What I've been up to lately, Spring Woes, and Beer consumption via 1 Liter Mugs

Front page banner for the Crystal City April 5k Race series.  Look who's making eye contact! (me)

Kind of cool thing.  Was checking out the Crystal City 5k Fridays website and found a picture of none other than yours truly   I'm the only person really looking into the camera!  This one is actually from a year ago but I suppose they need to have something to show and races recycle old footage all the time as it is.

Some 0.0 Miles and BEER!

This was a great find on a walk.  I had heard of the "0.0"
sticker online but hand't seen it until now. MMM BEER!

The picture to our left kind of sums up my last couple of weeks.  After my fun win at the Fly Like an Eagle 5k, and then a 4 hour ultra training run on the Potomac Heritage Trail (most fun I've had in ages by the way) I knew I needed rest if I wanted to avoid serious injury.  This wasn't acute, I could feel something building but I just kind of dealt with it so I could run my 5k and then get one last super long trail run in.

The cause?  Frustrating but almost certainly self-imposed.  Should have taken a little more time off after Boston, should have run fewer miles in the weeks following, should not have run four 5ks within the span of a couple of weeks.  Shoulda, woulda, didnta.  It wasn't the end of the world.  I rested and cross-trained like heck for a week until I felt about 90% solid, did an 8ish mile trail run at Difficult Run (near Great Falls) on a Sunday.  Still didn't feel perfect but getting better.

Then, foolishly, I test ran some Newtons at my Tuesday Fun Run group.  They felt great!  While I was running in them at least - then came the next day, worse pain than I had the previous week.  Something was up in my inner lower leg, as well as the top of my left butt cheek.  Some Google-ing (and convincing myself that I'm a sports physiologist capable of accurate self-diagnoses) helped convince me it was a mild case of Posterior Shin Splints and a sore Piriformis, respectively.  Nothing serious, not painful, and nothing that inhibited normal movement (ie walking or bike riding), but this is not something you want to just ignore and run through, crossing your fingers it will go away.  So I had another week of R.I.C.E, meaning a rest from running, though this time with not as much cross-training as I would have liked.  At a certain point of withdrawal from running you just get so sick of riding your bike or driving to the gym just to see people happily running outside that its easier to just stay home and sulk.  Fortunately I had some other stuff going on to keep me busy.

This downtime did at least give me a chance to enjoy the great weather in more standard, unrunning related ways.  I took my dog for plenty of walks and even let her meander around the trails at times.  It also gave me a chance to catch up on some sleep, work, and all important video games - what male lifestyle would be complete without them right?

Some wondering around taking in the spring smells,  and
 galloping back and forth on the trails.

Happy Beerday!

It was also my birthday last weekend on May 12th.  That's right, every few years my birthday falls on Mother's Day.  Could there be a better Mother's Day gift?  There's probably some kind of immature Oedipus complex slash mama's boy pun in there somewhere - I'll let your imagination do the talking.

While I am typically someone who likes to coast quietly through my Birthday, this year I decided to roll up my sleeves and plan an outing at a private room in a local [dive] bar.  I love beer, especially when served in 1 Liter mugs; I also love all things Bavaria and Germany, so the theme was clear: Oktoberfest.  Things turned out great and it gave me a chance to drag out some friends I hadn't seen in ages.  Sunday I was definitely too hungover to do any real exercising - I mean, I planned it as a rest day ahead of time!

Saying "Prost" to my lady; attempting to drink out of
a balloon; and posing with a group of good friends.

I went for a 5 mile tune up run last night.  Things started out feeling a little achy but gradually improved leaving me cautiously optimistic.  It was also my first day running in hotter (and humider) weather so I blamed feeling out of shape on that.  Running on a warm spring evening did make me realize how crummy winter running can be, its just so nice running while its light out, with lots of other people out on the trails, never having to worry about getting cold.  I might not sound so positive in a month when its 90 and humid though.

As you might also recall, I had planned on doing an ultra, the Capon Valley 50k, in West Virginia the morning of my birthday.  I ended up having to sit this one out due to the aforementioned aches and pains.  I could  have done it, but this would hurt and not help my efforts to stay healthy and train for ultras this summer.  If it was a goal race (like Chicago) I would have gone out there and gave it my all, dealing with the consequences later.  However, I'm mature enough now to know I'll be miserable if I have to rest for a month just from doing a non-goal race.  There is always next year - At least I didn't have to wake up at 4am!

Northface is in 2.5 weeks, that means in about 20 days I'll attempt to cover 50 miles on foot.  I have mixed feelings on this, I know it won't go great since I haven't gotten to train the way I like this spring; I also know that I will finish the task, more than likely in a time leaving some middle and back-of-the-packers envious.  The biggest piece of advice that I have heard about ultras and which I have taken close to heart is the following: "Start slow and then Slow Down".  This will be my strategy from the start, along with drinking and eating regularly.

Similar to when I ran Boston, I really am not nervous about Northface.  I think nervousness before a race typically comes from setting an intimidating goal for yourself.  Low expectations = low apprehension level.