, marathon and 50K). The half didn't start until 9, officially, but I headed up super early in hopes of doing the marathon/50K early start. It was supposed to be really hot by afternoon (it was 90 when I headed home), plus I wanted to do an extra five miles after, plus I just didn't want to be there all day.
Happily they agreed to let me start at 7:30 (and I wasn't the only one doing the half who did), and a few minutes later we hit the trail. I was trying out my new Nathan hydration vest for the first time, which seemed like a good idea for a hot day with limited aid stations. (My review after using it twice is that it seems fine, except that the rubber tube makes the water taste pretty nasty.)
The course was a 13.1 mile loop, doubled for the full marathon, and an extra 5-mile loop for the 5-milers and 50K. I also planned to add the 5-mile after I finished the half marathon.
The run was at a trail near Issaquah called Grand Ridge. I'd been there in June for a 5-mile trail run/race (in the evening, in the rain, I couldn't see well due to wet steamy glasses, yet I managed to run pretty fast, for a trail, and not fall at all!). this same 5-mile loop featured in the run on Saturday. Based on my past experience I knew it was hilly, rocky, and twisty-turny.
I'm too lazy to spend a lot of time recounting every detail. But I'll start out then cut it short when I get bored. The first 1.5 miles are mostly uphill with tons of switchbacks. Everyone was walking from the beginning and I was stuck in the line. I totally understand that lots of these people were looking at running 50K and needed to pace themselves, and I'm certainly not opposed to walking, but I felt, as I always do, that if we (I) didn't run up some of these hills the we (I) would never get done! So eventually I made my way past some of the walkers (the really fast runners were long gone), and began chugging up a lot of the hills.
One comment--in a trail run, where the path is narrow, I really don't like to pass people unless I am sure I can stay ahead of them for a while. So sometimes I stay behind people for longer just to make sure of that.
After heading back downhill for half a mile it was up again...and so forth. In the first few miles we got sorted so there wasn't a huge amount of passing. At least not till later on when faster runners started coming back and then the two later starts went (8 am for the regular 50K and marathon start, 9 am for the half marathonlate regular starting fools runners.
At mile 4 we had an aid station. We'd pass it again after a 7-mile out and back. They put some self serve water at the turnaround point but I heard it ran out after a while. I had plenty of my own water so I wasn't concerned. At the first stop I had a cup of Nuun and two mini chocolate chip cookies. I love to have treats on the trails!
The next seven miles (3.5 out and back) had several long downhills and uphills (reversed on the return). Throughout my time on the run there were three people I encountered most often. All of them played cat and mouse with me (or I with them). I would pass them on the uphill sections or when they were walking, and then they would pass me in bursts of speed later on. Until they walked again. I don't know who's better off in this scenario. Me because I remain steady and plod on? Them because they have the speed to run faster and the wisdom to take breaks? Who knows. We all finished the first half marathon at the same time, in the end.
Two of these people were females who really seemed to be running too fast in their energy boosts (in my opinion). I make this judgment because sometimes they were walking on regular terrain, not even uphill. This makes me think they were wearing themselves out too much. Also, one of them seemed to be hurting a lot even in the first 13. Her friend seemed to be doing better...probably she was there to support the other. I talked to her at the 7-mile aid station. This was her first trail run (gosh). She had run one road marathon in the past. She was doing the 50K and was determined to finish (oh my God). (Everyone was allowed to voluntarily cut back to the marathon or half and not DNF by doing so.)
At that aid station stop I drank a cup of Pepsi (real) and had two broken pieces of Pop-tart (haven't had a Pop-tart in 20 years!). At that point we were 11 miles in and only about two miles to the finish! I knew a lot of that would be downhill (still twisty and rocky).
I should mention that my two goals for this run were "do not fall" and "do not die." I actually chanted that to myself like a mantra periodically. So far, I was doing well on both.
About halfway through that last stretch I saw my novice friend go splat behind me. Her friend was helping her so I didn't stop. I congratulated my self on doing so well at not falling. I knew also that we were almost to the road (which is about three quarters of a mile from the finish). I sped up...caught my foot on a root...and fell in a most spectacular and painful fashion. My hands didn't get scraped, but both legs were bloodied and I ended up with bruises on both knees. I must have rolled, too, because both my front and back were covered with dirt.*
Several people stopped to help me, including the two women I had been interacting with. After a few minutes to shake off the shock, I was able to run again. But as always after a fall, I was edgy and completely unable to let go on the rest of the downhill. Once I got to the gravel road (which was a flat surface but cruelly slightly uphill) I was able to run "normally" but not especially fast. I crossed the finish line in 3:16. I really don't care how slow I am in trail runs but it is still hard to swallow. (Edited to add -- I just downloaded my Garmin time and it was 3:11. So clearly they were not very on top of writing things down quickly!)
At the aid station there (for runners who were continuing on) I drank a couple more cups of Pepsi. Caffeine and sugar, exactly what I needed!
As I said earlier, the three runners I'd seen most often headed out on their next lap. I really had to talk myself into going back for another five. I suppose I was a little demoralized from falling, plus it was sort of warm (though I really hardly noticed that), and, of course I was tired. I also have a real mental resistance to running more after finishing any race, no matter how long or short and no matter how slowly I ran.
But I went. Along the way I passed my three companions again, and never saw them again by the time I cut to the finish, even though I walked a lot in this segment. I think I pretty much walked up every hill this time. And I didn't care. The only thing that kept me going was the knowledge that if I didn't, I'd never get done! Just keep moving. That was my new mantra. (Along with "don't fall again." "Don't die" was pretty much off the table since I was walking so much.)
During one of my walking spells a photographer caught me in all my unflattering dirty glory.
I don't know what happened to the picture I saw being taken from the front when I was still clean and happy looking!
Finally I was done. I ate lots of watermelon and a volunteer cleaned up my scraped legs. I drove home, stopping for a McDonalds cone on the way, and bought sushi for lunch.
The only post script to this trail run is that when results were posted, they showed my total time, including the extra five miles that were like walking, as my half marathon time. Not pretty! (Even so, I was just second from last.) I emailed the race director and he corrected it with my half marathon split. Still not too impressive, but much further from the bottom!
Sunday I already wrote about, mostly. The day started with some disappointment due to the marathon taping fail. One thing I did right was leaving early (6:30) to run out to my parents' house. My plan was 11-13 miles, depending on how I felt (trail runs are pretty draining to me). I felt middling okay, though slow. I decided to opt for 12 miles, with a secret option to increase it just enough to make 50K for the weekend (with Saturday's 18.3 total, that would take 12.7 miles).
Well, you've heard the rest of the story. I ran. I was slow (if I didn't mention that already). I got bit by a dog at just past mile 12. I ran the rest of the way and added .2 at the end to get the 12.7. I bled. I bandaged. I didn't get to swim. I ate steak for dinner. Despite my intent to eschew the official dessert, I had a small piece of the most delicious coconut cream pie** along with my intended strawberries and slow churned ice cream.
And that was last weekend. By the time I managed to finish this another weekend has passed. (Marathon viewing success!) But that's a post for another day...week...whatever.
Oh yeah, my total mileage for last week (Monday through Sunday) was over 55 miles. Pretty sure that's a high for me. This upcoming week is going to be my peak week, so I might beat that, but it depends on how the mid-week goes. That high week included one double run day, and I'm not doing that again anytime soon!
**********
*My shirt was basically ruined. I have washed and soaked it several times with various cleaners and the dirt stains won't come completely out. I need some of magical cleaner like baseball teams use for their uniforms!
**Stuffed full of coconut. So good.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The Olympics continued and I continued my sporadic viewing. I am not capable of figuring out when stuff is on, for the most part, so I just catch what I can during the evening highlights and a few random weekend moments. I can't stay awake very late at night so I only see a couple hours of that...never the biggest events, which they seem to save for 11 p.m. or something. (Why, Bob Costas, why?) The event I've seen the most of is women's beach volleyball. I feel much better about it now that they're allowed to wear capris and leggings. (And diving. So much diving.)
I didn't even manage to successfully watch the women's marathon, the one event I really wanted to see. FAIL. For weeks I have been checking my local listings and it showed the time as 6 a.m. I figured it was on a time delay for Pacific time (which worked for me!). I had this plan to have my mother record it then run out to her house and watch. Good plan.
But at 5:15 Sunday morning I turned on the TV and there they were! Women! Marathoners! Running in London! I got to watch the final mile and the finish, and then the non-medalists come in. Even though they didn't win, it was nice to see Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher come in right after each other, 10th and 11th.
There was more on Sunday (more than missing the marathon? Yes!) but first there was Saturday. On Saturday I was signed up for the half marathon trail run at Grand Ridge trail (east of Issaquah) (they also had a 5-mile, marathon and 50K). The half didn't start until 9, officially, but I headed up super early in hopes of doing the marathon/50K early start. It was supposed to be really hot by afternoon (it was 90 when I headed home), plus I wanted to do an extra five miles after, plus I just didn't want to be there all day.
Happily they agreed to let me start at 7:30 (and I wasn't the only one doing the half who did), and a few minutes later we hit the trail. I was trying out my new Nathan hydration vest for the first time, which seemed like a good idea for a hot day with limited aid stations. (My review after using it twice is that it seems fine, except that the rubber tube makes the water taste pretty nasty.)
The course was a 13.1 mile loop, doubled for the full marathon, and an extra 5-mile loop for the 5-milers and 50K. I also planned to add the 5-mile after I finished the half marathon.
The run was at a trail near Issaquah called Grand Ridge. I'd been there in June for a 5-mile trail run/race (in the evening, in the rain, I couldn't see well due to wet steamy glasses, yet I managed to run pretty fast, for a trail, and not fall at all!). this same 5-mile loop featured in the run on Saturday. Based on my past experience I knew it was hilly, rocky, and twisty-turny.
I'm too lazy to spend a lot of time recounting every detail. But I'll start out then cut it short when I get bored. The first 1.5 miles are mostly uphill with tons of switchbacks. Everyone was walking from the beginning and I was stuck in the line. I totally understand that lots of these people were looking at running 50K and needed to pace themselves, and I'm certainly not opposed to walking, but I felt, as I always do, that if we (I) didn't run up some of these hills the we (I) would never get done! So eventually I made my way past some of the walkers (the really fast runners were long gone), and began chugging up a lot of the hills.
One comment--in a trail run, where the path is narrow, I really don't like to pass people unless I am sure I can stay ahead of them for a while. So sometimes I stay behind people for longer just to make sure of that.
After heading back downhill for half a mile it was up again...and so forth. In the first few miles we got sorted so there wasn't a huge amount of passing. At least not till later on when faster runners started coming back and then the two later starts went (8 am for the regular 50K and marathon start, 9 am for the half marathon
At mile 4 we had an aid station. We'd pass it again after a 7-mile out and back. They put some self serve water at the turnaround point but I heard it ran out after a while. I had plenty of my own water so I wasn't concerned. At the first stop I had a cup of Nuun and two mini chocolate chip cookies. I love to have treats on the trails!
The next seven miles (3.5 out and back) had several long downhills and uphills (reversed on the return). Throughout my time on the run there were three people I encountered most often. All of them played cat and mouse with me (or I with them). I would pass them on the uphill sections or when they were walking, and then they would pass me in bursts of speed later on. Until they walked again. I don't know who's better off in this scenario. Me because I remain steady and plod on? Them because they have the speed to run faster and the wisdom to take breaks? Who knows. We all finished the first half marathon at the same time, in the end.
Two of these people were females who really seemed to be running too fast in their energy boosts (in my opinion). I make this judgment because sometimes they were walking on regular terrain, not even uphill. This makes me think they were wearing themselves out too much. Also, one of them seemed to be hurting a lot even in the first 13. Her friend seemed to be doing better...probably she was there to support the other. I talked to her at the 7-mile aid station. This was her first trail run (gosh). She had run one road marathon in the past. She was doing the 50K and was determined to finish (oh my God). (Everyone was allowed to voluntarily cut back to the marathon or half and not DNF by doing so.)
At that aid station stop I drank a cup of Pepsi (real) and had two broken pieces of Pop-tart (haven't had a Pop-tart in 20 years!). At that point we were 11 miles in and only about two miles to the finish! I knew a lot of that would be downhill (still twisty and rocky).
I should mention that my two goals for this run were "do not fall" and "do not die." I actually chanted that to myself like a mantra periodically. So far, I was doing well on both.
About halfway through that last stretch I saw my novice friend go splat behind me. Her friend was helping her so I didn't stop. I congratulated my self on doing so well at not falling. I knew also that we were almost to the road (which is about three quarters of a mile from the finish). I sped up...caught my foot on a root...and fell in a most spectacular and painful fashion. My hands didn't get scraped, but both legs were bloodied and I ended up with bruises on both knees. I must have rolled, too, because both my front and back were covered with dirt.*
Several people stopped to help me, including the two women I had been interacting with. After a few minutes to shake off the shock, I was able to run again. But as always after a fall, I was edgy and completely unable to let go on the rest of the downhill. Once I got to the gravel road (which was a flat surface but cruelly slightly uphill) I was able to run "normally" but not especially fast. I crossed the finish line in 3:16. I really don't care how slow I am in trail runs but it is still hard to swallow. (Edited to add -- I just downloaded my Garmin time and it was 3:11. So clearly they were not very on top of writing things down quickly!)
At the aid station there (for runners who were continuing on) I drank a couple more cups of Pepsi. Caffeine and sugar, exactly what I needed!
As I said earlier, the three runners I'd seen most often headed out on their next lap. I really had to talk myself into going back for another five. I suppose I was a little demoralized from falling, plus it was sort of warm (though I really hardly noticed that), and, of course I was tired. I also have a real mental resistance to running more after finishing any race, no matter how long or short and no matter how slowly I ran.
But I went. Along the way I passed my three companions again, and never saw them again by the time I cut to the finish, even though I walked a lot in this segment. I think I pretty much walked up every hill this time. And I didn't care. The only thing that kept me going was the knowledge that if I didn't, I'd never get done! Just keep moving. That was my new mantra. (Along with "don't fall again." "Don't die" was pretty much off the table since I was walking so much.)
During one of my walking spells a photographer caught me in all my unflattering dirty glory.
I don't know what happened to the picture I saw being taken from the front when I was still clean and happy looking!
Finally I was done. I ate lots of watermelon and a volunteer cleaned up my scraped legs. I drove home, stopping for a McDonalds cone on the way, and bought sushi for lunch.
The only post script to this trail run is that when results were posted, they showed my total time, including the extra five miles that were like walking, as my half marathon time. Not pretty! (Even so, I was just second from last.) I emailed the race director and he corrected it with my half marathon split. Still not too impressive, but much further from the bottom!
Sunday I already wrote about, mostly. The day started with some disappointment due to the marathon taping fail. One thing I did right was leaving early (6:30) to run out to my parents' house. My plan was 11-13 miles, depending on how I felt (trail runs are pretty draining to me). I felt middling okay, though slow. I decided to opt for 12 miles, with a secret option to increase it just enough to make 50K for the weekend (with Saturday's 18.3 total, that would take 12.7 miles).
Well, you've heard the rest of the story. I ran. I was slow (if I didn't mention that already). I got bit by a dog at just past mile 12. I ran the rest of the way and added .2 at the end to get the 12.7. I bled. I bandaged. I didn't get to swim. I ate steak for dinner. Despite my intent to eschew the official dessert, I had a small piece of the most delicious coconut cream pie** along with my intended strawberries and slow churned ice cream.
And that was last weekend. By the time I managed to finish this another weekend has passed. (Marathon viewing success!) But that's a post for another day...week...whatever.
Oh yeah, my total mileage for last week (Monday through Sunday) was over 55 miles. Pretty sure that's a high for me. This upcoming week is going to be my peak week, so I might beat that, but it depends on how the mid-week goes. That high week included one double run day, and I'm not doing that again anytime soon!
**********
*My shirt was basically ruined. I have washed and soaked it several times with various cleaners and the dirt stains won't come completely out. I need some of magical cleaner like baseball teams use for their uniforms!
**Stuffed full of coconut. So good.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Thursday, August 9, 2012
All better now
I figured since I told the world about my dog bite, I'd better reassure the world that I have recovered nicely! Coincidentally, it took pretty much exactly the two days that the nurse told me to rest, for the wound to heal enough that I felt okay to run. I took Monday and Tuesday off from all exercise, and then went out for 6.25 yesterday (I was prepared to do less if I felt bad). My leg still felt a little sore, but I think it was more from the bruising than the injury. I also moved from a gauze bandage to bandaids yesterday. This morning I did 6.5 (I could have gone further but I didn't have enough time) and really it didn't hurt at all. I'm going to cross-train tomorrow, then go back to my originally planned medium-long runs on Saturday and Sunday. My mileage this week will probably be a good 20 miles less than last week...but it is a cutback week, anyway.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
My leg hurts, a little.
I was in the middle of writing a post about all the things that happened this weekend (which I will finish soon), but I got tired of tapping away on the iPad and really the event this weekend that had the most serious effect on me happened at the end.
I got injured. Not a running injury, but an injury while running.... I got bit by a dog.
I know. How could this happen? I'm sure everyone is afraid of it, but (luckily) it hardly ever happens. (Because most people in the world don't own vicious dogs, that they allow to roam loose, and attack innocent bypassers. I'm just saying.)
I was running out to my parents' house on Sunday morning, and I was less than half a mile away, when a medium-sized brown dog (pit bull-like) came running down a driveway, crossed the road, bit me in the back of my leg above the knee, and ran back. It's a pretty busy road but there were no cars around at the time...not even the local police that often cruise around trying to nab speeders.
I stood there and shrieked a little, for a moment, then I finished the run. Actually I added about a tenth of a mile at the end to get up to my distance goal (12.7 miles). I could feel the bit throbbing a little. Blood was running down my leg, but not gushing.
Then I went and rang my parents' doorbell (I didn't want to go into the house bleeding without warning them) and my mom came to the door.
From there I rinsed off the blood in the shower and my mom looked at the wound (I couldn't see it well because it's the back of my leg). There were two medium-small punctures (teeth) and a few smaller scrapes. I really did not want to go to the walk-in clinic or emergency room. Plus I didn't even have my insurance card or driver's license with me. So I called the Group Health consulting nurse (they were able to look up my number) and asked what to do.
She agreed that I wouldn't necessarily have to come in if I rinsed it well and bandaged it with antibiotic cream. She also told me I couldn't run for two days. That bothered me at the time, but I was still under the effects of endorphins (from the run) and adrenaline (from the injury) and didn't yet feel the discomfort I would feel later (running was not tempting). I also couldn't go swimming, which was really disappointing! It was the hottest day of the year and we had big plans for swimming at the beach.
I started out with bandaids but throughout the day they kept falling off. It was a combination of me moving around making them unstick and also that the wounds kept seeping blood and fluid. Not a gusher or anything, but it soaked the bandaid then it loosened up and so forth. I made it through the day with bandaids then ended up with a gauze pad and tape in the evening.
That was Sunday. Today is Tuesday and I haven't run yet (Monday and Tuesday were my two days off). I didn't try to go cross train or anything because I figured that any kind of leg work would be problematic. I regretted not having a weight training routine because I could have gone and done upper body stuff...but this was probably not the time to start.
The back of my leg at the injury site is still definitely sore, but I think it's getting better. It's complicated because my legs (quads) are also quite sore from trail running, so that makes it hard to judge what body pain is solely from the dog bite! Yesterday I was pretty much crippled and limping. Today I am stiff and store whenever I get up from sitting or not moving, but once I walk around I'm better.
I want to try running tomorrow. I'm so worried that it will be painful and awkward (the DOMS from the weekend will still be a factor, as well). I've run with pain before--my knees were bruised and scraped when I set out on Sunday morning--but usually it fades to mild discomfort once I get warmed up. Hopefully that will be the case here too.
I'm trying to tell myself that this won't be a major damper on my training. Even missing a few days this week will be no worse than a taper. Luckily this is a cutback week anyway (last week was high mileage), and if I run four days instead of five (which is the best case scenario), or even only three days, it's fine.
I'm continuing to consider today a full rest day and tomorrow I'll try to get back on track with an easy run (Wednesday speed work will have to wait a week).
I guess I'll have to think twice about running to my parents' house anymore. I've already been contemplating an alternate route where my mom meets me at Starbucks instead....
I got injured. Not a running injury, but an injury while running.... I got bit by a dog.
I know. How could this happen? I'm sure everyone is afraid of it, but (luckily) it hardly ever happens. (Because most people in the world don't own vicious dogs, that they allow to roam loose, and attack innocent bypassers. I'm just saying.)
I was running out to my parents' house on Sunday morning, and I was less than half a mile away, when a medium-sized brown dog (pit bull-like) came running down a driveway, crossed the road, bit me in the back of my leg above the knee, and ran back. It's a pretty busy road but there were no cars around at the time...not even the local police that often cruise around trying to nab speeders.
I stood there and shrieked a little, for a moment, then I finished the run. Actually I added about a tenth of a mile at the end to get up to my distance goal (12.7 miles). I could feel the bit throbbing a little. Blood was running down my leg, but not gushing.
Then I went and rang my parents' doorbell (I didn't want to go into the house bleeding without warning them) and my mom came to the door.
From there I rinsed off the blood in the shower and my mom looked at the wound (I couldn't see it well because it's the back of my leg). There were two medium-small punctures (teeth) and a few smaller scrapes. I really did not want to go to the walk-in clinic or emergency room. Plus I didn't even have my insurance card or driver's license with me. So I called the Group Health consulting nurse (they were able to look up my number) and asked what to do.
She agreed that I wouldn't necessarily have to come in if I rinsed it well and bandaged it with antibiotic cream. She also told me I couldn't run for two days. That bothered me at the time, but I was still under the effects of endorphins (from the run) and adrenaline (from the injury) and didn't yet feel the discomfort I would feel later (running was not tempting). I also couldn't go swimming, which was really disappointing! It was the hottest day of the year and we had big plans for swimming at the beach.
I started out with bandaids but throughout the day they kept falling off. It was a combination of me moving around making them unstick and also that the wounds kept seeping blood and fluid. Not a gusher or anything, but it soaked the bandaid then it loosened up and so forth. I made it through the day with bandaids then ended up with a gauze pad and tape in the evening.
That was Sunday. Today is Tuesday and I haven't run yet (Monday and Tuesday were my two days off). I didn't try to go cross train or anything because I figured that any kind of leg work would be problematic. I regretted not having a weight training routine because I could have gone and done upper body stuff...but this was probably not the time to start.
The back of my leg at the injury site is still definitely sore, but I think it's getting better. It's complicated because my legs (quads) are also quite sore from trail running, so that makes it hard to judge what body pain is solely from the dog bite! Yesterday I was pretty much crippled and limping. Today I am stiff and store whenever I get up from sitting or not moving, but once I walk around I'm better.
I want to try running tomorrow. I'm so worried that it will be painful and awkward (the DOMS from the weekend will still be a factor, as well). I've run with pain before--my knees were bruised and scraped when I set out on Sunday morning--but usually it fades to mild discomfort once I get warmed up. Hopefully that will be the case here too.
I'm trying to tell myself that this won't be a major damper on my training. Even missing a few days this week will be no worse than a taper. Luckily this is a cutback week anyway (last week was high mileage), and if I run four days instead of five (which is the best case scenario), or even only three days, it's fine.
I'm continuing to consider today a full rest day and tomorrow I'll try to get back on track with an easy run (Wednesday speed work will have to wait a week).
I guess I'll have to think twice about running to my parents' house anymore. I've already been contemplating an alternate route where my mom meets me at Starbucks instead....
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