Update: Running with Poles, Garmin Fenix 5X, and Sore Quads

I'm no spring chicken, so I've been careful about increasing my mileage and elevation too quickly as I train for a run on Washington Section J Southbound of the PCT. I want my body to adapt to a gradual increase in the pounding punishment of trail running.

I make this sound fun, don't I?

This weekend, I increased my distance by two miles and my elevation by 500 feet after having run the same distance for seven weeks with some easy weekends thrown in. I planned out a course in the Issaquah Alps (Tiger, Squak, and Cougar Mountains) that was supposed to be 22 miles according to Garmin Connect. According to my Garmin Fenix 5X, it was 24.52 partly due to me taking a wrong turn. But my planned 20 mile runs each turned out to be longer, too (22 miles and 21.5 miles), so I figured it was par for the course.

I approach the summit of West Tiger 1, a place I've never been despite growing up in Issaquah. I forgot to put my 22-mile alps course on my watch, so I had to navigate using the map on my watch and my notes as to what turns to take.

I successfully reached the top of West Tiger 1 and looked back where I'd come from to see a sign confirming my location. Had it not been for two other trail runners who came a minute later, I might not have found the unmarked Poo Top Trail, though it was the only trail up there.

In an attempt to avoid sore quads and calves, I have been employing several tactics: trekking poles, downhill technique, hydration, and fueling (before, during, and after). Last week, I ran 12 miles on Squak Mountain with running poles for the first time. It took me a bit to get the hang of it (see previous post), but this weekend went much better. I have come to a few conclusions about running with poles:

• They are extremely helpful for moderate to steep climbs and steep descents. 
• The most effective use uphill seems to be a motion that mimics the arm motion when you're on an elliptical. (I'm still working out good downhill technique.)
• It's best to put them in your pack if you're not going to be using them for a while. My shoulder fatigued yesterday because I had been carrying them both in my right hand for a long time.
• On easier climbs and easy to moderate descents, I prefer no poles.
• Not having your hands free is a bit of a pain. You can't look at your watch, drink, or eat while using poles. 
• Planting a pole on the inside of a downhill switchback is a great and fun technique for getting around the corner swiftly.

Do they help? On the one hand, I can feel a little soreness in my quads today, but on the lower quads rather than the upper quads. A new experience is that my arms are tired. Carrying anything for a sustained time was hard today when normally I wouldn't notice it. My legs were a bit heavy for today's eight-mile run, but not bad considering yesterday's effort. Also, I ascended Tiger Mountain about a minute faster yesterday than the previous time I ran up it. Next week, I will do another 22-mile trail run and I will take just one pole to see how I like that. Overall, I think the poles help distribute the effort to the upper body, thereby lessening leg muscle soreness.

Pole updates: third run near end of post

I also tried out my fastpack vest. It needs some adjustments in the fit--I need to tighten up the side straps and loosen the front straps so that the two sides of the vest sit wider across my chest. It's not a women's specific pack, that's for sure! All in all, I don't think I'll have any issues with it, and my bear spray fit securely in one of the easily accessible front pockets. My vest and poles.

As for fueling and hydrating, I took more water than I ever have--about 40 ounces--for a run of seven hours. I tried something new in my water, Tailwind. I previously thought that it had protein that was vegan, but it turns out that that is their recovery drink. Nonetheless, I preferred Tailwind to Clif. There's not much in Clif, maybe 40 calories a serving. I used Endurox for my recovery drink, which is not vegan, and it upset my stomach. It has whey protein, which is supposed to be the best for recovery, but not being used to dairy, my stomach didn't like it and I found the taste unpleasant. To me, it had an aftertaste a little like sour milk. I just bought a huge container of it, too. I plan to get some Tailwind recovery drink instead.

One last update is regarding my watch. When I ran on Squak Mountain last week, I was certain that I was following the magenta marked course, but it was no course I had ever created so I was baffled. This weekend, I figured it out! When you get off course, the Fenix 5X will route you a new course to get you back on track. I think I like that feature. I just wish it could be a different color so that you would know you were off course but on track to get back on course...but not actually on your planned route.

Coming up, I'll sew the screen on my bivy and write my article for Backpacking Light about making my own bivy. I have abandoned my plans so far for training on other parts of the PCT because the elevation gain is too slight. But I hope to put the bivy to use before June is over.

Avoiding Trashing My Quads on Tiger Mountain

After two runs on all three of Issaquah Alp peaks, I had DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness), the worst of which was in my upper quads, which comes from the punishing downhill. I have since been reading about prevention and treatment, and what I have learned is pretty inconclusive. That being said, I have reached a couple of conclusions for things that I think will help me.

The most common refrain was that you just have to get used to long, steep descents--and lots of them. Based on past experience with building up to a 50K trail race and experiencing occasional soreness, this makes the most sense to me. Going down a steep mountain grade for five miles is something my legs just aren't accustomed to. I thought I would be less sore after the second Issaquah Alps traverse, but that was not the case. Today was the second Saturday in a row where I ran over 20 miles and had 6,800 feet and 6,464 feet of elevation loss on subsequent runs. I feel pretty good right now, but the DOMS don't show up until at least a day later.

Another tactic is to take small steps and lift your feet as soon as possible, hardly letting them touch the ground. This was the second most common thread. When you hear your feet slap and your pack sloshing, you know you're NOT doing it right. Relax, and let gravity take you. Right. Easier said than done, but I did my best to employ this technique today. "Lift your feet! Lift your feet! Relax!" kept going through my head.

Also important is fuel before, during, and after the run. Eating a breakfast with low-glycemic index carbs and some protein is recommended two to three hours prior to running. Since my usual breakfast of a banana, whole wheat toast and almond butter fit the bill, I had that at 4:00 am. Ten minutes prior to my 6:00 am start, I had a Vega pre-workout drink to top off my glycogen levels. You know when your legs shake because they're so tired from going down, down, down? That's your glycogen levels being depleted. Obviously, pre-feuling is an important factor in glycogen levels. I had pasta with vegan meatballs high in protein the night before for dinner.

Equally important is what you consume while you run. You need more than electrolytes in your water; carbs and protein are the best, but I haven't found a vegan drink mix for during exercise with protein, so I just get electrolytes and carbs for now, but I get my protein through Hammer Perpetuem. I took an extra scoop along today. Caffeine also helps diminish your perception of pain while running, but it additionally seems to help with muscle soreness. I used two gels with 100 mg of caffeine today instead of just one.

Finally, the recovery fuel within the first 45 minutes after the run is crucial. Carbs and protein. Sorry to say I went non-vegan here. I used Pacific Health Labs Endurox. One serving is 270 calories! That's a lot of calories from a drink, but I figured my muscles deserved it. There is a vegan recovery drink by Vega which I will use next time. I usually use it in my breakfast smoothies. I don't think it has the right carb to protein ratio, though. That will have to be the subject of a future post! I also ate a baked empanada filled with lentils, olives, raisins, walnuts and spices. I made them for dinner last week and froze the extra--a perfect post-run snack!

My husband always asks me to send him a selfie before I start so he knows what I am wearing--just in case he has to report me missing.

As for my running route, it was wonderful! My first turn I took too early. I was supposed to go all the way to the top of Tiger 3, but I didn't. I explored several trails on the northwest and southwest side of Tiger (some of which I did last weekend) and then took the Middle Tiger Trail down, a trail I'd never been on. I accidentally took the loop on Middle Tiger backwards, which was a good thing because the descent was fairly gradual but the ascent back to the Tiger Mountain Trail was straight up; it would have been a brutal descent. I'll have to start paying closer attention to map contour lines when I plan my routes. No harm done, as I lucked out and did it backwards. I knew I would probably reach the peak of one of the Tiger summits--turned out to be Tiger 2 with the tower. By that time, I had about five miles to go, all down hill. Good time to try out some of the techniques!

It's 7:42 am and I am running in dappled sunlight on the TMT (Tiger Mountain Trail) 5.5 miles in. Birds singing, no one else on the trail, total bliss.

There are these amazing bridges in the middle of nowhere that were helicoptered in. This one was slippery early in the morning, but OK on the way back around 11:00. Part of my route had me repeating a couple miles of trail.

Another beautiful bridge over a substantial creek.

There was this HUGE rock on the TMT. The picture just doesn't do it justice. I tried to put myself in it to give it scale.

The tower on Tiger 2 Summit. As a kid in the 80s, I climbed the fence and the tower. Back then, there was no barbed wire.

About a third of the way down, things got messy. There's a trail closed because the bridge is out, and I couldn't decipher the maps for the reroute posted at the junctions. My written turns, my watch, and the maps at the junctions just didn't seem to agree! I ended up doubling back on the TMT and took the West Tiger Railroad Grade back to West Tiger 3. My watch measured the run longer than Garmin Connect once again, so just to be sure, I ran an extra loop around Lake Tradition when I got down since the railroad grade was shorter. In all, my watch said I did 21.6 miles. (Basecamp says 23.1 miles, and when I uploaded the GPX file to View Ranger, it says 19.1). It was supposed to be 20.

GPX file of my route

Now I'm relaxing in the backyard, stoking the fire in our pizza oven and having a gin and tonic. Relaxing. I feel pretty good! Later, I will spend some time with foam roller, which was another top recommendation for preventing soreness. I'll let ya know how I do in the next few days!

Monday, May 14, 2018 update: No soreness at all! I had a great run Sunday, too. It was my first recovery run on a trail. I don't know which of the things I tried made the difference. I guess I don't really care. I am just glad not to be sore.