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| My cool finishers medal! |
I'll finish this post later, right now I need to get ice on my calf....here's the happy finisher!
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| Pretty damn proud of myself! |
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Finisher!!! Woohoo!!!!!
I'll finish this post later, right now I need to get ice on my calf....here's the happy finisher!
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Last minute pre-race jitters!
I actually love them! Ok, not the worries about that-part-of-the-anatomy which will remain nameless, but the normal jitters are a part of anything exciting. I think it's usually more excitement than nerves, but then again I'm usually not worried about injury. This is a whole new ball game! I've learned so much, it's all a part of this wonderful hobby - the one that is other sport's punishment! lol
The race has cool new tech T's that are not pieces of crap - but per my usual rule I won't wear it until I earn it - by finishing. Which I will do if I have to crawl 13.1 miles. I have 4 hours to finish, thank God there are fools that are running TWO laps of this thing. Superhuman. One article I read said this is now THE toughest race on the Austin race schedule, and having finished this twice, I agree.
Weather is ALWAYS a factor at Decker. Tomorrow is not "that bad" lol...temp at start is projected to be 41, with a 10% chance of rain. No real wind to speak of, so that is a BIG plus. There always seems to be a headwind at this race for the first 5 mile stretch before the first turn....I'll take colder and even rain if we can go without major wind! I warm up fast, so I'll be more than ready to drop my sweatshirt (old!) outer layer when we hit the clothes drop at 2 miles. I doubt I will wear any pants, those are just hell to get off over shoes. Not that I care about losing any time, mind you, but I'd probably overheat. I read somewhere you should dress for 10 degrees over the start temp, and that's a good rule of thumb for me.
More tomorrow post race. Time to catch a movie and get my brain on something else!
The race has cool new tech T's that are not pieces of crap - but per my usual rule I won't wear it until I earn it - by finishing. Which I will do if I have to crawl 13.1 miles. I have 4 hours to finish, thank God there are fools that are running TWO laps of this thing. Superhuman. One article I read said this is now THE toughest race on the Austin race schedule, and having finished this twice, I agree.
Weather is ALWAYS a factor at Decker. Tomorrow is not "that bad" lol...temp at start is projected to be 41, with a 10% chance of rain. No real wind to speak of, so that is a BIG plus. There always seems to be a headwind at this race for the first 5 mile stretch before the first turn....I'll take colder and even rain if we can go without major wind! I warm up fast, so I'll be more than ready to drop my sweatshirt (old!) outer layer when we hit the clothes drop at 2 miles. I doubt I will wear any pants, those are just hell to get off over shoes. Not that I care about losing any time, mind you, but I'd probably overheat. I read somewhere you should dress for 10 degrees over the start temp, and that's a good rule of thumb for me.
More tomorrow post race. Time to catch a movie and get my brain on something else!
Friday, December 9, 2011
Vertical Horizon- Everything You Want (with lyrics) - Proof I can post about something non-running related!
Love this song! Especially cool is the way the chorus changes for the final time.....Heard this last night playing in the background of a movie - "Boys and Girls" with the always delectable Claire Forlani (Meet Joe Black). I could seriously have wet dreams about her at 53. Serious ones.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Over thinking everything, par for the course
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| The awesome medal for the Austin Half (on right). Feb 29th. Hope I still have 2 legs! |
After last Saturday's awesome run, I made another attempt on the dreadmill that I think was too soon. The calf was on it's way to another cramp/pull/whateverthefuckitis, so I cut it short at 3.5 miles. That was Monday morning after my last ART session with Dr Wagenblast. At least till next month, unless there is some major catastrophe Sunday in the half marathon.
I'm thinking (see, there I go again) that I will keep the pace slow like I did Saturday and if I get to the 7 mile point safely I might gradually increase the speed a little, but only on the downhill stretches. If things are good, I am NOT going to take any huge risks. Time is out the window, and believe me that is no small issue for me. I'm much more competitive than I ever want to admit, and it will kill me to get chicked and dicked the entire race. No, those are not sexual terms, just what I call it when women pass me and men pass me respectively. It helps to find humor when you are sucking hind tit. I am just praying that there is someone slower than me. Anyone. Ruben Stoddard passes me in this thing and I will so quit running forever till next week again.
Last night I did some treadmill work and walked/jogged a little on the dreadmill. Nothing drastic as things still felt tight and sore. Now I plan to ease into the weekend and not do anything that might hurt the calf at all. I have no fear about the distance, as long as I can run through any cramps I get....and I think I can. The real problem is trusting that the ART is working and I still need to do it. I know it will be really cold Sunday - the forecast is for like 38 at the start, so a good warmup will be essential. Four days and counting till race day. Time to watch "Without Limits" again and to start psyching myself up for a epic Decker Challenge. They are always memorable!
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Finally, the end is in sight!
Saturday morning I woke up really early and drove out to Decker Lake. How early? In time to watch the "sunrise"....but due to the rain there was no sun to be seen! Running in the rain never bothers me, I am soaked with sweat after a couple of miles anyway. I know, ewww. TMI. So I threw on my Nike hat (I am a Nike clothes Ho although I have never liked their shoes....lol) and a windbreaker. Let's correct that, I TRIED to throw on a windbreaker I had been given years ago. The thing is I never tried it on! Epic Fail does not do it justice. Thankfully although it was a little breezy it was only about 60 degrees. With 100% humidity, I knew it would be a test!
So after waiting for enough daylight to see fairly well, I drove the course for next Sunday's Decker Challenge. I am so glad that I did!! My memory sucks, it has a selection process I will never understand, and I thought all the hills were much bigger than they actually are. Not to say the course is easy, because it's not, the hills come one right after the other. But many are long, gradual rises and matching downhill portions balance some of that out. So that raised my confidence level. The plan after talking to my Doc on Friday was for me to run 4 miles or so Saturday, and before say Thursday run half the distance (13.1) of the Decker race by Weds so we can sort things out pre-race. After thinking this over more (imagine ME thinking too much!) I decided since the calf felt pretty well on Thursday night (a couple miles on the treadmill finally pain free), I would go pretty long. So I started near the start line (it's inside a fenced in property that the gates are locked on) and headed over the first 2.5 miles of the course. 3 pretty good sized rolling hills that I knew would test the calf, and of course those same 3 hills coming back. Total distance I ran was 5.5 miles at a very slow pace! 11:15 - 11:30 with the last .5 miles at 10 min pace just to see how it was feeling. I had a little tightness at about .7-.8 miles which is consistent with most of my runs and made me really nervous. However, I think the slower pace really helped and it stretched out nicely and from there I settled into what was a very, very enjoyable run. I haven't enjoyed any run that much since the IBM 10K. Raising my pace the last .5 miles really helped my confidence too, I was not even breathing hard up and down those hills. At the end, it did not seize up like it did after earlier runs, and I was able to walk with just a little soreness. I went home a very happy camper, with much more confidence that I can run - and finish - this half marathon Sunday. That means so much to me! I did my trigger point stretches and iced the calf a little, and I was doing fine. There was a little soreness, a little tightness, but I expected that. If I can keep working every day, keep my pace really slow at the start of Decker, I have the feeling all will go well.It will take a lot of patience and discipline to run a smart race and finish, but that is what racing is all about.
I felt so good I took Megan shopping, and man did we ever do some walking!! Two malls and about 5 hours later, I was pretty much done! We did go out for a drive to look at some Christmas lights, but a lot of people are not putting theirs up, or just have not done so yet. It was pretty lean. Still, we had a great day together....
So after waiting for enough daylight to see fairly well, I drove the course for next Sunday's Decker Challenge. I am so glad that I did!! My memory sucks, it has a selection process I will never understand, and I thought all the hills were much bigger than they actually are. Not to say the course is easy, because it's not, the hills come one right after the other. But many are long, gradual rises and matching downhill portions balance some of that out. So that raised my confidence level. The plan after talking to my Doc on Friday was for me to run 4 miles or so Saturday, and before say Thursday run half the distance (13.1) of the Decker race by Weds so we can sort things out pre-race. After thinking this over more (imagine ME thinking too much!) I decided since the calf felt pretty well on Thursday night (a couple miles on the treadmill finally pain free), I would go pretty long. So I started near the start line (it's inside a fenced in property that the gates are locked on) and headed over the first 2.5 miles of the course. 3 pretty good sized rolling hills that I knew would test the calf, and of course those same 3 hills coming back. Total distance I ran was 5.5 miles at a very slow pace! 11:15 - 11:30 with the last .5 miles at 10 min pace just to see how it was feeling. I had a little tightness at about .7-.8 miles which is consistent with most of my runs and made me really nervous. However, I think the slower pace really helped and it stretched out nicely and from there I settled into what was a very, very enjoyable run. I haven't enjoyed any run that much since the IBM 10K. Raising my pace the last .5 miles really helped my confidence too, I was not even breathing hard up and down those hills. At the end, it did not seize up like it did after earlier runs, and I was able to walk with just a little soreness. I went home a very happy camper, with much more confidence that I can run - and finish - this half marathon Sunday. That means so much to me! I did my trigger point stretches and iced the calf a little, and I was doing fine. There was a little soreness, a little tightness, but I expected that. If I can keep working every day, keep my pace really slow at the start of Decker, I have the feeling all will go well.It will take a lot of patience and discipline to run a smart race and finish, but that is what racing is all about.
I felt so good I took Megan shopping, and man did we ever do some walking!! Two malls and about 5 hours later, I was pretty much done! We did go out for a drive to look at some Christmas lights, but a lot of people are not putting theirs up, or just have not done so yet. It was pretty lean. Still, we had a great day together....
Thursday, December 1, 2011
The Calf - part XVIII
Some day I'm going to look back on this period in my running "career" and laugh. Some day is NOT today. I took a night off from working out Weds night - and that was wise. It's still early in the post-Turkey Trot healing stage. I am seeing Dr Wagenblast for another 4 sessions of Active Release Techniques before my next insane undertaking, which you can see from the ticker is the Decker Challenge. In my mind it's the 3rd toughest run in Austin I've ever done - just barely on the heels of the Austin Marathon and the ARA 30K, which is no longer a part of the Distance Challenge. Decker is not called a challenge for nothing - very little of it is flat, the weather always seems to suck, and it's now a full 13.1 miles. The last 2 times I ran it it was a 20K. So another mile of the fun this year.
I'm headed out after work this morning to scout out the course, I may post some pics/video of it. I want to reacquaint myself with the course - and this is something I rarely do when I am in good health. I prefer to just let the course throw at me what it will. That strategy backfired at the Run For The Water 10 miler this year as the hills sapped everything my calves had and I think directly contributed to my calf strain. The cramp I had last week at the Turkey Trot interestingly enough came right AFTER the worst of the hills. So with Decker I am going to formulate an intelligent plan for once, one that will have me walk the major hills and not waste valuable strength. Hopefully that will also translate to less, or no, cramping. The goal here is obvious - finish no matter what, and live to race another day. 3M is not until Jan 29th, so I will have a lot of time to recover. I really hope to go into 3M completely healed. My doc thinks the calf is still right on track, despite the strain I had during the Trot. That's comforting news. I know with a sane workout routine I can at least maintain my current weight and leg strength until I can get Decker behind me.
I am quite bummed that I can't keep running Saturday runs with my Austin Fit training group....they are much further on in their training and I can't risk this calf on the training runs. Once the Distance Challenge is over, I will definitely get back on track with them, for the 2013 Austin Marathon. With any luck I might be able to get in a fall 2012 marathon. Much depends on the summer and how this calf injury heals.
On a more personal note, I went shopping a little with Megs tonight - we headed out to Barton Creek mall. We always enjoy that mall at Christmas time, it's the nicest one in Austin and the decorations are awesome. We'll head back there this weekend for more shopping. Tonight we ate at the cafe in Nordstrom's, one of our favorite places to eat in all of Austin. Fantastic crab bisque there!
I'm perking up finally I think. There is hope!
I'm headed out after work this morning to scout out the course, I may post some pics/video of it. I want to reacquaint myself with the course - and this is something I rarely do when I am in good health. I prefer to just let the course throw at me what it will. That strategy backfired at the Run For The Water 10 miler this year as the hills sapped everything my calves had and I think directly contributed to my calf strain. The cramp I had last week at the Turkey Trot interestingly enough came right AFTER the worst of the hills. So with Decker I am going to formulate an intelligent plan for once, one that will have me walk the major hills and not waste valuable strength. Hopefully that will also translate to less, or no, cramping. The goal here is obvious - finish no matter what, and live to race another day. 3M is not until Jan 29th, so I will have a lot of time to recover. I really hope to go into 3M completely healed. My doc thinks the calf is still right on track, despite the strain I had during the Trot. That's comforting news. I know with a sane workout routine I can at least maintain my current weight and leg strength until I can get Decker behind me.
I am quite bummed that I can't keep running Saturday runs with my Austin Fit training group....they are much further on in their training and I can't risk this calf on the training runs. Once the Distance Challenge is over, I will definitely get back on track with them, for the 2013 Austin Marathon. With any luck I might be able to get in a fall 2012 marathon. Much depends on the summer and how this calf injury heals.
On a more personal note, I went shopping a little with Megs tonight - we headed out to Barton Creek mall. We always enjoy that mall at Christmas time, it's the nicest one in Austin and the decorations are awesome. We'll head back there this weekend for more shopping. Tonight we ate at the cafe in Nordstrom's, one of our favorite places to eat in all of Austin. Fantastic crab bisque there!
I'm perking up finally I think. There is hope!
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