Perry Louis Fields

I’m still enjoying the summer months before I start training for next year.  I’m in the middle of doing my yearly health maintenance, which includes detoxing of the digestive system and metal detoxing (as back in 2007 I had elevated levels of mercury and other metals). So far everything is going well.  I also just purchased a BioMat (which uses infrared heat) as a way to keep my muscles relaxed and recovered quicker for the coming year).  I’m excited to play around with it and see how well it works.

A few weeks ago I went to the annual Star Trek convention in Lawless Vegas.  It was a lot of geeky fun.  Besides Shatner and Nimoy, I also got to see Jaws from James Bond and the guy with the leather ass chaps from Mad Max.

I grew up watching Star Trek when I was little and have always been a SciFi fan ( I guess that’s the geek in me).  The funniest part is when members of the crowd would ask the actors questions, referring to “episode 10, season 1, scene 2″ and of course, the actors had no idea what they were talking about…because they could barely remember.  The fans apparently remember everything!  Of course, Klingons  in motorized wheelchairs is pretty funny too.

with Klingon and Jet Pack Bubble Girl...err, Boy

phasering a tribble

I also went to Utah and visited Zion Park, my favorite national park that I’ve visited thus far. I think it should be on everyone’s “to visit” list.

Zion Park

camping in Zion

Zion Park, going up Angel's Landing

Angel's Landing Zion Park

view below in Zion

view from Angel's Landing

hiking through the slot canyons

the ridge is the climb up to Angle's Landing

Goblin Valley Utah

near the Grand Staircase!

cool storm coming over the Grand Staircase

part of the Grand Staircase (the area above the Grand Canyon)

Hoover Dam- still can't believe it was made so long ago...

Vermillion Cliffs

We also visited the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, which is far less crowded than the South Rim….

North Rim Grand Canyon

Strangely enough, right next door to Zion park (about 25 miles) is the largest polygamy colony, Colorado City.  I just had to go look, my curiosity made me do it.  What I found was something completely cult-like and just plain strange (not to mention wrong on so many levels).   The kids are all blonde  (kind of like Children of the Corn) and nobody over the age of 13 smiles….rightfully so I guess (probably the age when you realized how screwed up your parents are).   I have no idea what they do for work out there, but from what I heard the kids are all on welfare and live off the government.  I just can’t believe that it’s legal what they do out there.  Once we drove in, it took us about 15 minutes to figure out how to get out of the town.  No marked buildings,  strange looks from everyone, no trespassing signs on each house (houses that clearly are all work in progress- types, just particle board and no siding), men in suits gathering and just hanging around.  Ben said he wanted to hurry and leave as he thought a gang of blonde men were going to lock him in a basement and torture him….and I’d be married off by sundown.  

polygamist house

Since I’ve been back, I’ve started to think about what I have to do for next year. It’s a big year in track and field.  It’s the 2011 World Championships.  I’m pushing hard to get the book out and to finish up my health maintenance. I’ll probably get some blood work done this week to check my levels.

I’ll be working harder to build from what I’ve done since last year, which means I’ll be putting in more distance and building a stronger base.  Last year, since it was my first year back I really didn’t have much of a base to keep me going throughout the season, but this year will be very different.   The break was nice, but I’m starting to look forward to next year.

The greatest thing about being in Colorado during the summer is the weather!  It’s just perfect nearly everyday.  This summer I’ve decided to have a little fun and catch up on finishing my book, The Tick Slayer.  I’m aware that writing books take time, but what has taken the most time is editing and coordinating the help with the book.   I know many people are anticipating it. I get emails everyday about when can someone expect for it to come out.   It hasn’t been any easy task and there were times during this past year that I couldn’t work on it at all due to training.  It’s very difficult to have your mind in two places, because each of these two places need major focus without distractions.

I’m settled into my new house here in Colorado Springs and I actually look forward to next year.  I have a training partner for next year (a Bosnian girl) and I think it will go well.  There are also a number of men here that can train with me.

I guess the most exciting part about next year is that it’s a World Championship year, which is a nice set up before the following year, which is the Olympic year.   I’m very happy that my first year back I’ve been able to complete 10 months of strenuous training (mostly at altitude which is the first time ever for me). This was very important to accomplish because it’s very hard to go 0 to 60 in my event/sport (although I was trying to attempt it).   If I can keep healthy (which I will), then I’m setting myself up for a really good year in 2010 and think I will be suprising a lot of people.   I have a lot to look forward too.

I’m in the middle of my complete rest right now (two weeks of NO RUNNING), then I’ll start back a little and see where I’m at. I’m eyeing the NYC Road Mile at the end of September, but haven’t commited to it.   I needed to rest a little because of all the months of training. I could tell I needed it and I believe I was overtrained in June (a lot easier to do apparently in altitude).

I’ve went camping recently to just have some fun outside. Enjoy the pictures!

old miner's cabin

Camping near Mt. ShermanMt. Sherman 14,000 feet

My "mountain guide" going to the bathroom...Yes, I did!

Columbine Flower

1000+ year old trees (many of them burned from lightening)

 

Mt. Sherman 14,000 feet

old gold mine sitting on the hill

I’m here finally, but it was a travel nightmare.  Leaving CO Springs to catch my connection in Denver took 6 hours due to weather.  Once in Denver, at midnight, I saw more people than I’ve ever seen at midnight in an airport…actually more people than I’ve ever seen in anywhere.  Denver airport was basically shut down not taking flights IN or OUT for about 6 hours. My connecting flight was still there, but they left me by 4 minutes. I even ran through the airport to get there and they still left me. What’s 4 minutes when you’ve waited 4 hrs?   After waiting at 3 separate counters to find out what I could do, the lady at the counter said, “I can’t do this anymore, I have to take a 10 minute break,” and she walked away. I was pretty much calm up until that point .  It was her job to suck it up and just help people.  I even managed to smile at her before asking her question, knowing that I had to race the next night and it was now 1am in the morning.

I eventually found someone who could help. She told me not to wait for my luggage (because it could take 2-4 hrs) but to go find a hotel and go sleep. I was put on the next flight out to Indy (9am the next day).   Well, should I even mention how  all the hotels were booked?   How I walked around in the storm  to go find a vacant hotel and that the one hotel I had made reservations with didn’t have a shuttle for 45 minutes forcing me to look elsewhere?  I finally went to sleep at 3am.

That night I had nightmares of two United flight attendants I graciously allowed to stay in my hotel room since everything was booked (we all had the same flight out in the morning).  When I woke up in the morning, they were gone and I had missed my flight!  I literally woke up swearing and thought my dream was real!  HAHA, but it wasn’t really funny.

The next day, my flight was delayed again. I got to Indy at 5pm, my race was at 9:30.  So I was trying to relax and get myself together to just go and race anyway…hoping I wouldn’t get a major ass whooping, but as I was getting up to go the weather must of followed me from Colorado.  A huge thunderstorm swept in and I thought there was NO WAY they would have the meet and finally I just said “The Hell With This.”   They had the meet.   I saw it on Flowtrack, but it was at 2am!  I would of just crumbled if I had to wait around for hours as tired as I already was.

So I race again on Wednesday.  All is not lost.  I feel almost normal again today, but need to sleep hard again tonight. I will do a hard 600m tomorrow in the AM on the track.

My mother said, “it’s just not fun to travel like it use to be.”   ….Fun? It’s not even tolerable!

So, I’m going to be late to the party but I can still have fun.  These past weeks I’ve been working on very specific lactic acid type workouts at race pace.   A ligament in the back of my knee started acting up on Sunday while I was considering going to Nashville to race this weekend. I really needed to race today in TN, but with the knee and missing some serious workouts to race one evening (with USAs coming in a few weeks), I had to plan on Indy instead this weekend.  I REALLY hope there are some fast girls there in the 800m.

The knee problem  is interesting. I hardly ever have mechanical injuries (probably because I run barefoot so much). I went to a chiropractor and they said my neck was screwed up (my C1) and I already knew that thing was screwed up.

They took x-rays and what’s funny is that with all those x-rays, they couldn’t find out that my rib was POPPED OUT.  I have been training for who knows how long with a rib popped out. How’d I find out? Well, I wasn’t so happy with the first chiropractor. I felt like she was missing something and trying to put me on a program designed for the masses. I’m an athlete! I need special treatment when it comes to these things!  I know my body. I wanted to be able to point out everything and let her fix it right there, but that didn’t happen.  I got the standard neck and back “pop.”

I called Dr. Josh Glass ( he was at USAs) and told me he knew some good guys here in Colorado Springs.  I was seen quickly and met Dr. Matthews (avid runner, fan, and very good physical therapy doc).  He used ART technique on my neck, popped my rib back into place, and fixed up my ligament.  I felt great afterward and knew I just got EXACTLY what I needed.  I’m so glad that it’s not in my nature to be complacent!

So I’ll be seeing Dr. Matthews and I’m excited about getting the treatment I need.

I’ve been doing some running since that visit and I cannot believe how much easier it is to run.  I wish I had known sooner, but it just goes to show you that everything is a learning curve…even when you have been in a sport for a very long time.  It’s just so easy to chalk things up to “hard training.”

Today I run a time trail in the 800m and then tomorrow I blast 200s.  I’ll have a few more intense workouts at the beginning of the week and then I will go race. I look forward to it.

I STILL HAVE NO IDEA HOW THIS ALTITUDE TRAINING IS GOING TO FACTOR IN! To try to combat getting “burned up” in a race, I’m sticking to the times in intervals..even at altitude. That means 25 for 200s, for example.

Off to the gym to get my “swole on”………………..

Get my Swole on – 1 definition – To work out, usually with weights. To get bigger by working out.

No, it’s not bad or anything.   For some reason (maybe because the altitude), it took me forever to get acclimated to running up here again (I got here in the middle of March).  This past week I’ve finally gotten into the swing of things.  I do a time trail tomorrow hopefully, but later today I have to go get my foot checked. I think it’s just an adjustment issue and the bone in my foot needs to be manipulated.  However, I can tell  if I do not do something this could become a big problem as it’s keeping me from running today.   I guess I could run on it, but it’s not worth it.

The other good news is that the Bosnian girl here who runs the 800m/400m went to NYC to see a doctor about her knee and she should be training hard by the end of this year…which means I have a very good training partner and we both get a long very well.  Her coach, Usari (a fantastic Morrocan distance runner, who ran college here), is coming back to Co Springs today with his friend Khalid Khannouchi (World Record marathoner).   It’s nice to have supportive, friendly people around that I LIKE.

Because it’s taken me so long to get myself together and I’ve missed loads of races (March-April is a good track racing time), I’ve decided to train really hard for the next few weeks here ( REALLY, REALLY, REALLY HARD) and then open up in Indianapolis at this twilight series.  There will be 3 races, a few days apart and I will qualify for USAs there, which will be days away.

I still have no idea how the altitude is going to play out.  This year is really a learning year. I do not know my body yet as far as how I react when going back down and how many days (etc) I will need to adjust and run a fast 800m.  It may be I need a week, not just a few days, at a lower elevation.

Because I don’t know these factors, I plan on racing this entire summer because I have a hunch that I will have a serious breakthrough sometime this season if I do keep racing.  I must race and keep training this entire summer until late into the track season.

That’s the plan.  This is my comeback.

It pretty much goes like this, if you don’t feel like doing it…don’t do it.  Friday I was walking to the track and it started snowing and I was totally thrown off.  I was getting ready to go do 150s and it was snowing sideways.  So I did what anyone would do in that position, I turned around, went to the grocery store and went home to cook a HUGE meal (because I was freezing and all of a sudden VERY hungry). 

 Apparently, I was freezing on Saturday as well.  This race was in Ft. Collins and I really could not get it together before the race. I actually thought about just scratching a few minutes before the race. I think I probably should of.  I’m not sure what I got out of racing yesterday (pretty much nothing as it was NO indication of my fitness level).   I guess it was just validation of the fact that when it doesn’t “feel” right, just save it for another day.  I got a sore throat that I was able to get rid of by sleeping 12 hrs last night.   The next time this happens during a racing day, I’m just not racing. The next time this happens during a training day, I’m going to the indoor track and still do hard  training. 

I had a friend who said, ” atleast you got out there and raced.”  I may of thought like this 10 years ago and these distance coaches love to say this shit (pardon the expressive language). They love to do this “be tough” lingo.  I’m obviously one tough broad and I am past the point of needing validation for this.  I’m here to do big things and I’m not interested in wearing myself thin and ragged.   I really need to start planning better and I’m apparently using this first year to learn this (all over again since my 5 year “timeout”). 

It was just too cold for me and with “girl-time-fatigue,” I should of just packed it up and gone back to the barn.  The good news is that no other negative consequence occured aside from me just getting pissy about running so crappy and spending the time/energy to go there.  There was one good bit of news: running a 62 first lap, was almost like walking.

I have no problems with running DIVAS.  Distance runners ALWAYS make fun of sprinters because of their “I ain’t running when it’s cold or rainy”  attitude.   I can train in crap conditions, but I totally understand NOT racing in these conditions. There’s NO POINT to it, unless there is a huge amount of money on the other side of the finish line.   This is not an issue about being “tough” like so many ”distance”  runners think it is. 

Going to do my taxes now …sweet.

It’s about time for me to start racing again for the outdoor season.  I spent the last two months training through a move to Co Springs.  I don’t feel like I’m really settled in yet, but atleast I have a bed and a couch (still no kitchen table!).  I don’t know how this will affect my outdoor season, but I have to keep reminding myself that all I need to do is 1) stay healthy 2) remember this is my first year back in 5 years of NO RUNNING and 3) keep the pressure low.

For instance, on Monday it was kind of cold here. I got out on the track to do this workout and I just struggled to get through it. In fact, it was so bad that I went home crying and ate two pints of ice cream.  Next day, it was 76 and I decided to go back to the track for “round two” and it all came together. I was running 300s in 40 (at elevation!) with  a 20 mph head wind coming into the last 100m for each 300 (pushing me back a few seconds- 200s were through in 26s).  You don’t need drugs to get hair on your chest…just run in some of this wind up here! Yesterday, it was “hurricane force” strong (70mph).

Back when I had such a good year right out of college in 2004, I remember being in New Mexico and telling my coach that I just couldn’t get through those 300s in 42  at 5,400 feet….now I have a really bad day here and come back even better (and I’m atleast  6,000 feet).  So right now, I have no idea what to expect in racing or training.  What I’m really trying to do is get some consistency here. That’s why I moved.  My goal is to get consistent so that I can prep for 2011 and 2012 (Olympics).  If I can get in the groove for the outdoor season, I’ll be so happy. If I don’t, I’m going to try not to get down about it.

I’m racing tomorrow in Ft. Collins. This week has been wishy-washy. ..just like the weather. I’m hoping it ain’t freezing because it’s pretty hard to sprint when it’s below 50 degrees, but I have to see what kind of shape I’m in.  Time is ticking down to USAs.

Photo by Ed Flores (www.bodyandline.com)