One Week to Zumbro 50-mile and The Vegetarian Experiment
Current Weight: 180 lbs.
Miles Run Last Week: 20
Long Run This Week: 8 Miles
It is coming down to crunch time....One week from today I will have finished my first ultra-marathon, the Zumbro Midnight 50-mile. As Tony said at the end of our long run last weekend, now is time to relax, let our bodies heal, and reflect on our training.
Letting my body heal is probably the most important part of that statement for me to take into account. Weeks of training 35-55 miles on roads has taken it's toll on my body. I have several nagging injuries that have lowered the quality of my running over the past few weeks. My little bout with these nagging injuries all started with tendinitis in my right foot. This caused me to start to over compensate with my opposite leg, leading to pain in my right hip flexor and piriformis. While nagging injuries are not pretty, they are part of being an Ultra-runner. They are something that every serious runner I know deals with (as much as we hate to admit it), and why runners obsess so much over staying injury free. Nagging injuries are going to happen when you run as much as we do. The important thing is to be smart about handling them, so that they go away quickly and don't progress from a nagging injury to a more serious problem that may cost you months of running. I've been diligent about utilizing myofacial release techniques, stretching, doing proper warm-ups, and eating an anti-inflammatory diet to help me get past these injuries. I also took several 4-5 day stretches of no running in the past few weeks. I'm happy to say that my runs this weekend were completely pain free. I am ready for Zumbro, and I'm excited to get to experience my first ultra-distance event.
For me, this week was about reflection and recovery. I turned off my phones GPS tracker, paid no attention to pace, and just ran for the fun of it. If there is one thing I've learned about training for challenging events, it's that you will burn out if you forget to love your sport for what it is. Sure I love the challenge, I love the competitive aspect of running, but more than anything I love just getting out the door and freeing my mind of the rest of the world. This week was about getting back in touch with my love for running.
Today I traveled to Highland Park Reserve to run around that park, see how the snow melt was coming, and get in 8 miles at a relaxed pace. Although my run at Highland was enjoyable, I found myself longing to head out to Mary Hills Park near my house after I got back. Mary Hills Park is practically in my backyard, so I decided to go for a second run today. I ended up finding the trails in partially melted, but very run-able condition. I had a fantastic little five mile-ish run through the winding single track trails of the park, and enjoyed every minute of it. I also got a chance to compare shoes to find out what would work the best in the muddy conditions we'll be dealing with next week at Zumbro. I found out that my Altra Lone Peak's handle the mud much better than my other shoe of choice lately, the Pearl Izumi N2 Trail. While both have good traction, the lower profile and "Trail Claw" out sole of the Altra's lends itself much better the wet stuff. The Pearl Izumi's also tend to collect mud and become heavy, while the Altra's shed mud quickly.
A few of my personal training client's have asked me what my diet is like with all of this running. The truth is that my diet is a lot like it was before, with slightly more calories. I keep a focus on whole foods, with lots of vegetables and fruit. My diet is about 90% plant based, with a little bit of meat and dairy tossed in. I am a big believer that you get out what you put in, and I believe my food intake is as much a part of my training as getting in my training runs. This month, my girlfriend, Isabel, and I decided to do a little bit of an experiment with our nutrition. We decided we were going to eliminate meat, wheat products and chocolate (this one was for me...I eat way too much chocolate..) for the month of April. For me, this means not a lot of change, but for her the absence of meat and wheat are huge. She was brought up on chicken, steak and lots of Pasta. What this does mean for me is that my nutritional habits are now reinforced by her, making it easier to stick to what is ideal for fueling my body for running. I have come to believe that the body runs best on a diet low in processed foods, and high in vegetables, legumes, and healthy whole grains (and I don't mean whole wheat flour, I mean actual whole grains - quinoa, oats etc.). Although I still eat dairy, it is a self-admitted indulgence of mine and I don't believe it has a role in a perfect diet profile. I could write a whole other blog on nutrition, and I likely will at some point.
In five days and seven hours Tony and I will be flipping the switch on our headlamps, about to run 50-miles of beautiful trails on and around the Zumbro River Bottoms in Southeast, MN. I will be going into this race with 100% confidence that we will complete it. We have put in a hell of an effort in our training, and I know it will pay off. Wish us luck!
Miles Run Last Week: 20
Long Run This Week: 8 Miles
 |
| Couldn't be happier to be off the roads! |
Letting my body heal is probably the most important part of that statement for me to take into account. Weeks of training 35-55 miles on roads has taken it's toll on my body. I have several nagging injuries that have lowered the quality of my running over the past few weeks. My little bout with these nagging injuries all started with tendinitis in my right foot. This caused me to start to over compensate with my opposite leg, leading to pain in my right hip flexor and piriformis. While nagging injuries are not pretty, they are part of being an Ultra-runner. They are something that every serious runner I know deals with (as much as we hate to admit it), and why runners obsess so much over staying injury free. Nagging injuries are going to happen when you run as much as we do. The important thing is to be smart about handling them, so that they go away quickly and don't progress from a nagging injury to a more serious problem that may cost you months of running. I've been diligent about utilizing myofacial release techniques, stretching, doing proper warm-ups, and eating an anti-inflammatory diet to help me get past these injuries. I also took several 4-5 day stretches of no running in the past few weeks. I'm happy to say that my runs this weekend were completely pain free. I am ready for Zumbro, and I'm excited to get to experience my first ultra-distance event.
For me, this week was about reflection and recovery. I turned off my phones GPS tracker, paid no attention to pace, and just ran for the fun of it. If there is one thing I've learned about training for challenging events, it's that you will burn out if you forget to love your sport for what it is. Sure I love the challenge, I love the competitive aspect of running, but more than anything I love just getting out the door and freeing my mind of the rest of the world. This week was about getting back in touch with my love for running.
 |
| Outsole on Lone Peak 1.5 |
A few of my personal training client's have asked me what my diet is like with all of this running. The truth is that my diet is a lot like it was before, with slightly more calories. I keep a focus on whole foods, with lots of vegetables and fruit. My diet is about 90% plant based, with a little bit of meat and dairy tossed in. I am a big believer that you get out what you put in, and I believe my food intake is as much a part of my training as getting in my training runs. This month, my girlfriend, Isabel, and I decided to do a little bit of an experiment with our nutrition. We decided we were going to eliminate meat, wheat products and chocolate (this one was for me...I eat way too much chocolate..) for the month of April. For me, this means not a lot of change, but for her the absence of meat and wheat are huge. She was brought up on chicken, steak and lots of Pasta. What this does mean for me is that my nutritional habits are now reinforced by her, making it easier to stick to what is ideal for fueling my body for running. I have come to believe that the body runs best on a diet low in processed foods, and high in vegetables, legumes, and healthy whole grains (and I don't mean whole wheat flour, I mean actual whole grains - quinoa, oats etc.). Although I still eat dairy, it is a self-admitted indulgence of mine and I don't believe it has a role in a perfect diet profile. I could write a whole other blog on nutrition, and I likely will at some point.
In five days and seven hours Tony and I will be flipping the switch on our headlamps, about to run 50-miles of beautiful trails on and around the Zumbro River Bottoms in Southeast, MN. I will be going into this race with 100% confidence that we will complete it. We have put in a hell of an effort in our training, and I know it will pay off. Wish us luck!
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