Re: Finally Fifty

ounce Tue Nov 07, 2017 8:48 pm

Mark's fur lined jock strap isn't really a bad idea for those temps and the items covered. Even a sock would help as frostbite can be an issue.

Mike MacLellan Wed Nov 08, 2017 8:47 am

Nancy - Glad it helped! I'm gonna have to watch it a couple more times so it's really ingrained in there when things go to shit.

Mark - Yep, we're about where we should be now. Just staring into the abyss of 19 unfamiliar miles.

Oz - Never been an issue running. Cycling is another story Crying or Very sad

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I have one more run until race day. The heel went from a niggle to "oh shit, I might actually have a stress fracture" to completely better yesterday afternoon and now it is just very slightly there - I probably wouldn't notice it if I hadn't been obsessing for 3 days.

My parents get here tomorrow.

I guess this is really happening.

ounce Wed Nov 08, 2017 11:33 am

Well, 27 is the lowest in my running days and never on a bike.

Good luck at the race. Running your plan will make the mind more restful and more able to handle hiccups. You can always cry on your mom's shoulder, after the race.

Mark B Wed Nov 08, 2017 4:56 pm

So excited for you.

But one thing to remember once you enter the undiscovered country of the last third of a 50-miler.

There's a very high probability that at some point, your brain will give you very good, wise and logical reasons to stop.

DO NOT LISTEN TO YOUR BRAIN.

Unless you have a physical injury that will result in damage to you if you keep going, keep going. Even if you're sore, tired, hungry, thirsty and humiliated, keep going. It's part of the journey.

Oh yeah. And thank the aid station volunteers. They're angels.

nkrichards Wed Nov 08, 2017 7:39 pm

Mark B wrote:So excited for you.

But one thing to remember once you enter the undiscovered country of the last third of a 50-miler.

There's a very high probability that at some point, your brain will give you very good, wise and logical reasons to stop.

DO NOT LISTEN TO YOUR BRAIN.

Unless you have a physical injury that will result in damage to you if you keep going, keep going. Even if you're sore, tired, hungry, thirsty and humiliated, keep going. It's part of the journey.

Oh yeah. And thank the aid station volunteers. They're angels.

Don't worry Mark...he'll do fine.

Based on some of the runs he's put in to prepare I don't think he's prone to listening to his brain!

***

Good luck Mike. You've got his. Have fun!

ounce Fri Nov 10, 2017 7:03 am

Mark B wrote:So excited for you.

But one thing to remember once you enter the undiscovered country of the last third of a 50-miler.

There's a very high probability that at some point, your brain will give you very good, wise and logical reasons to stop.

DO NOT LISTEN TO YOUR BRAIN.

Unless you have a physical injury that will result in damage to you if you keep going, keep going. Even if you're sore, tired, hungry, thirsty and humiliated, keep going. It's part of the journey.

Oh yeah. And thank the aid station volunteers. They're angels.

You forgot to mention too cold or too warm.

Mike MacLellan Sat Nov 11, 2017 6:56 pm

That hurt.

nkrichards Sat Nov 11, 2017 7:31 pm

Mike MacLellan wrote:That hurt.

That was to be expected...

Come on you have to give us more than that. The results aren't posted yet!

ounce Sun Nov 12, 2017 9:26 am

He's creating a dramatic atmosphere. pale

KBFitz Sun Nov 12, 2017 9:30 am

Mike MacLellan wrote:That hurt.

Welcome to the hurt club.

Mike MacLellan Sun Nov 12, 2017 11:20 am

Nancy & Oz - Not trying to be coy, just still not even really beginning to process the race.

Kevin - Oof.

---

So I'll copy my IG post over here and add a bit to it:

"the one scenario i had not even fathomed occurred today - things sucked from basically the starting line. the last week of anxiety about this race left my body exhausted and stomach a complete mess. gut rot and lightheadedness at mile 4 made for a very dark and difficult first four hours during which the only way i could convince myself to not drop was to throw my time goals away and just run. so i just ran what i could, which ended up being a minute per mile slower than my goal. the cold and gi discomfort had my whole body tense which made it near impossible to engage my quads on any descents - which lead to my knees and ankles taking the brunt of the damage.

lots of lessons learned today, lots more reflecting to do, and a good mantra coming out of my time in hell - "would you rather suffer for another 6 hours or regret dropping for another 6 weeks?" endless gratitude to my parents and the best damn crew chief i could ask for."

The one lesson that I'm ruminating over is that right now, everything that goes into an ultra isn't something I find fun in and of itself. Putting in the long hours isn't physically difficult; it's mentally difficult. I get VERY lonely on long runs and got VERY lonely yesterday. Eventually that tapered off into a systematic tackling of whatever stretch between aid stations I was on, but I can't honestly say that yesterday had much fun, despite my best efforts.

To decode the euphemisms of the IG post, I started having GI issues at mile 4. Like, pretty bad. I was ready to drop by the time I hit 12, because I was already bonking hard and aching. The whole inability to relax and run descents really fucked my knees up. Quads and calves are barely sore today.

Around mile 20, I had an epiphany that I was going to finish this fucking race, because my brain went from the depths of hell to absolutely elated within 5min and I realized it was all a mental game. I held pace until approx mile 34, despite knowing at 24 that my race was over, but fortunately by that point, I'd accepted the fact that today wasn't my day and hey, at least I was sticking it out. I slowed a bit between 34-42 (which was planned, and I barely lost more time than predicted), but after 42 I think my pace slowed from 11-12min to 13min average.

Came in ~9:18 total time, with about 13min of not moving according to Strava. At least 6min of that was bathroom breaks, the other 7min probably just talking things over with my crew (parents + Haley) at aid stations and making sure they knew I was okay and would just be a bit slower than planned.

I haven't quite figured out what went wrong to lead to such a hard race, but I'm pretty sure I overtrained, peaked early (probably around Tussey), and overtapered. The whole last week of taper was sore knees and INSANE anxiety... restless sleep, panic attacks, being dizzy and bonky throughout the day Thurs and Fri. I think I really overhyped this one in my brain and kind of killed my race before it started.

That all said, I finished it, I put in a pretty okay time (somewhere around 25th overall; results aren't posted as of now) and did the best I could given the circumstances. The good news is, I know I can keep running for 9 hours. The bad news is, I'm not sure I want to at this point in my life. The mind just isn't there right now, and I think that's okay.

ounce Sun Nov 12, 2017 4:04 pm

Gratz on the finish, Mike. You finished. I'll just let that be it.

Approval

Tim C Sun Nov 12, 2017 4:25 pm

Congrats, Mike. Way to gut it out and finish.

Mark B Mon Nov 13, 2017 12:18 am

Just because it sucks doesn't mean it can't also be good.

Good job making the pivot. Proud of you.

nkrichards Mon Nov 13, 2017 8:46 pm

I know that it's hard to be proud of a finish when you had much higher expectations and thought you were ready.

You had good reason to quit and didn't. Unlike my race which started great and then finished poorly it sounds like yours was tough right from the start. I had the finish line in sight...well sort of...when my race fell apart so it was a bit easier to suffer through those last few miles. Kudos for not pulling the plug early on and the fact that your race started to come together late in the race is evidence that you have the ability to do one well. That said...if it ain't fun then...

Take it easy and recover well...

Michele "1L" Keane Tue Nov 14, 2017 12:26 pm

Sorry it took me a while to get over here to congratulate you on finishing! Sorry it was soooo tough - tried to follow, but it wasn't easy. And now you know why I think 50 miles is crazy - lol! JK - great job getting it done and of course, it leaves you wanting to do it again right? Just to make sure you correct what went wrong - lol.

Excellent job, Mike - now rest up - when's the next one?

Mike MacLellan Thu Nov 16, 2017 5:48 pm

All - see below.

---

So, I've had a few days to reflect and see what feels right. I'm not making any decisions yet, but definitely feeling myself start to lean towards a new paradigm for 2018.

My strongest races have always been 10k-HM distance, so I'm thinking of focusing on mid-distance work with lots of tempo. Fewer miles, more quality, with the occasional long-ass day in the mountains when I decide I need it. I will probably still go for the Cuyamaca 100k in October, but any other ultras from now on are going to be because I want to run the course, not because I want to run the distance. No more of this rolling rooty bullshit we have out here. Mountains or bust.

That said, for the immediate future, a break is sounding about right. No real "training" until Xmas at the earliest. I went on a 3mi jaunt today and my knees started yelling at me towards the end. Same spot - near the MCL, slightly below. So a little bit of forced rest as well as desired rest.

Now, what to do with myself and my time?   Rolling Eyes

Mark B Fri Nov 17, 2017 10:10 am

Mike MacLellan wrote:All - see below.

---

So, I've had a few days to reflect and see what feels right. I'm not making any decisions yet, but definitely feeling myself start to lean towards a new paradigm for 2018.

My strongest races have always been 10k-HM distance, so I'm thinking of focusing on mid-distance work with lots of tempo. Fewer miles, more quality, with the occasional long-ass day in the mountains when I decide I need it. I will probably still go for the Cuyamaca 100k in October, but any other ultras from now on are going to be because I want to run the course, not because I want to run the distance. No more of this rolling rooty bullshit we have out here. Mountains or bust.

That said, for the immediate future, a break is sounding about right. No real "training" until Xmas at the earliest. I went on a 3mi jaunt today and my knees started yelling at me towards the end. Same spot - near the MCL, slightly below. So a little bit of forced rest as well as desired rest.

Now, what to do with myself and my time?

Mountains rock! Have fun with the shorter distances. But rest first.

That pain location correlates to tight ITBs. You may want to explore that possibility while resting. (Rolling can help short term, and long-term core work - especially the glutes - can help prevent it from coming back.)

ounce Mon Nov 20, 2017 9:49 pm

Also do Mark's PT work. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

Good luck with the shift. Don't be a stranger.

Mike MacLellan Sun Nov 26, 2017 4:13 pm

I've added weight-lifting back into the mix.

Reflection continues, and some trends of thought have emerged. 2017 was decidedly a running year. I came into the year with the resolution to run 2017 miles, which I surpassed during my taper. Next year will be something much more well-rounded. Current potential goals include some strength benchmarks (although at this point I'd settle with just lifting a few times a week), some more mountains/iconic runs (R2R2R and WS100 training camp are high on the list), and possibly thru-hiking the JMT this summer with Haley.

The extra time off is helping me "adult" better. More time and energy to get errands taken care of, keep up with cleaning, cooking, etc. Recovery is going well, you could say.

Had my first no-pain, no-shuffle run since the race today. Just 5k, but the average was under 9min/mi and I finally felt light and fluid again.

Mark B Mon Nov 27, 2017 9:10 am

Good that you're moving again, Mike!

I like the R2R2R idea. It seems like lots of the trail runners I know seem to be leaning more toward what they're calling "adventure running" rather than racing. I can definitely see the appeal in that. It looks like you may be heading a little bit in that direction, too. It suits you. Approval

Mike MacLellan Fri Dec 08, 2017 11:28 am

Coupla weeks later update...

I haven't done too much running. Been in that post-race slump running-wise, but trying to use my newfound freedom (ha) to explore some other things I've been neglecting, ie the rest of normal adult life.

I did, however, head out for a little trail jaunt today - an 8.5mi loop with 4mi of technical trail and 4.5mi of mostly pancake towpath. I've been pretty cautious of my knees, since that inner knee pain was coming back around mile 2 of at least half of my runs since the race... so I wasn't sure how it'd go. Surprisingly (or not?), zero issues until I hit the flat section, then they both got a little grumpy (3 out of 10) before settling in at 0 for the left and 1-2 for the right. Took some extra time during stretching to figure out how to activate/aggravate the injury and I'm pretty sure it's the gracilis tendon/pes anserine area. A toes-foward-side-lunge immediately set it off, and interestingly, I half-strained my right groin during the run today when my toes slipped off a rock behind me. So... hm.

I don't want to get *too* excited yet, but it looks like our moving plans are starting to solidify. With a very familiar and magical destination.

ounce Fri Dec 08, 2017 10:28 pm

Mike MacLellan wrote:Coupla weeks later update...

I haven't done too much running. Been in that post-race slump running-wise, but trying to use my newfound freedom (ha) to explore some other things I've been neglecting, ie the rest of normal adult life.

I did, however, head out for a little trail jaunt today - an 8.5mi loop with 4mi of technical trail and 4.5mi of mostly pancake towpath. I've been pretty cautious of my knees, since that inner knee pain was coming back around mile 2 of at least half of my runs since the race... so I wasn't sure how it'd go. Surprisingly (or not?), zero issues until I hit the flat section, then they both got a little grumpy (3 out of 10) before settling in at 0 for the left and 1-2 for the right. Took some extra time during stretching to figure out how to activate/aggravate the injury and I'm pretty sure it's the gracilis tendon/pes anserine area. A toes-foward-side-lunge immediately set it off, and interestingly, I half-strained my right groin during the run today when my toes slipped off a rock behind me. So... hm.

I don't want to get *too* excited yet, but it looks like our moving plans are starting to solidify. With a very familiar and magical destination.

Orlando? Anaheim?

Check out the soles of your shoes to see if there is any anomaly between left and right. My left ankle collapses inwardly, where the right one doesn't so the left heel wears more on the inside and the right doesn't at all.

Just to rule something out.

Michele "1L" Keane Mon Dec 11, 2017 3:44 pm

Orlando would be fun - I do get to Florida sometimes.

Mike MacLellan Mon Dec 11, 2017 6:28 pm

Oz - I've always had a bit of a L/R imbalance, never figured out what, but this one was definitely a race-day injury.

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Y'all took magical too literally. Auburn.

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