Its gonna take patience and time.....

George Harrison may not have been singing about training for a 100-miler with his song "I got my mind set on you" but I thought it funny when this song popped up on Pandora while I was icing my slightly swollen right knee. The surprising thing is that I'm not the least bit worried. The ITB issues I had last year made me focus on all aspects of my running (e.g. foot placement, nutrition and most important PATIENCE). I was able to overcome the weak link in my running (a weak right glute) and fix the acute pain on the outside of my knee. I have since incorporated a nice strength and core workout into my training and feel myself becoming stronger and more confident every day with my running. I can finally say that I am at a point where I know my body well enough to figure out these little aches and pains that come with increasing mileage and, more importantly, I have the patience to back off when needed.

What caused this swelling in the knee? The scientist in me doesn't want to make any conclusions without statistically significant data. Possibly an MRI scan to rule out any major issues. Just RICE, take some IB and don't run for 2-3 weeks and see what happens. Luckily, sometimes the answer is much easier. I had a great recovery from my cold and got out for three good runs this week. The first two were pretty chill hour-long runs in the early AM on the treadmill due to the icy conditions we've had in raleigh. I experimented a little with the incline and may incorporate some treadmill incline training due to our lack of hills in Raleigh but I'll wait on that for now. Overall, I don't like the treadmill but wanted to be cautious not to risk a broken hip or arm due to a lazy step on black ice. Both runs felt really nice but I was craving a little single track in Umstead.

I got up early Saturday morning and headed to the park for a nice 1.5 hour cruise. It was perfect weather, cold enough to keep most people snuggled up at home but not so cold I needed anything more than a long sleeve shirt and my turquoise gloves I got at Target for $1. The fall leaves were still covering the trails in the park meaning all the toe-stubbers (i.e. dense rocky/rooty sections notorious in the South) were hidden. I knew the challenge, shortened my stride and stayed focused on each foot placement. About 30 minutes in to the run I started to let my mind drift. I don't remember what I was thinking about at the time but I do remember seeing the tree root jump up and grab my foot causing a brilliant crash-n-burn including, but not limited to, a front rolling dismount and a beautifully executed ass-plant. I sat there for a few minutes and made sure I had all my limbs. Then I checked the trails to make sure nobody caught that on their Iphone and was uploading it to YouTube. Finally, I got up and took a few cautious steps and felt fine so I kept running. I finished up the run and felt really solid and forgot about the goofball move I had made on the trail. However, when I woke up this morning and realized my knee was swollen I can only guess that my knee was lucky enough to assist in the somersault, causing the issues I see today. I'm going to take today off from running and ice the knee, do some stretching and enjoy the holiday season.

Patience and time!

Weekly summary:
3.7 hours of running

Finding Balance

Last week was the first full week where I was feeling back on par with my running routine (up at 4:30 for a run, core workout at lunch, stretching and pillar of pain in the evening). I even pulled out the spandex because of the 10F weather. Hell, i even bought a pair of 3/4 length spandex to try out in the dark of the morning when nobody but other crazy runners would see me. You could say I was on a permanent runners high. Then, out of nowhere, a nasty cold comes storming into my life and knocks me out for three straight days. My morning runs have turned into marathon snooze-button pushing because I am up all night trying to cough up my lung. My lunchtime core workouts have morphed into sloth-like treadmill runs and my evening foam-roller finds me falling asleep on my back with the foam roller tucked nicely above my butt. Oh the frustration. Today is the first day I am feeling like I am taking control of this bug but I'm playing it safe and won't be back outside running for another day.

I have also started to do acupuncture. No, I am not injured but I will be if I don't take care of myself as I ramp up my miles over the next few months in preparation for the Cascade Crest 100. After having to pull out of the 50M a few months ago because of injury I am on the proactive approach instead of being reactive. All too often I think I am invincible. I can convince myself that sleep is overrated, stretching is for old people and pizza and beer is a sustainable diet. Then, as my acupuncturist would tell me, the imbalances catch up and I find myself either injured or sick. So, why did I get sick this week? It couldn't have anything to do with the party-like-a-rock-star Friday night I had for my company party. No, I'm stronger than that ;)

With the race schedule ahead of me now is the time I have to start buckling down and putting 100% of my focus on training. The addictive side of me loves this part. My whole life revolves around training: what I eat, when I sleep, where I will be on the weekends. The 'family, friend, coworker' side of me hates this because I become obsessed with running. Oh to find balance!

Dec. 6-12 Running Tally

7 hours - intermixed between singletrack in Umstead and Falls Lake and being a roadie around the house. On one specific run I was scared to death when I heard what I thought was a little baby girl crying in the bushes we had just run past (I was with Cougar). It was pitch black and all I had was my headlamp so I turned around and sprinted back to the bush scared to see what I was going to find. Just as I came up to the bush and looked down I heard the same baby's cry high in the tree above me. It turns out my old friend the Great Horned Owl was back to say hello. He ended up following us on the entire 8 mile loop, hopping from treetop to treetop, giving us the occasional cry. I never told Cougar this but I think the owl may have been doing a little Labradoodle hunting.

Happy Running!

It's been a while

I'm still not sure if blogging is my thing but I'm going to give it another try. I have recently been motivated (both internally and externally) to get back on the racing wagon after doing recreational running since finishing grad school. Yes, I have completed some challenging races but I never focused on my training like I really should have. Ultimately, that led to little aches and pains and a nagging lack of desire to roll out of bed and hit the trails. Therefore, with a decent base built up I have decided to focus on the quality over quantity and will start 2011 off with the P.F. Chang's Rock-n-Roll half in Phoenix, AZ. I have tentatively inked a few more races scattered throughout the first half of the year with the climax being the Cascade Crest 100 miler in August. In addition, I will be looking for some AR on the east coast for cross-training. Below is the current plans:

January 16th: PF Chang 1/2 in Phoenix, AZ
February 26th: Xterra 1/2 in Winder, GA
March 7th: Napa Full
April: ????
May 28th: Pocatello 50M in Pocatello, ID
June:
July: ???
August 27-28: Cascade Crest 100M in Easton, WA

Happy running!