Thoughts on Bailing Out

After all the work toward racing 100 miles at Massanutten, thing didn't work out. It had been a really rough training cycle, but overall things felt really good. And with the Bandera finish in January, I wasn't worrying a lot about the lack of really long training runs. I was feeling really good about finishing this race; that was my only goal.

About the Injury
Officially, it is bursitis. I've had to deal with this before, but it has never been this bad. In fact, I've been hit with this one several times. It responds well to rest and easy running. It is aggravated by speedwork and hills. Normally it will hurt a bit, and I'll back off those activities which make it hurt. This time, I lacked the opportunity.

I see now how I caused this. I have cut down the miles as the race approached. And some of the miles I've run have been a bit quicker than normal. I wouldn't really call any of it speed, but I've pushed several times to get the heart rate up. Last weekend, I did some hill repeats to test the shoes, socks, and tape. I took it easy, but I guess it wasn't easy enough. Combined with the faster running during the week, I just did myself in.

The doctor told me it was related to my previous back injury and the inflexibility there. I'm not sure if that is true.

Moving On
Because of other decisions I have made regarding my running, it was really hard to drop out of this race. Last year I had cut way down on the long runs. The effort and time away from home were difficult on the family life. I went to running long only once a month and running mostly during my lunch hour or very early in the mornings. The plan was to return to that schedule and pass on the 100's for a few years. 10k's and half marathons sound like fun for a while.

My two attempts so far have netted me a DNF and a DNS. I had really been hoping for the DFL this time.

Part of me wants to look for another and hit it as soon as this injury is healed. Part of me wants to stick to the plan and forget ultras for a while. I can't say which is going to win out at this point. I'm leaning mostly toward working on my overall conditioning for a while. If the opportunity comes up, maybe I'll try again. But I'm looking forward to lifting more weights and spending a little time on the bike. These are things I neglect when I'm spending so many hours out on the trails running.

My exception to the no ultras for a while is probably Bandera. I love this race. I can also probably struggle through it without the normal long buildup and months of long runs. I won't do it well or fast, but I can do it. So far I've finished both the 50K and the 100K twice. I'm really hoping to do the 100K each year from now on.

For now though, I'm resting. Injuries need to heal. Mentally, I need a break. And my family needs a break. After that, I'll see what happens.