2011: The lost year of racing!

  I know it's been awhile since the last time I wrote in this blog, but last year didn't go the way I had planned when it came to racing.  It's been frustrating to say the least and I have spent most of my time on the sidelines.  Here is a recap on how the year unfolded.

I was off to a promising start with my 10th place Crystal Springs 50K finish!
(make note of the smile)

    Things got off to a promising start as I was able to run my first ultra of the year in January.  Shahid, my wife and I headed down to the bay area to run the crystal springs 50K near Woodside, CA.  I had finished 2010 feeling pretty run down and hadn't been putting in a lot of miles.  I was able to get in a couple of long runs before the race but I definitely wasn't in the best condition for a long race.  However, it sounded like a fun adventure and I figured I would give it a go.  I knew it was going to be a rough day when I hit the 6 mile mark and my legs were already feeling fatigued.  I still had a long ways to go and I wasn't sure I would be able to finish.  I don't know if this makes any sense, but even though I didn't feel strong physically, I felt strong enough mentally to get through the race and finish.  I knew mentally what it would take to finish and I was able to gut it out.  I actually ended up running a 5:09 which was my second best 50K time and it was good enough for 10th place.  I hobbled away from that race feeling pretty good about the result and hoping to build upon in for the rest of the year.  However, there was a pain in my achilles that was just a preview of what was to come.

   That brings us to February where I suffered one of my major setbacks for the year.  I was preparing to run the Hagg Lake 50K and things seemed good.  My mileage was starting to build up again and I felt confident about the race.  Unfortunately, right before Valentine's day I wrecked on my road bike. I was finishing up my first long ride of the winter, 30 miles and it felt suprisingly good.  I lost my focus and swerved right into a gap in a storm drain.  I didn't have enough time to react and I went over the handlebars while still attached to the bike.  I slightly seperated my right shoulder and had a small tear in my right quad.  I also snapped my head back to keep from busting up my face on the pavement.  Kelly Lange of Hands on Wellness and Massage Therapist Timothy Olson helped put me back together. The accident took me out of Hagg Lake 50K and as my shoulder and quad began to heal, my neck continued to get worse.  I started to have headaches, dizziness and vertigo.  It got so bad that I couldn't run and I had a hard time working.  Luckily, I was eventually referred to Jordan Weeda of Wellspring Centre for Body Balance.  He was able to get my head on straight and the symptoms started to subside.  I still have some issues with my neck but I am much better now days. 

I thought the beard might help me run faster but no such luck!

    I was able to get back to running and on a last second whim, I signed up for Pacific Crest 10K.  I was going to treat it as a training run, but the competitor in me came out and I ended up running hard.  The time was nothing spectacular for me, but it was the best I could do for the condition I was in.  I ended up second in my age group and 14th overall out of 400 plus runners.  Suprisingly, I came out of Pacific Crest feeling pretty good and it was a test race to see if I was ready to handle the Ashland 4th of July run.

Just chatting it up with Bryon Devore.
I don't think that guy right behind us appreciated it!

   I signed up for the 4th of July run.  Of course I always try to run my best in a hometown race.  Leading up to the race I had done some extra stretching and foam rolling for my calves (big mistake).  Unfortunately, it seemed to aggravate my achilles tendon instead of alleviate it.  I felt it in my warm up jog but figured it would go away as I got warm.  I felt it the whole race and after I finished, my calf tightened up and my achilles just plain hurt.  I was concerned because I was going to be running a half marathon up in Portland with one of my clients.  I knew I had to be ready to run in that race since my client and I had been training for 6 months and I didn't want to disappoint her.  I ended up being 30th out of the Males in the 4th of July race.  I was happy with the result but not the damage to my achilles that I had incurred.

Catching back up to my client after a restroom break.
I didn't leave her behind, Honest!

  I was able to help my client finish her first half marathon at the Fueled by Fine Wine race.  It was cool to check out a new race and it was an interesting mix of road and trail.  We ran through a couple of the vineyards and it definitely had it's share of hills.  I kept my client engaged in conversation to help keep her mind from focusing on the fatigue and the hills. I would like to think that it worked but the reality was that she probably didn't want to waste her breathe to tell me to "shut up" or she was just being polite.  I probably wouldn't recommend that race for a person's first half marathon but it definitely had some nice scenery.  Since I was running to pace and provide motivational support, I ended up feeling pretty good at the end of the race and I could partake in the wine sampling.  Probably wouldn't have felt like doing that if I had ran hard.  It was a fun trip and I was happy that my client was able to reach her goal and we even finished under the cutoff time.  She had come such a long way, from struggling with 100 meter intervals to finishing a 13 mile race.  It was awesome!  My Achilles was sore after that race but since I never had to run hard, I felt like I didn't make it any worse.

Finishing strong and tearing up my Achilles in the process!

   Next up, the Deschutes Dash Sprint Duathlon.  My family and I first went to this event in 2010 and really enjoyed the races.  They have a very challenging youth triathlon which challenged my son's limits (most youth triathlons are ridiculously short) and I enjoyed the sprint triathlon which features a down river swim.  Since I am not the greatest swimmer, I found the river swim to be comforting since the river would eventually get me to my destination.  However, because of my neck problems, I hadn't been swimming and decided to try my hand at the duathlon in 2011.  The sprint duathlon consisted of a 5K run, 20K bike ride, and a 5K run.  This would be the race that would destroy my 2011 race season.  I ended up finishing in 9th place and 1st in my age group. We jumped into the truck and headed back to the Rogue Valley which tends to be a common occurrence for me after races.  It's not the best thing to do post race.  Once we got back home, I couldn't walk with out a limp and was in excruciating pain.  My Achilles heel was literally my weakness!

   I spent the rest of the year trying to rehab it.  I need to thank a lot of our local health practitioners for working on me and I know each one of them played a part in helping me heal.  Kelly Lange, Timothy Olson, Molly Romero, Jordan Weeda, and James Yang.

   I was able to do a few small races in the end of 2011 which included the Pioneer run 5K and the Turkey trot 2 miler.  Even though I still have issues with my Achilles, it was good to get back to running at the end of the year and a positive sign for 2012.

  Things I learned in 2011.  When you have an injury that begins to surface, nip it in the bud immediately and don't let it become chronic.  That was my first mistake.  I was so worried about losing all my endurance but you can always build it back up once you get healthy.  I also realized that stretching injured soft tissue is a very bad idea.  Let it heal before you start trying to lengthen it.  What worked for me was to get treatment on it such as, massage, chiropractic adjustment, graston, and acupuncture.  I have also found benefit in eccentric heel drops.  So that was how 2011 played out.  I will get this blog caught up to where we stand in 2012 soon.  If you read this far, I am amazed!