Taking it easy

So, I've been trying to be a good little athlete, and take the prescribed rest period for my knee seriously.   Rest thus far has looked like mountain biking.  I think that counts.

I did have X-rays done last week, and they showed that my knee pain has a very definite and fairly easy to remedy cause.  Basically, my right patella is not tracking correctly due to an imbalance between the outer and inner muscles of my thigh.  Technically, my left has the same problem to a lesser degree, but it's not causing me pain (yet).  So, next step is to start doing some serious work to even that out and then protect my knee from further aggravation.  To that end I have gotten some ridiculously overpriced and frankly FANTASTIC compression tights.   They claim to stabilize the joints...we'll see, I guess, but they do look cool.

I do not look this good in them.   Sorry, hapless bystanders.

Of course, it's me, so I've been acquiring new injuries in the interim.  I've apparently reached a level of confidence on the mountain bike that has outstripped my skill.  This has translated to a number of crashes of late.  My legs are a mottled mess of new and old bruises and my foot looks...painful.  The most limiting issue is that my right arm and shoulder are pretty sore from hitting the ground multiple times, but nothing is broken.   As long as I don't need to raise my arm above elbow level I'll be fine.

I really am having fun on the mountain bike, though.  I'll likely never be a super risky rider, but trying to keep up with my biker peeps is encouraging me to move a bit outside my safety zone and it's pretty fun.  I've been to both Lebanon and Murphy and while I like them both, I think if I had to choose, I would go with Murphy.   Generally less crowded, I just feel more relaxed, even though the trail is probably less polished than Lebanon.   Besides, there are some truly awesome places in the trail where you are zipping along with a canopy of young trees arching just overhead that make me feel like I'm riding in an enchanted wood.  I'm a dork, I know.  

 

Again!?!

At some point, I would really like to stop having injuries to write about.   Honestly, as much fun as being hopped on pain meds is, I really would just like to be the kind of person who scoffs at the notion of being injured.  Instead, I seem to get the frequent opportunity to share with my readers the many and varied ways my body attempts to derail my efforts to improve myself.  So, without further ado...the latest.

Today I went to see the doctor after I started having excruciating pain in my right knee.   Now, I've had knee pain before, but this was something else.  I would be walking normally and then BAM! it would feel like someone had stuck a knife through my knee...and then left it there.    I would then spend the next few minutes walking stiff legged until I was able to convince my mind that bending my knee wouldn't hurt like that again.   Rinse, repeat.   The whole situation would have been comical, if not for the sinking feeling that I finally managed to do something Really Bad to myself.  

So, after consulting with Nana, I made an appointment at the clinic.  After waiting an interminable amount of time in the exam room, the doctor came in and did his evaluation.   After bending and twisting and prodding, he pronounced that I had not, in fact, torn anything, but my MCL was pretty upset with me.   In his opinion, this probably resulted from a combination of the following facts:  1) I increased my running miles too fast 2) I walked too much on my shiny new heel lift last Sunday and 3) my ankle is probably still messing with my gait a bit.    Yes, I am dumb, I know.

So, now I get to take it easy for 7-10 days (which I have interpreted as 3-5 days).   In theory this should involve not biking, but the doc told me if it didn't hurt I could do it and I'm taking him at his word.  So, biking is on, but other ambulatory exertions are pretty much out.   I am simultaneously relieved and frustrated.   Thank goodness it's not something more serious (probably...), but I was finally starting to make some real improvements in my running and it is very disheartening to once again have to stop and heal.  

I think I am going to write up a running plan for when I get back into it, just so that I don't overdo it again.   It's going to look pathetic (run a mile!  woo!), but I need to find some way to get better without getting broken at the same time.  

Race Recap - Big Woods 5K 2013

There are times I am reminded of how much I love living where I do.    Today was one of those days, as I was driving from Owatonna to Nerstrand for the Big Woods 5K.   It was a beautiful morning, with the faintest hist of of mist hanging over the ripe fields, the corn and soybeans golden in the early sunlight.   All in all, a fantastic day for a run through the woods.   As luck would have it, that was exactly what I was going to do!

Big Woods was my first 5K, and the only trail race I have done to date.   I love it...the setting is fantastic, the t-shirts are pretty awesome and I get to wear my favorite running shoes.  I was really hoping to do the 1/2 marathon, but at this point in my season, I was happy to be able to even contemplate doing the 5K today.   After my earlier runs this week, I was pretty sure I could do the distance, but I was a little worried as all my training has been on the road, and I had pretty specific warnings about not doing bad things to my ankle.  

The aforementioned really cool T-shirt

The bus dropped us off in the woods, and I got to don my "seasoned racer" hat as I explained to lots of folks that the start line was there and that they really should keep an eye out for the roots on the path.    The temp was pretty much perfect, cool enough that I was comfortable running in my jacket, but not so cold that I was freezing waiting for the start.   The trick to running in the woods is that you don't get as warm as you normally would running.  The lack of sun and the dampness combine for a chilling effect that takes a while to shake off.   On the other hand, I don't think it quite warranted the winter jackets I saw some folks wearing!

The (metaphorical) gun went off, and we started.   Despite my plans, I got shuffled to the back of the pack while we were waiting, so I had a lot of dodging of walkers and slower runners (!) at the start.    The path was pretty much covered in damp leaves, but my Saucony trail shoes practically have suction cups on the bottom, so my footing was pretty solid.    I definitely started out too fast, but I settled into my six count pace pretty early on.    The biggest problem I had on the trail were the occasional very muddy spots that made footing very squirrelly in places.   

The first mile went by pretty fast.   Midway through the second, though, I got a side stitch that would stick with my until the last quarter mile or so.   That was a bummer, especially as I haven't really had an issue with side stitches since I figured out I should stop hyperventilating while running.   I'm thinking the more intense pounding of trail running combined with a couple really bad foot placements (where did that hole come from?!) were probably the culprit.   My knee, which was complaining while I warmed up, shut up pretty early on and kept quiet for the duration of the race.   

The road portion of the race is my least favorite.   However, I can run with my eyes closed on the road, so there is that.   Out of the protection of the woods, the wind was a definite factor, but honestly, after biking into 20 mph winds, I just don't have it in me to get too worked about about running at 6.5mph into a wind.   There was some guy behind me pretty much the entire way in, which I know because he was breathing so loudly I thought he may have been in need of medical attention.   On the plus side it distracted me from my side stitch and encouraged me to keep my pace up.  I really do prefer being chased to chasing when it comes to racing.   

The real story, however, is my time.   I have done pretty much nothing for running this year, but somehow, I managed to PR this 5K.   And not just by a little, either.   I ran a 10:23 pace, which is insane...my fastest to date was something in the mid 11s.     Last year I did the run in 36:04.  This year, I did it in 32:14 on two training runs and no breakfast.   Hells yeah. :)

my Big Woods Run - 5k Seachable results

The end result of all of this is that I think I'm ready, mentally, to graduate to longer distances.   I needed that "win" to give me the mental push to move on.   Sort of like the time I first biked 20 miles, this feels like a moment where I can say "yes, I can do this."   

  

Progress comes in many guises

True to my word, I started running this week.   I've run a total of (are you ready for this??) 4.65 miles.  Wow.  Be impressed.   All joking aside, though, that's a pretty big step forward.   My knee has been mostly cooperating with me, though it takes some concentration to keep my right foot from drifting sideways into my left.   Something that seems to help with this is to shorten up my stride.  Now, my stride is already pretty short, but today I went from doing four counts to six counts and not only did my knee feel better, but I also shaved a good 30 seconds off my pace.   At that count, I'm running close to my cycling cadence (by my rough estimation).  Not sure if that's good or not, but it seems to be working.   

Since I've done so well this week, I think I might reward myself by running the Big Woods 5k.  If you remember, the Big Woods run was supposed to be my 1/2 marathon debut.  Sadly, that is not to be.  However, it's a fun run and the weather looks to be perfect.   The Big Woods should be beautiful and it will be good to get some dirt on my trail shoes.   It'll be a little strange to go to an event solo, but I'm sure I'll manage.   Fingers crossed for a cool shirt again this year! 

My back issues came to head again this week.   My back has hurt in a predictable way for years, but in the last few weeks it's gone from a constant 3-5 kind of pain to an intermittent 9-11 kind of pain.   Like, takes my breath away, fall down kind of pain (really, I fell down today...it wasn't pretty, but was probably funny).   Anyhow, I went to the chiro and sat down to have a heart to heart with him.   He agreed that this was an undesirable turn of events and decided he needed to get some pictures of my spine to see what was up.

Well, that revealed some surprises.  In his preliminary review of the films, he told me he saw that I had a compression fracture in one of my vertebrae.  He thinks it's an old injury, though I'm not entirely certain what I could have done to break my back.  The only thing that comes to mind is my infamous ski accident, though my (admittedly vague) memory suggests that I wasn't moving in the right direction for that injury.  In the end it doesn't matter, I guess, because that isn't the cause of my problems.  Go figure.  Only I could have a broken spine and have that NOT be why I'm in pain.   

His initial assessment is that my low back is mechanically weird (my words, not his).   Basically, the way I'm built appears to be tailor made for causing me pain when doing pretty much everything I like to do.   However, and this is the important part, even though it hurts, I'm not doing any damage.  So, if I can withstand the pain, I can do what I want to do.  Strangely, I'm okay with this.   With the recent intensity of my pain, I was super concerned that I was going to be told I had some degeneration of the discs, or some other hopeless kind of condition.   This, this I can deal with.  I can work to strengthen the core to better support the weakness in my spine and I can (and probably will) take fistfuls of meds to control the pain in the meantime.   It's not ideal, but at least it means I can continue to do this thing I've grown to love.   

Sadly, for my friends, this means I'm unlikely to stop being a whiner anytime soon.    Sorry about that.   Feel free to tell me to pop my pills and shut up.   :)

Rain, rain, go away!

Man, what a weekend!

Saturday saw me wide awake and ready to go at 5 AM despite having NO reason to actually be awake at such an unpleasant hour.  I tried to stay in bed and savor the chance to sleep in, but it was not to be.   So, giving in, I got up and headed to the gym for a little experimental running.   I specifically wanted to do a treadmill run because I was determined to figure out my knee issues and I reasoned that would be easier to do without having to concentrate on staying upright.  (As clearly, that's not something I'm very good at...)   Anyhow, mission accomplished!  As I was running on the treadmill, I noticed that my right leg kept bending in towards the left, which I'm thinking neatly explains the searing pain I've been getting across my low quad and knee.   The harder part, of course, is to figure out what to do to fix it.  

Despite dire predictions of a rainy Saturday, the day looked to be clear later in the afternoon.   With not much wind to speak of, I hopped on my road bike to get a quick 25 miles in before supper.  I checked my Weather.com app before I left and it said "dry conditions will continue".   LIARS.   10 miles in it started to sprinkle, then mist and then hail.   That's right, little white rocks started to pelt me from the sky on my "dry conditions will continue" ride.   I'm tempted to write in to complain.   Well, it was tiny hail, and let up after a few moments.  I abandoned my hiding place under a huge maple tree and continued on my ride.   I could have turned around, but by my reasoning I was more or less as far from home as I was going to get, so I might as well get the hills in I was planning on.     That's when it started to hail again.   Hiding under an awning this time, I watched with growing dread as the rain came harder and the hail got bigger.   After a few moments it seemed like it was going to clear, so I mounted up and kept riding.   About 5 minutes later, it hailed AGAIN.   At this point, I gave up, tucked my head down and just kept peddling.  Clearly, there was only one way to escape this torment, and it didn't involve staying out past dark ducking under overhangs.   It should be noted that the skies cleared about three minutes after I pulled into the driveway.  

Well, I dried my shoes and helmet and headed out again on Sunday for the Mankato River Ramble, a ride I've been wanting to do for a few years now.   Once again, the forecast was for dry and sunny weather, so I was feeling pretty good.   I wore a heavier soft shell to guard against the cool morning, but all in all, I figured it would be a cake 42 miles.   Well, you can guess what happened.    About 4 miles in the mist started and continued at varying intensities until the last 20 minutes of the ride.   The ride itself was very nice, and well supported with vast quantities of baked goods (and hot chocolate!).   I'm reasonably certain the views would have been lovely, if I could have seen them out of my rain fogged glasses.   Upon arriving back at the car, I promptly stripped (in public, though I did  have a bath towel for modesty) and changed into my dry pants, but I was stuck without a dry shirt.  Thankfully, my friend was kind enough to lend me one of his so that I did not shiver us into the ditch on the way home.

Here's hoping that fulfills my quota for wet, cold rides this fall.  If not, I may have to start bringing a trash bag with for an impromptu rain poncho!

Is this thing on?

Apologies on the radio silence folks - life has been busy here in Rishy-land.  While I've certainly been out and about, I've also had a bit of chaos on the personal life front.   Things are finally starting to settle back into something of a rhythm, so I figured I'd try and put out an update.   Unfortunately, I'm not really going to be able to do justice to the month of September in anything resembling a reasonable post, so I'm going to have to be somewhat scant on the details.  

After Jesse, I embarked on the annual OBC fall trip.  I don't actually know that it is an annual or a fall trip, but it has been so for the two years I've been riding with them, so that's what I'm going with.   Anyhow, the trip took us up north on a four day tour of beautiful northern Minnesota.   Starting with a day of mountain biking and hiking at Giant's Ridge in Biwabik, we then biked to Silver Bay, Duluth and back to Biwabik.   The weather was ridiculously kind, with a tail wind every day and only a bit of rain on the Silver Bay to Duluth leg.   Most importantly (to me), is that I finally got to experience what it would be like to be a fast rider.   I'm just going to post the Garmin data for the Biwabik to Silver Bay leg, and let you take a look.    Specifically, take a look at mile 55 on.  Oh, yeah, baby.   Downhill, tail wind and beautiful roads.   If it was possible to fall in love with a road, I would have gotten down on one knee and proposed.   

Immediately after returning from that trip, I started plotting my next.   In this case, it involved heading to Wisconsin to ride Autumn Trek - a lovely, hilly trip skirting both the Mississippi and St. Croix river valleys.   I went with my fast friends on this one, and was pretty much expecting to get dropped at mile 3 and never see them again.   Pleasantly, they decided to take it easy so I was able to catch up with them a couple of times and ride with some company here and there.   I blew up pretty bad on the last twenty or so miles, though, so they still finished way ahead of me.  Oh, well, something to aim for next year.  

Last weekend was a rare free weekend, with no rides or tris on the schedule.   Taking advantage of the opportunity, a friend and I headed down to Decorah and bounced around on the mountain bike trails there.  I admit, I was a little concerned I may have oversold the place, as my danger threshold is considerably lower than that of my companions, but he seemed pleased with experience.   It did not hurt that Sunday was a picture perfect fall day, replete warm temps, full sun and the slightly manic need to seize the last few drops of summer.    

Old pic, but this is the start of the River Trail in Decorah.  It gets scarier.

Now, I'm transitioning into my off-season routine.  I've started a three month strength training class through community education that, while not exactly what I was hoping for, is at least getting me out and doing something other than cardio.   My knee is still giving me issues, but I'm hoping to start running next week so that I can at least do some 5Ks yet this fall.   The ultimate goal for next spring is to start off with some Olympic distance tris, so I need to get the running in.   Naturally, I also need to get in the pool.   I've committed to showing up to a weekly coaching session in October, and I'm hoping to parlay that into swimming at least twice a week.   And on top of all that, I need to work on my core strength and stability to hopefully keep my back issues in check next year.   Whew!