Gotta live with it

I have personally never liked using genetics as an "excuse" for why one person is able to run significantly faster than another. As the old saying goes, hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work. The East Africans that become champions work very hard indeed, often over a period of many years. Mo Farah was mediocre on the world level until he switched up his training after joining Alberto Salazar (I hope it's really only strength training that resulted in such dramatic improvements). However, I cannot disregard the fact that genetic potential is a reality; if I started training tomorrow to become a sprinter and run equivalent performances to my longer distance PBs, I believe it unlikely if not impossible that I would achieve such a goal. 


When I stop and think about it, my body spends a lot of time and effort suggesting that I am not built to be a runner at all. Overuse injuries aside, I have some peculiar issues that make running less than ideal. 

For starters, I don't seem to be built for any particular climate, hot or cold. In the winter I have to layer up my extremities more than would seem logical, wearing thick mittens on my hands, with the material from the arms of my long sleeve pulled up as far over my wrists as they will stretch. I tuck the bottoms of my tights into my socks in order to prevent inevitable frost bite if I leave my ankles exposed below zero. In running with many groups over the years I have learned that neither of these levels of protection is necessary for most of the general running population. Despite my efforts, the skin on the front of my ankles often still darkens from exposure over the course of the winter and I often lose feeling in my wrists and hands by the end of runs on particularly cold days. 

In warmer temperatures, I sweat excessive amounts in comparison to just about anyone I've ever run with. I would love to be tested just to see what my perspiration rate is, because I can almost guarantee if would be several standard deviations above the normal level measured. One of the more daunting prospects of running a marathon is my expected fluid loss, and by extension how much liquid I will have to consume to keep within the range that does not result in diminishing performance.


It seems I'm more aptly built for sweating competitions they have on gameshows in Japan than for running. But I enjoy it enough, so I guess I'll just keep running. 

This past week was a good one from a mileage standpoint. I'll be interested to see how the Boxing Day 10 Miler goes and if there's any residual lead in my legs. 

A bite from the cold

A large portion of North America has been experiencing below average temperatures for December. Southern Ontario hasn't avoided this trend, and I had my first instance of frozen elbows since the previous winter on Thursday. 

The undefined problem around my 2nd and 3rd metatarsals of my left foot seems to have disappeared with the help of a few days off. Needless to say I didn't end up running a whole bunch this week, but got a faster effort in on Thursday and a long run on Saturday, so it wasn't a complete wash. 

Results and Analysis

I won't beat around the bush- here's what went down with my experiment: 

My 5th metatarsal on my left foot didn't worsen after I adjusted to landing more on my forefeet. In fact it started feeling quite a bit better as the week progressed. 

But...the 5th metatarsal on my right foot started to hurt in what I believe was a result of more forefoot running. I took a day off to be sure it didn't worsen, and once that initial concern was over with I was back in the game. I ran for 2 hours on Saturday feeling alright, though my left foot was again a bit sore more towards my 2nd and 3rd metatarsals, probably because my shoe was a bit loose during the run and allowed the metatarsal pad to shift. 

On Sunday I felt an intense pain in my left foot within the 10 minutes of running, and though I eventually found a suitable placement for the pad that allowed me to hobble home, the damage appeared to be done. 

So what did I learn? 

Well, despite the setbacks that did occur, none of what I experienced was a worsening of pain in my 5th metatarsal on my left foot. I proved that running through that issue isn't complete stupidity...BUT...I need to be careful how changing my foot strike can impact the rest of my body, especially my right foot (this really should be obvious I suppose). As for this new pain on my left foot, it's more localized in the 2nd and 3rd metatarsals as I mentioned...in fact closer to the original issue I was having with my foot back when it all started in 2010. 

This is a scheduled down week, so I can let this new problem resolve itself...I'm hoping it's nothing exciting. 

Experimentation for the future

I might be embarking on the road to injury, via Stupidity Way. As I've chronicled a bit in this blog, I've been burdened with issues with my left foot for a little over 3 years now. Originally the pain was focused around the metatarsals of my 2nd and 3rd toes, but from using a metatarsal pad to take pressure off this area, flare ups in my 5th metatarsal are more common now. Last January at the start of the track season the pain was intense enough that I thought I had a stress fracture, but a re-adjustment of the pad and some days off had me rolling again in a few days. During my half-marathon build up this fall, I experienced another flare-up. This time I added another layer to the metatarsal pad (after experimenting with other solutions) and found it helped immensely. 

This past week I've been experiencing pain again, and against my better judgment I'm going to push through. My logic is this: if I want to run a decent marathon, I need to be able to handle the training load, which includes a heavy dose of high mileage. If I can't handle consistent weeks of high mileage in the base phase, I'll crumble when I add in workouts with a specific purpose. So this week will be an experiment. I could injure myself, thereby learning that pushing through the flare-up will get me no where, or I could learn something else about my limits. This will probably end badly...but I'm treating it as an experiment for the future. 

Help carrying the weight

I'm heading into my third week of having people to run with in the mornings, and I must say it has made putting the miles in a lot more enjoyable. This is also sort of an interesting informal "block" of training in that I'm not really doing specific workouts and actually just doing base mileage, which it seems I haven't really done properly in a few years for a variety of reasons. 

Towards the end of our group long run on Saturday, snow started to fall and dusted the trail in white. It got me really amped up and we started bombing down the Hamilton rail trail. I don't know where this excitement derives from really, but it happens to me with the first few snowfalls every year. I think fresh snow is quite pretty, but if there was any doubt that winter is arriving with its fury, that and a windchill of -20 quickly put the issue to bed. Which means thick mittens and doubling up on layers until April. My enthusiasm over its arrival will perish quickly, I will long for warmer temperatures, and yet I get excited all the same. Maybe it's just change I get excited for, with the promise of fresh experiences. 

Speaking of experiences, my beloved Ti-Cats were pummelled last night, but at least they made it to the big game! As fans of the Maple Leafs can attest, there's always next year. 

It's so much fun-akkah to celebrate Hanukkah

I raced the Hannukkah Hustle 10k today in Hamilton. I've previously participated in the 5k, but thought I'd try the longer distance with the hope that some faster guys who usually show up would push me to a decent time. As it turned out, it was quite windy out on course and time became less relevant, but Charles Bedley still took us out quite hard in the downhill first kilometre in 3:06. Bedley has run some incredible times in all distances all the way up to marathon, and now as a masters runner is still putting up fast marks.  

In what has become a bit of an unfortunate trend in my races recently, I developed a side stitch in my right abdomen during the race. The difference from prior occurrences was how early it surfaced, just as we moved through that fast first kilometre. As a result I let a gap open between myself and the two leaders, Bedley and a guy in a Mac singlet, but then did my best to stay close while hoping the stitch would pass. Thankfully it didn't worsen and as I closed up the gap the three of us were running as pack for about two kilometres until I put in a slight surge before halfway. From that point onward I was away and rolling to the win in 33:50. Not all that happy with the time once again, but I'll just have to keep working.  

Regarding the two goals I set last week, my abdomen and groin have improved but are still not perfect, but running does not seem to effect the issue. I found out the hard way that biking does seem to aggravate what is wrong, but it has improved since. And I've found some training partners who like to run early, so I can start putting in some decent miles with other people for a change.  

In unrelated news, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are going to the Grey Cup! What does this have to do with running? Nothing. But as Hamilton is my home, I would wager that a Ti-Cats win in the Eastern final means a lot more to the citizens of this city than to the ones down the QEW. Hamilton has had a rough go of things since the decline of manufacturing which started well before I was born, and while it truly is only a game, a victory on the field is something you can swell your chest in pride about. It's been 14 years since we last won a Grey Cup after all! And there's a new stadium on the way, some new buildings finally going up in the downtown core, and by all accounts the reputation of the city is improving as a result of various festivals and other initiatives. The changes in even the last ten years have been impressive (despite the folks down at City Hall dragging their heels about just about everything), and while I don't believe it's right to deny what this town is, blue-collar in its roots, I want to see Steeltown shine. This victory puts us in the spotlight once again.

Uncertainty

Coming off the half-marathon I was pretty sore, more than I expected to be honest. I've also been battling some issues in my groin and abdomen, so I decided to take it easy and see how the week progressed. My legs felt oddly out of sync with the rest of my body on when I race for the first time on Wednesday, and again on Friday, but they seem to have come around. 

I'm a little unsure of what my next course of action should be now. I have stated to some people that I would like to race the Ottawa Marathon in May if training progresses favourably. However, it's too early to start training specifically for that race, and I admittedly want to do some faster work while also building mileage. I'd also like to do some running with other people given that almost everything I did this fall was solo, and darkness in the mornings and evenings now makes it harder to get out the door. I definitely need some sort of plan here. 

This can an issue with self-coaching: doubts can creep in about what you're doing, and what your next step should be. I feel I have a rough handle on the elements that make for good running in the 5k-21k range (note that I said "rough"), but the marathon is a completely different animal, as evidenced by struggles of those in the Schumacher Oregon group (among others). And because the volume of the workouts needs to increase to prepare adequately for the marathon distance, having training partners for even a few days a week is even more crucial. 

I'll see what I can do in the next week to:
a) Resolve the abdomen and groin pain
b) Acquire some training partners 

And then take it from there. 

A win is a win

I've written in this blog before that I've won very few foot races in my lifetime. So few in fact that I can count them on one hand. I wouldn't be in this sport if all I cared about was winning, since only one person can win on any given day, but I'd also be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the odd victory. 2013 has been good in this regard: I have beefed up the career wins category by three: the Versailles 15k, a Parkrun in Poland, and today at the Hamilton Road2Hope half-marathon.

Recap: 

Off the start Fred Karanja, a Kenyan living in the area, took off in the lead in a full Santa Claus suit for what I later learned was for some sort of record attempt. After letting a bit of a gap open while I processed whether Fred was serious or not, I decided to close it up before 3k. For the next seven or so kilometres we rolled together, each of us putting in slight surges that were more about testing the waters than a serious attempt at breaking away. I noticed Fred's breathing seemed to be more laboured than mine and attempted to surge away around 10k, but he remained on the edge of my shadow and I let up soon after. I tried again around the 11k mark and was clear this time, kickstarting 10 kilometres of solo running. I was enjoying myself a fair bit until the final six kilometres when cramping concerns became a serious concern (an issue I'll need to solve if I want to do more longer stuff). I slowed to a pace that would prevent a full blown side stitch and thankfully had enough of a gap over a late charing Michael Gill that I was able to take the win in 1:13:56. The time wasn't great, but for the weather being windy and chilly, I was happy given the circumstances. A win is a win! Fred finished a respectable third in 1:15 and noted how hot the suit had been during the run. I can only imagine...hopefully he got the record he was gunning for. 

2013

I've gone most of the year without writing a blog post. This is a bit embarrassing given I have notably called out people who fail to update their blogs (assuming of course they haven't written a final post to say "sayonara followers, I'm no longer writing!"). The past year has produced some of the highlights and lowlights for both my running and my life. I can't possibly summarize it all and do it justice, so I'll just provide some stats as of this writing:

4 PBs set: 4:06(i) 1500m, 8:45(i) 3000m, 10k road(+) 32:56 (en route in a 15k race), 15k road 49:27
1 Degree Earned: Bachelor of Applied Science, Honours Chemical Engineering
5 weeks spent in Jonquiere, Quebec: For the Explore program learning French
9 European countries visited: England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Scotland
3 Parkruns: 1 in London, 1 in Krakow, 1 in Edinburgh

The 15k race was held on the Palace of Versailles grounds (the start is pictured above). I actually finished tied for first with Menouar Benfodda (green shirt in the centre), after catching him around the 5k mark and agreeing to share the workload. Passing 10k in 32:56 had me already satisfied, and to hold the same pace for another 5k (with it being quite a humid day) and finish holding hands with Menouar in victory was one of the best running experiences I've ever had. While it was technically a road race, there was also a large portion run on grass, so I consider it one of my best performances to date. 

I'm racing the Road2Hope half-marathon next Sunday after a fall of pretty mediocre races which I've mainly been using to get myself into shape. I'm hoping I can pop out a good one since training hasn't gone terrible as of late despite some setbacks related to the metatarsals of my left foot once again. 

Turnover

Training went sort of downhill after the last blog as my left foot started to act up in a different way than before. On the Thursday before the opening meet of the New Year in Guelph, the 5th metatarsal side was hit with a sharp pain towards the end of my run in the evening. There had been some general soreness for a couple days so it likely shouldn't have come as a surprise, and I took Friday off. On Saturday, the day of the meet, I planned to race the 1500 and 3000, but after limping through a warm up before the 3K I knew I would most likely have to drop out if I chose to go through with the race, so I scratched my name from the start list. The 1500 had been earlier in the day and did not leave me too happy; I didn't get off the line quick enough in my heat and had to work myself up through the field. If it weren't for the help of teammate Matt Melnik bridging the gap to the leaders and pulling me along, I wouldn't have been in the mix at the finish, where I thanked Matt for his hard work by kicking past him in the final 300 to run 4:17. 

I took Sunday off and grew quite concerned as the pain increased in intensity, still all on the 5th metatarsal side. Naturally I started to read up on the possibilities of having actually done damage to the bone, and could not rule out a stress fracture, though I was still leaning towards the pain being muscular as with all my other foot issues. After cross training Monday I tested the foot with a typical workout day on Tuesday and was confident it could not be a stress fracture given how it responded, though I still ended up getting an x-ray later on in the week for safe measure. 

The rest of the week the pain improved and so Windsor was a go, where I raced the 3000 and 1500. The 3K was really frustrating from my standpoint…I wasn't super confident in my fitness and so didn't want to lead, but there was a lot of meaningless passing and cutting-off going on during the race (of which I cannot call myself blameless). I even utilized the much-vilified inside pass from my bag of tricks when rookie Dan Fournier and I were stuck behind someone falling off the lead pack. The only part of the race I was happy with was the finish: I closed the last 400m in 66, and the last 200 in 31, likely the fastest I've ever finished a race, which speaks more to having too much left than any improvements in speed. The video of my heat is below: 

The 1500 the next day went better for me, even in the times are comparable in scoring. I raced more aggressively and knocked 5 seconds off from what I ran at Guelph. 

I'll be skipping out on Western and running McGill in two weeks for the first time since my first year at Waterloo. Hopefully I can shake off some bad memories, as the last time I was there I ran 9:20 in the 3K after watching Megan Brown post a 9:11 in the same event…I thereafter referred to her as the castrator from the dominant way in which she crushed the women's field and me. 

16 times better

I've raced twice since my last blog, my first foray back into competition since CI's back in mid-November. I altered my original plan mentioned in the last post by choosing to race only the 1000 as my indoor season opener at the Louis Riel Dome in Ottawa. This was mainly due to time constraints, as I did not feel like waiting around all day to race the 1500 (since registration for all events had to be completed before noon). 

I rather optimistically registered with a 2:38 seed time, which had me third on the start list in the fastest heat. Seeing the heat sheets were cause for some pause; I was worried I would not live up to my seeding place. As it turns out, while the time was well off (I ended up running 2:42), I still finished third overall since most of the speed demons at the meet had entered the 1500 (going through 1k quicker than I completed my race in). I had mixed feelings about the effort; the first lap of ~63 had felt quite good, but the next lap was 66 seconds and I finished the final 200 at the same pace, running only 33 seconds as my legs started to leaden up. Perhaps if I had someone to work off of in the second lap I may have run faster, but I'm not sure. Regardless, this was coming off a 90+ mile week and with my fastest paces in training being done on the treadmill, so I wasn't too disappointed. 

The week after the race my training left something to be desired as I finished up things at work, packed up my stuff, and finally made the drive home on the 23rd. This lowered my confidence somewhat headed into the Boxing Day 10 miler in my hometown. I hoped that I could still run a decent time, but my expectations were not incredibly high. 

Race morning brought a dusting of snow and ice to the roads, which actually perked me up slightly; I figured the slight changed in conditions would make the race more interesting from a competitive perspective. Once on course, however, the roads and paths were quite clear (ignoring the stretch of gravel/dirt/snow on the Radial trail), but the wind was a different story altogether. Following the gun, I let the lead group of nine go ahead at a pace I could not hold, which meant I was immediately running solo into the wind heading towards the Waterfront trail. The strength of the gusts were obvious when turning onto the bay front and running along the path with the wind at my back produced a 5:14 mile following one close to 6 minutes when the wind was in my face. 

Apart from a stretch from miles 2 to 5 where I was sitting on a (now) masters runner named Pedrag who has consistently beaten me every year since I started running competitively, I ran the rest of the race solo, trying to track down the guys in front of me while keeping my distance from those closing in from behind. At the five mile marker I went past Alex Meyer, but could not keep pace with Pedrag as he went chasing off the guys in front up the Longwood Avenue hill. It was not until I was in the final mile that I would catch a flagging Rejean "Chainsaw" Chaisson, giving me an eighth place finish. Rejean explained to me later that he was having training issues and had abandoned his original plan which would have had him running Houston Marathon in January in an attempt to hit the qualifying time for the World Championships this upcoming August. I was admittedly a bit of a fanboy talking to him, even referring to him as Chainsaw when he introduced himself, and complimenting him on his awesome runs previous Toronto Waterfront marathons. I offered him the best of luck in sorting out his issues to get back running some super fast times. 

My reaction to the race? I was quite happy. The wind was brutal (though my training log from last year noted windy conditions as well), and I still ran almost a minute faster than last year (55:38 vs. 56:21), . Considering my confidence going in wasn't too high, I can be nothing but satisfied with the outcome- it was a good rebound following the 1k. 

And now 2013 is upon us! This is a big, big year for me: in 4 months I will have completed my undergraduate education, and will immediately be thrust into the real world (but not before a big trip overseas!). It'll be interesting to see what I can muster up indoors- aerobically I think I'm there, so it's just a matter of how quickly I can get my legs turning over. I'll try and keep the updates coming.