Wednesday, February 23, 2011
new high!
ran 9 miles at 7:45 pace!!! and could have gone faster, but was pacing Howard. before i was happy to run 3 miles at that pace.
Monday, February 7, 2011
checking in, thoughts
haven't written in a while. probably because i haven't been running a whole lot. i never did get into a good running groove in BsAs. partially because i was stressed out with work, partially because it's not that great for running (most of the parks are not super pretty and just have concrete paths... the ecological reserve is better), and partially due to the unbearable humid heat.
i'm becoming a bit more picky as a runner, perhaps. i am not that excited about running in cities. the initial few exploratory runs are fun and interesting, but running in a city, with cars and traffic lights, on pavement, day in day out is not that enticing. the reason i did so great with running in brazil, i think, despite the heat and working a lot can largely be attributed to having a gorgeous enticing park nearby with an amazing trail all around it. it was a prefect place for regular workouts.
though i've certainly picked it up here in Christchurch. the city is nothing short of gorgeous. not grand or majestic, like Rio, but very pretty, with a river going through it, lots of parks and gardens, and paths, and little trails everywhere. so out of the 5 days that i've been here, i went out running for 3 of them, and would have been more if i didn't hurt my hip, which is the other thing i wanted to write about.
despite getting into distance running rather suddenly, i've blessedly remained injury free, knock on wood. on saturday, i decided to do a roughly 2 hour run through the parks in christchurch and i wanted to do it at a "fast" pace. i don't have a watch and not even a phone here (my little nokia phone requires a super bulky adapater, due to being from HK, so i decided not to bring it) to keep time and no GPS to know how far i'm running. so i just said, i'll run through the park until it gets dark, which should be roughly in 2 hours, and i'll run at a speed that feels faster than my typical long distance speed. scientific!
upon coming to a ginormous field of grass, without thinking about it, i took of my shoes and started running barefoot. i thought i'd just run around that whole grassy portion of the park barefoot, and then continue the rest of the run. well... it turned out to be HUGE. i probably ran 3-4 miles barefoot which is more than i've ever run barefoot, and more than recently for sure. also i ran at a faster pace than i normally run barefoot, in concert with trying to make it a 'fast' run. it felt good, but i started feeling a small tweak in my right hip. i've felt small tweaks like that before, so i didn't pay it much mind.
when i put on my shoes and kept going around the park, the tweak got worse and started to hurt. once i figured out that it's not going away, i called it quits and went to watch the free Classical concert in the park (featuring Beethoven, swing dancing, the local choir, waltz and more - great time).
learning to listen to my body, i took it easy for the next 2 days, and went running again today. i thought i'd run along the river all the way to the ocean. gorgeous run. glad i did it as i was feeling really lazy earlier in the day, and pretty much went to bed to read and take a nap... but while in bed, i just had the urge to get out there and run, so i did!
wasn't running particularly fast - not feeling terribly energetic due to not getting full sleep for 2-3 nights (can't seem to sleep in too late) - but steady, and feeling good. then a few miles into it, i felt the hip again. GRRRRR. i tried to go a little further, and realized it wasn't going away. determined to see the ocean, i continued to walk along the river, but then got bogged down with bridges, not being able to cross, and having to backtrack, which would have been no problem if i could run, but would take way too long walking, so i decided to just turn back.
listening to my body, i walked back instead of running. but walking was boring and slow. though gave me time to think. i'm pretty sure that barefoot run was what did me in. 1) it's much different from my normal running routine, 2) i don't quite have the form. i'm pretty sure i was heel-striking somewhat. it was particularly obvious when running on aslphalt - my heels kept hitting it and it was hard so i could feel it very well. i think running on grass gave an illusion that i wasn't heel striking as hard thanks to the cushioning, but perhaps it was deceptive.
as i kept walking along, running was tempting. so i started playing around with different things to see if i can find a way to run and make the hip feel fine. i tried stepping more gingerly, using more of the forefoot springiness. and tried something else, and suddenly i felt a faint, but distinct pain in my left shin. NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! shin splints/!?! a small wave of panic engulfed me. i haven't felt shin splints for months, since i first changed my form from heel striking to landing on the toes.
i'm clearly doing something wrong. i tried a few more things, and i still either felt the hip or the shin. and it didn't feel right. ok, i thought to myself, how's this, what i'm trying to do, different from the way i run normally? so i relaxed and just ran the way it felt natural.
magically the shin quieted and even more amazingly the hip stayed quiet as well. i ran on, at a slow pace, but ran on.... and felt fine! there were a few tense moments in the hip, but no pain. i even picked up the pace a bit a few times and pretty much ran all the way home.
i was exhilarated! i did it! i conquered the pain with form, again!
and now that we got into the wasatch 100 (OMG HOLY SHIT OMG), form is going to be crucial from avoiding injury, both in training and during the race. i think working up the stamina to withstand this sort of punishment is going to be relatively straightforward, since we're young and energetic, and already in good shape. but making sure that my muscles, bones, and joints can take all this punishment, particularly going up and down mountains on uneven, treacherous surfaces, would be the greatest challenge.
the other thing that i don't like is that even though i managed, now twice, to do something with my form to get rid of pain... i still don't have a good understanding of what i did and why it worked, particularly for this second time (the first change was rather drastic, but this time around the changes i was trying have been more subtle). this makes me rather uncomfortable. not knowing how it works, i can make the same mistakes over and over, or not be trying the right solutions when something else flares up. so i'd like to find a book on biomechanics to better understand the musculoskeletal system. also, once we're back, i'd like to find a coach who's both an ultraunner and obsessed with form/biomechanics, and do a some sessions to correct whatever i'm doing wrong (which i'm sure is a ton) and pick his brain.
the other unrelated thing i wanted to mention quickly, which probably deserves its own post sometime, is how running has integrated itself into my life. no matter where i am, LA, chile, argentina, new zealand, i'm drawn outside, drawn to the wilderness, drawn to run. it's an itch and a craving. it gives me a sense of independence and freedom... no matter where i am, i can always run. it's something to do, and a way i can always feel free and happy. the happy feeling "i can run like this forever" is amazing. i'm sure it's the endorphins speaking, but it is what it is.
the run in the dark in chile along the beach was probably the happiest of them all... i felt SO exhilarated. just those few moments are worth all the other times when it feels like work and effort.
i'm becoming a bit more picky as a runner, perhaps. i am not that excited about running in cities. the initial few exploratory runs are fun and interesting, but running in a city, with cars and traffic lights, on pavement, day in day out is not that enticing. the reason i did so great with running in brazil, i think, despite the heat and working a lot can largely be attributed to having a gorgeous enticing park nearby with an amazing trail all around it. it was a prefect place for regular workouts.
though i've certainly picked it up here in Christchurch. the city is nothing short of gorgeous. not grand or majestic, like Rio, but very pretty, with a river going through it, lots of parks and gardens, and paths, and little trails everywhere. so out of the 5 days that i've been here, i went out running for 3 of them, and would have been more if i didn't hurt my hip, which is the other thing i wanted to write about.
despite getting into distance running rather suddenly, i've blessedly remained injury free, knock on wood. on saturday, i decided to do a roughly 2 hour run through the parks in christchurch and i wanted to do it at a "fast" pace. i don't have a watch and not even a phone here (my little nokia phone requires a super bulky adapater, due to being from HK, so i decided not to bring it) to keep time and no GPS to know how far i'm running. so i just said, i'll run through the park until it gets dark, which should be roughly in 2 hours, and i'll run at a speed that feels faster than my typical long distance speed. scientific!
upon coming to a ginormous field of grass, without thinking about it, i took of my shoes and started running barefoot. i thought i'd just run around that whole grassy portion of the park barefoot, and then continue the rest of the run. well... it turned out to be HUGE. i probably ran 3-4 miles barefoot which is more than i've ever run barefoot, and more than recently for sure. also i ran at a faster pace than i normally run barefoot, in concert with trying to make it a 'fast' run. it felt good, but i started feeling a small tweak in my right hip. i've felt small tweaks like that before, so i didn't pay it much mind.
when i put on my shoes and kept going around the park, the tweak got worse and started to hurt. once i figured out that it's not going away, i called it quits and went to watch the free Classical concert in the park (featuring Beethoven, swing dancing, the local choir, waltz and more - great time).
learning to listen to my body, i took it easy for the next 2 days, and went running again today. i thought i'd run along the river all the way to the ocean. gorgeous run. glad i did it as i was feeling really lazy earlier in the day, and pretty much went to bed to read and take a nap... but while in bed, i just had the urge to get out there and run, so i did!
wasn't running particularly fast - not feeling terribly energetic due to not getting full sleep for 2-3 nights (can't seem to sleep in too late) - but steady, and feeling good. then a few miles into it, i felt the hip again. GRRRRR. i tried to go a little further, and realized it wasn't going away. determined to see the ocean, i continued to walk along the river, but then got bogged down with bridges, not being able to cross, and having to backtrack, which would have been no problem if i could run, but would take way too long walking, so i decided to just turn back.
listening to my body, i walked back instead of running. but walking was boring and slow. though gave me time to think. i'm pretty sure that barefoot run was what did me in. 1) it's much different from my normal running routine, 2) i don't quite have the form. i'm pretty sure i was heel-striking somewhat. it was particularly obvious when running on aslphalt - my heels kept hitting it and it was hard so i could feel it very well. i think running on grass gave an illusion that i wasn't heel striking as hard thanks to the cushioning, but perhaps it was deceptive.
as i kept walking along, running was tempting. so i started playing around with different things to see if i can find a way to run and make the hip feel fine. i tried stepping more gingerly, using more of the forefoot springiness. and tried something else, and suddenly i felt a faint, but distinct pain in my left shin. NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! shin splints/!?! a small wave of panic engulfed me. i haven't felt shin splints for months, since i first changed my form from heel striking to landing on the toes.
i'm clearly doing something wrong. i tried a few more things, and i still either felt the hip or the shin. and it didn't feel right. ok, i thought to myself, how's this, what i'm trying to do, different from the way i run normally? so i relaxed and just ran the way it felt natural.
magically the shin quieted and even more amazingly the hip stayed quiet as well. i ran on, at a slow pace, but ran on.... and felt fine! there were a few tense moments in the hip, but no pain. i even picked up the pace a bit a few times and pretty much ran all the way home.
i was exhilarated! i did it! i conquered the pain with form, again!
and now that we got into the wasatch 100 (OMG HOLY SHIT OMG), form is going to be crucial from avoiding injury, both in training and during the race. i think working up the stamina to withstand this sort of punishment is going to be relatively straightforward, since we're young and energetic, and already in good shape. but making sure that my muscles, bones, and joints can take all this punishment, particularly going up and down mountains on uneven, treacherous surfaces, would be the greatest challenge.
the other thing that i don't like is that even though i managed, now twice, to do something with my form to get rid of pain... i still don't have a good understanding of what i did and why it worked, particularly for this second time (the first change was rather drastic, but this time around the changes i was trying have been more subtle). this makes me rather uncomfortable. not knowing how it works, i can make the same mistakes over and over, or not be trying the right solutions when something else flares up. so i'd like to find a book on biomechanics to better understand the musculoskeletal system. also, once we're back, i'd like to find a coach who's both an ultraunner and obsessed with form/biomechanics, and do a some sessions to correct whatever i'm doing wrong (which i'm sure is a ton) and pick his brain.
the other unrelated thing i wanted to mention quickly, which probably deserves its own post sometime, is how running has integrated itself into my life. no matter where i am, LA, chile, argentina, new zealand, i'm drawn outside, drawn to the wilderness, drawn to run. it's an itch and a craving. it gives me a sense of independence and freedom... no matter where i am, i can always run. it's something to do, and a way i can always feel free and happy. the happy feeling "i can run like this forever" is amazing. i'm sure it's the endorphins speaking, but it is what it is.
the run in the dark in chile along the beach was probably the happiest of them all... i felt SO exhilarated. just those few moments are worth all the other times when it feels like work and effort.
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