Running Away at Age 40

I used to run in the woods with my dog when I was a kid, but I didn’t really start trail running until last year, at age 39. I never ran track or cross-country (I rode horses instead), but I used to run on trails near my home in Mystic, Connecticut, for exercise and fun. I would never run more than a few miles, until I moved to San Francisco. I love running trails. I never thought I would run more than 5 miles. But then one day I found myself saying “I’m going to run 10 miles today,” and I did. It felt good, so I later ran a half-marathon and then a full marathon, with 3,000 feet elevation. The trails make it easy sometimes, it can be so beautiful out there, especially where I live. There is something empowering about running up a 1,000 foot hill in the Marin Headlands and seeing the city of San Francisco, the Golden Gate bridge and Pacific ocean, then turning your head and seeing Stinson Beach and Mt. Tamalpais on the other side of you.

What got me started on my trail running journey was reading an inspiring article about a woman who runs the Dipsea Race (she looked so cool in bright colored socks with muscled legs!). Over several months I decided that I wanted to train to do the Dipsea too, which goes from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach, a 7-mile race with over 1500 feel elevation gain. I knew I would have to get used to running up stairs and hills, so I started running over Russian Hill to Coit Tower, down Telegraph Hill and back again. The race would start just after my 40th birthday and I liked the idea of marking this milestone of my life in this way. After several weeks of this I started doing the loop twice. Beginner mistake number 1: don’t train too hard too fast and without strength training. I wasn’t doing much for exercise other than this running and was not strengthening important muscles like my glutes and hamstrings. I ran my first trail race, a 5-mile loop from Rodeo Beach up into the Marin headlands, and finished in the middle of the pack. I remember the thrill of “flying” downhill, taking great long strides and thinking I was going fast and how cool was that. Then I got runner’s knee and had to stop running for many weeks (not cool). This hurt my confidence and I didn’t even apply for the Dipsea race. Beginner’s mistake number 2: don’t “fly” downhill as the downward slope produces more impact to your legs and improper downhill running can lead to injuries. I also had been wearing improper sneakers for my feet, another beginner’s mistake (#3) which I rectified by getting properly fitted at Fleet Feet.

I started seeing a physical therapist who got me doing clamshells and other exercises to strengthen key muscles to take the strain off my knees. I also started foam rolling religiously per the advice of a personal trainer, focusing on releasing my illiotibial (IT) bands. After about two months I could run again, but only short distances. I joined a gym and started doing cycling classes and strength training to build complementary muscles for running. This was an important period during which I learned about the mistakes I had been making, and about the right way to train. I participated in a free running clinic at my gym and learned about foot strike and slowly started to improve my running form. Soon I was running longer distances again and the runner’s knee subsided.

I saw a sport’s nutritionist who was very helpful. I had been feeling sore after runs at an increasing rate. I had also started eating more, having read several articles that made me realize my body needed more calories, and that I might even lose more weight if I ate more — which is what happened, and it blew my mind a little. I had been reading all sorts of things about sports nutrition and was confused by all the different, often opposing, opinions but the sports nutritionist helped me focus on what was important.

I track what I eat on myfitnesspal which counts my calories and shows me the ratio of carbs, fat and protein consume on a daily basis. I also use mapmyrun to track my runs and it keeps track of the distances I run, elevation and pace, etc. On key runs I wear a Garmin sport watch, which I like because it is easy to access and I can see my current pace at any time (along with other stats like total distance and time).

I found a group of trail-runners in the city via meetup.com and hosted a couple runs. It was fun running with other people and they tended to be faster than me so it motivated me to run faster. A man on one of these runs said that he used to run ultras and is training for them again after a break. He said he came across a question related to ultras, which is if you had to choose between being able to run a 50-mile race with a decent finish, or being able to run 3 miles a day for the rest of your life, which would you choose (with the implication being if you went for the ultra it might knock you out of being able to run at all in the future).

I came across a local half-marathon trail race and used that as a goal for my training. I was planning to follow it with a full marathon a few months later. I did not finish around the middle this time — I was close to last — but I was happy I finished this more challenging race. Beginner’s mistake #4 is that I used a sports drink and sport gels that I had not used during my training, and I did not realize that both had electrolytes. More than halfway through the race I felt parched. I grabbed some plain water at the aid stations but it wasn’t enough and the extra electrolytes made me feel not so great and probably affected my performance.

One memorable run around this time took place at twilight. Days were still fairly long so it was around 7pm. I had run to the Golden Gate Bridge and then along the cliffs to the south. As I approached a trail entering the Presidio, I thought I heard an owl and thought how cool it would be to see one. Several minutes later I am running along and see an owl alight from a tree and fly away through the woods. Then, as I was running in the Presidio, past a section of two-story apartment buildings, I saw this dog come trotting along perpendicular to my path. I thought it was a nice looking dog but thought it strange that its human owner wasn’t with it when I realized it was a coyote. I stared at it but kept going in my direction and it looked at me but kept trotting along too, like it was thinking, “yeah I live here, so what?” Later in that same run I ran up a road that parallels a golf course and when I go to the top of the hill found a locked gate which I had not anticipated. It was dark out by now and it really wouldn’t have been a good idea for me to go back the way I had come. I tried to climb the fence but it was taller than me and not easy to cross. I noticed that part of the fencing of the gate was pushed out and finally was able to squat down and crawl/push my way out as someone else must have had to do before me.

After the half-marathon I set my sights on a full marathon. Training became more difficult and I started to feel like it wasn’t fun anymore. I joined a free training group through North Face Mountain Athletics and learned more about running and training and enjoyed the company of other runners for a change. I kept pushing through and planned to take a break after the marathon. My body had different plans though, and I developed blisters on my feet. I read about blister treatment and wrapped the blisters for runs and ended up with larger blisters. Finally I had to stop running and even took a day off work because I didn’t want to walk on my blister and had a trade show coming up. I went off my training plan enough that I put aside plans for the marathon. But then I completed my first full marathon in March!

I read articles and blogs about runners with blisters and blister prevention and ended up following several of the recommendations, which include: applying Body Glide to my feet for every run (I used regular Vaseline petroleum jelly, but find that Body Glide works better. Maybe the jelly gets too hot?); wearing two pairs of socks, so the friction goes between the socks and not my skin and a sock; using special running insoles that I was fitted for at Fleet Feet; and applying a slick Engo sticker to my insoles where the balls of my feet hit them. I have not gotten a blister since!

One of my most memorable runs to date was a 15 miler in the Marin Headlands, with approximately 3,000 feet of climbing. I thought it was going to be brutal and I might not be able to finish it. But it was one of my favorite runs. I ran the same 5-mile loop I had run in my first race, but ran it 3 times. It’s a gorgeous trail with views of the San Francisco Bay, Pacific Ocean, Marin Headlands and the Tennessee Valley. The weather was amazing: no fog and blue skies with a cool breeze. I had spiritual thoughts and was feeling grateful. Because of the looping I was able to use my car as a personal aid station. I finished in less time than I thought I would and did not have much pain (my knees still hurt from time to time, but I ice them and pay close attention to recovery). I got to take a shower under the blue sky, which felt amazingly luxurious and refreshing (did I mention I sweat a lot?).