For everyone in England the XC season is only just picking up speed, over here in the US of A we are nearing the climax (Barb Trap…Lorna Russell). On Monday the NCAA Nationals are being run in Terre Haute, Indiana. Terre Haute is an interesting place boasting many quirky features, my favourite of which is ‘The World’s Oldest Billboard.’ Obviously I convinced the coach driver to stop on our way home last year to get a picture of it. After all why wouldn’t you? This season I have acquired a picture of myself at ‘The Worlds largest truck stop.’ Its basically just a glorified service station with a load of parking spaces. Imagine the M25 and thats pretty much it.
The XC season here has gone by like a flash, my team has enjoyed our best season yet. We won our conference ‘Big 12s’ which is a really big deal here. Then last weekend we won our regional championships, by 60 points! Going into Nationals we are ranked 7th in the nation – out of well over 250 teams. We have some high expectations, but if we all run what we are capable of, our goal of a top 5 finish is within our reach.
Personally my XC season has been hampered, I have a bad hip flexor strain which is effecting my obliques, which then is hindering my rib cage…making taking a deep breath (the kind necessary when running hard) pretty painful and almost impossible. Training has been going brilliantly and I am at my fittest ever, but my race results have definitely not been indicative of this, which is bloody annoying. I have been getting treatment on it this week and hopefully should have improved enough to allow me to race hard on Monday for one final time. They need me at full whack if we want to be on the podium and get our mitts on a trophy (top 5 teams get a trophy).
During the year we spend a lot of time on coaches driving too and from competitions, so to pass the time I have taken up knitting. Naturally. So far I have knitted a scarf fit for no-one and am attempting to knit a hat. Its not going tremendously well, but I have 9 hours to and from Indiana to improve and by the end of it I’ll have a lovely (?) hat. I take commissions, but be prepared for a long wait – XC season is nearly over.
Good luck to everyone running at Liverpool next weekend!
Thursday evening was better than Christmas morning. I was busy sulking my way through a core routine because I thought I wasn’t going to be cleared to race by the NCAA. A long process to acquire me another year of eligibility was dragging out past the 4 month mark and we still had no answer less than 15 hours before I was due to get on a bus to race. I was busying myself with a lateral plank on my left side, when Travis (Coach) struts his way across the indoor track and says ‘Waiver approved!’ THE best two words I have heard all year – and I listen to a lot of words!! Approximately 5 minutes of jumping up and down, screaming and hugging, running around in circles and perplexing looks from passers by was brought to an end by Travis again. Wheeling in a big basket full of our new kit…a rucksack full of new clothes ready for our season debut that weekend. As I said – better than Christmas morning!!
After the long break from racing over the summer, we finally started our competitive XC season. The team travelled to Minnesota to compete in the Roy Griak (University of Minnesota’s self proclaimed ancient and legendary coach) Invitational. The race attracts most of the top teams, so it is a good race to ‘see where you are at’ as sooo many coaches love to say. My Iowa State team are ranked 8th in the National rankings this year, and we were the top ranked team in the women’s event this weekend – both facts we chose to ignore as the are about as relevant as wether I brushed my hair in the morning. I didn’t brush my hair by the way…its too curly…just goes pooofey if I brush it, not a good look.
Anway, the Griak course is a hilly, windy (as in snakey aroundy, not blowey) affair making it a tough one – and a major shock to the system for our first race out. The start is slightly down hill making it fast, and an abrupt right turn after about 300m onto a narrowed down course creates enough chaos to make it important to get a good start. I made my self angry enough to get the elbows out and not stand for any shoving – so I was in a good position and made it through the first mile unscathed. Coach Ihmels had issued the team orders – ‘Go out controlled through the first mile then get rolling.’ I started moving up and following a team mate through the field – I remember thinking I felt surprisingly relaxed for how I was running, I was safely past the 5k mark before it started getting tough, and I dropped a few places in the last 1km into the finish. Overall I was really happy with my first race – the team won and I ran 30 seconds faster than I did last year on the same course and was 4th scorer for Iowa State. A good start and somewhere to work from.
In other news, the weather is changing and its too dark to get inspired for morning runs – so the hard grind begins!! The good thing is my apartment is two flights of stairs away form the best coffee shop in Ames – so I can get my caffeine fix without even leaving the building. It has become the place to hang out on the team – I always have company for my evening study sessions – its a great place to pretend to get work done.
I have seen the light since being back in Iowa – I’ve discovered that a certain amount of joy can come from running longer. My long run has increased to 2 hours – and I’m actually enjoying it – this was not the intention when I first decided to run that far, but now I’ve been converted I’m a born again long runner. Gone are the days when I thought 70 minutes was too much to ask – sorry for all the whining Nick…and sorry Lorna for betraying all that we believed was dirty and wrong.
Before I left Iowa for the summer Lorna Russell came over to stay with me for a couple of weeks post exams. The sun shined constantly (well nearly…) and we enjoyed a solid couple of weeks training – although she did grumble a little when I suggested the second run of the day. We menaced around the quiet town of Ames – and I was able to show her all things American. The highlight of the whole trip, I fear, was the Drive Through (thru’) Starbucks – an iced coffee became the norm after our morning runs, while a Diet Coke from the ‘Soda fountain’ at the gas station was the post afternoon run treat. We know how to live…
After the fortnight (a word that Americans do not know…CRAZY!!) with Lorna I headed home to Winchester and enjoyed a great couple of months at home catching up with my family and friends. It was lovely to run on my ‘old’ routes with Lorna Russell, and for the first time ever I ran with my brother who took up running while I was away in the states. That was probably my highlight of July.
Lorna and I always manage to get our selves into mischief or injury when we run together – and nothing changed on my first run after a two week rest. Heading out on a beautiful Sunday morning along the Itchen river in Winchester we reach a rather hazardous looking kissing gate with its metal limbs everywhere…Lorna successfully manoeuvred herself through the obstacle and continued on her way. I was not so lucky, while I was meandering my legs through the gate I failed to notice the footpath sign above my head. I say above my head…when I noticed it, it was pointing INTO my head….Lorna eventually realised I was not responding to her witty banter and turned around to see me crouched on the floor holding my throbbing forehead. All she could say was ‘Oh you didn’t?…..yes, yes you did!’ Need less to say she found my oafishness hilarious and was unable to run for a couple of minutes. Friends ey?
Nick, Phoebe and I met up on Friday for a good bye coffee, which turned out to be a meal – ‘tinner’ (tea/dinner??!). We attempted the crossword and managed to fill most of it in, Nick was not impressed with some of my suggestions of answers to the clues….they fitted in but apparently ‘weren’t actual words’ or something….well I thought if the word fits….
I returned to the US on Monday – a 30 hour day with little sleep due to multiple delays and a missing pilot (Im not kidding…). The last couple of days have been filled packing up my apartment and moving out. I am staying with my friend Betsy for a couple of days before we head off to a training camp for 5 days in Northern Iowa. I better go and help Betsy prepare the Kenyan dinner of ugali, beef and spinach…
Occasionally something hits you from left field that you can’t do anything about. After running a 5km PB at the end of March and another solid race (but no where near what I was hoping for) at Mount Sac I knuckled down to a couple of weeks of hard training before focusing on some 1500m races. I had a great workout a couple of Tuesdays ago which indicated a great run was on the cards the following weekend, then I woke up on Wednesday with a small twinge in my stomach. Thinking it was nothing I set off on my normal Wednesday 75 mins and hoping it would wear off, by the time I finished class I felt like I had been hit by a bus. I went to bed for a nap and woke up incapable of standing up straight and feeling extremely sick, I attempted some supper but ended up going back to bed. I spent most of the night rolling around in my bed in the foetal position, then flat on my back, then on my front – all offering no relief or comfort from the stabbing in my abdomen. First thing in the morning I called the trainer to get a referral to the doctor – I was sent to have lots of tests, which suggested a kidney infection. After a 3 day course of antibiotics, which did absolutely sod all, I returned to the doctor – who (worryingly) didn’t really know what was wrong with me so sent me for an ultrasound of my abdomen. Off I went down to the clinic and that afternoon I was diagnosed with a cyst in my ovary that had ruptured…no wonder it hurt!! After popping down some paracetamols and ibuprofen I gradually started feeling better, a week later I am now back into my normal training routine and have an appetite back.
Turns out this rupturing of my insides has done me a favour, surprisingly. One of the many tests undertaken was a Thyroid Stimulating Hormone level, which indicates how the thyroid is doing and something that is not routinely checked. The results show I have Hypothyroidism, an under active thyroid, and I am to take thyroxine to regulate it. Hypothyroidism is normally associated with low energy levels and fatigue so it will be interesting to see what impact correcting this will have on energy levels with regards to training. So often athletes put feeling ‘tired’ down to that hard session you ran last night, or a big training week, it is only when you get blood tests done that you pick up on some small abnormality which could make a huge difference if treated.
Now I am putting the past two, slightly traumatic, weeks behind me to focus on my next race – the conference championship…the most important outdoor fixture for Iowa State. Then at the end of the month my partner in crime and the Lorna half of the Indie and Lorna double act arrives to cause havoc in mid-west America for a couple of weeks (oh and do some hard training as well Nick…promise).
When you think of California words like sunshine and warmth come to mind, pretty far down the list is the curse word also known as RAIN! We left Iowa in sunshine on Wednesday morning and touched down in San Francisco in the dark and rain. Definitely not what we were hoping for! I didn’t race until Friday night, the rain stopped for the evening (which was nice) and the atmosphere around the track in Stanford was amazing. There were at least 60 girls (in three different races) running 5km and another 50 in the 10km races that evening – crazy when you think there will probably only be 60 british girls (at a push) to run a 5k on the track all season. So my race went well, I ran a PEEE BEEEE – 16.55, but to be honest ran like a bit of a goon at the start and got pushed to the back because I was a wimp with all the people around me – something I have been told to get my head around. Still, I can’t complain with a PB, but should and could have run faster if I had placed myself in a better position.
On Saturday morning we did our long run through the foothills of the California mountains which was a beautiful place to run, and thanks to the rain VERY MUDDY. As much as I don’t look forward to long runs, when the long run is muddy – i LOVE it, can’t get enough of the mud!! So we set off down this fairly narrow path, surrounded by 100ft tall trees and the sun glimmering through the canopy and I’m following one of the girly girls on the team – definitely DIDN’T want to get her lovely clean shoes dirty… then Coach Ihmels (head coach) was running behind me…bad decision for him!! We get to the first puddle (probably 15 seconds into the run) and I do the old plunge, splash and bound out the other side without getting yourself wet but soaking the person running closely behind you trick… it worked like an absolute charm, but resulted in a 12 mile run/mud bath…lovely!
Saturday night we got a chance to explore San Francisco – we saw Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge and many a character on the streets. We did find an amazing ice cream parlour where I indulged in my post PB double scooper.
It is finally spring break – a week off university classes and from today (Wednesday) until Monday afternoon we do not have to meet for training as a team, so we can do our runs when we like – allowing a little more flexibility. The weather has perked up considerably and is due to hit the 20 degree mark for the rest of the week, and to top it all I passed my driving test yesterday. First time (legally) driving a left hand drive car, on the wrong side of the road and I only go and nail the test! I decided on Friday I would go and take the written part, so rocked up to the testing office and took the test, managed to blag my way through that without studying – there were some ridiculous questions that would be concerning if someone were to get wrong. Yesterday was the practical test – it was a laborious process – a figure of eight loop taking all of 10 minutes, including a parallel park(!!). I definitely had NOT anticipated having to do this…but pulled a ‘beauty’ out of the bag and parked beautifully, apparently needing to walk to the curb from your parked car is not frowned upon in America…must be because the roads are so wide. I made it back to the testing center and was told (to my relief) ‘You have passed.’ Lucky for me – the whole team knew I was taking it, so would have had some grief had I not passed. The photo they took for my license is appropriately hideous and has already resulted in one too many laughs.
I can now borrow friends cars – the bonus is that one friend has gone away for the week and left me her car keys…ooooh yeah! Well, the sun is shining and I want to make the most of having a car so am going to drive somewhere. Not sure where, hopefully I wont get lost…or drive on the right hand side of the road…or crash.
Over the weekend Iowa State competed at the Big 12 Indoor Championships in Lincoln, Nebraska – this is the most important meet of the indoor season for the university. We race for points against 11 other teams in our ‘Conference’. I was down to run the individual mile, the mile leg of the DMR (Distance Medley Relay) and the 3km, so was in for a lot of laps and a busy couple of days.
There is a lot of waiting around for races at track meetings, my races were in the afternoons of both days, which left a whole morning with nothing to do. There was a Starbucks across the road form the hotel which was very well utilised as well as a charming little shop called ‘The Cookie Factory’, how can you walk past there in a hurry. We stocked up on the dinner plate sized cookies, which were demolished on the bus journey home. A lot of people know I HATE being bored – I can go through many many sudoku puzzles on a race weekend and am forever discovering new ways to keep myself entertained, this weekend Fruit Ninja on the iPad was the weapon of choice. I always fancied myself as a ninja after catching a fly between two fingers last year, so this game was a perfect was to hone my skills. The only issue is I might have, did, pick up some sort of RSI injury in my hand from playing it too much…my chosen style was the pointed index finger and it still aches 4 days later. Seriously though, anyone who has an iPhone should download it – it is very addictive though.
I did some running too – and managed to run 3 P.Bs, which is cool. Indoors is over now, and my first outdoor track race is coming up at the end of March – in CALIFORNIA wahoooooooooooooo. Not excited about going there at all. Not going to be nice weather or anything. No biggy. I’ll probably going to run a 5k, and after a whole 3 days off I am itching to race again.
A couple of years ago I had ‘issues’ doing press ups. I could not do one to save my life, so Nick set me the challenge of being able to do 20 continuously in 3 months from that moment. I’m not one to shy away from a challenge – the ’100 press ups’ app was downloaded from apple (100 was a little ambitious, but I figured it would send me on my way), and I eventually got to the magic mark of 20 press ups within a few weeks. I am now experiencing similar problems involving my long run. I don’t think twice about running for 75 minutes, but when I am faced with the prospect of 90 minutes I have a mind block. That extra 15 minutes makes it sound like so much further even though it is a measly couple of miles.
My strategy to get through this is to keep my head down for the first half of the run, and just follow the pack. This can create other issues though – such as not having an opinion on where we run. Last Saturday it was a glorious day – the sun was shining and there was hardly a breeze, so I was in a better mood than normal about the 12 miles that stood between me and my porridge. The people leading the run were obviously creatively challenged because we ended up running a route (if you can call it that) which was a completely straight road. By straight I mean you could use this road as a ruler. Bloody brilliant. My first contribution to the conversation on this run was ‘I spy with my little eye something beginning with… S.’ The answer of course, was Snow. Running for 6 miles in one direction inevitably means one thing, you have to run 6 miles along the same, so straight it could be used as a ruler road, with nothing to look at but snow. Oh and cows….and I hate cows. An unhealthy phobia of them, much to Lorna Russell’s amusement. Anyway, eventually we got home and I dove into a pool of porridge, (thats a euphemism for large bowl rather than a post run beauty routine.) had a very long shower and had a nap. Bliss.
If I were at university in England everyday since the second week in January would have been a snow day…but it took a blizzard to shut down Iowa State this week. Apparently it is a very rare occurrence and so when I got an email at 11pm last night telling me classes were cancelled until Noon, I promptly turned my alarm off and planned to catch up on sleep. I woke up at 8 (BRILLIANT lie in….bloody body clock) and got ready for my run, 20 minutes and 1001 layers later I headed out. As soon as I stepped out the door I knew it was a bad idea to try and run in gail force winds and -20 degrees, so instead of my normal route I ran the mile through campus to the indoor track. I felt a little feeble for woosing out of the cold, only to find at least 15 of my team mates running round the track!! Running 8 miles round a 300m track sounds like it could be boring, thats because it is! The company of others made the hour go quickly though – I had a 20 minute conversation about the Royal family with my Kenyan friend Gour. He thought we were on our 4th Elizabeth, and that we alternated between a King and Queen…after setting him straight on that I then had to explain the current political situation. It was tricky trying to explain the coalition government…I think he was being polite when he changed the subject to something a little more light hearted.
I had a tough week last week after the high of running a big PB. The legs took forever to recover and I had to finish my workout on Tuesday early as I had nothing in the tank. I was told to get an early night, so at 9pm I plunged my head into my pillow and didn’t wake up until 9-30am – sleeping through my alarm, resulting in 11 hours sleep…and a missed Chemistry lecture. ooops! After that I felt a lot more sparky – amazing what a good sleep can do!
In other news – I have a very tiny portion of Mid-West America addicted to Percy Pigs. The mother is having to send a steady supply over – this weeks package included ‘Phizzy Pig Tails’, ‘Reversey Percys’ and ‘Piglet Party’, I fear for my life now when I turn up to a workout without a pack of percy pigs.
I was a little blase about how cold it could get during the winter in Iowa. Everyone on the team would describe how they have to run in 5-6 layers, a pair of gloves with mittens over the top and even that is not enough. ’Sure’ I thought, thinking it was mild exaggeration. It wasn’t. I now have The Weather Channel as my homepage, and check the temperature each morning before I step out the door for a run. A good day is now one which is around -8 degrees, whereas a bad day would be -25 with a wind which makes it feel like -30. My room mate, Lucy, is from Australia and had never had to run in a pair of tights before coming to Ames!
Wednesday this week was one of the cold days (-20). The previous day had been slightly warmer, so some of the snow had melted and frozen over night meaning there was ice everywhere – Death trap! I decided to head out on this trail which had been cleared from snow and easy to negotiate, 37 minutes into my 75 minute run and I am suddenly looking up at the sky. Oops, I had managed to find the only patch of ice on the whole trail! So after a good half minute rolling around in the snow shouting rude words and the whole of my right leg spasming I tried walking. Definitely hurt walking, so I shouted a couple more obscenities and started running the 5 miles back home, into a head wind, which makes your eyes water. Your eyes water, then the tears freeze, then your top eyelashes stick to the bottom ones…niiice! On Thursday morning I could hardly walk as my hip was so tight, so I went to the training room to speak with our Physical Therapist. I was informed that mine was the first ‘Ice Injury’ of the year (….OOOHHHH YYEEAAHH!!!) and was sent to sit in a jacuzzi bath for half an hour before I ran. With my hip joint warmed up I could stretch it out and running was comfortable. Now I have to go and sit in the hot tub twice a day for 30 minutes (BOORRIINNGG!!) before the trainers can stretch my hip out, this involves going before class at 6 am! A 20 minute walk across campus at that time is a rude way to wake up, and it is tricky to spot ice patches in the dark…I’m paranoid now – any slightly dark patch on the pavement and I’m walking like an old lady, only to realise it is a shadow. Must look ridiculously funny….
Friday and Saturday was the Iowa State Open – a home meet on our indoor track. On Friday I competed the 1200m leg of the Distance Medley Relay (1200m, 400m, 800m, 1600m). Then on Saturday I ran a 3km, 9.46 min which is a 13 second PB!!! Couldn’t really ask for more from the first race of the season and a dodgy hip!!
The calves and hip are very tight this morning so my run will be more like a shuffle. The comedians on my team still find the ‘tight arse’ and ‘watch the ice there Indie’ comments hilarious so no doubt those corkers will be flowing for some entertainment!
