Hooked on LSD

[W I S N E R !]

Nothing else does it.
Not weights, not "crossfit" type stuff, not climbing, not cycling, not hiking.
Long Slow Distance is the only thing that seems to be able to cleanse this mind and purge the body.

Running life has been tough lately. After our BPL group's R2R2R in April, I've been fighting a low-grade uprising of malcontents in my left ITB. Problem is, if these uprisings go unchecked, they can spread…It didn't take long for this one to reach my mind and cause a real funk. I just don't feel too good, psychologically speaking, without getting in my LSD.

Weeks upon weeks of fairly unsatisfying running; either keeping it mild to avoid all pain or tightness when my mind and the rest of my body want to be out pushing it all day…
Or succumbing to temptation and trying to do something too big or too fast, only to regret it and re-enter the cycle of fear and depression that little nagging injuries can cause.

It's hard to not let the mind run away, to not begin to worry that things won't change…

Things are better now though, my mileage is climbing back up. If I take it easy, 10 miles is comfortable. A few weeks ago I was having trouble with 4. I'm avoiding running steep downhills, walking at the first sign of tightness, icing, stretching, the works…Just returned from 6 miles of trail, a little hide and seek with a cottontail, a sunset, and a run that felt very normal. Life is good. There is chicken on the grill and some beer chilling in the freezer.

So I make a solemn oath to the Running Gods, to Antelope, to Coyote, to Cheetah,to Haile Gebrselassie, and Emil Zatopek…Make this thing go away quick and I'll be a good boy and get those miles in.

[Nick Gatel]

Patience is a virtue Grasshoper. Rest and contemplation are good for the soul. Let your mind be in charge, not the body.

[Art …]

you said you had cold beer … what are you complaining about :-)

actually, as one who always seems to be injured somewhere on my body, I can empathize.
just getting out is a big help.
can you hike ? power walk ? for 20 miles ?
Tony K. has been really slow coming back from his injuries, seems to mostly just power walk up long steep hills. (his walking is faster than my running).
getting out is good for the soul, and hills are good for the body.
hope you heal up soon.

—-

[Eugene Smith]

Be faithful to your promise and you will be out running blissfully soon enough Craig.

Those self deprecating thoughts on injury and the thieving notion that our situation will fail to improve only rob us of joy, which can be found even in periods of downtime- you seem determined to not give in. I have watched and read how Tony K has weathered his ongoing bout of injury and it has been surprisingly encouraging, that someone of his caliber can push on and adapt, all the while improving as a man of the mountains and trails.

ITBS is a bit$h and will pass, what worked for me was increased patience and moderation, the body rebounds back stronger in the end if you give it time to grow and heal.

On a side note, Western States unfolds this weekend, without Kilian, so the field seems to have opened up more in his absence and should make for some race drama within "Men's 10".

[W I S N E R !]

Thanks for commiserating guys….

AK was inspiring with his shin issue, still out there finding a way to get it done.
Which is what I need to do, be it easy running, hiking, whatever it takes.

Has everyone been following Joe Grant lately?
Him and his crew (including AK) are doing some really crazy "runs", stuff that's beginning to almost border on mountaineering, but all in short shorts and little shoes…Definitely blurring boundaries. Same with Kilian's new film (for which I've only seen the preview). I'm not sure that this stuff fits neatly into a "trail running" category anymore, but it's not really adventure racing or stuff like the Alaska Classic, either….

That's where it's at!

I've got a ton of ideas for this sort of thing, just got to get my leg back into shape.

[Mike M]

more sympathy here Craig, like Art I seem to be a magnet for injuries

couple of weekends ago I was out for a 14 mile run and right around mile 11 my achilles become very sore, sore enough I walked the last 3 miles back to the truck. I took a couple of days completely off w/ lots and lots of icing and very gentle stretching. I then found a 5 mile stretch to run that was very flat, first day back was almost all walking, by day 4 it was mostly "running" (I'm slow :)). This past weekend I've since gone back to the hills, got 10 miles in Saturday- I had to make several stops to stretch my calves/achilles when I could feel them start to tighten. That's been my MO for the last week as well.

I've got a 16 mile run planned for Saturday, realizing it may take several stretch sessions/walking to complete it.

I'm hoping to stay injury free (relatively anyways!) as I got drawn for the Bridger Ridge Run in August- pretty psyched about it.

off to read Joe's blog

Mike

[Ike Jutkowitz]

ITBS put me off running for over a year, so I know what you're going through. Going barefoot/minimalist helped significantly, though I still had tightness for a while. I tried active release techniques (ART) this year and very quickly got past the last vestiges of it. Not sure if you have any ART practitioners in your area, but it was pretty inexpensive here ($20/session).

Hope you have a speedy recovery. I've been looking forward to running with you guys in R2R2R 2013.

[Art …]

my chiropractor does Active Release Technique, and it does seem to help.

[W I S N E R !]

I was just watching something on active release on the net yesterday…Maybe I'll look into if this persists. But it seems I'm starting to have it figured out….

[Eugene Smith]

Craig,

Joe and TK's recent alpine sessions have been enjoyable to watch and read about, definitely stoke worthy, particularly TK's obvious enthusiasm just getting out in the lightest way possible in the mountains and pushing those boundaries like you mentioned. CO has a rich history of FKTs on the 14ers, maybe we'll see some records fall by these guys.

Btw, anyone else checking in on the Western states live feed?

There's a serious race up front amongst the men.

[W I S N E R !]

Yeah man, I'm watching it. I like Mackey.

[Art …]

not hooked to my screen but checking frequently throughout the day.
got to say that Nick Clark is my sentimental favorite.
after his great efforts in 2010 and 2011 he deserves a win.
but 14 minutes back after 62 miles right now … possible but a couple front runners would have to melt down a bit.

[Eugene Smith]

Unbelievable!

Timothy Olson blew minds and a new course record yesterday. 14:46:44 (*Western States 100 CR)

[Author]

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