Long Run Fail

They say if you first don't succeed try, try again.

They also say, if you first don't succeed then skydiving is not for you. *lol*

Luckily my feet were firmly planted on the ground running or I'd be a goner.

I tried getting in my 18 miler twice this weekend. Both times I ended up with only 5 miles in the bucket. I'm super frustrated and don't even want to really be thinking about running right now.

Saturday I woke up at 3:30am and volunteered at the Hawk 50 Ultramarathon for a mere 16 HOURS. I think the Trail Hawks put on a pretty great trail race especially considering the amount of rain that poured the week before. Marking the course alone had to be a huge challenge. You can read Laurie's awesome and detailed race report about how the water crossings were chest high in places (includes photos). CRAZY yet oddly intriguing and fun sounding, no?
Anyhow, I naively assumed we would be rotating shifts or at least that we'd have people relieving us at noon or something. But when are there really ever enough volunteers to have that luxury?
Well, it was extra hot and I was stationed on road by myself where there was zero relief from the sun. I underestimated how much water I would need (and turns out that the runners needed it too at that point in the race) and that I would need to bring safe food for me to eat. I knew I'd have fruit available (although, I wouldn't be able to leave my post to really get to it) but I just thought I could get by with bringing some nuts and a raw bar. I just didn't think I'd be there all morning, afternoon and evening. I didn't know I'd have access to my car and that I could have made myself a cooler stocked with ice and food for myself. It was just partly poor planning, I should have asked how long I'd be expected out there. I should have asked if I'd have access to my car, and therefore could have packed better. I don't expect people to cater to my food allergies but I should have asked more questions to make sure I could prepare. And the person that was supposed to be out there with me didn't show or I might have even been able to leave more... but even that, I can't go to fast food places really. Even if I get a salad to go I have to make and bring my own dressing.
Soooo... long story all to say that by hour 14 or so, I popped something into my mouth that I shouldn't have eaten. I was HUNGRY. I read the ingredients and although I suspected the product to be made of wheat, it named only soy and fish. So I believed it and ate it. In the U.S. wheat is supposed to be clearly labeled on a product as it's a top 8 allergen. It's the law to label food in this way. Well, it must have been mislabeled and when my symptoms started happening I realized that I had never seen this ingreident to not have wheat in it and therefore I had been duped. It's not the first time a label misled me. Won't be the last time either, I'm sure.
And for the next two days I paid a price.
Oh yes.
Oh yes.
Sunday my parents decided to go for a bike ride. I thought I'd tag along and run my 18 miler. Within 4 miles I knew my body was not up to it. I was tired, I was over-heated, I felt out of it and foggy, and my body was wanting to reject and eject the "poison" from the day before.
Monday I tried again. Rinse and repeat. Reject and eject.
5 miles each time and it just leaves me frustrated at myself and my body. This week however I resolve to eat like a saint so I can try, try again next weekend.

Anouk's Trail Run

I took Anouk to a dog park that has a grouping of trees and groomed trails. It's completely fenced in so my little escapee could run off leash.





































Of course, once back into the open area, she ran top speed through the only puddle in the dog park!

A Girl in the World

Went over to another neighborhood to put in 2 - 4 miles. I'm disappointed to say I only worked up to 2. I'm obviously having motivation problems here big time. I've said it before on this blog, but running around a bunch of neighborhoods is boring and I have a hard time pulling myself out there.
I feel trapped into neighborhood running though. There is a huge trail system in a forest around a local county lake but it's just completely unsafe to run there alone. Even some guys I know don't go there at night by themselves as it's surrounded by some not-so-great areas. There are park rangers, but it's pretty big and if you're going to run miles, it's not like someone can keep an eye on you the whole time.
There is also a system of paved trails that the city maintains. These are really nice but two problems there are safety (every year there's a women who get attacked on the trail system it seems) and secondly, I don't want to put in the majority of my mileage on roads. It just leads to injury for me.
I thought about starting to pay for a gym membership but I just had 6 months of free access to a YMCA and although I appreciated being able to cross train, I know I'd never want to do the majority of my mileage on a treadmill. Running for me is about life and being in nature. Treadmill running is just something I do when I have to get in some miles and there is no other option in sight.
The best thing that could happen to be is to find someone to run with.... Someone with the same mileage goals in mind and who runs at the same pace. Almost everybody I've ever run with, runs faster than me and one of us ends up frustrated. I'm getting faster by continuing my leg workouts, but still, I absolutely hate being pushed on my daily runs. - Unless it's a run where I'm working on speed, I just want to be working in my zone.
I used to run with a group on the weekends and I could join a group. But it still leaves me with the rest of the week, running in my neighborhoods.
Anyway, it's just where things have to be right now I think.
I feel frustrated often about being a woman and having the safety issues that men might not face. A woman just can't run anywhere without safety being a concern. Men also have situations where that is true, but it seems the majority feel free to run wherever and whenever they want. A lot of woman do it too, I know. I read some trail runner blogs where girls set out for miles on their own. Sometimes I think that maybe I should just do it.... but the truth is, I'd be so full of anxiety that someone was going to mess with me out there that I'd just not even be able to enjoy the miles.

Current sources of motivation:
Dirt Diva (trail runner/ultra runner)
Lisa (ultrarunner)

Neighborhood Loop 3 mile

Three mile loop around the neighborhood today. Still unsafe. Still dodging cars and smelling gas fumes.
Mostly I've been working out at the YMCA because we keep getting snow dumped on us here. Storm after storm after storm.
Unfortunately, my free YMCA membership expires mid-month so hopefully the weather improves enough that I can run outside. I think I'm just going to have to commit to driving to other locations to run.
One new thing I've started doing are a series of core and leg exercises at home. I'm really trying exercises to build up the muscles around my knees and hips. I've read that doing it helps to stabilize those areas when I run and may even ward off ITB and knee injuries. I got the routines from old Runner's World magazines. I've been thinking about cutting them out and sort of pasting them onto new paper so I don't have to flip through the magazine and find them each time. It'd be a way to collect floor exercises I can do at home and add to my routine. After abs and legs I follow up with a series of yoga poses for flexibility and stretching. This little routine is just something I can do on days I can't run (especially due to the weather) to make me feel like I'm doing something towards my running goals. And who knows, maybe I'll be injury free this year!

Change Up

I wasn't planning on running until I put on my shoes and headed out the door. My knee had been tender, especially on stairs lately so I haven't pushed myself at all. The most I had done for the last 4 days was the daily one mile dog walk. So, by now, I had enough of sitting around.

Driving around post, I was thinking of changing things up. Firstly, I put on my older Brooks Adrenaline 8 shoes, the predecessor to it's upgrade that I usually wear. I thought that maybe I needed to get back to switching off between two shoes to avoid overuse injuries. Then, I added coconut water to my powerade zero to try out the natural carbs and extra potassium for avoiding leg cramps and soreness. I also decided to get out of the forest and run some open road. Maybe running the technical trail every time was wearing out my knee... I thought a smoother surface might be in order. Smooth, but it was not flat I should add. Lastly, I had received my Clif Bar samples and wanted to try something. I opened up the Blueberry Luna Moons and popped one in with a couple big swigs of my mixed brew. It was much better than the Clif Shot Bloks. Much better. It tasted a lot more natural and it was a smaller serving. Another change in this run - no iPod. I had forgotten my headphones and anyway it's against Fort Rucker rules to wear headphones while running near roads.
I decided to start my run near the beginning/ending of my last 8 mile run on Hatch road. This 3 mile section spreads from the Engineer/Hatch road intersection, past the Chinook helicopters at Knox ARMY Heliport to the Hanche Heliport turn where the Apache and Kiowa pilots train. It would be just a few hills, some new scenery and low traffic. My first concern though was where to park. I pulled into Knox AHP, where an MP was staked out and asked him for suggestions. He was super helpful and said parking on the side of the road is fine but recommended a hidden parking lot just behind the tarmac. So this way I would start my run at the Chinook AHP and use my GPS watch to just mark out when to turn around.
I take off and in the 1st mile I decided to run 6 that day, as long as my knee felt good. I also realized I had left my Powerade/Coconut brew on top my car. Great, it'll boil there until I returned. The sun was blazing at about 92 degrees. The southern sunlight is totally different than back home in Kansas too. The only way I can explain it is that it's just really intense.
Pretty quickly my run deteriorated. Although there was a storm coming and thunder in the distance, shady spots of road seemed far and few between. Energy just seemed to leak out of my body. The missing hydration was a little bit of a mental blow as well as physical. I decided the best thing to do was shorten my loop. Not total distance, just shorten my out-and-back to 1.5 miles so I can return to my car halfway and reassess the situation.
I noticed after peeing in the woods that I had these black specks all over my legs. Looking closer, they were just bits of plant debris. Whew, thought they could be small bugs.
And at 3 miles, I reached my car, grabbed my warm water and chugged a good bit. My stomach had been cramping and my sweat was really cool on my body which I read is a sign of heat exhaustion. It was obviously really hot outside and I felt really hot, but there's also a chill close to my skin. My body was workin hard to bring down the internal temps. I sat for a bit in my car, which I don't normally do. My thoughts were pretty negative...
"You just did 10 last weekend and you can't even do 3 now?"
"You're walking waaaay too much, you should be going faster."
"People are totally watching you from the heliport and stressing you're a bomber...quit looking at the gate guards so much."
"My knee is gonna give out..."
"Wow, my shirt is soaked."
"Maybe peeing again would help my stomach cramps... or throwing up."
"Maybe I ate too soon to running, ...too much sugar... too much new stuff...."
"Why can't I look like the Runners World covers all tan, sweat gleaming, and effortless form.."

*sigh*
As if the run isn't hard enough.
I decided I felt a little better. I grabbed a water bottle and headed back out to double my mileage. Within the first mile I was considering turning around. My body just felt exhausted.
I looked down at my legs with the specks still on them and they seemed to be moving individually. Maybe they were bugs after all! I bent down to look closer.. Naw, they're not moving. I picked one on my hand - definitely plant parts. Geesh.
Okay, now it's time for my own mental tricks. I invited tiredness to jump on my back and I accepted how I felt. I kept telling myself something a civil war soldier in The Blue and The Gray would tell himself: the body can go farther than the mind. My running friend texted and I put her on speaker and told her how I felt. She encouraged me and it helped. Laughing and smiling I got off the phone. A mile or two down the road a cyclist that had whizzed past me before, waving, now slowed down to almost a stop and asked me if I had enough water. Awe. Damn, that was nice. I assured him I did and after commiserating about the heat he started grinding up the hill that was in front of us, hooping and hollering. I was smiling again and soon enough I saw the Chinook, monstrous on a runway, before me and that meant my car was near. I finished 6 miles. Not the longest run I've done my any means, but it wasn't the easiest to lay down either.

Off Day

I tried to run today.

As soon as I woke up I knew I'd probably not be able to run the 5-6 miles I had planned. Well, I had a creeping feeling but didn't believe it. I woke up late for starters. And while that's not a huge deal, the weather here in the South is starting to get blazing hot by 9 a.m. Its in the 80s but humid and just the hottest freaking 80-something degrees I've ever felt. So it's about 9:30 as soon as I opened my eyes.

I got around and got dressed and trying to get out the door, I realized my car was blocked. I had to wait a good hour to drive away. All the while the weather just heating up.

Then, an argument with someone. The discussion stayed with me afterward, a seek-your-own-adventure story in my head where I tried out various endings and responses to try and work it out. I realized after replaying senarious the entire drive to my run, my energy had been zapped by all of it - the argument and my inability to shake it. Thinking about my lack of energy I realized I really hadn't drank any coffee that morning or really ate much food (too late now). Oddly, I had to pee for not taking in much liquid!

Argh. The negativity mounting, I was determined that running would actually be the very thing to clear me of all this. I headed to the "new" 2.5 mile route and started out.

It was hot. Whew, the run started with a hill. Past a pretty, but wide creek that gurgled and foamed and all along the way a lush, darkened forestry. The trees didn't seem too dense and I could see forest floor so I decided to divert into it to see if it was runable. No matter how spacious the trees were, there was so much debris (fallen branches and young trees, rutted, uneven dirt, vines) that it just wasn't runable. I would take more time and energy clearing a way than actually pressing on. I hoped back out into the beating sunshine and kept working my way up the hill. At the top was a strange looking fenced area. Buildings in the middle, wire fencing around them with guard towers on each corner. I felt..... watched. The sign nearby just said Forward Operating Base.

This section probably had 2 long hills but I felt like I was constantly going upwards until maybe the last 1/4 mile. And it was an out-and-back!? Anyhow, it was pretty bad. The sun was just too much less than a mile in and I walked ALOT. On the way back my legs felt like jello, I felt faintish, and all I tried to do was look for the side of the street with the most shade - which was neither. Apaches roared overhead loudly, interrupting my nimble focus.

Getting back into my car my first thought was, with a drink could I continue? Quickly, my response was NO, this was a disaster. My second thought, was okay, well that was two HARD hills. Really! And thirdly, I thought I'd keep my options open all day and maybe tonight after the sun goes down, come out and finish the other section for another 3 miles. I'm writing this at 9p.m. and can tell you the energy and drive never came today.

I'm going to try to get some sleep and wake up tomorrow to try again. Earlier this time.

Fort Rucker Chili 5k Run

Since moving to Fort Rucker at the beginning of the year I have been trying to work out regularly but not building any mileage. I run a couple times a week on the Beaver Lake Trail (paved) for one or two miles. Alternatively, I'll walk the dog there for up to three miles. Three days a week I go to a spinning class at the gym on Post. The instructor is a cyclist and runs the group sessions as if we were really outside. She's great at giving visual imagery and challenging us to challenge ourselves.
Today I ran in the 17th Annual Fort Rucker Chili 5k Run & Cook off at Howze Field, Fort Rucker, Alabama. I had pre-registered at the gym but needed to pick up my race bib and t-shirt prior to the race - along with everybody else. There was a chili cooking contest going on simultaneously, so I parked near the crowd and planned to walk around and find the race registration table. A funny note about the chili cook off: there were multiple awards, one being 'worst tasting!!" lol.
Anyhow, so I walked and walked and asked people where the heck it was and followed every piece of advice to no avail. Finally after walking around for 20 minutes and getting too close to the race start I finally got back in my car to drive the gym (someone said registration was held there one year). I arrive at the gym and ask the person at the front desk about the race and she says she had no clue what I'm talking about. Ooookay.
I go back out and get in my car driving around the entire other side of the parade field (which you can't see from the opposing side) and run into some people directing traffic. Turns out I'm talking to the race director himself! I'm finally pointed to the registration table but, I'm not allowed to park near the parking area where they are set up. ARRRRGH.
Finally, I temporarily park, get my bib and get back into the car to drive somewhere else to find parking while I'm in the run. I had to go over to the entire other side again to park and then get out and walk all the way back to the registration area where the start is located.
I felt like I'd already done my 5K!
Standing at the start line I made sure to position myself at the back. A lot of the runners were soldiers and their units so I assumed they would be in it to run it hard. The race is off on time and we wind through the single soldiers 1950's orange brick housing mostly. Pretty much the most uninteresting part of the base. Wow, they really could have chosen better views of the Post but I assume these streets were easy to shut down traffic-wise.
I didn't have a great race and walked a lot. My energy this year has been low. Every workout feels like a great effort and I never seem to be able to improve much but yet have to recover a lot.
Doing a race gave me a feel for participating in the running community again, but I'm just so far away in endurance that it is bittersweet.