Tag: alltherunnersblog

Training Log

09.13.20 training log

koribarnum

2020 added a new wrinkle this week with devastating fires across the western states and air quality levels that were off the charts hazardous due to fire smoke. This year keeps reminding me to count my blessings. I was all excited to start back into more consistent training after two weeks of near incapacitation…but then the smoke made even indoor exercise nearly impossible.

M – return to running! 40 minutes total time, with about 75% of that running. Did not track mileage or pace, just focused on how the run felt. + PT strength exercises

T- REST

W – PT strength exercises

Th & F – REST and survive smoky conditions

Sa – KimPossible 5K on the treadmill to support our friend (and everyone) with ALS + PT strength exercises

Su – unplanned rest day due to work

Blog

the source of all evils…

koribarnum

On August 10 I had my first PT appointment for this hip weirdness. After listening to the injury history, watching me do a few sketchy one-legged squats, and glancing at my painstakingly constructed training log spreadsheet (see below), the PT had me lay on my stomach while she evaluated my spine.

2020 Training Log – clear as mud, yes? (image: Kori Barnum)

Then she asked “when did you fall?”

As a trail runner, I thought “when have I NOT fallen?!” Seriously. There are rocks and roots and all this gorgeous distracting scenery, so tumbles happen pretty regularly. I can think of a handful of particularly bad falls (Sept 2016 superman directly on to my chin causing whiplash that still gives me headaches; Sept 2018 somersaults down Mt Bachelor that bruised several ribs; etc), but there’s also the more frequent, less injurious spills that happen every couple of months. What is interesting, and something I’ve pondered before, is that I always (with the exception of the superman fall) seem to land on my left side. I’d like to think this is due to some cat-like ability to twist and adjust in midair, but I think the much more likely cause is that I don’t lift the left foot high enough and consistently trip on that side.

The PT’s diagnosis was that I injured the left side of my pelvis at some point – maybe even years ago – which has caused significantly lower mobility on that side of my hip. The right hip in response has had to work overtime, and has become tight and grumpy and locked in to that bad attitude. So what’s the treatment?

I like strong gluts and I cannot lie (image: Kori Barnum)
  1. spinal manipulation while at the PT to help loosen the left side of my pelvis
  2. an increasingly difficult gluteal, hamstring, and abdominal strengthening program. I have long said the source of all evils is weak gluts and low blood sugar. I’ve also called the gluts “the sleeping giants”, because this muscle group tends to just be along for the ride when you’re running, flapping away without carrying their share of the muscular load. Although I’m disappointed to be right on this – I had a sinking suspicion that glut strength was going to be a consideration in my recovery – especially because I have worked really hard the last decade in Pilates and strength classes to become stronger – I’m cool with it. PT Ellie is showing me some great multi-plane strength work that will make me a healthier runner and a stronger overall athlete. Let’s do this!
Training Log

07.20.20 – 09.06.20 training log

koribarnum
Three Sisters from Broken Hand (image: Kori Barnum)

It’s been a really, really odd summer. For all of us, I imagine. Dealing with my first persistent injury in 11 years, trying to train sensibly (keep moving, move enough, don’t move too much)…it’s been a challenge. The focus the last several weeks has been on getting healing time outside, hiking with some running when it felt good, working on my PT strength exercises.

Almost Heaven, Eastern Oregon (image: Kori Barnum)

Work has been really busy, demanding from both a time and an emotional standpoint. It has sometimes felt like another form of training, trying to work hard but also leave that energy at work so I can be fully at home, so that I can rest and heal and recover. Even with mindfulness training, this separation hasn’t always been successful and Dan has had to shoulder my fatigue and sadness. Combined with my jittery, anxious, not-very-patient handling of the inability to run long distances has not put me in the running for spouse of the year. Good thing that man is patient.

Summit of South Sister (image: Kori Barnum)
Training Log

06.14.20 training log

koribarnum

Week 1 training log: Advanced Marthoning, Pfitzinger & Douglas 2019

So I’ve got the training plan, and I’m [sort of] following the training plan…except for when I decide to prioritize trail miles…

M – Recharge Bend Mechanics & Mobility class

T – 8 miles w/4 @ Lactate Threshold (~8:18 mile pace) + climb @ Bend Rock Gym

W – REST

Th – 4 easy trail miles 10:15 pace

F – REST [migraine]

Sa – 20 miles trail 10:55 pace – saw a bald eagle, a great horned owl, and this hottie:

Su: 9 miles easy trail 11:07 pace

Total Run Miles: 41 miles

Meditated 7 out of 7 days

Training Log

06.07.20 training log

koribarnum

M – 2nd day of ski touring on Bachelor. Still in love. + 30 minutes mobility work as well as lower body strengthening

Image: Kori Barnum

T – climb @ https://www.bendrockgym.com/

W – masked and socially distanced hike with Meagan at Tumalo State Park https://stateparks.oregon.gov/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=34

Th – 5 mile road run a little faster than long run mile pace (~9:30 minute miles). Wanted to try race pace (8:45) but legs were still too tired from the new stress of ski touring. + climb @ Bend Rock Gym

F – 10 mile trail run with Chris, 10:05 pace

Sa – REST

Su – couple laps of ski touring on Bachelor with my beloved

Look at those tracks!
Those are OUR TRACKS!!!
Image: Kori Barnum

Total Run Miles: 21

Meditated 7 out of 7 days

Training Log

05.31.20 training log

koribarnum

Kept the physical activity very much on the down low this week, trying to get my pesky oblique to calm down and recognizing that this is a rest space before marathon training starts. Gym climb Tuesday, easy 5 mile road run Friday…And Sunday? Started ski touring!!!

A scenic photo where Dan looks legit and I am futzing around with my bindings.
image: Joe Spampinato

If this activity is new to you, it involves putting “skins” on your skis (basically ski-shaped stickers that adhere to the bottom of your skis and are covered in synthetic hairs which enable you to ski up slope without sliding down), using a cross country-style movement to ascend the slope, then tearing off the skins and skiing down. Your ski bindings are different too, allowing for the heel to be released and with risers under heel to make climbing less torturous on the calves and achilles tendons. This is my new favorite thing on the planet, and I’m not just saying that because my skis are bright orange.

A scenic photo where I look slightly more legit.
image: Kori Barnum

Total Run Miles: 5

Meditated 7 out of 7 days

Blog

the wild places hold us all

koribarnum

This book has been on my nightstand for months (I tend to harbor a tall to-be-read-soon stack) and I started reading it a few weeks before the incident in Central Park. Lanham’s prose is so heartbreakingly lovely that I have had to read a few chapters, slowly savoring the gorgeous language, then put it down to rest – I feel as if I want to start reading it all over again as soon as I finish.

The implicit and reflexive biases that cause one to see an African American man with binoculars walking through a park not as a birdwatcher, but as a threat, can be unlearned. I see you, birdwatcher. I see you belong in the wild places. I hear that you have things to teach me, and I am listening. The wild places hold us all.

I am working to recognize my own biased thoughts and actions, and to replace them with openness and inclusion. And I am researching ways to further support diversity in the outdoors with my time and my economic choices. The wild places hold us all.

Training Log

05.17.20 training log

koribarnum

M – REST

Tu – 9 mile road run w/4 miles at lactate threshold pace (8:20; 8:20; 8:17; 8:15)

W – 11 mile road run @ long run pace of 9:30 minute miles (today I ran ~9:20 pace)

Th – 9 mile easy trail run, out and back through Shevlin Park, 11:00 minute mile pace

F – REST

Sa – 6 mile easy trail run, different Shevlin out and back, 10:55 minute mile pace + 30 minutes mobility work + strength work for core and lower body

Su – 15 mile long run, again trying for 9:30 pace but averaging 9:20 (I’m pretty sure once I start hitting the 20 mile range, dropping down to 9:30s will happen naturally). I like this pace – easier than racing, not “hard” per se but does require me to kind of stay on it so I don’t drift slower into a more leisurely pace.

Total run miles: 50

Meditated 7 out of 7 days

Training Log

05.03.20 training log

koribarnum

M – REST

Tu – 6 mile easy trail run, 10:32 mile pace.

W – REST [sick day – no work, no workouts, slept almost the entire day to the extreme joy of my kitty life coaches – after dragging my seasonal allergy suffering butt out of bed for weeks, I just. couldn’t. do. it.]

Th – 8 mile easy road run (back in the saddle, so to speak) at 10:18 mile pace

F – 10 mile SOS trail run, 10:54 average mile pace with speedwork sprinkled in of 10 x 100m repeats at 6:05-6:20 pace and 10 x 15 second hills

Sa – 6 mile easy treadmill run ~10:15 mile pace with 1% incline.

Su – 14 mile road long run. After a few warm-up miles, settled into ~9:20 mile pace (shooting for 9:30ish on long runs, so right about where I need to be). Honestly, I thought about quitting at mile 2, 4, and 7…and then was like, are you bleeding out your ears? Do you have CORONA? Do you have any valid reason to quit? I mean, seriously?! And found the answer to all those questions was a pretty firm “no”. So, to paraphrase the great Des Linden, I kept showing up. Another fine example of how just being super stubborn can get you places.

Total run miles: 44

Meditated 7 out of 7 days