Battered Knees, Nose Creek and 12 Mile Coulee :-)

At the beginning of the year, I took a fall on some ice. It was about the eighth time I'd fallen this winter thanks to the fluctuating temperatures in and around Calgary - one minute we would have crazy low temperatures and the next, we'd be up to +10, causing the lying snow to start melting only to refreeze overnight and making the pathways lethal, even by day.

This last fall was different - there was no obvious bruising or swelling but I was in considerable discomfort and occasional pain, particularly after a run. I took a few days off which seemed to help, and following a gentle 5km run with young Wilson to test things out, I felt that the pain had subsided and I could handle the discomfort.

With that in mind, I decided I would run in the cross country on the Saturday, knowing full well I wouldn't be at my best but figuring that if I did enough to win my age group, I would be happy. The race was at Nose Creek in the north of the city, and having done the race last year, I remembered the course being pretty flat with no significant hills which meant that my knee would probably hold out given there wouldn't be any crazy ups or downs. However, with the weather turning milder again, there had been some snow melt which had of course turned to ice thanks to the sub-zero temperatures overnight, so I was more concerned about taking another fall on any ice lingering on the course.

Nose Creek XC and some of the
 ups and downs

Despite my concerns, I actually had a pretty good run to finish 3rd lady. I didn't push hard as there was certainly some tightness in my knee, and with the course being different this time around, there were a couple more ups and downs which did put some pressure on things, particularly the downhill. There was also quite a bit of ice in places, but thankfully the 12mm spikes kept me upright although they were also extremely frustrating when having to cross the tarmac pathways in places. I started to flag towards the end and yet I managed to keep my pace pretty consistent when looking at the times for both of the 4km ish laps which I was really pleased about. I was also feeling pretty fit and was just wishing that I could have pushed harder to really put myself to the test.

I didn't win my age group despite finishing 3rd lady. The winning lady was also in her 40's and I would have had to have ran 5 minutes faster to have got ahead of her which just shows how good she is - she finished 2nd overall and was even ahead of my good friend Kim who has been outstanding at the cross country this season, running strong at every race.

Finishing 3rd lady at Nose Creek XC

The following day, I headed out for a long run despite the knee having stiffened slightly overnight, and met up with my other good friends Dawn and Don.We'd agreed to meet at Fish Creek for 7am with the intention of doing 30-35km even with the snowy conditions. It was still dark when we set off, but the snow lightened things up and we saw a fair few deer and a coyote as we trotted along. I was feeling pretty good for the most part, but come 25km or so, the old knee was starting to ache. That stubborn runner's stupidity kicked in though and having made the decision to do at least 30k, I wasn't going to cut the run short. Don bailed at 25k having done amazingly well running so far coughing up phlegm and generally being full of cold whereas Dawn and I carried on and eventually covered around 32km as planned. I was feeling pretty damn good if a little tired, and the knee was certainly giving me some trouble as I headed back home.

Sunday night was the worst it had been so having still not heard from the acute knee injury clinic, I did the sensible thing on Monday afternoon and headed to the urgent care centre for an xray. Immediate thoughts were that I had fractured my knee and I could just see my whole summer plans started to go down the drain, but when the xray results came back, all looked good and I was told I could do walking and very gentle running for the next week or two to give chance for my knee to settle down and clear up.

I did as I was told - for a week at least - and just did some short, effortless runs. Thankfully the pain in the knee started to dwindle and I was able to start getting back into a regular running routine.

12 Mile Coulee XC - warming up with Wilson

Having had a week or so of easy running, this past week things have picked up a bit as I commence training for the Red Deer Marathon in mid-May. I've had some pretty good sessions over the past few days which is bolstering my confidence of getting close to a sub 3 marathon again by May. I even managed a 37km run last Sunday with no major after effects, and so this Saturday, I was feeling much more excited about the next cross country race.

This time the race was at 12 Mile Coulee, again in the north of the city. Organised by good friends Adam and Kim, it's one of my favourite courses covering 2 laps of good undulating terrain, a couple of hills and a lovely stretch through a wooded area on single track trail. I did the same course last year and remembered how much I had enjoyed it, so i was feeling pretty good about it this time around.

It was a really warm day at 11 degrees, but there was still snow on the course which was soft and slightly slushy in places, but the worst part was where there were still icy stretches. I'm still feeling a little tentative about bashing my knee again so perhaps aren't running as freely as I normally would, but in general, conditions were pretty good underfoot although I did fall in a deeper snowy section, scratching and grazing my legs as I went down.

Leading the ladies race at 12 Mile Coulee
but Joanna wasn't far behind!

I wouldn't say that I struggled on the hills per se, but I certainly wasn't strong, and I know that I desperately need to do some hill work if I want to do well in some of the other races i have planned in this year. On this occasion though, I did at least manage to avoid walking on any of them which is certainly an improvement on the previous year.

With Kim being the race organiser and not running this particular race, I knew that unless the speedy lady from the previous race turned up, the people to watch were friends Joanna and Anne, particularly the former who is very strong on the hills. From the start, I sensed that I was in the lead but experience has taught me not to take things for granted, and I tried to push hard throughout the race to ensure I maintained the lead. I also very rarely look behind me in a race - a former coach used to say it was a sign of weakness - and yet today, I had a feeling that I was being closely tracked by somebody and a sneaky peak on lap 2 around the 6km mark showed that Joanna was indeed just a mere 100 yards or so behind and looking very strong.

The next couple of km through the trees was quite undulating and the race finished on quite a steep hill, so for the next 10 minutes or so, I was under pressure to maintain my lead. I pushed as fast as I could on the flatter sections and downhills but on the uphills I was convinced that Joanna would come breezing past with a big smile on  her face.

As the final hill approached, I knew that if I was in striking distance, this is where I would be overtaken, so I tried to keep the momentum going as I headed up the hill. My friend Alan was on my tail, but there wasn't any sign of Joanna, and as I finally saw the finish line ahead, I knew that I was safe, crossing the line as 1st lady although only 40-50 seconds ahead of a very strong Joanna.

It was a fabulous course and a fabulous race and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was good to run under pressure for once, to be running scared so to speak, and on comparing my time to last year, I did run about half a minute or so faster which I was happy about. Thankfully my knee held out without any trouble (I can't even use that as an excuse ;-) ) and when able to stride out, I was once again feeling quite fit and strong although really quite rubbish on the hills.

It's great to see friends improving so much and having that friendly competition - I always feel that it brings out the best in us if we are chasing eachother down when racing which can only benefit us all in the long run - no pun intended.

I'm already looking forward to the Nose Hill race in 2 weeks time which will again put my hill running to the test, and I'm pretty sure that it will be interesting race with Kim,  Joanna and Anne all within range of eachother and hopefully me in the mix somewhere. It's such a shame they don't have team competitions here like over in the UK as I'm pretty sure that together, we would make an awesome team :-)

Happy running folks!

A Little Patience.....Please!

As a runner, there is nothing worse than not being able to run. What's even more frustrating is when the inability to run isn't even due to an overuse/over training injury, or even as a result of running itself - well, not directly anyway.

New Year's Day was pretty awesome as I spent a good few hours on the trails around Canmore with some fabulous running friends. It wasn't too cold and we even got some sunshine, and although there was still some lying snow, the actual trails were in pretty good condition with compact snow making for easier running. Having covered around 18km on one side of the valley, we headed over to the opposite side for another 10km or so before heading home.

Beautiful trails in Canmore - New Year's Day
(Photo taken by Kim)

It was a little more icy on this side, particularly on the more popular pathways leading back in to town which had been mostly cleared of snow, although what remained had melted and refrozen, making it a little dicey in places. As we ran along, we chatted briefly about how much we rely on our shoes in those conditions and how wearing some form of traction aid gives a little more confidence when trying to stay upright despite not giving 100% guarantee. 10 minutes later - wham! - I hit the ground like a sack of spuds.

New Year's Day and Enjoying those Trails :o)

I've already taken a number of tumbles this winter, but this one knocked me a little dizzy. I couldn't even say what caused me to fall - a frozen tree root that just threw me off balance, a small patch of ice hidden under the snow - I really don't know. Thankfully, the only damage appeared to be a cut finger and a few grazes on the hands, along with a bang to the left knee that was causing a dull ache and a slight tightening in the kneecap. I figured it was just bruised and so bounced back up and continued running, deciding to check the damage when I got home. Sure enough, closer inspection later on in the day showed just a couple of grazes and a slight greening/yellowing but generally it wasn't too bad.

The next day, I did my usual 10km snowy loop with Wilson around Mahogany, and with a recovery run scheduled in, it was a slow affair. The knee still felt a little sore, but it wasn't giving me any trouble even though we were struggling to run through the deep snow.

A 10km tempo run on Friday was a different matter when on completion, there was some mild swelling in the knee which had clearly been aggravated by the faster pace. I gave it a good stretching and iced it a little, before making the wise decision to rest for a day or so to see whether there was any improvement.

Sunday was the most beautiful day and although there were windchill warnings of temperatures in to the -40's, it was the most perfect day to get out for a run. I'd already made the decision to head for Fish Creek, and if the knee was ok, I was hoping to cover around 30km on the trails. I managed 32km in the end, slogging up and down the hills in a mix of deep, soft snow and more compact trails, whilst enjoying the most spectacular views of the valley with the mountains in the distance. Whether it was the wonderful views or something other, I barely noticed any pain in my knee and felt confident and relaxed that the bruising was finally settling down and could get back in to my training program.

A cold but gorgeous day for a run at Fish Creek :o)

Some beautiful trail running at Fish Creek Park 

How wrong could I be! Later that evening, the slight swelling returned and this time I couldn't bend or straighten my leg with out some mild discomfort. It felt like the bone and the tendon were struggling, and having woken up on Monday morning with no noticeable improvement, I decided that maybe a visit to the urgent care clinic was a requirement to get things checked out once and for all. 

I didn't go to the clinic. I could still walk, I'm wasn't in agony and I personally felt that I would just be wasting their time when there were other people that needed more immediate attention. I've frequently been told that I have a high pain threshold and so decided to carry on regardless, doing a gentle 8km run on the treadmill instead followed by some gentle stretching. It helped, but it still didn't fix the problem, and I'm now at the point where even I'm beginning to call myself stupid, finally admitting defeat and recognising the need to rest.

When over training, at least there is a reason for aches and pains, there are signs to look for, and we can take immediate action to control how much we run and what we do when injured or tired etc. With an unexpected tumble, we have absolutely no control, there are no signs, no aches or pains before hand, nothing. It's the most frustrating thing ever - I've been feeling fantastic this past month or so, training has been going well and I've looked forward to getting back in to a solid training routine to prepare for racing in the spring. There is a cross country race on Saturday that I so want to do but it may be a case of just doing enough to win my age group rather than flat out racing, simply to avoid doing any further damage - if indeed I "race" at all.

For many of us, running is a big part of our lives and many folks can't understand what it feels like to not be able to get outside and feel that sense of freedom and enjoyment. It's a risky business -  just like life itself - whether on the roads, trails or mountains, and you never know what's around the next corner which is what makes things in life exciting. I guess I learnt my lesson about over-training several years ago - now I need to learn the art of being patient and maintaining my sanity for the next few days - on the positive side, I'll finally have some time to start reading those books that I haven't got round to yet :o)