Injury / Training Update

So the good news is as of Christmas, I've started to run at least twice a week - mostly four miles at a clip, with a small amount of walking on these severe hills around me. My endurance going up hills is quickly being re-established, which I'm happy with. Furthermore, flats and uphills are proving to be easy for the most part. The downhills are a bit trickier.

My lower outer quad is taking for-ever to wise up, which I knew would be the case since it began acting up just before Halloween. The spasms have about 95% ceased and the IT pain has diminished, but the seizing and stiffening is coming and going when it wants to. Running down hills is the biggest cause for concern, as some descents feel painless and loose while others cause stiffening and seizing up. Slowing down or walking during descents, I feel it more, and also just after I've descended.

The resolution to my issue continues to be foam rolling, ice, and some basic cross-training exercises. My girlfriend is *hopefully* getting me P90X for my birthday, so I'm excited about that. :P The bottom line is I need to ramp up training and dispense with further issues as I need to register for my early races such as the Glacier Ridge 50K and the Pittsburgh Marathon in the very near future!

The overall good news is the rest of my body is good! No significant pains or issues to report. Last week, I battled the stomach bug that's been going around, but luckily it only amounted to moderate acid indigestion and a feeling of fullness and having a knotted stomach. Then it passed.

More good news is today I fixed my treadmill, which had a severed power cord that my ex-wife's dog had chewed through in 2011. I'd let this project go during my divorce, naturally. But with freezing cold temps and snow on the way, and my Emme moving here in Spring, now was the best time to fix it. My challenge was locating a replacement 14/3 power cord and also buy a pack of mini female connectors to connect to the circuit board in the motor / computer housing at the front of the machine. It proved to be an easy task once the parts were assembled. I also found the bolts to put the elevation-changing feet on the back of the machine, which I'd neglected to put on during prior use. I plan to run barefoot on the treadmill to improve my strength and form.

Injury Update - Progress at last!

So basically I've spent the last three to four weeks resting, walking, foam rolling, keeping loose, and not running more than a mile or so at a time. As the woes in my left quad continued, I'd begun to experience SPASMS in the last few weeks, as a symptom of muscle dysfunction, likely caused by adhesions and/or knots. Anything so much as more than a cup of coffee per day, or the slightest bit of stress, would trigger even more spasms. And when the muscle wasn't twitching randomly, there would often be a dull ache like someone had punched it a few minutes before - chalk that up to a constant state of spasm. Or, if not all that, there would just be stiffness and more odd knee pains from the tendon and IT band being pulled/thrown out of whack (especially following sleep).

On Thanksgiving morning, I did a 2 mile run-walk, where stiffness and a bit of IT pain began to return on the descent of hills. Running either side of crested roads didn't feel right, while both power and shock absorption were lacking. I suppose one thing that wasn't so bad about not running was the fact that the weather's been poor. Cold, rain, wind, and snow. And forget trails - they're already mud pits and will remain so until next summer. I tried walking/jogging a couple "new" gas well trails in the valleys below my house, and only ended up spraining my right foot, which wasn't bad and quickly healed.

Finally, while I was foam rolling my lower left quad area on December 7, I felt a pop DEEP within one of the muscles, followed by a LOT more spring and looseness in the leg there. And of course, less pain. Tonight, I did another 2-mile run-walk, testing the leg on hills. No pain, no stiffness. Strength and shock absorption are very close to that of my right side. I'm still getting very small spasms while typing this, but they no longer seem to be interfering in my movements at the current time.

To make a long story short, I'd had this injury since about October 25 and simply had not been able to shake it, or make any discernible progress for SIX solid weeks. It took a miraculous pas with the foam roller to shake it. But staying disciplined with my diet, staying hydrated, and doing light exercises were likely also key to recovery.

Going forward, I will continue to roll and stretch after every run. Every attempt must be made as to prevent muscle adhesions that could potentially limit my abilities or lead to other injuries. Also, I will not push too hard or too long on any run and give myself adequate rest and recovery time between runs. Although this seems like common sense, there can sometimes be a fine line between not enough and too much. Learning how not to cross that line is the hard part.

Current Injury - Outer Quadriceps / IT Band

So, I've recently concluded that my left side is cursed. I'd screwed with my hip / and pelvic cradle are a few years back while lifting awkward things at my job. Since then, it's been an uphill battle with weakness and injuries from waist to foot.

Now, after about three weeks of discomfort, I've concluded that my outer left quad is injured, which has caused problems in both the quad tendon and especially the IT band. I can't remember a single incident that led to the injury, so I'm chalking it up to overuse. Too much mileage, not enough conditioning, overly difficult terrain. And I'm paying the price for it. As with my foot injury a few months back, there's been no extremely noticeable pain or discomfort while doing daily activities. But this all changes when I run. And it comes in the form of pain around the outside of the knee. During the marathon, it wasn't exactly crippling until about mile 11.5, then periodic walks started. By mile 18 I couldn't run anymore. Afterward, I thought just the IT Band was injured. But after much massaging, etc. my quad just aches. And the strength is gone. Finally an answer!

So, over the end of Fall I will work significantly on lower body maintenance, rehab, and strengthening. And I will do this before any significant running starts again. I resolve to not do much more than a short jog until the aching and stiffness has gone from the quad and its "base level" of strength has returned. There are no two ways around this.

NOTE: Fortunatel, my right side has experienced no difficulty in training except for my hip flexors locking up from overcompensating for the left leg, and an increased volume of blisters on the sole from the same. To keep both sets of hip flexors intact I will need to make sure my hip strength is up on both sides and that my running form is good.

Strong Feet

Obviously, one of the initial keys to running is strong feet and ankles. Without these sets of bones, tendons, ligaments and muscles being healthy and in good alignment, running performance will suffer.

A few months ago (early August), I was doing a routine cleanup of my yard and garden when I suddenly slipped on a muddy spot while dumping clippings over a hillside. I slid about ten feet down on my right side until catching myself with my left foot. Getting up, I initially felt the pains from the abrasions along the side if my body. But as I began to resume work, my left foot felt funny. There was a mild pop every time I took a stride. No significant pain, but it felt funny. I didn't think it would interfere with running, but sure enough, it did. After anything over a few miles, the outer forefoot would become swollen and stiff for a few days. Weight bearing wasn't that painful, but my foot just lacked strength.

In summary, it took two months to get full strength back, no matter what I did. This is simply because it needed to heal. Seeing as how I'd just started my intense running program, my feet were still weak and non-muscular for the most part. And due to the injury, my right foot quickly passed the left, growing more muscle and veins. My left simply would not do the same until it had healed more. As of the Marshall Marathon, my left foot is now 100% healthy. I'm happy with my feet and ready to move forward with my training.

Here are a list of my key ingredients to running with good feet and ankles:

Marshall University Marathon - Race Report

Goals:

For one, finish. Second, if feeling good, shoot for a 4:30 time. I'd been battling left knee tendonitises (quad, IT band) for the past month so I had no real expectations for the entire 26.2. Also, considering I'd never traveled that far on foot, I knew that I was probably in for a royal schooling of some sort. Then, there was the aspect of me having to drive 5 hours home directly after the event. All things to be wary of before gun time.

Results / Commentary:

5:22. I did great during the first half, clocking in a solid 2:12, which was consistent with my training runs of that length. I couldn't really even feel myself slowing down until I noticed people passing me. The 4:30 pace group whizzed past at the 11 mile mark and within the next mile were out of sight. That's when the tendonitis really started to bother me. I'd dispensed with the quad tendonitis the week before, but the IT band variety is what bothered me here. Whenever my quad/shin muscles tensed up yay much, there would be a debilitating twang that would briefly stop me in my tracks, but luckily this only happened three total times. Then, having to compensate for the left with my right side, my hip flexor took an absolute beating. After mile 18, I couldn't run at all, as both legs were locked up, mainly in those two areas. Muscle oxidation and lactic acid buildup were pretty bad, too, which reflected my undertraining. Another product of that was my feet. They felt strong and structurally sound (great news!), but the inner balls were absolute toast. This meant blisters, meaning the entire surface of them - one giant blister on each. The blister pain only bothered me so bad, though, as I can run with blisters. The fact that I couldn't physically move enough to run bothered me more. No, check that. There were people who finished behind me who could still run. They should've beaten me. That bothers me.

So, those last 7+ miles seemed like they'd never end, but I powerlimped as fast as I could straight to the finish without stopping. In fact, being not a tremendously large marathon (~2000 competitors), I was more or less alone out there once the 4:30 group went by. After that, it was lone runners passing infrequently. Then there were headwinds that ripped into me, draining my body heat. Comically enough, I had no sweat at the finish because the wind had dried it all as I powerlimped.

I was happy with my calorie fueling (three PowerGels and two Clif bars), but I certainly could've benefited from  a bit more hydration and likely a few salt tablets. I took on as much water as I could, but the water stops didn't have enough for my liking. For this, I will carry a handheld in future events.

Conclusion:

Both Emme and I should've run the half marathon. We were simply too banged up and it dampened our experience. Also, the marathon wasn't tremendously well-organized, so I wouldn't do Marshall again. But, the people in and around Huntington, WV were very nice and it was an overall pleasant and positive environment to be in.

My 10 Keys To Running Success

So, this year's been an eye opener as far as learning about my mind and body and what it will take to be any kind of competitive athlete. After nagging problems and not being able to use my energy to run when I want and as far as I want, I've decided to take a step back and come up with some things that are key to my success, and would probably be to any relatively new runner like me.

Here's my list:

1. Overall Diet. 

Naturally, nothing is more critical than a good diet for a runner. Without this foundation, there can be little improvement in building and maintaining muscle, strength, speed, endurance, injury prevention/recovery and a high level of  performance. Additionally, there can be buildups of toxins in places like the lower digestive tract and muscles that can be detrimental to the quality of these items.

I will not specify what diet one "needs", because most athletes already know what kinds of things they should/shouldn't eat. I *will* list some of my top things, however...

Shoulds:
- Protein shakes (before and/or after a run). With water or milk. Muscle building and repair formula. A must.
- Nuts, specifically Almonds (unless you have nut allergies). High in good fats, protein, fiber.
- Fruits and vegetables. These *should* be your main (if not only) source of organic sugars.
- Organic carbohydrates. Examples: oats, rice, limited amounts of pasta.
- Low-fat or fat-free dairy products. Butter, cheese, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese.
- Poultry
- Seafood (fish, crustaceans)
- Morton's "light salt". NaKCl. MUCH better for runners than table salt.
- Bacon (once or twice a month)
- Sugar substitutes. E.g. maltodextrin. Non-depressing. Easier to process for running energy.

That's basically it! You can whip up many different meals and concoctions with these things, enough so to keep you busy and happy.

Shouldn'ts:
- Starchy carbs. A few roasted/baked potatoes are good every now and then.
- Excessive amounts of table salt or foods too high in sodium.
- Oily / greasy foods. Use stuff like spray olive oil instead. NO fried foods, sorry.
- Refined sugar. Yeah, this rules out pretty much all sugary junk food. Sorry.
- Excessive amounts of processed carbs. Example: breads, crackers, chips.


2. Cross-Training.

Although XT is an open invitation for you to improve yourself, it's also pretty much a MUST, especially when it's not race season. Get something like the P90X program, and do it. A strong body from head to toe will ensure you become a better runner without being prone to injury. During race season, make your own list of exercises with your desired number of reps, and DO IT. You won't regret it.

3. Hill Training

If you want to get good at running hilly races, or pretty much ANY trail race, you NEED hill work. These are much different than running on the flats or a treadmill. If you aren't conditioned for them, you will likely wear out and get hurt. Take a day and do nothing but hills for ~5 miles. Push a little more each time, but don't continue pushing if there's extreme discomfort or shooting pain. Train your joints and muscles to work at severe angles. For trail work, simply find a trail with a couple big hills, or use power line rights-of-way.

4. Muscle Maintenance

This has been an utter key for me as of late. If you're sore after a run, you NEED to address it. Remaining stiffness in muscles, either from overuse or toxin buildup, may not go away in a timely fashion. And if the problems linger, they will not only damage your performance, but will also create injury scenarios down the line. People overvalue stretching, for one thing. A good diet and training regimen should limit the amount of stretching you need to do. If you're constantly stopping to stretch because you're stiffening up somewhere, something is amiss with your diet or training program.

And, even if no pain, you should periodically examine your muscle groups for knots and kinks. GET THEM OUT. Especially in legs, if you run with knotted quads, hamstrings, or shin muscles, there WILL be problems, specifically tendonitis. You're actually lucky if you get acute tendonitis, because this indicates a muscle or group has knots or stiffness that needs to be worked out - doing so will make it go away. Chronic tendonitis can be much more difficult to address.

My Muscle Tools / Injury Menders and Preventers
- The Stick (or substitute). A thin rolling pin or PVC broom handle can get the job done. Roll out all your leg muscle groups in a linear fashion, focusing on knots/kinks. Use both arms and apply as much pressure as you can handle.
- Your fingers. If you find a knot, sometimes it cannot be rolled. Use one or more fingers and push as hard as you can directly in the center of the knot and hold for 30 seconds before moving to the next. Yes, this can be painful, but is more effective than massaging back and forth. You may be temporarily sore or stiff after, but you'll be completely loose and comfy within a day or two in most cases, unless injured.
- Foam Roller. This is a gentle way to get knots out of your lower body muscle groups. Find a PDF diagram somewhere that tells you how to use one and on what areas. Buy a good one, that's not too soft.
- ICE. If you have lower leg pain after a hard or long run, ice it down as soon as possible. Bagged vegetables and flexible ice wraps are good, but an ice bath is best. Use a garbage can or cooler with a bag of ice, fill with water, and dip the legs in. Go all the way up to your quads if necessary but no further. Ice increases blood flow to sensitive areas and can aid in dissipating knots, especially if using the Dixie cup massage (Google it).
- HEAT. Do not use on an injury unless later into the rehab phases. Use when and where necessary to limber stiff muscles.
- Compression. Socks, sleeves, suits, wraps, and braces can hold muscle/joint groups in place and provide warmth to keep them loose at the same time.

5. Sleep (in a GOOD bed)
6. Equipment
7. Mid-run Fuel
8. Foot health.
9. Terrain Variation
10. Speed Work.

Marshall Marathon Cross-Training Regimen

If there's one thing I've learned since picking up my level of athletic activities this year, it's the fact that in order to be a good runner, you have to be a good overall athlete. In other words, simply eating well and doing not much else between runs is a BAD idea. This routine isn't helping me become a better runner, and it's creating injury scenarios.

As a result of poor cross-training, I have tendinitis above and below my left knee. Not acceptable. In order to properly condition myself for distance running on pavement and to continue to prepare myself for my first marathon in Huntington, WV, on November 10, I will need to focus on cross-training FIRST.

Lower body workout regimen, every day:

32 side-to-side shuffles, knees slightly bent
32 toe-touches
100 jumping jacks
32 squats
24 lunges

Upper body work (done at arbitrary times, like at work! Shh, don't tell anyone...)

100 pushups (sets of 20-30)
96 reps of varied upper body free weight exercises
60 crunches with legs raised and bent
32 butt-drops (full body exercise)

Doing all of these things should greatly increase my ability to run with less overall pain and stiffness, and without hurting myself. I will report back with the results. For one thing, I certainly hope to get in one more decent run before 11/10 if I can get my tendinitis to calm down. And it will have to be in about a week from today, as I do not want to run too close to the race.

Training Run: GAP Trail, Homestead to Pittsburgh and Back

Objective:

In preparation for my first marathon on 11/10, I plan to run the Great Allegheny Passage trail from the Homestead Waterfront to Pittsburgh and back. If feeling good, I plan to take the Hot Metal Bridge over to the Eliza Furnace trail, run to the Allegheny County Jail, then back to the bridge and across to the South Side, where I'll run to Station Square before heading back to Homestead. If not taking the Hot Metal, I plan to run straight to Station Square and then back. Short route: 18 miles. Long Route: 22+ miles.

Result:

Bad news. Knee Tendonitis = DNF / 7 miles (half walking). Apparently my left leg was too stiff to be any good to me. I'd developed both patellar and quadriceps tendonitis around my left knee while going down hills on my 13-mile Penn Hills training run. It wasn't enough for me to foresee it bothering me on a flat run three days later. But boy did it ever. The pain / stiffness was noticeable right from the start, and it just got worse. I attempted to stretch, massage, pause, sit, crouch, and take walk breaks but nothing could shake it. It would re-manifest to the point of feeling like my knee was going to explode within the first 50 yards of a run. So after 3.5 miles, I simply turned around.

Remembering back to my dry land training in hockey preseason, the only real solution for tendonitis is rest. And it sucks, because all I've felt like I've done is rest. Once again, I have all kinds of energy that I can't use. I'll basically be forced to not run until marathon time and hope for the best. But all I know for the time being is that if I push now, it won't go away and/or get worse, and I really don't feel like walking 26.2 miles.

Conclusion:

To any further distance training on surfaces other than trail, I will have to run strictly on flats until my legs fully get the hang of many impacts that don't involve hills.

Training Run around Penn Hills (13.1 miles)

Goal:

Finish training for my first marathon at Marshall University to take place on November 10.

Preview:

Decided to work back into distance with my local loop that I start right from home.These hills around where I live are unforgiving. Quad and shin-punishing, to be sure. Ugh...

Having taken the last two weeks off to let my body continue to catch up to my training aspirations, and to attend the Columbus Marathon cheering on my girlfriend Emme who was running her first full, I was more than ready to get back out there.

The skies were fair and the temps were barely breaking 40. So I ate a healthy breakfast and tossed the only gel I could find in my pocket, geared up, and headed out with a 20 oz. water bottle.

Result:

13.1 miles, 2:18. Left foot felt great, and so did my joints for the most part. Breathing, hydration, and energy level was great. Ran a decent amount in the first 2/3 and felt pretty good. That's when the cramping started. My right upper quad began seizing up every 50 yards of running, and I was thus relegated to walking 100 after each 50 until I reached the end point. Also, my left shin had stiffened to the point where my knee was throbbing on every descent. It's ironic, because I have all this energy and can't seem to use it. I send the commands to my legs and they won't respond. I've tought myself to do other things over the years, and I WILL do this competitively, even if I have to beat myself into submission!

Conclusions: When I actually get on a flat course, I honestly expect to do a half in under 2 hours, simply because there just aren't hills on race courses like the ones where I live. Well, unless you're on a trail, and then it's not pavement or concrete, and even the best are slowed to 10+ minute miles. I'm not all that concerned about my joints and muscles in the long run.

Training Run: Bison Ridge Loop @ South Park

Preview:

I'm shooting for up to two laps on the Bison Ridge loop in South Park. This will be my first time running with my new Salomon Speedcross 3 shoes. Considering the weather looks iffy, and I just hiked nearly 10 miles yesterday, I might only be able to do one lap reasonably.

Then there's my left foot. No pain on yesterday's hike! Fingers crossed for today. Once again, I'm focusing on forefoot strength and form, with my left now mimicking my right as best I can. I'm also going to be careful on every step, since I'm coming to realize the importance of not beating myself up on longer runs.

Today, I will also run my RunKeeper app to get the exact mileage of my loop.

Result:

One loop, 7.7 miles, in 1:29. It rained. Not heavily, just enough to make it feel disgusting out. Shoes felt good, and once again, no pain! And I'm happy with my time, even plodding up the hills at a snail's pace with my hands pushing down on my quads/knees. It's going to be important to keep my leg muscles from getting too stiff, as too much pressure on my knees may be generated on descents as a result (antioxidants). Fueling's going to be an issue on trails, too. I've so-far "felt" that I need to consume one energy gel every three to five miles or so, to maintain top form. I also estimate I'll need to consume an additional 2-300 calories every 10 miles, e.g. Clif Bar or something of that sort. Do-able.

TIP: If you use Salomon Speedcross shoes, and you're worried about slipping, you should attempt to strike surfaces at a running speed, with the whole tread down. Otherwise, you'll probably slip. The shoe bottom could use a few more lugs, but that's neither here nor there at the moment.

Rachel Carson Trail Training Hike: West End

Preview:

The Barb Peterson Memorial Hike series is a Fall training hike exercise for the 35-mile Rachel Carson Trail Challenge, which is to take place on June 22, 2014. Today's hike covers the west end of the trail, from Dorseyville to North Park.

I will use this exercise to both familiarize myself with the trail, work on my left foot strength, and break in my new Salomon Speedcross 3 trail racing shoes. In addition, I will make a monetary donation to the organizer(s) and get to know a few of them and the participants.

My eventual goal for the challenge is to finish in the top 30, with a total time of approximately 9 hours, give or take. I can maintain a 11:50 or so pace on trails with decent hills, and aim to stay under 14:00/mile on race day, taking into account those huge hills the Rachel is famous for.

Subsequent organized training hikes will not take place until next June, three weeks before the event. Consequently, I may do my own training hikes with cheat sheets to cover the other sections this Fall.

Result:

9.5 miles / 2:45 (hike). We had a nice group of a dozen people, who all appeared to be older than me. The pace setter in the lead group (forget her name) set a nice brisk one, and I followed her closely. She had done the full challenge several times so I was trusting her skill. Despite, we still managed to get lost once in someone's field and had to backtrack a couple hundred feet. Directly after the hike, I made notes on the trail, including trouble spots and places to potentially get lost. Although the west end of the Rachel is seemingly the "easiest", it is indeed raw, dangerous and slippery. There is a particularly dangerous section in Crouse Run Valley, which runs from Route 8 into Pine Creek Valley. For about 100 feet of linear distance, there is a one-foot wide section to traverse, laden with roots, with steep slopes on either side, the focus being a STRAIGHT DOWN 40+ foot drop into Crouse Run. In short, one false step and you're DEAD. Good thing is, there's nothing that says you can't use roads to bypass sections of the trail. For safety reasons I might be doing so on race day. And there'd be a bonus of cutting out four creek crossings in that valley, where you're literally IN the creek.

Training Run: 25 miles on North Park loop

Preview:

Who says too much, too soon? Ha! My longest run to date hasn't exceeded 18 total miles, which is bothersome enough for me at this point. But North Park, Allegheny County has a very nice paved running loop that follows the roads that circulate the lake. Each lap is a tick over five miles. My last run there was 15 miles, a month ago, in 2:41.

In summary, having built up some strength running hills in my first couple of trail runs over the last month, I should be able to negotiate all five laps without much difficulty, which is my main goal. One month from today, I will run my first race ever, which will be the full Marshall Marathon in WV. And although I prefer off-road running, the best western PA ultrarunners eat marathons for breakfast, so to speak. The proof's in the pudding, so I'm just following suit!

Result: DNF 5 miles / 50 mins. Decided to call it quits early as I could feel the 2nd metatarsal overload coming back in my left foot. I've decided to go back to the drawing board, as I've noticed my left foot is under-strengthened compared to my right. I will augment my style to match and see if it helps. Otherwise, I can expect this problem to continue. 

Training Run: 21 miles on Bison Ridge trail @ South Park

Preview:

The mostly unknown and highly underrated Bison Ridge trail in South Park, Allegheny County, is over six miles in length with varying terrain that can easily prepare you for any ultramarathon event east of the Mississippi. Mud pits, undulating shaded and sunny areas, logs, washouts, creeks, foot bridges, straight-ups/downs and a few switchbacks make it top-notch.

Step one at Bison Ridge is learning to navigate it. You'll need to give yourself about a half day to find all the blazes, as the trail takes breaks at various road crossings and clearings, sometimes resuming in obscure locations that can't be immediately seen until you're within 20 feet or so. Then, once you've navigated the whole trail, you'll need to do the trail going one direction a few times before reversing, as parts of it can look unfamiliar from different angles. In other words, you can find yourself going down a satellite or dead-end trail which wastes part of your original plan.

To make each lap seven miles, I decided to utilize about 7/8 of Bison Ridge itself, plus the use of 4/5 of the Maple Spring loop, a short paved trail that cuts through the middle of the park.

Result:

Thirteen miles in 2:25 (DNF - Haha). Not a cop-out, but I partially blame my inadequate Asics Gel Venture 3's, which are great shoes, but not fully adequate or competitive. Needless to say I suddenly became disabled with 2nd metatarsal overload in my left foot near the end of lap one, and eventually had to retire after one and two-thirds laps of the three I'd intended to do. I've had problems with my left foot since spraining it in late August, in an area of the outer midfoot which is right overtop of a plantar wart I've had for almost 10 years. It's fast getting time to have it taken care of, if I intend to run high miles without getting struck down by these bone alignment issues.

An Impromptu 13.1-mile Training Run!

Whilst restless after a daylight shift at the mill, I decided it was time to take advantage of the remainder of a nice afternoon and start my freshly-downloaded RunKeeper app. Just downloading an app was a big deal for me, as I'm not really the technology-oriented guy I once thought I'd be. This will of course no longer be used once I get a GPS watch, since it kills my phone battery needlessly.

So I set out on foot from my house, started the app, and began tooling around Penn Hills Twp. Lucky for me, most roads around me are "shouldery enough" to run on without a ton of danger of being struck. As I pressed forward, my lack of conditioning was still very apparent. I'd just eaten, and was experiencing indigestion, and I kept having to walk up grades that I should've at least been trotting. In addition, my straightaway speed hadn't gotten up to anything I'd consider good. But I had a general route planned since I knew all the roads, and knew how far I could approximately go before nightfall.

2:25 later, I'd arrived back at my street and had done, more or less, an exact 13.1 miles! Not bad, considering my lack of conditioning and the extreme hilliness of roads around my area. There had to be at least a couple thousand feet of elevation changes that forced me to walk or take a pause to shake out overloaded joint areas.  And speaking of those, my downhill work has much room for improvement also, as I have tons of room to pick up speed and master shock-absorption techniques.

Training Run: 15 miles on North Park loop

Preview:

During a weekend visit from my girlfriend, Emme (who is also an aspiring ultrarunner), we plan to head out for a Sunday morning training run. Emme's training for her fist full marathon, in Columbus on October 20. And I'm training to race, period. Before this run, my previous max length was 8.75 miles in 1:40, a week before. So, I'm aiming for 15 to see how well I can handle it.

Up until a week before this, I didn't even own a suitable pair of road running shoes, as I'd been nursing along my Asics Gel Venture 3's. So I'd ordered a pair of Asics (yep, my favorite brand) Nimbus 14's in bright neon yellow (Ow!) from Running Warehouse, because they were cheaper and rated as a good neutral shoe. That said, the color quickly grew on me as there is a lot of bright yellow running clothing available to match! I'd taken the shoes out on a couple break-in runs totaling 10 miles, so they were ready to go.

North Park, Allegheny County has a very nice paved running loop that follows the roads that circulate the lake. Each lap is a tick over five miles. Emme was going for her first 20 mile run ever. I'd secretly and ambitiously planned to hit 20 also, if I could swing it. ;)

Result:

15 miles, in a fairly easy 2:41 - which isn't bad, considering that was the first time I'd ever run that far. That said, my secret plan of 20 was struck down with bowel problems, which started at the end of lap two (mile 10) and eventually lasted well into the evening. I suspected a large milkshake was the cause from the night before, which I obviously shouldn't have had. All told, I'd reached my official goal and Emme reached hers. We celebrated by going out for burgers before my stomach pains got too bad and had me laid up (not in the good way) during the evening. Luckily I was able to drive her home late in the evening so I didn't have to wait until 5am before work in the morning to do so.

Some Running / Cycling Favorites (updated Oct 2013)

Running Products:

Shoes: Asics, Salomon
Socks: WrightSock
Clothing: Anything with CoolMax / tech fabric, charged cotton.
Nutrition: Power, Hammer, Body Fortress, CoQ10, Glucosamine Chondroitin

Running Heroes & Idols:

International: Scott Jurek, Charles Corfield
Western PA: Andrew Brosius, Karey Elliott


Cycling Products:

Giant bicycles

Heroes: A shout-out to up and coming legend Nairo Quintana!

Who I am and what I'm doing here....

My name's Andy. I'm a 31 year-old college-educated steelworker, who has a mostly clean bill of physical health and has been divorced once. I've long been interested in endurance sports, but lately I've begun to get serious about it.

Where to begin? It all started with disorders, failures, unhappiness, and a yearning to break away from monotonous suburban life. Happiness, for me, has come when I am placed in an environment where I am in total control of myself and my surroundings - one where I am connected to the Earth by acts of self-propulsion. When I'm active, particularly outdoors, my concerns vanish and I quickly find myself in a euphoric state, even if I'm in some physical pain.

So, how and why am I becoming a superathlete? I guess it was meant to be. I look back and the signs are definitely there. Aside from what I mentioned above, I've loved tooling around by bike and on foot. And even if not always recreational, I've never seemed to mind it. 

A brief history. My parents were amazed at my natural leg strength from a young age. Being more or less tree trunks, they have luckily not inherited any family defects or injury-susceptibility, and quickly began carrying me long distances (20+ miles) from the time the training wheels came off my first bike. Family weekend getaways normally consisted of hikes and bike rides. And other times, I was begging my mom take me out to walk abandoned railroad grades on weekends. I wasn't interested in most team sports as a youngster, except hockey. I went on to play ice hockey (as a defenseman) for my school district for a total of seven years. During longer practices, I was always one of the more durable players, finishing first in sprints, even not being the fastest A-to-B skater. I also did not buy a car until I was 20, so to get to work I would walk 3+miles to get there or to bus stops. By my late teens, I was also up to riding nearly 100 miles per week on my mountain bike during peak riding time (Summer). Then college started. Living at home, going to Pitt main campus, and mostly paying my own way, I was either at school, going to or from school, at work, or sleeping. It was not healthy, and subsequently I suffered, gaining nearly 70 pounds from ages 18-21 - topping out at 240. Finally, on the cusp of colllege graduation, I decided it was time to get fit again. This was mostly accomplished by taking 3-4 mile runs, doing light resistance martial arts training like Tae Bo, and being on a very strict diet. Also, for a time I worked as a lot attendant and then a night merchandiser at Sam's Club, where I'd walk 100+ miles a week while on the job, easily. Then at 25, during my peak physical conditioning, came my employment as a steelworker. I was tossed into an extremely hot (120+ degree) environment with a carcinogenic atmosphere laced with sulphur dioxide and high in CO. Being energetically depleted on a daily basis, I craved junkfood. A mere 160 lbs in 2007, I had everything to gain, and quickly shot back to 215. There was significant muscle gain from stuff like shoveling slag, sand, coke dust, and iron ore pellets, but my endurance sports-geared physique faded. By 2012, I'd been married for five years, and it was on the rocks. I hadn't done more than a handful of runs since 2009 and had not biked in nearly a decade. So here we are in 2013. I'm divorced and have already - happily -  logged over 1000 bike miles and 500 foot miles. 

My mental state. Growing up, I strongly suspect I've been affected by Asperger's Syndrome, although not officially diagnosed.  I've been perfectly fine being on my own. This is a good base for endurance sports, as I can maintain my dedication and composure for long periods of time without a breakage.