... as my running buddy, Janine likes to call it :).
There comes a time in every season when all the workouts and high mileage catch up to you, and aches and pains (and even injuries) are inevitable. That time is now. The last long run, a 16-miler, was a tough one, but things weren't too much better at yesterday's 18-miler.
It was a gorgeous course--one of my favorites, Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz (due to weather, though, the second half of the course had to be re-routed, which is a shame, since the second half is the prettiest part), and we were incredibly lucky once again that rain decided to suspend itself for the run. But injuries being injuries, they have a way of making their presence known, and I wasn't going to come off quite so easy this time.
It all started with my heel injury flaring up a few days before. At the foot clinic at track, I learned that what I was experiencing was the beginning of plantar fasciitis
, and that the best way to keep it from getting worse was to ice and roll (standard fare) and never, ever be barefoot. I followed this advice and was feeling fine by yesterday morning, but as soon as I started to run my first few steps, it was clear that this heel thing would not go quietly. Oy.
Eventually it did fade away, much to my relief. Only it was replaced by shin and calf discomfort (I refuse to call it pain), which found its way to the inside of my ankle. It settled there like a guest making itself feel at home, and left the last 3 miles of the run very, very, VERY uncomfortable.
My usual ice bath soak alleviated it some, but the true test will be when I run again on Tuesday. In the meantime, I will roll and ice and ice and roll. And do a lot of praying for it, too. Hey, ya pull put the big guns when you have to.
Yesterday was only my second ever 16-miler, and I'm still trying to make up my mind whether or not I like them :).
Last season's 16-miler was a groundbreaker for me--it was the longest run I had ever done up to that point (remember, I had done only half-marathons at that point, and training runs never exceeded 12 miles for those, although I once attempted a 14-miler in a prior season, to see whether I wanted to train for a full--needless to say, I did not continue on with a full that season ;)). I was full of anticipation, fear, and doubt, and the fact that it was on the Lake Merced course didn't help.
Lake Merced, for those who don't know, is an energy-sucking place of doom. Or at least, that's how I and my running buddies view it ;). Every run we've ever had on that course has been tough, and last season was no exception. By the time the 16-miler was done, I felt relief and pride over having reached that distance, but I have to admit, the during part was complete torture.
Having had one of these under my belt, I figured things could only look up for this season's 16-miler. And, well, for the most part, it WAS better. How much better, though, is up for debate ;).
First off, we returned to Coyote Creek, which also was a tough run the first time. But I remembered hanging on quite admirably on that course last season, so I figured I had the odds on my side. But as soon as I took my first few strides, I knew it wasn't going to be a fantastic run (nothing like last week's 14-miler, let's just say). I felt tired, sluggish, and just generally, blah. Fortunately, Janine suggested a 3:1 interval instead of our usual 4:1 (unfortunately, she suggested this because she was injured :(), so that helped, but after our first out-and-back of 3 miles, I already knew I'd need to write this off as one of those so-so runs that I'd endure and then file away as a fluke.
Not that there weren't highlights on this run. Mentor Amy, who was manning a water stop, brought yummy chocolate chip cookies for us to feast on; so did Mentor Victoria, whose homemade peanut butter chocolate chip cookies were the stuff of legends and inspired me to make a batch today. And of course, there was the post-run lunch with the girls (and this time, Captain Mike Z joined us!) which is always tons of fun.
But all in all, not my greatest run of the season, and I am looking forward to the 18-miler at beautiful Natural Bridges to vindicate myself. I'm also looking forward to Janine recovering fully from her shin injury since I know Natural Bridges is one of her favorites as well.
Onward and upward!
... but some of them will be VERY good :).
I wasn't sure what to expect from today's 14-miler--after all, last week's 6-miler was, shall we say, sub-optimal. Ok, it sucked. I was still a little haunted by that, and although I had a great track workout (30 more seconds shaved off the ol' 5K time :)), I didn't do a buddy run on Thursday and did a VERY light workout on Friday (pulled out an old exercise video and barely worked up a sweat). It all had the makings of another blah run today.
But as always seems to happen with these kinds of runs, low expectations result in incredible runs. Janine and I finished the run in 3 hours and 1 minute, which is a bit overestimated, given that we stopped several times to stretch and get refills at water stops. That means we most likely did 14 miles in UNDER THREE HOURS.
Now to most people that may not seem very fast, but given that our last 1/2 marathon (the San Jose Rock N' Roll last October) took us a little over 3 hours, this is HUGE, people. We basically ran an extra mile in just about (and a little under, as a matter of fact) the same time.
Holy pace busters, Batman!
Now we're still not quite at the pace we'd really like to be for Napa, but we are well on our way. A few more days like these, and we'll be in very good shape :).
Oh and yes, I did do another ice bath. This time, I used 3 bags of ice instead of just 1, and boy oh boy what a difference it made. I have NO PAIN right now. None. No soreness, no pain, no bad things whatsoever. I feel fantastic!!
This ice bath thing is a keeper.
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