The Background
It's been quite awhile since I last posted, and a lot has happened. 2015 has been my toughest year as a runner, but thankfully has ended on an up note.
The troubles began at the 2015 Bandera 100k. A cold, muddy and icy race, it was slip-sliding all the way. By mile 48 I could no longer bend my left knee and had to drop. I believe this injury was a combination of the rough conditions, years of over racing and not taking good enough care of myself. When I was younger, I could eat junk, train a 100 miles a week, and race an ultra every month, but now entering the second half of my 30s gives me cause to reassess.
I was already signed up to race the Rocky Raccoon 100 Miler three weeks later . I ran not a step between Bandera and Rocky, ran 40 miles on race day, then the hamstring forced me to drop.
What followed turned out to be months sidelined with flaring hamstring pain and physical therapy.
Pretty much every step walking hurt and the healing process seemed excruciatingly slow.
In March, the principal at the campus where I served as AP announced she was leaving. I did not want to stay to see who would replace her next year, so I went looking for a job. The stress of this time really illustrated how much I relied on running for peace.
By the end of July I'd found a job writing curriculum for HISD, and the day before I signed my contract my doctor cleared me to run again.
In the eight months of no running, I'd gained 15 pounds and fallen into an unhealthy diet. It felt like my body was decomposing. My first run, I could barely make it through a mike and a half.
I slowly upped my mileage and set my sights in the Rough Creek Half Marathon in September. The 2012 Rough Creek 40 Miler had been my first ultra finish and I'd run the race every year since. The 40 miler was out of the question, but I wanted to try the half as this would be the final running of Rough Creek. I managed to finish in about three hours.
My new job kept me busy, so my plans of transitioning into ultra training fell by the wayside. By November I felt I needed to shake things up. I signed up for the Wild Hare 50k a week before the race, with no so much as a ten miler in the past two months.
The Race
The Wild Hare 50k would consist of four 7.8 mile loops. The first couple of miles is twisty, turny bike trails. The conditions were muddy requiring wading through water up to your knees. Then follows some roller coaster ridge running, before breaking through to open fields.
The first loop was uneventful; I felt happy to be back in an ultra and was taking the pace easy. In the second loop I slowed considerably. Often on runs I'll sort out work problems in my head, but for the first time in a race I fell deeply into thought about a project. Thankfully, this slowed my pace and left me something for the finish.
By the third loop, my legs were pretty sore. I'd run the race well but I could feel the lack of long training runs. I went into a mini low point but nothing major.
Beginning the fourth loop, a runner said hello to me and soon we fell into conversation, using talk to escape the mind games that can plague the final miles of a race. We separated a few miles before the finish but by that time I was just excited about the prospect of completing an ultra after a season of injury.
Crossing the finish line was emotional for me. After months of pain, frustration, and depression, I was an ultra runner again.
Reflections
This year taught me how much I'd taken running for granted. I need to take a healthy dose of moderation in my running from here on out, as I'd rather race less than face injury again. On the other hand, this year taught me that I'm not the invincible runner I thought I was, and injury needs to be taken with stoicism. It will come again and needs to be thought of as part of the process of a running life.
Nevertheless, I'm thrilled to be running again. I'm not 100% and the hamstring still is inflamed at times. But I've learned to think of what running I can manage as a gift and I'm thankful.
