Long Lost Brother

Hit up the treadmill and was able to go 45 minutes with zero pain. The trail is a different story as the treadmill is a bit easier on the quad. Off to Doctor Smith's.

This last Fall I headed up to San Francisco to support the Nike Women's Marathon. I also took the opportunity to visit my long lost brother Riley. Riley is the one who Mom and Dad kept in the basement. Something wasn't quite right with Riley. He had a penchant for chewing on crayons and making sculptures out of laundry detergent.

There's hope for everyone. Riley is now a successful attorney in Marin.

Log 9

Saturday (2-21-09) - 7 miles with the Team. Felt pain about a mile from finishing.
Sunday (2-2209) - Resting quad

Monday (2-23-09) - Headed out to attempt 12 early this morning, but no dice.
Parked my car at Lot K and did loops around the Rose Bowl just in case pain hit. I could amble back to the car if that was to be. I made eight miles before I felt significant pain. It came on sharp and sudden. I knew it was time to stop. I limped back to my car.

Doctor Smith later this afternoon for treatment. Can't fight the body. I'm in limbo at the moment wondering what to do. If I knew what the 50 was all about I'd have a better idea. Tomorrow I will head to the gym and do something that doesn't aggravate my VM. I'll return to the good doctor as well. Things will work out.

VM Feeling Better!

In the grand scheme of things a silly little injury is no big deal, but when you have your mind set on something it can really shake things up and has the potential to bring one down.... if you let it.

Thanks for the kind words.

A week of ultra sound, electro stimulation and care of the office of Doc Smith and my VM (vastus medialis) is feeling pretty darn good! Doc Smith and his staff have been very friendly and given solid care. When I say care, I mean care. There's genuine "wanting to help" there.

Here's a quick recap of my training week:

Monday - Electro stim / ultrasound / deep tissue massage of injured area @ Smith
Chiropractic. Lots of ice and moist heat

Tuesday - 20 minute treadmill then discomfort. Moved to bike. core work.
Electro stim / ultrasound / @ Smith Chiropractic.

Wednesday - 1:30 Aqua Jog / Rose Bowl Aquatic Center (Suprisingly good workout /
felt worked and very relaxed after) Electro stim / ultrasound / @
Smith Chiropractic.

Thursday - 35 min treadmill. gradual speed increase. no pain. Electro stim /Heat /
ultrasound / @ Smith Chiropractic.

Planning on giving it a go this weekend, but will listen to my body. Feeling good. Rest tomorrow and continued treatment.

In honor of the VM (Vastus Medialis) here's one of my all time favorite artists VM (Van Morrison)



Happy Trails

And the verdict is.......

Strained vastus medialis!



I went to Doctor Smith today where I discovered that I pulled/strained my vastus medialis. The VM is located along the inned quadriceps. This isn't an overuse injury, but a freak tweak. I think it happened around mile 7 heading downhill from Gould Mesa Camground to Elmer Smith Bridge. Doctor Smith mentioned that it could take 2-3 weeks to completly heal. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but my gut says it will be sooner.

Lying on my back getting electro stimulation on my quad I wondered how this will play our for my April 18th 50 miler. I'm entering the meat and potatoes of my training and I can't afford to miss much more training.

The best choice right now is to focus on what I can do. Tomorrow, I'll hit the gym. If the leg feels up to it I'll use the treadmill. If that isn't in the cards I'll hop on the elliptical and also use the bike (as long as that doesn't aggravate the strain). I'll also do some resistance and core training.

Currently sitting here with an ice pack on my leg. A few more minutes then 20 minutes of moist heat as suggested by Smith. In an hour, I'll repeat.

Tomorrow it's back to work and another round of treatment at Doc Smiths. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Log 8

A bit of frustraion mixed in with a change of mind.

Walking the mile back to my car today I decided to give myself that time to be pissed. I'd give myself that moment then move on.

A tweaked quad allowed myself to curse all the sweaty runners who pounded the asphalt as I walked back.

Now, it's about healing and patience..... And electro stim,.

Mile seven of yesterdays 13 mellow run brought about a tight, strange, shooting sensation on my right leg. Knee, quad, hamstring? It feels like a pinched nerve. I was angry. I wasn't pushing it yesteray.

I went home and gently massaged and iced.

Today the schedule called for 18. The leg said no after a mile and a half.

I was hoping a warm up, good stretch, and positive thinking would cover it.

I went home and iced again. It smells like a geriatric ward in here. FLEXALL!!

I'll ice upon waking.

Listen to the body. I'll call Doc Smith in the morning and hopefully get some electro stim. and positive vibes.

On the Mend

Had a good run of 5 after work. Beautiful day, breezy and cold. I felt groggy all day and assume it was the post sickness crud, but was surprised to feel good and strong during the run. I don't know if the malaise was from the bug or if it was from a lack of training. Time for some green tea, a hot shower and a good night's rest.

This weekend will be interesting. Rain projected and lots of mileage.

Photos from last Saturday's snowshoethebear 10K. I came in 5th out of 30 mushers with a time of 1hr 30 minutes. The winner clocked in at 1:13:29. I'm pleased considering this was my first race of this type.

Near the start



Near the finish



Finish

PATIENCE Part Two

Under the weather again! This last weekend I spread myself too thin. I didn't get enough quality sleep. The importance of proper rest in training for one of these endurance events is now appreciated!

I'm on that cusp of feeling good with some residual crud still hanging in my chest. I'll take one more day (today) off and plan on hitting the trails tomorrow. This weekend's mileage is long and I want to be in top shape for it. I remind myself that this one run today is not too important in the grand scheme of this training program. Better safe than sorry I guess, but it's a hard pill to swallow.

With a lack of mileage to report here's a video I put together featuring some of my training ground





REMIX

Log #7

Tough weekend of training and I didn't even run too much. A friend's wedding dinner, coaching the team at a training race, and a foray into snowshoeing made running my schedueled weekend mileage tough. Pretty tired now mainly from running around going here to there. I'm taking Sunday off as well as Monday. I'm feeling a bit run down and don't need to push it. I'm learning.

I've switched this weekend's longer runs with next weekend's step back mileage. All's good as it fits in my training program of build, build, ease back. I'll have to pay the piper and build for three weeks starting next Saturday. I'll deal with that when it comes and make sure to get plenty of rest during that period.

T- 7 Miles
W- 5 Miles
R- 5 Miles (treadmill - couldn't find my thin water/windproof shell so I gutted out 5 miles on the treadmill. Rain and I wasn't in the mood to get soaked).

Saturday - Snowshoe the Bear 10K. Big Bear,CA I had a blast. Snow flurries in the morning and then it cleared up for the race. I saw an ad in Trail Runner magazine a few months back and thought this event would be fun. Something unique. I wasn't dissapointed.

The last and only other time I've strapped on showshoes was back in 8th Grade. Selected members of our class were allowed the opportunity to partake in the Yosemite Institute. Among other things, The Yosemite Institute provides outdoor science education for school groups. I remember that trip fondly. We spent a week at Yosemite during February. Half of the time we stayed at a camp above snow level while the other half of the time was spent on the Valley Floor. The three days in the snow were comprised of x-country skiing, igloo building, kitchen kp, environmental science, a safer version of the jack knife flipping game called mumbly peg and snowshoeing.

The snowshoes I used on Saturday were a far cry from the wooden tennis rackets used in Yosemite. These were light, streamlined and fit for running. The race field was small as I imagine the weather kept many lowlanders off the mountain. The gun for the 10K sounded and of we went........UP! I tried running a bit, however the uphill climb and newness of the shoes made power shoeing a better option. The course wound it's way up a ridge via a somewhat narrow fire road. Once at the top of the ridge things flattened out and I was able to try my hand (or should I say legs) at some snowshoe running. It was much easier than I expected. I found it easier to limit the leg lift as much as possible and use the snowshoes to glide a bit on landing. I think I was gliding a bit at least.

My cardio felt fine even with the altitude. The legs on the other hand are definitely taxed more with the added weight and snow conditions. My hip flexors are especially feeling it today.

After the ridgetop loop it was a downhill and some flats back to the finish. By this point the trail was now somewhat packed which made for a bit harder landing. I took this opportunity to seek out some powder on the side. The powder softened the downhill pounding and allowed for more glide. Really though, it was simply fun.

Towards the end I was feeling good and getting stronger. I passed a half dozen people on my way back to the finish. I thought I would cruise into the finish, however a guy in front of me was getting competetive and not letting me pass. Once I found an opening I moved to the left and kicked past him. I wasn't looking to race someone to the finish, but the guy started it.

After the race our small crew slipped into dry clothes and grabbed lunch. As we dined on lamb masala, naan, lentils the snow began to fall again. Beautiful day in Big Bear. It would have been nice to be able to slow down and stay the weekend but alas, other things to do.

Good News.

above: Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Girl and Boy of The Year 2009. Kelly and Tyler.


Today I heard that our youngest honored TEAMMATE Tyler is cancer free. This brave young guy has been through the mill with cancer; a mill most never experience in a lifetime let alone seven short years. Originally he battled and fought through a form of Leukemia. A few short months ago he was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma. His latest tests came back and he is cancer free!

For a seven year old Tyler seems wise beyond his years. He's been able to turn a negative into a positive. Maybe that's the resilience and optimism of being very young? Much of that credit I assume goes to his parents and family who talk to the boy give him comfort, reassurance and love.

It's been a roller coaster ride for Tyler and his family. Tyler will continue treatment for some time in hopes that he obtains full remission. Keep your fingers crossed and think good thoughts. For such a short life it's been a long journey. It's time to close the cancer chapter of Tyler's life. He's had enough. Let him and his family move on.

Below: Tyler at Pauley. UCLA vs Cal. He had a blast and told his father, "I was very pleased with UCLA's defense tonight."

Log #6

This week's training:

Weekend training went well. Saturday I covered 15 miles while coaching with Team in Training. There was a lot of stopping, doubling back and some walking. While coaching made it tough to just run at a steady pace, I did get quite a bit of time on my feet. That's good. My legs felt heavy on Saturday.

I had originally planned on heading to the LD50 course on Sunday, but decided at the last minute to wait another week or two. I need to pick up a hydration pack. I'm not familiar with the course and potential water stops so I'll need to carry my own. Instead, I hit the Rose Bowl trails again. Mentally this run was tough for some reason. Tried a bunch of tricks like staring at bushes in the distance / meditating, making it a point to say hello to whoever I passed, giving myself positive affirmations, berating myself......

Being tough on myself actually helped. "Don't be a ___________ . It's just a little hill."

I also experimented with eating solids during the run. Normally I'll just take gels or blocks, but 50 miles will require solids. Peanut butter Power Bars worked well. In the future I'll try some other food. Boiled, salted potatoes are an ultra staple.

Finished the run and stretched by my car. Bumped into TNT Alum Suzy C. She recently gave birth and is already back out running. She's training for The Pasadena Marathon.

Icebath.

15 Miles Sunday
15 Miles Saturday

R- 4
W - 5
T - 4

Dear Mother Nature,

While I appreciate the beautiful weather I'm o.k. with a little of the winter variety. How about some cold and rain?

All the best,

Kiley