Tough week

This was a tough week for me – I did a two-fer (two runs in a day) on Tuesday, hill repeats on Thursday, then a very hilly 7 mile trail run on Friday, and capped it with a 15 miler on Sunday. In total it was 33 miles for the week, which I know pales in comparison to what serious runners put in, but it is was I was comfortable doing.  I usually run 5 days a week, but this week was only 4 – my right Achilles has been a little tight, so I am trying to exercise some measure of level headedness and not overdo it to the point of not being able to run.  My mantra this year has been to stay uninjured.  Besides, the runs that I did were very productive and touched on all the elements that I wanted.

The mistake I made however was on Saturday.  Feeling the need to do something physical, I went down to the gym with the thought of doing some light upper body work – which led to also doing some leg work (leg curls, leg presses, calf presses), and because I felt so empowered, it led to a more rigorous workout that I ought to have considering that I was going to run 15 miles the next day.

I did the run, but it was so very much not my best run by a long shot.  My legs were totally toast after mile 10.  I started to feel the effects of my legs  not having the juice as soon as I hit my first significant hill around mile 7.  My legs just did not have it to run up that hill – so I sucked on a Gu and walked up most of it.  The Gu helped and I seemed to be ok of the next series of modest hills.

I had run up from my apartment into Great Falls Park and then up a trail into River Bend Park.  The trails were beautiful and I thoroughly enjoyed that part of the run.  I was on trails that I had mostly not been on before, was navigating by dead reckoning, and it was a blast.  At one point, knowing that I was heading towards the Potomac River I wound up on the trail that switch-backed its way down a reasonably high ridge (probably a 200 ft drop in elevation).  I remember thinking that if this trail didn’t drop me where I thought it was going to that I was going to have to run back up that switch-back, something that I did not think my legs were going to appreciate.  But fortunately I did wind up at a trail that runs along the river that would take me back to Great Falls Park.  The first picture is looking back upstream on the trail I was running, and the second is in the direction that I'm going. (yes, that is the edge of my finger on the left frame - I could crop that out, but...)

I like running on trails for a variety of reasons, but I am learning that trail running is very different than road running.  First of all you have to pay attention to the ground and what is in front of you.  Secondly, you have to make sure that 

you pick up your feet.  There is no such thing as “gliding” like I try to do on hard packed surfaces.  And finally, it is really hard to appreciate your surroundings.  So as a result, my times on trails suck because I’m enjoying where I am and I’m still learning how to run on uneven trails.

The route back home involved a lot of uphill…  coming out of the park there is a 200 ft elevation uplift over a bit more than a mile.  I’m on an asphalt road at this point and it is just a smooth grind up and out of the park area.  I just chugged up the road at a steady pace, somewhere around a 9:45m/m pace and felt ok.  I got a bit of relief for the next couple miles and then had an uphill challenge for the next 4 miles, with the last ½ mile being the steepest. I sucked another Gu down at mile 12 and that helped some, but on that last ½ mile I was suffering (a very slow 11m/m plod).  At one point I almost fell on my face as I tripped on the edge of sidewalk slab.  I managed to catch myself, but I had the thought that if for some reason that I hadn’t, I would have just laid there for a while to rest up some….

I walked Reece for a mile after I got home, took an ice bath, did my protein shake, hydrated, iced my Achilles, etc… and all is good.  I was a little sore, but not horribly.  Achilles ok the next day – maybe we’re going to be ok.  We went to a pool party later that afternoon and someone asked me if I could run a marathon this week if I had to…  My first inclination was to say no, but oddly enough as I was finishing up my 15 miles and evaluating how tired I really was, I wondered if I had another 11 miles left in me, and I thought that yes, if I had to do it, I could.  So my answer to the question was yes… but I’d rather not, just yet… 

83 more days to the MCM!   (12 weeks)

2 weeks to the Leesburg 20K

14 miles becomes 15.3 miles…

Ok – so my goal for today was a simple 14 mile run, and to make my life interesting (and ideally simpler), I was going to run from my house to Great Falls Park and back. Seven miles out, seven miles back. A few hills, some ups and downs, and a nice 150ft hill over the last ½ mile to finish with. I figured that the last hill would be good training for the MCM since it finishes with a hill and I wanted to see just how well I handled a hill after running a long way. But it turned out to be 7 miles out and 8 and a half back…

So I get myself up well before dawn, feed and walk the dog, to my stretching, etc., and head out as the sun comes up. This was actually important since I was going to be running on roads that had virtually no shoulder and I wanted to be done before traffic woke up. As it was, there were a few times when I had to step into the ditch to avoid cars – it was not the safest route I’ve ever run. But what it lacked for in safety it made up with beauty. Tons of tree’s and lots of greenery. Since it was so early I got to run undisturbed from traffic for some good stretches and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Clean air is so nice!

 My plan was to run into the park until I hit my 7 mile mark and then turn around. But once I was in there I started thinking about re-routing myself to bounce out onto another road for the return trip. This led me to take a trail that I’d never been on before and had no real idea where it went except that it sort of started out “westwards”…. And if you’ve ever been on a trail in the woods, they never go straight for very long, and this one was no exception.

This particular trail wound up being a somewhat difficult and technical trail to run – steep, rocky, and muddy. Dark too… There was so much under and over growth that there was little light (plus it was cloudy). This particular picture was in one of the rare "clearer" areas.  Making matter worse, there was no cellular signal so the map function on my handy smart phone was useless. The GPS knew where I was, but there was no map data – somewhat aggravating…

Nevertheless, I had a fair idea of where I was and where I wanted to go and ultimately arrived at a modestly level gravel trail that afforded me some respite. But that trail detour took a lot out of me – I was pretty tired and I was not even half way through my run. The gravel trail ran north-south which I knew would intersect with a road and once at that road I was able to figure out where I was and how to get home.

Taking a lesson from my last long run, I took a 5hour energy shot at the 7 mile point and the jolt of B12 did wonders. I was able to keep a fairly good pace all the way through to the end of mile 13 where I suddenly started to sag. I started to get that “hit the wall” and out of juice feeling, so I sucked down my last GU, and trudged my way forward. Incredibly, by the time I hit mile 14.5 I was back in rhythm and finished (even doing the hill nicely) strong. That last hill was difficult but I kept on truck’n – it wasn’t my fastest pace, but I was running.

The great news is that I did the entire run without experiencing any cramping. It was very humid (97%) and I was sweating profusely. I had done a reasonably good job of managing my fuel and Gatorade intake (half a cup of watered down Gatorade every 2 miles), GU at miles 4, 9, and 13, and the 5hr at mile 7. I let myself walk while drinking so that I could deliberately savor it and swallow (ahhh nice!). Even with the slow 2 miles on that trail I averaged a 9:26 pace. After my run I did a mile walk with my dog, relaxed with an ice bath, and then an ice compress for my Achilles tendon. I was tired, but not horribly. Next week I’d like to do 16 miles and then do a little taper prior to a 20K race on Aug 18.

91 days to the MCM….
 3 weeks to the Leesburg 20K

Great Falls, N Virginia

I’ve had an opportunity to run in the Great Falls Park of Northern Virginia and I’ve really enjoyed it.  There are a variety of trails with varying degrees of difficulty  and challenge.  It’s January, so many of the trees have lost their leaves, but the views and the surroundings are still awesome.  I have found trails that are predictably firm, modestly hilly, and well marked, and others that are rocky, slippery, steep, and not so well marked.  But that just adds to the experience and the work out.  I love the fact that this beautiful space is so close to where I’m staying – it’s almost like I’m in another world compared to the hustle and bustle of the DC/N VA metro area.

You can see from this picture how hilly the environment is.  The Potomac River is to the left and I'm running a ridge trail.  It is very steep off to the left, navigable, but steep.  This trail was great to run on.  It was fairly clear of rocks and I could get a reasonable pace going. Having said that though, I still had to pay a lot of attention to where I was stepping.

Being new to trail running it really has been a challenge for me, both physically and mentally. Physically because it can be very hilly, the ground gives in different ways (it’s not asphalt or concrete) and sometimes the ground is soft and sandy and other times quishy and muddy, I have to watch for rocks, roots, and slippery leaves, and mentally because I have to really pay attention to the ground.  I can’t just run and put my mind on auto-pilot – I have to pay attention to where I’m going and where I’m stepping.  One bad foot placement and I could be rolling an ankle (or worse…).  But I can really feel the workout in my quads and hams.  I can also feel it in my joints, and I’m wanting to carefully and deliberately develop strength and stability, so I am taking rest days when I need to.

The downer to running these trails though is that the scenery bears looking at, but I can’t take a chance to sightsee while running – so I have been stopping a lot so that I can look around.  I figure that its ok to do that; I’m not racing, I’m training.  I’m sure that if I continue doing trail running and enter a trail event that I’ll want to train for speed on a trail and my sightseeing time will be postponed.  But that’s ok. 

I also found that when I wander off any of the main trails that I really have to pay attention to where I’m going, because since the trail might not be well travelled, it’s sometimes hard to tell where it goes.  I’ve had to backtrack a couple of time to reconnect with the trail that I think that I’m supposed to be following.  I don’t have a map and there are few signs. Sometime the trail is marked by a dash of paint on a tree trunk, so I have to be watching for those… But all of this adds to the thrill of it.  I figure how lost can I get?  In one direction is the Potomac River and in the other is a road. And I know which way is North…

This is actually a great running environment.  I’ve found that there are a long string of trails that connect to each other throughout the Potomac River area.  I’m not sure, but I suspect that you could run from the Great Falls Park area all the way around to Alexandria and only have to deal with crossing or navigating a major road but a couple of times.  I’d like to try that.

There is a trail called “Difficult Run”, which is actually a water way (kind of a natural stream) with a trail that runs along it.  It’s pretty cool.  Some of it is a hard packed trail and some of it you have to carefully pick your way around (at least the area that I tried).  I’m hoping to run the entire length of that also…

I’ve decided that my near term challenge is to register and run the Marine Corp 17.75 event in Prince William Forest in March.  Assuming that I finish, I would be guaranteed entry into the Marine Corp Marathon in October, which is my second challenge.  So with that in mind, I am amped to getting prepped to run 18 miles!  I have read that it’s a little hilly – all the better for my training.  This is actually a good step up for me from my flat Michigan running!