Monthly Summary - May 2010

Here's May 2010:

Swim: 6,780 yards
Cycling (outdoors): 0.0 miles
Cycling (indoors): 1:15 (hours)
Run: 279.05 miles
Strength Training/Yoga: 5 sessions

Approximate monthly total training/racing time: 52.25 hours

Another great month of running.  Twenty-five more miles than last month, which was already my biggest month ever by a lot.  And (knock, knock on wood), I'm still feeling good.  I had a little knee pain scare in the middle of the month, but that didn't last more than a couple days and has since gone away.  I think I'm being fairly smart about the volume - taking days off, getting semi-regular massages, using the Trigger Point Products, the Stick and the foam roller all the time, taking arnica and using Traumeel.  Something's working.  

As far as training goes, I didn't do much besides running.  A few pretty mediocre efforts in the pool, a little bit of time on the trainer and some yoga.  Not that I'm surprised or complaining.  Running is the focus, and with the amount of time I'm spending on my feet, there's not a whole lot of time for much else.  I would like to get outside on the bike now and then, but it's tough to try to fit it in around the running.  

The highlight of the month, other than some great training runs was the Bishop High Sierra 50.  I had a great - and really fun - day out there.  

With just three months to go until Angeles Crest, I've got to just continue doing what I've been doing: slowly ramping up the miles, spending a lot of time on trails and learning more and more about how my body reacts to long days and long weeks of running.  

Ultimate Direction Wasp - Hydration Pack Review

(Eagle Rock, this morning)

I hate carrying a ton of crap when I'm running. One joy of running for me has always been the ability to just get up and go. Shoes, socks, shorts, shirt (most of the time), hat, sunglasses, watch. For longer runs, I'll carry a handheld bottle and if it's not convenient for me to run with Infinit, I'll carry a couple gels. In the last year, I've also ditched the heart rate strap. And I can't stand having things strapped to my arms or waist.

That's always worked for me. But once I decided to step up to run 100 miles, I knew that that would have to change. On long training runs (especially ones on trails, like the 24 miles I did today), I can't get away with not carrying more water and nutrition. I also like carrying my phone on those runs, just in case (and to take photos!). So earlier this year, I started doing research on hydration packs. Since I knew I wanted a running-specific pack, I quickly narrowed it down to two popular and well-liked options, the Nathan HPL #020 or the Ultimate Direction Wasp.  The packs are similar.  They both have four front pockets (2 little ones, one zippered pouch and one with a bungee closure) to hold gels, food, a camera, a phone or other small items and both have larger storage areas on the back for larger items or more small stuff.  The Wasp reservoir holds 64 ounces of water and the Nathan HPL #020 reservoir holds about 67 ounces.

It's hard to know whether you'll like the packs until you get out running with them, but fortunately I was able to borrow both packs from friends to try. Functionally, the packs are very similar, but there are some differences between them. I gave both a fair shot, but since I really like the Ultimate Direction handheld bottles, I came into it with a slight bias in favor of the Wasp. And in the end, I decided to buy the Ultimate Direction Wasp.

Here's why:

First, and most importantly, the fit. For me, the Wasp just fit better. It sits tighter to my body and I "felt" and noticed it less when running.  Both packs are very adjustable, and I like that the Wasp sits high on my back, between my shoulder blades.

I also like that the Wasp has two chest straps, while the Nathan only has one. Also, I've done multiple 3+ hour runs wearing the Wasp and it never felt heavy or uncomfortable on my shoulders. When I wore the Nathan pack during my extra long day on the 2010 L.A. Marathon course, it started bothering my shoulders and upper back after about 3 hours. That seems like a long time, but I need a pack that's comfortable for much longer than that. Fit is a very personal thing though. I'm sure that other packs will just work better for some people's build.

Second, the drinking valve on the reservoir that comes with the Nathan packs simply SUCKS. The front part of the valve pushes back into the tube to "lock" it and stop it from dripping, which is good. But, pulling it back out to "unlock" it is a pain in the ass. I couldn't do it with my teeth so I had to use both hands to pull it out every time I wanted a drink (one hand to hold the tube and one to pull the part out) and then use both hands to push it back in after my drink. No way am I doing that while running. And it's a pain even when walking. And even when it's open, sucking water through the tube takes a fair amount of effort. A lot of people solve this by swapping out the reservoirs that the pack comes with for a Camelback reservoir, but having to spend that extra money ($20-30) was a point against Nathan. The valve on the Wasp isn't the best thing ever, but it works a 1,000 times better than the Nathan. It's easier to drink from and doesn't leak. You just bite the silicone valve and suck. Voila. The Wasp reservoir is a little more complicated to fill than the Nathan, but that also makes it a ton easier to clean and dry. The "fold and clamp" system on the Wasp probably adds a couple seconds to the filling process, but those couple of seconds aren't material for me in any long training run or ultra.

(Wasp valve and gator clip on left, Nathan on right in "locked" position)

(Another view of Wasp valve and Nathan valve in "open" position)

Third, the Wasp reservoir has a little loop that hooks on the inside of the pack and suspends the reservoir so that it doesn't move around as it empties.

It's just a little thing, but I'm glad they thought of it because it keeps the weight of the reservoir up high on the back.

Other "little" things to note:

Neither pack has a very good attachment system for the drinking tube. Nathan's tube fits into a holder in the chest strap, which seems good, but it slowly pulled the chest strap loose, which meant periodic tightening of the strap. The Wasp tube has a gator clip, so you can attach it almost anywhere it will reach, but operating a little gator clip while running or tired takes a little getting used to.  You can see where I've clipped it in this picture (please ignore the heavy salt on my face!)

I like the larger zippered front pocket on the Nathan a little better because they're slightly tighter to the body. My blackberry bounces around a little bit in the right side pocket of the Wasp.  I only notice this periodically and it's actually more the sound of it moving than feeling it move that I notice.

The Wasp is nearly a pound heavier than the Nathan (21 oz compared to 6 oz) and that worried me at first, but it's not noticeable once the pack is full of water and on my back. Also, like I said above, if anything, the Nathan felt heavier after wearing it for a while.

The insulated drinking tube on the Wasp is a nice touch. And it works. The water actually does come out cold.

One other problem with the Wasp, is that I couldn't find it at any store in Los Angeles.  A lot of stores carry Ultimate Direction products, but none stock the Wasp.  That made just seeing it in person a pain in the ass.  The Nathan packs are a little easier to find in local stores.  But they're both available at a bunch of good on-line retailers, including Wilderness Running Company (where I bought mine) and Zombie Runner.

In summary, I'd definitely recommend the Wasp.  The Nathan pack is also a very good pack and I see more of the Nathan's on the trails than the UD packs, but for me, it was a little less comfortable than the Wasp.  Also, had I bought the Nathan, I would have also had to immediately buy a Camelback reservoir.

While finalizing this review yesterday, two other bloggers posted reviews of Ultimate Direction hydration products. Quadrathon reviewed the Ultimate Direction FastDraw Extreme handheld (which I use all the time and love) and Running and Rambling reviewed the Ultimate Direction Solitaire and Uno waistpacks.  Both of those blogs have discount codes for Wilderness Running Company.

Going back to Badwater!

Lucky me! I am so psyched for the opportunity to return to Badwater this summer to crew another racer. Blake is not racing Badwater this summer, but Jimmy is and he invited me to be part of his crew.

This will be Jimmy's first time racing at Badwater; he crewed Jorge Pacheco last year so he has some idea of what he's in for. He's put together a pretty damn good crew (if I don't say so myself), with a group of experienced endurance athletes. It's gonna be a great few days in the desert. And the plan this year is to hike to the top of Mt. Whitney after Jimmy finishes. Awesome.


The race starts July 12 and Jimmy is in the 10am wave. I'll post more information about the preparation as the race gets closer.

Tour of California Time Trail/Running Tour of LA

Today was one of those ambitious days that work out perfectly. My plan called for around 15 miles of running. No problem - all of a sudden, that seems sorta easy. Also, today the Time Trial stage of the Amgen Tour of California was going on downtown. And a few elite pro triathletes (Chris Lieto, Chrissie Wellington and Chris McCormack) would be pre-riding the course. I was psyched to check it out. And to make things better a bunch of triathlete and cycling friends were headed down to watch as well. Downtown is about eight miles from home and eight miles times two is 16 miles, so... I figured I could just combine the two by running down there, watching some of the race, hanging out with friends and running back home.

But the first thing I did this morning though was take the boys for a walk. Loren and Charlie's dog Birdie is staying with us this weekend. Walking the three of them can be a bit of a challenge, but they're good together (mostly!).

Then at around 10, I headed downtown to watch the Time Trial. I ran down to 3rd Street then right on Western to 8th Street to Vermont, to Olympic all the way to LA Live. I met up with a whole bunch of friends: Cat, Jeff, Mike, Darren, Arkady, Brooklin, Mel, Warren, Hyde, Chris and some other new friends. There were tons of people hanging out there cheering on the cyclists.

I got there in time to see Chrissie come flying by:

And then Macca:

We saw Dave Zabriskie cruising around the finish line area on a sweet ride a few hours before he was scheduled to get on the course:

Around the time the pro cyclists started on the course, I ran about a mile up to 4th and Olive, where there was a short but steep climb, to meet Anton and Arnie and watched some of the cyclists tackle the climb:

and then come flying down the descent:

I'm very curious to know how fast they were flying down the hill, but it had to be in the high 30's at least.

Then it was time for me to run back home. For the way home, I got onto Wilshire and ran all the way west on Wilshire to La Brea, where I turned north and then west on Beverly to home. It was fun to run back through the city. Admittedly, there's not a ton to see between here and downtown, but there was a lot of city life going on: soccer matches in parks, street vendors cooking lunch and selling junk and families out for walks. It felt good to run all over the City that I mostly only drive through. During my runs I was thinking about the fact that I can get a lot of places in LA on my feet. From home, I can get Downtown, to Brentwood, to Culver City, to Griffith Park and lots of other places with less than an eight mile run. It's not that common that I can run back and forth to events, but I do know that I can. The running went well. I was a little worried that I'd suffer on the way home after a 3+ hour break (which I spent entirely on my feet). But I felt pretty good for most of the run home, until the last mile or so, which was a bit of a slog.

A few blocks from home, I almost fell over when I saw this:

Some Twitter/Facebook friends and I had been talking about the CoolHaus dessert truck for the last few weeks. You pick the type of cookie and the flavor of ice cream and they make a custom made ice cream sandwich for you. I was a little too far from home to stop my run and have a treat, but after I ran past, I couldn't stop thinking about it. So I ran home, jumped in the car and headed right back there for a DELICIOUS oatmeal raisin cookie and cinnamon ice cream sandwich!


I also tried a sample of the Brown Butter and Candied Bacon Ice Cream. It was awesome. I would definitely get that next time. And there will be a "next time"!

Bishop High Sierra 50 Mile

8:32:27

Third overall.

I feel like I ran a "smart" race and mostly accomplished most of my goal of treating this of something of a hybrid between a training run and a race. I did not injure myself. I did not push so hard that I'll have to spend a lot of time recovering. And I still found a place on the podium. It wasn't a "perfect" race by any means, but I learned some lessons that will be helpful as I get ready for Angeles Crest, which is less than15 weeks away now! Enough patting myself on the back, here's the long story:

Race morning started with a 4:15 a.m. alarm. I had slept for nearly six pretty solid hours and felt pretty good when the alarm went off. I had a little breakfast, finished putting my drop bags together and picked up Gabi just a few minutes after 5.

It was a beautiful clear morning, with temperatures in high 40's or even low 50's. This is a view of the mountains from the start. I didn't know the area at all and had no idea where we were headed, but I did know that it was generally in "that" direction.


A few minutes before the start, we met up with Michael, Kista (not running, there to support Michael) and Sally.

Michael, Gabi and I pre-race (photo from Kista)

A few minutes before 6, we lined up at the start and promptly at 6, someone said "Go!" If I haven't said it before, this is one difference between triathlons and trail races that I really love. There is so much less anxiety at the start of most trail races than at the start of most triathlons. It is such a more relaxed way to start a long day. (That being said, there's nothing more exciting than the five minutes before an in-water Ironman start. I still get shivers when I think about the electricity during the final countdown at each of my Ironmans!)

There were four different race distances on Saturday - 20 miles, 50k, 50 miles and 100k. And they all started at the same time. My goal at the start was to try to hang generally in sight of the 50 mile leaders. The bibs were color coded by distance, but obviously I couldn't tell what distance the people in front of me were racing. The race started and a few people shot out like rockets. A half mile or so into the race, I counted nine or ten people in front of, or running right around, me. Two of them were quickly disappearing into the distance. Assuming that some of these people were running the shorter distances, my position seemed perfectly right. I settled into a nice pace and started running beside and talking with Phil Howard, the race director for the Santa Clarita Marathon, who was near the front of the 20 mile race (and ended up winning it).

Going into the race, I had looked at the profile and I had a mental image that went like this: four miles relatively flat, then run up for 17 miles, then flatish plateau for 17 miles, then downhill for 12 miles to the finish. My first thought was that the hills weren't so bad. It was a steady, low-grade, run-able climb. So I hung with Phil. We were having a nice conversation and he was helping me push the pace just a little bit. We got to the Buttermilk Road aid station (11.27 miles) at around 1:46. This was where the 20 milers turned off to head home. Buttermilk Road was also the first drop bag location and I was planning on refilling my handheld with Infinit. Problem was, the drop bags weren't there yet. Oops. (This was really the only f-up on the race directors for the day.) So I filled up with water, said goodbye and good luck to Phil and took off.

After Buttermilk Road, the climbs start getting more serious. At this point of the race, the 20 milers were gone and the course also got a little more "lonely". I was running off-and-on with Brian Polley, another 50 miler (and an accomplished ultramarathoner). He was generally ahead of me by a little bit, but always in sight and definitely within reach. I knew there were some other runners ahead of us, but couldn't tell how many and didn't know who was running the 50 miler. After the McGee Creek aid station (mile 14.94) I had my first race water crossing, which I charged through full steam ahead. The water was freezing cold and I ended up with a ton of dirt and pebbles in my shoes, but it was fun to do!

The next aid station was Edison Loop (mile 17.40, about 2:52) and the drop bags were there. I dumped the dirt and rocks out of my shoes, refilled my bottle with Infinit and started up the Edison Loop portion, which includes the climb up to 9,385 feet. This was some tough, slow going. I started my power hiking on these hills. And for the last mile or so of this loop, there were snow and ice fields to trudge through. The snow was mostly pretty hard-packed, but between it and the steep hills we were climbing, I was not doing a whole lot of running through here. About seven or eight minutes before the top, Jeff Kozak came flying past me down the hill. Seeing him running down the snowy hill meant that (a) I could do it too and (b) I pretty much had to in order to not lose too much ground. The only other person in front of me was Brian, who got to the turnaround less than a minute ahead of me.

I got to the Overlook turnaround (mile 20.4, 3:37), punched my bib with the hole puncher as proof that I got there and started running down the hill. I knew I was in third place and was very interested to see how much of a lead I had. I was moving pretty quickly and confidently on the snow but did take a face-plant once when my left foot went through the surface ice. Fortunately, falling on snow was a lot easier on my body than falling on dirt or rocks. I passed the first guy on his way up after about two minutes (equals about a four minute lead) and there were another four or five within the ten minutes before the course split and I headed down a different route. So, I knew I was in third place, not too far behind second, with a couple minute lead on fourth.

Back at Edison Loop (mile 23.40, 4:04), I changed shoes and socks (from the MT100s to my Brooks Defyance). This was my plan all along and I've never been so happy to put on dry socks! To show how challenging the climb up to the Overlook turnaround was, it took me over 45 minutes to go the 3 miles up there but less than 27 to come back down!

The next six miles to Bishop Creek Lodge are tough going. You leave Edison Loop and climb up a nearly vertical hill. This is the part that I expected to be mostly flat, but it's definitely not. And upon closer inspection of the profile, that's pretty obvious! Oops.


There are a whole bunch of healthy, steep climbs in this section. They might not be 17 miles long like the initial climb, but they're a lot steeper. Or felt that way at least. I passed the marathon point at about 4:30. There's a turnaround at Bishop Creek Lodge (mile 29, 5:05). Jeff passed me going the other way about 15 minutes before I reached it. And he was booking. Brian was still less than a minute ahead. After the turnaround, I again tried to calculate my "lead" for third place and it seemed that I'd extended it a little bit. I knew that unless disaster struck, I would be in the top 5. But, I still did want to podium. There wasn't much difference in my mind between second and third place, but fourth place...

During one of the longer climbs somewhere around mile 30, I power-hiked my way past Brian into second place. It looked like he was suffering a little bit and I saw this as my chance to make my move into second place. I was still feeling strong and was comfortably running low grade hills, flats and the few descents that we got. Sally and I passed by each other at around mile 31 and she was looking strong, leading the women in the 100k race and probably in 4th or 5th overall.

I missed the drop bags that were supposed to be at the Intake 2 aid station (mile 26.5 and 31.9), so again I didn't have my Infinit. My nutrition plan was a little screwed up. I think that between the Infinit I did have, two gels I was carrying and the one I got at an aid station, I did get just about enough calories, but I'm fairly certain that I didn't get enough electrolytes. I'm just so used to not having to supplement electrolytes that I didn't think about it at the aid stations. Valuable lesson learned.

Now and again between miles 30 and 37.5, I could see Brian behind me, but I felt like I was maintaining my lead. Back at the Edison Loop aid station (mile 35), I refilled my Infinit and changed my t-shirt. It was getting hot out and there is almost no shade on the entire course. My shirt was heavy with sweat and since I had an extra one in the drop bag, I figured why not.

In my two other 50s, it was at right about 35 miles that I started to really suffer. At Bishop, I was very happy to notice that at mile 35, I was still moving along pretty well. The second time at McGee Creek (mile 37.5), I decided not to run through the water and instead found some rocks to hop across. When I stopped at the aid station to refill my bottle with water, I noticed that Brian was pretty much right behind me. From this point, race is mostly down hill. There are some short climbs, which would have been run-able the first time around, but were better for power-hiking at this point in the race.

Around mile 40, my right calf and right hamstring started cramping up a little. At first, shortening my stride a little bit helped, then I had to stop to walk and towards the end of the race I actually stopped to stretch a few times. I've never cramped like that before and I can guess that it was either the missing electrolytes or the little fall in the snow that set it off on Saturday.

Just before the Buttermilk Road aid station (mile 41.1, 7:06), Brian came flying past me. I gave a few seconds thought to trying to keep up, but realized that I didn't have it. I also knew that pushing it that hard was not in the plan. I'm not sure I really could have done much about it anyway, but I just watched him fade away. I couldn't know for sure, but I felt like I had a healthy lead on the guys behind me.

For the last nine miles of the race, I just kept moving forward. Running for 5, 6, 7, 10 minutes at a time, then taking a short walk break for 30-90 seconds. Then running again. I was hot and dehydrated. But knew I was so damn close. There's not a lot of shade on the entire course, but there are sections with some trees or where you get shade from a hill. During these last nine miles though, there's nothing taller than a few feet and the sun was beating down. (Although I heard we were lucky this year because it was considerable cooler than usual. Wow, that would suck!)

You hit the final aid station with just about 1.5 miles to go (mile 48.5; 8:15:25). And it's downhill. But my leg kept cramping, so even in the last mile I had to walk some and stop to stretch. I'll admit that I was fine with stopping to stretch as long as I could tell that no one was going to pass me!

I made sure to run the last quarter mile across the finish and I think I even finished with a smile on my face. Jimmy's final instruction to me was to run the race at such a pace/intensity that when I finished I would feel ready to go for another 50 miles. I don't know that I managed that goal, but I do know that I could have kept going some if I had to. I would have had to deal with the cramps and get some more fluids and electrolytes in me, but besides that, my day would not have had to end. That being said, I AM SURE GLAD THAT IT DID END!!

(post-race, looking like a huge dork!)

I crossed the finish line and got my cool handmade pottery medal. I caught up with Gabi and found out that she was the second woman (and first in her age group) in the 50k race! It was a beautiful afternoon and we spend the next few hours sitting in the sun, enjoying the cookies and hot food. I also took an "ice bath" in the pond by the finish line. Sally ended up having stomach issues and dropping from the 100k to the 50 mile race (which is allowed in this race - there's a point at about mile 48.5 where the 100k'ers turn off for a 12 mile out-and-back). She ended up in second place! Second place at 50 milers on consecutive weekends. Wow!

The 50 mile awards ceremony was at 6 and both Sally and I got our awards (Sally got a mug and I got a photo).

It was 7:30 before Gabi and I got in the car to head home. A quick stop for Mexican food in Lone Pine, then the long drive home (during which we nearly ran out of gas in the middle of friggin' nowhere).

A super successful and FUN weekend! Thanks Bishop! And of course, thanks to all of your for your friendship, love and support!

Bishop High Sierra Ultramarathons 50 mile
Official time: 8:32:27
Overall place: 3/72

8:32:27!

Bishop High Sierra 50 mile Ultra in the books.

Unofficial time = 8:32:27. Good enough for third overall!

Thanks to everyone for your support! Full report to come soon.

The Night Before

9 p.m. and I'm slowing things down to get into bed pretty soon.

I've got a 4 a.m. wake-up for a quick breakfast, then picking up Gabi and heading to the start. Jimmy gave me specific instructions not to push it tomorrow, especially on the long climb for the first third of the race. It won't be easy to watch people run off ahead of me, but I'm gonna try. I have to keep in mind that this is more of a "training run" than a "race" for me. I can't afford to have to have a long recovery, or worse, get injured. So that's the plan.

Today was a pretty fun day. It took Gabi and I about 4.5 hours to get to Bishop, but it was an easy and relatively pretty drive. We stopped briefly at Red Rock Canyon State Park to stretch our legs and take a couple pictures.

Along the way, the mountains to the west were covered in snow at the top. It was beautiful (even if you can't tell in this photo).

One highlight of the drive for me was passing through Lone Pine, the town along the Badwater course immediately before you start the climb up to Whitney Portal. The Dow Villa Motel is the race HQ in Lone Pine. It brought back fun memories of being there last year - and made me excited for this year (big announcement about that coming next week).


Then we got to Bishop. Race check-in was a breeze. The race t-shirt is bright purple, which might be a little tough to wear, but if I can wear a pink hat, I can wear a purple shirt. Then we headed to the pre-race dinner and briefing.

At the dinner, we met up with Michael and Kista, two twitter friends, Sally, a new-to-the-ultra-scene stud who came in second at the PCT50 last weekend, and Robert and Howie, who I met at the AC100 trail work the other weekend. I ate more than my share of pasta, salad and garlic bread. The race director, Marie, gave the briefing.


I've emailed with Marie a few times recently and she's been great about responding to all my questions. The briefing went fine, the most interesting points were that McGee Creek is flowing and we'll have to get a little wet crossing it at mile 15 and 37.5 and that there is snow on the trail in the 6 mile Edison Loop. Her crew went up yesterday to mark the course and took this picture to show the conditions:


Yep, snow. About one to 1.5 miles of it. I've never done a water crossing or run on a snowy trail during a race. I'm excited for both!

Wish me luck! Post-race report to come...

News from Bishop

A few weeks ago, Marie, the race director for the Bishop High Sierra Ultramarathons sent out an email saying that there was still snow on the section of the course called "Edison Loop" which is a six mile loop from mile 17.4 until 23.4 during which you climb from 8,000 to 9,400 feet and then drop back down to 8,000. They were going to re-evaluate as the race got closer and decide whether to re-route the course.

Marie wrote the following in an email last night:

"Today we did a final inspection of the roads conditions on the Edison Loop. There is still a considerable distance of deep snow and ice, making it almost impossible for Aid Station Crews and Ham Radio operators to reach the Overlook Aid Station... After a 10 second discussion, we have decided that runners will run the Edison Loop with no aid. The distance is 6 miles from leaving Edison Loop to returning to Edison Loop. Runners should leave the aid station with plenty of fluids and calories, plus some warm clothing..."

And this was posted on the race website today:

"Edison Loop has a lot of snow, and will be useable, but there will be NO aid station at the Overlook this year... Plan on at least 1 – 2 hours for the 6 mile trek, with snow on the road. It could be cold and windy, despite being a clear and sunny day, so please dress accordingly... The weather forecast calls for mid 40’s to low 80’s, sunny with a light breeze in the afternoon. This will be a cooler year for the race, and the first time in many years that we have had so much snow on the Edison Loop."

(I added the bold emphasis in both quotes.)

Deep snow and ice. Two hours for a six mile trek. Temps see-sawing between 40's and 80's during the race.

I'm thankful they don't have to re-route the course and you never know what the conditions will be like three days from now, but an "interesting" race and course just got a whole lot more so.

Until I see the conditions on the loop, all time goals are officially out the window.

One more thing

About that last post.

It's a little funny. I guess.

I hadn't even added the Catalina Eco-Marathon to my blog "Future Race Schedule" or announced here that I'd signed up. (Even though I did on twitter.) That's because I was waiting until after we met with the surgeon at UCLA to write a post that went something like this:

"I met with the surgeon at UCLA and he confirmed Dr. McCormick's (the NYC surgeon) recommendation that I do the surgery within a year. That means that I'll plan on taking care of it in early December and will finish out my 2010 racing season with the Catalina Eco-Marathon. That's especially exciting because my achilles injury forced me to pull out of the race last year and because I have a few friends running the race this year."

So it goes. Anyway, I haven't made any decisions or ruled anything out yet.

Decisions...

As I mentioned in March, I have to have pretty major back/spine surgery at some point in the coming months. It's not a huge rush, but it has to be done. The surgeon who performed the operation in 2003 and has been following up with me since recommends that I have the surgery within the next year. When I heard that, I decided that early December would be the right time. I'll race Angeles Crest on August 28, go to Loren and Charlie's wedding on October 30, race the Catalina Eco-Marathon on November 13, go east for Thanksgiving with my in-laws and then do the surgery. I'll have all of December and early January to recover and get back to my life (personal, professional, athletic) sometime in early/mid-January. That sounded about right because I get to do what I want accomplish this year and face 2011 fresh.

BUT.

We were living in NYC in 2003, so that's where the original surgery happened. Now, we're looking at our options on the west coast. Last week, we met with a surgeon at UCLA. He comes well recommended and seems competent and more than capable. He reviewed my recent MRI and wants to move more quickly. He agreed that it isn't a "rush" but blanched a little when I said I was planning to wait until December. My initial reaction was something like "He's a surgeon and sees something that needs to be operated on; of course he wants to do it ASAP" and "The NYC surgeon has been following this for 7 years and thinks I can wait a year; I'm confident in his judgement". And I still believe there's some truth to all of those thoughts.

I have to have this surgery. I have to go through the recovery. My life will be disrupted. I'll listen to everyone but in the end it's my decision.

BUT.

The meeting at UCLA got me thinking. Maybe it is a little silly to wait until December. I'm definitely not doing the surgery before Angeles Crest. Unless I'm having symptoms, that's a non-starter. But not a really strong argument to wait much beyond that.

From a medical perspective the tumor is only going to get bigger. And that increases the risk that I'll start having symptoms and potentially makes the surgery more complicated. Frankly, based on my word from my NYC surgeon, I'm mostly OK with this risk.

From a personal perspective, I could do the surgery in September and be fully recovered long before the wedding. And, the further out I push the surgery, the less I know what my life will be like. Doing the surgery in December could disrupt some plans I don't even know about yet. It's hard though to think about what could be going on personally in early 2011 when I know what I want to do in late 2010.

From an athletic/running perspective, the big bummer is that I would have to miss the Eco-Marathon. Again. And this year I have a bunch of friends running it. If I have the surgery in September - even early September - I'm not running a marathon in mid-November. BUT. While doing the surgery in December saves Catalina, it most likely knocks me out of any spring 2011 races. A September operation kills my fall, but it will force me to recover fully after Angeles Crest and should mean that I'm back running much much earlier and potentially sets me up for a full 2011 racing season. (And I've got some big ideas for 2011!) Right now, this is what's carrying the most weight in my decision-making process. And I don't think it's the wrong way to look at it at all.

I'm not making this decision today. Thank goodness. But I am going to try to deal soon.

Product Review - Zoot CompressRx Recovery Tight

Recently a pattern has emerged in my blog. My primary post each week is a summary of the running I did the previous weekend along with some vista photos like this

(View from Temescal Ridge)

and an obligatory self-photo like this


This weekend was another good one for running - I ran 40 total miles, 19 on Saturday from Temescal to Trippet Ranch and back and 21 on Sunday in Palos Verdes with Colin and Kristin (who ran 40-friggin-miles that day!)

(view of the bluffs in PV, about mile 19 for me. Photo by Colin)

but I want to write about something else today.

Product Review - Zoot CompressRx Recovery Tight

During my years of Ironman training, I put in the hours. I was regularly training more than 15 hours a week, and 20 hour weeks weren’t uncommon. But that time was split between cycling, running, swimming and strength training. I would often ride the bike two days in a row, but I almost never ran on back-to-back days. My muscles almost always had at least 48 hours to recover after a training session before being taxed in the same way again. Recovery was important, but some recovery was naturally built into my training program.

Ultramarathon training is different. My usual weeks will have less time training than my usual Ironman weeks, but nearly all of it is spent running. For example, last week was a huge one for me, I trained a total 14 hours, about 12 of which was spent running. I ran every day except Friday but I ran twice on Thursday. And back-to-back long runs are an integral part of nearly every ultramarathon training program. As a result, the legs just don’t have very much time to recover.

Because of this, I’m doing everything I can to help my legs recover as quickly as possible: hydration + electrolytes, stretching, trigger point work, a generally healthy diet, ice baths, etc. I’ve been doing all that for years, but I recently bought a pair of compression tights to wear after my long runs and races. There are a few brands out there, so I did a little research and ended up buying the Zoot CompressRx Recovery Tight from Triathlon Lab in Santa Monica. It was a tough call and I mostly chose Zoot because I like their triathlon products and read good things about the tights. I haven't tried any other brands, so I can’t make a comparison. Yet.

In summary, I love these tights. I have worn them after nearly every long run and race I’ve done since mid-March and when I wear them I wake up the next day with relatively fresh legs ready to get back on the trails or roads. For about two weeks in April, I didn’t have the tights and I did not feel as recovered the day after my long runs. They aren’t cheap ($150 before any discounts), but if you are doing heavy training and can spare the money, I’d recommend splurging.

The tights are a bit of a bitch to put on, especially getting my feet through the foot holes. They also take some adjusting around the hips and waist to get them to sit right. But once they’re on, I sense that they’re working. They are super tight, that’s for sure. They’re not so tight that they’re uncomfortable to walk around in. I’ve worn them out to dinner a few times.

I don’t pretend to understand the science behind compression, but honestly, I don’t care too much as long as I feel like I’m benefitting from wearing them. I own a couple pairs of compression socks as well and while I feel like the socks help my legs feel better after long runs, there’s no comparison to what I feel like I get from the tights. I know I’ll be spending a lot more time in the tights in the coming months.

Now that you’ve read what I like, there are only two things I don’t love about the tights:

• As I mentioned above, it is a crazy struggle to get my foot through the opening. I’m not sure why they couldn’t make the stirrup a little more stretchy. I’m guessing that this has to do with getting the most compression benefit out of the tights, but I’d probably sacrifice 0.5% compression in my foot for 0.5% more stretch to help get them on.

• It might be related to the above, but the seam around the very end at the foot should be a little softer. It’s so tight and a little rough so, after a while, it actually digs into each foot, which limits the amount of time I can wear them. It’s worst when I’m lying down in the tights and not so noticeable when I’m walking around in them. When I sleep in them, if I wake up in the middle of the night, I usually have to take the tights off because of the pressure around my foot.

Neither of those affect the benefits I get from the tights and I would definitely buy the tights again despite those issues.

In case you’re curious, I bought the size 1. I’m about 5’11” and weigh 162 or so. According to their sizing chart, I am between size 1 and size 2. I decided to size down because I wanted them tighter. Maybe if I’d gone with the 2, my issues with the feet would be resolved. I feel like the benefit I get from the "tighter" tights outweighs those points.


As a final point, the second or third time I put on the tights, the seams near the foot and heel started coming undone. I mentioned it to the Zoot rep at the Oceanside 70.3 expo and he told me it probably wasn’t a big deal but if anything happened, it would be covered by warranty. Well, a couple weeks later, the hole near the right side heel tore apart when I was getting my foot through the stirrup part. I was a pretty bummed. But I brought them back to Triathlon Lab who sent them to Zoot. In less than two weeks, I had a brand new pair for free. No questions asked. Good for you, Zoot!

I think I'm a "Trail Runner" now

I took a little spill on Saturday coming down Musch Trail near Trippet Ranch in Topanga State Park. Fortunately, I landed "well" and only ended up with some superficial cuts on my left leg, left arm and left hand. But the dripping blood looks pretty cool.


As I noted on twitter, becoming a "trail runner" was a lot less painful than becoming a "cyclist"!