Last week, I finally did what I should have done over a month ago and made an appointment with Spine and Injury Clinic of Laramie. I went in last Tuesday and consulted with Dr. David Milam. I explained to him the issues with my lower back and he immediately jumped into a diagnosis and treatment. It was like being back in the training room in college, which was great.
Anyway, what I thought was a lower spine issue is actually a bum left piriformis muscle. The second he touched that spot, I wanted to scream, it hurt so bad. But, that is a good thing, since obviously a muscular injury is much easier to treat than a spinal injury. He hooked me up to the stem machine for about 10 minutes, then did a quick series of deep tissue massages, stretches, and chiropractic adjustments. He sent me home with some literature and exercises and stretches to do daily. I immediately felt better, went for my first nearly pain-free run the next day, and then saw him again for another round of treatment Thursday. I will go back in tomorrow for a quick look, and then be on my way. Three treatments and I'm back on my feet. Those guys are awesome. Why did I hesitate so long to call them? I won't be doing that again.
So, what caused the issue in first place? I more than likely tweaked it running Silent Trails (in the slippery snow again) and then continued to run trails on it. I was also inconsistent in my running after Jelm. I also stopped doing the little things, mostly due to being lazy. I sit on my butt all day at work, rarely get up, slouch badly, and don't stretch. Then we went to Oregon, and a couple of hours in the car, getting stuck on the plane for five hours, and the return trip home certainly didn't help things. Then I took time off to heal it, when, as Dr. Dave suggested, I actually should have continued to work out in order to keep things loosened up. Rookie mistakes all around.
So how did he fix it? I get up once an hour at work and do two stretches, a hamstring/piriformis stretch and a hip flexor stretch. I do a couple of exercises with my core work three times a week, and I spend some time with my foam roller at night. And holy hell, has it worked.
I have been good on my resolution thus far. I have a 17-day streak going back to Dec. 31 of doing at least 30 minutes of exercise everyday. So, I'm excited to be on the mend so I can continue. Right now I'm still biking a few more miles than running, but I hope to shift that ratio in the next week or two. My focus for the rest of January is to keep cross training, take it easy, and get the little things done so I can start thinking about mileage. There is no reason to be thrashing myself outside right now (especially considering our recent run of sub-zero temps). Stay healthy now, work on getting a little stronger, DO THE LITTLE THINGS, and worry about miles come April and May.
Ultimate goals are still Bighorn and then the Wonderland Trail. Horsecow, Elizabeth and I have been hammering out some details and I believe we will all be in the Pacific Northwest July 20-28. I'm really excited about this. But I have to stay healthy and work to where I can run back-to-back-to-back ultras. That could be difficult, but certainly doable.
Week of Dec. 31-Jan. 6
51 miles (7'33") - 20M run, 23M bike, 8M hiked
Week of Jan. 7-Jan. 13
57 miles (5'06") - 23M run, 34M bike
Year to Date
116 miles (11'20") - 47 run, 69 bike
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Thursday, January 3, 2013
New Year New Plans
While I am still slightly limited physically by my back, I have been mixing some short, slow running back into my routine. I have been hiking/trudging/snowshoeing the past few weeks. I also "borrowed" a trainer from my dad, so I have my road bike set up in my house. I have been using it to do analogous tempo and fartlek workouts. I have also been forcing myself to stretch everyday and do some core work every couple of days. So far, the back, while not 100%, is feeling quite a bit better.
My one and only resolution this year is to get my ass out and do something every day. It doesn't have to be much. It just has to be something. I can surely find at least 30 minutes each day to run, hike, ride, etc. I have been inspired by my good friend Chris Schabron who just polished off his second year in a row of running every day. He has a 731 days-in-a-row and counting streak. There is no reason I cannot do something similar.
This is all, of course, build-up to my plans this year. I had a brief conversation with Alec awhile back that was started by me bringing up FKTs. I thought FKTs were something I'd be interested in maybe pursuing, though I'd have to get a hell of lot better physically and mentally to even begin. I asked Alec his thoughts/would he care to join, and he told me FKTs were not things in which he was interested. He said he was more interested in WCTDIEATW (What Cool Things Did I Experience Along The Way). While not an acronym concerned with brevity, it does hammer home something I've been feeling for a long time.
I mentioned last June that I needed to step back from the competitiveness and learn to enjoy the art of running. I have felt that fire burning less hot in the past months, and honestly, training and gearing up for racing is something that no longer interests me all that much. I am more concerned with just being outside and enjoying the world that running can provide. It opens so much more to me.
I have a problem waxing philosophic about running. We've all read the Quotable Runner, we've all fantasized about being Quenton Cassidy chasing down John Walton, we've all suffered through George Sheehan's self-important pseudo-philosophical rantings because that's what we were supposed to do. And for a long time, I thought, "Fuck those guys. They were slow and never won a damn thing in their lives." I thought those guys missed the point. Zen running was for sissy-la-las. I wanted to win races. Run as fast as I could. Out-kick people and give them a shrug of my shoulders as I passed them. And for a long time, that was satisfying. But it just is not anymore. And now I understand a little more what the hell those guys were talking about.
There is a life to be lived out there. And I want mine to include running. It is truly a lifestyle. And one I love very deeply. So, as I have alluded to in my previous and sparse posts, I have decided that winning races, and even racing in general, is not something I am going to be too concerned with going forward. I'm more interested in having adventures and experiencing cool things. Enjoy being in that moment.
That said, I do plan to participate in a couple races this year (if I'm physically able, of course). First, the Twin Mountain Trudge. This will be my fifth year in a row at this bitch of a race. Five year veterans receive a "Mountain Masochist" jacket for subjecting themselves to the brutality year after year. I want my damn jacket.
I signed up for Nick Clark's Quad Rock race in May because I feel the 25M will be a good lead-in race going towards Bighorn in June. Pilot Hill is also on my agenda for the same reason. Plus, it's one of our "Big 3" homegrown Laramie trail races, so I should be there.
The goal of the next five or six months is Bighorn. I have unfinished business thanks to my hip injury last year. I will do everything in my power to avoid a similar mistake this year. Bighorn is the weekend before my 30th birthday, so I figure, what better way to celebrate the end of my twenties than by running 50 miles through the mountains?
After that, the sky is the limit. I am going to start working on plans to get back to Rainier either end of July or mid-August. The Wonderland Trail intrigues me. 93 miles long, it circumnavigates Mt. Rainier. I figure it can be broken up into ~50K each day, allowing one to enjoy the views without thrashing the body too badly. If I can get a crew together, we could have a couple people shuttling cars and setting up camp each day. That would be an amazing experience.
Teton Crest is another adventure I've been considering for some time. Somewhere between 35-40 miles on the west side of the range seems like a great way to spend a day. I'm thinking Labor Day for this. That allows for quick travel to Jackson while also being, in my opinion, the perfect time of the year to run up there. All I need is someone to drop me off at the tram in Teton Village and pick me up at Jenny Lake 8-10 hours later.
Those are my 2013 plans. I'm sure they will be amended, but I'm happy with them right now. And to end, here is what I did on New Year's Eve:
My one and only resolution this year is to get my ass out and do something every day. It doesn't have to be much. It just has to be something. I can surely find at least 30 minutes each day to run, hike, ride, etc. I have been inspired by my good friend Chris Schabron who just polished off his second year in a row of running every day. He has a 731 days-in-a-row and counting streak. There is no reason I cannot do something similar.
This is all, of course, build-up to my plans this year. I had a brief conversation with Alec awhile back that was started by me bringing up FKTs. I thought FKTs were something I'd be interested in maybe pursuing, though I'd have to get a hell of lot better physically and mentally to even begin. I asked Alec his thoughts/would he care to join, and he told me FKTs were not things in which he was interested. He said he was more interested in WCTDIEATW (What Cool Things Did I Experience Along The Way). While not an acronym concerned with brevity, it does hammer home something I've been feeling for a long time.
I mentioned last June that I needed to step back from the competitiveness and learn to enjoy the art of running. I have felt that fire burning less hot in the past months, and honestly, training and gearing up for racing is something that no longer interests me all that much. I am more concerned with just being outside and enjoying the world that running can provide. It opens so much more to me.
I have a problem waxing philosophic about running. We've all read the Quotable Runner, we've all fantasized about being Quenton Cassidy chasing down John Walton, we've all suffered through George Sheehan's self-important pseudo-philosophical rantings because that's what we were supposed to do. And for a long time, I thought, "Fuck those guys. They were slow and never won a damn thing in their lives." I thought those guys missed the point. Zen running was for sissy-la-las. I wanted to win races. Run as fast as I could. Out-kick people and give them a shrug of my shoulders as I passed them. And for a long time, that was satisfying. But it just is not anymore. And now I understand a little more what the hell those guys were talking about.
There is a life to be lived out there. And I want mine to include running. It is truly a lifestyle. And one I love very deeply. So, as I have alluded to in my previous and sparse posts, I have decided that winning races, and even racing in general, is not something I am going to be too concerned with going forward. I'm more interested in having adventures and experiencing cool things. Enjoy being in that moment.
That said, I do plan to participate in a couple races this year (if I'm physically able, of course). First, the Twin Mountain Trudge. This will be my fifth year in a row at this bitch of a race. Five year veterans receive a "Mountain Masochist" jacket for subjecting themselves to the brutality year after year. I want my damn jacket.
I signed up for Nick Clark's Quad Rock race in May because I feel the 25M will be a good lead-in race going towards Bighorn in June. Pilot Hill is also on my agenda for the same reason. Plus, it's one of our "Big 3" homegrown Laramie trail races, so I should be there.
The goal of the next five or six months is Bighorn. I have unfinished business thanks to my hip injury last year. I will do everything in my power to avoid a similar mistake this year. Bighorn is the weekend before my 30th birthday, so I figure, what better way to celebrate the end of my twenties than by running 50 miles through the mountains?
After that, the sky is the limit. I am going to start working on plans to get back to Rainier either end of July or mid-August. The Wonderland Trail intrigues me. 93 miles long, it circumnavigates Mt. Rainier. I figure it can be broken up into ~50K each day, allowing one to enjoy the views without thrashing the body too badly. If I can get a crew together, we could have a couple people shuttling cars and setting up camp each day. That would be an amazing experience.
Teton Crest is another adventure I've been considering for some time. Somewhere between 35-40 miles on the west side of the range seems like a great way to spend a day. I'm thinking Labor Day for this. That allows for quick travel to Jackson while also being, in my opinion, the perfect time of the year to run up there. All I need is someone to drop me off at the tram in Teton Village and pick me up at Jenny Lake 8-10 hours later.
Those are my 2013 plans. I'm sure they will be amended, but I'm happy with them right now. And to end, here is what I did on New Year's Eve:
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| Tetons on a brisk but sunny day. |
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| Grand Teton. |
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| Mt. Wister and Avalanche Canyon. |
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| Teton Range, Wyoming. 1/1/13. |
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