Backing Out of Gravel Worlds - Making Hard Decisions With the Future in Mind

At least i got in one ride in Nebraska

I write this more as a way for me to think through things however if it helps someone else in the future that is a plus.

I am sure I am not the first person to back out of a race they have planned on doing for over a year but it is still a tough decision.  Even harder is that I waited till the day before to make the decision as I kept hoping for things to get miraculously better - all the while sorta knowing it was not probable.  To be honest I should have decided to not do the Gravel Worlds Double, or even just the ride, a week ago but again hoped for things to get better.  I have to say sitting here writing this with my foot throbbing some makes my decision make more sense.

My right foot has been sore, and even swollen, in some manner since after Yamacraw at the end of May and with my usual myopic focus on doing the Gravel Worlds Double I never took the rest I really needed.  I took a few days here and there but not the extended rest I needed.  Since the soreness seemed to wax and wane - who uses the term “wax and wane”, I guess I did - I thought it would slowly go away.  However, it never did fully get better and after long runs would flare up.  It did seem to feel better on long runs once warmed up but truths it was probably still being hurt as the pain/soreness came right back once done or at best a day later.

The good thing was that in general it did not seem that riding was causing any issues so kept up riding when I could.  However, I did notice over the last couple weeks that while it was no where near as bad as when I ran my foot was still sore after a ride.  On my last 100 miler on Zwift I could feel some soreness and I think I was over compensating as at the end of the ride I got a bad cramp in my inner thigh - same leg as my sore foot - and can’t remember the last time I had a cramp in that area.  So, instead of things getting better things were actually getting worse and I was just praying it would get better with no inkling it would.  The final sign was I did a 5 mile run Wednesday and the foot was sore the whole way and then did a 40 mile ride (where the picture is from above) and it was also sore the whole way and more sore afterwards than usual.  Running 50K was for a sure a no and after the ride I realized it was nto going to help anything and with Gravel Worlds being self-supported I did not want to get stuck out in the middle of nowhere or maybe worse force myself to finish and make things worse.

Not entirely sure the exact issue but know it is at least exacerbated by a condition I have called Accessory Navicular Syndrome which a very small percentage of people have - I guess I am special.  I have it on both feet but is much worse on my right foot.  It is an extra bone under the ankle area and the Posterior Tibial tendon attaches there and as the bone sticks out it can rub on shoes and also also be an issue if foot is not really stable - which mine is not.  The right side seems to be much bigger than the left and over years of rubbing I think there is probably some scar tissue there.  

All his said I am not sure if it is all the extra bone that is the issue but a combination of issues in my foot that just stresses it out.  I say this as the pain seems to run from my arch to the extra bone area to above the ankle and even on the tendons across the top of the foot - I do know at times I tie my shoes too tight.  Over the next week I will be looking to work out a plan to get this under control and strengthen my foot.  This will start with a good two weeks at a minimum of no running and will wait about a week to evaluate if I can start to ride again.  

I do have a race in Colorado the end of September so hope I can at the least get things under control to be able to ride with no pain.  I still want to get things corrected for running but may have to keep running to short stuff - like 5K’s - till my foot is strong enough to handle longer.  In some ways that is OK as while I like 50K’s I was looking to run shorter and work on speed next year to get my 5K time down and maybe do some track races later when I turn 65 in some Senior Track meets - maybe.

I have been listening to some podcasts by a bike fitter named Colby Pierce (Cycling in Alignment) and in a number of them he refers to the old mindset in cycling that pain was part of training - or something like that - and he is so right.  This was not limited to riding as running often had the same mindset.  Now this is not saying if you are doing intervals you will not hurt in some manner but more that we tend to just feel pain and have the sense that we need to just suck it up.  I Have been there and still have vestiges of that and it is nto a good mindset as more often than not leads to other and more serious issues. That was were I was with this current issues as while I knew I had a problem I put off dealing with it and just accepted it.  As usual if I had dealt with this months ago after Yamacraw I might have been good for the Gravel Worlds.  I have been getting better at this but in this case just did not stop and reflect more on the problem and count the cost of not dealing with it when it cropped up.

One of my goals is longevity in running and riding and that will not happen if I do not take seriously issues like I currently have.  Truthfully having a goal of longevity made this decision easier even if not easy since it was backed with a bigger goal than just this one race.  Even while when younger I could often just run and ride through issues often not dealing with them still led to issues but now I am older the consequences are greater and thus need to be taken more seriously.  I need to take this issue and learn from it and take some time to decide on what changes I need to make to get better and stay better.

Some areas I need to review and change with my paradigm:

• Add in strength and mobility work - need to see this as important as the actual running and riding and even replace some of my riding and running with it
• Not be so focused on distance in running and riding but on quality
• Work on alignment issues - as they affect my running and riding
• Be more intoned with what is working and what is not and being ready to deal with niggles while they are still niggles

More to follow but this is my start at changes

Gravel Worlds Double Weekend Workouts

Quite the last three weekends workout wise.  After getting sick about 4 weeks ago and being in the ER with severe dehydration I noticed that I felt I had lost some endurance - which I felt on my first long weekend workout 2 weeks after my ER trip.  But with the Gravel Worlds Double coming up August 25th and 26th I needed to get some good work in.

To do this I had planned three good milage weekends all the while keeping an eye on how my right ankle feels as it gets sore after long runs.

The first weekend was Friday July 21st and Saturday the 22nd.  The Friday workout was a comfortably paced 20 miler and as was my first long run since getting sick I went out really easy.  Felt good on the run and legs were good afterwards and ankle was just a little sore.  The second half of the weekend set was a 110 mile ride and was worried a little about this with the heat that had been around, in the high 90's to 100's F but thankfully was cooler - still hot at end but not what it had been.  The ride started well and even went pretty hard in places but paid for it later as the last 25 miles or so were a drag and just finished with an average pace much slower than usual.  That said looking back it was a good ride and a good end to a tough two day set of workouts.

The second weekend (July 29th and 30th) were back to back longer trail runs with Peter up in the Wrightwood CA area on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) so also got in some work at altitude.  Day one was supposed to be a point to point run but when we got to the start we found the road closed so changed to an out and back.  The original run was to be about 13 miles at about 8000ft but due to the change and now was going from Vincent Gap - up to Mt Baden Powel and then out to Windy Gap and back for an 18 miler (See Map Below) with about 5245ft of vert.  The run went well but have to say the downhills killed my thighs and my ankle was sore afterwards.  That said it went well but knowing I had another day of this was a little scary as had not done long back to back runs like this in a very long time.  The next day we ran a 12.3 mile loop (See Map Below) from Wrightwood that went up the Acorn Trail (steeper then the Baden Powel start) then over to the Mtn High Ski Area and down to Highway 2 and back to Wrightwood.  Legs were sore to start and that the run starts up hill right away made for a more casual start but that was good.  Once got rolling felt fine and then the descent down to Highway 2 was a little hard on the legs but finished up good on the 3.2 miles of downhill to town where I ran at a good pace and felt good.  When all done while legs were sore but I was much better than I would be - so the end of weekend #2.

Weekend #3 was not meant to be as hard as the other two but still a good amount of milage and effort.  Also, that week I did two good running workouts with some 20/60’s on Tuesday then a Tempo run on Thursday to give me a Total running milage in the last 6 days at 48 miles.   The 110 mile ride on Saturday was a good one, after a good last 7 days, and was much better than my last ride and got some good sections in and finished feeling strong.  Unlike the last 110 miler I did not slow anywhere as close to as much this time.  To finish out the weekend I did an 8 miler Sunday morning that turned out to be at a good pace after starting out slow.  Other than my ankle being sore it felt pretty good.  

The goal now is to reduce my running miles to get my ankle healed up well before the Gravel Worlds 50K run.  I will still do some intervals but just enough to keep my legs where I want them to be but feeling fresh.  With regards to riding will do what I can this last week at work in So Cal and get in a few Zwift rides next week but as with my running do just enough to keep my legs fresh and ready to race.

Again, after being in the ER 4 weeks ago I think this was a good 3 weekends of running and riding.

Here is the 17.8 Miler

Here is the 12.3 Miler