Thursday, April 17, 2014

Ragnar Packing List

I'm starting to get excited for the Cape Cod Ragnar Relay coming up in around a month on May 9 and 10. I've been doing as much running as I can while balancing recovering my calf so that I can be ready to run my legs. 

The Ragnar Relay is a two-day race. Teams of twelve take turns running legs over the course of the 48 or so hours of the relay. Everyone take three legs and has time off after each leg. I'll be running legs of 5 miles - 5 miles - 3 miles. I'm happy with these distances as they are in my ability but still will prove a challenge. Running 13 miles in a couple of days is no joke. 


Because of the structure of Ragnar, packing is key. I have to plan the clothing I'll be wearing, the food I'll be eating, the toiletries I'll need, and the supplies for sleeping. I want to be able to recover as much as possible between when I run and have comfortable clothing to relax in. At the same time, I need to bring all my running gear and safety supplies. I'll also need to make sure that I am eating the right food to fuel my running and recovery, something that I think will be quite difficult considering I'll be running my legs at around 5:00 a.m., 4:30 p.m., and 1:00 a.m.

I've put together a packing list that I hope helps keep me organized. If you'd like to use the list, here's a version I've posted on Google Drive.

Ragnar Packing List
Item Quantity Notes
Running Clothing
Shorts/Capris 1 (day leg)
Tights 2 (night legs)
Tech T-shirt (short sleeves) 1 (day leg)
Tech T-shirt (long sleeves) 2 (night legs)
Sports Bra 3
Running socks 3
Running Sneakers 1
Hat, gloves, jacket/raincoat 1 (optional)
Compression socks 1 (optional)
Headband 4
Relaxing Clothing
Pajamas 1
Underwear 5
Bra 3
Extra socks 4
Flip flops 1
Yoga pants 1
Jeans 1
T-shirts 2
Fleece/sweatshirt 2
Running Accessories
Headlamp 1 (2 per van)
Reflective Vest 1 (6 per van)
Blinking light 1 2 (per van)
GPS watch 1
Headphones 1
iPhone 1
Water bottle 1
Massage ball 1
Personal Items
License 1
Debit card and $40 cash 1
Cell charger 1
Car charger 1
Sleeping bag 1
Pillow 1
Ear plugs 1
Sleeping mask 1
Hygiene Items
Deodorant 1
Toothbrush, floss, and paste 1
Shower gel, shampoo, conditioner 1
Styling product 1
Chapstick 1
Vaseline / Body Glide 1
Lotion 1
Ibuprofen 2 (doses)
Medicine for indigestion 2 (doses)
Hand sanitizer 1
Towel, washcloth 1
Action Wipes 15
Sun block 1
Van Items
Ragnar Bible 1
Leg maps 1
Team contact information 1
Garbage bags 1
Ziplock bags (large) 6
Paper towels 2 (rolls)
Flashlight 2
Tissues 1 (box)
Food and Beverage
Kind Bars / Larabars 5
Peanut butter 5 (packets)
Whole grain bread 1
GU (with caffeine) 3
Mixed nuts 1 (container)
Jerky 1
Dried Fruit flats 1 (box)

Of course this list is fit to my personal preferences. You might want to bring other food and beverage items. For example, if it's going to be hot when you race (or if you just like it) you might want to bring an electrolyte mix.

Also, I did not include all of the van items that I'm sure we'll need. Again, for example, I'm sure we'll want to bring a cooler to store drinks and food plus items for decoration. This list just indicates the items that I personally want to contribute to the van for the entire group to use.

Fingers crossed that I can get some good training in before May 9 and have a great Ragnar experience!

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Recovery

Lately, I've been trying to focus on recovering right and sorting out the issue with my calf. My left calf has been giving me issues now, on and off, for around six months. Not good. After not being able to train as hard as I've wanted the last month and having to take it easy at the Ron Hebert 8 Miler, I decided it was time for serious action.

I put a call out on Facebook to see if anyone knew about a good person to go to for sports massage in the area. I got a reply from my aerobics teacher and Beachbody coach, Rosalie. I couldn't have gotten feedback from a better person. Rosalie is an RN in addition to being certified for aerobics and many other areas of fitness. (She has many letters after her name, which indicate a great deal of expertise related to fitness and the human body.)

Based on this expertise, I gave a call to Heather at Integrated Therapeutics. I had visited a few massage places' websites before getting Heather's name. Lots of the websites had lots of information about restfulness and moving your body into a place of health. There were a lot of feelings. I have a lot of respect for people who feel this way and respond to this type of treatment; however, I also know myself and know that an emotional approach will not work for me. I want facts. Cold. Hard. Facts. I wanted to go to someone who would say, "This is what you need to do to get better," and lay out a strict set of exercises and rules. I also wanted to go to someone who was an active person, who understood my drive to exercise hard and regularly.

When I called Integrated Therapeutics, I felt good about my choice. I told Heather that my calf was bothering me. "You must be a runner," she said. Excellent. Like her website indicated, she was an active person and knew what I wanted. Integrated Therapeutics worked specifically with athletes and promised an experience that focused on deep tissue massage, active stretching, and trigger point therapy. I had never gone for a massage before, but I thought this was what I needed.

The visit to Integrated Therapeutics was definitely worth while. This was not a relaxing massage experience. My legs and feet were worked over and it was painful at times. We did trigger point and deep tissue on my calves. We did some stretching of the hips, which are always tight. We did some deep tissue massage on the IT band, which felt, surprisingly okay.

I was worried that the issue with my calf might be something serious, however, both Rosalie and Heather said that the pain was just from my calves being overly tight.

After my forty or so minutes on the massage table, I got dressed, and Heather showed me some stretches for the calf and soleus. These stretches would try to address the pain I was having from tightness. I had been doing calf stretches that Rosalie recommended, where I was putting my foot at and angle against the wall and, while standing, lean towards the wall. Heather had me do a stretch where I isolated the soleus. I had to sit with my foot flexed against the wall and lean towards my foot with the opposite arm. As I get more flexible I'm supposed to lift my bottom off the ground using my other leg to support. This will put my foot at an angle and more intensely stretch the calf.

I also got to see some new ways to use the foam roller. Instead or rolling on the roller, which Heather said can cause the muscles to clench in pain instead of release, I am supposed to use the roller for trigger point therapy. I balance myself on the roller, adjust to where I am having pain and let my leg sit there until the pain lessens a bit. I can then move the roller slightly to the next point where I am tight and do the same thing.


I have been stretching and foam rolling daily but with mixed results. I felt better earlier last week right after the massage, but had a terrible run yesterday with a lot of calf pain. I talked with Rosalie more who gave me a pain that she she said is "guaranteed" to fix my problem.

The Plan
1. Take three days off from exercise of any type.

2. Every day do the following exercise on the foam roller. Position the calf on the roller. You will be working the calf in segments from the top down to the bottom. With the roller positioned, have someone (in my case, my husband, Seth) apply pressure on your leg as it rests on the roller. With pressure applied point and flex your toes, circle your ankle side to side in both directions, move your ankle left and right, and flex your toes and then snap them forward. I'm supposed to do all these moves with the roller at each point along my calf (except one shouldn't do the snapping move at the bottom of the calf by the ankle because it's bad for the achilles.) In addition, after the work with the roller, I'm supposed to stretch my calf against the wall while standing for a minute on each side.

I began work on The Plan today. I've decided to take my three days off from exercise on Saturday - Monday of this week/next. Honestly, this is going to be the hardest part. I can't imagine not exercising for three days in a row. But I see Rosalie's point -- I've tried other things and I need to try rest.

I also had Seth help me with the foam roller piece today. I am very very tight and the foam roller work was quite painful. It was surprising how much it hurt. I'm supposed to be able to do the calf stretch with the wall and bend my knee. I can barely do this. When I can get to that point, I'll know I'm getting better.

I have the big Ragnar Relay coming up in just under a month on May 9 and 10. I want to be able to really run without pain by that point, so I am dedicating myself to recovery at this point in my training cycle. Of course, I want to be ramping up my training now, so this is very frustrating. However, I'm really at the point where I can't even do a flat and basic four mile run without having to stop and try to get my calves uncramped. This really isn't ideal. I love to run, but it's gotten to be something I am not enjoying because of the discomfort every time I got out. I hope that by really focusing on recovery, stretching, and massaging my muscles, I can get back to 100%.

I want to resume hard training. I was loving doing my tempo runs, intervals, hill repeats, and long runs earlier this winter. I have the rest of the SMAC race series through the summer and fall and hope that I am able to sort out my calf issues so that I can train to race my best. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and planning to work hard. Wish me luck!

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Ron Hebert 8 Miler

The Sugarloaf Mount Athletic Club, my local running club, kicked off their 2014 race series today with the 8 mile Ron Rebert Race

One of the thing I've been most excited about since joining SMAC was the 14 great races that made up the race series. When Ron Hebert's race was announced, I signed up right away. I took training seriously and planned three quality runs a week: one with hills, one tempo run, and one long run. 

Last fall and into the early winter, I had had a bothersome calf injury that I got during a race in November. I kept running on it, and didn't let it heal properly,and it became a long-term bother. However, in January and February, after the holidays, I got serious about strengthening my calf so that I could do some more intensive workouts. Things were going great. I was doing hill repeats, which was making the calf feel stronger. I was doing 9:40/mile tempo runs. I in general run a 10:00/mile, and felt like I was getting faster and better on hills -- I was getting excited for kill it at the Ron Hebert 8 Miler. 

Then in mid-March, while doing a particularly strenuous set of hill repeats, I felt a sharp twinge in my left calf. I ignored it and finished the workout. Bad move. I had re-injured my calf. However, that weekend, I was feeling a bit better. I did a flat 8 miler. This proved more of a mistake because after that run, the calf felt much work.

Knowing that Ron Hebert is a hilly race and that hills bothered my injured calf the most, I took some easy weeks. I kept running three times a week but did flat 10:00/miles mostly on the treadmill. I did a couple of flat long runs at around 7 miles, which felt okay. The week before the race I had hoped to do a slightly hilly run outside. Tackling some hills felt bad. This time I was smart. I cut my planned 7 mile run to 5 miles, took some walk breaks, and just got myself home. During the week before the Ron Hebert race, I did some super resting only doing one more run and otherwise doing non-impact cardio. I also consulted with my aerobics instructor, who is also an RN. Based on her recommendations, I did calf stretches twice a day, holding each stretch for a minute, which is way more than I normally would have. I also did extensive work with my foam roller and massage ball (or as I like to call it the ball-o'pain).

I also adjusted my expectoration regarding the race. Knowing the the Ron Hebert race was challenging with 200 feet of elevation gain in the first half and then continued rolling hills, I had been hoping for a finish of 1:20, meaning I'd run consistently 10:00/mile even on hills. The hill training I was doing was in preparation for that goal. However, my new goal was different: finish the race and don't get hurt! 

I had the second SMAC race planned for the end of April and, most importantly, the Ragnar Relay planned for the second weekend in May during which I will be running three legs during a 48 hour period. The legs are 5-5-3 miles and flat, but I need to be in good shape for that since my legs will get tired. 

I decided to make the following plan for the Ron Hebert race with all these things in mind:
  1. Do run walk intervals if I noticed any pain. I chose 4:1 run to walk intervals like I did for my first half marathon. This would help take the stress off my legs.
  2. Walk hills as needed!
Sure I wanted to run the race fast; but more importantly, I wanted to stay safe. Whatever time I got would be fine. 

With all this in mind, I woke up on Sunday morning ready for the run. I was a little nervous because I knew I was likely under trained and overly enthusiastic. I hoped I could keep to my plan and finish the race without pain. 

Fortunately, it was a lovely day for a race. The weather was clear and sunny if a bit cool with a light breeze and temperatures in the lower 40s. Still, I knew the temperature would climb over the course of the race, and I would be fine. I tend towards being chilly, so I wore a long sleeved tech shirt, running tights, and a hat. People at the race were dressed anywhere from something similar to what I had on to just shorts and a t-shirt. It all depended on how they felt about running in the 40s. I found my outfit to be perfect for me. 

The race started at the JFK Middle School in Florence/Northampton. I arrived around 20 minutes before the race start. The race was a small one, and I was pre-registered, so I didn't see getting there very early. This was also the first race I had gone to by myself. Seth was traveling for work and in Anaheim. Again, fortunately, my couple-friends, Maddy and Dave, would be at the race. Maddy was volunteering and Dave, a fellow SMAC member and most excellent runner, would be racing. Maddy also took some awesome pictures, which are included in those posted on this blog -- thanks, Maddy!



After getting to the school, I easily found convenient parking and wondered over to the far side of the school for check-in, which was taking place in the cafeteria. There I met up with Maddy and Dave, took a quick bathroom trip (small race = no lines = awesome!), and then headed out to drop off my hoodie in the car before the race. I had also brought a water bottle to run with but decided to leave that in the car too deciding they would definitely have water on the course and with the day being cool I wouldn't get too thirsty. They had water at miles 2, 4, and 6, so this worked perfectly. 

I then joined everyone, as we lined up along the road in front of the school to start. Ron Hebert himself made some brief announcements. It was pretty exciting to receive a send-off from the man who the race is named for. I had eaten brunch with Ron at the SMAC kick-off back in January, and was pleased to see him again -- he seems like such a cool guy!



And we were off! We started by heading down the street towards Look Park and along route 9. For the first mile or so there weren't any huge hills. I started off kind of fast at 9:30/mile and tried very hard to make myself go slower after noticing my pace about a half mile in. I was thinking I would do my run segments at maybe a minute and a half slower than that, and wanted to remind myself of my goal to stay safe.

As we finished mile one, still running along busy route 9, we encountered the first hill of the course and the most major one. I'm listing the route and elevation chart from my GPS below. (Note: My GPS dropped out at mile 6.21 and didn't come back until the very end of the route, so the last bit of the route that is all in red is inaccurate.) Looking at the GPS information, you can see the first hill in blue fairly clearly. I'm also including, below, the course information linked to from the SMAC website, which I feel is more accurate.




The first and biggest hill was actually well placed. It was far enough into the run that I was warmed up but not so far that I was hugely tired. I was feeling good and had not taken any walk breaks yet. I decided to run up as much of the hill as I could still remembering that I had about three more miles of uphill running, at various grades, to do until there was any downhill. I tackled the hill at a very moderate pace, having finally settled into my target pace of around 10:40/mile - 11:00/mile. I had my breathing under good control. That's the funny thing I had noticed about having an injury -- you feel like you can go faster but your legs say no. My cardio was still great. I had done a lot of hill training and my lungs and heart remembered it. About 3/4 of the way up the hill my calf started cramping at a level that I deemed enough to want to lay-off. I took a walk break. 

This walk break did not help as much as I would have liked. I decided that the continuous running would likely be too much for my body, so I set myself up for doing some interval. I would run for 4 minutes and then walk for 1 minute, just like I had planned. 

After tackling the largest hill of the race, we crossed from Florence into Williamsburg. Here, the course continued to slope up but at a more gentle grade. My calf started to recover with help from the run/walk method. At this point, I also crossed paths with an awesome runner who was wearing a pink fur trimmed sash -- it was her birthday! I excitedly wished her happy birthday and told her it was my husband's birthday as well. This nice conversation lifted my mood and kept me going as we gradually continued our uphill run. 

I reached the 5K mark. I was three miles in and feeling fine; my calf has stopped acting up as much and was a dull ache, which I deemed "okay" from past experience. At this point, the course took a right turn and brought us through a more rural residential area. I was happy to leave busy route 9. Here, and throughout the course, the runners were spread thinly in the back of the pack where I was. My two main companions were "birthday lady" and "green t-shirt lady", I woman who had been run/walking just like me. It was nice to have people around, even if it was just a couple. 

The hilly course continued through the more rural and residential areas. My feet, unaccustomed to road running after a winter spent inside on the treadmill due to the Polar Vortex, where fairly displeased and had a pins and needles feeling (like being "asleep") from the pounding on the less forgiving asphalt. Still I kept on it. I was running slowly, taking my intervals for walking, and just trying to enjoy the nice weather and some time outside. 

My mind was busy though, thinking, "I wish I could go faster. I wish I wasn't so slow. I want to do better." I was a bit discouraged at this point. I was going slowly and I know it. When I meet other runners who aren't as fast, I always think that they are great. After all, someone who is slow has to run for way longer to complete the same distance as someone who is faster and spending all the time on your feet isn't easy. Unfortunately, even though I know that someone who runs a 5K in 25:00 and someone who runs it in 30:00 are both going the say distance and working hard, I always feel ashamed for being slow. I knew I had to go slow today, but still it made me feel discouraged and down on myself. I knew I really need to go at the pace I was going, but my mind was telling my body that it wasn't good enough. I had to turn my thinking around. 

Soon thereafter, I hit mile 4. I only had four miles to go and the hilliest miles were behind me. I also had the opportunity to get some water and take a GU. The encouragement of the man at the water station and the break to take the GU helped me to re-evaluate my thinking and re-focus. I tackled a small hill after the four mile mark feeling better. I was going to do this!

My positive thinking was rewarded. Finally some sections of downhill running. I absolutely adore running downhill. I know some runners don't like it because of the pounding on the quads, but downhill running is where someone as small as I am has an advantage. There isn't that much of me to be pounding. I felt like I was flying. I ran with minimal stopping for the next almost two miles through a lovely set of pseudo-rural Willamsburg. The sun was shinning, I was enjoying my music, and having a great time allowing myself to cruise along. My calf felt fine, the odd feeling in my feet had subsided. Things were going great! I flashed a big grin at the photographer stations around the 5.5 mile mark. This race was awesome.

A little bit after the 6.5 mile mark, the race again turned into a flat course with rolling hills. I climbed a slight rise and was starting to feel tired. My legs were getting heavy. My GPS watch had lost connection at 6.21 miles. I wasn't quite sure how long I had to go, and it was demotivating. I was still taking walk breaks, and at this point it was a good thing because I'd lost some of my umph. 

I hit the seven mile sign and could see the cross street where JFK Middle School would be. Only one mile to go! I had done most of my training runs at the 7 mile mark, so this last mile was going to be a tricky one. I took a quick walk break after the 7 mile sign and told myself I would run the last mile as best I could without stopping. The rest of the course was flat; I could do this!

I turned onto Bridge Street and could see the school. Soon I was approaching it. "Come on! Come on!" I told myself. I knew that I had to do a lap of the building before I could cross the finish line. What mental torture. Lots of runners had finished and were milling around. They saw my tired face and shouted words of encouragement, which I greatly needed. People were looking. I couldn't stop moving. Behind the school, exhausted, I almost slowed to a walk. "What are you doing?" I shouted inside, "You have one a couple minutes of running left." I roused myself and ran, quickly turning around the side of the building and making it to the front. The finish line was in sight and this time I could cross it and stop running. I hoofed it!




Finished! I had made it. I had run a challenging course. I had done it with a slight injury. I had stayed smart and kept my pace slow and not let my ego get in the way. I was tired, but feeling happy. My watch said my time was 1:30:23. It was around ten minutes more than I had hoped for, but under the circumstanced I was satisfied.


I did a quick stretch. My calf was feeling okay. My feet were achy, as they were used to the treadmill and I wasn't quite road-ready. After collecting myself, I went to retrieve the race give-away, socks with the SMAC name and logo.


I hung out for a little bit after the race, chatting with people and meeting some of the SMAC members. I had noticed that SMAC was a bit light on social media and wanted to see if they'd be interested in doing more if I volunteered to help. I thought it would be great to get them on Twitter and have the Facebook page be more active so that runners have an easier time meeting up for training runs or sharing pictures from the races. I have an email out to one of the board members I talked with, at her request, and she's going to connect me with people who are doing social media and web now to see if they'd like me to get involved. I think this would be a fun way to get even more involved with the club and use some of the technical skills I have. 

Today certainly wasn't my best race ever, but I feel good that I got out and ran. I made a plan and stuck to it. I'm going to see a spots massage person tomorrow and hoping to get help sorting my calf out. I want to be able to return to doing more substantial training soon. By Ragnar, I want to be close to 100%.