How Much Discomfort Can I Tolerate?!

After taking 3 days off after the 30 miles at McNaughton I ran 2 miles to Busey Woods then did 2 slow loops. My thigh muscles were still a bit sore so even though my energy was good, I decided against running anything hard and fast.

There is a 5k this Saturday at Crystal Lake Park (adjacent Busey Woods), maybe I will run that for fun.

I got up this morning thinking I would run my first 5k since July, 2008. I finished that race in 19:11, which was a fast time for me. Since then I have focused exclusively on long trail races and building up my endurance. Whatever speed I possess has laid for the most part dormant and unused for the past 15 months. The past 2 months I have begun to mix in some speed workouts, mostly 1000m hard interval loops on trails.

My current fitness level is still on the high end for energy, endurance, with speed gaining ground. Unfortunately the racing season in this area is coming to a close, there are not any long distance events to participate in, and all of the trail races are finished. All that remains are small road races, so even though I have no practice in those, it is better than wasting good performances in training runs.

On my jog over to the park my seasonal allergies had congested my lungs, so I was having trouble breathing. On top of that my energy level felt low. Not a good way to feel going into a 5k, where the entire race is run near maximum effort. I was huffing at 8:30 pace, how was I going to tolerate cruising at 6:20?

From experience I know that after running a couple of hard intervals the lung congestion  improves, so before registering for the race I went into the woods and did 2 x 1000m hard loops. After the second loop I was breathing better, probably 85% capacity, compared to 50% when I started. My energy level was still low, however, and even though my thigh soreness from last weeks race was gone, my legs felt sluggish. 

Because of this I decided against registering for the race. I could not justify spending $20 for a 20 minute race in which I was going to feel like crud. As I was doing some strength exercises on the monkey bars I got the idea that I would run half the race as a bandit. I had never run a race without registering and paying, but I recalled reading blogs of runners who did this when they wanted to run part of a race (usually a half marathon or longer) and then drop out midway or near the end. It being a small race, I decided the organizers would not care, but I did question if it was ethical to participate without paying. But my love of running trumped my ethical uneasiness and I lined up at the very back of the running pack a minute before the race started.

My plan was to run the first mile, and then drop soon after. I wanted to see if I could hit a good 5k pace when I was not feeling my best. When the race started I felt like I was running somewhat fast, but I made no progress on catching the runners who were ahead of me. As I watched an overweight female who was not very graceful pull away from me during the first 400m I wondered if I had been overestimating my running pace during my 1000m intervals. I was guessing I was hitting a 6:30-6:40 pace, but in reality maybe I was running slower.

After the first quarter mile I increased my pace just a notch and found that while I was starting to go a little faster, a lot of runners were starting to slow down. The overweight girl was now laboring and I passed her easily, along with many others. I saw Audrey I. ahead of me, who is the top female masters 5k runner in the area, and I began to close in on her. I was feeling pretty good, although my breathing was heavier than it should have been because of the asthma, and my legs were slightly clunky due to not being fully recovered. At the half mile mark I got to within 20m of Audrey but could not close the gap. She was picking up the pace, and I could not match it.

I passed more runners and wondered about my mile time. As we got to the mile marker someone was calling out the split and I crossed in 6:14, which surprised me, because that is right where I should have been for a 19:30 or better effort. Audrey usually runs a 5k in 20:30-21:30, so she was on her way to a great race, running the first mile in 6:10. I ran for another 500m and then got off the course, jogging about 400m until I left the park.

Given the way I was feeling, I probably would have slowed to a 6:30 mile for #2, and then slowed further to 6:45 for #3, giving me an approximate 20 minute finish. I would have been happy with that time, considering how out of practice I am for short races.

The 5k was two days too early. I felt good on my warmup, I shot out the door running faster than usual. Running every other day leaves my joints fresh and ready to roll, whereas when I run every day I need 2 miles of slow jogging before feeling comfortable. 

When I got to the woods I ran 5 x 1000m loops, so I got my 5k in. 

I felt like doing a steady medium distance run today, so I did a shortened South Farms loop. I have not been out there in a while, it was good to be running in the open spaces and to feel the strong wind repel my efforts. I ran most of the run at 8:15-8:30 pace.

Ran 2 miles to the arboretum, then decided the workout session would be 150m hill sprints at 100% effort. I was able to do 10, then I immediately went to the monkey bars and did strength exercises. The fast sprinting made my arm muscles feel like jelly as I did pullups, dips, and pushups. I guess I got into the anarobic zone today. 

My leg strength was solid and my form in control as I did the sprints. I'm in a good running place right now, not sure how long it will last. 

I have been thinking about running the Lookout Mountain 100k race on December 19th. I was made aware of this race from Greg's race report last year. His description of running along the rocky ridge at night made an impression on me. It took him 80 minutes to go 3 miles during that stretch - what a blow that must have been! The cost of traveling to Chatanooga is making me think twice about running it. I think I am in good enough shape to take on 62 miles of mountain running, though, and last night I dreamt I was running up and down mountains - I was enjoying myself, but it was not easy scaling the slopes. I will keep thinking about it, I need to make a decision soon.

Almost forgot, when I finished the monkey bar stuff I ran home, alternating fast and slow running.

Planned to take the day off since I have been having success with running every other day, but Rachel wanted to go to Kickapoo, so I decided I could not pass on the opportunity to run some tough and beautiful trails.

My energy was high and leg strength strong so I thought about further exploring the bike trails at the end of the Out & Back loop. I normally run the #6 trail which is on a ridge and brings me back to the Out & Back. Today when I got to #6 I turned left instead of right, hoping it would eventually loop back to the Out & Back. I was supposed to meet Rachel after 90 minutes of running, but I felt I was going to be late if the bike trails were longer than expected.

Once on the bike trails I was happy that I decided to explore, as I had some great views of various small lakes as I ran along a high ridge. The trail zig zagged and went up and down, it was good training for McNaughton. I passed onto the #4 trail, then #1, then #5, which eventually looped back to where I started at #6, so I took my usual direction on #6 at that point and returned to the Out & Back. The mileage of the bike trail segment was 4-5, and when I began the final 2 miles back to the car I was feeling pleasantly exhausted. My pace was faster than I would do for a long run, around 8:30 miles, with the final 2 miles at 7:30 pace. Total time spent running was 1 hour and 40 minutes.

I was planning to do a 2-3 hour long run tomorrow, but I will take the day off, do a speed session on Monday, and bump the long run to Wednesday. 1 hour and 40 minutes at a moderately hard pace is getting close to long run range, so I want to give myself a rest before going long again.

I forgot to mention that I saw 3 groups of bikers on the trails. In the first group someone saw my Farmdale shirt and said, "you've been to Farmdale!" (Farmdale is known for its bike trails). The second group was flying down a long, steep incline, which was fun to watch. The third group was 3 females and one male lead rider. I got the impression they were beginners because they were going slow enough where I caught and passed them - made me feel like I was flying down the trails :)

Lately my body has needed less time to warm up. I bolted out the door today and within 200m was already into a fast pace. I ran to the woods, once around, then back home, sprinting hard the final 800m.  

Felt a slight illness coming on, so instead of running long like I had planned, I ran an easy 4 miles. Later in the day the weak feeling I had disappeared.

A couple of days ago I woke up with a sore right shoulder. I am having trouble lifting my arm and reaching behind me. It seems to be under the muscle area, so it may be a strained rotator cuff (I run 50 mile races with no ill effect, but injure myself while asleep in bed? :) ).

Not sure how long this will take to heal, but at least it is not a leg injury. I am having trouble doing my normal routine of strength exercises. Dips are the hardest to do right now. I usually have good mobility and can lower myself to full extension. Now with the sore shoulder the first few tries I lower myself a couple of inches and then have to rest, but the next few reps I can get past the initial lock up and lower myself to full extension. The plan to heal the shoulder is to rebuild the strength through the exercises and running.

Ran the full South Farms loop, this was my best effort yet, as I did not have any low points and ran strong the entire distance. After the run I stood in the kitchen eating tacos and my knee got stiff. I wasn't too worried about it, and later in the day it felt better.

My shoulder is slowly improving, the exercises are helping, so it is going in the right direction.