After a dismal long run last Monday I realized that it helps to vent when you have a terrible workout. Most importantly it can help you zero in on what went wrong. Be it lack of water, nutrition, training, or motivation when you put it down to words things become a lot more clearly defined. Otherwise you just say, " I had a bad workout." And that is that. So if you feel like venting after a bad workout this is the place. And remember, this is for posterity so be honest.

On the other side of the coin, few things are more exhilarating than starting a workout feeling lousy and working through it. It doesn't have to become a great workout, but if I can turn a lousy feeling into feeling decent by the end, I revel in the accomplishment.

Steve 

I also noticed that you had 6 fingers on one hand.....

I had a near "bonk" or "crash" on Sunday. However you want to word it. I decided I'd up my longest ride and go for a single 40miler on the bike. I took 24oz of gatorade and 24oz of water. I figured sure, it'll be fine.

Did the ride, but fell short on the total distance. Stopped closer to 34mi instead. Realistically, I missed the turnoff and ended up cutting my ride short. I probably could've done it though. I finished all of the gatorade and most of the water. I racked the bike in the truck, changed shoes, and went for a very painful "brick run". Simple 10% (of the bike) run to get the legs accustommed to the difference.

The legs felt great. As I neared the 2mi mark I started cramping. Sides, quads, and calves. I stopped to walk. I drank the last of the water. I stopped to sit. I had no more water. I tried to stretch. I cried. I sat there for the better part of 10-15minutes before very slowly walking around again. I hurt.

Reasons - POOR NUTRITION. The bike leg took 2hrs and I consumed maybe 150cals of liquids. The run depleted everything I had left after that. Looking back, I hadn't been drinking my water throughout the day. I had a very light lunch, so again poor eating.

It took dinner to get my system before most of the pain went away and I was well enough to climb the stairs in the house. Next time, I'll pay more attention to my nutrition needs.

I think you both should be banned from the bike for a week! :)

Okay, just for you, I will not ride at all next week. I will also sit on a beach in The Bahamas. I hope you appreciate this.

Steve 

So, what part of the Bahamas you headed to? We spent nearly 2wks there and loved it. We have some friends in Nassau, who just moved to GeorgeTown (Great Exuma Island), so we're planning another trip down there shortly.

Have a few of these while your down there. That should keep you nice and cool.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

What an amazing trip. Weather was pretty nice, just a little windy most days. Atlantis is huge, very fun and it feels brand-new. My kids had a blast, and I got nice and relaxed.

I did not ride last week but I did do some jogging with my wife.  I brought my Garmin too and recorded our runs.  Here is a great 1.6 mile loop that I did twice on Friday, so a 5k. My time was probably very slow, but I blame that on the occasional steps I had to climb :-)  If you look at the satellite image, it was taken while they were still constructing the last of the water-park areas of the resort.

Steve 

Welcome back. I can think of many places more difficult to run 5k in than that! What a beautiful location!

You really weren't far from our port. We docked at Ft. Montegue (across the  bay) then took out for our 10 day trip before returning. It was definately a good landmark b/c you could see Atlantis a couple miles out.

Glad you had fun.

Steve, did you notice there were no local Bahamians in the casino? Apparently it's illegal for them to gamble. We learned that on our trip out there.

I read about that before we left. Yeah, that is interesting.

Apparently it is also illegal to charge a tourist less than $25 for a tube of sunscreen or less than $12 for a hamburger.

Consecutive runs I have had in steady rain: 6

How tired I am of running in the rain: 100%

How blind I am when I run without my glasses, which I have to do in the rain because otherwise they get spattered and fogged: pretty frickin blind

 Workout I scheduled for today: tackling the two back-to-back MONSTER hills in my mountainous neighborhood.

First song on my ipod shuffle:  U2's Beautiful Day

 But it actually was a beautiful day, because at least I was out there making tracks instead of sitting on the couch making excuses.

Showed up for the morning swim (3600yrd) and felt alright. Tired, but alright. Started swimming and realized I was tired. Took a gel and pushed it.

Somehow, someway, I got a calf cramp that about near drowned me! Of course, all you can do is relax, stretch, and get to the side of the pool. After a few mins, it loosened, but was still there.

Push and finish and get out of the water is all I could think. The faster I go, the quicker it's over.

That was at 0530. It's 0800 and it's still there! Ahh!

Another complaint - WORK & WEATHER. I've worked until 9pm every night this week and missed most of my p.m. workouts. Now that I get a 1/2 day, the thunderstorms are here keeping me off the road and away from biking!

Grr!

Not much advice on the work & weather problem except I'm feeling your pain on that one. 

About a half mile to go we had to stop and wait for a traffic signal and when we started up to run again I could feel my knee locking up.  I was able to run through it but with noticable discomfort (I knew I was almost done and figured it would pass after some rest).  I have experienced this type of discomfort before but usually after some rest I am okay.  I made it through and stretched without any problems.  I was a little sore but nothing atypical.

Later that evening, my nephew challenged me to an impromptu footrace and I kicked off my sandals and gave chase.  I got about 10 steps and a sharp shooting pain went up my knee and I was done.  I limped back to the house and made another mistake of not icing it.  We were on our way to dinner so I figured I would get to it when we got back if it still bothered me.

Turns out my IT Band is pretty tight now.  After a massage and icing and stretching all week, I still haven't been able to complete a run.  Biking/walking/elliptical is fine but running after a few steps and I notice the discomfort.  It is getting  better but I am not chancing it.  I will try a short test run this Thursday but nothing even remotely serious until Saturday.

I just hope this is resolved before June as that's my next official race.  I was hoping to do some shorter distances in the meantime but that looks to be out now.  This is my first real injury in the past 4 years and it's a product of me not following my own advice.  I did not allow myself plenty of rest and I abandoned my training program to get more miles in and less cross training.  I was distracted by having a "Total Mileage" goal and when I fell behind my pace for the year I felt I had to catch up.  Over the past week I have decided to abandon that goal and reintroduce myself to the FIRST program.

Sitting on the couch sucks.

Great to see everyone working hard.

Lost: Sorry about the cramp but I am glad to hear that you didn't sink to the bottom. As for the weather and the work schedule treat them like the cramp. They will pass.

Jairad: Way to go on the marathon. It's crazy how that IT band will sneak up on you.  I started to feel a twinge over my left trochanter so I too slowed down a bit last week. Until it subsided. ( Mostly preventative.) Seems like you have a good game plan moving forward. P.S. That's enough "Will and Grace" for you buddy!

As for me besides that left trochanter pain, I've been experiencing shooting tingling fire down my right leg when I stretch post run. For the most part it does not bother me during the run and typically subsides rather quickly post run. The sports Chiropractor seems to think that it may be an entrapted nerve. I feel that it is more likely a result of a tight piriformis muscle. We shall see but I will move forward cautiously. My first 1/2 Marathon isn't until November.

One tip I learned the hard way:  if the best way to describe the sensation is with words like "fire", "heat", "tingling" or "twinge", it's a nerve.  I have neuromas in my feet and when they act up it doesn't feel like conventional pain, it feels like my feet are on fire.  Before the heat they tingle a lot or go numb.  So your chiro might be right.

Injuries suck!!  My sympathies jairad.

So far I've been pleased with the treatment. This Chrio also treats soft tissue symptoms along with the traditional chiropractic adjustments. 

'cause there ain't any  ;-)

Seriously, that is one huge thing that keeps me from running. Most of the people I know that run a lot can tell me about all kinds of injuries. None of my cycling friends can.

Be careful out there everybody. 

Steve 

On Monday I got to about a mile before I could feel something.  Tuesday I was a little further and started to feel something but taking no chances I stopped.  Though after I got off I felt my leg and the area where I was having discomfort (not pain) was actually my shin and not my knee.  I was so worried about my knee I mistook a common sensation for knee pain.

So last night I decided to give her a shot and started out on my usual routine.  Eventually I worked my way up to an 8 minute mile pace and held it for 5 minutes with no issues.  I stopped at that point since my cycling class was starting and I didn't want to chance it.  Tonight I plan on running with my wife for a warmup and then test it again.  Looking at Saturday to officially pull myself off the disabled list and get back in the game!

Ehirning: Bummer man. You got to stay hydrated too. Rent a movie or something! Get well soon.

On the other hand, I don't know any runners that have been hit by a car. 

Floridan:Good point Steve.

On the other hand, I don't know any runners that have been hit by a car. 

 Cars are definitely a hazard out there. I've been hit once & "nudged" once as well. Seems like all the bike/car/road safety information is geared towards the bikes not the cars. Should be both.  

Ehirning: Bummer man. You got to stay hydrated too. Rent a movie or something! Get well soon.

 Thanks Dan. I hydrated up and back on the bike tonight!

Steve

Thanks for keeping me in your thoughts.

Steve

Carful Patty. Yea, the shoes take some getting used to. Hope you're alright though. At least you've fallen now and gotten it out of the way though. That's the good part. A few things I've picked up on that may help.

-Always keep one foot clipped. Pick one to the be "unclipping foot" and use it. That way you get used to it and you quit having to think about it. I keep the dominant foot locked in so that I can go if I need to.

-You don't HAVE to be clipped in to go. If you take off, and miss the clip, put your foot on top and let it ride. Once you're up to speed, you can try to clip it. Sometimes it's quick, and other times it can take a couple of revolutions.

-If you can, fall left and protect the gears on the bike. This will also help keep the gears from digging into your calf during a fall. But, if you're in traffic, fall right and avoid the cars :)

Hope that helps.

The second time was at a traffic light with 3 people next to me, and I knocked two of them down.  The third time, I was one of those knocked down by someone else.  The only good thing about this type of crash is your speed is almost always zero. I cannot think of a better way to crash.

Looking through Lost's list of  recommendations, I think routinely I break all of them ;-) The only thing I actaully do religiously is when I stop next to someone else, I always unclip the leg on the opposite side (i.e. if he is on my left, I unclip my right leg). That way if he tips over toward me, I have a fighting chance to stay upright. That has saved me multiple times, once I even kept a girl from falling.

Stay upright everyone!

Steve

I never thought of unclipping the opposite leg when with other cyclist, Steve. That's a pretty good idea actually!

Find you a good steed to put in the stables, and you won't regret it! It has really helped me keep the injuries down! Really well!