10.91 Miles + An “Oh Crap”.

I went for that 12 mile run with Pete and Jeff today on snow-covered back roads. The sun was shining and the wind, she was a blowin’. It was a chilly day, around 20 degrees but the sun really helped out. We decided on an easy pace and kept it around 9:30′s to start. After three miles we started picking up the pace, dropping down to 8:45′s for a bit… Pretty average on good road, but moving at a pretty fair clip on the snow. Around mile seven we slowed it back down again to keep from blowing up at the end. From there it was low 9′s till we hit mile 10.91. The course Pete had picked out was hilly as all get out and we were all getting tired of them. Pete started walking up a nice one – I joined him and that was my undoing. I could feel my left hamstring tighten up immediately so I gave it a quick rub and got back to running. Unfortunately it cramped up big time – I was certain I was cooked. I tried to stretch it but that just caused worse cramping, with just over a mile to go… I limped along for a few hundred yards, then turned into the wind for the last mile. I froze my butt off, quickly. Just as I was starting to get nervous about hypothermia (sweat, 20 degrees (F) and wind don’t mix well), my hamstring loosened up. Not wanting to hurt myself any more, I took it very easy, just fast enough to keep my body temp up. I went into Pete’s and sat down. That wasn’t too bright. Pain shot up the back of my leg so I tried to slowly stretch it out a bit. After five minutes or so the pain was manageable enough to drive home. On making it back I immediately started on my stretches and actually feel a lot better than I normally do after a long run, though the hamstring is still really tight. I’ll have to see how it goes, but I have pretty high hopes that a couple weeks of stretching will get me back to square and that I won’t have to take any time off.

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12 comments on “10.91 Miles + An “Oh Crap”.”

I am curious, how do you stay hydrated in that kind of weather? I don’t know if the water would freeze half way through the run or not as I have never experienced that kind of weather, at least for running. I can say this, here, 50 degrees is, for whatever reason, almost as cold as it is in other areas of the country when it is freezing! And, my body doesn’t seem to like the cold. Instead of cramping, my bones just lock up!

bgddyjim on January 27, 2013 at 12:51 am said:

12 miles, not a sip. I drink a 32 oz Gatorade night before, and half before the run. When it’s that cold, it doesn’t seem to matter. I finish that second bottle when I’m done then drink another throughout the rest of the day. Living in the cold, your blood thickens up a bit making it bearable. The easiest way to get used to it is run in it. The more time you spend in it, the better off you can handle it.

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Yikes. Here’s hoping it heals quickly.

bgddyjim on January 27, 2013 at 1:27 am said:

Thanks Sandra, I think I’ll be OK. I’ve always had hamstring troubles… I got a list of special stretches from my doctor going on a decade ago, I’m just going to cart them out for a bit.

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Did you drink at all on the run? A cramp like that, I am thinking sodium depletion. A sports drink or electrolyte replacement may help. But no cologne.

bgddyjim on January 27, 2013 at 9:53 am said:

No, it’s a hammie. I’ve been worried about it after long runs for three weeks now but I’ve just run through it and didn’t bother writing about it.. I was completely hydrated (with Gatorade) before the run and your body doesn’t demand fluids like it does in hot weather… My handy-dandy Endmondo showed 12.8 oz is all I needed (accounting for weather). I drank more than that before walking out the door.

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bgddyjim on January 27, 2013 at 9:55 am said:

Oh, and no cologne. Body spray either. I do wear Old Spice Champion deodorant though… No sense smelling bad the other way, eh?

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- elisariva on January 27, 2013 at 10:41 pm said:
  
  I will give you that.
magnuminsp on January 27, 2013 at 1:10 pm said:

On your next run, you might want to try drinking some water/gatorade on the route. On my 12 mile run last week, it was cold, for here, and rainy. Although I didn’t have to reload my water belt, I still drank 60 ozs of gatorade/water.

When I ran the Wine and Dine half marathon, I drank twice, and probably more, than that.

If it is a hamstring, then you need to let it heal. Also, I got a massage once, where the girl spent an exorbitant amount of time on my buttocks. That area controls a lot of muscles, apparently, as my lower back and rear leg pain all went away. And, this was a real massage, not one of those “other” massages.

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Sorry to hear! I actually was having some right hamstring problems on my long runs (especially when I tried to climb hills or pick up the pace). I had my run analyzed and found that my stride was too long and I was pulling with my right leg, vs. pushing off. Meaning my feet were landing way ahead of my center of gravity which was causing me to stress my hamstring to pull my body ahead. I shortened up my stride considerably (now hit 86-87 strides per minute) and focused on landing my feet either directly below me or even slightly behind if I could remember to lean forward a little. I haven’t had a hamstring issue since and if I do start to feel it on a run I go right back to focusing on stride and it immediately goes away. No idea if this is remotely your case but thought I’d share.

bgddyjim on January 27, 2013 at 11:45 pm said:

That actually helps quite a bit! I found that exact same thing on that run in the previous miles. It helps to know it was more than just a fluke. Thanks a ton brother!

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