The Long Run

Plane Travel Protocol

I have written once before about ways to minimize the negative effects of travel. That post included tips about “Dealing with the Plane,” “Minimizing Jet Lag,” and “Finding a Track or Trails.” To see that post, check out the link from my blog: Travel Tips from the Road

Since I made that post almost 3 years ago now (yikes...where does time go!) and since I am currently en route to Mexico for 7 weeks of altitude training, I thought I would add some more tips from my time on the road. Well, more specifically, my time on the plane.

Last summer, as I was preparing to leave for London, I talked with my strength coach Colin Peuse (who coaches at my old high school SHCP), about what exercises I could do on the plane to reduce the stiffness and fatigue associated with a 11 hour flight and an 8 hour time change. I had been inspired in Daegu the previous summer when I heard Trey Hardee talking about the theraband routine he had done on the plane ride to the World Championships! So, after brainstorming a little and making a list off all the possible exercises that Colin recommended, I came up with the following “Plane Ride Protocol.” I suggest getting up, walking around, and doing the routine every 2 hours. That means any flight over that length is a candidate.  

What you need:
-Pillow
-Theraband Loop (I use the loop, but you can also just use a straight theraband and tie it)

Warning:
Walking around with a theraband or trying to lay down on a plane might be difficult. I was able to manage my exercises rather discreetly, although my seat partner gave me some sideways glances. But, if you hide in the back and warn the flight attendant, you might be able to get away with it. If not, then just skip exercises 6-9.

Plane Ride Protocol (every 2 hours):
1) Grab knee for ankle rotation: Clockwise, Counterclockwise, Point & Flex x10  
2) Standing Elbow clamshell x15
3) Pillow squeeze w/ knees 2x15
4) Standing arm circles x15
5) 3 way ankle mobility --If you don’t know, watch this video. It’s hard to tell, but he is moving his knee 3 ways, over his big toe, down the center, and over his pinky toe.
Link: http://youtu.be/FLNDZ2FcMes
6) Lunge stretch, to open up the hip flexors. Reach up towards the ceiling to also stretch the abdominal area.
7) Glute bridges x15 --This requires you to lay down, but if you can’t just squeeze your butt cheeks :)
8) Blue Band: elbows at side, pinch shoulders together & move hands out to stretch the band
9) Blue Band: Put band around knees and move knees outward
Blue Band Walks: Forward, Backward, Lateral (lt & rt)

Safe travels!

Family camping trip in Yosemite

This past weekend, I had the joy of spending a few days in Yosemite with my family. Since it looked like rain, my parents rented an RV and took Pablo and me on a long overdue camping adventure. Listening to Johnny Cash on Pandora, we took Interstate 580 and headed towards Yosemite National Park. If you like to camp, climb, run, hike or bike you have to go to this place, it is simply beautiful and perfect for any outdoor activity. 

Although we camped for only 3 days and it was raining for most of the trip, the moment we returned to San Francisco we wished we were back in Yosemite. It was just that fun!

Below are some from the pictures from the trip:

Nice colors across the valley to Bridalveil Falls.

We made some friends on the run.

Can you ask for more? Runner’s World cover picture… maybe?

During our long run around Mirror Lake.

Lower Yosemite Falls.

How convenient, prefect ice bath after my tempo run. Brrrrr


Pablo was trying to make an earthquake in Mexico.

Pablo would not leave his new bike alone.

Filling my Hammer water bottles from lower Yosemite Falls. Must stay hydrated. :)

On our last day we biked for almost 3 hours. It was really fun!

Film premiere: Tickets on sale for The Athlete at Balboa Theater Nov 19

There are only a couple more weeks until the SF film premiere of Atletu (The Athlete), the inspiring true story, told for the first time, of Abebe Bikila.

 

View trailer: www.FilmFestivalFlix.com/film/the-athlete/

Ababe Bikila was an Eithiopian barefoot runner who became the first person ever to win consecutive Olympic Marathon Gold (1960 & 1964). But this is not only a story of success. After Bikila was paralyzed in a car accident, he went on to become an archer in the paraolympics and a dog-sledder in Norway. The Athlete teaches us about the power of perserverence and the strength of the human heart.

To join us BUY TICKETS for The Athlete

Cost: $10 (special pricing available for large groups)

Promo Code: KARNOKIDS for $2-Off.

A portion of proceeds for the evening will benefit Karno Kids, an organization focused on improving the health and wellness of our youth.

By attending, not only will you get to see a great film but you'll also get to hang out with some local running celebrities like Dean Karnazes, David Torrence, Alysia Johnson and me!

When:   Monday November 19
Where:  Balboa Theatre; 3630 Balboa St, San Francisco
What:    7:00-7:30       Red Carpet Arrival                                           
               7:30–10:00    Feature program including short film contest winner, screening of feature film The Athlete, Q & A with the co-writer/director/producer and star of the film Rasselas Lake

___________________________________________
About Film Festival Flix (FFF):  Film Festival Flix is a monthly film series bringing award-winning and audience favorite films and unique one-night only experiences to venues across the country. The monthly series is currently in Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, Dubuque, Denver, Salt Lake City and San Francisco. Red carpet photo opportunities, an interview with the filmmakers, and a ticket holder reception make for an unforgettable night for audiences, filmmakers, neighboring businesses, press and media. Following the screening, all films are available for download at www.filmfestivalflix.com .
 
Sponsorship Opportunities:  There are a limited number of local sponsorship opportunities including logo display on film posters, collateral material, and red carpet ‘step and repeat’ photo location as well as a presence/table display at the event itself. Contact Melina Jampolis @ 415.577.0439 or drmelina@hotmail.com for more information.

“One Hour to Race Time” Clinic at Amador Valley

Photo Coutresy of the Amador Valley Track Team

As an item offered at the BATC auction organized in the fall of last year, I spent an afternoon at Amador Valley High School directing a clinic called “One Hour to Race Time,” which focused on teaching proper warm-up techniques.

The goal of the clinic was to help the athletes fine tune their warm up routine and the time was prioritized around teaching proper technique for drills and stretching exercises. I divided the 2 hour clinic into 4 parts: Introduction; Jog & Dynamic Flexibility; Sprint Drills & a “race” (4x100m relay); and Review/Q&A.

After a short introduction, everyone did a couple laps around the track to get their muscles warmed up and ready for drills and stretches. All the kids, around 15, dove into the lesson, mentally and physically. I was extremely impressed by the the skills the athletes already possessed, showing that their coach, Jason Oswalt, had done an excellent job coaching his athletes and laying a great foundation for them. I feel that this is extremely important and should be one of the major focus’ of a high school coach.

I taught the athletes components of my own warm up routine and watched them to make sure that they were executing each exercise properly. Since most of the athletes already had a basic understanding of these drills and exercises, I was able to focus on the finer details such as foot placement and arm carry. The athletes all responded quite will to this feedback.

After all the Dynamics and Drills were done, we headed outside. As the athletes did their strides, Coach Jason and I organized the relay teams, complete with one of the coaches on anchor. Team Oz (I believe it was called) was the clear winner, but I like to think that everyone had fun. At least there was plenty of trash talk coupled with hooting/hollering. More importantly, in speaking with the athletes, many felt that performing the drills correctly had the most significant impact on the routine.

We ended the clinic with a short Q&A session where the athletes had a chance to share what they learned and ask any questions. Some of my favorite ones were:
-Q: “What do I do if a meet is running behind schedule?”
-A: Try to relax. Rest until you catch up then jog a couple laps and do a few more drills or strides, but try not to panic and spend so much time warming up that you are tired for your race.
-Q: “Where did you get your pants from? My friend and I have admiring them since you got here”
-A: “Nike” :)

The two hours at Amador Valley went very smoothly and although it was a rainy and cold day, everyone was very excited and happy to learn new ways to improve their warm up routines and to learn about life as a professional runner.

Thanks Amador Valley High School Track Team for being a great host and a supporter of the BATC. Best of luck of luck for the rest of the season.

Andy Skurka: Bay Area Speaking Engagements this week

My college teammate and the ever impressive adventurer Andy Skurka is going to be back in the Bay Area. I have writtten about him a couple times before. Most recently, when National Geographic did a huge spread on him in their March 2011 issue about his 176 day trek circumambulating Alaska. For more details read:  Andy Skurka's Alaska Track in National Geographic

In case you need anymore reason to get excited, I would also like to remind you that Andy Skurka has also been called an "Adventure God" by Women's Adventure Magainze writer Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan. About him she also wrote:

-“Andrew Skurka is smokin’ hot. Not just looks-wise (he’s been compared to Tom Cruise, but it’s more like Mark Wahlberg with a dash of Eagle Scout); he’s hot because he’s a true adventurer.”
-“He’s as inspiring as he is drool inducing.”
- “I found myself following his Grecian-sculpture calves up a brutally steep trail one Sunday afternoon.”

As you can see, within Andy there is something for everyone. Risky, showerless adventure to get your inner mountain man excited, as well as rugged toughness that can both awe a woman and make her nurturing side shine right on through. So, if you want a chance to see Skurka live, make sure to catch him this week. He's on a speaking tour and he has four engagements scheduled for the Bay Area, two of which are being hosted by one of the BATC's original sponsors, The Sports Basement.

For full details and a complete schedule, visit: http://andrewskurka.com/slideshows-clinics/current-schedule

The "Circling Alaska & Yukon" slideshow recounts my 4,700-mile 6-month hiking/skiing/packrafting trip with great images, video clips and stories. The "Ultimate Hiking Gear & Skills" clinic focuses the backpacking gear, supplies and skills needed to make hiking fun, without compromising your safety or comfort. He will be selling and signing his new book, The Ultimate Hiker's Gear Guide, at all events.

Here are the Bay Area dates and locations:

Sunrise Mountain Sports
2455 Railroad Ave
Livermore, CA
Mon, March 6, 7pm: “Circling Alaska & Yukon:
Tues, March 6, 7pm: “Ultimate Hiking Gear & Skills”
$5 admission, $2 for Boy Scouts in uniform

Sports Basement – Bryant Street
1590 Bryant Street
San Francisco, CA
Wed, March 7, 7pm: “Circling Alaska & Yukon”*
Thurs, March 8, 7pm: “Ultimate Hiking Gear & Skills”
Free admission

*If you go to Sports Basement on Wednesday, look for me there! :)

The Year in Review

As I look back on my 2011 season, I must admit that I am happy for it to be over. This year was a huge learning experience for me and an even bigger test of my mettle. I have had one other major injury in my career, but that was a stress fracture in May of 2007. While it was scary to be sidelined for 3 months only a year before the 2008 Olympics, the timing was such that I just shut down my season and could focus on the long and steady build to Beijing.

This year was a different scenario. My achilles strain happened in the Fall, at the very beginning of my base training. Having dealt with my stress fracture, I thought I had everything under control. I did all my treatment and at first it seemed easy to be patient...after all, there were still 10 months until Worlds. As the months slipped away, however, panic slowly set in. That’s when I learned a new lesson: Tendon injuries are a different beast. While a bone injury has a pretty standard recovery time (as long as you don’t re-injure yourself), tendons are hard to predict. In the course of this year, I hurt both my right and left achilles, and both behaved differently. If someone asked me to write a protocol of what I did to recover, I honestly couldn’t. I tried everything and talked to everyone: Swimming, biking, Alter-G, massage, chiropractic, acupuncture, shockwave, orthotics. Each helped to a differing degree but none was the answer. I think of a stress fracture like cooking with a recipe. Achilles tendon rehab is like looking through the remnants of the fridge and then asking the pot what it prefers before adding it.

In reading this, I am a bit surprised by my own tone. I know I sound like a whiner and I promise that’s not who I am, but I think my reflection on this past year reminds me just how unsettled I became. Nevertheless, in every negative there are positive, and finding them IS who I am.

As much as I hated underperforming (by 2008-2010 standards) in every race this season, I am still extremely proud of the fact that I made the World team off of 2.5 months of training, got the 1500m Olympic A Standard, and made the World Semi-Final with only 4 months of training in my legs. (Side Note: When I say 2.5 and 4 months, I am not being dramatic. Initially I tried biking as a form of cross-training, but with my particular achilles injury, biking only aggravated the problem so I had to stop. I swam a little and used Alter-G as a recovery method once I was healthy enough to run on the ground, but otherwise I spent a lot of time scratching my head.)

So, given all this, had you presented this years performance as an option to me in early April, when I was struggling to run 20 minutes at a time, I would have be ecstatic. Yet, as every perfectionist and high achiever knows, once we have some success, we want more. I’d be remiss if I didn’t give thanks for the biggest thing I gained from this past year, which is a greater awareness and appreciation for the support I have around me. Prior to 2011, I had gotten to the point where I thought I could take care of most things myself, not from arrogance, but more from not wanting to impose on those around me. Being a pro-athlete, I feel selfish enough already, and I often try to just go about my business without bothering too many people. When I was sidelined for 8 months, I had no choice. I felt like I was floundering and I even questioned why I continued in such a emotionally draining profession. I was forced to reach out to others and what I found is that when I did, I often realized that they had been standing right next to me the entire time. In a “what have you done for me lately” job where you are revalued after every performance, it was comforting to know that my core support (family, boyfriend, coach, teammates, friends) would love me regardless. While that may seem obvious to an outside observer, for me it was extremely touching.

So now, while I type this blog post as I let my sunscreen dry before heading to the beautiful beaches of Playa del Carmen, I am excited to let all the stress and disappointment of 2011 melt away so that I can start up training next week with a renewed body, mind, and spirit. London 2012, here I come.

Running Times Cover: Summer Heat Issue Cover

Running Times July/Aug 2011 Cover. Photo by Peter Baker.

Check out the July/August 2011 "Summer Heat Issue" of Running Times. I'm on the cover, with a profile inside as one of the "Summer Track Stars."

For my profile ("Every Little Thing," p. 46-49), I had the joy of speaking with another Bay Area resident, Paul Coover. We discussed my Achilles injuries this year, my training set up in with Bay Area Track Club in San Francisco, and my coaching through John Cook/Austin Track Club. I talked with him about my goals for 2011 and 2012, one of which I am happy to say I accomplished this past weekend when I placed 3rd at the USATF National Championships and earned a shot on the Daegu World Championships Team.

There is also a centerfold entitled "Innovative Injury Insurance," which features photos and descriptions of 8 drills that I do to stay healthy and strong.

All the photos were taken by Peter Baker back in April. We had a blast exploring San Francisco and playing dress up with the clothes that Nike sent. To see some of the shots that didn't make it into the article, check out the stock photo section of Peter's website.

Speaking Engagements: USF & SHCP

Over the last month, I had the opportunity to speak not once but twice to local youths in San Francisco, something that I absolutely love.

--University of San Francisco Cross-Country/Track Awards Banquet at Hotel Kabuki

In January, Head Coach Helen Lehman-Winters and Assistiant Coach Tom Kloos (fellow BATC Member and one of my training partners) invited me to speak at the USF Cross-Country/Track awards banquet.

USF Coaching Staff

I have gotten to know some of the USF athletes, especially this year when several of them helped with the BAXC). I love this group. They are extremely bright, very polite, and quite entertaining. So, as I planned my speech, it was really important to me that I share something valuable with them. In the end I spoke about my own path to "success" and how it is important to find the positive in every setback.

At the Podium

The following is an excerpt from my speech: "I have learned through my many struggles that situations are what you make of them and that if you take the right mindset, obstacles really can be a blessing in disguise. So, the next time you are faced with a challenge, take charge of it and make it work to your advantage. And then, when the medal is placed around your neck, make sure to remember how you got there. "

My favorite one was with all the girls, who looked quite lovely if I do say so myself. :)

--Keynote Speech at Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep's Vocation Day

A few weeks later, I had a chance to speak to all the Freshman and Sophomores at my high school, Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep (SHCP), when I was the Keynote Speaker for Vocation Day. My High School Coach, Andy Chan, helped prep me for the event and give me ideas about what to speak about.

It was very special to be able to share my journey and experiences with the students. It is easy when you are young to forget that college and the real world are swiftly approaching. As a result, getting the students to think about their future is very important. In my speech I spoke about the path I took to find my vocation, emphasizing the importance of following your heart, treating each endeavor with pride, and striving towards a balanced life.

   

At the Podium

Here is another exerpt, this time from my SHCP Speech: "As I mentioned at the beginning of my speech, life as an Olympian has not really been that much different for me. I think that is because for every person, once you step off your podium, you have to have somewhere to go. Thanks to Sacred Heart Cathedral, I never became one dimensional. Since my first day freshman year, I was always nurturing both sides of my being, my yin and yang if you will: Art and Athletics; Self-Centered Focus and Community Involvement; Hard Work and Doing Something You Love. Sacred Heart Cathedral taught me that all those things are possible in one person, and I encourage each you to make the most of your time and resources here to discover the yin and yang within yourself."

Coach Chan, the man that helped me find my vocation.

For more information on my Vocation Day speech, check out Andy Chan's Press Release on SHCP's website.

USATF Newsletter About the BATC

Much to our delight at the BATC, in the end of February the USA Track & Field Newsletter came out with a glowing report on the Bay Area Cross Challenge, the debut race for our club.

My favorite quote: "The USATF Foundation took a look back at its Distance Center funding for 2010 during its recent board meeting and the feeling was unanimous; the Bay Area Track Club (BATC) is hitting on all cylinders. BATC, based in Oakland, CA, and serving the entire San Francisco Bay Area community, is currently one of seven approved Distance Centers throughout the country that is supported in part, by the USA Track & Field Foundation through the USA Distance Project."

Here is the link to the full article: Bay Area Track Club Greatly Impacting Their Local Communities

I was a member of the BAXC planning committee, which was lead by my mom, Paula, the Event Organizer, and Tom Kloos, the Meet Director. The committee also included Bolota Asmerom and David Torrence, but we were assisted by many members of the BATC and the local running community, in addition to a huge financial contribution by the NYRRs. We literally received so much support that it is impossible to name everyone, which I think shows just how amazingly supportive the running community (both here and abroad) can be.

The newsletter also discusses the two Youth Clinics recently hosted by the BATC at Campolindo High School and School of the Arts/McAteer High School. Their aim was to teach young athletes "proper technique for warming up, building speed and mechanics, efficient recovery from hard efforts, core/general strength, dynamic flexibility and establishing a pre-race routine."

I had a chance to participate in the School of the Arts/McAteer High School Clinic on Feb 19, demonstrating core and strength exercises. I was happy to see a lot of the Lowell Athletes who did such a great job volunteering at the BAXC.

Running Times Article: Shannon Rowbury's Balancing Act

Before I headed off to Europe, I had a chance to talk to (and train with) Paul Coover, a recent Bay Area transplant who teaches/coaches in Oakland and also writes for Running Times. It was fun talking to him about life outside of training and it was really great to make a new running buddy.

Check out the great article he wrote! Running Times: Shannon Rowbury's Balancing Act