Friday Ramble 02/05/21
Existential dilemmas, wobble boards, gloves, and nachos.
Each week the Friday Ramble offers a training snapshot along with whatever else is floating around. This week: The problem with taking a break, wobble boards, gloves, and nachos.
It took a week, but I’m over the snow. Last week’s pillowy cloud of goodness has turned into Ice Station Hoth. The crazy thing was that we only got a couple of inches, but that was on top of a weekend coldsnap where temperatures plummeted into the single digits with gale force winds pushing the wind chill well below zero. The just exactly perfect amount of snow we had last week is still on the ground, only now it’s chunky and iced over.
I still got out there, of course, but the weather put a serious crimp in my training goals and the runs just kept getting harder with every passing day. Each step brought with it the eternal winter question: ice or slush? What I wouldn’t give for dry land and a world without slip-on spikes pinching my toes every few miles.
At this point, my body feels tired and beat up. My brain is mushier than the slush soaking my feet. After slogging through a 6.5 mile run that took almost two hours and ended with me thrashing through the woods until I found my way back to a highway, I decided that I needed a break. I don’t know if it’s for a day or a week, but I need to not run for a little while.
There’s no shame in that, and not much second-guessing on my part. I’m at the point where I don’t have anything to prove about staying on schedule or toughing it out in brutal conditions. I’ve been there and done that over and over again, thank you very much. (That was for myself as much as any naysayers that might be out there.)
Part of me thinks that this weather-inspired reprieve should be part of a larger rest period where I take time to recalibrate my training and reset my expectations for the spring. I haven’t had an offseason in the eight years since I started running seriously again.
Taking a break might be better for my long-term relationship with running, but I’m not thinking long term right now. I’m trying to get through every day of a pandemic without losing my sanity.
Here’s the problem. I don’t have anything to replace running, and the last thing I want to do is lose any fitness. At my age, it goes rapidly and gets harder to gain back. I worked too damn hard to let it go and start over from scratch.
Maybe if things were normal, I could try out indoor climbing or take up swimming. My usual alternative activity is hiking, but I don’t really have the time for that right now. Just stealing an hour or two for my runs requires layers of logistical planning and is, by far, the most efficient use of my exercise time.
Another concern is that without running, I’ll lose my only connection to the outside world. Most days that I don’t run, I don’t bother leaving the house. Without running, what would I do? It’s the structure and foundation of my entire day.
What really worries about me about taking time off is that I’ll lose my mental grip. Running is not therapy and it’s not an all-in-one cure for mental health, but it is my first and most important line of defense. I’m worried that without running for an extended period of time, I’ll start to drift off into the abyss. I can’t afford to even take the chance of that happening right now.
If it sounds like I’m equivocating within the bounds of this newsletter, it’s because I am. This is me arguing with myself. The truth is, I really don’t know what I’m going to do, and that’s a little scary.
This feeling will probably pass, the weather will change, and I’ll be back out there before you know it. Maybe even tomorrow. The stakes just feel so high right now.
An ode to the wobble board
Sorry if that was gloomy. Let’s inject some positivity into the Ramble with one of my favorite pieces of workout equipment.
When I started running trails it dawned on me pretty quickly that I’d have to work on my ankle and calf strength if I was going to survive running over roots and rocks. But how? I started doing calf raises, but those didn’t work for me. I found a move online that was supposed to strengthen the soleus, but left me with persistent pain in my heel.
My calves and ankles had been a problem for a while. I had developed worrisome pain in my Achilles from road running and my ankles clicked when I walked upstairs. The tipping point was a five-hour drive that left the right side of my body in excruciating pain from pushing down on the gas pedal. Something had to be done.
Then I remembered the wobble board, a staple of sprained ankle rehab programs when I was in high school. For those that aren’t familiar, a wobble board is simply a round piece of plywood or heavy plastic over a circular base. You can make your own if you’re handy, but they’re relatively inexpensive and durable. I think I got mine for less than $20.
The exercises are fairly straight forward. Rock forward and back or side to side with a full range of motion. (Here’s a good overview.) It helps to support yourself with a wall or a chair, especially at the beginning. Think good form more than reps. The benefit of the board is that it works the entire kinetic chain, rather than isolating one part of the body.
When you first start using the board, you might be amazed at how weak everything is down there. It’s a little humbling, to be honest. Over time, you’ll be equally amazed at how the board increases strength in muscles you didn’t know you had. (My adductor hallucis is positively popping these days.)
With a little bit of mastery, using the board becomes great fun. One of my favorite things to do is to see how long I can maintain balance on one foot without toppling over. I imagine this is what it feels like surfing, only without the big waves and sharks and ocean.
I work my calves and ankles three times a week, alternating the board with thera band exercises every few days. It’s paid huge dividends. I’ve rolled my ankle in truly horrific ways countless times and never had a problem. If you take only one fitness recommendation from me, make it the wobble board.
Gear pick: Craft Rain Glove 2.0
A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I had picked up these gloves at the beginning of the season. They were my big winter running indulgence because I have always struggled to find gloves that keep me A) warm and B) dry on the worst weather days.
I wore them for the first time during a rainy wintry mix, but the temperatures were in the 40s (a tropical paradise, as it turned out) and my hands overheated so much that I wound up taking them on and off multiple times. Of all the things you need to think about during a run, gloves should be near the bottom of the list.
Once the temperatures dropped into the 20s and below, however, these gloves found their sweet spot in my rotation. They kept my hands mostly warm on those sub-freezing days and were fantastic in the snow at keeping moisture out and my hands dry.
I’m still not sure if they’re all that great in the rain, but I also don’t believe that great rain gear truly exists, so I’m not going to worry about it too much. Our friends in the Pacific Northwest would know better. Let us know in the comments!
All in all, these gloves were well worth the investment. They offer a solid reminder that sometimes it takes gear a little while to reveal its value. You’ll never really know if a piece is worth it until you test it out in specific conditions with your needs in mind.
Let’s talk nachos
Hi all, Paul’s wife here to talk about a very important subject: nachos. I love those ooey gooey chips and I bet you do, too. I love them so much, they are an annual Mother’s Day request from a neighborhood bar. You better believe I keep a mental tally of the best nacho establishments within walking distance of our house.
My Kansas roots led me to an affinity for a Velveeta/Rotel combo that was best enjoyed while watching college football (Go K-State!). Unfortunately, nobody else in my household will eat Velveeta, so we’ve had to improvise. In honor of this weekend’s Super Bowl we are planning to serve our healthier, and dare I say even more delicious, nachos.
Should you like to make them at home the recipe is thus.
Purchase your favorite corn tortillas chips (we’ve been into the blue corn ones lately).
Gather anything and everything you like warm on a chip (sauteed onion and bell peppers, shredded chicken or pork, ground beef, tofu, banana peppers, lots of shredded cheese, black beans, pinto beans. You get the idea.
Layer the chips and toppings on a jelly roll pan (aka a cookie sheet with sides) or other baking dish. Don’t skimp on the cheese like I am usually accused of doing.
Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 5 minutes or so until the cheese melts.
Top with your preferred combination of sour cream, guacamole, and salsa and serve with a green salad so you can feel good about eating nachos as a meal.
Or skip that part. It doesn’t really matter. The nachos don’t care.
Legendary running coach Jack Daniels recommends 2 weeks as the minimum amount of time for a planned break from running. You lose almost no fitness in 2 weeks. But, like you, I need running to stay sane during the pandemic. So after taking 3 days off at the start of 2021, I needed to start running again. Instead of feeling refreshed, my body felt much worse than it did before the break. My solution: shorter and slower than usual daily runs until I feel like ramping it up, 6 strides on all easy days, some low-volume speed work, and one long-ish run per week.
Literally just finished writing in my journal "I'm over the snow." I cannot tell you how reassuring it is to hear someone else talk about the doom and gloom thinking that comes with deciding to take a couple days off. I also use running as my rock for the day and connection to the outside world, and I know that on days I don't run I have to take extra care not to let my mood run foul. Something I always tell myself I should get better at (shouldn't I be fine taking a few weeks off?) but it never seems to happen.
Anyway, I feel your pain. Although my frustration with running in the snow was a little less hardcore (NYC sidewalks and park paths). Still less than ideal!