Cactus Rose 50 Milers

Back again.. been a long while. I have been trying to get my running passion back. Somehow.. I seem to lose it along the way. It does not help that I have to abandon the White Rock Marathon in December because I have to go back to Singapore.

However, my fiance's 50 Miler this past weekend re-inspired me. I think I want to do a 50 miler sometime next year.

This is his first 50 milers... and we were both excited about it. I was a nervous wreck. I knew that he wanted this badly.

The day started at 3am when we woke up to make the long drive up to Bandera. The boy made me worried when he refused any breakfast. I bought some Lara Bars and Banana and he had it on the way there and it made me feel better.

We arrived at Bandera at 4.30am.  Gosh.. it was cold. Near 40F is no fun... I was freezing. This was an unsupported race so we had to place the drop bags and supplies at the aid stations. There were 4 aid stations and we placed 2 drop bags in 2 of them.

The plan was to see him start at 5am, drive back to San Antonio for my run and head out again with a burger. Yes... the boy asked for a burger which was surprising. I was to wait for him at the Lodge aid station with the burger between 11am to 12pm.

Everything went as plan. I saw the boy off at the start and headed back to San Antonio for my run. Came back from my run, shower and head out to McDonald to get burger... but darn I waited for 10 minutes and they do not serve burger till 11am. Next option: Sonic.

I looked at the time and knew that I may not be able to make it at 11am. I just had to fly my way there. Arrived at the park at 11am sharp and the ranger stopped me and told me " Mam, I need you to do 2 things. One, go to the office and get your vehicle registered. Two, you have to drive slower. 20mile per hour is strictly enforced here..".. yeah... this was how fast I was flying.

I arrived at the Lodge station  at 11.05am. I looked around and everyone I know tell me " scott came through and ask for you and his burger..." Darn... I miss the boy by 10 minutes. He came through at 10.55am.

I felt so bad. I went to the aid station with burger and coke to wait for him. So happy that he came in one hour later ( at Mile 30) I was so happy to see him. He took some coke and could hardly swallow any burger ( lol... I wa not expecting him to eat any.. knowing that he has this thing of not able to eat on the course)

Doing a Gangham at Mile 30....

At mile 35 .. still looking good

 He left the aid station and went to the next one to wait for him. So the day was spent going from aid station to aid station to wait for him. He was looking great at mile 35. I knew that we had this.

Mile 45.5... getting very tired

At mile 40,  I could see that he was losing energy. But I was not worry... he could still make it even if he had to walk the next 10 miles .At mile 45.5... he was exhausted. He sat at the aid station for a while. I gave him some ginger ale and grapes.. and chased him out of the aid station. Just need to get him out before he got too comfortable

Finish Line !!!!!!!

The last 4.5 miles was probably the slowest and the toughest. I knew he had a big hill ( lucky) to cross and expected him to take at least 2 hours. But he beat my expectation and came in earlier than that.

Gosh .. I was so happy. 12 hours and 25 minutes... way ahead of our expected. Both of us were expecting 13-14 hrs finished. So proud and so happy ! First 50 Milers done !!!

Lost my toe !

I lost one of my nails today. First lost in my running career !

The BF had to pull the last bit off... so traumatized :) 

Captain Karl's Reveille Ranch

 Easy fast course ( in my opinion) + Bad Pace = unhappy me ! Shoot me !

After two 60Ks at Muleshoe and Colorado Bend, I was tempted to do another 60K. But it seems "kinda" crazy to do three 60Ks out of the 4 races in the series and miss the buckle by a 30K. ( I did 30K at Pedernales). So I convinced myself to "just" do a 30K.


I had wanted to race this since this was the last one in the series. But I felt sick during my run on Friday ( the day before the race). I was out doing m 8miles run and was running good till mile 3 when my asthma came to haunt me. I had to struggle ( walk /run) 2 miles to get back to the car. My inhaler did not make me any better for the rest of the day.

Panicked ! I really want to finish this race. I had to pull out my emergency kits.- 2 puffs of Albuterol every 4 hours, 2 cups of tumeric tea and a bag of onion. Yes onion ! I always feel better after chopping onion.- somehow the onion seems to open the air way... so I was chopping lots of onion on Friday night and Saturday morning.

Felt much better on Saturday. However, I was not sure how my lungs will react and hence decided to "take it easy".

I have not done this course before. But I heard my "horror" stories from peeps who did the Pandora Box. Major complaint was the granite rocks and the dome. The most technical part seems to be the dome and only the 60Ks runners get to go to the dome.  I was sorta disappointed to miss the dome.
 
There are 2 loops for the 30Ks runners with 4 aid stations in the course. The first 1.25 miles was pretty flat with some bumps.  The first aid station was about 1.25 from the start. The course started to get technical one mile after the first aid station... granites started to surface. It was actually not too bad- still runnable with day light. It was only more difficult in the second loop when the darkness made it difficult for one to focus on  the uneven ground.  The third aid station was about 3.5 miles after the second aid station.  The granites started to disappear after the third aid station. The course was pretty much runnable with some rocks, switch backs and hills. The last aid station was the same as the first aid station - 1.25 miles from start/finish line. It was a welcome sight to see the third aid station.. knowing that it was only 1.25 miles out from finish. The 1.25 miles back was the best stretch.. almost flat, downhill and runnable dirt track.

I started the race slow.. really slow as I did not know how my lungs will react.  I kept to very low heart rate - pretty much breathing in and out  through the nose throughout the race. I was trying to focus on getting a right easy breathing rhythm for first 4 miles.  Then I caught up with a friend - Michelle-and we decided to run together. It was getting dark and definitely a good decision to run with someone.

Michelle was trying to break 4hr and 27 min in this race. I told her that I will pace her and get her to finish with a PR. We ran the rest of the first together. We finished the first loop in 1hr 58min. I stopped my garmin by mistake at the end of the first loop and hence was unable to tell our pace and time for the second loop. I had to go by "feel" and push whenever I could and still maintaining a low heart rate.

Michelle followed the the pace really good till mile 15 when she started to slow down. For some reason, my right feet started to hurt. I could feel the top of my feet swelling. I knew that I had to keep running to keep the momentum. The feet will hurt more if I stopped or go slow. I decided to pick up pace and hoped that Michelle would be able to keep pace. But I knew that she is on track for a PR even if she did not keep up with my pace.

Michelle fell back when I picked up the pace. Luckily, the last 3 miles are easy and runnable.

Done in 4hrs, 11mins - 8th female.

Not exactly happy with time. I knew I could have done faster. My heart rate was real low and I was not even panting or grasping for breathe. I felt that I could have gone for another loop after finishing the 30Ks. Bad strategy to go on low heart rate... but then again.. I was not sure how my lungs will react if I had gone faster.

Very unhappy with myself... but I was very happy and excited for my BF who did the 60Ks. His 4th 60k... which means a buckle if he finished.

I waited at the start/finish line for him to come in for his third loop. I had promised him that I would pace him if he needs company on his third loop. He came in.. looked strong and he was running with someone he met on the course. I was really happy that he was running with someone... I did not think my body would want to go out again.. and my plantar hurt !

The boy came in at 9 hr and 27 mins....his second fastest in the series. And he earned his buckle !!!

The buckle... aren't it pretty ?

Tuesday Pain

Tuesday = Track work out. The most dreadful day of the week. It is hard to go out to track knowing that I will be the last one, i.e. slowest of the pack.

The typical Tuesday conversation with the BF :

Me : I am tired. I really do not feel like going to track. I do not want to run

BF : Silence.

Me : what if I cannot breathe

BF: You will be fine

Me: You always say that

BF : and I am always right

Me : Why am I running ?

BF : Because you want to break 4hr at white rock

Me : Who care about white rock ? I will not be here to run it. I do not want to run anymore. Why am I running

BF : Silence.

Yes.. this repeats every Tuesday.

The "before" track is always miserable. Yesterday was a good example. I was so miserable before track. Many thoughts ran in the head .. what is the work out ? What if my legs refuse to run? What if my asthma bother me....blah blah blah.

But I am usually okie once I hit track .. after warm up. The warm up is the worst part of the work out. I usually feel much better after warm up

In fact, I did one of my best work out yesterday. Well, it was forced out of me.  Coach Gary divided people into group based on their pace... I looked around and BIG OPPS... I was the only one in my group. I usually run with Richard but he is injured and did not turn up. Darn... either I ran alone or try to hand with some faster group. I decided to try to hang on to the faster group... at least for 3 sets. They were so FAST...first set at 7.15 pace. I never ran so fast in my life.

 "Hang on.hang on... it is only 3 sets"... I kept telling myself

I managed to hang on for 3 sets. We took a break for water after 3 sets. Two of them started first. I followed. I tried to keep a close distance with them ( since they started first and I could not catch up).  4th set done. 2 sets to go... and it was easy after.. kept telling myself to take it easy and focused on form. And before I knew.. it was done. I felt tired on the last set. But was really happy with pace.

Best work out ever... despite being miserable before the work out. But Yes... I was really miserable before the work out.. well every workout

hm......I think will have the same conversation again with my boy next Tuesday :)

Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar Fasciitis... A runner nightmare ! I have been plagued by this "evil " since Feb and it is still sticking to me like a leech.

Lucky for me ( touch wood), I could pretty much run through this injury. I did many research. It seems that this is one of the few injuries where you can run through it. The rule of thumb #1 - if it continues to hurt after two miles.. stopped. Plantar usually hurt at the start of run and goes away for a while. The pain comes after one stop running. But it will go away in a few hours after a run. Rule of thumb #2: If it continues to hurt a few hours after one stopped running.. rest the next day.

The traditional method of treating plantar is pretty much : Stretch. I did that a lot initially.. morning and night. Twice a day. However, I stopped doing the static stretches after reading the doc soc article (<- click here) on Plantar.

I have been following the Doc Soc's method of treating Plantar for a month now. His method is simple :

1. Stop stretching
2. Do toes crunching exercise to strengthen the arch
3. Find the real injury along the calves and behind the shin bones

I did a search for the "real injury behind the shin bones. Found a sore spot and I kept rubbing or trigger point it. The sore spot went away and I could feel less pain on my Plantar. I was puzzled why I continued to feel pain ( though less pain). I did a more thorough search and found a knot behind my calf right below the knee. The spot was so familiar. I remembered "feeling" it occasionally. I left it alone since it was not "bothering" me. I did a trigger point on that knot.. Gosh...i could feel the pain through the plantar. I kept rubbing at it... the more I did ,the more sore it became. This lasted for 2 days. On the third day, the know was gone. The pain in my plantar was reduced by a lot

I am still not 100% over from this injury.  But, I think that I am getting better. The pain is less acute. In fact, I could hop out of bed and walk down stairs after a run without pain these days. On days when it hurt a lot after a run, I would run my fingers through my calf and shin bones. I usually find some sore spots. I would rub into them and the pain would be less acute.

I am following this routine for next few months....Hopefully I can get rid of this evil soon !

Captain Karl's- Colorado Bend 11 Aug 2012

Captain Karl -Colorado Bend (11 Aug 2012)

Second 60k ! I was not sure about this one. My plantar and my asthma were giving me problem the whole week. I had no confident in this race with so many odds against me. But I wanted to do this badly and so decided to just do it.

My heart sank when we arrived at the start line. The start line was at the bottom of the "hill'. Darn... I knew that this would be a uphill course. I started to question whether I can complete this.

The race director was not very encouraging at the race briefing. He described this course as the most difficult of the whole Captain Karl series ( There are 4 races in the series.. each about 3 weeks apart). He warned the participants of the the hills and the heat  ( we started out at almost 105F).

Surprisingly, despite all my worries, I felt good when I started. The strategy was to go "slow" and easy on the first loop ( 2 loops- each 30k) The BF and I went too fast in the last race and we suffered greatly in the latter part of the race.  We decided that we would go easy for the first loop for this race. We saw a cluster of runners at easy pace and decided to stick with them. The first 3 miles ( from start to first aid station)  was pretty much uphill. We followed the group which run/walk it.

We broke free from the group 2 miles after the first aid station.  The next 5 miles after the first station was pretty much runnable which was surprising as I expected the course to be "hard". Of course, this was just a tease. The terrain changed after we past the second aid station. Rocks and more rocks started to surface on the course. Big rock, steep inclined/declined for the next 5 miles between the second and third aid stations.

I struggled a bit during this stretch. I wore my powerstep. I had wore  it for 2 months but started to wean it off the week before this race. However, I decided to wear it for this race to as I was not sure how my plantar will react.  Big mistake ! The powerstep for some reason "over corrected" my pronation and cause my feet to slip the other direction. I never had this problem when I was wearing it in the last 2 months.  It was very uncomfortable. My left knee started to hurt and I could feel pain on my right ankle. I started to contemplate whether to stop after the first loop. I was in a mental wreak as the thoughts of stopping kept creeping into my head,  Luckily the terrain changed for the better after the third aid station. It started with steep rocky inclined, followed by steep rock declined and then a good 3 miles of runnable stretch.

We completed the first 30K in 4 hr 25 mins. Slow but decent split. My left knee was hurting a lot and I could feel my right ankle swelling. " Stop" or "Go"....... I knew I was taking a risk if I continue. But I really wanted to finish this.. so I chose "GO"

The second loop was done via power walk and slow run. The pain in the knee and ankle started to play mind games with me. I had to push the thoughts of DNF out of my head. It was a blessing that that I was running with the BF. It helped a lot as we pushed each other.

It took a lot of mental will to complete the second loop. I had to  block off the pain in my left knee and right ankle and the thoughts of DNF.  I was so happy when the BF told me that we have about 3 more miles to finish. My body woke up and started to run ... I just wanted to finished fast. I picked up pace and the BF followed.  We ran at 9.30ish pace for the last 3 miles to bring it home.

Done my second Utra ! in 9 hrs 43 mins ! I survived.. so did my knee and ankle. And Yes.. I am ditching the powerstep for good

Prednisone

Upset. I am on another dose of Prednisone. This is probably my 5-6 dose for this year and my third dose in 3 months.

Upset and scare. More scare than upset. It took a while for the doc to decide whether to prescribe another dosage. But I was sick and none of the the traditional asthma medication helps. It was a hard decision to swallow them again.

The side effects of prednisone plays in my head as I swallow my first 4 pills- brittle bones,diabetes, hypertension, hypokalaemia, susceptibility to infection and thinning of the skin. Its scary. I knew I am getting weaker with each dose but my doc and I were at wit end. We have done everything we could to prevent a relapse. And I knew that the doc is using the right protocol to treat my asthma. But my body is just not responding to it. A relapse every 3 weeks is just not so right.

I told the BF that this is my dosage of prednisone. I am not going to touch this anymore. I rather be sick and be breathless and not run than to touch this again.

I am scare .. really scare that my body is addicted to the drugs.

No more for me.. be sick than be addicted.

Wondering... am I done ?

I have this niggling feeling in the last few months that I am done with running. I think I have reached my potential and there is no way I could run any faster.

I have tried all ways.. but still not getting any faster. Looking at the pace today and the pace last year.. I do not see a vast difference.  I am still at the same old pace and the slowest one at track

I really think that there is no way I can be any faster and it frustrates me a lot. I see my peers going faster each day and breaking PR after PRs while I am still at my pace last year.

Follow the schedule, do the track and tempo work outs... do my long runs... I am really tried of all these because they are not helping me at all. I told the BF that I am done with running. I think I am better off sleeping at home.

#frustrated #

Brooks Social Run

Brooks social run at RUN ON yesterday !  I <3 the social  run organized by RUN ON. Its really cool that they bring in different brand every month for the runners to try out shoes. Last night was Brooks night. The Brooks representative was there with Pure Flow and Revena. I did not try any of them as I had Revena and I know that Flow is too minimalist for my feet.

The BF managed to try the Cadence ! The Brooks representative was wearing Cadence and the BF managed to get him to take them off for him to try running in them. That boy went off for a 5 miler with someone's shoes (SMH)

 The verdict : Love it. He said that he is going to get a pair  !

Awesome night. I managed to bring in 3 mile... and won a shirt ! Whaooo !

Coach Gary's famous Quote

J_ST SH_T THE F_CK  _P AND R_N! 

(All that's missing is U)

Stretch or Not Stretch

Stretch or not stretch... that is the question. 

I used to stretch after every run... at least 15 minutes or more.  This habit was cultivated from my yoga days. My yoga instructor has classes for athletes that focus on deep static stretches and she was a strong proponent for stretching. I learned that stretches are good.

I was told many times by many people that I am injury prone because I am too flexible. The ART (Advance release technique) practitioner who treated some of my injuries always tell me to stretch less because I am way too flexible.

I did not take these remarks/advices seriously till I read an article from Doc Soc a week ago. It was an interesting article that advocated that static stretches (those stretches which I do) weaken the muscles. Muscle tightness could be due to imbalance which arises from stress in the nervous system. Stretching one muscle could actually impair another muscle.

" Muscle tightness is due to an imbalance. The imbalance lies within the neuromuscular system – so it is a reflection of the nervous system via the muscular system. The idea that many physicians, therapists, coaches, and athletes have that you need to stretch a tight muscle to relax it and exercise a neurologically weak muscle to strengthen it is incorrect. It sounds nice, but your body doesn’t work that way." - soc doc 

I am a slave to static stretches... stretch and hold for 2 mins have been my after run routine for the longest time.   If it is t.. I hold my sight, I stretches longer and more frequently.  I am injured all the time despite these stretches.

The BF on the other hand do not stretch at all.  I would be on the floor stretching while he would be couching and he was never injured.

The BF and I discussed the article. It seems logical. The muscles are like rubber band... the more you stretch the more loosen them becomes.. and they will never goes back to the original taut state.

The article seems like a wake up call for me. The BF told me that I should stop all my static stretches. Do dynamic stretches if I need some activities to feel better.

It has been a week since I stopped my static stretch routine and I do not feel any worse from no stretching.  The BF and I felt sore and tight after our long run on Saturday. We decided to go for a swim to " loosen up". It works. I had my best run the next day.. legs felt so light !

I am going to try this from a month... no static stretches. Dynamic stretch if I need ! Will see how it goes:)

Motivational Run !

8 Miles at 8.53 pace ! I am thrilled ! This is probably my best 8 miler since Feb. Been a while since I had such good run. It felt so easy. Everything seems to be working in coordination - the lungs, the plantar ( my plantar hurts) and the legs.

I have been struggling with my runs for a long time. Nothing seems to be right - either I had plantar flare up or asthma or tight legs or combination of all. It frustrates me a lot to the extent that I think that I have reached my potential in running, ie. I could not go any faster than I am today. It is really not a good feeling to see all my training mates going faster while I am still at the same old slow pace. It is hard being the slowest on track.

The run this morning is exactly what I need. A good run to motivate me. At least I know that my body is still able to run at below 9 min pace.
 
Keeping my fingers cross that this good run continues for next few weeks !

August New Toys !

Brooks Adrenaline 12 and Brooks Adrenaline ASR

This is the first time I tried Brooks Adrenaline ASR and I am in love with the shoes. I was slightly skeptical prior to purchasing them as they are hybrid and I am not sure how they will function on trail. But gosh... these are the best pair of trail shoes I ever had. I tried them on trails and pave and they works well on both terrains. I am surprised by the performance on trails considering that they are hybrids - good grips on tough terrains with loose rocks. More importantly, they are perfect for runners like me who needs more support.

The real test will be my 60Km trail race this Saturday.  Let's see whether it withstand the pressure of a technical course !

Brooks Cadence

I have to admit that it was the pink color that enticed me to this pair of cadence. This is my first time trying the Brooks Pure series. I am still trying to break into the shoes. I took them out for a 2 mile run early this week...yes they are comfortable. But my foots need more time to get use to the 4mm heel drop ( I am a traditional 13mm heel drop user). Can't wait to use them for longer miles :)

First Race !

Since this is the Lazy Runner's first post, I thought that sharing my first race would be most appropriate.

My first race was the Paris half marathon in 2008.  I was in school in Paris and was running leisurely with a school mate. He decided to do the Paris Half Marathon and enticed me to do the same.

I did not know what I was getting myself into. We had no training plan. I did not know that one needs a training plan. I had no Garmin and did not know 13.1 or 21km is really a distance. We just ran whenever we had time. The longest we ever did was probably 8 miles.

Race day was fun. We drove from school to the start. I remembered that it was very cold and I was shivering at the start line. I knew that I had to run when the race started. I did not know how far we were to go... just ran !

It was probably a blessing in disguise that I did not know how far 13.1 miles was and that I had no Garmin. It just make it much easier to run and not be a slave to the watch.

I finished the race in 2 hr 2 min ! Decent good time , I think, for a rookie.

This was probably one of the best race I ever had. There was no pressure. Just run !

Life is more complicated today. I have made myself a slave to the Garmin. Time, pace and distance seem to guide my runs. It is just not so right. Isn't running suppose to be fun and easy. We have made it complicated, didn't we!