Well, this is it. The last week! Race day is a scant three days away from this writing. After last week, I was a little down due to some knee issues, but once again I gave them a test run on Sunday, July 6. The plan was to meet Steve for the first leg of his planned 14-miler to give my knees a 7-mile test run. I even convinced my long time partner in crime Jay Anderson to join us as he's been talking about hitting the trails to see what it's all about. (Being that he mountain-biked most of Jay Cooke's trails 15-20 years ago, I convinced him that the next logical step would be to run them!)
Things started off well as we ran 2 miles out to the Greeley Trail from the Swinging Bridge. From there, Steve took his leave and I was going to head back to the Swinging Bridge and finish the last three miles up the Carlton trail where Jay would pick me up. (By that point he had finished four miles and though he loved it, he figured that was enough for his first foray.)
Well, I ran ahead of Jay on the return to the car, and then it happened. Much like this picture of a washout left behind from the 2012 flood, my left knee decided to washout. No tweak, or trip, just some mild discomfort and once I stopped for 30 seconds to take this picture, it stiffened up and was done. When I tried to run again, there was just no ability to push back without significant pain and I had to walk the remaining mile to the car. Basically, my knee lasted three miles and was done. Not a real confidence builder going into the final week before a 26 mile race!
Things started off well as we ran 2 miles out to the Greeley Trail from the Swinging Bridge. From there, Steve took his leave and I was going to head back to the Swinging Bridge and finish the last three miles up the Carlton trail where Jay would pick me up. (By that point he had finished four miles and though he loved it, he figured that was enough for his first foray.)
Well, I ran ahead of Jay on the return to the car, and then it happened. Much like this picture of a washout left behind from the 2012 flood, my left knee decided to washout. No tweak, or trip, just some mild discomfort and once I stopped for 30 seconds to take this picture, it stiffened up and was done. When I tried to run again, there was just no ability to push back without significant pain and I had to walk the remaining mile to the car. Basically, my knee lasted three miles and was done. Not a real confidence builder going into the final week before a 26 mile race!
Once again, it was time for some anxiety. I was still confident I could walk the whole thing - and still am - but who wants to walk 23 miles of a 26 mile race? Ultimately, since this is my first trail race, I just want to finish, but the competitor in me would at least like to be able to give a somewhat max effort and put up a respectable time!
Sunday morning found me scouring the internet for quick knee rehab programs, talking to Steve and Jeff about their knee issues and formulating a plan for my final week. All of the info I found said to rest my knees and only engage in low-impact exercise - elliptical, stationary bike, or water running. Well, the last time I used an elliptical it messed up my back, so I eliminated that immediately. Soon after, I headed to the local gym put in 5 miles on a bike and...hated it. That left water running. Sunday afternoon, Becky, the kids, and I headed to the Grand Lake Rehab Facility (i.e. Steve's cabin) and we all ran back and forth in waist deep water out in front of Steve's dock for about 30 minutes. It was a good workout, but still kind of boring.
In addition to low-impact exercise, Steve insisted - as did the internet - that I foam roll my legs, and do stretching and strengthening exercises. So on Monday I started those as well. My plan was to do this all week, not run at all, and hope for the best come race day. On Monday afternoon I even ran 100 laps in our above ground 16 ft. pool - reversing direction every 10 laps so I could run against "the current" for awhile - which turned out to be a decent workout.
Sunday morning found me scouring the internet for quick knee rehab programs, talking to Steve and Jeff about their knee issues and formulating a plan for my final week. All of the info I found said to rest my knees and only engage in low-impact exercise - elliptical, stationary bike, or water running. Well, the last time I used an elliptical it messed up my back, so I eliminated that immediately. Soon after, I headed to the local gym put in 5 miles on a bike and...hated it. That left water running. Sunday afternoon, Becky, the kids, and I headed to the Grand Lake Rehab Facility (i.e. Steve's cabin) and we all ran back and forth in waist deep water out in front of Steve's dock for about 30 minutes. It was a good workout, but still kind of boring.
In addition to low-impact exercise, Steve insisted - as did the internet - that I foam roll my legs, and do stretching and strengthening exercises. So on Monday I started those as well. My plan was to do this all week, not run at all, and hope for the best come race day. On Monday afternoon I even ran 100 laps in our above ground 16 ft. pool - reversing direction every 10 laps so I could run against "the current" for awhile - which turned out to be a decent workout.
Then Tuesday came and after my morning foam rolling, etc. My knees felt pretty good. So good, that I decided to skip my planned Grand Lake water run and scrap the rest of my plan for the week. Basically, it had been three days since my last run and I was sick of not running. So, I texted Jeff, he said he could make it, and off we went on a 4-mile test run (which ended up being 6 miles).
Things were going quite well, we covered the 3 miles to the swinging bridge from Carlton rather quickly with minimal knee pain for either of us. Then, on the return, at around the magical 4-mile mark, it happened again. I went to push off to run after walking through some rocks and roots and all I got in return was some pain. I was mad! I walked for a bit, and then at the next runnable stretch I said to myself, "SCREW THIS!!!" (like I said, I was mad) gritted my teeth, and took off running as fast as I could.
Things were going quite well, we covered the 3 miles to the swinging bridge from Carlton rather quickly with minimal knee pain for either of us. Then, on the return, at around the magical 4-mile mark, it happened again. I went to push off to run after walking through some rocks and roots and all I got in return was some pain. I was mad! I walked for a bit, and then at the next runnable stretch I said to myself, "SCREW THIS!!!" (like I said, I was mad) gritted my teeth, and took off running as fast as I could.
And to my surprise, it felt gooooood! I couldn't believe it! From then on, I walked when I had to - like here when I went backwards down one of the more technical sections of the Carlton trail - and whenever I could run I just took off.
This allowed me to get back to the parking lot a lot quicker and my knee held up and had no worse after-effects once I was finished. Thus I have developed what I am calling the "Run Angry" method and plan on implementing it in the race.
This allowed me to get back to the parking lot a lot quicker and my knee held up and had no worse after-effects once I was finished. Thus I have developed what I am calling the "Run Angry" method and plan on implementing it in the race.
Basically, I'll run along until one of my knees bothers me and from that point on I'll try to pick up the pace - i.e. run angry - on any runnable sections. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to do that for 26 miles, but I'll try it as far as I can and hope that I can walk it in after I get too tired. (Side note: On our run, Jeff's knee also felt the best it's felt for awhile.)
I'm planning on one more test run of 6-8 miles on Thursday and that will be it until race day. Then it's me, 26.2 miles of trail, and 160 others who have signed on for this adventure!
Stay tuned for the post-race recap and the culminating review of the past 17 weeks of my journey!
I'm planning on one more test run of 6-8 miles on Thursday and that will be it until race day. Then it's me, 26.2 miles of trail, and 160 others who have signed on for this adventure!
Stay tuned for the post-race recap and the culminating review of the past 17 weeks of my journey!