Possible Progress!

I biked for 10 minutes hard!

Yesterday I used an upright stationary bike at my college's gym while I was back in town for our annual cross country alumni weekend (which was fantastic!).

I thought 10 minutes would be enough to cause pain if it was going to, but wouldn't cause me to be hobbling around for days after.  The pain after the workout was minimal (no pain during, surprisingly), and was probably just I-haven't-done-this-in-forever pain.  I plan on cautiously testing out a bike and a gym membership here at home.  I would love to start doing something active! 

Stronger

Feb. 2012- Guana River Wildlife Management Area

In the past few months, I have written about beginning to feel like myself again post-injury.  The act of running, no matter what the distance, has helped me feel like my old self, however, something was still missing.  Running and running like myself are two different things.

After cross country season ended in November, I decided to continue running, only dropping my weekly mileage in order to give my legs a break.  In no way was I ready to voluntarily take two weeks off after so recently having a forced nine months off.

It was the right decision.

In the past month, I have finally started to run like myself.  I am able to run tall and strong, hit even splits, and recover more quickly from workouts and during intervals.  My pace has dropped significantly since the season ended.  During cross country season last year, my workouts were all over the place.  I could never predict how I would feel, and that frustrated me beyond belief. 

After an entire summer and cross country season of struggling with running, it seems that I finally overcome the months of near inactivity.  I am not one to bounce back into shape because I am not a naturally athletic person.  I will be the first to admit that I have to work at running in order to compete decently in races.  I'm now stronger, physically and most certainly mentally.  Actually, I have started to think of the injury as a blessing in disguise because it forced me to reevaluate what I do and why I put myself through it.  Persistence, and not to mention a coach with incredible knowledge and similar determination, has brought me this far.  I love the sport, the people, and the feeling, and I'm not going anywhere.

Alumni Weekend Running

Last weekend was a cross country alumni weekend of sorts.  Many runners, past and present, competed in a local 5k, racing on either the current runners team or the alumni team.  Our scoring was cross country style, naturally.  The remainder of the weekend was spent eating, eating, reminiscing, and running, since, well, we are cross country runners.

On Sunday, the team visited the Mala Compra Trails (I've also heard it called HOBOS Trails) which was designed as a mountain bike trail.  I am not much of a biker, and I really have no idea how many trails like this exist in Florida, but I can say that I have never seen anything like it.  The trails twist and turn, rise and fall suddenly and constantly for the five and a half mile wooded loop. 

A few miles in, I got separated from the others since it was mostly the men's team.  I ended up exploring most of the trails alone.  Somehow I ran my first loop in about thirty minutes, so I clearly took a wrong turn somewhere.  It was difficult to get my bearings because of all of the little twists and turns, but on my second loop I eventually ended up on the other side of the park by a road and another entrance where a large map was posted.  Once I took a look at the image, it all made sense.  I hopped on the large and generally straight hiking trail and made my way back to the start. 

The run ended up being around 10. 5 miles, which was a little short, but my legs and hips certainly felt it.  It was a unique, fun, and challenging run.  I recommend going with a few people who are around your speed so that you can stick together and enjoy the crazy course.  It's great for distances from 5-8 miles, but a bit repetitive for much more than that.  Even though it was relatively hot outside, the trail stayed cool because it is completely shaded by oaks.  I can imagine that it would be very nice in the summer, as well.

Here is a video of someone biking the trail.  You can get an idea of how crazy parts of it are.

At the end of the weekend, it was sad to see everyone go.  Even though I had just met these people,  I felt like I knew them well.  We have many, many shared experiences, from running the same old routes, to trying Celebrex for hip pain, and ultimately knowing what it is like to be part of something so unique.  Only these few people know what it is like to wake up every day and be a member of this cross country team.  I am very excited to be racing with them next year and keeping in touch until then.

Division I Cross Country Championship

Only collegiate cross country runners would gather in a library group study room to watch a live stream of other people running.  If you have a spare 29 minutes, I recommend watching. 

Cross Country

Racing cross country for eight years has given me so much, taught me so much.  Ultimately, the sport introduced me to the woods, which has changed my life.  The history, landscapes, and meandering trails of the state of Florida will be always play an important part in my life.  It has influenced my art and career choices.  Cross country taught me to appreciate small victories and not let the bad moments get me down.  Some days I am so happy to be moving and running.  I remember just a few months ago when each step was a milestone.  The sport has also introduced me to the greatest people that I know.  It showed me how much I enjoy the act of running, moving through space at my own will, challenging myself, and discovering the fragility of limitations.  This year, I have experienced the challenges of racing.  I have also experienced the fun in racing for the first time.

I love to run fast.  I love to run far.  I love the days when I can feel every ache in my legs and the days when the motions are effortless.  I love to train and log the miles, but in previous years, I did not look forward to racing.  This season, I have had some of the worst races of my life.  Part of the process was overcoming the mental aspect of being injured for an extended period of time.  I also had to get back into shape-  running fast shape.  Then, I also had to learn how to race and transfer all of the daily work to the race course.  That was the most difficult part for me.  It sounds simple, but I had never really been coached on racing.  It took some time and persistent coaching, but in the end, I discovered how I need to race in order to be successful.

In the last meet of the season, I finally was successful.  It was a beautiful, cool morning.  The course was perfect for my hip (fast compact gravel and dirt- not Florida sand), and the trails wandered through a wooded park and past a lake.  The morning was beautiful and I was determined to have no regrets.  When I crossed the line, I had run my first true cross country PR in four years in the 6k.  In the race, I ran the fastest cross country 5k that I have run since high school.  I felt like a runner. I felt like I was racing.  I felt like myself.

The best news is that I am not done with collegiate racing because the cross country season has ended.  For the first time in my school's history, the team is training for a track season.  I cannot wait. I'm ready to race, truly race.  No regrets.

5 Weeks

In exactly one week, I will run my final collegiate 5k. Two 6ks follow, and then my collegiate cross country career is over. I am still working on the hip. Most days are good days, but I had my worst day in long time on Wednesday, the afternoon following a fantastic speed workout. Since then, I have been in the pool. Hopefully I will be ready to run hard tomorrow morning. A good workout can do a lot for race mentality.

This is the point in the season where I have to work on staying focused. I have been back training with the team for over seven weeks. I miss the woods and solitary runs, but I know that my last season will end in just five weeks. I know that after that last race, I will miss even this time of the season.

I really can't believe this is all ending so soon. I mean, I knew it would end. The day has been marked on my calendar for months. In past years, I wished it would all end sooner. I wanted to run for myself again. I wanted to be free from the pressure and the pain. But now I have truly realized how great this bond is with my teammates. We make it through the hard times together and witness the good side by side. These experiences are shared only by our small group. We will never have this again.  Let's make the most of it. Five weeks.

We're not in Florida anymore

I have very few opportunities to race for my cross country team outside of the state of Florida.  In my collegiate career, I will have traveled out of the state for five meets.  Last weekend, my team and I ventured many hours north to South Carolina.

The land was beautiful.  I had the chance to take in the views the night before the race when the girls and I got in a good five miles on the course.  Even though it was nice, it really makes me appreciate where I run at home.  I think that most cross country runners have that special place that nothing can even compare with.  I certainly have mine.  But it is good to experience what other runners love, too. 

A few differences:

1.  I could have been convinced it was mid-December (Temperatures in the 50s!)
2.  Grey, grey, grey skies
3.  Everything was a winter brown
4.  Dirt
5.  Hills...

The course is probably the most difficult race I have ever run, and one of the most fun.  Although the start is a slight downhill, the footing is quite different than any Florida race.  The hard ground was covered with dips and holes, making the first mile challenging.  This front part of the course, a few hills and all, was the flat part of the course, so it needed to be faster.

The large back loop of the 6k race was like a roller coaster.  A sandy roller coaster.  In the second mile, I took advantage of the longest downhill I have ever experienced.  I could not have stopped even if I had tried, so I let the hill take me and tried to make my legs keep up.  Naturally, the next mile was all uphill.  Gradual and less sandy, this was the place to maintain a constant pace and close in the gaps between other runners.

I knew I was about to hit mile three because I could just spot the wall of sand was peaking through the trees.  This hill marked the start of the end of the race.  If I could be strong and work my way to the top, it was generally downhill for the rest of the race.  I booked it at the bottom of the hill, trying to pass a few girls and put some space between us.  Chances were, they wouldn't put up a fight.  Then, I worked on staying strong.  I remembered the months of the work I put in to get back to this point.  Recovery from injury is never easy and it makes us stronger.  There is no way I was going to give up here.  I repeated that as I climbed.  At the top, I felt a sense of relief, but it was no time to rest.  I went.  Up a smaller hill and back down to the start, I gave it everything I had left. 

In the end, I do not know my finish time.  The race results were inaccurate because of the primitive timing system and lack of a backup.  According to the posted results, I PRed by about 15 seconds, but I am not sure that is true.  I guess when I race here again in just over a  month I will just have to be even faster and earn a new personal record.  I honestly felt strong, even up that final hill, and I know that I will be a better runner in a few weeks.

Let's Try This Racing Thing Again

It's amazing how much you can learn about yourself in just over twenty minutes.  As much as I would like to skip a write up of this race, I know that I have to reflect on those three miles.  It is just one step in the long process of becoming competitive again.  This race provided a baseline.  I now truly have a place to start.

The University of Tampa's Early Bird Classic is the season opener for much of the state.  The 5k held at Tampa's Sydney Dover Trails was the first collegiate cross country race I ran years ago.  It was nice to go back once more.  I learned a lot this time around.

I learned that I can still ask my body to give me more.  I don't have to hold back in fear of re-injury.  I can be competitive.  I can run a smart race.  After everyone was settled from the first mile and a quarter or so, no one passed me.  I did not run negative splits, but I kept my eye on those ahead of me and picked them off one by one.  Honestly, it felt good to run like that again.

Going into the race I expected to be tired, which was probably by biggest mistake.  This past week or so has been rough on my legs.  They have just felt trashed.  I have been running with caution for months because of my hip injury.  Inclines, sand, and banked surfaces, all things that worry me, were waiting for me in the race.  And you know what?  I did it.  The hip is really no worse for the wear.

I am a no-excuses kind of girl.  I ran it, I analyzed the problems, and I will figure out how to do better in the future.  It's strange how a mediocre race can help me regain the confidence I gradually lost in the past year.

Now for the park:  The path at Sydney Dover lends itself for large cross country races.  The majority of the trail is wide and open; great for big starts and spectating.  A bit of sand and a few inclines makes things interesting and unlike many Florida races that are simply run around retention ponds (seriously).  I do not know the layout or size of the entire park, but I believe it is generally one loop just over seven miles long.  Being that the land is so open, it gets quite hot in the afternoons, so I recommend morning and evening running.  Overall, it is a perfect place for cross country races and I can imagine causal running.  But let me tell you, that speed bump of a hill at the first mile mark and in the middle of the second is just mean.



Photos are not from race day.  All photos from Biking Florida (great website with directions to the multiple park entrances).

Team Travels

Before each season, the cross country team takes a short camping trip to a Florida park.  This year, the team decided on trekking to Fanning Springs State Park.  No one on the team had been, but it met the trip requirements: a place to run, a place to swim, and cabins because the women's team isn't the most outdoors-y this year.  I know, I know, this is cross country, but a handful would likely complain if there weren't showers or air conditioning. 

The journey to the park was perfect: no air conditioning, windows down, good music, and good people.  I love driving through the small towns of central Florida, as the few teammates in the car learned.  "How do you know all of these places?"  How do you not?

When we arrived in the park, we tossed our duffel bags in the cabins, stripped down to almost nothing, and, naturally, ran to the spring.  Up on the banks, I heard screaming and splashing.  A few teammates were already in and apparently it was colder than expected.  When I hit the water, I felt like I was in a picturesque full-body ice bath.  No one was in the water but a pair of locals, two great egrets, and many glistening fish.

I would love to tell about the running, but my hip has been acting up lately and it's better to be cautious this early in the cross country season.  I got in a good five hours of pool running along with 30-35 miles last week.  Water running in a spring was a welcomed change from the campus pool, although after about forty-five minutes the cool temperature of the water starts to become very apparent.

By the end of the trip, there was hair braiding, team games, and a little harmless havoc.  Goals were made and we left a stronger team than we have been in a long, long time.

I plan on returning to this park soon.  But with a tent and my running shoes. 





  

Week One

Week one of preseason training is almost complete.  There has been plenty of pool running, strength training, and road running.  My body hurts all of the time, and I am loving every minute.  Tomorrow will be my long awaited first run back on trails.  I say that like it has been months, and even though it feels like it, I've only been away for a week.

But it won't be the same as my central Florida runs.  I won't be able to stop and explore, cross rivers, or run for as long as I see fit.  I will have a set time, a set distance, and a set group of people to run with.  Don't get me wrong, I am running with the best people I know, but there is something so invigorating about going at the trails alone. 

However rough of a transition this may be for me (it is every year), fall is the season to be calculated and precise, to run with  determination and train for a single race.  Spontaneity is for winter break and summer, and the rest of my life as a runner.  I am eager to see how far I can go this season.  Just a few weeks shy of a year ago, I was not able to run.  I lost nine months of good running.  Now, I appreciate the motion much more.  That is why I can't hold back, not for my final season.  I won't waste it.