Moose Mountain Marathon 2015

Elation.

There is no single word to truly describe how I felt after this race, but elation comes pretty close. Everything finally came together to make for an amazing day on the trail, from the perfect weather and dry trail to my fitness and mental state. This race report will not be as much of a description of my race as it will be dedicated to everything that went into making it so amazing, so if you want good description of the trail and course itself, read some of my other reports. This one is more for those who are interested in what goes into achieving elation.

March 2015 - Registration for the fall races was approaching, and the closer it came, the more I was feeling sad that my wife and I agreed not to run this time, seeing as we had a 5-month-old daughter, making it difficult to train, especially if both of us were to run. In expressing this sadness, my wife - after some thought - graciously agreed to me signing up for the marathon. I will forever be in her debt for this, because I know how much she loves this race series and would have loved to do the same. Having done the 50-miler last year with somewhat disastrous results, I knew that it was way too much for me to fathom this year, so the marathon was the obvious choice. After a few days of tense wondering if I'd make it into the race after a lottery was instituted since the spring series, my participation was verified and it was time to get serious.

I knew I needed an adjusted approach from previous races. Although confident in the bigger changes I made in the last few years to promote better sustainability in running, I definitely had some problem areas to work on, evident from the 50-miler last year. I was aerobically efficient, but my strength and structural integrity were weak. The question was how to do this and maintain my aerobic efficiency.

Answer #1 - Be deliberate with metabolic efficiency training. Up until now, I had been training on what I had learned from a few different sources on how to become a better fat burner and be more metabolically efficient. I switched to a high fat, low carb nutrition plan and was doing all my training using the Maffetone formula (180-age) to determine my heart rate zones for maximum aerobic function. I had lost about ten pounds and was improving, but I lost a lot of strength along the way, and my fast twitch muscles were fading fast. The information provided in Phil Maffetone's books wasn't enough for me, and I needed something more specific, which brought me to Bob Seebohar, an Iron Man triathlete, sports dietitian, and coach, and his book Metabolic Efficiency Training: Teaching the Body to Burn More Fat, which I had heard about more than a year ago, but couldn't seem to get my hands on a hard copy anywhere, until his second edition was released. Now I finally had specifics, and I learned/became aware of two things: being a better fat burner does not mean strict low carb eating, and hard training must still be a regular part of the workout routine. I was too concerned about killing my aerobic efficiency that I didn't want to stray outside of the MAF zone or what I had assumed was the best nutrition to influence this. With this, I would add two major components to my training that had previously been missing: a 4-week metabolic efficiency "binge" to really pad my base, and thereafter one hard workout per week and an additional one or two varied high-intensity workouts that wouldn't stray far enough out of zone to hinder aerobic efficiency. With the race in September, I decided to start the summer with the 4-week ME training, eating super low carb, running an average of six hours per week and keeping all of it in zone (heart rate between 132 and 142bpm). It was extremely difficult for me, because summer usually means relaxing more and enjoying those amazing summertime delights: cold beer, ice cream, and Chipotle burritos. I'm not sure why, but Chipotle has always felt more like a summer food to me. In any case, the restrictions I put upon myself for the month of June required - but also fostered - perhaps the greatest piece to the puzzle of running a solid race:

Discipline.
Living in a cave by myself for those four weeks was not an option, and so living with my wife who had no need for such extremes and who wanted to enjoy the summer the way we have in the past forced me to truly steel myself to withstand the great temptation to indulge in the things that would set me back. The brain is incredibly good at convincing deceiving you to do things you don't rationally want to and your body doesn't want or need, and for a guy who has spent his whole life up until now as a serious carbivore, it took a great deal to resist.

However, the more I resisted those temptingly sweet carbs, and the more I put in those miles in zone, the more my body adapted and my brain switched along with it. I stopped craving beer and ice cream, and although my brain would see it and tell me how awesome it was, I didn't have an emotional craving for it. The rewards of what I was doing now outweighed the desire to give in. This discipline then carried over into my training. I was also seeing some bigger gains in my efficiency. I was running five miles - mostly on pavement pushing a BOB stroller with my little girl (because that was the only option) - and seeing my time above zone dwindle and my speed improve. It was extremely encouraging.

Answer #2 - Prehabilitation aka Get Strong! Previously I had viewed all harder workouts and strength work to be dangerous to my aerobic efficiency, so I didn't do it, and there was also probably a bit of laziness added in there as well, because my time was limited, and the hatred of doing ridiculous exercises when I could be running more didn't help motivate me any more, but with two of my A races in the last two years resulting in injury during the race, I knew that needed to change. With my newfound discipline and some great training schedule examples from Bob Seebohar's book, a new plan was set into play. I would do one hard workout a week of various kinds: tempo run, ladder intervals, and fartlek runs, and sprinkle in shorter bursts of speedwork into my other runs, mostly in the form of strides, of which I'd try to do 8-10 per week anywhere between 40-100 meters each, keeping an eye on my heart rate. Additionally, it was time to get back to the physical therapy exercises I had been given in the last couple of years by an amazing PT who worked magic on my injuries and mechanical deficiencies. My IT band has a tendency to blow in a big way due to weakness in my hips and glutes, so post-run I would throw in one of the following at least twice a week: one-legged squats, forward-leaning standing knee raises with hands against a wall, and monster walks (my personal favorite).  On a more regular basis, I upgraded my post-run routine to include the Myrtl routine along with planks on all four sides, starting at 30 seconds each and increasing to one minute per side later in the summer. This, in my opinion, was the huge piece to my strength and stability gains. I also started adding a few yoga poses, as recommended in Joe Uhan's Stay the Course post on iRunFar.com.

Anwer #3 - Run fast...sometimes. Running slowly is great for improving...at running slowly. The importance of speed work was something I read about over and over again but wasn't doing, but this time finally accepted once again as important and doable with my current training. In picking the brain of another badass runner and coach Adam Condit, I decided to combine some pieces of advice from different resources for a sort of training smorgasbord, because after all, variety is the spice of life. I started out with a Friel Lactate Threshold Test, just to see where my LT was, even though it wasn't all too important in regard to aerobic efficiency. The process seemed a bit oversimplified: run as hard as you can for 30 minutes, measure heart rate for the last 20, and the average over those 20 minutes is your LT heart rate, but the guy is well renowned and should know his stuff, so I tried it. This was my first hard run after the 4-week ME (metabolic efficiency) training stint, and I came up with what I feel is a ridiculously high LTHR of 194bpm. Could my ME training have had that much influence on my LT, or is this test completely unreliable? It was, nonetheless, awesome to run as hard as I can again.

August 25, 2015 - Endless Summer Trail Series 5k, Murphy-Hanrehan Park. With only 2.5 weeks until the race, I signed up for a final tune-up to push myself hard one last time. Rocksteady Running, the same people who organize the Superior Trail Races, set up some lovely summer races of varying shorter distances at the more lovely parks around the Twin Cities area, and this was the only one I was actually able to do. I hadn't raced that short a distance in a long time, especially not on trail, so I was curious to see what I could do. The weather was warm, but not uncomfortable, and the vibe was relaxed. I set off fast with the intention to hold back a little at the start, which quickly proved impossible if I wanted to get around the throng of people bottlenecked at the start. Redlining within the first few minutes, I decided to see how it would play out, not backing off and running with all the grit and gusto I had. I haven't hurt that much in a long time, but the unique thing is that my legs and muscles didn't hurt, my chest did. My heart was beating so hard that my throat got sore and my chest felt the pressure, as if my heart was trying to squeeze itself out of my mouth. Not a pleasant feeling, but the race was done before I knew it. In fact, I thought for sure we all took a wrong turn and did 2k instead of 5k, but the timing was right. Crossing the line my time was 22:13, a 6:54/mile pace that was good enough for 29th place out of 275 runners, a personal best! I have never run sub-7-minute miles on trail, especially on one of the most challenging trails in the Twin Cities! This was a turning point for me. I knew for sure that I was ready for this marathon, and that my training had paid off. Not only was my body ready, but so was my brain.

Answer #4 - Mental Management. While driving to and from Ely, MN almost every weekend from April of 2013 until May of 2014 while my wife and I had a distance marriage due to a job opportunity she couldn't pass up, I listened to a lot of Trail Runner Nation podcasts, and one that caught my attention in particular was an interview with Lanny Bassham, an Olympic gold medal shooter, who had created a system to improve his mental game and score him the gold medal in 1976. This interview came back to me at the start of my training for this race, and so I decided to check out his book, With Winning in Mind. I was excited to learn something new about unlocking my mental potential, because it's always been a problem area for me. I get really nervous at competitions, and my adrenaline surges right away, leaving me zapped a short while later when it wears off. The book is a short read, and I must say that nothing in it is life-changing, but two things caught my attention that were simple enough to try, and if they didn't work, there were no negative consequences. The first was to make a deal with yourself or someone else, as a sort of carrot to help you achieve your goal. I somewhat half-heartedly proposed to my wife that if I reached my A goal we would go to one of our favorite and most expensive restaurants for dinner, and if I made my B goal, we'd check out a new sushi place we'd heard about. She agreed. The second - and seemingly more influential - piece to my mental game improvement is known as the Directive Affirmation. With this, you write a specific plan in a short paragraph that speaks as if you've already achieved your goal. It's dated at the top with the goal date, you state what you are or are able to do, list the reasons why that goal is important aka the pay value, then state specifically what you do daily to reach that goal, and finish once again with your statement on who you are or what you can do. You're then supposed to make five copies of it and post it around the house in places you go often (bathroom mirror, refrigerator door etc), and read it every time you visit that place. Do this for 21 days and then rest for nine. Well, I didn't print it out and post it, but I left it open on my computer which I saw everyday, so I made a point to read it often. After a while I had it memorized and recited it to myself at various times throughout the day, such as the drive to and from work. Honestly, as cheesy as the whole process sounds, I think it helped a lot in making me more positive and helping me stay disciplined with my training plan.

The two most important resources - a winning pair.

Sept. 4, 2015 - It's always a pleasure to open my email inbox and see an email from the illustrious Samuel Jurek, and on this day, it was short and sweet: "There is a god," along with the weather forecast for race day; sunny, with a low temp of 45 and a high of 59. Perfect! Things were shaping up for a fast course, as it had been dry in the recent week, and things were looking consistent in the final week before go time. For him it was even better, as he was coming back for attempt #2 at the 100-miler, after absolutely disgusting weather in 2013 and an unfortunate DNF.

With only two weeks left before the race, the training itself now took a backseat and I switched to maintenance workouts: shorter, more speed bursts, a ton of foam rolling, and no more long runs. Now is when I focused once again on the key piece to running well.

Answer #5 - Nutrition. Although I totally geek out on this and would love to post about the actual science behind my decisions, I feel that I wouldn't be able to do it justice, so I'll leave it to the professionals. If you're interested, check out Phil Maffetone and Bob Seebohar. For now, I want to speak to what I have done over the last few years and more specifically what I did differently this time.

In following a high fat, low carb nutrition plan pretty regularly over the last two years, I was feeling that something was still missing. It had much greater benefits than my previous carb-centric diet and I didn't want to go back. In my daily life, the benefits were the greatest: increased and balanced energy throughout the whole day without the sugar crashes mid-morning and afternoon, better gastrointestinal health with no gas or bloat to speak of, and a general feeling of lightness in both mind and body. Don't get me wrong, it was - and is still at times - incredibly hard to resist all of the amazing foods that are packed with sugar, but time after time of indulging in those foods, I felt incredibly crappy afterward, so the pay value wasn't as high. I discovered that certain carb-heavy foods didn't bother me as much, such as most pizzas (no deep dish) or Haagen Dazs ice cream, which was higher in fat and had fewer sugar/carbs than other ice creams. To this, I still had some of the things I enjoyed, and for those I knew I wouldn't enjoy after eating, I lost the desire to eat them at all, at least in most cases. I gotta say, I don't really miss bread all that much, except for the convenience of a sandwich on the go. For someone without a lot of free time, it's hard to find a variety of non-carb foods to eat quickly. Most meals required planning and preparation, but it was worth it.

Throughout the summer, I would usually eat 3 fried eggs for breakfast adding in bacon, sausage, or do a scramble with cheese and veggies on days when I had time, a salad for lunch with at least three healthy fat sources such as cheese, nuts, and an olive-oil-based dressing along with small amounts of fruit, and a dinner with some kind of meat with grilled/roasted vegetables drenched in olive oil and sometimes also with cheese. Burgers and brats were heavily consumed, but with romaine lettuce used for a bun, which by the way, allows one to experience more of the flavor of the burger/brat without muting it with a bun. It's a bit messier, but tasty. Since I was feeling that something was missing in this equation, I decided after my 4-week ME stint that I would periodically add in more healthy carbs to see how it affected my training. Sweet potatoes became a staple, along with increased amounts of delicious summer fruit mostly in berry form, and of course an occasional splurge of ice cream. I noticed that with moderated amounts of these types of carbs, my runs on the following day were more successful in most cases, without sacrificing aerobic efficiency. I was finally figuring out the right balance for my body.

A key takeaway from Bob Seebohar's book was the idea of carbohydrate restoration. The idea is that if you're a fat burner eating low carb most of the time, adding more carbs to your meal the night before a hard workout will not hinder your performance, but rather give you a head start and buffer your fat burning. This, of course, sounds like carb loading, a long-held theory in the endurance world, but it's much more modest than that. If, for example, you're eating 40-50g of carbs a day in your normal plan, you should bump it up to 80-90g for something like an interval run. That's not a huge difference, and certainly doesn't require a giant plate of spaghetti or something equivalent. That's essentially like eating one normal serving of rice with stir fry at dinner, and only before truly hard workouts. That does not include long runs, because long runs should be done at lower intensity. I used this once a week before my one hard workout. For days when I did strides, hill work, or strength training, I didn't need the extra carbs.

A Note on High Fat Low Carb Eating (or any big change in your nurtition)
I want to mention a few things worth noting about changing to this nutrition plan. I'll try to keep it brief, in list form: 
- In combining this nutrition with aerobic efficiency-based training, I lost quite a lot of weight and kept it off, whether I wanted to or not.
- I didn't get as hungry as often, because my body was burning more fat - a slow burning fuel.
- I did, however, need to eat a sh*t ton more food to keep up with daily caloric needs, because low carb foods are typically lower in calories. The salads I ate each day were family-style sized.
- Two realizations: carbs are everywhere (take a look at ketchup), and I am totally addicted to sugar.
- This plan is meant for people serious about becoming the best athlete they can be. It takes enormous discipline, patience, and checking your ego at the door. It's a big change in daily living. There's no half-assing it. I wouldn't recommend it unless you're totally motivated.
- It takes support and encouragement to do well. If family and friends aren't on board, or at least understanding, it won't work and will cause havoc with relationships. Some may think you have an eating disorder. Be prepared to compromise when you can.
- It could very well make you food obsessive (see the extreme here), but done properly doesn't need to be extreme. One simply needs to shift daily routine and patterns. It does, however, take time to figure that out for yourself and your own body. Obsessing about it is not mentally healthy, and if body and mind aren't both healthy, then you're not healthy.
- There is an ebb and flow with this eating plan. It is not a diet, but a nutrition plan, and it need not be maintained 100% of the time to the strictest of standards. It's taken me a while to truly figure this out and internalize it. Some people will figure it out faster, and some need time to learn about their own body and how it works, because everyone is different. Nutrition periodization is key. Loosen up in the off season and have the bagel or brownie. It's ok.
- In general, this is the plan I chose to try and it has worked for me over time, especially since I learn more about my body each day and tweak things a bit. Everyone is different, but in following some basic principles, you'll be fine with whatever you eat. A great post to sum this up is from ultrarunning champion and pathologist Pam Smith and can be found here.

RACE WEEKEND - SEPT.11-12, 2015
It was finally here! In the two weeks pre-race, I was feeling quite negative: I was stressed from starting the new school year, didn't feel strong, and just wanted to get the race over with. I'm not sure why I was so negative, considering the many big improvements I'd experienced throughout the summer, but for some reason my brain took a downward spiral, probably just because I was super stressed with work. In any case, I worked a half day on Friday and the girls and I headed up north on a gorgeous sunny afternoon. Runner check-in at Caribou Highlands, dinner at Mogul's Grille, and race day prep to follow.

Pre-race day nutrition: 3 fried eggs for breakfast, almonds for mid-morning snack, lunch of chicken choylla (spicy Tibetan dish with chicken, sauteed peppers/onions/tomatoes over rice) with a little spinach mixed in, and bacon-wrapped meatloaf in mushroom cream sauce with sauteed veggies for dinner at Mogul's.

Although trying to get myself ready and help my wife prepare for the day of crewing with our 10-month-old daughter and two dogs in tow was a little stressful, I slept really well, which is quite unusual. The morning started at 5am with breakfast of homemade grain-free granola (nuts, seeds, coconut shavings/oil, cinnamon, and honey) in Greek yogurt and about 8oz of my usual pre-race drink (scoop of chocolate whey protein, 2oz coconut milk, 10oz almond milk) which had frozen into a slushy in the overachieving hotel fridge overnight. Everything else came together and I was on the bus headed to the start. It turns out I sat across from a guy I met at the 5k a few weeks prior, so we chatted a bit about this and that. He had finished right behind me and thanked me for setting a good finishing pace, and mentioned that he was hoping to do the same with this race. I told him we'd see.

The start was brisk, but perfect running weather. I got in a solid warm-up and was thoroughly enjoying the cool temperature. The best part was the woman next to me who was all smiles while wearing a shirt with big black letters that read, "I HATE RUNNING." How's that for inspiration?

Although wanting to run the first part of the race measured and relaxed, I set out at a somewhat brisk pace in the front half as not to get stuck behind slower runners once the pack turned onto the trail itself from the road, where everything bottlenecks. The goal was to run measured, but not "like a sissy" as Max King put it in his Ice Age 50 race report from last year. I hit it perfectly, just behind some runners going a little faster than I would like, with runners behind me going no faster than my current pace. Golden.

The race was truly a blur. I ran behind a couple of runners for a while - one woman in purple and a guy in bright orange - and shared some good conversation. I kept passing the woman on the downhills and she'd overtake me on the uphills, so we agreed to let it play out. Once we hit Cross River, however, she and the guy in orange took off. Later on there was a college student from St. Cloud behind me for a good stretch. It was his first marathon, and he seemed to like my pace. Once we hit Temperance AS - which came up a helluva lot quicker than I expected, even with it being the longest stretch of trail on the course - I didn't see him again. I rolled through there in about 51 seconds, but only after the girl who filled my water said, "Hey, I remember you. You had the cute baby at the restaurant last night!" It's those kind of statements that make trail racing fun. Thanks for that, whoever you are.

The second section includes the climb up Carlton Peak, which was thoroughly enjoyable this time around. Once again, it came up quicker than expected. I made good use of the awesome sustained downhill coming off the backside. I was a little bit sluggish rolling in to Sawbill AS, but still feeling good, and looking forward to seeing my girls. Upon arrival, no wife and daughter! It was here that I realized I was blazing at my A-goal pace! I also wasn't going to wait around, so I fueled up and took off.

Now it was on! Between Sawbill and Oberg is the fastest part of the trail, with rolling hills and relatively smooth trail. It was quiet here and I was alone for most of this section, passing an occasional runner. I recalled the last climb up to Oberg from 2013 and remembered how trashed I was feeling, but this year the thought was: "I'm eating this sh*t for breakfast, but actually since I had breakfast, this is second breakfast!" Hitting the soft, wide path shrouded in pine just before the opening into Oberg was almost magical, and I hit the downhill into the AS with a huge smile, especially because my girls were there waiting! One of the TC Running Company guys made swift work of filling my Camelbak while I connected with girls, who just barely missed me at Sawbill.

On to the final stretch! I was pumped to get moving and blaze the last 7+ miles on my all-time favorite stretch of trail. Coming down off Oberg Peak I opened it up a bit more, only to feel a blip on the inside of my right quad, threatening to cramp. Damn! I was feeling so great. It was time to pay attention to my form a bit more. I was letting my legs splay out to the sides and my feet get in front of me too much, but by the time I got to the long, steep climb up Moose Mountain, I was ready. I kicked it into climbing gear and set out, passing a guy in a green shirt, who held on with me to the top. After the race he came up to me and thanked me for pulling him up the mountain with him, but to be honest, it was him right behind me that put me in gear. Heading down Moose felt fast, but I was focusing hard to keep that threatening quad in check.

Next came the "Long Climb of Loneliness" as I like to call it, up Mystery mountain. This time around it wasn't long or lonely! I felt great and was hiking well. At the top of this climb is where I usually set it to my final push and realized at this point that I've never been passed in this last section, so I felt confident and was ready to keep it that way.

Until I heard footsteps approaching behind me.

A tall guy in a hunter green shirt passed me up at a brisk pace, but not too brisk that I couldn't hang with him, so it was on! We zigzagged through the woods until we passed the campsite, which is always my signal that the end is incredibly near! One last set of screaming downhills before hitting the approach trail and the river. I stepped out in front, feeling ready to fly...and then promptly ate it, my first fall ever in a race! Tumbling into the soft dirt just off the trail, I got up quickly, checked myself, and took off. Green shirt guy was about 30 yards up the trail, and just as I started cruising, I saw him faceplant. Now it was getting interesting! I caught up and passed him, feeling both my quads offering a "hang on a minute there" in polite rebellion, but ignored it. Bad idea. Just after passing, I ate it again! This time it was a bit more intense and I did a sort of awkward side roll to get myself up without coming to a full stop. The sudden jolt sent a huge blip to my right hamstring. No, I can't cramp now! Ok, at this point, being way ahead of my A-goal pace, I decided to back off and let Green Shirt Guy run his own race. It wasn't worth cramping right before the worst part of the race, namely the 3/4 mile of pavement back to Caribou Highlands. Setting into a swift and only somewhat uncomfortable rhythm, I hauled it in to the finish ahead of schedule, with such joy that I did a diving somersault across the finish line, squirting water out of my Camelbak all over me. Official finish time 15:15:25 with a 12:03/mile pace!

BEST RACE EVER!

As I've said before, I'm no elite runner, but surpassing lofty goals is something truly amazing, especially when everything comes together and it almost feels - dare I say - effortless. I had a blast on the trail that day, and it went by so quickly.

As wrap-up, I'll stick to my traditional format:

GRADES

Fitness - A
Of course there's always room for better fitness, but I nailed it this time around with the added hard workouts and additional PT/post-run exercises. Other than the blip in my right quad, everything felt solid.
 
Mechanics - A- 
Just like with my fitness, I feel that my form was solid and sustainable. The only thing that gives me pause is that inner right quad blip. I was stepping too much out front and to the side on downhills with my right leg. That hints to an imbalance that I'll need to figure out more. It might simply be psychosomatic.

Mental Toughness - A
Great mood all day, ready to race but disciplined and smart.

Nutrition/Hydration - A
No problems whatsoever. Consumed only gels, banana chunks, Heed, and water all day, and in relatively small amounts. Fat burning was truly optimized.

Joy - A+
I totally overachieved on this one. I had no lows at all, even when I felt a little sluggish coming in to Sawbill. I had my party pants on...or shorts as it were.

Pacing - A
Allow me to share my stats, for you number nerds like me.

- Start-Temperance: 1:27:51 (7.1mi, 12:22/mi pace), avg HR 165, max 171, AS time - 57sec

- Temp-Sawbill: 1:07:23 (5.7mi, 11:48/mi), avg HR 168, max 173, AS time - 2:07

- Sawbill-Oberg: 1:06:08 (5.5mi, 12:00/mi), avg HR 172, max 180, AS time - 5:11

- Oberg - Finish: 1:25:48, (7.1mi, 12:00/mi), avg HR 177, max 192

- Avg HR for the whole race: 170, max 192. 

Until the next excessively tardy race report. Cheers!

 

A Conversation With Myself

Upon reading Andy Jones-Wilkins post last Friday on iRunfar detailing the ever-present battle between the head and the heart when it comes to running, it made me more cognizant of the conversation between my head and heart lately. I thought I'd provide some of the transcript here to support his post.

Back story - Right around Earth Day I messed up my left foot and it's still giving me trouble. Strangely it's the same injury I experienced at the exact time last year, so I've treated it the same. I've run very little, and just when I thought it was good about two weeks out, I ran on it and relapsed, thus the following conversation (and yes, the dialogue in my head is oftentimes this cheesy):

Head: So smart guy, ya just had to run the trails in Ely this weekend, didn't you, and now you're paying for it...again.

Heart: I needed to run to keep my sanity, and besides, the dog needed exercise as well.

Head: So now you're back where you started, limping and unable to run, and there's only two weeks until your first 50km. The farthest you've run in your training has been 14.5 miles on the road, and the longest run you've done has only been 2 hours and 15 minutes, compared to at least 6 hours that you'll spend on trail at the race, and on top of all that, in minimalist shoes! What's the plan, big guy?

Heart: The race is an adventure, with more of a focus on joy and exploration than anything else. If I have to hike a good chunk of it, so be it! I'll have a lovely day on the trail amongst cool people, doing something that will bring me a great sense of accomplishment. Nothin better than that!

Head: We're talkin 30 miles! That's more than a "lovely day on the trail." And if you injure yourself more, maybe a full-on stress fracture, or a fall because you're mechanics will be compromised, what then?

Heart: Ever the pessimist. My fitness is still solid, and there's nothing saying that I can't bike or work out to maintain what I have. I'll stay off my foot, and a good two weeks should be plenty to let it heal. Should I have trouble in the race, I'll either turn around at the first AS and do the 25km, or DNF. I could use a total failure to learn a lesson, but it will at least be a positive one.

Head: What if the lesson is that you completely screw your training for the 50-miler next fall, your ultimate goal of over two years! Will that be worth it?

Heart: I think perhaps you're underestimating my grit...and also my intelligence.

Head: Intelligence? That's what I'm here for! You're pure id, plain and simple, and in any case, grit and stubbornness aren't enough for 50km with so many factors stacked against you as they are at the moment. You're just asking for trouble.

Heart: Just keep running...just keep running...

Head: Well the plan has been shot to hell: no long day training adventures on trail as planned, a complete shortfall of distance training, not to mention the longest winter EVER! There's no trustworthy plan from here on out.

Heart: You're just not thinking outside the box, Mr. Curmudgeon. My plan is to explore the unknown, have an adventure, find joy and have fun on the trail, and learn something from it. I love it when a plan comes together! And besides, there is one guarantee.

Head: Yeah? What's that?

Heart: Post-race beer, a decadent meal, and a hot tub with good friends to celebrate another adventure!

Head: I do like beer.

Heart: Cheers!

One Year Review

Welcome to In Search of Badass, toddler style! It's hard to believe that one year has passed since I started this blog, and the last 12 months have been awesome, not without ups and downs, but nonetheless full of adventure, fun, and contemplation.

As January rolled in and the new year started, it was hard not to notice the myriad year-in-reviews and top (insert number here) lists scattering the interwebs. It's always fun to look back and sum up our time on this planet by highlighting the key events, and although it might be a cliché thing to do, I always enjoy it. My life is always so full that I tend to forget a lot, and being reminded of what happened in the previous year helps me gain a better perspective on time and how quickly or slowly it passes. As I mentioned in my last post, I'm also a list person, thus concise chronological lists fit my ordered, logical brain. In any case, I thought I'd take a moment to recap the last twelve months of my own life since I started this blog, and evaluate my progress toward the reason this blog exists in the first place - being awesome at life and a total badass. Should you need a refresher on the definition I'm using for said evaluation, check out one of my early posts here.

2012
February 
After my return to coaching Nordic skiing from a two-year break, I had the chance to up my volume of running, seeing as we had a freakishly warm winter, with not a single ski meet on real snow. It gave me the chance to run a ton, experimenting with my new Merrel Trail Gloves. I was already in race fever, having signed up for both the Earth Day Half Marathon in St. Cloud and the Superior Trail Races 25km in late May, and it was only February!

The running was shaping up nicely, and I was enjoying the long runs on the weekends. One of the small joys was discovering one of these on a Saturday long run adventure in new territory.

March
If I could choose just one word to represent this month, it would be motivation. I was blogging pretty much once a week, my brain was entertaining and analyzing a million ideas, and I was experimenting with my running a ton (hydration options, nutrition, form), not to metion getting psyched for the half marathon. I had my first ever truly barefoot run, and although it was short, it was thoroughly uplifting (but COLD!). This month also brought what will probably remain as one of my worst runs ever, followed by one of the best. I've actually been itching to do a repeat of that 12-miler to my parents' house sometime soon, but for now, I'll need to wait until the ice melts along the sidewalks.

April
April was a big month. Although my one-post-a-week goal for this blog fell completely off the wagon, it did so for a reason. I was just way too busy! Training took the front seat, along with a few other things.

The month started with my spring break, for which I headed up north to Ely where my wife was doing an externship rotation for vet school at the clinic there. I spent my days between writing curriculum at the quaint little coffee shop on Main St. and running the trails at the Ely Nordic Center, an awesome collection of wooded trails, complete with dilapidated ski jump. I had a monster hill workout up and down that one! We also acquired the newest member to our family, an Alaskan husky from bloodlines of two champion mushing kennels. Skijoring harness and harness for Dart were purchased the very next day.

Poison Dart Frog aka Dart

Earth Day Half Marathon, St. Cloud, MN. The time had finally arrived. Anna and I headed north to St. Cloud for the race, only to be greeted by 40 degrees and rain on race morning. Despite the apparent crappy weather, I had a blast, and was overjoyed that I was able to complete what was at that point the longest running race of my life, and more importantly that I was able to do it in my Five Fingers. Huge triumph! I also managed to surpass my goal of 8min/mi pace, coming in at 1:39:00, a 7:34 pace. Unfortunately, cramming my feet into my narrow tennis shoes afterward for the long drive home seriously exacerbated the stress on the feet, and I ended up with a nagging foot injury for the next several weeks.

To round out the month, the Monday after the race brought a visit from new friend Mountain and his girlfriend Cherry as they circumnavigated the US on an epic road trip. Mountain is the guy behind the Primal Professional barefoot dress shoe, and it was cool to finally meet him in person and talk shoes, training, Paleo living, and more. I also had the pleasure of showing them the wonders of the Midwest a little bit.

Monkeying around at Midwest Mountaineering's bouldering cave.

Off the beaten path at Minnehaha Falls.

May
Post-Earth Day Half, my foot was utterly messed up and I couldn't run. Diagnosis from the doc was inconclusive and the treatment was simply to avoid running for 4-6 weeks. With the Superior Trail Race 25km only three weeks away, I took two weeks off and started running again on the third. Thanks to advice from Dr. OOJ DPT, I decided to experiment with the notion that sometimes you NEED to run to work out the pain, and it worked beautifully.

Superior Trail Races 25km. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect trail race experience! Enjoying the company of my wife and fellow troublemaker Sam Jurek, we had a blast heading up to Caribou Highlands resort for the weekend, and the race itself was almost magical. I didn't quite reach my goal time for the race, but considering that it was my first trail race on truly rugged terrain, I'm happy with my performance and am even more stoked about the 50km this year!

Black Hills Climbing Trip. Back for the 13th annual climbing trip, the gang and I set out once again for a weekend of climbing, community, and camping in the Black Hills, a tradition that is near and dear to my heart, and one that I will not compromise on. It's the one time of year that I can count on seeing my best friend Rob and gather our little climbing community together for some quality time. The weather wasn't altogether agreeable, but we did get some sweet climbs in, including two on my bucket list: the Conn Route near Sylvan Lake, and Waves in the Rushmore area, the latter on which I led the second pitch with not enough quickdraws. Oops!

A helluva start to the weekend. Is there a lake near here?

The view from atop the Conn Route. Don't let the sunshine fool you, it was windy and COLD!

Repelling off of Waves.

June/July
Summer started off very well. Anna and I took her brother and his family, including their 5-year-old to Interstate State Park in WI for some climbing. It was a blast hooking the little guy up on the approach climb and letting him go. Hopefully he'll maintain the desire to climb!

In my mind, he needed some extra challenge, so I added it ex post facto.

I also did some solid running again, quite a bit of it totally barefoot, although the pavement was getting hotter by the day, and I did burn my feet a few times. I also made my own huarache sandals from shoe remnants I had lying around, which I meant to blog about, but never got to it. Perhaps in the future yet. Stay tuned.

Ze Vaterland. After school got out, I headed once again to Rottweil, Germany with my students on the exchange my colleague and I started in 2005. It was a total blast as always, mainly due to my awesome German counterpart who is constantly on the go and providing adventures for me. The adventure highlight was definitely climbing for the first time in Germany on real rock! A friend of my colleague and his son are avid climbers, so they took me up into the Schwabische Alb for an afternoon.

Max leading the first route.

The route I led - a slanty, slippery 5.9+ with few bolts.

The one big negative of the trip was due to a poor decision I made to play some pick-up soccer with my colleague and his friends. The game was fun, and I even scored two goals, but deciding to play in my Trail Gloves was a bad idea. They were too flimsy for all the sharp lateral movement changes, and one of the guys - a German-sized man - stepped right on my foot with his cleats, which put me out of running for the rest of the summer, and quashed my plans to run the Superior Trail Races Marathon in Sept. Lesson learned.

Wyoming Trip. Two days after arriving home from Germany, Anna and I left on a road trip out west for my dear friend Jen's wedding at an outdoor chapel in the mountains, which was altogether breathtaking and inspiring. On the way, we stopped in to Custer State Park in the Black Hills to camp and enjoy one of my favorite places on earth. We didn't get much time to climb, but we did manage to get on the spelunking tour at Jewel Cave National Monument, the second largest cave in the world. The tour is four hours long, 30 stories underground, and travels about 1/4 mile, starting in a room with a 50-foot ceiling and squeezing the cavers through its tightest spot - a mere 8" x 24". This was my fourth time on the tour, and it never gets dull.

The "brain drain" in all its chest-scraping glory.

The following two weeks was the largest single chunk of time that I was at home throughout the entire summer. I spent it trying to heal my foot while simultaneously training for a mountaineering trip to Colorado in August.

August
Colorado 14er Trip. After a long five years of not bagging any 14ers, my former college roommate Bret, his high school best friend Steve, and I took to the rock once again for my third go at summiting some of the 14,000ft peaks in Colorado. Bret and Steve are on the quest to do all 53 of them in their lifetime and have succeeded in almost as many as their current age (mid-thirties). I just like going with to enjoy the challenge and the amazing scenery. This particular iteration brought us to Long's Peak on the Front Range in Rocky Mountain National Park down to Mt. of the Holy Cross in the Sawatch Range and finally to Mt. Sherman in the Mosquito Range near Leadville. I'm not sure whose idea it was to start with Long's and its 14-mile round trip with 5,100ft of elevation gain, followed by 11.5 miles and 5,600ft of gain the next day on Holy Cross, but it was enough to kill our original plan of doing Tabaguache and Shavano the following day.

Long's was incredible. We stayed with my wife's aunt and uncle in Estes Park in their guest apartment high up on one of the mountains outside of town. It's truly an amazing place, and the perfect staging point before our long day ahead. After about 4 hours of sleep, we got up at 2am and headed to the trailhead.

The view from the deck, with Long's on the left.

On trail by around 3:30am, we started through the woods with headlamps, passing through the various ecological zones until we left the trees and vegetation behind for a kingdom of rock. I'll let the pictures do the talking from here.

Chasm Lake junction at 11,500 at dawn.

The long boulder field with a view of the infamous North Wall.

This mountain - and all 14ers - don't f' around.

Bret and Steve in front of the Keyhole, where things get interesting.

"The Narrows" linking the 600' vertical slog of "the trough" and the last pitch to the summit.

The final 300' of slick Class 3, known as "the Homestretch."

After bonking at the keyhole and barely making it to the summit, I learned my lesson; fuel early and fuel often. It was scary coming down the Homestretch with shaky legs, but altogether an awesome summit and the highlight of the trip.

Since this post is already beyond long, I'll share just a few shots of Holy Cross and Sherman, and will consider writing a separate post on this trip, even though it was half a year ago.

Mt. of the Holy Cross, before the weather got real sketchy.

Quick summit pick before hauling ass down in 20-30mph gusts!

After two long and exhausting days of climbing, sandwiching a terrible night of camping, we checked in to the Leadville Super 8 for the night, before our last - and easiest - climb. We happened to roll in the same weekend as the Leadville 100 bike race, which was super cool. The place was hopping, and it was cool to feel the energy. I in particular was imagining how it might feel the very next weekend when the ultra would be held. Good timing, indeed.

Most densely packed bag EVER, and what comes from shopping at lower altitude.

Almost at the summit of Sherman, climbing from below right.

The new summit pose. "If you crotch it, you OWN it!"

So long, Colorado, and thanks for all the fish...er...I mean fun.

Family Vacation, Lake Wisconsin. Four days after getting home from Colorado, Anna and I took off for Wisconsin to hang with her family for a week. Her parents rented a cabin on Lake Wisconsin, and it was a great way to spend some quality time with cool people, coupled with plenty of time outside in the sunshine. We brought our two kayaks and Anna's homemade canoe, and they got a ton of love. I did my first long solo paddle from the north arm of the lake down and around to the railroad bridge near the Merrimac ferry, totaling around 11 miles. It would have been a bit easier had I not been on a schedule to get back for dinner! Altogether a solid solo quest battling the wind in open water for the first half.

Labor Day in the BWCA. Before returning to work, Anna and I took a long weekend to the Boundary Waters for a canoe trip. Putting in at Baker Lake out of Tofte, we made a leisurely trip out of the five days, mainly because we put in on a very long, narrow chain of lakes without too many options, unless we wanted to suffer through a 300 rod portage in either of two possible directions to get to bigger waters, but with as many people as were out there, we didn't feel the need to chance portaging and paddling all day just to find no vacancy in any of the campsites. Being used to hauling ass on all my canoe and kayak trips, it was a little disconcerting at first to just stay put and take day trips, but it ended up being a blast. It was Dart's first canoe trip and she was a champ in the boat, and we did plenty of swimming. I also spotted my first wild otter!

Best idea ever! Brown ale in a Nalgene, available at Fitger's Brewhouse in Duluth. (Glass is prohibited in the BWCA)

September
In regard to adventure and general badassery, September was pretty quiet. One week after the BWCA, I headed right back to the same place as a volunteer for the Superior Trail Races fall series, which I had intended to run before I got injured in Germany. I worked at the Sawbill/Britton Peak AS with the Immerfall family, who have been volunteering at that aid station for as long as the race has been in existence. It was a very quick trip, but a fun and valuable experience watching the first 100-milers come through around 2am Saturday and then the 50-milers and marathoners later in the day. Altogether I spent about 17 hours there with a three-hour nap at around 4am. I had a blast, learned a ton, and if for some odd reason I'm not running it this fall, I'll be there again helping out.

October
September finally included a more normalized running regimen after recovering from the "Fußball incident" in Germany, which led to one of my top 3 runs ever while camping in WI over the first weekend of October with my college friends. The sun was out, the temps were cold, but this 10-miler was pristine, calming, and simultaneously invigorating as I cruised along the country roads through rolling valleys and stunning scenery, complete with quaint little farms, some gravel road to challenge the Five Fingers, and a ridiculously long climb at the end of the run. Paradise!

Monster Dash Half Marathon. Anna, her brother, her friend from vet school, and I rallied together to run the race that Anna and I have been meaning to do for at least two years. I hadn't had all that much time to train since recovering, but it was enough, and I was motivated, particularly because the route is gorgeous, familiar, and mostly downhill. The people (read: costume) watching was key, bringing everything from a full-on spartan complete with sword and shield to a guy carrying a shower ring with curtain over his head for the duration of the race. We kept it simple with a big letter P on our shirts and me with some black make-up on one eye; the girls were chick peas and I - you guessed it - was a black-eyed pea. The race went really well. It took my feet the first mile or two to regain feeling after going numb in the 30-degree morning before the start, but everything warmed up nicely, and I managed a PR at 1:37:18. Although it was a ton of fun, it solidified the fact that I have no more desire to race on roads anymore. Trails are where it's at! It was worth the sweet swag though.

November
No major events to speak of this month. I was running a ton and ski season started. I thoroughly enjoyed the dry-land training with the Apple Valley runner boys as we rolled through Lebanon Hills. I was feeling really fit and was almost reluctant to get on snow.

December
Spotty was the snow and skiing, but consistent enough so that we didn't need to travel to fake snow. Anna and I had our first chance to skijor as well, she taking Dart and I taking her brother's golden retriever. It was a blast, and soooo fast! I could get used to not doing all the work.

On the Friday before Christmas, I skipped out on practice to head to River Falls and join up with Joe and Sam for a mini-WS reunion. Starting with a headlamp trail run along the Kinnikinnick river in the snow, we covered all necessary topics, with the conversation flowing as swiftly as the running. Definitely one of the top runs for the books, and it was the perfect thing to induce proper hunger for the porketta that Joe's mom left for us. I swear I must have eaten at least 3 pounds of meat for dinner, washing it down with a fine selection of brews shared in tasting style. It was here when Joe enlightened me to the notion of "the meat sweats." The evening continued at Junior's bar with more beer and even deeper conversation, concluded with a late night pizza and viewing of Goonies. A stellar way to start the holiday break. There is an indescribable feeling of camaraderie with those two guys, and it's the type of relationship everyone should have in their life.

Post-Christmas brought me back up north for the annual winter ski trip with the team. We stayed at a camp near Grand Rapids, but ended up driving to Giant's Ridge each day due to a lack of snow. I can't remember a ski trip that I enjoyed more over all the years I've coached. It was more relaxed, the skiing was solid despite meager snow, and I was feeling strong. I put in a good 50-60km over the four sessions we had.

2013
January
Skiing, skiing, and more skiing! Coaching dominates my life for three months every winter, and January is the heart of it. Unfortunately, as the race season heats up, the less skiing I get to do, but I managed my fair share. Perhaps it's because both months start with J, but I started planning for June and "the Big Juan" as Joe puts it. I'm already excited to head back to CA to see arguably the most storied ultra in the US, particularly with Joe starting as M9!

_______________

That brings us to the present. Ski season is done and I'm gearing up for both running and climbing again. I'm really gonna enjoy being part time and having my work day end at 1:35pm. In the meantime, I need to get over the cold I have at the moment, which hit me the day after the state Nordic ski meet last week. Perfect timing indeed, and perhaps a sign that I need a week off.

Now that I've detailed the year, let's take a look and evaluate, shall we?

Goals
In my third ever post, I listed off some of my goals. I'll relay them here once again:

1. Be able to climb some 5.11's in the gym before the Black Hills trip Memorial Day weekend
2. Run a steady 8min/mi pace at the half marathon (that may be adjusted later)
3. Finish the trail race in 2:30 or under (average 10min/mi pace)
4. Have fun! This includes my training.
5. Use all of this as an excuse to eat lots of delicious food and drink more beer 

Check, check, nope, check, and (especially) check!  The only goal I didn't meet was my time for the 25km, but had I gone back to those goals before the race, I would have changed that, and probably would have thrown it out altogether, seeing as it was my first trail race and I truly had no idea what to expect. My time was, however, quite acceptable to me, and now I have an idea of what to expect from the course, which is a better trade, in my opinion.

So, have I become more badass? I've certainly had a much busier year than many in the past, and my motivation and action have increased dramatically. Whether it's discovering a new love of running or having this blog as a task master, I've done more, felt more successful, and had a ton of fun along the way. I'm also picking up steam, with the Superior Trail 50km on the docket this May - my farthest distance ever, along with the annual Black Hills climbing trip, a potential 25km in April, and the whole summer off to play! The wife will also be moving to Ely for a year-long position starting in April, meaning I'll be spending plenty of time up there in the woods and on the water. Just for funzies though, let's look at the qualities of badass as set forth in my early posts and evaluate accordingly:

1. Intelligent - Well, I don't think intelligence changes, but I believe I've gained some wisdom and have engaged in more active contemplation, with this blog as proof of the latter.
2. Technically proficient - My running form has improved dramatically since last year, and I've gotten faster to boot. My body is also adapting nicely.
3. Driven by challenge - Having run only 5-milers at the farthest, I did two half marathons and a trail 25km, with a 50km set for spring. Does that count?
4. Daring - Putting myself out there and signing up for races is an improvement, but I can definitely find room for improvement here, whether it be in athletic, social, or professional settings. I tend not to take risks unless they have a high chance for success. I need to fail more.
5. Grit - I haven't reached my limits of pain and suffering yet, so I don't feel this can truly be evaluated except to say that I don't rate myself high on this one. Work for the future.
6. Concern for others and world - See here and you be the judge. I must also express my utmost thanks to all of the amazing people in my life. They are the true motivation and inspiration for me, and I hope I serve them and the rest of humanity with honor and grace.

Whew! Does anyone else feel like they need a shower? If you've made it this far, thanks for reading, and I'll definitely give you points for number 3 above. Until next time, and feel free to leave a comment.

Symmetry: Obsession vs. Reality

After a glorious weekend of 60+ degree weather and sunshine, barefoot season is officially upon us!  I had a breakthrough 9.25 mile run along the Mississippi on Saturday morning in my Five Fingers, clocking in at a 7:21 mile pace, which is 40 seconds faster per mile than my 7.5 mile run a couple weeks ago! It was thoroughly enjoyable, but my right side hip and knee were hitched up, causing some issues in the second half of the run. I've been trying to solve this issue in the last few weeks in particular, but it's been something that has occurred on and off since I started minimalist running. I know that this is partly a running mechanics issue, but I'm convinced that it's also due to the wonky body I'm working with.

For a long time now I've been obsessed with the notion of symmetry in my body in regard to achieving optimal athletic performance. I've felt that if I can find a way to balance things out, many of the issues I've had in the past will melt away. I'm very aware of the imbalances between the left and right sides of my body through experiences with rolfing and physical therapy, and just in looking at myself and feeling how my body moves on one side or the other. For instance, my right shoulder is a little higher and sucked in closer to my body than the left, my left hip is anteriorly rotated which I can feel in my normal walking gait, and my abs and lower back muscles function differently from one side to the other when I do the same side-isolated exercise on both sides. Now, this is not uncommon, and I won't consider myself a freak of nature yet, at least not in this capacity, but what can a person do about this, and does it really affect performance?

Most people are asymmetrical at least to some extent, be it shoulder height, hip alignment, or even nostril width and ear size. It's simply the way we are, and just like our friend above, it may help us (with super radar hearing), or it might cause issues (he'll never find a pair of headphones to fit both ears perfectly). After doing a little research, I discovered a few interesting things that apply to my incessant desire to be the best athlete possible.

Asymmetrical Nostrils Mess Up Your 800m Time

I suppose that because of my obsession I assumed that there would be plenty of research out there on symmetry and its affect on athletic performance, but I found a surprisingly small amount online. Admittedly, however, I did not delve deeply into medical journals, but rather took what Dr. Google showed me, so you'll forgive me for not engaging in a full-on medical research thesis just yet. In any case, I found two studies, one of which compared best 800m and 1500m times of fifty middle-distance runners after measuring symmetry in seven traits, including things like ear size, nostril width, and wrist width. For those of you not interested in reading the abstract, the conclusion was thus:

"We conclude that symmetry in traits such as nostrils and ears indicates good running ability."

That seems like quite a stretch, and I think the sample size needs to be increased greatly, along with actual measurements of 800m and 1500m times, but it's an interesting idea nonetheless. The second study - a literature review actually - dealt with the effects of bilateral asymmetry on running and cycling performance, risk of injury in otherwise healthy subjects, and leg preference. Although not a study in itself, it did some of the work for me, as it showed that the research on symmetry is less than robust and needs expansion. Alas, the verdict cannot yet be made, although I think I'll go measure my nostrils right now.

Not Symmetry, But Neutrality

In reading the blog by Kevin Neeld, Director of Athletic Development for Endeavor Sports Performance, he discussed symmetry as it applies to hockey players and made some interesting points that are relevant for all athletes, in my opinion. First of all, he points out that the movements hockey players make can cause asymmetries based on repetitive motions on one side or the other, such as shooting the puck from the dominant side most or all of the time. Those continual rotations with body weight on the same primary leg will cause muscles to develop differently on both sides. I would propose that this is true for many sports. For me, my many years of soccer could be a huge culprit, keeping my weight on my left leg to pass and shoot with the right. Any sport that involves shooting, kicking, or hitting from one side of the body could do this.

The second point, however, is something that I hadn't thought of before, and it has to do with what's inside of us, and no, I'm not referring to Gatorade's tagline. I'm referring to the organs in our body. Neeld goes on to note that the placement of the organs in our thoracic cavity may affect the balance of our bodies, such as the placement of the heart and pericardium on the left, the liver on the right, two lobes of the lung on the right but only one on the left, etc. No matter how hard a person works to achieve symmetry both muscularly and skeletally, you can't rearrange your organs, at least not without a Nazi doctor and some serious HIPAA violations. To this effect, Neeld supports the notion of neutrality in athletes, not symmetry, which makes a lot of sense, all things considered. So I guess I'm now working toward neutrality with my body. The question at this point, however, is how do I best go about doing that? Chiropracting? Physical Therapy? Postural restoration therapy? More rolfing? I'm interested in trying - or continuing - these forms of body work, but as they all cost money, I cannot indulge at the present moment to the extent I would like. I also feel that I must do some more research and focus on strengthening my body a bit more. One of the observations from the lit review mentioned above that I find helpful is that symmetry was improved by increasing running speed, and for cyclists, symmetry improved with greater workload. I did notice on my run on Saturday that my right leg felt better when I did some pick-ups and really opened it up, so maybe I just need to run really fast all the time. :)

Needless to say, I am still very interested in this topic and continue to pay attention to my body and how it moves. Perhaps I just need to stop obsessing and focus on getting stronger and moving more fluidly in a neutral state, even if it's not symmetrical. Neutrality, as it were, may just become a new mantra; "I am Switzerland."

On that note, I sincerely welcome your comments on the matter, and would especially love to hear from those of you in the medical community.

As the Swiss say, "zum Wohlsii!"