Runner Insight

Don’t Worry, The Bridge is Still Standing

As you may know, I have been training for my 2^nd full marathon coming up in July.  After writing my soon to be published book, “Running Blind: The Journey of a Blind Runner Training for Her First Marathon” I decided it would be fun to run another full marathon to be able to put into practice all that I had learned from the first time around. 

So starting in March, I have been adding miles onto my long run on Sundays.  A few weeks ago, I ran the 18 miles that my marathon training schedule said I was to run.  Not really having a route that is long enough to run straight out and back, I had to come up with a plan that would allow me to get my 18 miles in somewhere around town, in areas that I was familiar with. 

It did involve me having to back track some of my miles, and run past my house again, which usually makes me want to head straight for the barn like some kind of out of control horse, but since it was only a few miles into my run, I didn’t have a problem passing the barn…err my house. 

I was now 6 miles into my run with another 12 to go.  I knew if I ran all the way down the Kim Williams Trail, an old railroad route turned into a bike and pedestrian path, I’d be able to get my full 18 miles that I needed.  I have always enjoyed running this trail, but since my eyesight has gotten worse, I have not run on it by myself in a few years. 

The main reason I don’t run it is because I have to go a lot slower and really watch out for tripping hazards such as rocks, fallen branches, and small children. 

Once on the trail, I remembered how much I loved running on the well traveled path. The mostly dirt trail runs right alongside the river.  It starts at the edge of the U of M campus and goes in about 3 miles.  It’s very peaceful and pretty, but as I said, lots of opportunities for me to get tripped up.

So on this particular Sunday, I had to be extra careful as I was running the trail with 12 miles already logged on my pedometer.  My legs were getting fatigued as I turned around to head back, the last 6 miles home.  

But it wasn’t on the rocky, family and children-infested trail that I “ran” into trouble.  The trouble was much less obvious to anyone with eyesight. It  came on the newly paved Riverfront trail that hooks up with the Kim Williams Trail.

I had deployed my white cane after coming off the dirt trail, and was weaving it back and forth on the shiny new path, thinking how nice it was.  The weather had been a perfect 56F degrees and partly sunny. All of a sudden a gust of wind and some light rain began to fall, just as I felt myself leaving the path. 

I was on a downward slope, and I knew I had gone off the path, and was preparing to stop, when a very large and very hard concrete pillar stopped me instead! 

Imagine my shock and disbelief as I did a face plant into concrete.  My nose and upper lip took the brunt of the impact.  Thankfully my running hat and white cane kept me from hitting it super hard.  I’m not saying I didn’t hit it hard, but at least I didn’t knock out any teeth or break my nose!

This concrete pillar is attached to a major bridge.  Yup about the only obstacle on this path, and I run right in to it!

So I stood there licking my wounds….well, not really licking… I used a tissue, and made an assessment of the damage.  Other than a fat lip and a small cut on my upper lip, I would live to run another day.  I debated with myself whether I should call home.  But since I was not hurt too bad, and I really did want to finish my run and get my 18 miles in, I pulled myself together and continued on.  I’m just glad I couldn’t see the people’s faces as I ran by, I’m sure I was a sight to see.  I did stop and run cold water on my lip from a water fountain.

Sometimes it sucks to be a blind runner!

When I got home we got an ice pack for my lip.  I said, “At least I didn’t come home without any teeth.” 

T replied, “Just come home, we’ll deal with the teeth later, just come home!”  We  both laughed, what else could we do?  I know it’s scary for her to let me go out and be independent, especially when I do things like this, but she knows that I’m doing what I love, and really I am careful, and now I know not to run into pillars…Yes I knew it before, but now I REALLY know!

How ‘bout it?

-Vision Runner

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What I Did Wrong: 5 Lessons From My Marathon Experience

I think it’s important to look at an experience and figure out what could have gone better, in addition to what went right.  So, in considering my first marathon experience, I wanted to expand on some of the things I did wrong with my marathon training and preparation for the race.

As I look at it, I see about 5 significant things that I could have done differently to improve my overall marathon experience.  

I recently heard it said that it’s not “Experience is the best teacher,” but rather “Someone else’s experience is the best teacher.”

Obviously experience, whether your own or someone else’s, is a good teacher, but in the spirit of providing you with the best instructor (someone else’s experience) I’m going to share with you lessons from my own marathon trials and tribulations. That way, if you should decide to train for a marathon or half-marathon, these lessons that I learned could be beneficial to both of us.

After all if we’re going to spend 6 months training and preparing for an endurance race that lasts multiple hours, it would be wise for us to do more things right than wrong.

So…Away we go.

One of the first things that I know I did wrong during my marathon training program (and actually, I was aware of it when it was happening) was not doing any strength training, especially core strength exercises.

Even though it wasn’t until over a year later that I found out that my back was way out of alignment and that I was running over 13 lbs heavier on my right side than my left, by doing the core strength exercises I know I would not have had as much trouble with my right hip and foot during the 26.2 mile race.

Not to mention it would have been a quicker and easier recovery afterwards.

Another thing I should have done but chose not to (purely from an immediate gratification standpoint) was training in hot weather.  Since the Missoula Marathon is in mid-July, it should have been a no brainer…but I despised running in hot weather.  Big mistake on my part, as we had the hottest summer on record! 

By only training during the cool morning hours, my body was not prepared for the 90 to 100 degree weather that day. I totally screwed up my water and nutritional intake.  While I was racing, I was consuming way too many power gels. But I was in a panic – not knowing what else to do, trying to maintain my fuel tank and hydration levels.  Granted, in temps over 95 degrees I’m not sure how anyone can stay hydrated running for more than four hours, but I clearly didn’t help the situation.

The third major mistake I made was a mental error: starting out too fast.  For some unexplained reason, in my mind I thought I could run a 4:00 marathon – even though I had never run that fast in any of my training runs.  In fact, I had not done any speed work at all!  So that I chalk up to plain ol’ ego! 

By starting out at too fast of a pace, I set myself up for right hip pain, my foot going numb, and hitting the wall at mile 20.

And the one genuinely stupid thing I did, that I actually knew better than to do was wearing a pair of socks that I had not washed yet. And believe me, I paid for it with a nasty blister on the back of my heel.

Remember that thing I said about someone else’s experience being the best teacher? Well take advantage of this last lesson, cause this one I learned the hard way – I couldn’t have known it before I did it – but you can, now that I’m going to tell you: never, never sit down right after the race!  Not only will it be excruciating to try and get back up, but it’s embarrassing as you’re providing entertainment for anyone watching when you do try it. Walk around for about ten minutes or so after hitting the finish line.

I know the first instinct is to sit – for crying out loud you’ve just run 26.2 miles!  But don’t do it!   You’ll thank me when you don’t have to call for help to get off the toilet! Sure, it’s funny…but I’m not really kidding.

So now that you know what I did wrong, you won’t have to make the same mistakes – you can make your own. For that’s what it’s all about: learning from your mistakes, so the next race will be that much better.     

Ready to Run?

How ‘bout it?

-Vision Runner

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Mixed Emotions

Well let me tell you, after running my first marathon in 2007, I really needed some time off to heal.  After the stiffness wore off, I found that my right ankle was weak.  Sometimes walking on it, it felt like I may have had a stress fracture.  But it wasn’t all the time, and since I was not planning on running any time soon, I just made sure I was very careful with it. 

And my legs! They stayed sore for days.  I was amazed how long it took for my legs to stop feeling like twin tree stumps slogging through knee-high mud whenever I walked! 

Not only did I need to rest my body physically, I needed to rest emotionally as well.  Training for the marathon had taken up over half of my year!  In some ways it was hard to believe it was over.  For 6 ½ months my life revolved around my marathon training schedule, and now, suddenly, it didn’t. In a way, I felt more emotionally drained than physically. 

In the weeks that followed the marathon, I vacillated between elation and frustration. Of course I was proud of the fact that I had run a full 26.2 miles, but at the same time, I was disappointed that I had to walk a lot of the last 6 miles, which significantly slowed my finish time.  

I recognized that I had made some errors in my training and the actual running of the race.  It was too bad, but there was no way I was going to ever run another full marathon again…or so I thought. 

It was a good month or so before I started to feel the need to run again.  In the meantime I did a lot of walking, and that was just fine by me. 

It was not until over two years later, at the very end of 2008 that I realized that my structural alignment was off the charts.  A bout of sciatica brought me to my knees (literally).  During 2009 I spent lots of time getting to know my wonderful chiropractor and following his instruction on everything from stretching to hydration and nutrition.  And now I’m in tip-top shape. In fact, I’m in better shape than I’ve ever been in my life before considering that I’ve spent my entire adult life until 2009 with my back out of alignment as my body compensated for a knee injury I suffered in high school. In fact, I was so askew that I was 13.5 lbs heavier on my right side when I first went to see the chiropractor. 

Running now, with my body in alignment has allowed me to put in more miles in a week than I ever thought I was capable of.  It’s nice to know that if I ever do choose to run another full marathon, my alignment should have a major role in a better outcome at the finish line. 

Ready to Run?

How ‘bout it?

-Vision Runner     

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