Endurance Intervals - An Evil Necessity

This was my second week of Intense Endurance Intervals = E-V-I-L. Warm up for 1 mile, run hard for 1.5 miles, jog back to the start, run hard for 1.5 miles, jog back to the start and finish up the mileage for the day. Let me tell ya, they suck. I did better this week than last week, as I had more control over my speed; that is, I ran slower this time 'round. This week and last week, it was 5 miles with two intervals. Next week we up the ante to 7 miles and three intervals.

I don't like speed work, but Coach has assured me the payoff of doing these will be well worth the effort. He better be telling me truth . . . I know where he lives . . . .

Cats, Weather, Running

The other day I was thinking it's a little sad Goofy and Wilson don't snuggle with one another like they did when they were young. They will sleep near each other once in awhile, but no longer hang out on the same tier of the cat post like in this picture or curl up with one another on the couch.

Another stunning day here on the ole North Coast. It's nice not dealing with the rain (especially when running), but we need it or we'll have drought conditions this year. Hopefully, we don't get torrents of rain when it decides to come.

Another wonderful weekend of running. I do love to run out at Headwaters. Fourteen peaceful miles, including about six half mile loops at the top. It's beautiful up there in the middle of the old growth redwoods. Saw a couple of people on my way out, but came across the majority of the folks during the last three miles heading back.

The eight miles at the McKay Tract on Sunday were less than ideal. My legs had multiple personalities - sometimes heavy, sometimes just okay, sometimes great, back to heavy. I got the miles done, though, and that's the main thing. I just have to remind myself once in awhile that I'm coming back from a 6-month layoff, which, actually, I think did me a world of good. I'm feeling strong and healthy. But never fear! The days of feeling like total crap will be upon me soon! It's an inevitability when training for ultras. You accept the crap 'cause it makes the good days feel even better. :o)

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes, Knees and Toes . . . .

Saw the ortho yesterday. Conclusion re the knees - stop doing squats and lunges. "They'll ruin your knees, kid. Or at the very least make your uterus fall out." I'm kidding. He didn't say that, but he did say I needed to stop doing squats and lunges.

So I'm on the hunt for exercises that will still develop strength in my upper legs without the added knee stress.

He squashed around on my foot, and although it was achy later in the day, it didn't bother me too much. He figures my foot is about as strong as it's gonna get, but said "possibly" when I asked if the ligament tear made it more susceptible to injury (he's a man of few words), so that's something to look forward to.

And as far as the little toe is concerned, ya just gotta get through the pain (which I already knew). And as bad as it hurts, I'm convinced I broke the little sucker. Ah well! Whatcha gonna do, amputate?

Ringing in 2012

Well, I can't say I'm sad about seeing 2011 leave us. Good riddance to a bad year! Okay, maybe not all bad, 'cause even in the darkness there were rays of sunshine, and those rays continue to get brighter and brighter. And while I learned many valuable lessons in 2011, let's just say I've had enough lesson-learning for awhile.

The toe is feeling sort of okay. It's better when I tape it to the 4th toe. The bruising has now crept into the top of my foot, which helps explain why the foot was a bit swollen last night.

But I didn't let it stop me as my last run of the year consisted of 12 peaceful miles on the Elk River Trail in the beautiful Headwaters Forest. I love that place. After the first 3 miles, you climb for 2.5 miles, then get to run downhill with wild abandonment if you want to. Usually, I have that whole section to myself, but toward the end of today's downhill festivities, I came upon four walkers who were gracious enough to step aside and let me continue my dance.

I ended the year with 647.6 miles under my belt, which ain't too shabby considering I was out of the game for six months.

So as we leave 2011 behind and take our first tentative steps into 2012, I wish you and yours all the love, happiness, peace, joy, and prosperity you so richly deserve.

And It Keeps Getting Better . . .

As I was walking through my living room this morning (walking with a purpose, I might add, as sauntering is rarely in my vocabulary), I managed to slam/jam my left little toe into our ottoman (yes, the same foot I injured back in March). In the same instance, I heard a cracking sound, although that could very well have been my brain registering what I'd just done. As I instantly fell - okay, slammed - to the floor, grabbed my foot, and yelled "OW! OW! OW!" over and over, I couldn't help but think, "Really? REALLY? Has this really happened?"

Now it's the afternoon, and my toe has swollen quite nicely and is turning a lovely shade of blackish-blue. I can finally walk without limping, but it does protest if I scrunch up my toes. Is it broken or just sprained really bad? Dunno. But I intend to test the waters on my run this evening.

And thus continues the "Fatozzig Journal of Injuries."

Staying Hopeful

Someone suggested I try one of those straps that you place just below the knee. Don't know if it's coincidence, but I've worn it my past three runs with no knee problems. I'm almost afraid to try running without it because the pain I experienced before was so bad. I have an appointment with my ortho for a final foot looksee, so I'll ask him about the knee at the same time.

Other than this knee issue, my body seems to be bouncing back in a halfway decent manner. This past Saturday I did 11 miles out at Headwaters and had a great time! Headwaters is one of my most favorite places to run. The 2.5 mile climb after the 3-mile mark is challenging enough to get your heart pounding, but not so bad that you wonder what the heck you're doing out there, and then coming down those same 2.5 miles - Woo Hoo! Fun stuff! A downhill running delight!

I have decided against trying to get into Chuckanut up in Washington. Originally, I was going to try because I had a ticket through United Airlines that I needed to use before April 28. When I originally had to cancel my travel plans (due to the foot injury), United told me I could not get a refund, but I could use my canceled ticket toward a new flight within a one-year period of the original canceled flight. (Are you following me?) Now they're telling me that because I didn't cancel the original itinerary I can't put that ticket toward a new one, but they'll refund me my money (less a $50 refund fee). I know - What?? None of it makes sense to me, either, but so long as I get my money back, I don't care. So, instead of Chuckanut, I'll probably due a run in the Bay Area through either Pacific Coast Trail Runs or Coastal Trail Runs.

It Just Keeps Coming

On tap for yesterday's workout was 5 miles with 3-4 hill strides in the middle. The legs felt great, and the strides went as best as can be expected at this point. My left knee has felt a tad twingy over the last few days, and unfortunately, last night it decided to do the ultimate twinge and stopped me dead in my tracks around Mile 3.5 and 1.5 miles from home. May I say, OW! Freaking OW! I ended up having to power walk back home, and about .25 miles out, had to resort to sort of a squatting walk with the left leg as it hurt to fully extend the leg. I think it's just inflammation, and I think the culprit is the inserts I put in my shoes to help my low back. They're thicker at the heel, and I'm assuming my body has become so use to the lower, flatter profile of my Inov-8s that the insert has thrown things off. This stinks as using them has made a big difference in my lower back.

The knee is still puttin' on a pretty good hurt today, especially when I first get up from sitting, so I'm doing the ibu and ice thing. I'm going to lay off doing anything (except core and upper body) until at least Saturday. If the knee feels even slightly off come Friday evening, I'll postponed any running until Sunday. I keep telling mysef, "Must Not Be Stupid! Must Not Be Stupid!" It's still early enough in my base-building that not doing any running for even up to a week shouldn't set me back much.