Cross-Training: Vernal Falls Hike

This past Monday we headed out to Yosemite for a day trip. Hal Higdon said that I should cross-train that day, so I elected to hike to the top of Vernal Falls. The entire hike round trip is about three miles with an elevation gain of 1,000 feet on the way up.

Things I Wish I Would Have Done While Hiking to Top of Vernal Falls

1. Snapped photos of the surprising footwear. I was surprised by the number of people wearing flip flops up the trail.
2. Counted people I passed. (It feels amazing to be in shape!)
3. Taken more snack food. We didn't really plan on doing the whole hike. We sort of decided to do it at the last minute.

They say that there are 600 granite steps up to the top of Vernal Falls. That is a lot of steps. I just googled the number of step up to the top of Peterskirche in Munich--306. I remember how laborious getting to the top of Peterskirche was when I visited in 2007. Conquering Peterskirche was one of the things that motivated me to start running. It is nice to know that 600 uneven granite steps was easier for me than 306 uniform stair steps.

I expected more pain in my quads because downhill hurts more than uphill, but it was my calves that were angered. So to be on the safe side, I took yesterday off from running. Today I was out an ran my scheduled five easily with only minor soreness at the beginning of my run.

To conclude: Hiking these three miles was harder on my body than running 13.1 in SF a week ago.

Injured

Good news: There is nothing wrong with my hip. Posting about it served the magical purpose of making it go away.

So in that spirit, I am going to post about another new injury, which I fear is for real, but I am going to hope that by writing about it, it will go away.

Bad news: Both of my calves seems to be out of commission and it is my own fault.

Monday night after a nice three mile run in the morning and being told that there was nothing wrong with my hip from my doctor, I decided to take my Bikilas, which are minimalist footwear meant to mimic barefoot running, out for about a mile to work on strengthening my calves and helping my form. A mile is nothing to me. This was not the first time I had run in the Bikilas. I have walked around in them for full days even marching around Disneyland with them. I had run a quarter mile and a half mile in them. I felt ready for a full mile.

I knew from friends that running in them works out your calf muscles in ways that you are used to if normally shod. So I ignored the pain that I experienced during the run figuring it was just sore muscle.

I think that I ran too high on the balls of my feet and didn't drop my heel enough. I think it must have caused what I am dealing with now.

My calves were tight and in pain that very night. Tuesday morning brought more stiffness and slight pain. Like severe muscle soreness. I'm used to sore muscles. When my doctor asked me on Monday if I was experiencing pain, I said that I always do. This is not too much of an exaggeration. I experience migraine at least 10 times a year, regular headaches more frequently, my muscles are often sore, I battle blisters. I accept pain as a part of living.

The more I walked the more the pain decreased. After periods of inactivity, it would stiffen up again.

Wednesday night I decided to give running a shot. I had to stretch out my calves a bit, but I found the heat to be more of an obstacle than the calves. Still felt the same pattern of stiffness and pain decreasing with movement and increasing with periods of inactivity. I ran Thursday night. It was better than Wednesday.

Last night something went wrong. About 1.5 miles into a run, I felt a spasm of pain in my right calf which stopped my running. I tried to stretch it out and tried to run, but my gait was affected and I had a slight limp. Stretched again. The limp disappeared and I ran slowly the half mile home to my house.

Last night my calves were much more tender to the touch. It was worse than the initial injury. Then I got on the internet and scared myself silly to the point that I asking my husband to squeeze my calf while I am lying on my stomach to see if my foot would move. A foot that moves mean that my Achilles tendon is still intact. It moved. Thank god! I'm wondering if I tore a muscle. I am wondering how I can rest when both calves hurt.

I am dedicating this weekend to rest, ice, and reading in the hopes that the pain will subside. If I doesn't subside. I am going straight to the runner PA at my doctor's office for help.

I'm really hoping that I can be back in business in a week. I'm nearly considering prayer which is so selfish and lame of me.

I'm wondering if my whole training for SF is ruined. After the hip, the stomach flu, and this, I am wondering why I should bother even if I heal in time.

End of Weekend Wrap Up

Thanks to the three-day weekend and the fact that I have mere hours left on my contract for this year, I had a lot of free time this weekend to read.

I finally finished Game of Thrones (oddest conclusion to a novel eva!). Before moving on to Clash of Kings (which I have. See pic below), I needed a little escape from Martin's gritty fantasy realm. I needed a dose of reality. I turned to non-fiction and picked up Marshall Ulrich's Running on Empty. This was probably one of the best running books that I've read. And since I am in a listing mood:

1. It was truly a love letter to his wife and his crew. It was a testament to the fact that independence isn't wise; that wisdom is in a team.
2. It shed light on why the documentary Running America featured such a lame narrative. I'm looking at you, Charlie Engle.
3. It revealed a powerful narrative of his journey running across America.

I actually went to his Facebook page, "liked" him and wrote his a comment of appreciation along the lines that his narrative would have greatly improved the documentary. He wrote back with a thanks. Then he sent me a message. Marshall Ulrich sent me a message! He sent me a message about my profile pic teasing me for calling the guy behind me old.

79 is old! That guy is 79. I ran the marathon faster than him, but not by much. I told Marshall that I hope that I am still out there at 79. And I do.

After that jaunt into reality, I am back to George R.R. Martin and Book 2 of Song and Ice Saga/Series Whatever it is. Good grief. Dragons are involved.

When I wasn't reading, I was running. I ran every single day this weekend. This delights me. This also impresses me.

Equally if not more impressive is that fact that I seem to be devoted to core work as evidenced by the fact that I did the whole INFERNAL Ab Buster routine from Nike Training Club. And for some odd reason, I looked up the 100 push up training plan, printed it out and completed Week 1, Day 1 (doing girl push ups--I am so weak).

What is happening to me?

I also kicked around in these all day. I love feeling barefoot. I ran .4 mile in my other pair. My calves said "Thanks. Thanks. A lot."

It felt like the beginning of summer today. This summer will mean a lot of reading, writing, running, and eating.

I can't wait for the end of my contract!