October 31, 2014

More (San Rafael) Swell Photos

It's Halloween / Friday, so it's obviously time for more pictures of Roo!

Earlier in the week I put up some photos from our camping trip to The Wedge. Our friend Amiee sent us a bunch more, so here are some from her camera...
















The desert is a beautiful place.

October 28, 2014

Andrea: Athletic pubalgia Post-Surgery Weeks 3-6

See related postsSurgery and Weeks 0-2

The rehab rollercoaster continues...

I feel like I am on a never-ending cycle: pain ("I'm never going to get better") - some relief / not too bad ("I'm getting better!") - aggravated / pain ("this is never going to end")... repeat X a million times.

The good news here is that the pain doesn't get quite as bad each subsequent cycle, the bad news is that I can't seem to truly improve in my overall progress level...and I am a mental basket case. 



Summary of Weeks 3-6 post-op:

The beginning of this block of time was not great. Quite frequently I had sharp pains in my left abdomen and pubic bone. The left SI joint felt out of place and I was constantly trying to pop it back into place. On the right abdomen, the seroma still had a ton of fluid and hurt a lot like the pain prior to surgery. I had small, tight bands of tissue on the right side that became more pronounced/painful with activity.

The steri-strips came off right at 3 weeks. It probably wasn't until a week later that I noticed that the end of the left incision had not completely closed. It would occasionally have a white discharge or bleed with redness around the area. I waited a few more days and then Dr. Meyers put me on an course of antibiotics to make sure this reaction didn't become a full blown infection. 

I started doing some mild stretching and massaging of the incisions and muscles. This progressed to more aggressive by the end of six weeks. I have been going to PT Danny 2-3x a week and that time is almost entirely devoted to soft tissue work on the adductors and incisions (...and talking me down from the ledge). We added many new exercises to my therapy as well.

By the end of week 6, the right seroma had decreased in size so there was only a little fluid left, although it still swelled during exercise. The left "reaction" went away and I finished off the antibiotics.

My typical day:

Morning - heat, massage, and stretch
Afternoon - walk, bike ride, and/or weights
Evening - PT exercises, heat, and ice

New exercises since last post (still doing most of the others from weeks 0-2):

-Bent knee fall outs
-Single leg raises
-Modified planks -> planks
-Ball squats -> Modified squats -> squats
-Modified lunges -> lunges
-One leg bridges
-Adductor squeezes (Note: it was difficult to do adductor exercises on the left side because it would increase pain at the pubic bone significantly, so I had to do some modifications and only do them when it didn't increase pain.)
-Stretching of hip flexors, abdominals, and adductors

I tried running a couple times in the last 4 weeks just to see what it feels like, but I can tell that my body isn't ready for that yet. The elliptical causes too much irritation, so I'm sticking with mostly walking and biking for now. And playing with my favorite puppy!

Thank you Amiee for letting me borrow Roo for happiness :)


October 26, 2014

Camping at The Wedge

Sunrise... a few steps from our campsite (more impressive if you click and view it full-size)

We took off from work early on Friday and headed down South for a fun, relaxing weekend of camping with our friends Amiee (who is an expert on all things in the San Rafael Swell) and Roo (who is a 10 week old Mini Aussie). We snagged a perfect site right on the plateau overlooking the "Little Grand Canyon." The weather was great, the sunrises and sunsets were sensational, and watching Roo explore the desert was both adorable and hilarious.

I'll probably post even more photos later in the week, but here's round one...
























PS - I'm fairly certain that the iPhone 6 is the best camera I've ever had.

October 19, 2014

Kinvara 5 at 1000 miles


Back in June I declared the Kinvara 5 the best version in the series. I figured it was worth following up on that post now that I've hit the 1000 mile mark with my first pair...

They are the best all-around shoes I've ever worn.

The Kinvara 5s have been my workhorses this summer, and I'm contemplating breaking out a fresh pair but I just CANNOT wear these things out. A thousand miles in and they still feel great.

Here's a few photos that demonstrate the durability...


A tiny bit of tearing below the logo on the right shoe only.
Not bad after that many miles.


Upper / Toebox still in great condition


Thanks to excellent placing of the stronger rubber, the outsoles still have plenty of traction and didn't smooth down like some previous versions.

For dark winter mornings I'm definitely picking up a pair of the Kinvara 5 Viziglo.

October 13, 2014

2014 Chicago Marathon Race Recap


2014 Bank of America Chicago Marathon - 2:21:12, 35th Place.

After an excellent summer of training, the week or two leading up to Chicago was not great. With my hamstring feeling very compromised, it wasn't easy to maintain a high level of confidence. A week before the race, I wasn't even sure if I could race. I decided that if I could run, I needed to be conservative and go out in 1:10 - 1:10:30. That all changed on race morning when I went outside for a short jog at 5:30am. I not only felt somewhat normal for the first time in nine days, but there was an energy along Michigan Avenue at that early hour that convinced me it might be worth taking a shot at the Olympic Trials standard. Chris Sloane (who shared a hotel room with us) and I made our way over to the American Development tent around 6:30am. We did an easy 10 minute jog to warmup, then stood around with some of my Saucony teammates in the corral until it was time to go.


When the race finally started, I immediately set myself up behind Florence Kiplagat's male pacer (who was about 6'3" tall... and maybe 120 lbs) but I could tell within a minute or two that the women weren't going out quick, so I moved past them as we came out of the tunnel and saw my Saucony teammate Jesse Davis up ahead. It took me about 2 miles to bridge the gap to him, and once I did I found myself in a nice pack with 6 other guys. I mentally committed to running with that group and the idea of a 1:10 first half was thrown out the window. I was simply going to race these guys as long as I could. After opening up with 5:17 and 5:19 miles, I missed a few splits, so I was surprised to see 15:38 for miles 3-5. We were moving, and rolled through the first half, hitting 13.1 in 1:08:47. This was my fastest first half ever in a marathon (by far!) which was a little crazy because I did less marathon pace specific work than I have in my last few marathon buildups. I never touched 5:15 pace tempos in training during this cycle but I wasn't afraid to mix it up and see what might happen.



This is a good time to point out that because of the aggressive start, there was no "this feels easy" / "build into it" portion of this marathon. I felt like I was running at a high intensity level right from the gun. Andrea said afterwards that I looked "very determined" and that it was "the hardest I've ever seen you run, especially in the last ten miles" I guess that is both good and bad. On one hand, you sort of want to be relaxed for a good portion of a marathon. On the other hand, I know I gave it  everything I had, even if I knew I was in a little over my head.

Expressing my stubborn Polish determination in Polishtown

Chinatown

I think the pack started to break apart around mile 14 or 15 and I was on my own the rest of the way. My calves were starting to hurt. Andrea told me that my gait was noticeably compromised by the halfway point, which isn't surprising - I made some sort of alteration to protect my hamstring, and the gastrocs had to pick up the slack. I held up pretty well through 30K, but the 20th mile was the first over 5:30, and I wouldn't be able to bring the pace back down. I was hanging on and just trying to keep the bleeding to a minimum.

Michigan Avenue death march

The last 5K was a death march. I still had a chance to PR when I hit 40K, but the wheels were coming off quick. With 600m to go, you turn and ascend the Roosevelt "hill" (which is a measly 15 foot overpass). I could not believe how it absolutely. broke. me. My legs started to wobble, I felt like I had no control over them, and simply tried to stay upright over the last quarter mile... an effort that was barely successful. With about 15-20 meters left, everything seized up... I had to windwill both of my arms to keep my balance as I stumbled across the timing mats. After I got across the second mat, I let a volunteer just hold me upright for 10 seconds while I regained my sense of balance. It was a comical finish and despite being a little embarrassing, I had to smile - I knew I went for broke and didn't leave anything in the tank.

I hope there is a video of this somewhere

Overall I'm very happy. Yeah, I didn't run the smartest race, and likely would have run a bit faster and PR'd had I gone out a little slower. But on a big stage like Chicago, it was worth chasing the OTQ dream. I'll continue chasing it, because I have zero doubt that faster marathons are in my future. Regardless of whether I run 2:17 or not, I simply love this journey. I love that it's hard - that it requires so much dedication with no guarantees of success. I love the training, working towards a lofty goal step by step... sometimes taking steps backwards and figuring out how to deal with the setbacks. I love that I keep learning more and more about the sport and myself in the process - race to race, year to year. And I love that I get to travel all over the place and compete against the best runners in the country (and the world). When you run 2:21 and come in 35th place, you picked the right race. No matter what, when all of this is said and done (which is a long way off), I'll know exactly where I stand (the stopwatch and tape measure never lie) in the running universe. I'll know exactly how good I can be... and that's something I want to know, even if it's a bit scary to find out.


When I look back at my goals at the beginning of the Chicago buildup, getting back to PR shape was at the top of the list. I definitely accomplished that objective over the past 14 weeks, and gave myself a solid platform to build on again. Depending on how quickly I recover, I'm planning to take a short break, rally for a series of late Fall races, take a longer break, then dedicate 2015 to a pair of long, focused marathon buildups (spring and fall).

Odds and ends...

Nutrition: Breakfast - 2 Powerbars. Race - 1 Powergel 15 mins before start, 3 more during race (5-10-16). Really like the Powergels and tolerate them well, mainly because of the liquid consistency. Didn't drink much - I need to run faster so I can get my own bottles at major marathons! Post-race lunch - Venison.

Weather: Sunny (although the tall buildings blocked it in a lot of spots) and ~50 degrees for most of the race. A little windy in spots, but this is Chicago so what can you expect?

Course: Flat. Awesome. [Map / Elevation] Other than the overpass at 26, none of the small inclines broke rhythm. The route has a decent amount of turns. Crowd support was excellent. Maybe not quite as good as Boston, but close.

Shoes: Saucony Type A6. Best racing flat out there. Saucony had a great presence at the expo and hooked us up with some cool Chicago-branded gear. The team was well-represented in both the men's and women's races.

Intangibles: Andrea was unbelievable this weekend. She managed to get my hamstring back into working condition on Saturday, then got a bike the morning of  the race and navigated the streets to be at seven different spots (1.5, 3, 13, 17, 20, 22, and 25) to cheer for me and all of the Saucony runners (and take photos). Her airport nap was well-earned. I had other friends at 5, 6.5, 8.5, 10, 17.5, 23, and 26. I've said this before, but I know I'm very lucky to have such a great support system. I had a lot of family, friends, and puppies supporting from afar.

Mile splits - 5:17, 5:19, 15:38 (3-5), 5:11, 5:11, 5:17, 5:16, 5:17, 5:13, 5:12, 5:17, 5:09, 5:20, 5:14, 5:28, 5:17, 5:27, 5:32, 5:38, 5:32, 5:39, 5:38, 5:38, 5:57, 1:22.

5K splits - 16:23, 16:13, 16:22, 16:21, 16:11, 16:46, 17:17, 17:34, and 8:05 for the last 2.2K.

Comparison to a couple other marathons...

                   Half          20M        Finish
PHL 2011  1:09:33 - 1:46:05 - 2:25:57
CIM 2013   1:09:29 - 1:46:17 - 2:20:41
CHI 2014    1:08:47 - 1:45:45 - 2:21:12

Final thought: next time I go out under 1:09, I'll bring it back under 1:09 too.