How Much Discomfort Can I Tolerate?!

Weather - 33 degrees, cloudy. Rode to Clinton Lake with Melinda this morning. We ran the 11 mile trail loop which circles the lake. It was my first time running there - lots of short steep hills to traverse, and sharp curves along single track trail - very beautiful and enjoyable run. There was a bit of mud, but it was not a hindrance. We ran the first 8 miles at a conversational pace, then I decided to speed up to threshold pace for the final 3 miles, which I was able to maintain without my legs getting too tired. 

Weather - 29 degrees, cloudy. Was planning to run 4-5 easy miles, but ended up with 7. I was moving along comfortably and by the time I reached Brookens gym I had covered 7 miles. Once at the gym I did 6 sets of strength exercises and stretching, then walked 15 minutes home. 

Weather - 18 degrees, windy, clouds and snow. Ran 1 mile in the cold and wind to Brookens gym, then ran 7 more miles around the basketball court. I was planning on running 4 miles in the gym, but I fell into a hypnotic-type trance and just kept going. I felt I could have run 11 or 12 miles but decided against it, because it was supposed to be an easy run, and tomorrow will be plenty tough, as I am planning to do hill repeats. After the run I did 8 sets of strength exercises and stretching, then 15 minute walk home. 

Weather - 11 degrees, windy, sunny. Very cold, with the wind it felt about -10. I wore about 5 pounds of clothing and ran to the arboretum to do some hill repeats. When I got to the hill my toes were numb, and so I started the hills without a break. I was planning to run up and walk down for a recovery, but I thought I would be too cold so I decided to run down instead. My endurance held up, I ran 10 x 125m hills, with about a 275m recovery jog between each. After the 10 hills my, ummm, "groin" region felt ice cold and painful - yow! I decided to run a hard 2.5 miles at threshold pace to finish off the run, and I was hoping to get home quick to warm up. I felt good overall during the threshold run, I recovered nicely from the hills and my legs still had some strength to push. Overall a pretty good session.

The Siberian Express 7.3 mile trail race is this Saturday, so I plan on running short and easy for the next two days so that I will feel fresh on race day. It is suppose to be in the 40's by Saturday, if it is I should have a pretty good day, as I run better in warmer temperatures. It will probably be quite muddy, so I am not going to set a low goal time. I will try for something modest, say, an 8:00 per mile pace, which should equal about a 1 hour run. My fitness and strength seem to have improved since the 5 mile X-country race last month, although I am not sure if I am ready to run a hard 7.3 miles.  It should be a fun one.

Weather - 23 degrees, cloudy. Ran an easy 3 miles, felt ok. I can't run comfortably in cold weather, I don't have much lung power most of the time. Because of that I have no confidence about racing in 2 days. I will just have to swallow my pride and wait for spring to arrive.

Weather - 35 degrees, windy, cloudy. Easy run of 4 miles to the rental car agency. Tomorrow is the Siberian race and I am feeling excited and energetic. I am not going to worry about my time and will just try to enjoy the feeling of pushing myself to the edge. Weather is supposed to be wet and about 40 degrees, which is not bad for January. 

Race Day Weather – 40 degrees, cloudy, windy. I woke to gray skies, but mild January weather. I ate a banana, oatmeal, kiwi, and drank 2 glasses of water 3 hours before race time, then drove to Kickapoo State Park near Danville and arrived about 75 minutes before race time. After registering I started my warm-up at 10:00am. I ran to the Mountain Goat Hill course and traversed 2 of the larger hills. I felt comfortable and strong, and was confident that I could put in a good race effort. I was surprised that nobody else was using the Goat hills as a warm-up, but I always seem to seek out the places which afford the most solitude, so I was happy to run alone, focusing my thoughts on the upcoming battle of wills. Although it was 40 degrees, the stiff wind made it seem colder, it felt about 30, so I needed to wear gloves, and was uncertain if I should wear a hat for the race. I did not wear a hat during the warm-up, and I felt ok without it. After 30 minutes of easy running I did 4x150m strides, then stretched in a dry picnic shelter with 10-12 other runners. When I returned to my car it was 15 minutes to race time. I was jumpy and energetic, which was a good sign. At the last minute I decided to wear a hat, and I emerged from the car wearing shorts, 3 light shirts, hat and gloves. I made my way to the start line, listening to the muffled voices of the 476 assembled runners. I stayed at the edge of the large group, focusing my eyes not on the faces or landscape, but upon my emotional reaction to the minutes leading up to the start. I saw the group moving towards the start line, and as I began to follow, a young runner kicked mud at his friend, missed, and it splattered on my shorts and legs. I looked at him, and then said, “well, by races end it is going to be a lot worse than this.” Relieved, he laughed and resumed his mud play. I inserted myself into the middle of the throng, for the first time feeling warm because the wind could not reach me. People talked, stretched, and I jumped up and down continuously, feeling a solid mass of energy which needed to be spent. The starter finally sent us on our way, and we circled a large field which would also be the finish, and made our way into the woods. Upon reaching the single track path, mud began flying in the air. My shoes sunk into it and sprayed the runners behind me. At a narrow, steep descent a line of runners came to a complete stop, and each runner in turn had to stop, then resume running. I found myself muttering “come on” as I waited to resume. My pace during this initial mud slog was quite slow, I was in no particular hurry, because I knew 56 more minutes of running awaited me, and I would have plenty of time to put in surges and go as fast as my legs would carry me. I had set my iPod to count down from 60 minutes, so my goal was to come in at 59:xx, which was around 8:00/mile pace. I had run this same course 2 years ago in an autumn race and averaged 7:30/mile, but with the mud and the cold and the wind I believed 8:00 was about all I could hope for. The first half mile a few people passed, which did not bother me. I was feeling relaxed and strong, and knew when I finally decided to make my first move that I would begin to pass numerous people. When we finally emerged from the first set of woods onto a 400-600m straightaway, I made my first surge and passed quite a few runners. The mud however, never let up, it was going to be a constant throughout the entire race. Entering a second woods the single track began again, and I did my best to maintain the surge pace. A lot of curves had to be carefully navigated because of the slippery conditions, and it reminded me of running in the snow, it seemed about as difficult, but more pleasant because of the warmth. We exited the second woods and came out into a large meadow, which is about 800m in length. This was the only part of the course which was not very muddy, but there were numerous ice puddles and potholes to contend with, so it was not that much easier to get a firm footing. I continued passing people, my pace was continually getting faster, and nobody had yet to pass me since the ½ mile mark. After the field we entered the third woods. For about 1-2 miles it was more slogging and trying to find a good pace - I would surge, then upon reaching a runner who was holding a comparable pace, I would tuck in behind and slow down to his/her pace, which allowed me to recover, and when I felt strong again I would push myself past and look for the next runner to surge to. Sometimes I would surge by as many 5 or 6 runners within a 100m distance. The woods began to get quite hilly, and it was here that a good sense of balance and strength had to be maintained so as to avoid falling and injury. Some of the smaller hills were ridiculous because of the mud and uneven, sloping narrow paths. One particular hill which sticks in my memory consisted of an almost vertical 6 foot descent, followed immediately by a 6 foot vertical ascent. One comes upon this situation with only 1-2 seconds to decide how to navigate it. I slid down trying not to fall, but having to immediately begin the uphill upon reaching the bottom, I reached out with both of my hands and dug into the mud, but I stretched the top of my body too far forward and my lower back suffered a slight spasm. I have had these spasms before, and sometimes it can take weeks to recover from them. As I came out of this dwarfish mud canyon my back felt stiff and within a few seconds I would know if I had to crawl, walk, or run to the finish. Fortunately the stiffness seemed to ease as I continued to run, and so I pushed ahead, not seeming to lose any of my speed or momentum. More of these types of hills continued to appear, and they forced my mind to concentrate on things other than my back. One of the hills was longish and steep, and with absolutely no traction. I had to lean forward and pull myself up the hill, digging my hands into the mud, similar to climbing a ladder. I saw 2 runners decide to try a different route, hoping for an easier go of it. However, one of the runners let out a loud scream, and then “!@#$#@!” I watched him crumple to the ground in obvious pain. Fortunately a race volunteer was nearby and rushed to give aid to the fallen athlete. I soon forgot about my spasm and just kept running hard. I was about 4 miles in and still feeling strong and energetic. My lungs felt at full capacity, and were in control, so I knew that I would most likely be able to maintain this kind of surge/relax style of running for the remaining 3.5 miles. At about this time I saw Matt, who leads the Wednesday speed sessions in the summer. I was surprised to see him walking, and said hi to him as I passed, wondering if he was injured or just taking a short walking break. In most races he finishes ahead of me, so I took that for what it was worth, and kept running hard. When I reached the only asphalt area of the race, about mile 5, I remembered what Melinda had told me while we ran at Clinton Lake last week– “when you reach the parking lot you have 2 miles to go, but it seems a lot longer than 2 miles.” I heeded her advice, and told myself it was probably going to feel like 3 miles. It felt nice to have a firm surface to run on and my pace immediately picked up, and images of running 200m repeats floated through my mind. I passed 4 or 5 runners during this 400m stretch of parking lot, they seemed to be laboring, not being able to take advantage of the only firm surface on the course. Seeing runners lagging, out of breath, slowing down, made me want to go faster, so I continued surging. Off the parking lot and back into the woods, I soon approached a runner who looked familiar. His bare calves were encrusted in thick brownish mud. I could not see his face, but I thought it might be Andrew, another Wednesday speed session runner who runs 18:xx 5k’s. I have never beaten him in any race, so I was thinking maybe it was not him. I slowed down a bit and decided to follow him for a while. He was moving smoothly, but I could sense a bit of struggle in his pace. After 200m I felt recovered and decided I needed to surge again. As I passed I saw that it was Andrew and I said hi. I don’t think he knew who I was, but he returned the greeting. Passing him gave me more confidence, and I began a long final surge which I was able to maintain until the end of the race. I passed numerous runners during the final mile and a half, yet nobody had yet to pass me. With a mile to go the best thought of the race occurred to me – “all the runners near me at this point in the race have a similar running level to myself, therefore, the only runners who are going to pass me in this final mile are the ones who have worked harder than me – the person who has run for 50 consecutive days; in ice and snow storms; in below zero winds; run hill repeats on ice; practiced surge pace in 4 inches of snow; worked on their speed with 200m repeats. If they have done this and more, well, then they can pass me, but they are going to have to prove it!” I started to run loose and wild, with passion, following a strong runner ahead of me, slowly gaining on him. During the final steep hill ascent which the runner ahead of me walked, I was directly behind him, trudging up the hill. I said to him as we crested the hill “this is it, we made it, this is the home stretch.” He nodded in agreement, and I followed him for about 150M, then passed him with 800 meters to go, running as hard as I could. I was gaining on 2 runners ahead of me, but with about 100m to go they took off in a wild sprint, battling each other, arms flailing, it was fun to watch, and I followed them into the finish shoot about 5 seconds behind. The runner I had passed finished 20 seconds behind me, which made me feel good about my final effort and kick. Unbelievably, I finished in 59:35, which is an exact 8:00/mile pace. In the race results it reads 7:60.0, which made me look twice, and then laugh – I had hit my race pace goal spot on. After the race I recovered quickly and ran a 1 mile cool down. I then stretched and realized my back had tightened since the race had ended. It does not seem too serious, so hopefully it will only take 7-10 days to fully recover. I will be careful with it, doing special stretches for it. Running seems to help it, so I probably will not have to alter my training in any way. My overall place was 62, and in my age group 6 out of 50.