The Evil Eyebrow

Category: triathlon

  • Running/Training Plan – 2012

    If you’ve been reading the blog, you may remember a statement of mine in an earlier posting that went something like this:

    I am delightfully looking forward to NEVER EVER EVER running a marathon again…

    Let me tell you, training for the Mount Desert Island Marathon has been a pain in the butt for several reasons. I will enumerate them for you:

    1. The MDI Marathon is on October 16th. October is in the Fall. Summer comes before Fall. Marathon training comes before the marathon, which is in the fall. Do you see where I’m going here? Marathon training in the Summer, in Atlanta, is torturous. It’s not so much the running in the summer—we do that all the time—it’s the weekend long runs that end up being such a burden. The only time we can do the 2 and 3 and 4 hour runs is on a weekend, in the early morning. This means being very careful about activities the previous evening. Yes, running can and will impact your social life.
    2. I have been fighting a recurrent calf injury for a while. I’m happy to say that it’s been doing well the last few months, but given the condition of my leg, I very gingerly entered into this marathon training schedule. I have been doing nothing ((Almost nothing. See here.)) in running besides this marathon. No 5ks. No 10ks. Nothing. I’ve been afraid of overstressing the leg and having to drop out of the marathon. That is no fun whatsoever and I didn’t get into running for it to be no fun.
    3. An add-on to item #2, because of my calf, I’ve been training for this marathon with one goal only: finish. It’s going to be slow and I don’t like to run slowly. I haven’t been doing any training that would increase my race pace beyond the approximate 5:00 completion mark. While that is in line with my goals, and I’m happy that I’m meeting my training goals, I’m still not happy about the particular goals, if you get my drift.

    I am not swearing off marathons forever. Jennifer likes running them, and I like running with her, so I’m sure I’ll do another one sometime. Her 40th birthday present to herself will be to run the Marathon in Greece, and I suppose I could be convinced to sign up for that one. For the time being, I’m going to concentrate on other things, rather than marathons, because I feel that the 26.2 mile distance was occupying too much space in my life.

    For edification and enlightenment, here are my 2012 training and racing goals, in no particular order:

    • Maintain the ability to get up on weekends and run 13-15 miles, as a matter of course. This will serve two purposes: it will keep my base miles high, and it will let me run half marathons without too much trouble or training
    • Break 50:00 in a 10k. The Charles Harris 10k will be my race for this goal.
    • Work toward a PR in the Peachtree City Sprint Triathlon. This will be my “A” race for the year and I’d be delighted if I can come close to matching (or exceed) the performance I turned in during my ironman training year
    • Improve my 5k time from the first race of the year to the last by 8%, or beating 23:00, whichever is better ((This may seem excessive to people in the know. I’m basing the 8% off a 2:00 improvement from 25:00 to 23:00. The reason I don’t consider it excessive is because I think my first 5k of the season is going to suck, time-wise, but I have a lot of latent speed inside these legs which probably just needs to be reawakened.)).
    • Regularly do my mile-run-for-time to benchmark myself. “Regularly” is going to be “every 6 weeks” or so
    • Emphasize abdominal and hip exercises for flexibility and stabilization

    One of the reasons for the first bullet is because if you want to do long runs, you have to do long runs. One of my issues with marathon training is that I’ve always been starting from a base of near zero. Given enough time ((Most anyone can run a marathon with 6 months lead time and a committment to the training program.)), that isn’t a problem, but for the next time I sign up for a marathon, I want to start with a running base that lets me train like I want to race, not just finish. So, after recovering from the MDI Marathon, I’ll be back at weekend long runs of 13 miles or so.

    A strong base also allows you to add intensity to other workouts; workouts directed at (say) improving my 5k time by 8%. The better your base training is, the better your race-specific training can be, and it also helps prevent injuries.

    Of course, part of that strong base is training that concentrates on weaknesses. My back has been a continuous problem, and part of that problem surrounds flexibility, not just strength. I will be doing a better job this year of maintaining a program of both core strength and flexibility. Remember, it’s the exercises you hate most that you should be doing most often ((At least, that’s the way it feels to me. Single leg squats, single leg stands, plank and other core work is so mentally exhausting to me, as opposed to standard squats and bench press and the like which are physically hard, but not mentally hard. To me. Your mileage may vary.)).

    Races that I’m looking forward to next year, and have become tradition for me include:

    • Atlanta Track Club cross country 5k at Milton High School
    • Atlanta Track Club Peachtree City 5k/10k
    • Charles Harris 10k
    • Georgia Marathon (Half Marathon! Although I’m thinking about volunteering for the bike escorts this year)
    • Chattanooga Riverfront Triathlon (olympic distance)
    • Peachtree Road Race (10k)
    • Peachtree City Sprint Triathlon
    • Kaiser Permanente Corporate Challenge (5k)

    Also, with the exception of preparation for the Peachtree City Sprint Triathlon, which is my one “A” race this year, I want to be able to go out on a Saturday or Sunday and run a race just because the whim strikes me, and not worry about screwing up my marathon training. It’s a lot less important if I downgrade or drop out of a local 5k than if I have to cancel a trip we’ve been planning for over a year.

    That’s my plan. Of course, it’s only September and 2011 isn’t even over yet, but the end of my training year is nigh and I will be on the 2012 rotation at the beginning of November.

  • Peachtree City Sprint Triathlon

    I'm Done Swimming and They Haven't Started

    I did the Peachtree City Sprint Triathlon today. It was a blast. I had fun and Jenn took a lot of great pictures! You can see them at the flickr set. The above is my favorite of the day. Run your mouse over the picture and note the title.

  • Training Continues; Paranoia Sets In

    We’re training for the Mount Desert Island Marathon. You may recall that I’ve been having some calf issues which caused me to DNF out of the Georgia Marathon. Well, training has begun again for the next big race and it’s kind of a pain. Why?

    Every little tiny twinge or ache in my calf makes my brain immediately start whirling around thinking, “Oh gosh! Is it too much? Am I pushing too hard? ((Ha! Today’s run clocked in at a 12:00 pace which is way slower than I’m used to)) Am I injuring myself!? Am I going to have to give up running!?!? Dogs and Cats, living together!!!”

    And so on and so forth. I have to monitor the sensations coming from my leg very carefully because I don’t want to injure myself again and spend another two months going to physical therapy. Today, for instance, I went out for a 5 mile run at a slow pace and started feeling some “stuff” around mile 3. It went away but came back at 4 so I decided to walk the rest of the way. Discretion being the better part of finishing the race I’m signed up for.

    This is an exercise in discipline, but it also means I don’t enjoy running nearly as much as I’m used to. I can’t zone out and get into the flow very easily when I keep getting jerked back by calf sensations.

    The best I can do is the best I can do. I’ll continue to train at a very low intensity, once again keeping “finish the race” as my only goal. I probably should get back into the pool soon as I have a triathlon in August, but I can probably dog-paddle the swim if necessary.

  • Doctor Frustration

    Warning: The following constitutes generalizations with a sample size of “not very big”.

    Medical Doctors, it seems, don’t really want to look at me as a whole anymore. They want to look at “the problem” and fix it. Or try. Or prescribe medication until it fixes itself. I am not interested in that; I need a long-term approach to a persistent problem; this seems to be an alien thought to the specialists I’ve been seeing.

    Some background: I’ve had two back surgeries, one in 1991 when I was 17 and one in 2001 when I was 27. Both were discectomies, removing bulging discs that were pressing agains my spinal cord and causing debilitating pain. Since then, I’ve had chronic issues with my back, but not associated with the spine per se. The issues have to do with my frequent overstressing of back muscles which then put me on the sidelines for two weeks to a month.

    Additional background: Last July I pulled my calf and this caused me to defer training for the Marine Corps Marathon. It wasn’t for about two months that the calf was healed enough to let me run. Now, after training for the Georgia Marathon, I pull the very same calf muscle ((medial gastrocnemius, if you care)) and am now fed up. With both issues.

    I’ve been a mostly self-coached athlete since taking up running and triathlon. I make efforts to do the things you’re supposed to do in my position: train your core, work on stabilization, improve hip flexibility and strength. Things are obviously not working. So, it’s time to seek some professional help.

    Enter the doctors. They seem convinced of several things:

    • I don’t know what’s wrong with me
    • It’s “my back” or “my discs” ((the first doctor I saw said, “your discs are hurting.” This after I explained my relative familiarity with lumbar anatomy and the several conditions I’ve personally experienced. Kthxbye))
    • It’s something that can be treated through injections
    • It’s something they need to refer to a spinal surgeon

    Finally I gave up and said, “Just give me a referral to a physical therapist who specializes in athletes and sports medicine.” The second doctor seemed convinced that all of my issues were due to overtraining, which I suppose is possible, but there’s no way he could know that from a five minute talk with me and a very brief discussion of my training.

    Thusly, I’m a bit frustrated with the medical community right now. When I made the appointments, I tried to tell the people involved what it was I was looking for (long-term plan and approach) and almost universally I got blank silence on the phone. They seemed to be taken aback that I wanted to vet the doctor I was making an appointment with before showing up. Doesn’t anyone do that nowadays? When I picked my primary care physician, I called the group he is a part of and told the receptionist that I didn’t want to see a doctor who didn’t run at least once a week. I wanted a physician who I could trust at least had an inkling of my habits and conditions.

    Unfortunately, when I started looking around for someone to help treat my calf and my back, I discovered that “sports medicine” around here ((at least within my insurance plan)) does not mean backs. It means arms, legs, elbows, knees, etc. Also, I’ve discovered ((again, within the doctors on my insurance plan)) that “sports medicine” and “non-operative” seem to be mutually exclusive. The doctors have seemed a bit huffy when the very first thing I’ve said is that I don’t want surgery or medication. The guy I saw yesterday said, “I can recommend a non-operative back specialist in our group. He only does injections.” What part of non-operative means “injections”?

    I’ve tried to explain, up front, exactly what I want, and why I want it. I want non-operative, long-term care to take care of muscle imbalances and strains that are affecting my running. I’ve also tried to explain that I do indeed know a little bit about this stuff and that, no, it’s not my discs acting up ((Probably. I obviously can’t guarantee it)) because I know what that feels like, and it’s distinctive ((Truly. There’s nothing quite like leg pain or sensations due to inflammation around my lumbar region. Plus, if my lower back hurts, and it hurts because of a pulled muscle and not lumbar issues, then when someone palpates that muscle and I yell, it’s obvious where the problem lies)). I’m also an experienced athlete with an unfortunate amount of knowledge with these particular injuries. Lastly, it’s my body and I have an investment in knowing what’s going on with it. What I don’t know, and the reason I’m seeing doctors, is how to fix it. Or if not “fix” at least “reduce”, “mitigate”, or “avoid”.

    All of the above is my fault, however. From the very first moment I decided I need professional attention I’ve been tempted to just go to some of the sports physiologists that are associated with the triathlon club I’m a member of, or that hang around the Atlanta Track Club, etc. However, these professionals aren’t members of my insurance plan. I have no desire to spend money I don’t have to, so I would prefer to have the insurance pay the specialist I’m going to see. If I need to, though, I’ll bite the bullet and pay out of pocket.

    So, right now I’m not too keen on the medical profession. I understand why they’re geared up the way they are (no time to spend with patients, paid by the procedure, paid by the patient) but that doesn’t make me happy about it.

  • Georgia Marathon 2011 – DNF

    Today I ran the Georgia Marathon. Exactly 3.8 miles of it.

    Icing the Calf
    I managed to pull my calf again. I was at the water station at on Auburn avenue when the aching in the calf became a shooting, stabbing pain. I told Jenn to keep on without me and I’d catch the sag wagon back to the finish. Thus ended my third attempt to complete this marathon course.

    I am not as philosophical about this DNF ((Did Not Finish)) as I was about the Ironman. Although it’s true that I was badly trained for this race and questioning my ability to finish, I didn’t expect to be hobbling at mile four. I thought I might have to make a call at mile twenty! For crying out loud, I nearly beat a PR in a 10k three weeks ago. To pull a muscle this badly at mile four is profoundly depressing.

    Where to from here? Professional help and treatment. This is ridiculous and I can’t put up with it any more.

    At least I picked an appropriate backdrop for the end of my shitty race.
    Appropriate Backdrop for my Race

  • Georgia Marathon

    Tomorrow I run the Georgia Marathon. The course map is here (pdf) if you want to come cheer me on. You can figure I’ll cross the start line around 7:10 AM and be maintaining a 12:00 per mile pace (more on that in a second). So, if you happen to be at any location on the course, look for me. I’ll be wearing a blue shirt, red shorts, and a visor. Pretty much exactly this outfit ((Jennifer, also pictured here, although she’ll be wearing something else, will be running the half marathon tomorrow)).
    Peachtree Road Race 2008

    I’m predicting this race to be the most painful I’ve ever experienced.

    First, a little history: I have had great trouble completing training programs for marathons. This makes the 5th marathon I’ve trained for, but I’ve only completed one. I’ve trained for this very race three times, but have had to back out twice.

    The reasons why have been various. Injury. Laziness. Illness. They’ve all contributed. This year, I decided that despite my training being fubar ((Oh, and I haven’t been blogging much so I didn’t tell you that the 20 mile training run on that schedule was cut in half due to a calf pull and I haven’t run since. Tomorrow is going to be soooo much fun)), I was going to run the bloody race no matter what. Even if by “run” I mean, “slowly jog, then stagger, then walk” until I’m done.

    So I will line up tomorrow in my corral and set off on a pace that will not exceed 12:00 minutes per mile. I will husband and cherish and baby my strength so that I can try to get through this race without being a total wreck. I’m confident that I’ll finish. I’m not confident that I’ll be happy about it, at least, not in the miles leading up to the end.

    Wish me luck. Or come cheer me and my 17,999 closest friends on!

  • Atlanta Track Club Peachtree City 5k/10k 2011 -and- Injury Update

    Racers Ahoy!

    I ran today with Keith and Jaime the Atlanta Track Club 5k/10k in Peachtree City (we all ran the 5k). I turned in a 26:00 according to my watch and both Keith and Jaime broke their previous PRs. Go us!

    This race is always fun, and in my experience now, always cold (n=3). It was about 28 degrees Fahrenheit at race start, so a bit chilly, but no real wind.

    Given my experience of one week ago, I took it a little easy during the race. I put in about 85% effort. Nicely (although not coincidentally) this activity did not bother my back strain in the slightest, aside from the drive to and from the race where I was sitting in the car.

    This tells me several things:

    • The strain was definitely the quadratus lumbarum because if it had been the multifidus or the erector spinae (or some combination of the above) I’d have been having more issues
    • It’s not my running muscles that need to be worked on in my abdominal strengthening work
    • The quadratus lumbarum is definitely not a running muscle

    I went to see a physician on Friday to start a professional treatment of my problem, but I have a whole post just for that. Look for it soon.

  • Injury – Frustration

    Backache
    Last night I attended/worked the Search for the Golden Sprocket, an event sponsored by The Extraordinary Contraptions. I arrived earlier than most of the band and discovered that the primary entrance to the venue was a slick ice death trap. Therefore, I shoveled.

    Now, I’m sitting on the couch, wondering when I’ll be able to run again. I have (again and again!) managed to pull muscles in my back that make me feel a lot older than I actually am. Hell, I’m wondering how many days it will be before I manage to walk about the house in a normal fashion. This leaves me very frustrated, because I’m in the middle of training for a marathon, and if you follow this blog you may be aware that the last marathon I trained for had to be deferred because of another injury.

    I’ll have to rejigger my training schedule based upon what I’m guessing my recovery date will be. I am going to finish this marathon, dammit, but I might change up the race schedule I have planned for the rest of the year. I’m thinking I may want to concentrate hard on one thing, strengthening my core, for the entire year. If that kept me from being a couch-ridden doofus, it would be worth giving up triathlon and serious racing for a year. Maybe I’ll go see a specialist (I wonder if my health plan would cover that?).

  • Back into Training, Running, Triathlon

    I’m back running, and this is making me very happy.

    Winter Wonder Wear

    I’ve been into my training regime for over a month. Things seem to be feeling well with respect to my calf, thank you very much. I even ran a race three weeks ago. That race was a remarkable difference from the triathlon in August where I discovered that no, I did not let my calf rest for long enough.

    I decided after the triathlon to let things rest entirely until November first and then ease back in. Now we’re at the end of December (mostly) and I’m feeling like I’m getting my wind back and the leg isn’t calling me a crazy man. I like that. Enough so that I just signed up for a marathon! Ninety days from tomorrow until the race.

    This year’s training is a bit schizophrenic. We deferred our entries into the Marine Corps Marathon from last October until 2011. Also, we’ve been planning for years to run the Mt. Desert Island Marathon this coming October. Which means, if you’re keeping track, Jennifer and I have three marathons planned this year, two of which are within two weeks of each other!

    So, I’ll be doing a lot of long distance running and the training to support that. However, I’ve still not given up on my goal to reduce my 5k time below 21:00. As time and health permits, I’ll be doing speed work and races to address that goal. I’ll keep you informed.

    In case you’re curious, here’s my race calendar for the year, so far:

    I’ll probably mix some other low-key races into that list, too.

  • Interesting Statistical Anomaly – Triathlon Race Timing

    I was analyzing the data (well, really I was just processing the data from the ugly text I can rip off the web into something that I can mangle with Excel) from the 2010 Peachtree City Sprint Triathlon and I found some interesting things.

    First off, all props to Event Tech for getting the results posted so quickly1 although it would be nice if I could pull the data down and actually use it with a bit less manual processing. Basically I have to import this…

    Event Tech Website

    …into Excel and do a bunch of manual manipulation to end up with this…

    Excel Times Replacement

    …which for one allows me to sort by time and do various other things.

    However, today I was doing something I hadn’t done before: I summed up the total of the swim/bike/run/T1/T2 times and compared it with the total time that Event Tech had calculated. Interestingly it was generally off. Off by one, two or three seconds.

    Hmmm… fascinating.

    Even more interesting is that it was rarely off by zero seconds.

    I quickly realized that the total time was always equal to or less than the sum of the individual parts which implied to me that the total time was your chip time from the begin timing mat to the end timing mat and that the summation I had conducted was introducing rounding errors of some sort into the equation. After all, if you finish the swim in 10:00.4, your time on the sheet will say “10:00” but that 0.4 seconds still hangs on there and will contribute to your final time.

    However, that doesn’t work. If you assume, as I did, that there are three splits that are introducing rounding errors (three because the maximum error was three seconds) it should be equally likely that the split will round down as up. That would mean there should have been instances where the split times added together were less than the total chip time. This, however, did not exist. Something was going on.

    The next guess was that all splits were rounding up (three splits total). That would account for the sum of the splits being all greater than the total chip time. However, I ran a Monte Carlo simulation and got these results:

    Bin – Frequency
    0 – 21
    1 – 438
    2 – 464
    3 – 21

    Which is an expected distribution if everything is random however if you analyze the results from the race you get:

    Bin – Frequency
    0 – 11
    1 – 266
    2 – 496
    3 – 159

    This is markedly different from a random result. Something is biasing those numbers. The mean of the difference between the rounded times and the summed times for the Monte Carlo simulation is (as expected) approximately 1.5 but the mean of the race results is 1.8.

    At this point I stopped. I could go on theorizing about why the numbers are off in the specific manner they are, but really it’s not that important.

    What does this all mean? Absolutely nothing! As I mentioned above, your race results are your chip time from start to finish, it’s only when I started summing up their broken-out numbers that I noticed anything wonky and decided to geek out on this. I’m confident that my race time is accurate and even if it was not, it was only off by 1, 2 or 3 seconds. If those seconds make or break me, I should have trained harder!

    I will probably send this link to Event Tech and ask if they have any insight; they probably do. It’s their software after all.

    1: 2010 Tri PTC Results, although the white on black background thing should really go, guys. It’s tough on the eyeballs.