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.
Another plan bites the dust Another plan bites the dust And another plan gone, and another plan gone Another plan bites the dust
image: bing.com
Well, 2020, aren’t you a shit-show of a year. Systemic racism, institutional injustice, global pandemic, record unemployment, fear and uncertainty pervading all levels of our lives…Every time I hear the word “unprecedented”, I kind of want to punch someone. Which I realize is a totally inappropriate response, but in my defense, that word is being bandied about A LOT.
My refuge has always been activity. Through physical movement I find peace and solutions, I think about how I can become a better person generally and how to address specific issues. I heal. And now, for the first time since 2009, I have an injury that has lasted longer than a few weeks and I’m freaking out. The oblique strain from April has morphed into all a revolt involving all of the muscles in my right hip, and I think they’ve managed to recruit my left knee into their sphere of bad influence. What. Is. Happening. I tried following my six stages of recovery: 1) denial, 2) rest, 3) denial, 4) proceed with original training plan, 5) lose all hope, and 6) admit I need help. I’m currently 80% at stage 6 with occasional remission to stages 1 and 3.
In what felt like the final nail in the coffin of my summer training dreams, the Chicago Marathon announced on my birthday that they are canceling this year. Although the cancellation was no surprise, was obviously the right thing, and was way overdue compared to that of other World Major Marathons, it felt a little personal. I’m working on finding joy in the glory of summer, the fact that I am still healthy and can still move and my chronic pain is so tiny and insignificant to what countless people live with every day. I’m approaching my first PT appointment in August with optimism and an open mind. I intend to be running ultras at a very advanced age, heckling the kids, and crushing my age group because I’m the only participant in my age group…so it’s time to put on my big-girl running shorts and do the work. Stay tuned.
06.15.20 – 06.21.20: T 8 miles speed, W 3.5 miles trail + Recharge strength, F/Sa backpack Middle Sister 11.5 miles, Su 13 mile treadmill long run. 36 total run miles
06.22.20 – 06.28.20: T 10 miles trail + Bend Rock Gym, W 4 miles trail + Recharge strength, Th 8 miles lactate threshold, F 7 miles trail, Sa 11 miles trail, Su 20 miles trail. 60 total run miles
06.29.20 – 07.05.20: M Bend Rock Gym, T 10 miles trail, W 4 miles trail, F 11 miles trail, weekend food poisoning. 25 total run miles
07.06.20 – 07.12.20: the week that wasn’t. 70+ of work with multiple crime scene call-outs. W: 4 miles trail.
07.13.20 – 07.19.20: M 8 miles trail, T Bend Rock Gym, Th Bend Rock Gym, Sa 14 miles trail. 22 total run miles
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
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
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.
So this was a recovery week – low mileage, at any decision point the choice was “chill”. I’ve got 4 weeks left of “pre-training” before the “actual training” starts on June 8 for the Chicago Marathon. That adds up to two training weeks that will be pretty typical, and then two weeks of pretty low miles to get as rested as possible before I head into the 18 week training cycle.
M, W, F, Su – REST, baby, yeah.
Tu – 4 easy treadmill miles, ~10:10 pace with 1% incline. Watched some of the virtual Trail Mountain Running Film Festival. Remember when you could just shove your sweaty mitt into a bowl of M&Ms at an aid station without a care in the world? I do 🙁
Th – 5 mile easy road run, 10:24 mile pace.
Sa – 12 mile trail run with my beloved. Super easy pace, watched the miles but not the speed. Funny story – even with both of us paying attention and running on a trail system (Phil’s) that Dan has biked before, we still managed to miss a junction on the way back and added a few extra miles. Gorgeous day, close to home, no problem – but a good reminder as always that you need to vigilant in the wild.
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.
M – 4 mile easy road run, 10:14 mile pace. Neighborhood laps within a few block radius of our house, basically running down the middle of the road because the sidewalks are getting a little busy and the roads aren’t. + Recharge strength class livestreamed in the garage.
Tu – REST
W – 9 mile easy road run, 9:56 mile pace. Long loop down to the Deschutes River and back.
Th – 8 mile easy trail run, 10:55 mile pace out and back from home to the Tumalo Creek Trail in Shevlin Park.
F – 5 mile easy treadmill run, 10:15 pace. I find that although monotonous, doing some of your easy runs on the treadmill is a good way to really dial in that gentle pace and work on your form. Training for my Boston Qualifier marathon 2018, I got through 3 seasons of Empire just on easy treadmill runs – I even got caught up to the current episodes. Now I’m behind again, partway through Season 5, which is just as well, because I have many miles of easy runs ahead between now and October.
First road race of the year! Aravaipa Strong Half Marathon
Sa – Aravaipa Strong Virtual Half to benefit the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Endless loops around our block in kind of challenging humid, windy, rainy conditions. Couldn’t hold race pace and settled for a 9:15 minute mile average. Good reminder of how tough the half marathon distance can be, something I tend to forget when training for ultras. 13.1 miles is still kinda far (I know, duh, but I forget these things).
Su – 6 easy treadmill miles, ~10:15 pace with 1% incline. “Empire” catch-up continues.
Nothing motivates better coming off an easy week than an inspiring biography…Especially with quotes like this…
M – Recharge strength class livestreamed in our garage. Nice to have a spouse that hauls a bunch of weights down from our home gym once a week so we can keep up our training. And nice to have Renee Metivier encouraging and challenging us remotely!! http://www.rechargesport.com/
Tu – 6 mile easy road run around the neighborhood at 10:12 mile pace. Starting to feel a little like a steeplechaser with all the social distancing darting around required to run safely and be a good citizen.
W – REST
Th – Shitty easy trail run. 11:25 mile pace felt like I had an elephant on my back and a vise around my heart. I hardly ever have a truly bad run, the kind where you question if somehow in the time since your last run you have lost every ounce of work you’ve ever put in to this activity and something has gone irreparably wrong, but this was definitely one of those runs. Meh.
F – 9 mile SOS road run w/7 miles at marathon pace (8:45), although I averaged 8:36 (8:36, 8:37, 8:38, 8:33, 8:38, 8:39, 8:31). Yep, less than 24 hours after a run that made me question my life choices, I had a glorious tempo workout that made me happy to be alive. Life, what can you do?
Sa – 12 mile easy trail/road combo run with my beloved, 11:34 mile pace. Tried a couple new trails in the Shevlin Park system. + 30 minutes of mobility and core work.
Su – 7 mile SOS general aerobic w/10 x 10 second hill repeats and 10 x 100m repeats (my pace varied much more than normal on these, 5:45-6:30 mile pace) – probably a little tired and a lot allergic. + 1 hour walk through Shevlin Park with Meagan.
Total running miles: 40
Meditated 7 out of 7 days (funny story, I think I also fell asleep during 7 out of 7 of these meditation sessions. Putting in the work as best I can at the moment)
