Back in the Groove, I hope!

If there is a lesson for me to take away from the last two months it is this: Learn how to run, Stupid! As all of you know, I've been struggling with knee pain since I ran the race. In the past few weeks I've been able to run further, but not without severe ship pain in my left leg (not the same leg as the injury.) So, I says, "Doc, wassup? I fix one leg now the other hurts." He tells me that I run wrong. When I move my right heel kicks in - thus explaining all the nicks I've always had on my left ankle after running - and it means I don't push off right, putting more force on my left leg. So, now that the knees better we are working on my stance/running form.
Last night was the first try out of the new legs and everything went great. I ran 4 miles. Not a huge run, but he said to build up miles more gradually. I'll be following the Your Ultimate Marathon Plan at Runner's World for my training. And with the upcoming marathon schedule I've got a few weeks before I begin training in earnest. Which means I've got a little time to take off some weight. Did you know that each pound of weight accounts for 25 pounds of pressure on your knees when running? I figure I can lessen that pressure by at least 250 pounds. Here we go!!!

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 40 minutes
Overall Impression: No Shin Splints No Pain No Day But Today! (NSSNPNDBT!)

Taper-City

I am now fully into taper-mode. Even more so than scheduled. Basically, my schedule has been thrown out of whack and I've had to shift the distance runs, whcih mans a run during the week has fallen thorugh twicely. It's okay though. I think I needed those extra two days off, and I've already accumulated many more miles than they prescribed me by replacing a couple of recovery weekend runs with added long distance runs (which may be why my legs are D-E-D, dead).

Yesterday's Run

Distance: 13.16 miles
Time: 1:59:24
Overall Impression: Slower than last halfie, but overall pretty damn good. (STLHBOPDG)


I exploited Tessa's last misadventure with Germanwings to hit up the pharmacy at the airport on Saturday. I attacked them with both a barrage of questions about GI problems with running and demands for drugs to help it. I won't waste people's time explaining why there was a pharmacy at the airport. Just know that the Germans don't like to travel without condoms and skin care products. This is true of train stations as well, and probably true of former zeppelin stations.
After a bit of negotiating, I got a gel-like substance that I was supposed to take before running in order to negate the acidity in my esiphogous, and a liquid derived from various herbs and roots that I mix with water three times daily.
I was not encouraged.
See, Germany is a land of witch-doctors. They have this reputation of scientific know-how and of rational thought funded by Hegel's Dialectic Workshop. The thing is, they really went through the Enlightenment with both eyes closed and their hands covering their ears. Ask anyone. And most unfortunately, this extends to medicine. SO, most pharmacists skip real, modern, training and will regularly prescribe tings that are actually brewed in a kiln in their basement according to time-honored Celtic mumbo jumbo. Ask for aspirin, and you get moss. Regularly.
That was Saturday afternoon. I took everything as "prescribed", and hit the ground on Monday. I must say, I felt good. My legs were relatively fresh, and the burp-o-meter, although active early, left me mostly alone. Even the early problems were benign (i.e., no acid).
I kept an early 8:45 pace, which I intentionally slowed about halfway in due to the logic of the taper. Around ten miles in, I was hit by a few minor problems, but instead of burping up pure, firey, acid, I was burping up chalky gel-like medicine. I oddly preferred the chalk. By the end, I was pleased I clocked it in less than two hours. However, I was shocked yesterday about how tired I was throughout the day. I really thought I would just fly through the run like it was nothing, which really proves that running 18+ miles at a time makes one completely mentally ill.
Which brings us back to the witch doctors. I must say, I ran more relaxed than I have in weeks. This alone is a most important thing for me, because when I'm relaxed I can forget about the running and just coast. When I'm nervous, I'm constantly checking my body for updates in misery, and the time crawls along acccordingly. But I was really relaxed because the drops seemd to be working somewhat. My stomach felt fine. And the gel killed the acid, which meant I didn't have to stop to switch out my esophogous with a lead pipe. And thats a plus in itself. So, who knows? Maybe the witch doctors helped for once. Or maybe it is the first placebo that works in spite of the test subject's determination that it won't work.

Comeonayeahha.

The Burp-O-Meter

While giving some thought to Dayton's Burp-O-Meter I came across this passage in Ultra-Marathon Man, it describes the minutes after his first 50 mile race:
"On shaky legs, I stumbled to the finishers' tent and received a ribbon and a few handshakes and slaps on the back. Then I lumbered painfully to my car. When I plopped down on the leather seats [It's a Lexus LS 400], my legs went strangely cold. Something wasn't right. Then, without warning, the quadriceps and calf muscles of both legs seized in wicked cramps. My torso swung violently left, and then wildly back to the right. My legs were pegged to the floorboard, completely rigid.All ten toes were locked in place, forcefully curled against the soles of my shoes. My calf muscles were tight as baseballs, and my thighs were like solid planks of wood. The pain was mind-bending, pounding, entirely owning every drop of me.
Sweat poured down my face, and I screamed at the top of my lungs. Out of the corner if my eye I could see people casually strolling by my car, totally oblkvious of the situation inside. Apparently the seals that were so effective at keeping noise out were also pretty good at keeping noise in. There was nothing I could do but scream: other than the ability to open my mouth, I was completely immobilized. I yelled louder and louder and louder, but no one outside could tell that I was inside on the verge of blowing apart.
My sreaming was interrupted by a curious belch. Then came a few more burps. Something was rising up inside my stomach. Suddenly my mouth opened and projectile vomit began streaming out. I tried to tilt my head downward toward the floorboard, but I was completely incapable of altering the flow of things. I must have looked like Godzilla blowing fire into the air." - Karnazes, Dean. "Ultramarathon Man". New York : Tarcher / Penguin, 2005. 78-79.

Now, I'm hoping, as Julie said, that Dayton's Burp-O-Meter stops just below this. Anything short of that and I think we are in good shape. :-) I further offer this Abstract as reason not to worry. Basically all information I could find points to the fact that GI problems are unpredictible and not necessarily attached to running.

British Journal of Sports Medicine, Vol 22, Issue 2 71-74, Copyright © 1988 by British Association of Sport and Medicine

ORIGINAL ARTICLES


Gastrointestinal disturbances in marathon runners

C Riddoch and T Trinick
Division of Physical and Health Education, Queen's University, Belfast.

The purpose of this survey was to investigate the prevalence of running- induced gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances in marathon runners. A questionnaire was completed by 471 of the estimated 1,750 competitors in the 1986 Belfast City Marathon. Eighty-three per cent of respondents indicated that they occasionally or frequently suffered one or more GI disturbances during or immediately after running. The urge to have a bowel movement (53%) and diarrhoea (38%) were the most common symptoms, especially among female runners (74% and 68% respectively). Upper GI tract symptoms were experienced more by women than men (p less than 0.05) and more by younger runners than older runners (p less than 0.01). Women also suffered more lower GI tract symptoms than men (p less than 0.05) with younger runners showing a similar trend. Both upper and lower tract symptoms were more common during a "hard" run than an "easy" run (p less than 0.01) and were equally as common both during and after running. Of those runners who suffered GI disturbances, 72% thought that running was the cause and 29% believed their performance to be adversely affected. There was no consensus among sufferers as to the causes of symptoms and a wide variety of "remedies" were suggested. GI disturbances are common amongst long- distance runners and their aetiology is unknown. Medical practitioners should be aware of this when dealing with patients who run.

2 Runs

Saturday I ran got some high-altitude training in, running about four miles (I assumed, I just ran for time) around a lake outside our htoel in St. Moritz. It was actually a great run, and it was fun to listen to my breathing adjust from the typical inhalation/exhalation mode to an inhalaion x4/exhalation mode. After the run, I was literally drunk on endorphines and alpine air. I was probably not legal to drive.

Here are some pics:
Okay, there is one pic. Bloggger is being tempermental. But thats the lake I ran around, from a distance...


Run Numero 2

Distance: 19.05 miles
Time: 3:11:04
Overall Impression: Problems and More Problems (PAMP)

I'm not THAT upset that I didn't finish my 20 miler. I think I could have opted to finish the last mile if I had removed my calves and sewed on a new pair. No big deal there. But it was a reocccurence of these stomach problems that really slowed me down, and which really are bothering me. The last time I ran twenty miles, I did it faster than I just did 19, and I think if I could have kept my goal marathon pace, then I would have finished, but I was simply too fatigued after 3 hours and 11 minutes of running to go further, and I think 3 plus hours of running is more than enough for a day anyway.
Tessa and I have named the problem my "burpometer". Basically, whenever I establish a certain pace, I start burping, and then all hell breaks loose. But if I run slower than that, then there are no problems. This slowed me down to almost ten minute miles yesterday, when I'm much more comfortable running closer to 9 minute miles. So, I need to sort this out before the marathon.
It's all a bit nerve-wracking though. Why now? Why me? I switched to a totally normal running diet yesterday morning, and ate the exacct same thing we used to eat in Berkeley the night before.
Well, I now have about 2.5 weeks of tapering to both sort out my stomach and rebuild my legs. Come marathon time, I should be back in the driver's seat. Should be.

Dec. Marathon Canceled!

Imogen Heap will be in concert in San Francisco the same night as the marathon in Sacramento. So, there is just no way I can run a marathon that day!!!!!!

Truthfully, after weeks of promising results I've slipped a little in my training. I ran the 8 1/2 last week as I explained, but then was unable to complete the 3 mile run on Wednesday I was supposed to do. This has forced a reevaluation and a start from anew.

I have taken the rest of the week off. Fulbright application being the biggest reason. I swear if one more person puts in their two cents I'm going to go berzerk. I'm waiting for Tony's recommendations for changes, which should arrive sometime around noon on Sept. 20 (the deadline).

I'm not sure what to do about the running. I continue physical therapy and hopefully things will work themselves out. But for now it looks like maybe I should plan a marathon in February instead of December. Not too bad.

Total Miles: 0
Average time: 0
Overall Impression: Somehow Liberating To Get So Much Done In A Week! (SLTGSMDIAW)

Big Run/Big Fun

Don completely stole the theme I was hoping to develop for my blog today;)
It's okay though. It sounds like a great run, and I'd totally be stoked too, if I were him.

Yesterday's Run
Distance: 18 miles
Time: 2:47:39 (+ approx 5 minutes in which I stopped the watch while being sick)
Overall Impression: I Vomited At Mile 6. What More Is There To Say? (IVAM6WMITTS)

Like Don, I have mixed feelings about this run. On the one hand, I felt nothing but glee for finishing what ultimately was a challenging run. On the other hand, I would have preferred a little easier outing.

My early splits were a little faster than I wanted, but they were definitely within acceptable windows. I think I was running about 8:50 per mile for the first five miles. It was remarkably smooth since I reversed two runs last week, and instead of coming off a little rest and an eight miler, I was coming off a little rest and a three miler. I basically felt fresher than I have in ages.
Around four miles my torso started to cramp in an extremely odd way. It wasn't a stitch, but it soon was accompanied by a lot of burping and the worst acid-reflux symptoms I've felt since a college night when my brother, some friends, and I resorted to washing down Jäger shots with Tums chasers. The situation got worse and worse until I was spitting every ten paces or so to get rid of the excess bile/grossness that was coming up. I finally had to to vomit around mile 5.5. I didn't have the camera, sorry.
This oddly restored me for about half a mile. Soon, however, I was completely overcome by the aforementioned bad feelings, and ultimately I puked up everything I had. It was less than encouraging.
Tessa suggested that we go home, probably because I was frightening the geese and they bite hard, but I rationalized that to turn around then would be a waste, since we had already run a third of the way. If I could only complete another .2 of the total distance out, then we could turn around and complete the whole run.
And off we went.
Things were going well for a few miles (I continued a roughly 9min mile pace for the next three), but I was becoming extremely, increasingly, aware that two miles of trying to control the stomach and two brief bouts of excessive vomiting can be tiring. I was already starting to fatigue by mile nine, which in itself is odd, when the sun came out in Cologne for the first time in months. We were in the middle of what would become a 28 degree day, and I just left all of my liquids back by the lake.
By miles 10-12, my body felt like I was closer to 16, and my splits were starting to suffer. My calves and quads were feeling the complete effects of dehydration, and they were cramping acccordingly. I was taking down water and goo, but all the fuel I had consumed at breakfast was gone. I probably gave up a half liter of water earlier. I was literally running on empty.

At mile fifteen, I stopped and walked. For those of you who have run with me, you know this rarely happens. I, as a general rule, never run fast enough to warrant slowing down anyway. I've run longer distances than this a few times, and shorter distances that have been problematic, but it is basically a cardinal rule that I hardly ever break. After a few feet, I continued running again, but by this time the stride had turned into more of a plod.

At mile 16, I came to a T-Junction. Left turn went directly home and to my salvation/survival. Right turn was where the last two mile loop was.
I turned right.
With a mile remaining I stopped to walk a few feet again, then I kicked it back in. I shuffled along until I reached the front step of my house. Tessa had to go upstairs (God bless her, she's already MVP of this marathon-training :)) and grab a wallet so I could corner the local market on sports drinks, while I tried to stretch two legs that were suffering the first pre-mortum case of rigor mortis.

SO:

I was pleased that I finished the run in spite of a few overwhelmingly bad circumstances. I was also pleased that I let myself walk. If I hadn't I think I could have damaged something. But at the same time, I am completely puzzled as to what caused these reactions. My diet differed little from what I have always eaten before big runs. I basically had three pieces of bread with honey, whereas in America I would have eaten plain bagel or oatmeal, probably also with honey. It might have been that it was a German wheat bread that was either a) too sour, or B) simply too tough to break down. I DO NOT KNOW. The night before I had a lasagna-like dish that Tessa made, but that has never caused me problems either.
I do know I don't want to experience that again. I was exhausted the rest of the day, slipping into a near-coma state only about thirty minutes after the run. I still feel a little off.
I'm going to research some possible causes, but if anyone has any ideas then let me know!!! Or, as an alternative: Would anyone like to post an extra post with their own dietary succcess stories? Maybe we can pick something up from it that we all could use? I'll post one later, but I'm not too sure anyone wants to hear my ideas about eating anymore:)

20 miles on Tuesday!!! Let's hope I'm back on track :)

The Survival Story!

Depending on your perspective, either my run today was hugely successful or only moderately so. At the moment I’m leaning more toward to HUGELY Successful.
After a long day of teaching I changed at the RSF and headed out along the Ohlone Greenway for a nice 10 mile run. Mind you, I haven’t run further than 5 miles at one go since the marathon, which we are now 6 weeks out from. So, I was hoping to be able to do it pretty well and just have a few complaints. Well, here come the complaints:
1) It seems that when you fix one leg in physical therapy, the other one fucks up. In a way this makes sense. Imagine your left leg is doing just fine while your right leg is running like some sort of quasi-modo cerebral palsy poster child. It only stands to reason that when you fix the right leg the left leg is no longer going to understand it’s job. So, now it is the left leg that feels like a poster child for some disfiguring child disorder. A mile out on any run I have to stop and stretch my shins before I can go on. Today I had to stop at mile 2 and 3 and 5.
2) Plumbers butt is only attractive on the repairman Julio who has just arrived to fix the pool’s filtration system. At mile 7 I encountered a case of plumbers butt for the record books. Not only was the fabric of his shorts a good 5 inches down the crack of his ass, the thing was covered in cellulite and not moving fast enough to get away from me before I was tricked into an inspection that can only be accounted for with the trainwreck principle. No matter how badly you want to look away, you just can’t.
3) When you get most of a run done and have to walk a mile back to the RSF it is not a pretty walk. I’m sorry, call me a snob, but Berkeley is a fucking ugly city. If they aren’t homeless they are heroine chic vegetarians with hairdos badly in need of conditioning. 'Nuff Said!

OK! Enough complaining. The good news is that I ran at least 8.5 miles of that 10 I set out to do today. Not a bad deal all and all. Considering the amount of time that has elapsed since my last long run, I certainly can’t complain. Well, maybe about the plumbers butt.
It was also a beautiful day. The run started just a bit warm, but it cooled off soon enough as I was running in the shade of the BART tracks in the afternoon. I ran past Sabrina’s house and contemplated knocking and asking for some water. In the end I decided to push on.
I got quite tired near the end and my knee started to hurt a little, so I felt it would be best if I walked the rest of the way. So, from somewhere near Shattuck and Berkeley I walked all the way back to the RSF.

Run Distance: 10 miles
Total time: 1:47:26
Average Time: 10:45/mile
Overall Impression: Nice To Be Back Out On A Long Run Again, But Still Could Have Done Without The Plumbers Butt At Mile 7! (NTBBOOALRABSCHDWTPBAM7!) Do I get points for being the first to incorporate a Numeral in the Overall Impression?

Stats for the week:
Total Miles: 16.5
Average Time: 9:45/mile

Wish me Luck!

I'll be attempting 10 miles tomorrow morning for the first time in over a month. I'll report back to say how it went.

Don

He's Back!

Aw, geez, thanks guys. And Julie, you better rinse my glee with soap and water when you're done with it. It's a pourous surface. I couldn't affford the glass.
So, I've been sitting on three diifferent posts for the longest time partially because I have been a bit down about running recently, but mostly because I've been in the library. I think I will distill the three down to their essence and give them all in this one post, because I don't want to irrepairably damage the blog with three successive, manic posts. :)

Running News Numero Uno: I bought a new pair of shoes! There is a running store around the corner that actually is housed in the not-too-distant- future. If you've been to Germany, you understand that quite often you will randomly walk into a building built of nothing more than glass, steel, and flex capacitors. I estimate that I actually spent a full hour in the year 2023. But it was worth it because I bought a new pair of shoes that are, by all accounts, absolutely hideous. (Well, thats really only the opinion of me and the seven year old girl next door. Her little sister likes them.) They're a bright orangish color. Imagine turning a cantaloupe inside out, and then sticking your foot in it. That's my shoe. And I got two of them.
The whole process was fantastic. I walked in, and asked them if they had the brand of shoe I currently use. We then tried on three different models of shoes, and they filmed me running on a treadmill. After each run, I would go back and watch my legs on a computer monitor, on to which we could trace the "angles of my ankles" in order to decide which shoes were least likely to kill me.

I walked out with the same type that I walked in with.

However, as I was checking out, the woman asked me if I would be interested in wearing a shirt sponsoring both the store and a local beer during the marathon. She actually asked if I ws interested in a free five liter keg of beer. I openly laughed at her, then sold my soul to the demons of sponsorship. I think this kills my amateur status, which means I can no longer play football for Cal. BUT as soon as I cross the finish line, there are supposed to be two women who douse me in beer. Or something like that. Take that Nike.

Late Running Post Nummer two) I was going to ask people for advice on this weekend. I made up my mind already. I'll let you know more about it later.

Late Running Post Numero Drei) I ran 16 miles very slowly on Sunday. Slower than slow. I'm not even going to bother with the splits, but I think I averaged around 9:35 a mile. It poured on us harder and longer than I've ever experienced. I had to keep taking off my shirt and wringing it out because the fabric was weighed down from excess water. The running itself was relatively comfortable, but I'm tired of spending 2 hours in the rain. Really! I mean it! Now stop. Please. HOWEVER, as Tessa was riding along, she took some great pictures of some of the areas we went through. There would have been more, but these were just the ones we could get in before we got drenched:


I think these are both taken right before Tessa had to evasively stow the camera under sixteen layers of plastic and, um, wool, to keep it dry.

.

Speaking of pictures...
Next door to the running shop is a waterbed store, which advertises itself relatively prodigiously. In fact, it has signs everywhere around our neighborhood. We love these signs, because they're hilarious, and I decided to take a picture of one to share with you, since we run by it so often:

For full effect, another close up is more than necessary:

The prosaic question would be whether this is the gayest advertisement outside of the castro. However, that question answers itself. Yes. Indeed, this may be the gayest sign in the world, aside from the one outside the spa next door to Mecca.

The real question would be:
What makes this sign so gay?

Is it the font used for the store's name? Or is it the name of the store itself, which succesfully evokes an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical?
Is it the picture? This sign only captures a bit of it, but the full poster shows this piece o' meat on one of the said waterbeds, sprawled on some sort of animal pelt, wearing only a pair of tighty-whities (For the record, I think that is the first time I have ever typed, or read, that word...).
Or is it the subtitle? It is a catchy quote, and I think it is my favorite part of the poster: "Irgendwann schläft jeder mit uns." (Loose translation, "Everyone sleeps with us sometime.") What's best about this quote is that it ironically appropriates a format usually reserved for thinly veiled threats. Think of Darth Vader telling Luke Skywalker that its useless to resist the power of the dark side. Or think of the marijuana dealer in an After School Special. He threatens the integrity and sanctity of the puiblic junior high by dealing drugs while (usually correctly) telling the most righteous students that they, too, will get hooked on pot. Now look at that quote alongside this guy on his waterbed, and you'll understand. Eventually, you WILL break down and sleep with him. Everyone does. Not only does this establish the company as sluts, but it also may be the only ad campaign I've ever seen that is directed almost entirely at the largely untapped bi-curious market share. It's okay, dude. Everyone's doing it.

So, I think that all of these aspects combine into one big and messy gay-media dialectic, and thats what makes this the gayest sign in the world.

I'm still not buying a damn waterbed though.

Back in the Game

Alright kids, I am back in the game. I am slowly getting my running mojo back. I have found Dayton's glee (don't ask where though).

After a short hiatus, I am slowly returning to the euphoria of the run. It isn't much yet, but it is getting there. I have no exciting runs through forests, swamps, bayous or any other geographical wonder to tell you about. It is all treadmill work right now (I prefer the one on the right).


But it is slowly turning into fall here, which means it will finally be in the 70s soon! (Remember fall? It is that long lost season that seems to have abandoned California! A great excuse to wear a scarf and gloves while running!)

Anywho, I have also discovered that my dog is a complete spaz and the only way to wear him out is to take him for sprints. Excellent!

Wednesday's Run
Distance: 4.5miles
Time: 42:30
Overall Impression: Very encouraging. Sped up last quarter mile and ran further and longer than I had intended (VESULQMARFALTIHI). Whew!

Has Anyone Seen Dayton's Glee?

Because Dayton seems a bit down in the dumps about his running, I thought I would post a few words of encouragement and some things I like to think about when I'm down about getting going.

Remember those runs through Tilden Park at the beginning that used to kick our ass. How we were so worried about not being able to make it back and would bitch about every mile.

That first run in Tilden was 6 miles if I remember correctly, and we weren't sure we were going to make it. But we did and it was awesome. Looking down into the valleys, enjoying the sights, each others conversation.


Then there was the hill at mile 8 on those runs. Holy Shit! I swear if I hadn't had Dayton's ass to look at on the way up I probably would have stopped most times. But remember Dayton you were always in front pushing us all to do better.

If that isn't working then I think of the run we made through wine country. Truly a very luxurious day. 12 miles a record for Julie and well worth it. The run was beautiful winding past grape vineyards and through Sonoma. The applause at the end, including the shopkeeper, made it all worth it. But the day had just started. Then it was out to Nicholson Ranch for a a glass of wine on the terrace.


Sitting there with all of you, was truly my second favorite part of all the training we did. I mean who can forget that great view, the wine and the famous phrase, "You mean not everyone lives like this?"

When I get down on running I just think to myself about all of these things and they are usually what it takes to get me back out there running. Especially during the later weeks of training when it feels like your whole life is running. But running is more than just putting in the miles. It's Tilden Park, and Nicholson Ranch, and Golden Gate Park, and the Golden Gate Bridge, and Kenyans and that time Dayton and I were on that mountain all alone and well......

Not Much to post on this wierd ass day

Hey folks. Went to an A's Game today. I know, I know. I was just as surprised as everyone else. :-) It was warm and sunny there, but it is cold, cloudy and windy here. So, now I'm home and reading/wasting time.

Run today was 3.2 miles. Not bad. Excited to be running again, although my knee is certainly giving me a hint of who is actually boss. It was a great run this morning. No one on the roads and everything was gorgeous. Not hot and sunny, but also not too cool.
I've mapped it out at the USATF website and came up with 3.18 miles. My only concern is that I'm not sure this program accounts at all for the fact that these are hills, which means that the distances are not the same for a flat satellite image as for a 3-dimensional world. So, I shall round up to 3.2, it's the least I think I owe myself.

Saturdays run: 3.2 miles
Time: 32:46
Overall Impression: Finally Putting Something Over A Mile On! (FPSOAMO)

I'm hoping the pain in my knee right now is due to lack of Aleve and sitting in a cramped seat at the stadium today. BTW, The A's were down 6 - 4 when we left.