The Black Hole that is an Injury...

Injury.

That horrible little word. It can absolutely crush and destroy the world around an athlete in a matter of years... months... days... hours... or minutes.

I've experienced two types of injuries in my time running.

The first was late in 2009. I originally thought it was a stress fracture in one of my metatarsals (foot bones), but looking back now believe it was some form of tendinitis. Back then I literally quit running for about 6 weeks, and it was completely gone when I started running again.

Jump forward to July/August of 2010 and I experienced a really odd pain in my left gluteus muscle. I was never able to figure out what that was, but again I took about 4-6 weeks off of running completely and it was gone.

Both of these times, I never really did anything to help it heal other than not running. I still cycled to maintain my cardiovascular fitness.

Fast forward now to Wednesday of last week. I did my usual hill repeats in the morning, plus an easy four mile road run before that. Well later that night I started experiencing some very familiar pain in the top of my left foot.

I looked up my training blog from 2009 and sure enough it was the exact same pain I was dealing with then. I of course tried to push it back and shrugged it off as just a weird tendon strain, and then ran another 8 or so road miles the next day at around a 7:30 pace.

It was somewhat painful, but not unbearable. I popped some ibuprofen and went out for another 4 road miles the next day at around a 7:40 pace and it was still there. Of course by this point I started frantically searching the internet for a diagnosis and of course a remedy.

I decided that I'd take Saturday off in hopes that would fix it, then run another 8 miles on Christmas Sunday. I ran 8 miles around a 7:30 pace, but the pain was still there, and possibly a bit worse.

Well, I had the new Timex GPS Run Trainer Watch for Christmas and HAD to test it out on some hilly Austin trails on Monday so I met up with Steven Moore in Austin to run the "Stairway from Hell" and "Emma Long Park".

My foot was hurting, but it wasn't a pain I couldn't run through. I finished 15 tough trail miles, but by the end I knew something was seriously wrong. I couldn't walk totally normal, and the spot on the top of my foot was sensitive not just to running, but to touch as well. The top of my foot was obviously a bit swollen, and the reality was really sinking in.

I'm injured.

All I could think was I'm injured a week away from a back to back road marathon weekend, a week and a half out from the Athens Big Fork Trail Marathon and about 6 weeks out from the Rocky Raccoon 100, which I'd just set a sub 20 hour goal for.

My emotions were varied, but the pure anger, and sadness were the most obvious. I was mad because I am human, I'm not invincible, and my plans can be taken away from me at any moment.

I was sad, because I LOVE racing. I love running through the woods with friends. I love running challenging trails. I just love running in general, and now it was on the verge of being taken away from me yet again by an injury. I hate to say it was devastating, but as an ultra runner I feel most of you will understand.

I did more research and have come to a conclusion. I'm 95% sure that I have Extensor Tendinitis in my left foot.

Now... here we are on Friday. The day before my new years eve marathon and two days before my new years day marathon.

I've stopped running. My last run was the 15 miles on Monday. I have fought with myself over what to do and have decided to NOT run either road marathons this weekend. While this was a hard decision, I'd have to be an idiot* to run two road marathons back to back with an injury. (*more of an idiot than usual)

I've been trying to treat it myself as best I can. I'm currently taking 6 Ibuprofen a day (2 3X a day), icing the top of my foot in the morning and afternoon for 20 minutes each time, and wearing an icy hot patch on the foot when I go to work at night. I work at a desk sitting down for the majority of the night, so I'm not doing much movement. Regardless I've decided to at least see a doctor next Monday just to rule out a stress fracture.

Thankfully, this has really helped so far. I'm unbelievably optimistic, but know that healing over use injuries takes some time, and they don't go away over night.

As for the Athens Big Fork Trail Marathon next weekend, I'm playing that one by ear right now. I'm going to continue treating my foot as I have been, I'm NOT going to run (will cycle an hour a day to help cardio), then I'll try a short run next Thursday or Friday. If the foot feels ok, I'll go ahead and run Athens. That's a race I've been wanting to do for years and I'm doing it if at all possible. Of course after the race I'll ICE, Rest, and Relax as much as possible.

As for Rocky Raccoon, I'm thinking that running a 100 in a month or so would be pretty stupid, but I'm not going to totally rule it out. I don't want to jeopardize the rest of my season. After Athens (if I run it) next weekend I'll make a call. I have till that Saturday to pull out of Rocky, so I'll have to make a decision that day after running Athens. If Athens goes OK, I'll stay in Rocky and run it on minimal training. If Athens shows ANY sign of pain, I'll pull out of Rocky and volunteer at the DamNation aid station with NTTR and Lynn Ballard.

Why am I telling you guys all of this? Maybe because I want you to feel sorry for me?

HELL NO!

:) I want you to appreciate each step you run. Each time something like this happens, it's just a reminder that none of us will be able to run forever.

Whatever you do, be smart in running, be smart in your training, and don't take injuries lightly. If you think something is wrong, it most likely is.

As always, I plan on coming out of this better than I came in.

But for now, I've gotta stay away from that black hole....

-Jacob

Strength Training & Ultra Running

If you think the two have nothing in common you my friend are a fool!

Don't worry though... I once too was a fool.

When I started running six or so years ago I did absolutely zero strength or core training. All I did was swim, cycle, and run. It was cardio, cardio, and some more cardio for me. Then again, I was still around 200 pounds and just trying to shed the weight.

In 2009 I did my first ultra and believe or not, quickly realized that staying upright for 5 or so hours required a lot more strength than I had originally thought.

Fast forward to the summer of 2011 and I'm running around 10 ultras a year. This summer as I was training for my first 100, I decided to really focus on and stick to some kind of core/strength training regimen.

While I'm definitely not a professional of any sorts I do have a BA in Kinesiology and 6 years of intense exercise experience. I'm not going to sit here and list out my accomplishments, but I do want you (as an athlete) to seriously think about what I'm saying.

Something I remember very vividly from my second ultra (the Where's Waldo 100K), was that after 4-5 hours my back was starting to get more and more uncomfortable. Again, this was my first ultra that had any significant climbing, often an hour or so plus at a time.  When I climb I tend to hunch over just a bit and I get a bit of a lean. The more I climbed the more my back seemed to bother me.

It took me another 20 or so ultras, but I finally realized that my core strength was FAR more important during ultras than it is during triathlons/marathons. (Even though core strength DOES have it's place in marathons!)

So, back to my training this summer, I knew that I did not want any back discomfort (or at least keep it to a minimum) during the AT100. Four times a week I started doing around 6-7 minutes worth of basic crunches (on an incline bench w/ a 10lb medicine ball) and push ups.

I was only doing around 30 push ups, and probably no more than ~120 push ups a week. While this probably doesn't seem like much to most, by the time I finished my first 100 I realized it was plenty! I had no back discomfort and my hike-a-climb skill was vastly increased. (just ask my pacer!)

The point is that we as ultra runners just cannot afford to completely avoid this topic. While you can definitely fake your way through a 50 (like I managed to do at Zane Grey AND Jemez... not sure how),  I can only imagine how difficult a 100 would be without any specific strength training. I feel like I gained SO much fitness with just a few minutes of exercise four times a week. That's too hard to pass up.

What brought this on tonight (very spontaneous blog post) was a new workout I have implemented. A few weeks ago when on Google+ I saw a post about a 100 push up training program. At first this caught my eye, but that was about it. I later ventured back to the post and checked it out. Again, I read through it, but dismissed it as something I couldn't do.

Of course after going back to it a few times, I finally decided I'd try the program. It's a 6 week program with three workouts a week, ending with 100 straight push ups. I am now on week 5 and let me tell you. I am SO much stronger. I'm up to workouts that involve 160 push ups in 5 sets. I haven't tried to max out yet, but I'm getting more and more confident in my ability to push out 100 straight. I of course will keep everyone updated!

What used to concern me, was that as I runner, I never wanted to get "big". I never needed or wanted to be "muscly". The only muscles I figured I needed were in my legs, not to mention I was really concerned that as soon as I did any weight lifting I would "swell up".

What I have realized over the past few weeks is that I was completely wrong. Since I do 10+ hours of cardio a week, 10-12 minutes worth of push ups three times a week is NOT going to make me "huge", "swole", or "muscly". Toned... maybe... stronger? Definitely.

So let me challenge those of you that do little to no core/strength training. After your runs, three of four times a week, try 5 or so minutes of some kind of core/strength training. Buy a medicine ball and see what you can come up with. Heck, you can even try that 100 push up plan.

Whatever you do, don't underestimate the strength one needs to stay on your feet for 20+ hours.

I leave you with splendor. A song I've been pretty addicted to by M83.

-Jacob

Off subject: People Flying.

I came across this video trailer the other day on Facebook. 

I've watched it a few times now and wanted to share it with all of you. 

This is just pure awesome.

 

-Jacob

The end of 2011 is upon us...

Man, as I say towards the end of every year, where did the year go?!

I guess my "season" as some may call it has been officially over since the Wild Hare 50K two weeks ago, even though I don't really agree with "running season". I feel every season is good for running!

With the end of the year coming I've tapered the volume back to around 40 miles a week with no real focus. Each day I just wake up and run what I feel like running, on whatever terrain I want, whether that be roads or trails.

If you look at my schedule you'll see I do have a few races on the way. On New Years weekend I'm running the New Years Double Marathon. New Years Eve I'll run a marathon (pacing my friend Brian to a sub 3:30 whether he wants to or not), then New Years Day another marathon, hopefully under four hours.

These marathons are purely training runs for the Rocky Racoon 100 that's either Feb 4th or 5th. The plan for rocky is to AT LEAST go sub 24, and hopefully keep it under 22 hours. I'd say an exceptional day would be sub 21, and a perfect day would be sub 20. At some point in my ultra running career, I'd like to break 20 in a hundred, and I'm sure lucky to have a course like Rocky in my backyard to do so.

Since RR100 is such an early year 100, I'm going to keep the training as minimal as possible and try to prevent any burnout at all. I'll hover around 50 miles a week in building up to the New Years weekend marathons, then log two big weeks, before a two week taper into Rocky.

Part of those two big weeks after new years will be the Athens Big Fork Trail Marathon. This is a race I've been eyeing since I first heard about it. To say I'm excited to run this would be a HUGE understatement! It's supposed to be on one of the most rugged and difficult trails in Arkansas. I can only hope this is true.

A friend and I have been trading ideas about getting some good training in on the Ouachita Trail up in Oklahoma/Arkansas, but due to time restraints next week, we're only gonna have one day of running, so we're gonna head up to Big Fork and run the Athens Big Fork Trail. I figure this will be a good chance to preview the trail and get me ready for the marathon. We're gonna drive up Saturday and camp out, which is always a blast! If you're interested in tagging along shoot me an email and I'll share the details :)

I've also registered for the Leona Divide 50 near L.A. on April 28th. I'm excited to give this one a go, and cross California off my 50 states list. (should be number 12 or 13)

Unfortunately the weather in the Dallas area has turned to complete crap in the past week. We're looking at highs around 48-52 all week with lows around 29-30. Thank goodness there's no chance of rain. Yesterday it was in the 40s and raining so I hopped on the treadmill for the first time since our honeymoon, when we were in the middle of the ocean. All I can say is, if you were trying to torture me, the fastest way to get me to talk would be to stick me on a treadmill at an 7:30 pace. Death by treadmill... how horrible.

A friend put the "crappy" Texas weather in perspective when he said, "Hardrock doesn't have many triple digit weather days". I guess if I ever plan on running HR, I better suck it up and learn to run in the cold windy weather. Cause lord knows it's gonna be cold and windy at the top of Handies.

Lastly, congrats to everyone that got into Hardrock for 2012 and to everyone who raced The North Face 50 this weekend. What an incredible field they have every year. Some crazy times out there for sure.

I leave you with an old favorite of mine. Neon Sky by Vector Lovers. As usual, it would be a good idea to listen to it with headphones, or you won't be able to fully appreciate :) I'm still working on my "Tough Mudder" and "Hot Yoga" post... be ready. It's gonna be great.

-Jacob

2011 Wild Hare 50K Race Report

Oh Wild Hare how I love you.

This race didn't really get put on the schedule till pretty late in the year, and I was originally planning on the 50M, but the guy I was riding down with decided he was going to do the 50K, so in for the 50K I was as well.

Earlier this year I set a new 50K PR of around 4:35 with very little specific training and not really meaning to set a new PR.

For the Wild Hare the goal was at least a new PR, a sub 4:20 race or a top three finish. If you're interested in reading specifically about my goals you can read my post last week HERE.

In short, I got all my goals on Saturday, something I honestly didn't expect would happen. I thought that a sub 4:20 50K was a bit ambitious for me especially on trails, but alas, I surprised myself.

I finished in 4:14:21, 3rd Overall.

If you're interested in reading the specifics read on.

If you're reading this in hopes of getting a details course description, etc. this is gonna be the wrong report. CLICK HERE to read my 50M race report from last year which has A LOT more detail.

I'm gonna try to keep this short, but we all know that's unlikely.

The Wild Hare 50K

This years pre race went almost exactly like last years. My friend Ben (who ended up running the 25K) picked me up in Plano and we headed straight down 35, off to 77, down to Warda. 

We arrived in just enough time that I could set my tent up in the little bit of daylight that was left. We grabbed our packets from Joe, then headed back to Giddings to have our Subway sandwhiches. 

Once back to the camp site I couldn't help but head back up to the house to chat ultra stories with Joe and the others. Joe's the only person I've ever met face to face that's done Barkley, so I finally got the nerve to ask him about it :)

Headed back to the tent and slept great. Had a lot of weird dreams about not waking up in time for the race but that was it. 

Race Morning

The alarm went off just before 6AM. I then heard the 50M start at 6. I stuck my head outside the tent and realized it was quite a bit warmer than I expected, so I opted to wear just my singlet and shorts. No gloves, arm warmers, or beanie. 

Gotta love Texas weather!

I headed up to the race start in plenty of time to take my ritual duece and proceeded to the start line which had been moved down to the entrance to the barn. 

Lap 1

Joe shouted go and we were quickly off. The course this year for the 50K was a 1 mile warm up loop followed by 4 7.5 mile loops, only slightly different than previous years. 

My goal was to jump near the front by someone went off a bit harder than I was comfortable with. Looked like the others were ok with him running off too. We finished the warm mile and of course I forgot to hit my split on the watch. 

The first few people were running a bit faster than I was comfortable for 50K so I dropped back into 5th place. I looked behind me and there wasn't anyone for quite a ways. Looked like my competition was right here with me. 

I don't use a GPS or anything fancy like... just my perceived exertion level. I felt like I was running somewhere around an 8/min mile and sure enough I finished the first loop pretty comfortably in 1:08:17 which was an 8:02 avg. 

I tried something slightly different for nutrition because I didn't want anything solid for such a short race, just gels. I decided to take one gel every 25 minutes and 1 S-Cap every 30 minutes. This ended up working well and I was never short on energy. 

Lap 2

After crossing the timing mat, I refilled my water bottle and immediately headed back out wasting NO time! 

I passed someone while they were re-fueling and I took advantage of this to open up some space. Here, someone caught up with me when we entered the wooded twisty single track section and he ran right behind me. 

The 25K had started just minutes before we started out second loop, so we spent the first 3 miles of this loop flying through 25Kers. It was a bit annoying, but also kept us moving fast and not slowing. 

I let the guy pass me towards the end of this section and caught up with him at the ~3.5 mile aid station.  We ran it out together and maintained a steady pace. It felt very similar to lap 1s perceived level. Towards the back side of this lap he started to fade and told me to go on. (I later found out that this was his first 50K! Congrats to him on finishing)

When I left him behind I tried to maintain the quick pace we were running. I still couldn't see anyone in the 50K in front of me, but was hoping I'd catch someone. I finished this lap in 4th place and in a time of 1:00:31 for that lap which ended up being an 8:04 pace. 

Lap 3

I again refilled my one water bottle and headed out as quick as possible. Spending no more than 5-10 seconds refilling. 

As soon as I pulled out of the aid station I could see 3rd place just running ahead! Awesome. I quickly caught him and when I did I picked up the pace just a bit to make sure I left him behind. 

Once I made it back to the wooded single track section I looked back and he was gone. 

On this third lap I started to feel the pace in my legs and knew this was gonna hurt pretty good by the end. I saw sweating like a mad man since it had warmed up pretty good. (By no means was it hot, but reasonably warmer than it has been the past few weeks)

During this section I started thinking I should try to run this lap as close as I can to the last two laps so I'd have plenty in the bank by the fourth and final lap. 

There were plenty of times during this lap that I wanted to walk, and most definitely would have in the past, but recently I have really gained confidence and mental toughness in my ability to keep running when I don't want to. 

I kept thinking about the NYC Marathon two weeks ago, and my first 100 miler back in October, and how the 100 miler hurt so much more. How if I could run a 100 in 21:26, I can deal with this pain for another 2 hours or so. 

I finished my 3rd lap in 1:01:53 (only 1:22 slower than my previous lap) and at an average pace of 8:15/mile. 

Lap 4

Lap 4 started just like the others. I refilled my water and headed out. At this point I started doing some math and realized I could run around a 1:10 lap and still break my goal of a sub 4:20 race. I knew the odds were good, but was still a bit nervous that the wheels could come off at any minute. 

I got a bit of a second wind after leaving the start area, but that quickly faded when I got to the twisty wooded section which I just despise. 

I knew that if I could just finish this section I'd be able to hopefully push the pace into the last 3 or 4 miles. The motivation I was getting from the BOP 25Kers/50Kers was really nice, and much appreciated. 

I knew I was still running a fine line between going too hard, but I was ready to risk it. I was well on my way to a 20 minute PR. 

When I got close to the ~3.5 mile aid station I could see the 2nd place girl running out. She still looked like she was running a 5K, and I knew it would be a test to catch her. I mentally decided to keep running my race and not actively try to catch her. I just didn't have it in me at that moment...

Once through the aid station I knew a sub 4:20 was pretty much in the bank and I was now running for a new PR, and possibly 2nd place. 

I kept getting glances of the girl in front of me, but it didn't look like I was gaining all that much. Finally I came to the end of the big field section on the back side and was almost to the suspension bridge. I looked to my left and I could see the girl hiking up the climb. 

I don't know why, but I didn't want to sneak up on her, so I let her know I was coming. I think I said something along the lines of, "Go Girl!"

At this point she sees me and gets it.

I knew it was on. 

I ran up the bridge and power hiked the climb. Once to the top I started pushing deep for my final chance to catch her. I kept looking ahead but didn't see her. With probably 3/4 mile to go, I pass a guy and he says, "She's just ahead! You got her!"

This gave me a bit of motivation so I dug even deeper. If I didn't catch her at this pace, more power to her!!

I was running about as quick as I could go, then out of nowhere I was face down in the dirt.

Ugh. My foot caught a root and my calf had totally seized up. I quickly un-seized it, and got back to running, but that was it. 

I'd just run 30.5 miles without falling once and of course it would happen with less than a quarter mile to go. 

When I made the final turn I could see the finish line and she was already through it. I crossed the line in 4:14:21, in 3rd place, and set a new PR by 21 minutes. 

She had beaten me by 31 seconds. Mass kudos to her for running a heck of a race. My last lap was in 1:03:37 at an average pace of 8:28/mile. My slowest lap by about 1:40, but I couldn't be much happier. I pushed the pace early and pushed the pace late. I did what I could and ran the best race I could that day. 

I congratulated her on the win and found out from Joe that he was going three deep for overall! Of course he has the best hardware ever. I ended up with some yard art! A handmade armadillo on a stick!

Thanks to Joe, his wife Joyce, and Tejas Trails for another fantastic race. Somehow, they know how to keep that low key feel even when their races grow. This race will stay on my list for some time to come. 

Over the year I have started to learn something about myself and ultra running. When I first started ultra running I wasn't very good at dealing with the pain that running such long distance will bring. 

I have recently started to become much better at dealing with the pain. At the 50K, there were plenty of times I wanted to walk, and could have walked, but I didn't. I knew what it would take to get that new PR and maintain my 3rd place OA. 

This was a great way for me to "finish" my running season and start the thanksgiving holiday. 

This week, I am thankful for my ability to run. I am thankful for my wife, family, and friends. But above all, I'm thankful for the God that has given it all to me. Because lord knows... I'm not worthy. 

-Jacob