Reflections and ramblings on the First Half Half Marathon

A few days after my half marathon PB, I am already dreaming of the next few races. Preparing for those races is necessary, and my prep began the very next day when I treated myself to a massage. This seemed to help loosen up some of the leg stiffness and pre-empt any DOMS. I am trying to move away from a dependancy on ibuprofin, and eating natural, unprocessd foods to help with any inflamation or pain. I do like my plain greek yogurt, so that one has to stay.

But all the preparation for the upcoming events can and does hit a speed bump, as it did Wednesday morning. I was starting out on my early recovery run with my brother Sean, when 300 feet from my front door--DOING! My anterior left IT/quad went on me. It seized right up.
This is different from the IT soreness above the knee--more like higher up at the hip attachment. The tweak made the run painful and difficult--I thought I could ride it out, but decided to cut the Watershed workout short at 7kms instead of the normal 13kms.

Looking back pre-half marathon Sunday, there I was, injury free and feeling great. The race went off very well with no issues. Now I have a slight ITBS issue. A few days off will hopefully take care of any pain. Needless to say, I will not be running for the next few days. The Fraser Valley Trail Series 30km is next weekend, on Feb 24th, and I have enough miles in my legs to stay fit. But in order to prevent any more injury, or prolonged pain or further damage, I will stop running until next week. Patience. Patience.

Race reflections:

--I am happy with my overall race, but like my next few races, I am looking forward to next year's PRR First Half. I question where I could have picked up a bit more time to be a bit faster. As a racer, where you finish in the pack a creates new expectations for yourself-especially if you post a PB. One looks to the next fastest group, the next fastest time goal, and starts planning to be a part of that faster group. I remember when I was a 1:43 half runner. The idea of turing out a 1:37 seemed next to impossible. That time fell withing a few years. Then a 5 minute jump happened to 1:30 in 2010. Next a sub 1:25, and now, I am searching for a sub 1:20. Into the teens sounds like a logical step. Already a 35 minute 10km is what June should be shaping up to be. The speed and strength needed to get there will be really fun to train for.

--Already on week on, and my legs are feeling normal and ready to begin training again. The IT has had time to rest and repair, and my 5k run with my three kids on the 16th seems to point in the "ready to go"  direction.

--This constant reaching, or over reaching for the level up has lead to a bit of an obsession. Pacing, food, training, recovery, injury, racing, specificity--the lifestyle is fast becoming an addictive drug.

--Side note on nutrition: If you have some time, the following video is a great sped-up historical overview of our the evolution of our modern diet, hence the title. The last 30 years begins at about the 28 minute mark just when high fructose corn syrup is introduced into our diets in the 1980. The video and it continues until 55 minutes, with questions for Loren after that. Quite shocking and informative in my opinion.

Loren Cordain's evolution of the modern diet lecture.