Race Schedule

2018 Races…TBD!


Friday, May 13, 2011

Mojo A Go-Go

Boy is it exhausting to be exhausted, all the time

This just in: racing a marathon is WAY HARDER than running 100 miles.  Fact.  It's just plain taxing, and in a super sneaky way that you don't expect.

Oh, and this just came in over the wires, too: planning a wedding takes every last drop of energy you have and then some, especially on the days when you start out with an energy deficit.  Fact.  But, then, you get down to the single digits leading up to the big day and you revel in all the hard work and become so filled with excitement you can barely contain yourself.  It's a good thing the mojo was restored at right about the 10-day mark :)

So, after five mojo-less weeks of post-hard marathon effort my running mojo is just about back to a normal level.  Those were five long weeks of runs that were just fine, but nothing spectacular.  Weeks of waning motivation, feeling exhausted, lazy, etc.  No long runs happened in there, well, except for Horseriders where I got in 22ish miles, but that run was a total wash for me.  Geof was suffering from the same malaise.  We finally decided the only way to get back into our running and to regain our mojo was to simply...run!  Wake-up has moved to 4:30 a.m., Tuesday Ten has been resurrected in earnest, and runs are everyday (except for one).  It's been more than 10 days and restoration is nearly complete :)  We just needed to get over that hump of despair and get our butts in gear.

I'm thinking that I'll earn a full tank of mojo after this coming weekend's Ice Age Trail 50k.  It'll be my first running of this particular race.  I've crewed it a couple times, but never actually ran it.  A bunch of New Leaf Ultra peeps and CHUGs will be out there running as well, and Geof is running the 50 mile version again this year.  We figured it would be a nice way to ring in the final straightaway to the wedding one week later.  That's so ultra.

Newsflash: I've been seeing a new chiropractor for some ART treatments on the ol' glutes, IT bands and calves.  My insurance changed earlier this year, and my old doc was no longered covered, so that sent me in search of a new doc recently, blah.  I hate doctor hunting, but I got really lucky and found a great one on the first try.  Enter: Dr. Roy Settergren.  His work is fantastic, and he's more than just a back-cracking chiropractor.  He's got mad ART skills and doesn't nannypant around pretending to be an ART practitioner, doing little more than a glorified massage.  No, he really knows his stuff.  He also does acupuncture, massage and some other stuff that I haven't utilized.  The best part, Dr. Roy looks at you as the whole athlete, rather than one isolated issue.  He listens to me describe my situation, then explains his theory on why I'm experiencing discomfort or pain, then gets to work with the ART, explaining what he's doing each step of the way.  Did you know your hip flexors insert way up in your abs?  They do, and what a release it is to have those guys loosened up!  Then, instead of sending me on my way, he showed me a bunch of exercises to do to help with the muscle imbalances I have going on in the hips and glutes, then he had me perform each exercise to make sure I was doing them correctly.  I was feelin' the burn!  Anywho, if you're looking for an ART practitioner in the Chicago Loop area, I highly recommend him.  His approach is very unique and he's very focused on each athlete as a whole.  Now that is how it should be.

So, my glutes and hips are ready to rock it tomorrow.  I'm not really sure what to expect from the day, but I will still be aiming to finish under 6 hours.  More than anything, I aim to enjoy myself and just have a really good run out there in the woods of the Kettle Moraine...me, my mojo, and nearly 600 of my closest running buddies :-)  This morning's final shakeout run turned into a really awesome 3 mile tempo run.  My legs felt great!

Let's do this!  Last ultra as a single chick with an end-of-the-alphabet name, holla! 

Paige, out.

5 comments:

Dirty Running said...

Have a great race tomorrow. Good to hear that you're feeling better about your running.

Gretchen said...

I can't believe you guys are doing a race just one week away from the big day! That IS so ultra. :) Have fun out there, and enjoy your soon-to-be place at the front of the alphabet! ;)

Run Home Pam said...

I can't think of a better way to shake out the pre-wedding jitters. Have a lovely, lovely run!!

Run Home Pam said...

I can't think of a better way to shake off the pre-wedding insanity. Have a lovely, lovely run!!

HappyTrails said...

Hope you two had fun yesterday - Maybe Ice Age will be your "anniversary" celebration next year ;-) Congratulations in advance of the big day!!!

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