Monday, August 24, 2009
not running
i've been not running. i've been a total slug, decomposing around the house and not running at all. I can feel my legs turning to flab and my heart atrophying.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Dahlgren Heritage Trail 50KM run.
This is the long awaited account of the 50km trail run in August.
The race start/finish was in the Caledon Natural Area in King George, VA. The trail itself used to be a railway line between the town of Fredericksburg and the Dahlgren Naval Weapons base. Established in the 1940/50s, it was not used after the 1970s I think. Now it is part of a state park system.
If you think of a railroad bed, there is a thick layer of gravel at the bottom. The gravel serves to hold up the ties and to drain any water that falls on the rail bed. The gravel spills around the wooden ties to keep them from shifting around. The wooden ties hold the rails in place. The rails are connected to the ties with iron cleats and thick iron spikes.
Since the rail line was abandoned, almost all of the rails have been pulled up as well as the iron cleats and spikes.
These are reports from various points along the trail:
Mile 2.6. Over time, the rail ties have rotted. They were originally held in place by dirt and gravel, and the now any given tie is either completely rotted (so there is a depression in the ground), partially rotted (so my foot breaks through the tie when I stand on it) or still intact. There's no way to know which of the last two I am dealing with before stepping on it. Lots of broken ground because of the rotted ties.!
At the first turnaround at one end of the race course, the trail bed much better here. Someone has cleaned out most of the rotted ties and the ground is relatively flat and level. Very friendly support crews! Weather is currently 72F with high humidity
Back at the aid station again, not quite at the junction. There couldn't be more than 50 runners here. That's nice! I met Birdy & Lynn, two local gals from Fredericksburg. Birdy had already fell - no injuries but her pride. We are all moving on!
Back at the start/finish connection to the trail. Mostly pea gravel & pebbles with some larger stones. Footing is difficult because the gravel moves. "Look up, fall down" is a good motto on this trail. Feeling good, running good.
About mile 15, halfway, at an aid station. Oreos left outside in humid weather absorb water! The trail was routed around a shooting range impact area - I for one appreciated it. I'm drinking lots of water and gatorade and sweat is flowing off me. I'm not dead last, there is one person behind me. Feeling good, running strong.
Just reached final turnaround pt. Another aid station here. Nice folks. Just the home stretch 10 mile left. There are rails here and a hand car. Most of the trail is shaded by trees, but this 4 mile section is not. The trail/rail line went through the middle of a swamp - every bug in the world is out there trying to get a piece of us as we run through. I drank some more g-ade and water, and back at it. I'm beginning to pass people now.
I'm at the next to last aid station, grabbed some some orange slices. These darn biting flies land on my shoulders and the back of my neck. Hate 'em! Almost back in the full shade part of the trail. The outside temp is in the 80sF. Footing is as bad as ever. Having fun though my feet hurt some.
The last aid station - I've been closing in on 3 faster runners who dawdled at an aid station and so I grabbed liquid and got out of there. Now I want to get going and keep them behind me. Three more people down.
I finished in 6:51:09. Finishing temp was 88F & humidity around 60% range. Got a finisher hat & a bright green tech shirt. BBQ at the finish line - veggie burgers, hamburgers, hot dogs & also rice krispie treats (carbs) + water (need more). Got to rinse off my hair and head and then get out of here back to Alexandria for a family event.
The race start/finish was in the Caledon Natural Area in King George, VA. The trail itself used to be a railway line between the town of Fredericksburg and the Dahlgren Naval Weapons base. Established in the 1940/50s, it was not used after the 1970s I think. Now it is part of a state park system.
If you think of a railroad bed, there is a thick layer of gravel at the bottom. The gravel serves to hold up the ties and to drain any water that falls on the rail bed. The gravel spills around the wooden ties to keep them from shifting around. The wooden ties hold the rails in place. The rails are connected to the ties with iron cleats and thick iron spikes.
Since the rail line was abandoned, almost all of the rails have been pulled up as well as the iron cleats and spikes.
These are reports from various points along the trail:
Mile 2.6. Over time, the rail ties have rotted. They were originally held in place by dirt and gravel, and the now any given tie is either completely rotted (so there is a depression in the ground), partially rotted (so my foot breaks through the tie when I stand on it) or still intact. There's no way to know which of the last two I am dealing with before stepping on it. Lots of broken ground because of the rotted ties.!
At the first turnaround at one end of the race course, the trail bed much better here. Someone has cleaned out most of the rotted ties and the ground is relatively flat and level. Very friendly support crews! Weather is currently 72F with high humidity
Back at the aid station again, not quite at the junction. There couldn't be more than 50 runners here. That's nice! I met Birdy & Lynn, two local gals from Fredericksburg. Birdy had already fell - no injuries but her pride. We are all moving on!
Back at the start/finish connection to the trail. Mostly pea gravel & pebbles with some larger stones. Footing is difficult because the gravel moves. "Look up, fall down" is a good motto on this trail. Feeling good, running good.
About mile 15, halfway, at an aid station. Oreos left outside in humid weather absorb water! The trail was routed around a shooting range impact area - I for one appreciated it. I'm drinking lots of water and gatorade and sweat is flowing off me. I'm not dead last, there is one person behind me. Feeling good, running strong.
Just reached final turnaround pt. Another aid station here. Nice folks. Just the home stretch 10 mile left. There are rails here and a hand car. Most of the trail is shaded by trees, but this 4 mile section is not. The trail/rail line went through the middle of a swamp - every bug in the world is out there trying to get a piece of us as we run through. I drank some more g-ade and water, and back at it. I'm beginning to pass people now.
I'm at the next to last aid station, grabbed some some orange slices. These darn biting flies land on my shoulders and the back of my neck. Hate 'em! Almost back in the full shade part of the trail. The outside temp is in the 80sF. Footing is as bad as ever. Having fun though my feet hurt some.
The last aid station - I've been closing in on 3 faster runners who dawdled at an aid station and so I grabbed liquid and got out of there. Now I want to get going and keep them behind me. Three more people down.
I finished in 6:51:09. Finishing temp was 88F & humidity around 60% range. Got a finisher hat & a bright green tech shirt. BBQ at the finish line - veggie burgers, hamburgers, hot dogs & also rice krispie treats (carbs) + water (need more). Got to rinse off my hair and head and then get out of here back to Alexandria for a family event.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Trouble in Hamstringville
i have a thick fleece sweater on, i'm sitting in my bathtub filled with cold water and i just added a big bucket of ice (if you haven't tried it after a long run, you should. speeds recovery.) (lisa, if you can do the ice, so can i - i'm going to be as tough as you!). so it is a perfect time to update my blog.
yesterday i picked up my newly recovered orthotics. i have custom orthotics because in the course of training for my first marathon i continually wore shoes which were too tight (i was young and inexperienced and didn't know) and damaged a part of the toe joint on my second metatarsal. the fact that my second toe is a little longer than a typical second toe doesn't help - the joint is in front of where it should be. so, the orthotic repair guy put in a metatarsal pad which was a lot bigger width x length than the old one, and was also higher. he said he thought since the old one had been worn for three years or so (by my recollection), the prior pad had been compressed down from use. i thought he may have a legitimate point there as to the height, though i am confident that it was never this big in area. i agreed to try it out over the weekend and see how it went.
i ran out to smith's switch station again this morning - i left at 6am, got home at 8:45, 13.5 miles. the reason i was so slow is because i stopped to stretch my right hamstring four times. my right leg wasn't a happy leg from the start this morning - my right shin muscle (tibialis) was complaining and my right knee was complaining and then when they finally quieted down after three miles, my hamstring felt left out and picked up the tune.
my right hamstring is just not loving life. it is tight and sore and unhappy and complains to me almost all the time, except when it is asleep. the stretching I do on my hamstrings is to put my foot up on the countertop and lean forward as much as i can, hold for a count of 30, switch legs, then repeat. my right leg hamstring hurts a little just getting my foot up on the counter; my left, not at all. i can't lean forward hardly at all on my right leg; my left, i can lean forward some (for those germaphobes, freak not: i always put a washcloth on the countertop under my foot and put that into the hamper when i'm done).
sometimes i have also done the classic hurdler's stretch, though not recently. maybe this is just too much higher for my right leg yet. perhaps i should return to the hurdler's stretch instead of using the counter top. i've tended away from the hurlder's stretch because i have to get onto the ground to do it. i am typically drenched when i get home, and the inside floor is not the cleanest place for a wet body to land. i suppose i could do it outside on the driveway (relatively cleaner) but then i have the mosquito hordes to deal with. hmmm, decisions, decisions.
my orthotic was a pain in the foot today. i did a little measuring when i got home, the metatarsal pad in the left one is further back than the right one by (an eyeball guess) one quarter inch. it matters because the current arrangement feels like a grape under my plantar fascia - a soft, squishy, giving grape to be sure, but a grape nonetheless. i'm going to have to take them back and ask him to reposition the pad in the left orthotic so that it is symmetrical with the right one. the left one is more tricky as he said - there is a horseshoe-shaped pad under the second toe to provide additional accommodation for my damaged joint, and that is difficult to position with it and the pad taking up some of the same real estate.
well, all the ice has melted now and my legs are like cold, white popsicles. really, it is only unpleasant for the first few moments, and the results are wonderful. Onward with the day.
yesterday i picked up my newly recovered orthotics. i have custom orthotics because in the course of training for my first marathon i continually wore shoes which were too tight (i was young and inexperienced and didn't know) and damaged a part of the toe joint on my second metatarsal. the fact that my second toe is a little longer than a typical second toe doesn't help - the joint is in front of where it should be. so, the orthotic repair guy put in a metatarsal pad which was a lot bigger width x length than the old one, and was also higher. he said he thought since the old one had been worn for three years or so (by my recollection), the prior pad had been compressed down from use. i thought he may have a legitimate point there as to the height, though i am confident that it was never this big in area. i agreed to try it out over the weekend and see how it went.
i ran out to smith's switch station again this morning - i left at 6am, got home at 8:45, 13.5 miles. the reason i was so slow is because i stopped to stretch my right hamstring four times. my right leg wasn't a happy leg from the start this morning - my right shin muscle (tibialis) was complaining and my right knee was complaining and then when they finally quieted down after three miles, my hamstring felt left out and picked up the tune.
my right hamstring is just not loving life. it is tight and sore and unhappy and complains to me almost all the time, except when it is asleep. the stretching I do on my hamstrings is to put my foot up on the countertop and lean forward as much as i can, hold for a count of 30, switch legs, then repeat. my right leg hamstring hurts a little just getting my foot up on the counter; my left, not at all. i can't lean forward hardly at all on my right leg; my left, i can lean forward some (for those germaphobes, freak not: i always put a washcloth on the countertop under my foot and put that into the hamper when i'm done).
sometimes i have also done the classic hurdler's stretch, though not recently. maybe this is just too much higher for my right leg yet. perhaps i should return to the hurdler's stretch instead of using the counter top. i've tended away from the hurlder's stretch because i have to get onto the ground to do it. i am typically drenched when i get home, and the inside floor is not the cleanest place for a wet body to land. i suppose i could do it outside on the driveway (relatively cleaner) but then i have the mosquito hordes to deal with. hmmm, decisions, decisions.
my orthotic was a pain in the foot today. i did a little measuring when i got home, the metatarsal pad in the left one is further back than the right one by (an eyeball guess) one quarter inch. it matters because the current arrangement feels like a grape under my plantar fascia - a soft, squishy, giving grape to be sure, but a grape nonetheless. i'm going to have to take them back and ask him to reposition the pad in the left orthotic so that it is symmetrical with the right one. the left one is more tricky as he said - there is a horseshoe-shaped pad under the second toe to provide additional accommodation for my damaged joint, and that is difficult to position with it and the pad taking up some of the same real estate.
well, all the ice has melted now and my legs are like cold, white popsicles. really, it is only unpleasant for the first few moments, and the results are wonderful. Onward with the day.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Smith's Switch Station
Tonight I took another trip to Smith's Switch Station. The station was (I assume) a switching post on the W&OD when there was still a railroad on it. Now that the trail is a multi-use recreational trail, the Station consists of 2 porta-potties, a water fountain, and two soda machines with sports drink in them. Also some tables, benches, and bike racks. The station is about mile 25.75 on the W&OD.
I left shortly after 8pm when the sun was already going down and the trail was in twilight. Well before I got to the station the trail was dark, or at least what passes for dark in these parts. Tonight was overcast so the orange glow from the sodium vapor lights reflected off the low clouds and illuminated the trail well enough to run by. It was too dark to read, and I couldn't read my watch, but it was plenty light enough to see the trail, trail edge, and center line.
Once past Route 28 (where there is some more pasture being torn up for some new construction or another) the environment quickly changes to something reminiscent of Loudon County's past. Just the voices of crickets and frogs and katydids and katydidn'ts and whatever other bug makes a sound at night. It was a regular orchestra. And the fireflies were out in force, lighting my way. It was great!! Just me and the night.
I got to the station, refilled my water bottle and drank it down, and then refilled it a second time. Then it was off to home.
There are several data centers along the way. You can tell they are data centers by the massive cooling towers in the back and the 50,000 gallon diesel tanks around back. I was surprised that one of them didn't appear to have any fencing around the back courtyard area. That's odd.
I saw a few other people on the way. A young couple bicycling slowly along in the dark, and a couple of speed racer bicyclists flying along in the dark. Everyone had blinky warning lights which was great to see. And other than that it was very very peaceful and quiet. Just perfect.
The distance is about 13.25 miles, and I made the out-n-back in about 2:10 or so. I used a run-walk interval the entire way, 2:00 run and 1:00 walk. My legs are nicely sore.
I left shortly after 8pm when the sun was already going down and the trail was in twilight. Well before I got to the station the trail was dark, or at least what passes for dark in these parts. Tonight was overcast so the orange glow from the sodium vapor lights reflected off the low clouds and illuminated the trail well enough to run by. It was too dark to read, and I couldn't read my watch, but it was plenty light enough to see the trail, trail edge, and center line.
Once past Route 28 (where there is some more pasture being torn up for some new construction or another) the environment quickly changes to something reminiscent of Loudon County's past. Just the voices of crickets and frogs and katydids and katydidn'ts and whatever other bug makes a sound at night. It was a regular orchestra. And the fireflies were out in force, lighting my way. It was great!! Just me and the night.
I got to the station, refilled my water bottle and drank it down, and then refilled it a second time. Then it was off to home.
There are several data centers along the way. You can tell they are data centers by the massive cooling towers in the back and the 50,000 gallon diesel tanks around back. I was surprised that one of them didn't appear to have any fencing around the back courtyard area. That's odd.
I saw a few other people on the way. A young couple bicycling slowly along in the dark, and a couple of speed racer bicyclists flying along in the dark. Everyone had blinky warning lights which was great to see. And other than that it was very very peaceful and quiet. Just perfect.
The distance is about 13.25 miles, and I made the out-n-back in about 2:10 or so. I used a run-walk interval the entire way, 2:00 run and 1:00 walk. My legs are nicely sore.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Back on My Feet MCM Training Run
My work has started a group of "Fund-Racers" who are going to raise money for Back on My Feet in exchange for entrance into the Marine Corps Marathon. (BOMF helps homeless folks get "back on their feet" through the power of running).
I've volunteered to help coach, and I'm starting some of the Reston area training runs. Tonight was the first after-work organized training run.
It was 89F and pretty humid at 6:30. Jeff and Christina joined me at the meeting spot near our work offices, we waited a few more minutes, and then we were off. We decided to go on the W&OD trail because it was convenient. By the time we reached the trail, we had agreed on a six-mile run at about an 11 minute/mile pace.
The next run will be on Thursday with the Reston Runners starting from the Potomac River Running store in Reston Town Center.
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