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Sesame Street Pinball Cartoon

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Injury and Opportunity (Plus a Gross Pic)

Two Fridays ago I broke my ankle in the most boring way possible, slipping on ice. Not just ice, mind you, but ice that I saw and made an effort to go around. The biggest surprise of all was just how damaging a little fall could be. This one broke my ankle in three places. I was running that morning and had even made a conscious decision to stay off the trails because they were getting pretty treacherous. The packed snow was turning to ice and weakening in some spots from the warm temps. Despite all precautions, I still managed to go down, so it must have happened for a reason. I’ve decided to make the best of the 3+ months recovery time and examine how I can get the most out of it.

Before I go any further I want to thank Troy for getting me to the hospital so fast AND hanging out for 8 hours while they reset my ankle three times. I also have to thank the guy who unlocks the Birch Hill Ski Trails each morning (sorry I don’t remember a name!). He saved my bacon by stopping and giving me a ride back home -just moments after I fell. I’m not quite sure how long I would have had to wait along the road if he hadn’t come by, but I certainly couldn’t walk.

Anyway, this recovery is a great opportunity to begin from a fresh base and rebuild my endurance while focusing on the details. Right before this happened I was winding down a two month low heart rate (at lactate threshold) training period. I was starting to see some very positive results from this, so I plan on picking that strategy up again when I’m allowed to run again. At first I was afraid that going from running regularly to not at all would wreak havoc on my body, but I’ve adjusted my diet and have been focusing on eating all whole foods - so far so good. I’ve also been diligently watching the calories I’m taking in, making sure they are high quality.

I expect to lose a good deal of conditioning in my legs over the next few months, endurance particularly. Although the left leg is now working double-time, my right does little more than keep this cast from hitting the ground -so I’m on a fast track to having asymmetric ability in each leg. As soon as things are stable and on the mend I plan on working in some cardio via my upper body. It seems important for recovery to keep up circulatory health. I’ve been collecting ideas for body weight resistance exercises that can be done at a high number of reps while not producing any stress on my ankle. It turns out there are a lot of options for working both upper body and core. Yay!

The biggest drawback I can foresee is actually sweating in this cast I have to wear for months. There’s a lot of potential here for grossness. I get a new one in about a week, but must find out if it gets changed again before the next surgery to remove the hardware they installed.

And last, but not without impact, the gross pic. This is a huge motivator to get my heart rate up and blood circulating through my body again.

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Little Su 50k Race Report 2010

I really had meant to post something earlier about running the Little Su 50k, so I’m sitting down right now to at least get something up before I forget all the details!

First of all, I have to say that this is a beautiful race and well coordinated. Combined with the all the congenial volunteers who were so generous with their time they put on a super race, and it wouldn’t have been nearly as fun or as safe as it was without all their efforts. My husband was equally as wonderful helping me out with race day preparations and the post race quirks (pretty much everything that required muscular dexterity - driving, navigating stairs, finding dinner, etc…).

The 50k started at 1100 Saturday morning, 2 hours after the 100mi racers had started. By that time the temps were at about 22°f and very comfortable. Quite honestly, I really didn’t know what to expect from the weather and it was a relief that it was so mild. Unfortunately, the temps had been hitting the 30s for a few days before and although the trail had a nice solid base, it had quite a few inches of sugary-loose snow on top that made running more akin to what you’d experience running on a beach as opposed to trails in Alaska. The snow condition proved to be the greatest challenge for me, and consequently taught me a few valuable lessons I hope to get to put to good use in the future.

My plan was simple - run the first half of the race at a relatively low heart rate and step up the pace according to how I was feeling for the last half. What I neglected to anticipate was just how much work running in loose snow really is. All winter I had been running on cold, dry, and mostly hard trails up here in Fairbanks. I had 31 miles and 07:23:11 to become painfully intimately familiar with the differences. From the very beginning of the race everyone except the skiers struggled to keep a regular pace as we made our way out to Flathorn Lake. Fortunately, the scenery was absolutely gorgeous and the other runners were great company along the way.

It turned out that despite the slow progress I was making in the first 15 miles, my heart rate ranged between 160-170, way too high! I attempted to compensate for the extra calories I was burning by speeding up my food to 45 minute intervals, but my stomach wouldn’t cooperate. By the time I hit the Flathorn Lake checkpoint my body felt way out of whack. I should have caught a clue when I realized I had run into Heather Gaines, who is a way faster runner than I am.

The Lake was really cool, by the way. There were quite a few ice fishers out there hoping for a catch in the sunny afternoon and I was surprised at how many people I ended up greeting in the middle of a frozen lake. I was equally amused to realize I had to remain vigilant and pay attention to the trail so I didn’t accidentally stick a foot into one of the many abandoned holes in the ice.

For two miles after the checkpoint I took it easy until my stomach started cooperating again. Things were looking up, my body was feeling together and I settled into a comfortable pace. This was about the time the battery crapped out on my Garmin (405). That meant no GPS, heart rate monitor, or timer. This bummed me out because I had to rely on my own judgment on how much work I was putting into negotiating the mashed potatoes I was running in. Its easy for me to push harder when I can see that it is just my attitude that is slowing me down, versus seeing my heart rate is actually high and that I am over exerting myself. Without the Garmin I felt like I was flying a little blind - so in the future I’ll not rely on it so heavily while I’m training.

The rest of the race was uneventful (in a good way). The sun was setting when I was about 6 miles from the finish and the light made the scenery even more stunning. By the time I hit the last 3 miles on Ashire Road, it was dusk and the light was fading fast. It was a log last three miles. Troy met me where the trail hit the road again and it was motivating for a few minutes, but as he drove back to the roadhouse to meet me at the finish line the last three miles stretched out in front of me and faded into a gray that didn’t seem to have any terminus. 3 miles felt like 30 and after passing that eternity in my mind I looked up to see I had finally made it to the last turn that not far away were a few welcoming orange lights with people smiling underneath them. The lights looked warm and the people standing in them looked warm and all around the was a cool night sky. Troy and the finish line volunteers greeted me as warmly as the lights and it was over.

As soon as I stopped I thought about the 100 racers that were all still out on the trail and would still be for many more hours. I thought about what it would be like to run 70 more miles. Not moments ago, somewhere in the midst of the last 3 miles, I would have dismissed the thought as insanity, but now that I wasn’t moving anymore part of me wanted to keep on going.

It was a great run. I met some amazing people -Heather Gaines, Scott Moon, Yvonne Leutwyler, and many more whose names I missed. There are pics from both events posted from a number of participants here.

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Little Su 50k Course Fly Through

Next Saturday (13 February) is the Susitna 100mi and Little Su 50k. I’m only running the 50k, but am still very excited for a little adventure and a relaxing weekend away from home.

It will be the first time I’ve been on this course, so in preparation, I’ve done a little recon work on Google Earth to familiarize myself a little with the course that starts in Point Mackenzie, Alaska. There is a 50k map available on the race web site, and it is what I’ve used to plot the course in Earth. If you have an copy of Google Earth and want to check it out for yourself:

• save this KMZ file to your computer and open it using Earth (right-click and select Save Link Location)
• the file will open in the Places panel and you should see an item titled Little Su 50k Route in your Places list
• double-clicking will snap your view directly to the course view
• clicking on the Little Su 50k Course Tour underneath the route should start playing the fly-though

The race director was out today checking trail conditions and using a SPOT tracker to transmit his progress. I’m not sure how long this map will persist after they have completed the check, but you can view live for now

If you don’t have a copy of Google Earth, it is a free download and loads of fun to explore the globe with (as well as the night sky, our Moon, and Mars). You can find lots of other tours and projects built in Earth too. Even underwater tours.

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The Last Long Run…

…before the Little Su 50k on the 13th, that is. Time to taper! I was so excited to get out and get it over with that I was up and out the door by 0500 on Saturday morning. While it’s been fun training for a long run this winter, actually scheduling the time to get the long training runs in has been an increasing challenge. Getting out as early a possible seems to work best, but inevitably it is also means starting in the dark and cold if anything else is to get done that day. I still have a long way to go to be a serious winter athelete (or at least one that doesn’t whine so much). Needless to say, I have a new appreciation for the fortitude of dog mushers. Wow.

To recap saturday’s run, (garmin data here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/23591174) overall it was good and I made and effort to push harder than normal since the majority of the route was road surface. I managed to eek out a 10:00 min/mi pace for 24mi which I’m pretty happy with considering the weather, the amount of clothing I wore and the 15lbs my pack added.

My strategy training for the February run has been quite conservative in consideraion of the tendinitis that had been following me around in 2007 and 2008. I took it easy anticipating that running with extra weight from gear/food/water might start it up again, and thankfully the extra caution seems to have paid off. As for actually being able to run 31mi - 7 more than I’ve run this winter - it will be doable I think. The majority of the miles this season have been on hills and trails, and this race course is situated in the flat terrain of Point Mackenzie, where is is likely to be warmer than Fairbanks too (yay!). It must be bad luck to speculate about the weather in winter, but I can’t help it.

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Nevermind the iPad, I’ll Wait for the Courier

After watching the drama unfold this week around Apple’s iPad, as shiny and sleek as it is, I’m still holding out to see what comes of the rumored Courier tablet from Microsoft (video above with diggnation commentary). I definitely dig the more tactile-seeming interface of the Courier and how the two displays seem to be able to work in tandem for link/share/clip tasks.

There’s also an earlier video (below) which seems to suggest a very early -stage protoype of the Courier concept called Codex. Of course, this just inflates my hope that Courier is indeed real and will be available in the near future. We’ll see.

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Winter Run Log: 24 Jan, 2010

Winter, you are my nemisis. Why do you insist on being so cold when the distance is long?

I was planning on posting the gps data from the last few weekends, but when I grabbed the Garmin to upload the latest I realized the battery had died from my leaving the gps running, so I’ll have to do it tomorrow.

I’m still a couple of miles short of my target distance on the weekly long runs, but I’m not too far off. I feel like my body can run farther, but I’m taking it easy on my feet. It’s been so cold lately that the soles of my shoes and my inserts have been feeling more like ridgid planks of wood. Thankfully, the run I’m training for is south of here and likely to be much warmer (yay!).

I’ll post more with the gps data.

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(Ultra) Marathon Monks

Watch the Marathon Monks documentary on YouTube

A short documentary describes the training of Japanese monks at Mt. Hiei who run heroic distances daily. For seven years they undergo trials and tests which include running 52 miles every day for 100 days on little more than a diet of rice and noodles, wearing hand-woven straw sandals and tabi. In total, they will spend no less than 1000 days on the road during their training and that is without the benefit of engineered food or technical clothing. What is truly amazing is their commitment. If at any point a monk in training cannot complete one of the daily training runs he must immediately commit suicide. Monks have died in training.

At the end of their training a monk will subject himself to a 9-day fast wherein he will not eat, drink, or sleep. If this final test is completed successfully the monk achieves the status of a living saint.

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Running on the Sun

Of course the moment I claim the temperatures haven’t been too bad this winter, they take a nose dive. This morning it is -42°f in town - cold.

As a contrast, now seems to be a good time to share the links I found on YouTube to Running on the Sun, a documentary about Badwater, the 135-mile ultramarathon run each year in Death Valley (IMDB info here). The movie follows a handful of runners and their mental and physical drama from the race start to finish (or scratch), and fills in some of the backstory as to why they are running such an extreme race. It is unbelievable to me that anyone would want to operate in temperatures that high, let alone take their body to the very end of its endurance in it. Running on the Sun in 11 parts - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.

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