The final push!

I am in the last couple weeks before my Ultramarathon and I am TIRED. Tired body and sleepy tired mind. This week will be the last of four 50-plus mile weeks. That's a 200 mile month - no wonder I'm tired!

I've decided to bail on all other forms of activity at least for this last big push. No swimming and no biking this week. Only running (and yoga).

Next week my running mileage will go down while I taper for the race. I am looking forward to the taper. I'm not accustomed to being so darn tired. I day dreaming about tapering! I cannot wait for the extra boost of energy I'll get from my reduced running volume. I look forward eagerly to my rest days; previously I hated them and only employed them because I'm supposed to. Friday, blissful Friday, is my next rest day.....

I think I'm OK though, and that this is exactly how I'm supposed to feel at this point in my training. My running feels pretty good - not super fast, but not too slow either. I am uninjured and amazingly un-sore. I am sleeping well (really well and a lot).

I hope to write a post soon that tells of how spaztic I am with all the energy from my taper. I have faith that my training program will deliver me rested and full of energy to my race!

Are you there Internet? It's me IttyBittyBetty.

Blogging has not been the same since Facebook and my job with Ayuda. I see it in some of my other blogging friends too; we all get busy and Facebook is so easy and quick. We post pictures and brief updates. The blog falls to the wayside.

But Facebooking is not writing and I have missed writing. So I am back to blogging, at least while work is not crazy busy. Here's what I've been up to since my last intermittent posts:

Ayuda
Work has been very good and goes through very busy periods interspersed with more sane times. I still completely love my job and have been given more responsibilities as our small company grows. I just got through a few weeks of intensive travel and fire-drill crises projects; but right now things are relatively calm and thus I have some spare time to write over lunch.

Learning to Swim Competitively
My younger sister Chris learned to swim a few years back and raved about how wonderful a work out it was. She touted its benefits as a low-impact, all-body work out that would compliment my other more punishing sports like running and mountain biking. I'd like to be an active old lady some day and swimming seemed to be a sport I could incorporate into my routine and do for many, many years. So, I decided to give it a try.

This past December I started taking swim lessons at my fitness club, Lakeshore Athletic Club, located close to my office. Lakeshore provides Masters swimming classes and the Tuesday/Thursday lunch-time sessions are heavy on coaching and geared toward adults just starting a swimming program.

I knew how to swim before, in that I could splash around in the water and not drown. But I certainly knew nothing about technique or swimming efficiently.


I've come a long way since my first lessons where I was floundering and hyperventilating in the pool, choking on mouth and nose-fulls of water. It was quite humbling at first to be unable to complete a workout when other swimmers in the class, clearly less fit than I was, were kicking my a$$.

But my learning curve has been steep and I have worked hard at my swimming. No doubt when stacked up against a serious swimmer, I am still not fast. However, I can complete the workouts right up there with the faster swimmers in my class and my stroke has some semblance of efficiency. Best of all, I really enjoy the classes and my solo pool sessions.

I've signed up for an Xterra Triathlon in late August, so now I need to learn to swim outdoors!

Whole Lotta Running
Last year I ran my first official Ultramarathon, the Northfork 50. I completed the 50K version and had a great experience with the training and the race itself. This year, I've signed up to do the race again and will be joined by Jesper, who decided that all that running looked like fun! Having a race like this on the calendar is a serious motivator to stick to it; you cannot pull 31 miles on rocky mountainous trails at altitude out of your a$$.

My training took a slight detour in March when I began a process to resolve my long-standing piriformis syndrome. I embarked upon weeks of PT (lots of stretching and exercises), trigger point dry needling, a gate analysis and finally gait modification. It wasn't until May that my 'new' gait started to feel 'normal'. I think my new form is faster, but my real hope is that it is more sustainable.


One of the negatives from my training last year was that I ended up spending so much time without Jesper. This year has been different. During the week, we each do our own runs as they fit into our busy work schedules. But for the weekends, we synched our training plans so we would be running the same distances. On Saturday mornings we head off to a trail head and run the same course. We run at different paces and Jesper finishes a bit before me, but not so much that he's waiting bored out of his skull. We catch glimpses of each other throughout the run and get to chat when we pass each other at an out-and-back. Afterward, we hop in a cold river or lake for an ice bath together. Then we have a post-recovery meal together. We also both go to bed pretty early together! We sometimes do our shorter runs together, but just knowing we are both doing a 10-miler the day after a 22-miler engenders togetherness without us needing to be on the trail at the same time and place. Yep - we like doing things together!

We are up to 22 miles for our long runs and almost 55 miles per week total. All on trails. Lots of it very hilly and rocky. We are both amazingly injury free and feeling pretty good! The big race in in three weeks (on July 16th). Wish us luck!

New Sports
Once again, Jesper and I have added new sports to our already full bin of outdoor activities. We've taken up Stand Up Paddle Boarding, otherwise known as 'SUPping'. This is a sneaky way to get an awesome whole body workout in without you even realizing it!


The Front Range of Colorado has seen an explosion of bike parks over the last year or so. The newest, Valmont Bike Park, is very close to our house. Jesper got us both dirt jump bikes to ride the slopestyle, dirt jumps and pump track at this amazing new FREE venue right in Boulder. No pics of us yet, but stay tuned for AIR!

I hope to write more about our upcoming race and the other adventures we have planned for the summer!

Progress!

I am happy and astounded to say my butt feels so much better I can hardly believe it! In fact, I now realize how much discomfort (pain) I had become subconsciously accustomed to; all day long discomfort, not just during running and such.

I am sure the two weeks plus of diligent stretching and strengthening exercises have helped, as I could feel less tightness just by doing my assigned PT. However, the real improvement came this week after my first session of Trigger Point Dry Needling.

The procedure itself was a tad painful and my butt and low back were sore for the rest of the day. But the next morning when I awoke, my backside felt completely different and that's when I realized how bad the situation had been. I still had some tightness and discomfort, but NOTHING like before. Sitting at work and in my car was comfortable - no need for the tennis ball wedged under my right butt cheek. Walking, standing up, swimming - everything felt untight in a way I haven't felt for a long time. I even tested things this morning by going for a run long enough to have caused my piriformis to flare up in the past (said run recommended by my therapist to see how treatment was working). Six miles and all I felt was a slight sensation in my butt, whereas before my right backside would have been super tight and I would have had a deep dull pain in my ass.

The difference in my butt (and low back and hamstring) now vs. before is almost as dramatic to me as the day I had lasik and went from blurry vision to crystal clear in a moment!

I am even more motivated than before to keep up with the PT. I also can't wait for my next dry needling session! Gotta go and do my stretches!

PITA - PT

One week in and my Physical Therapy (PT) for my Piriformis Syndrome is going well. I'm supposed to do the prescribed exercises and stretches twice a day; I get a reprieve on some stretches if I do yoga that day. Twice a day is time consuming; like almost an hour a day of PT!

Nevertheless, I've been pretty good about sticking to my schedule. Even when it means getting up really early to do my PT BEFORE heading up to the mountains to ski. Even when it means getting up super early to do PT BEFORE running BEFORE work. The evening sessions are the toughest to fit in. I try to do some stretches at work to cut back on how much I need to do before or after dinner. I can see how easy it is for people to fall off the PT wagon; part of my reasons for posting this is to keep me honest about doing everything my therapist prescribes so I get better.

I am scheduled to undergo a session of Dry Trigger Point Needling this week. I'm pretty sure it's not going to feel all that great. Then I have a gait analysis scheduled for later this month to see if my running form is contributing at all to my problems.

I'm still running, swimming, biking and skiing, so all is good!

Pain in the Butt!.

I've had a pain in the butt for years. No, it's not Jesper - he's the antithesis of a pain in the butt! It's a dull ache in the middle of my right buttock, with pain sometimes extending down my leg to the back of my knee. I've had a pretty good idea what it is for some time now, but today I finally got around to having an official doctor's diagnosis.

PIRIFORMIS SYNDROME!

For a tiny little muscle, that darn piriformis sure can cause a lot of problems.

Piriformis means "pear shaped", although I think it looks more leaf shaped. There it is, highlighted in a posterior view of the right buttock and leg. It can get inflamed/irritated from activities like running and become sore. It can also press up against the nearby sciatic nerve and create shooting pain down the back of the leg. Trust me - that's no fun! In addition to the pain, the syndrome causes diminished strength and range of motion.

I'm not quite sure why it's taken me so long to see a doctor about this; probably because I think I should be able to fix this myself through smart training and stretching. But I haven't been smart enough to fix it and I was beginning to dread the havoc it might wreak on my training for another ultramarathon this summer. Already, a hard day of skiing, running or swimming leaves my butt hurting. Last year while training for my first ultramarathon, it bothered me most of the time (day and night), although oddly enough, it rarely impacted my mileage. However the problem is not getting any better andI fear it's only time before it causes a whole host of other imbalances that will result in injuries that limit my ability to do the things I love.

So, I finally went to the doctor. As a first step, she prescribed PT, mostly to address lack of flexibility and strength in my hips. I can't wait to get started (how many people actually look forward to PT?). The best thing is I don't have to stop or slow down on my many activities while I do therapy! I am hopeful this takes care of the pain in my butt!

Vail Weekend with L&C

Jesper and I just had one of the nicest weekends in a long time. Of course, we skied, which always makes for a good time. And we skied with Lynnette and Carmen (L&C), two very good friends who are some of the finest people I know. L&C are very talented mountain bikers from way back when I was a newbie on the bike. They live in Arizona and, although they are relegated more to dirt than snow, they ride the heck out of their snow boards whenever they come to visit us in the winter.

We met up with L&C last September to downhill mountain bike at Winter Park for a few days and decided that a ski trip to Vail was warranted in early 2011. We reserved a condo smackdab in Mid-Vail and made a three day skiing and riding trip out of it. L&C had never been to Vail, so Jesper and I showed them as much of the best we could in three days. We skied most of Saturday, ALL DAY Sunday and all day Monday.

Carmen and Lynnette getting ready for the first big run on Saturday

The snow was awesome, due to almost 50 inches of freshie in the week leading up to our trip. Best of all, Blue Sky basin was closed on Saturday (after five inches of snow on Friday and lots of wind on Saturday) and then opened on Sunday after 13 more inches on Saturday. Of course we were there when they opened Blue Sky to try out the foot and a half of untracked powder ! Dang it was GOOD! We focused on Pete's Bowl and skied the hell out of Lovers Leap, Hornsilver, Resolution, Big Rock Park, Grand Review, and the Star til Blue Sky closed that day, only stopping to grab a quick snack al fresco. Once Blue Sky Basin closed, we continued to ski until all the lifts on the front side closed.

Carmen riding through the trees in Sun Down Bowl

Lynnette in the VASTness of Vail

Monday was another great day. Although there was not much new snow, the temps were perfect for keeping the huge amount Vail had gotten in the past few days fresh. We showed L&C some more Bowl action - Game Creek Bowl, Sun Down Bowl, Sun Up Bowl, China Bowl, ... We finished up with tired legs and drove L&C straight to the airport in Denver.

Jesper skiing down Ptarmigan Ridge

There's plenty more of Vail left for them to sample. More bowls and much more on the front side. I think they'll be back!

Check out my pics here!

Morning Run

I run in the mornings before work with Strelka two to three times a week; typically Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I usually run a four mile loop near my house. Mentally, it's a great way to start the day and it's physically good for both me and Strelka. I get up at 6:00 am, while Jesper is still sleeping, and am out the door at about 6:10. I take Strelka sans leash, since she knows the route well. We slip out the back gate and run 0.15 miles on pavement to the trail head to the City of Boulder Open Space near my house. From then on, it is all dirt.

As fall approaches, the mornings are getting cooler and the sunsets more beautiful. In the heat of summer, the sun is already way up by the time I head out. But now, it I start out in the coolness of dawn.

Heading east toward Gunbarrel Hill - you can barely see Strelka in the shadows

As we run up toward Gunbarrel Hill, Strelka sniffs everything and usually poops along this stretch. Then we head into a more open area with no houses nearby, just wide open rolling plains and scat evidence of coyotes and bears. While I've never seen the owner of the bear scat, we often encounter one or two coyotes in the morning as well as deer. But not today; only bunnies, prairie dogs and lots of birds.

Strelka posing as we get into the wide open prairie

As the sun comes up, the air gets warm fast. We are on our way to a 95 degree day and I am happy to be getting my run in before we reach that high. We run north up the series of rolling hills, the top of each presenting a view of the Front Range mountains to the west.

Strelka posing on the top of a roller with the mountains in the background

Then we get to the BIG hill up to the water tower. I prefer to do my running loop in this direction primarily because I like to run UP this sucker, sometimes doing hill repeats.

Chasing my shadow up the BIG hill

Strelka "dogging it" up the BIG hill

Since I do the same run every week, I meet up with many of the same neighbors out walking and running with their dogs. We are all on a schedule to get to work, so we end up passing each other in almost exactly the same place every day. There is always time to play when we meet up with other doggy friends of Strelka's.

Strelka and Sadie, her Cattle Dog friend, chasing each other in the prairie grass

Sometimes we see "the BIG Dogs" out on the trails. Strelka is not sure what to think about these critters, but I hold onto her collar tight just in case she thinks about running up to them.

Proof we live out West!

Strelka and I finish up the run with a drop off of her pooh in the bear-proof trashcans at a the main trail head. We continue down the trail and then onto the pavement and in through the back gate, arriving back at home a few minutes past 7:00 am. I wish I'd have taken a picture of the smile on Strelka's face when we finished!