Add to Technorati Favorites "Going the Distance!": Pride Cometh Before a Turned Ankle and Racing vs. Running

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Pride Cometh Before a Turned Ankle and Racing vs. Running

Loch Vale - Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Pride Cometh Before a Turned Ankle
Last Tuesday I joined Lee Hess and a few others for a New Year's Day run out at Greensfelder Park near Six Flags. I've run through the park numerous times on the Green-Rock Trail but never explored the many side trails available; I ended up logging about 14 miles as I did two loops of the Cottonwood and Declue Trails. Although there is a portion that is on the Green-Rock Trail I found that the Cottonwood/Declue loop is much more runnable than Green-Rock; the hills are rolling and not so steep. So this morning when I awoke to temperatures in the mid-60's I scrapped my Green Rock Trail run and decided to do the same run as last Tuesday. I figured dehydration could be a big problem with the temps in the 70's and with limited water available on Green-Rock thought I'd be better off doing shorter loops with my car close by so I could refill my bottles. I've been running quite a bit lately averaging about 70 miles a week as I'm building my base for the upcoming season so by Sunday I'm usually a bit worn out. But today was different, I was feeling strong and decided to push it for the entire 14 miles. As I was flying along the trail listening to Pink Floyd I began thinking, "I'm getting pretty good at this trail running stuff; I think this could be my year. It's almost like I'm one with the trail, in fact it's been a long time since I turned my... AHHHHHHHHHHH, my freak'in ankle!!!!!!!" It hurt so bad I was immediately nauseous and began sweating profusely as I hobbled along cursing under my breath and berating myself. "That's what you get for being cocky!" I slowly finished up the loop and since the pain had subsided a bit decided to hobble out for another one. Of course once you've turned your ankle during a run it's pretty much inevitable that it will happen again and it did, 2 MORE TIMES! The moral of the story is that no matter how good you think you are at trail running you've got to stay focused when running on more technical (rocky, rooty) trails; you're always just one step away from a turned ankle or a really bad fall. Be careful out there and keep your mind on the trail..., Carey!

Racing vs. Running
In 2007 I more than surpassed any goals I had set in the beginning of the year by running over 2,750 miles, finishing 2 marathons and 11 ultramarathons. Much of this wasn't "planned" as I just continued to enter races and run them; even the 100 milers were a bit spontaneous. After 3 Days of Syllamo I had decided to push back my attempt at 100 miles until 2008 but as I was sitting in Starbuck's on Easter I saw the Kettle 100 ad in Trail Runner magazine. After Easter dinner I promptly went home and signed up, exactly the reaction Jason and Timo were hoping for. After finishing Kettle I swore to my ex-fiancee that there would be no more attempts for a while but then found myself signing up for Arkansas Traveller when our relationship abruptly ended just 7 weeks before the wedding date. After finishing one of the toughest AT100's in history I kept myself busy running the Rock Creek 50K only 3 weeks later followed by the Route 66 Marathon and the Green Rock 40 Mile Fun Run before ending the Fall season. This season I RAN a lot of races but I didn't RACE many. Of course I usually finished in the top 20% and finished as high as 3rd place at Turkey and Taturs but it always seemed like I could have pushed myself just a bit more and not left so much in the tank. I learned a tremendous amount about hydration, nutrition, electrolytes and my body in 2007 as I figured out what my limits were and stayed comfortably inside them. In 2008 I plan to push these limits focusing on quality vs. quantity and daring to red-line myself a bit; finishing races completely exhausted knowing that I gave it my all out on the course. Goals this year include running a sub-5 hour 50K (4:45 actually) and breaking 22 hours in a 100 mile race. Will I DNF? I just might but I think it's worth the risk. As T.S. Eliot said, "Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." I know how far I can go but the real question is how fast can I get there?

Hope you all are enjoying this unseasonably warm weather and staying safe out there on the trails.
Happy Running,
Carey

7 comments:

kelly said...

Carey, you continue to be a great source of inspiration to me and I am sure many others. Good luck in whatever direction you go. Happy New Year!

Suzy said...

I am a bit of an inexperienced trail runner, so very much a klutz. All I have ever done has been long endless road running (where it becomes like a soothing/healing meditation) until last summer when I did the Five Peaks series. I too went into it quite cocky.......and came out slow and injured!!! You are not alone, my friend!

Jeffery Rogers said...

Carey,

I just found your blog and enjoyed your posting, especially, perhaps since I'm nursing a turned ankle from this weekend. It should be rested up for HURT 100 in a few weeks. Keep up your good work on the blog. I'll be coming back

Sam
theworldatdawn.blogspot.com

Jeremy said...

Carey, I know for certain that the best thing you can do is pray. God has put you through all of these trials for a reason; to do His will and that you should glorify Him. Life is hard sometimes but keep faith that without the hard times, the good times don't exist. My suggestion is to use all these experiences and relationships you've developed to glorify God by your actions/thoughts/life. You know you are blessed and God is with you always.

- Jeremy
stltrailrunning.com

Jeffro said...

I’ve learned quite a bit and received lots of inspiration from reading your posts. I’m a few years older than you and am still trying to figure out what I’ll do when I grow up. It’s never too late to change directions, but the older I get the more anchors there seem to be keeping me in place. Of course many of those anchors may be nothing more than excuses. You are still very young and don’t appear to have too many anchors holding you back. I don’t know what you should do, but whatever it is do something you are passionate about and don’t just take a job where you can make a lot of money while making yourself miserable.

I also agree with what Jeremy said and I'll pray for you too.

Thanks and best wishes.

Anonymous said...

Carey, I found your blog while researching trail running as my friend roped me into running a 50k and I too have found your posts inspiring. Thanks!

My first race was this weekend and I turned my ankle while trying to get out of someones way. I still finished but that wasn't the only snafu for this rookie. I didn't know I was supposed to wear the timing chip on my ankle and put it on my wrist so my time wasn't recorded. That was a real bummer.

Anyway, keep up the good work and good luck with whatever you choose to do.

Carey said...

Thanks to all of you for the encouraging words; I do know there is a plan for my life and honestly believe that everything does indeed happen for a reason.

Bill - Congrats on your first race this weekend! I know how that can be when you've got someone breathing down your neck; you take your eyes off the trail for a second to let them by and WHAM, a turned ankle. Especially as a beginner, the mental focus required is about as demanding as the physical part. Sorry to hear about your mistake, at least now you know so you won't do it again. We all do things like that in the beginning so don't beat yourself up over it.

Thanks again to all of you for reading the blog, being supportive and encouraging me. It means a lot to know that I have a group of friends out there who truly care :-)
Happy and Safe Running,
Carey