Trying New Things

My two weeks of not running is up! I thought it would seem like an eternity and I would be a miserable, crabby, depressed blob. Why did that not happen? Because I found the bike! My new love. I have always been afraid of road biking because of the high speeds, crazy drivers, and pavement, but I have become much more comfortable on the bike and I am really starting to enjoy it. My friend, Jill is training for the Muncie Endurathon. She has been kind and patient enough to let me come along on some of her training rides. She is so much fun to ride with, and has taught me so much already. I am so lucky to have such generous, fit, exercise-loving friends!

Everyone has always told me how much fun biking is, butI never thought I would get over the fear enough to enjoy it. It turns out that it's not that scary, I get to see the beautiful Kentucky countryside, and get a great workout. It's kind of like running, but faster.

I thought I would be very anxious to start my Columbus Marathon training, but it turns out that I am just really enjoying my "training to train" program right now. It consists of swimming, biking, and running when I want to. Training just to stay fit is kind of nice because there is no pressure to perform or compete. I do like being on a set schedule, but for right now I'm content with exercising when I feel like it. We'll see how long this feeling lasts.

Sugar and Spice Review

Since I didn't actually do the race I can't call this a race report. However, I would like to talk about the weekend.

I decided to take Kelty to Cave Run Lake Friday night to the pre-race buffet and to camp out. By the time we finally left Lexington and got to the campsite everyone except the RD, Herb and his girlfriend were there. I sat and ate with them, and as I was walking to set up my tent Annette Bednosky, winner of the Western States 100 came up to Herb's site. We spent about 30 minutes talking about trail running, road running, and being injured :( I have to say it was pretty inspiring to listen to her talk, and of course watch her run the next day.

Kelty was pretty restless in the tent during the night, but we managed to get a fair night's sleep. She slept on her own sleeping bag, but I know she wanted in mine because every time I moved she was right in my face.

I had decided to work the first aid station which was also the last aid station (miles 6 and 26) since the course is an out and back. This way I figured I could run in the last 6 miles with Lynn and Tara. Then I would walk/jog to the second AS (miles 12 and 20)which was only 1 mile away accessible by gravel road. This way I could see them come through AS1 on the way out, come through AS2 on the way out, and on the way back, and then use the road to meet them at AS1. Well here is what actually happened...

I helped volunteer Eric set up the table and waited for the group to come through at AS1. They came through looking great, and besides the two speedies, Annette, and Susan everyone came through around the same time. After everyone got through Kelty and I jogged the road to AS2, and everyone was still looking strong through mile 12. Lynn and Tara were already really goofy, and I was wishing I was running with them. Then we waited, and Annette came through on her way back looking so strong and overjoyed to be out on the trails again. Then Susan came through and unfortunately pulled out due to a hamstring injury. It was heartbreaking to see the disappointment in her face. Karen was the next woman to come through. That's when I noticed Kelty was not at the aid station. I walked up the trail a bit; no Kelty. Rhonda came through about 10 minutes later and told me that she would send Kelty down if she saw her. 5 minutes...no Kelty. Now I know she wouldn't run away, but my fear was that if she followed Karen and realized I wasn't there she might try to come back and get lost. So I decide to follow Rhonda and Karen the 6 miles to AS1 and see if I can find her. I start in a mad sprint into the woods. I can't lose my dog! I keep at this pace for 2-3 miles until I see Rhonda who has not seen Kelty. I swear I am running at a 7-7:30 pace. Way too fast for me, but I need my dog! I catch Karen a few minutes later and guess who is running right behind? Kelty. At least she hadn't run off into the woods. I apologized profusely to Karen, and finished the last 3 miles with her and Kelty to AS1. I only had to wait a few minutes until Lynn and Tara got there.

Lynn and Tara were looking great when they got to AS1 (mile 26). They were cheerful, positive, and moving strong. We started running and the two of them immediately had me in stitches until they crossed the finish line. I only ran 6 miles with these ladies, I can't imagine how much I would have laughed if I ran the whole thing with them. They were doing so great, too. This was Tara's first ultra, and I believe her first marathon was Derby which was only about one month before. Awesome. These ladies are tougher than nails, and funnier than...well I don't know, but they are pretty damn funny. They finished in a great time of 8:30:xx which put them in 5th and 6th place! What champions.

I also got to meet Angie who had a phenomenal race! She passed us at the last aid station looking strong. She said she was hoping to break 9 hours, and I looked at my watch and she was on pace for about 8:30. I think my exact words were, "uh yeah you will!" and she did, 8:20:xx. Awesome!

Saori and her friends from Illinois seemed to have a great time as well. Those are some tough ladies, too. It sounded like many of them, Saori included were doing marathons one week, triathlons the next, and ultras the next!

Even though I did not get to participate in the entire event I had an absolutely wonderful time for more than one reason:

1. Meeting an incredible elite athlete who was so kind, full-spirited, truly enjoys the sport of trail running simply for what it is, and watching her do what she does best.
2. Spending time with friends, Tara and Lynn, and sharing in their passion for running, laughing and great conversation.
3. Seeing runners like Angie set a goal and completely annihilate that set point. I love seeing that proud/happy look on other's faces
4. I did not lose my dog!

Talk about an inspirational weekend! I cannot wait to get back on the trails/roads. That said I have decided to take 2 weeks of running completely off (I have one week down already). My achilles is healing, and I have no races planned until October. Columbus! I can't wait. Until training begins for that (1 week) I plan to only bike and swim. It's been great so far, but my feet are getting itchy...

Why Can't I Do It All?

I am happy to say that I have been pain free for 3 full days. Yesterday Gary and I went on a bike ride for almost 2 hours, and today I went to Vetran's Park with Kelty and ran 5 miles completely pain free. Even the 5 minute warm up did not bother it. Maybe the kinesio taping really works! I had to take it off today because it was starting to roll and peel away from my leg, and it was pretty dirty from the trail.

With the reality of me doing the Sugar and Spice slipping away I have been pondering what I want to take on within the next year or two or three...

Triathlon?
Being on the road bike yesterday was really fun, and even though we were not going very fast I was starting to feel very comfortable on the bike which is great for me. In the past road biking has terrified me, and I could never seem to relax. Watching the Memphis in May Triathlon a couple of weeks ago made me really excited to try a triathlon. I've always had the swim part down, and now I have a lot more running experience, but my limiting factor was always the bike. First of all I never had one, but now that I don't have that as an excuse since we bought a K2 a couple of months ago. The perfect triathlon for me to start out with would be the Tri for Sight put on race director, and good friend, Beth Atnip. It's a shorter triathlon, and right here in Lexington, a great first triathlon, but it is September 24th which is only 1 month away from the Columbus Marathon...

Marathon?
I really enjoy running marathons and all of the people I train with. My friend Lynn wants to run Columbus together, and I know it would be a blast because I absolutely love running with Lynn. Also, Columbus is supposedly a flat and fast course, and I would really like to qualify for Boston someday. Could this be the year? Probably not if I do Tri for Sight.

Ultramarathon?
Since the S&S looks like a no-go I would really like to try to do another one. I have found 4 in KY. Louisville Love'n The Hills 50k February 18th, Land Between the Lakes 60k March 11th, KY Ultra Trail Sojourn 80k (31 and 51 mile option) March 25th, and KY Arches Run 32-34 miles November 11th. They all look like great races, and I would get to be in the woods!

Adventure Racing?
This is something I have wanted to do for a long time, and hadn't thought about it much lately until Gary mentioned it the other day. I haven't looked up any in our area yet, but I'm not counting this one out yet. My neglected mountain bike needs some riding, and I am always happiest when I am spending time in the woods.

Start Having Babies?
HAHA! Just kidding. Breathe Gary. Not just yet!

Decisions decisions... I have a lot to think about don't I?

Rehab and Kinesio Taping

Have I mentioned that I HATE being injured, but then again, who does? I am starting to get really impatient and irritated even though physical therapy is going pretty well. I was feeling relatively pain free this week and then I ran on Thursday. It hurt for the first few minutes until I stopped and stretched. It felt fine the rest of the morning and afternoon and started bothering me in the evening.

I had an appointment for physical therapy yesterday and got what the PTs refer to as the "spa treatment". This means I did not have to do any exercises while I was there. (Although I did them later in the day anyway) We started with a 20 min warmup on the bike, a bit long but I did not mind the breif exercise. Then we stretched, did some ultrasound, and the very painful deep tissue massage. There was nothing "spa" about that...owie. Finally we finished up the treatment with some iontophoresis.

Then, Kris my therapist started telling me about this special kind of taping technique that can relieve swelling, and help with the relaxation of the muscle. I was intrigued, and I told him that if he told me that eating only grapes for one month would make me leg heal I would try it, so let's do it. The technique is called Kinesio Taping. That link does a great job explaining what it is and how it works. Basically, applying the tape to the skin while the muscle is in a slightly stretched position creates tiny convolutions in the skin and raises it away from the muscle creating increased interstitial space. This increased space facilitates the flow of the lymphatic system and decreases the amount of pressure on the nerves and pain receptors. Sounds good, and makes sense to me!

The tape actually feels like a warm fuzzy blanket on my calf and bottom of my foot. It is very flexible and does not limit my range of motion whatsoever. I can even shower and better yet swim with it on. I was pretty skeptical after he put it on because I did not understand the methodology of the taping, but after reading more about it I'm willing to keep it on and see if it helps. 24 hours and so far so good.