Back To Running

After being off my feet for 7 weeks, I finally ventured out with my running shoes this weekend.  As I wasn't too sure if my achilles was ready, I only pounded out 1.5 miles on Saturday at a pace of 8:45.  I had felt a slight twinge in the beginning of the run, but that quickly disappeared and I felt OK afterwards (aside from my asthma acting up a bit).  On Sunday I went for a 2 mile run with Truffalo at a slightly faster pace of 8:30 (thanks to Truff) and didn't even feel any pain whatsoever.  I think it would be safe to say that I can start building up my base again.  As for the June race, I may not be able to get ready for that so I'll have to find a fall race to run.  Tentatively looking at the Hudson Mohawk Marathon in Oct.  It's a small and flat race, but it'll be a little costly to fly out there just to run a marathon.  I'll have to do some more research and see if I can find a good race out west.  Which race to run will also hinge upon what BAA decides upon the 'window' for qualifying times or qualifying times themselves.  If they shorten the window to 16 months, then all November and December races will be out.  If they lower the qualifying times, then I might just take it easy until I'm 39.

License To Eat

It's been 14 days since I've last run.  Running has always allowed me to eat with abandon.  What other activity can burn 700 calories in an hour, 1100 calories in 1.5 hours, and 1400 calories in 2?  In an average week I'd burn off 2000 to 3000 calories just from running. You'd think I'd be skin and bones, but no, the weight stays put.  However, since I've stopped running I've started to lose weight (some of which could be muscle mass, but the pants are hanging looser these days).  Why?  Because I no longer look at food the same way I used to when I was running.  It used to be, "I can have [cake, steak, ice cream, burgers, chips, etc] because I just ran [8, 10, 12 miles]".  Now it's, "Damn, I can't eat this."  
Running was my license to eat, and you can bet I'm counting down the days to when I can hit the road again, because eating only fruits and vegetables is no way to live.  I had salad for lunch every day last week, and by the end of the week I was literally gagging as I shoved that avocado down my throat...沒辦法，就是更牛有仇。

My Stump

Went to see the podiatrist today.  He wasn't too concerned about a fracture, but still went ahead and took xrays of the foot, which showed no fractures.  I saw the xrays and thought to myself, 'Wow, what a young-looking foot.  The joint spaces look so nice and smooth.'  Nothing like what I'm used to seeing where the joint spaces are all eroded with spurs sticking out all over the place.  

Since cubinoid syndrome is a relatively unknown entity and often under diagnosed, I briefly brought up that subject.  That got him to attempt the cubinoid whipp (after looking it up first) on the foot.

Finally, he decided what I had was peroneal tendinitis, and was the result of me trying to compensate for the achilles tendinitis.  So the solution was to tape my arch.

I walked out the office with this, which J lovingly called it my 'stump'.

I'm supposed to leave this on for 3-4 days.  How am I supposed to shower without getting it wet?!?

Season's Over

My running season is officially over.  The achilles tendinitis healed and is no longer the problem, but I've developed a new injury that is absolutely disabling.  Not sure if it's peroneal tendinitis at the 5th metatarsal, a stress fracture, or cuboid syndrome, but I can barely walk without any pain.  So I'm waving the white flag right now.  The plan is to stop running for the next 1.5 to 2 months to really let the injury heal, and then run the Eugene Marathon in 5/2011 or Newport Marathon in 6/2011 to try to qualify for Boston.  I realized that even if I were to qualify in 12/2010 during the Tucson race, I wouldn't be able to run Boston until 2012, and the time is only good for 2011 and 2012.  However, if I qualify in May/June 2011, I'll be able to run Boston in 2012 and 2013.  So everything works out at the end.  塞翁失馬, 焉知非福。

Miracle Tape?

So I've been taping my heel for less than a week now, and I can say that the heel is finally feeling better.  However, it's hard to determine if it's better because of the tape or a result of a combination of all the changes I've made.  

• I started taping the heel last Saturday, and I could still feel mild discomfort all throughout my Sunday run.  
• Took Monday off, went to yoga and regretted it because right after class I could feel the pain intensify.  
• Skipped my Fartlek session Tuesday and ran an easy 5 on a flat course in my stability shoes.  Still felt a twinge throughout the run.  
• Wednesday was another rest day, ditched yoga, and contemplated dropping out of the race due to the intermittent pain throughout the day.  I figured the sensible thing to do was to just stop, but then again when are marathon runners ever sensible.  So I re-taped the heel that night 
• Hit the road Thursday morning switching out the Tempo run for another easy run.  The pain started, but lasted for only 6 minutes and DISAPPEARED!  It felt so good that I did 8 miles, and even at an 8-min/mile pace the pain never came back, and stayed away for the rest of the day

J suggested I skip this Saturday's run, but if the pain continues to stay away Friday, then I ain't skipping nothing and gonna buy me some more of those tape!

Magical Tape?

Got my 90-min progression run in this morning.  Not sure if it's the week's rest or the tape, but the sharp pain I had felt last week wasn't back, but I did have a persistent ache higher up in the achilles.  I ran on a flatter course in my stability shoes, and whenever I'd go up an incline or when my pace would pick up (faster than 8:30 min mile), the pain would ratchet up.  This is somewhat reassuring because the race is mostly downhill and my planned race pace is 8:35 min mile (in order to qualify for Boston).  The only concern I have is what to do when I have speed work planned in the remaining weeks.  I'd have to give this tape some more time before I'd make a call.  Though one thing for sure is that it leaves a funky tan line.

Got My Tape

USPS delivered my tape!  I love my mail man, except when he delivers bills.

Let's see if this thing really works.

Not the most flattering, but it's a running badge of honor; kind of like how we runners view black toes.

Due to 'overwhelming' recommendation to try yoga, I will get back into it to stretch out the muscles.  However, looking back I know the achilles problem started last year during yoga class when I was jumping from plank pose to forward fold, and it just became progressively bothersome.

Bummed Out

It's been 5 days since I've ran, and I am BUMMED OUT!  Went biking twice this week to try to maintain my cardiovascular fitness, but it's just not the same.  I'd whizz by runners and I'd think to myself, 'I'd rather be running than sitting on my sore ass trying to figure out which gear to shift to.'  I honestly think I've lost weight this week because I'm moping around the kitchen without an appetite feeling sorry for myself.  I'm envious of all the runners I see when I drive to & from work, and feel that the running world has moved on without me.  I have one more rest day, and I'm worried that may not be enough because I still feel some discomfort in the achilles from time to time.  When is my Kinesio Tex Tape arriving, UPS???

Grin And Bear It

After a sleepless night dreaming and thinking about my running injury I've decided to do what's best for my body.  I'm going to take a week off from running, as I don't want an acute injury to progress to a chronic problem that'll prevent me from running for the rest of my life.  After doing much researching on the subject, I've come to the conclusion that I need to do the following:


1. Stop running for a week
2. Minimize hill running
3. Slow down my pace
4. Switch back to my stability shoes
5. Do negative calf raises


Hopefully, these small modifications will help head off worsening of the problem and not negatively affect my training and time.

Getting Old...

Sucks!  As I started my long run yesterday I felt a sharp pain in my right achilles that lasted for about 3 minutes and disappeared as I ran on.  This was the sure sign of acute achilles tendinitis, for which the treatment is rest.  REST!?!  You have got to be kidding me!  I've got 10 weeks to go before the race, and my training has just started peaking.  How can I stop now?!?  I suspect the culprit is increased speed (I've been running my easy and long runs about 30 secs faster per mile), so I'll have to force myself to slow down, and try taping my achilles (yes, I'm that desperate).  

If that doesn't work, then I'm going to have to skip some training runs here and there to allow my aging body to recover.  Dear God, I can live with sagging boobs and a dropping uterus (both of which I view as vestigial appendages anyway), but don't let me develop running related injuries that'll prevent me from a BQ!

The Confused Honeybee

So it's fall right?  Well apparently it hasn't made its way to Tucson, because 95 degrees ain't fall weather.  Had to run 14 miles today and I crashed and burned thanks to a series of mistakes all because I thought fall was here...

1. Woke up at 5:40AM, but didn't get out the door until 6:15AM.  I'm normally out the door by 5:30AM during the summer months.

2. Decided against putting too much ice in my water bottle because it's supposed to be cooler right?  

3. Decided against bringing any of my shot bloks because I was trying to save them for my longer runs.

4. Headed out too fast.  Slowest pace was the first mile at 8:44 min/mile, then averaged around 8:25 min/mile for the subsequent miles until mile 11+.

5. Forgot to buy a bigger water bottle (my current water bottle is sufficient for a 12 mile run max.  Any runs longer than that I'd have to switch over to a larger water bottle).

Two thirds through the run, I swear the temp was already in the high 70s and low 80s.  By the time I got to mile 10, I was debating whether to cut the run short or continue on, as I was craving for some ice cold watermelon juice.  Finally, I decided to run home, drink some watermelon juice, restock my water bottle, and head back out for the remaining 2.5 miles.  The rest of the run would have been OK had I not been greedy with the watermelon juice.  The whole time I felt fullness in my stomach with fluid sloshing around, and had to stop several times to stretch out the side stitch.

I felt tricked by mother nature, like a confused honeybee when spring arrives too soon.  Lesson learned, and will make the necessary adjustments...

San Francisco Day 2

Woke up Sunday morning for my progression run.  Since I knew heading south from the hotel would bring me up against some steep hills, we headed north not knowing what to expect, but hoped for the best.  Luckily, the course wasn't as punishing, and I was pleasantly surprised by the Bay Trail dedicated to runners and cyclists.  

One interesting thing I noticed about the runners in Sausalito is that they don't make eye contact with you, much less say 'Good morning'.  Here in Oro Valley, we acknowledge one another and offer a 'good morning' or 'have a nice day' no matter how out of breath one is.  Another sign I've been in Tucson for too long - I've actually become accustomed to courteousness, and find big city folks awkwardly self-absorbed like how I used to be back in NYC.


Later we all headed out to brunch with the wedding party.  Unfortunately, M&D had already left earlier that morning due to some 'interesting planning' (long story).  Afterwards, we dropped F off in the city, then J and I headed out to San Ramon to see aunt Lily, who was in surprisingly good spirits considering the circumstances.  It was something she said during the visit that made J and me realize we needed to change our diet, eat less meat and more fresh foods.  That said, we had hotpot with P&D in San Mateo for dinner for the last harrah.

小肥羊, 'The Little Fat Sheep'.  J thought it was 小飛羊, 'The Little Flying Sheep' thanks to his unparalleled Mandarin.  We had this once in Hong Kong a few years ago, and thanks to a cold, everything tasted bland to me at the time.

The soup base with the non spicy and spicy halves.  Yummy!

The goodies.  We later decided that we had ordered too much, and I had had too much meat.  No worries, my new diet starts after the trip.

San Francisco Day 1

Just got back from SF yesterday evening, hence the gap between posts.  We got in to SF Saturday morning, and the first thing that hit me was "Where are all the white people?"  The whole airport was teeming with asians.  That's when I knew I've been in Tucson for too long, when I'm no longer used to seeing a 'sea of yellow'.  However, I quickly got over the initial shock and was determined to get some breakfast.  

You know the subway system is outdated when you can't punch in the exact amount you want charged to your card.  Instead you have to manually 'add/subtract' from a preset amount.  One would think with all the engineers in Silicon Valley, someone would come up with a more sophisticated system.  Go figure...

While waiting for the first ferry out to Sausalito, we decided to search for some eats in Chinatown.

First bakery shop didn't look promising.  I couldn't imagine what "yellow bean sweet paste preserved egg and ginger" must taste like and didn't dare to try.

In time for Autumn Moon Festival.

Found some moon cakes at the second bakery, but we opted not to get any since neither one of us likes moon cakes.  They're just nice to look at.  We ended up settling for some mediocre buns, which were still 10 times better than what we can get in Tucson.

After some futile search for good food, we arrived at the the ferry terminal.

The 10:40 am ferry got us to Sausalito just in time for a short run along the bay before the wedding ceremony at 2PM.

Unfortunately, no one warned us about the steep hills we were going to run up.  However, the view of the bay and the Golden Gate bridge more than made up for that minor problem.

Our very first Catholic wedding ceremony.  A lot of rising, sitting, and some kneeling during the 45-minute ceremony.

After the ceremony, the reception was at Spinnaker on the bay.  Here's the view from the reception area.

Looking across the water.

The best part of the day was getting the chance to spend time with old friends, and having a crazy night.  J got a little carried away with the dancing, with the bride might I add, whom he'd met for the first time.  As soon as I get the video footage from F, I'll be sure to send it out (while you're watching it, keep in mind 'Mr. Bruce Lee-Travolta' was as sober as he was while in church).

Running Lessons (viewer discretion advised)

When you spend hours on the road running, you tend to reflect and learn a lot about yourself.  Some good (feeling healthier & stronger now  than you've ever felt when you were in your 20s), some bad (struggling to crest that hill), and some just plain disturbing (realizing you're in fact a Republican).  
Last year I found out Xood and Gu don't 'gel' with me after a few disastrous runs fraught with GI debacles.  So I've set out to find ones that do work, and have been lucky to come across Nuun for hydration (recommended by Coach Joe English) and Clif Shot Bloks for carb replacement.

REI had a labor day sale, so I stocked up on all my 'foods'.

High in sodium and mildly flavored, these don't leave a sweet after taste like the other sports drinks.  Drop a tablet into your water and they'll fizz like Alka seltzer.  If you're like me and love agua con gas, you'll enjoy this.

As for the Clif Shot Bloks, my personal favorite is the cola flavor, but J found out through his brother's girlfriend that for whatever reason they've discontinued that flavor (N.B., the person who decided to pull the plug on the cola flavor is now on my hit list).  

I've had to settle with black cherry, because that's the only other one that contains 50mg of caffeine.  I will never go back to gels after having run with the bloks.  These are not messy and less sweet when compared to the gels.  No more running with sticky fingers, and trying to breath through thick molasses (though the bloks may present as choking hazards if you don't chew well).

WARNING: If you don't want to be grossed out, STOP READING RIGHT NOW.  Otherwise, continue at your own peril, and don't blame me for not warning you...

One very interesting thing that I've learned about myself through all this running is that my left foot is slightly bigger than my right.  For the last 36 years, I've always thought they were the exact same size.  Apparently not.  My right toenails have never been bruised; but my left toenails are constantly in various stages of bruising as they keep jambing up against the inside of the shoe.  As of last week, the 3rd toenail has fallen off...

Getting Back Into Yoga

Ever since finishing the SD marathon, I've dropped yoga like a load of smelly laundry. Yoga for me is only a means to an end.  I don't have the patience for it, and I get easily bored with the same routines.  However, it's the only exercise that helps me stretch and prevent running-related injuries. So, I've returned to it reluctantly after having felt some tightness in the hamstrings.  After Monday's class I started feeling sore in my core...who'da thunk.  Maybe I'm not doing it correctly...

The Biggest Fad of 2010

Call me a contrarian, a skeptic, or an omniscient, but I am calling the Vibram Fivefingers the biggest fad of 2010.  Mind you, I'm not calling it a hoax.  Some runner swear by it, saying how all their prior aches and pains just disappeared after they started running barefoot.  Fine.  However, I'm calling it a fad because I see all these people in the weight room 'walking', not running, around in their newest Vibram.  Just a few weeks ago, J asked this guy at the gym about 'the shoes'...

Guy: They're very comfortable.

J: How about running?

Guy: Oh, I don't run.

So there you have it, the biggest fad of 2010...

Its faddishness rivals those of the roller blades of the 1990s (yes, I did get myself a pair during residency, and god only knows I sucked at it),

and spandex & leg warmers of the 1980s (no, you'd never catch me dead in any one of these getups, and thank god I wasn't old enough at the time to feel compelled to dance like these guys).

80° + 50% Humidity

This is what awaited me when I ran out the door at 5 this morning.  How do you expect me to run under these conditions?  I'm OK with 80° with 0% humidity or 50° with 100% humidity, but 80 & 50 was too much.  During my run I had so many tortured thoughts going through my head...

"Good thing the clouds are blocking the sun...These cursed clouds, what's the use if they're only going to raise the humidity without producing any rain...I could really use some ice cold water...I wish I had washboard abs like J, so I could take my shirt off right now.  Instead I have this jiggly mess...I really should slow down my pace, but that'll be 太丟臉了..."  By the time I got home 50 minutes later, I felt as though I had just traversed the Sahara.

Summer Running

It's tough running during the summer time.  The temp is already in the 80s by 6AM when we head out the door.  Then on weekends I can't even sleep in; on Sundays I have to wake up even earlier than the weekdays, because in order for me to finish my long runs by 7AM I have to start my runs between 5 - 5:30AM.  So far my pace hasn't suffered, but I know I'm working harder at that pace.  

Official training starts in 2 weeks, so I've just been maintaining my 25+ mile weekly base these past few weeks.  I've had to retired my NB 903 after this morning's run because I started getting ankle and knee pains.  

Luckily my NB 1063 will be arriving in a few days.

I had decided against getting the stability shoes because when I had tried it on at the NB store a few weeks ago, I could feel the medial post against my arch.  It was uncomfortable, so I've decided to stick with the neutral cushioning shoes.

Running Crazy

The general population looks at marathoners as a crazy bunch to begin with, "why would you pay money to torture yourself?"  Then you have the certifiably insane ones who would email the race director of an upcoming race (in six months) at 2 in the morning inquiring about the race course, and whether there will by any changes to this year's course.  OCD much? However, in my defense, I was being 'proactive'.  Since I really want to qualify for Boston this year, I needed to maximize my chances.  Last year's Tucson race was run on a 'slower' course compared to the 2008 course, according to those who have run both years.  I just wanted to know, if this year is going to be just as slow, then maybe I should instead run CIM, which has consistently been a fast course.  So I emailed the race director, Pam Reed, who surprisingly responded that she's working on getting the 2008 course back, and suggested that there's good chance that it may happen!  Let's hope that it'll happen because this will save us $800 (hotel, airfare, and kennel fees) by not having to run CIM.

Mount Lemmon Marathon

So I was just noseying around on the net, and I came across someone talking about running the Mount Lemmon Marathon.  I thought, "huh, how come I've never heard of it before?"  I've lived here for 4 years, I've heard of the famous El Tour de Tucson, and of course the Tucson marathon, but have never heard anyone talk about the Mount Lemmon Marathon.  That's because 2010 is the inauguration of the Mount Lemmon Marathon.  
If you've ever been to Tucson and have had the opportunity to drive up Mount Lemmon, you'll know how crazy this marathon is.  No, the start line is not at the top, but at the bottom!  The course brings you up 6000ft!  There are no rolling hills, it's all uphill.  Tucson's known for having some of the most hard core outdoors people, but this is INSANE!  Here's their blurb:

The Toughest Road Marathon in the World 

The Only Uphill Marathon in the US

6000 ft Elevation Gain

Paved Course Open for 10 Hours

No Qualifying Necessary

Free Tech IN TRAINING Shirt

Registration Limited to 2500 Runners

Group Discounts and Referral Program

Perfect Running Weather

Guest Celebrity: Bart Yasso

To top it off, the temp is predicted to be in the 80's-90's between miles 5 and 15.  Oh, but no worries, it's DRY HEAT.  Then they don't allow headphones.  Why not? So that you can hear falling rocks and listen for mountain lions and black bears, "although we don't foresee any problems with them."  Really?  I've heard stories of mountain lions tracking cyclists down that mountain.

So if anyone's interested, registration is $85 for either the full or half.  They're basically giving you a discount to torture yourself by running the full.  Here we are all looking for a fast course to BQ, then there are people who are simply sadomasochists!  At least they'll get to meet Bart Yasso.