Groin muscle injury…
Every couple of years, I become very familiar with a given muscle, ligament or tendon in my legs due to an injury. Earlier this month, I pulled two muscles in my groin, the adductor longus(F) and the adductor magnus(H) on my right leg. For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been going for aggressive physiotherapy and massages and these sessions are helping me get back to running. These session are so intense that they have been leaving bruises on my leg. I’ve cycling to work daily for just over a month as they cycling is good cross-training for these muscles. As well, I’ve been doing long sessions of indoor rowing machine which are helping to rehab the leg but spending 30 minutes on the rowing machine doesn’t equate to say a 30 minute run outside. It sucks when you get injured but since I haven’t been injured for a while I guess it was time. I’ve been doing some very specialized groin stretches which are strengthening the area. The injury has put a damper on a couple of road races in April that I was hoping to do. The running is coming back slowly with each workout getting progressively long and harder. I long for the day when the muscles are fully healed and I can run carefree.
Phoenix half-marathon with a quick detour to San Diego, CA
It’s time to blog about my latest adventure to Phoenix, AZ with a side tour of San Diego. This would be my sixth visit to Phoenix and my fifth time running in the PF Chang half-marathon. I left Ottawa on Friday morning with my checked luggage and Macbook. The Christmas day travel nightmare prevented me from having any carry on luggage. It was a quick flight to Newark, NJ where I spent much day before my late afternoon flight over to Phoenix. Newark airport has wall plug in various locations throughout the termnal so one you can surf the web (work) and charge up your laptop at the same time. JB and Ashley met me at the airport and our first stop was PF Chang for our traditional pre-race dinner. When I incorporate the two hour time change I headed to bed early on Saturday morning.
I started off my weekend with a filling breakfast at the Hampton Inn. Our first stop was the race expo held in the new Phoenix Convention Center. The race expo was twice as large as last year and I was able to get my race packet and t-shirt quickly. Once again I was starting in the first race corral which brought a smile to my face. We headed to over to REI as I wanted to check out a travel mug that Jason had got for Christmas. Over the weekend I used it multiple times and it kept my tea hot for three to four hours. We next headed over to JB’s place and I was able to pick some tangelosfrom a tree in their backyard. They are really juicy. JB, Ashley and I headed over to Qboda for burritos. We spent most of the afternoon walking the various trails at the Phoenix/Desert Botanical garden. I had my pre-race pasta dinner at an Italian restaurant that serves enormous meat balls with their spaghetti.
On Sunday morning, I was up at 5:00 am and headed to the hotel lobby to fill up my travel mug with hot tea. This year I decided to eat my breakfast later in the morning rather than at the hotel. At 6:00 am I caught the hotel shuttle for a 40 minute ride to the start. Your arrive in the dark and there is a buzz to the air with 25,000 people getting psyched for their marathon or half-marathon. I decided to take refuge near the Arizona Senate building to eat my breakfast until the marathoners had started their race. With a little over 40 minutes to the start, I joined that long line of people waiting to use a port-a-potty. It look me about 15 minutes before I could relieve myself. It was then a quick dash over to the UPS trucks to drop off my gear bag. I did an easy warmup as I ran towards the first corral and stretched will waiting for the race to start. The official starter was Senator John McCain and it was great to see him. At 8:30 am on the dot, the gun went off and we started our 13.1 mile journey south towards Tempe, AZ. I decided to run the race at a constant pace and to treat the race as long Sunday run as I knew that setting a course PR was out of the question. As I drew closer and closer to Tempe the crowds began to build. With a mile to go I picked up the pace and sprinted to the finish. It felt good to get my finisher’s medal. I picked some food and headed out to meet JB. We attempted to head back to the hotel but got bogged down with road closures so I walked about half-a-mile which gave my legs a chance to recover. Within 45 minutes of finishing the race I had showered and checked out of the hotel which was a record for me. The goal was to see if we could catch a San Diego/Pacific Ocean sunset. It was an ambitious goal. As we headed west the Saguaro cacti and desert transformed into large boulder mountains. Along the way we were gaining elevation and peaked at 4,141 feet. On the other side of the mountain, we found miles and miles of sand dunes which eventually transformed in lush fields of lettuce and cabbages. Once we acrossed the state line the traffic started to buildup and become more congested. We arrived at the San Diego beach within 30 minutes of sunset. It was an awesome sight watching the colors develop and very gradually fade into darkness.
On Monday morning, I awoke to find my legs a little stiff but not sore from the race. This was a good thing. I looked at the heart rate data gathered during the race and it showed I had a hard race but not a stressing one. After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and headed down to the marina. It was a dark and overcast day, not what I would have expected for California. I was expecting warm conditions, perpetual sun, palm tree along the road and miles of beautiful people. I had to settle for the palm trees. As we walked along the marina there were fishing boats with their lobster and crab pots drying out and most boat were birthed for the day. There was a warning that severe weather was coming. One of our goals of the day was to take a boat cruise of the north and south harbor. As we were waiting in line to boat, JB couldn’t stop singing the theme song from “Gilligan’s Island.” We would be out for a two hour tour not a fateful three hour tour. As the boat was backing out of the harbor I could hear a grinding sound. It sounded like gears grinding against each other. It was under a strong wind and light rain that we started our journey. JB opted to have a Bloody Mary to calm his nerves as the boat started to rock in the waves. As the captain shift to full throttle to combat the waves the boat started to shudder and then stopped. One of the engines was dead. We very slowly crept back to shore with one engine and got a refund. Once on shore it started to rain and the clouds looked dark. JB decided I should take a picture of him writing “I love Ash” in the sand. We headed over to the beach and as we stepped of of the car I could feel the rain soaking through my jacket. I grabbed a couple of dog poo bag to protect my camera and phone from the rain. I offered JB one but he declined. I was happy to be on the road taking pictures while we scribed in the sand. He had nearly finished writing in the said when I head a strong expletive like “Oh, F***.” His new Android phone had fallen in the ocean was starting to float away. Once back at the car he took out the battery and laid the disassembled phone on a towel. We were sort of screwed as we were Google maps on the Android phone to navigate in San Diego. I pulled to my GPS which only has base map for California and got using going in a easterly direction. Somehow we reached a dead end which lead onto a military base. A very attractive private gave us directions to the freeway. By this time we were experiencing torrential rain and the roads became minature lakes. This was the first time I had seen a storm surge. Most of the road don’t have storm drains. We headed east as quickly as we could with thoughts that we could outrun the storm. As we climbed through the mountains the rain abated but was replaced by thick fog. As we descended down the other side of the mountains we found that we were driving in good conditions, a clear sky and a dry road. The drive back to Phoenix from this point onwards was uneventful. As we were driving towards JB’s place we checked the phone and it started to work again. I credit this to good design on Google’s part. On Tuesday morning I headed home to Ottawa.
Last workout before my first race of the year
It’s a couple of days before my first race of the year and tonight I did my final workout under questionable weather conditions. It was midway between raining and snowing. As I set off for my run, I knew I was in for a challenge as ice started to form on my glasses making it had to see in the dark. Ever couple of minutes, I wiped my finger across my glasses to thaw the ice. As the workout continued ice started to accumulate and very soon I had a thin layer of ice forming down the front of my jacket and pants. It was a unique experience. I ran long enough to satisfy my legs but not long enough to tire them out for my upcoming 13.1 mile half-marathon race in the southern US. Once back at the gym, I noticed that icicles had formed in my hair. As I was taking on my hat I noticed a long icicle was attached to my hat. I sucked on it while doing my stretching, expecting that it would have a salty taste but it tasted like good old water.
2009 Baltimore Half-marathon adventure
Very soon I’ll start my second Baltimore adventure and thought I would take a moment to write about my most recent one. For much of the summer and fall the people I train with on Wednesday night at the Running Room had been gearing up for the Ottawa Army half-marathon race near the end of September. Coach Phil had designed a training program so we would peak for around that time. I was able to continue the program for another week. As I was heading down to Baltimore I knew that I probably should have done two more 12-13 mile long runs but if I had done so I would not be racing on fresh legs. I spent the final week detraining and allowing my legs to recover. This is a phase of training that I don’t enjoy as you cut back on your training volume and one feels grouchy.
On Thursday, before the race I picked up race packet and like the new system where you pick up your race number outside and then head into Raven Stadium to pick up your gear bag and t-shirt. Friday was spent giving my legs some more time to recover for the pending race. On Saturday morning, I got early and started the fueling routine of eating part of a book of Vector cereal. Jason drove me quite close to starting line area which was great. Thanks, Jason. If I’m lucky may be I can convince him to run the 5km race next year. I spent about an hour chilling at the Raven Stadium before eating my pre-race Clif bar. The idea was to stay relaxed while waiting for the race. About 40 minutes before the start, I headed over to the Inner Harbor to do my warm-up run followed by stretching. With about 15 minutes go I headed over to corral #1 to find a good starting point. After the national anthem was played we started on our 13.1 mile journey by heading north-west over to Patterson Park. The weather started to deteriorate in light rain which reduced one’s traction. On the uphills you would slip backwards and on the downhill you would slide forward. One of the race highlights was running in Clifton Park. A second highlight was running a loop of Lake Montebello before heading over to John Hopkins University before heading south to finish at Camden Yards. I was pleased with the way I finished as I had medical complications along the course. When I started off the racing I was sweating which is not a good thing. I had a migraine and severe stomach pain for much of the race. I was tempted to stop in at the medical tent at the end of the race but decided to pass. In the end, I was pleased with my time and place as I improved on my performance over last year and am looking forward to doing the race in 2010.
While in Baltimore I was able to do some geocaching in Falls Road area. I found a couple of geocaches in Falls Road Park before heading over to Robert E. Lee Park which has an awesome running trail network as well as mountain bike trails.
Three more runs to go…
As I type this blog I realize that time is running out. This a good thing. I only have three more workouts before I do my half-marathon in Baltimore next Saturday. I’ll do my usual 40 minute run along the Rideau Canal tomorrow night. The Friday night swing dancing and Saturday night contra-dancing don’t count as workout. On Sunday morning, I’ll do a 10 mile easy long run. On Tuesday or Wednesday I’ll do my final workout which will most likely be quite peppy. I’m looking forward to next weekend for a whole host of reasons. It caps off my fall training season which has been more intense than usual. I will be able to see my good friend Jason and his fiance.
Baltimore Race Weekend Approaches…
In a couple of weeks, I’ll be heading down to Baltimore to run in my fifth Baltimore half-marathon. It is a race that I look forward to each year as it comes at the end of my summer and fall training season and it’s how I like to conclude my racing year. There are a variety of things that I like about the race course, running around Patterson Park near the start of the race, the Lake Clifton pump house at the midpoint of the course, doing a loop around Lake Montebello and finally the finale, of running through the gates of Camden Yards towards the finish line. My workouts are getting longer, tougher and more intense as I prepare for the race. I’ve heard it rumoured that Baltimore races are for the strong runner and not necessarily the speed. I’m at the point where I still have a couple of more long runs but very soon I’ll reach a point where I can start checking them off the list and it will be time to give my legs a chance to recover for the big day.
Running training goal
Last week’s Running Room workout was not what I had expected. We were suppose to start our second round of 1,000 meter intervals on 60 seconds rest. The workout would be 4×1,000 meters with 60 second rest between each interval. We have been getting some much rain in Ottawa recently that our 1,000 meter loop in the arboretum has become water logged.
On paper, we would be doing a simpler workout 1 minute hard, 1 minute easy, 2 minutes hard, 1 minute easy and 1 minute hard. We would do six of these sets. Over the course of 45 minutes we ran just over five miles at close to 85% of my maximum heart rate. I was suffering when I got home on Wednesday night. As we were running back to the store the coach mentioned why the change of plan. We would be starting our training next week to peak for fall marathons and half-marathons. I wanted to blog that my fall goal is to race the Army Run half-marathon run in the September, and either the Baltimore half-marathon or Philadelphia half-marathon later in the fall. So, next week it is back to intervals but with a long rest period (90 seconds) which is fine with me as I won’t be grasping for air between the intervals.
Day #2 Heart rate study a VO2 max test – max
A couple of days ago, I did the second part of the heart rate study which involved running as hard as I could on a treadmill as the incline increased every minute. When we tried the treadmill test last week we were plagued by a nose clips that kept sliding off. Rachel was able to locate a nose clip that kayakers use when doing the eskimo rolls. With the new nose clip the test started and we were starting to get some good data until I started to profusely sweat. Bingo, off goes the nose clip! By this point in the test my legs were still fresh and I was feeling energetic and could have run for another 15 minutes and was keen to see how high I could boost my VO2 max value. Rachel has a couple of minutes of quality data which is what she needed for the research so she pulled the experiment. Oh, crap! So, I know what my VO2 value was somewhere in the high 50s but much lower than my past tests. After the treadmill session I had to wear the heart monitor for another 24 hours. The goal of the research was to compare my pre- and post-test heart rate responses.
One of the fun parts of the test is that I ran on the latest and greatest of treadmills. Rather than running on a continous belt I ran on a Woodway ELG treadmill which has 87 rubber slats which rotate sort of like a caterpillar track. The slats have a nice spring and mimics running on a rubber floor.
Heart rate study — Day #1 Again
This morning I headed over to uOttawa to redo my heart rate research study. A bit of background the research study is looking at “the evaluation of continuous HRV during 24 hour periods and during staged exercise testing.” While at the university they attached five heart rate sensor patches to my chest which are smaller and more comfortable than the ones they used last week. Rachel was happy with the first-24-hours worth of data collected before the VO2 test fiasco. As I was heading back to the office they promised me that they had found a new nose clip which won’t slide off during the VO2 running test tomorrow. We’ll have to see what happens. In anticipation of the test, I gave my legs a couple of days rest from running.
On another note, I had one of my best swing dance nights on Friday. I danced with a record number of followers and for some reason followers wanted to dance with me. There was only one bummer and that is, I didn’t drink my diet coke before the dance. This made dancing a little hard as I really had to concentrate and focus on the music, and my footwork. Corona and I discovered a new form of dancing which we are called “fan dancing.” Ottawa Swing Dance Society recently changed it dance location to a church hall which doesn’t have air conditioning. I usually dance in shorts and a short-sleeve shirt. While Corona and I were dancing I steered her so that we were dancing in front of the fan. This made dancing in the hot church more bareable. For the rest of the night, I would steer my follower over to the fan so we could have a “fan dance.” I think they appreciated the breeze from the fan.
Day #2 Heart study
This morning I headed over to uOttawa for the second part of the heart rate study, the VO2 test on a treadmill. After doing a warmup on the treadmill and then some stretching, it was time for the fun to begin. There are a couple of ways to conduct the test, one ways is to incrementally speed up the treadmill until you can no longer run as fast as the treadmill is spinning and the second, is to keep the treadmill spinning at a constant rate and gradually increase the grade angle. For this test they opted for later and it simulates hill climbing. The test started off well as the angle of the treadmill was adjusted every minute but then something bad happened. I started to sweat and nose clip started to slide off. When the clip was on we were starting to get a VO2 value in the low 50s with the expectation that my final VO2 would be in the mid 60s which is similar what I had done a couple of years ago. The researcher decide because the results were coming out so inconsistent to pull the test. I was having a good time and as I was getting into the “groove”/”zone” and my legs still felt fresh.
The plan is to re-do the research early next week and with the hope that they can locate a non-defective nose clip.
