2018 Season: Part 2

[Bierzo Baggie]

Realize that I’ve been muddling my terminology. Low drop does not always mean thin soled. This running business can get confusing if you start to think about it too much…
 
So, those weird Hoka shoes that I saw being worn at the Alto Sil race were actually low drop ones. Although they are blessed with significant cushioning there is very little difference in height between heel and toe. Forgive me for not paying attention these last 5 year but when it comes to drop that, it seems, is where it’s at! 
 
Hokas are in fact low drop shoes which take you high off the ground and this, as MLCM correctly pointed out about a month ago, should lead to less stability and ankle wrecking disaster on the rocky ground. I can only suppose that the likes of Jim Walmsey can make up ground on the less technical terrain where his bouncy Hoka-propelled stride and the running technique of a thoroughbred leave the pure mountain runners trailing way behind.
 
Just wanted to get that little clarification out of the way. In my own case it’s clear that thin soled and close to the ground help me avoid nasty ankle sprains and give me control and confidence on descents. The flip side is that over time I started to notice previously undetected aches and pains in knees and ankles which given the age factor was only to be expected.
 
Anyway, the year 2018 started well and the knee ache seemed to disappear. But then the ankles started complaining. First it was the left one and then the right. Initially I blamed the Futsal and stopped playing. Then I blamed the shoes and splashed out some serious cash on a pair of Inov Roclite 305 with slightly more cushioning. Wore them for the Alto Sil, they felt great and this seemed to be the answer. But I also started twisting my ankles again.
 
Attempted 2 races in April. The first one took me by surprise and the second one ended painfully.
 
April 8th Pajariel Trail. 

This was the most convenient race I’ve ever run. Only had to roll out of bed, saunter downstairs and walk 50 yards to the start/finish line.
There have been several attempts to organize races on Pajariel over the years but never with any real continuity. I think I ran the last one which was a curious uphill only time-trial 4 years ago. The lung busting 300m vertical ascent took me 19 minutes! The new route would treble that height gain but this time over a more “undulating” 15 kilometres circular.

Must say that the route took me by surprise. We climbed Pajariel up its more familiar northern flank and then ran along single track trails on the other side which I realized I’d never truly explored before. Much of the route went through pine plantations and the paths had been customized by crazy downhill bikers with fearsome wooden ramps pointing to oblivion.
The race was much harder than expected and I felt tired and weary at the end, even more so than after the Alto Sil. 2 hours 37 minutes says it all. It felt like an English fell race in terms of gradients but without the grass!
 
April 22nd La Tebaida Berciana. 

This is another race where I have a streak, 10 in a row since the first edition in 2008. The streak ended this year in strange circumstances. I’d got through the 2 main climbs and was feeling comfortable past the halfway point. Hopped across a familiar stream choosing some strategically placed rocks which I knew better than some members of my own family. Another guy was struggling to find a suitable place to cross and as I smugly flew past he smiled and shouted “Un corzo!” (A deer!) This is an area where there are a lot of deer although they are normally quite shy. Not surprising really as most humans they come in contact with try to shoot them. In this case though, I was the deer the fellow was referring to. Not realizing he was joking, I had instinctively looked up to the mountain to my left in search of Bambi and just took my eyes off the ground at the wrong moment.

The end result was a very nasty twist to my right ankle. There was a searing pain and I shouted and pulled up sharply.  The guy who had shouted “deer” stopped too. He said he’d heard a snapping noise and looked horrified when I said I was going to try and walk it off. Then I said I was going to shove the deer up his arse. Well, I didn’t actually use those words but the guy didn’t hang around either. Hobbled, cursed, tried to run and then hobbled again as the dozen or so runners I had behind me overtook. Dangled the injured limb into the next icy stream for a minute or so but the hobbling continued. The next feeding station was serving cold beer and freshly cut jamon but I felt like neither. I really must have been in a bad way. Struggled on for another 2 or 3 kms of descent but I felt the swelling extend up my leg towards my head and decided that it was time to stop. Reached a section of road and found a car going back up in the direction of the start/finish line. Thus ended my Tebaida Berciana streak and potentially the rest of the running season.
 
To be continued….

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I'm fearing what's to come ... and hoping it's not too serious, BB...?!

[marathondan]

Nasty. Hope it's not too bad. Let's hope it's not the end of the season, but sounds like it's going to be some weeks of rest at least.

[Antonio247]

What a pity! Hope you'll get well soon, BB.


Saludos desde Almería.

[Bierzo Baggie]

At the risk of converting this space into an injury diary I return to ground zero. 

I’m back in the picturesque village of Peñalba where the race had started some 3 and a half hours ago. I’m sitting on the race podium with an ice pack crudely tied to my right ankle waiting for Wild Oscar my travel companion to finish. Next to me is The Mighty Capello who has already finished. In fact The Mighty Capello, a small wiry man in his 50s, has finished second and will soon stand on this very podium to receive his prize of assorted meat products. Capello’s secret? Working an allotment the size of a small farm and being kept active by a physical job whilst being blessed with the natural hardiness of the Capello family genes. 

Oscar finally arrives tired but happy and with good reason. This was his first race after 4 years of niggling injuries. Gym work and muscle strengthening exercises has been the secret of Oscar’s return to fitness and healthy running. As my ankle swells and reddens it starts to resemble the spicy pork haggis which Cappello has just been awarded.
Suspect that my own journey back to fitness will be a long one too.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ND8ui2FG6qM95DSo7

There was a time when I felt many of these races were passing by unrecorded and unremarked which is why I started taking photos whilst I was running. This is no longer necessary. Even the most low-key events these days will have several photographers perched in strategic locations taking high quality photos of everybody and anybody. 
The 8 photos above tell the story of my 11th and unfinished Tebaida Berciana.

[Bierzo Baggie]

The recovery went well at first, almost too well. Applied ice and a special cream which got the swelling down after a few days. There was a bit of bruising on my foot just below the ankle but less so than on other occasions. In 1998 my toes had turned purple and they put me in plaster. That had been a football injury and it was 3 months before I started running again. This time the ligaments that run up the outer side of my leg seem to be most affected. The Achilles tendon is sore too.

Splashed out more cash on some comfy cushioned road shoes (not the Hokas!) and got out again a mere 9 days after the initial injury, jogging very carefully for half an hour. Put the miracle down to strong feet, magic beans and West Brom winning at Old Trafford.
The second time out (last Sunday) I tried to run a bit faster but one slightly misplaced foot coming off Puente Boeza sent the ankle rolling sideways and a stabbing pain ran up my entire body which meant I was walking home again. The ankle is weak and unstable and not ready for running yet. Maybe I need a change of strategy in my later years. Less technical terrain? More cushioning? Road races? Bike? …This man needs a (new) plan.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

It's a tough call, and everyone has a different response to the problem. Some need to get off the bitumen and onto trails; some need to get off trails and on to the firmer hardtop. Doubtless you'll work it out, but on the whole, it would seem a great shame to cut back your off-road running given where you live! Maybe just slow down a touch??

[Bierzo Baggie]

 Maybe just slow down a touch??

Yep, slow down a touch is the best advice.
 
But the problem is with the races I like to repeat year after year slowing down much more will mean being timed out. The real question is when does a run convert itself into a walk? Or is this even a question? Is a walk really a run in disguise if the intention is there? 
 
Running actually involves both feet being off the ground simultaneously at some point. That might not be the case for the drunken shuffle we perform when we are very tired. We stubbornly run on when in fact we are walking,  ha, such self-deception!
 
So, the future is to embrace the walk, especially uphill where above a certain gradient (that no doubt you can calculate with some complicated mathematical formula) walking is more efficient. Here, a long healthy, stride can and will enable the born-again hiker to overtake the dogged, never-say-die runner. But then they will reel you back in as soon as the gradient eases out and you discover that you have forgotten how to run.
 
No worries, on the steeper, technical downhills, over rocks or on scree or through forest you can make up time again with your superior technique and your flimsy fell running shoes.
 
But then come the aches and pains, impact injuries and the fear that follows even after a full recovery. This is when your endoskeleton starts pleading with your celebrum for a bit more cushioning.
 
So, I muddle on.
 
In order to slow down I aim to speed up with cushioned shoes and faster, flatter running to reconnect with my previous self.
 
But first the Aquilianos.
Oh God.

[Bierzo Baggie]

Oh dear, just read the above. So much for flatter running…
 
Summer update.
 
Salvaged the season with careful injury management. The ankle gradually got stronger and I managed to do some races.
 
June. The Aquilianos long route. Shouldn’t have taken the risk but I just didn’t want to ruin a 22 year streak. Over 13 and a half hours were taken, mostly walking. At one point as the long mountain ridge stretched out before me I lost visual contact with those in front of me. Looking back I couldn’t see anybody behind me either and I suddenly felt very lonely. Will this be the last one? Struggled horrendously on the big big climb which took me a record breaking two and a half hours. Kept inside the ever diminishing cut-off times and finished for another year.
 
July. Did the Catoute Vertical time trial. It’s an uphill only vertical kilometre so the ankle twisting risk here was minimal. Finished penultimate but enjoyed it anyway.
 
Also slipped in a Park Run in the Mortimer Forest near Ludlow. Wonderful events these park runs. Everybody is very friendly and you can just roll up 5 minutes beforehand, wave your little barcode about a bit and off you go. So simple. Genius. This particular event is amongst the top ten  hilliest park runs in the land with similar characteristics to one down Lewes way apparently.
 
Kept going through August unlike last year. Found a new race in Valdefrancos last Sunday which was being held during the village fiestas. It was a no-nonsense trail-run up and down either side of a steep sided valley. Two long climbs and two rapid stony descents. The ground was hard and I ran in road shoes. Finished in just under an hour, 8 minutes behind Wild Oscar who has cracked the descending this year. I’m just happy to be running. I’ve lost a lot of confidence since the last ankle injury and for the moment I’m going for cushioning, maximum concentration and careful steps. 
So far so good..

[marathondan]

Fantastic to see you back in action BB. Lots of variety there, even if the quantity is down on previous years. How close are you to the cutoff for Aquilanos? Hope you can make it to 25 in a row, at least.

[Bierzo Baggie]

Thanks Dan. The cut offs for the Aquilianos are normally pretty generous (but may also be altered in the case of bad weather). They give you 15 hours overall.

[Bierzo Baggie]

The Autumn season gets underway.
 
Steady unspectacular running throughout the year but most importantly I’m avoiding injuries. Find myself needing that extra little bit of motivation that accompanied running can bring. Yes, I’ve started to meet up with others to run, much more so than in the past.
 
In fact we’ve formed a running group. No, running group doesn’t do us justice. It is a “concept”. We are the running equivalent of an experimental community theatre group or an eccentric jazz fusion band.
 
And the name of this “concept” is “Old Men Running”. This is because Old Men is what we now are and as yet we haven’t found any Old Women to accompany us but we are always on the lookout if you know what I mean.
Old Men Running is a group without rules, timetables or structure. 
It’s a Whatsapp group actually.
 
There are 7 of us in the Whatsapp group. There were originally 8 of us but one guy disappeared after finding out who the other integrants were.
 
Apart from Bierzo Baggie there is Rolly the Flying Dutchman, our senior most member having just entered the veteran 60+ category. Rolly FD is long limbed and elegant in stride and resembles so many of the great Dutch cyclists for his inexplicably good climbing ability.
 
Next in order of age and experience is the man I call Terry McDermott. Terry has somehow maintained a superb perm over the years, a perm which graced pubs and clubs all over Merseyside in the 1980s.
 
I am in fact very jealous.
 
Having spent most of his working life working in stone quarries Terry is a wiry, well muscled chap with the ideal constitution for running hills and mountains.
 
He’s also got great hair.
 
Wild Oscar is the youngest active member of the group. He is far too fast  and keen for his own good.
 
Other occasional members are:

Alf: Always injured. As I tell him frequently his legs are too skinny.

Alberto: Morrisey-worshipping cyclist who can’t run for toffee. Laid off from the slate quarries after almost chopping his own hand off. He’s a decent climber mind and the nicest bloke you’ll ever meet.

Miguel the Prof: Back in El Bierzo after some years working in Morocco. Sub-3 hour marathon runner a few years ago and is probably far too embarrassed to ever be seen out running with us.

First event; Ponferrada 10k road race.