Hip Flexors - a new Wrinkle

 I find that this winter, when I do a long run, like 10 miles or more, and my left hip gets irritated, the stretching I described earlier isn't helping much. But has helped, is a major dig-in with my thumbs to the psoas and to that big thick band that controls the adductors and flexors. The roller helps too, but if that muscle gets over-used, it can stay irritated for a long time. Spasm release seems to be what happens when I do that self-massage. It's not a cure-all, but it definitely helps. I know I talked about this in December, but it's remained true. Reading and hearing more about how essential it is to keep weight training in the mix especially when older. When you lose muscle mass and you're old, you tend not to be able to get it back. Keep it before it leaves, is the word. So I dusted off my Weider incline bench and am now using it for weights in the living room. Also doing regular pushups and striving to get in at least an extra one or two every time. I'm at 50 pushups now. Also, a continuing truth--- my level of mental happiness is most tightly correlated with how often and pain-free I can run. W/o running, I'm cranky! So, my goal is to set another record trail running this, my 71st year. 1,020 miles last year, and 1,070 is my 2021 all time record. Keep the hip healthy and it'll happen. I'm planning on the Death Valley TDRC trail running weekend in 3 weeks. Mission 5k race this weekend, Solvang Century, Chico Century, already signed up for Mammoth Gran Fondo and GraniteMan '24. And will look for locally put on triathlons like Sandman; I'm kinda sick and tired of corporate overpriced under-fun'd triathlons. Really sad to see the June Lake Tri sell out to the corporate greed. It was such a great race for so long. I've been doing some "RainRuns" in Fall Creek and Nicene Marks this winter. I love that visceral contact with Nature, the less "Civilized", the better I feel truly at home. Here's a shot from one on Jan 7.

Another Good Year - the Wrap...

 I managed to stay healthy and in good shape. Big disappointment was that Ferrell retired from racing and this time, he actually meant it. So, my race schedule was reduced just from the disorientation of not having a race buddy to do these with. Still, I did do some races; the Brazen Racing Saratoga half marathon, to Castle Rock was a big one. Metric Century at Chico, the Mt Diablo 30K Summit Stomp in October, successfully done this year w/o getting lost like in '22. It's my longest running race since the 1996 LA Marathon. And - GraniteMan! I chopped some time off my 2019 GraniteMan, and only 2 people finished the race this year. I was 2nd overall! 

I had trouble recovering from the Mt Diablo 30K, but after 2 weeks I was back out. Then did a 21 mile weekend in Fall Creek which I again had trouble recovering from. I discovered a good strategy. My left hip flexor was really sore and just refused to get better. Rollering didn't help much, nor did the new HyperVolt impact massager I bought. What helped really effectively was splaying my left hip out in stretch position, and then digging my thumb into that hip flexor, I believe it was the psoas. That was painful but I kept it up for quite a few minutes of deep massage. And -  voila' ! I was better, and that was now many weeks ago, and I've been fine since then. I was able to put in my 2nd highest running total, finishing with a couple of rain-runs through Fall Creek. Recall in Dec '22 I did 192 miles to get over the 1,000 mile mark. This year I was not so far behind, and a mere 93 miles in December was enough to get to 1,020 miles. Overall, I'm happy with it all - Age 71 and still feeling great and eager to get out onto the trails!

Sorry!

Sorry - I've not kept up with this blog this year. My bad! But it's the last weekend of the year and I must. I've been healthy, except for a bruised rib during a fall onto a rock towards the end of a Fall Creek 12 miler in November. It took me out for a couple of weeks. When I did the math, I found it was going to be ~impossible for me to get to my goal of a new PR for annual running miles. I set my new target to getting to 1000 miles for the 4th straight year. Even that would be pretty tough. It would require a lotta miles in December. Fortunately for our drought, we had lots of rain this month... but it made getting in running miles harder. I quickly had to embrace the rain. I did 10 half-marathon trail runs this month ("HM = 11.8-17 miles loosely defined), all in Fall Creek and Nicene Marks state parks. Tonight's was the most challenging I think, even though a 17 miler almost to Lower Summit Rd in Fall Creek was the longer. My hip flexors are pretty tired and I was slow today, and got a late start, getting on-trail at 1:55pm. The atmospheric river of rain was already coming down hard. I'm used to running in the dark now, with my Li-Ion headlamp. But tonight the rain seemed to get into the electronics and it was flipping between modes randomly, always settling on a blinking dim red glow. But I also worried that it had been on, in my CamelBak. If it died altogether I'd be in big trouble. The trail is quite treacherous in total darkness, next to the raging river, and I had 4 bridges which might be underwater..... so I decided to just let it stay on dim red flasher mode and take great care with roots, rocks, submerged bridges (one of which was actually floating, with just one side anchored! Touchy getting across that one). Thanks to my good night vision and having 3 fleece layers under my REI waterproof jacket to keep from getting hypothermic. It was an adventure! No annual running record, but at age=70, I did set a monthly running record; 191 miles; that's a 2300 mile per year average! Gratified to be this healthy.

How did that happen? This year I learned that ibuprofen shuts down the anabolic training effect - so you don't get stronger from hard efforts. Hardly fair! That was it - never taking ibuprofen again. Instead, the research guided me - the choice is a heaping tablespoon per day of turmeric spice, which is a powerful anti-inflammatory and does NOT shut down the anabolic effect. I have noticed! My left psoas now doesn't get sore unless I put in MUCH bigger miles than earlier (on trails. On asphalt, it can still kick in during races, as I saw on the Jenny Light 10K and the Turkey Trot 10K). And, I recover from whatever psoas pain in just a couple of days, not a week or more like in the farther past. 

Highlight of the year turned out not to be the GraniteMan Challenge as I'd hoped, which I felt I had to bail on when lightening caused fires ruined the air quality, and thunderstorms and lightening made the Tioga Run dangerous too. Instead I stayed home and did the Ironman Santa Cruz virtual; the ride with the competitors, the swim as a full 2 miler, with IM SC people the day before the race, and then a Fall Creek half marathon instead of doing the IM course out to Wilder. No, the highlight I felt was the Mt Diablo Summit Stomp. Despite getting lost, I did get in 16 miles and close to the summit. I'd love to do it again as a 30K, which is what I'd signed up for. 

The photo below I took this month during a less rainy Fall Creek 13 miler, at the Big Ben Tree. 

I was swimming well and hard, leading up to the hoped-for June Lake swim. Got in 21 'round the wharf mile swims, but - my pool swimming came to an abrupt end when the InShape pool was drained and is really slow in getting back and open again. 

I put in a very hard solid cycling leading up to September, but then, it was running that took over, especially when the rains came.

Another healthy year wrapped up

 Grateful at my age I can still set and achieve new annual mileage PR's in my triathlon training. In '21 I inched past my swim goal to 214,000 yards, and most grateful of the categories - running, at 1,066 miles. I started off the new year with a good 36 mile ride. What with CoVid the past 2 years, my commuting miles went to zero, and my cycling totals drooped alarmingly. This year we are (were?) supposed to be back to full normal on-campus classes, and too - I've signed up for the Mammoth Gran Fondo as part of the GraniteMan Challenge, and also the Solvang Century with the Wyman's. I need to get into cycling shape. I rode up the coast past Davenport and the Swanton Valley loop. Still badly scarred by the fires, alas, but at least grasses are growing there, even if the trees are mostly dead and the cabins and homes gone.

Mt Hamilton Climbs

 I've also been doing more than my typical hard bike climbs. I've done Mt Hamilton solo 4 times so far this year. They've repaved the entire road and it's quite the nicest of climbs anywhere in the area. Outstanding vistas, dreadful fire damage in the last long climb, and the monuments to the Gods of giant telescopes and giant minds at the top of this, the highest mountain in the San Francisco Bay region.This shot is from my May 22 ride to the top.

The Return: Bass Lake Triathlon

 It's been a long empty period with the CoVid shutdown of all races. We're re-emerging, and I've done 2 triathlons this year so far: Folsom Lake Triathlon on May 8, and the Bass Lake Triathlon June 5, both with Rick Ferrell along. Bass Lake went well, although I've definitely slowed since my outstanding 2014 last race there. My hip has generally been cooperative. I can hold a pace of a little over 1,000 miles/year, without "blowing up". Long weeks of 30 miles require short weeks of maybe 15 or less, but that's to be expected. 

Spring Pilgrimage to Caliente Peak

 I needed to get away. My last days of Spring break. I chose Caliente Peak at Carrizo Plain. I hoped to photograph a peak display of wildflowers, and do my 17 mile run to/from Caliente Peak along the ridge of the Caliente Range. The day began with a 1 hour sleep. That was all I got that night and day; then a drive up to UCSC to get video/GPS time-stamped observations of the occultation of a 12th magnitude star by the asteroid Regina - a success! Got home at 3:45am, quickly unpacked the astronomy gear, packed the running gear and food, and drove the 250 miles to Carrizo Plain and the dirt wide spot at the trail head. The weather was perfect, and the first full weekend of Spring drew more people than usual. Every camp spot along the road up to the ridge was taken. I felt good, running. But slowed to a power-hike / jog as the miles clicked by. The trail was pretty empty, as always... but at the old ranch, two mountain bikers whizzed past me. I had the rest of the way to the peak to myself, until getting to the peak, then I saw the mountain bikers returning, and at the peak I met a small group of Russian hikers who arrived. It was nice to see these fine people, but at the same time, I regretted that I did not have the entire experience only to myself - which I'd looked forward to. Alas, no flowers. The drought. And no snakes, nor horned lizards. My pace has kept well this year. As I write this in early April, I'm on pace for another record year, near 1100 miles. After this 17 miler, I did have a couple of weeks of recovery and some hip psoas soreness, but that seems to be over now. Very good!