While at the DCRRC 1 Hour track run last night, I was reminded by one of the areas most prolific runners, Shirley Sameshima, that I hadn't updated this blog for awhile. I didn't know anyone was actually reading this thing!! Given that news, I need to get focused and catch up. I have run 5 races since my last post. I'll break up the race reports into a few separate blogs but first I want to mention some of the things I have been dealing with during these past few months. I may want to fall back on these as excuses for my terrible times in my subsequent races.
This has truly been a pretty miserable 8 months or so. I had gone for an initial assessment of my stiff right shoulder back in early October 2007. I found myself right back in his office less than a week later with a broken right foot. I fell during the DCRRC predicted time 5 miler. I slipped on some wet leaves about 1.5 miles in. I hobbled my way around the rest of the course since I was on my quest for 100 races for the year. The break was unfortunate in a few ways. First, it came at a time when I was just starting to see a glimpse of the runner I was in 2006. I was finally starting to be able to put in 10 minute miles over longer distances. That was shot when I took a month off of running to rest the foot. Second, the foot never has really healed. I now have a fairly bad case of plantar fasciitis. I also think I have some issues within that ankle. I doesn't bother me much when I run but I can barely walk for a couple of dats after a race. We're going to have to look into that.
Next up was my shoulder. The first diagnosis was a small tear of my rotator cuff. However, after a month of physical therapy that diagnosis was changed to frozen shoulder. I went to physical therapy 3X a week for 4 months but saw little to no improvement. So...it was time for surgery. I went in for surgery on April 10. They knocked me out and then twisted my arm all around so that the adhesions would break. I understand it was pretty loud in the operating room as they tore apart.
I kept the shoulder on ice for most of the next 3 weeks and went to physical therapy every day for 3 weeks. I started seeing improvement immediately. I'm no longer going to physical therapy but I need to continue to stretch that shoulder on my own. I would say I currently have about 90% of my former range of motion back. I'm hoping to get back 100%.
With all of that, I think the thing that has really hurt my running is the case of bronchitis I came down with in March. After antibiotics, cough medicine, vitamins, and nose drops, I'm still not better. My sinuses are a mess (the pollen isn't helping) and I'm having trouble breathing. When I cough it sounds like a mix between a barking dog and a quacking duck. I clearly still have gunk in my lungs. Until I get over this, I don't expect to get close to a 31:00 minute 5K.
Helping out my parents and volunteering for the City of Alexandria's Sister City Committee has also taken time from running. And, of course, work and a 1 hour commute each way doesn't help either.
Anyway, because of all of this my goals for the year are evolving. I'm still planning on running in over 50 races but I don't think I'll be able to average 2 miles of running every day (I'm averaging just less than 1 mile per day as of today). That means I'll need to average about 3 miles per day, or 21 miles per week for the second half of the year. That might not sound like much to people training for a marathon but thats a lot for this old body. We mighr be changing the goal to something more like 500 miles for the year. We'll see how my lungs and foot feel in a few weeks and set a new goal then.
OK, thats it for this report. Subsequent blogs will cover The Hills of Cabin John 5K, The Battle of the Boulevards 10K, the Annandale Atoms 5K, the aforementioned 1 hour track run, and the May 2008 edition of the Tidal Basin 3K. Stay tuned. Oh...and go David Cook!!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Monday, March 3, 2008
Victory by any means
Yesterday I ran the DC Roadrunners annual Burke Lake 12K. This was the 5th time I have run this race and I definitely have a love/hate relationship with it....mostly hate! The course is a trail around a large lake and has many small turns and dips. Usually, the course is quite muddy or even icy at this time of year. I must say, the condition of the course yesterday was almost perfect. It was about 40 degrees when we ran so the ground had thawed some making it just a little soft. But thankfully there was very little mud.
Last year I ran the race basically by myself and without any competion to push me I ran a pathetic time of 1:43:44, finishing dead last. I looked at my times from previous years and I thought a decent time for me at this stage would be anything under 1:30:00.
I took off with the pack at the start and found myself winded within 3 minutes. I took a quick walk break on an uphill and was passed by just about everyone. I took a quick look behind me and saw a group of women gaining on me so I started off again.
At around the 1 mile mark, the 4 women passed me. I was able to stay close the last of the women though and actually passed her about 2 1/2 miles into the race. At 3 miles I was surprised to be passed by Sharyn Gordon. She must have really started out slow (or did I start way too fast as usual?) Sharyn and I almost always run similar times. While I am faster than her, she has more endurance and is a slow and steady runner who never takes walk breaks. I knew if I could stay close to her I could have a decent chance of breaking 1:30:00.
As we approached an earther dam about 1/4 mile from the turnaround I saw Bob Gurtler about 300 yards ahead. I call Bob (not to his face) Old Red because he is in his 70's and he usually runs wearing a red singlet. One of my goals coming into this year was to beat Bob in a race. Bob is a very prolific runner as he runs over 100 races a year. I have probably raced against him close to 100 times and I have nver beaten him. Well, I had never been so close to him this far into a race before. That definitely inspired me to pick up the pace.
By the turnaround I was about 30 seconds behind Bob and about 15 seconds behind Sharyn. After retracing oursteps over the earthen dam I had cut those times down to about 20 and 10 seconds respectively. Then Sharyn unexpectedly pulled over once we entered the woods to get some stones out of her shoes. I fully expected her to pass me again as I was really starting to feel the effect of pushing to catch Bob but I never saw her again until the finish line when she finished about 2 minutes behind me.
I felt like I was tracking an animal in the woods as I chased after Bob. I would lose him in the trees and the many turns in the trail and then I would spot his yellow singlet (where was his red shirt today?) As I pulled closer I could see him periodically grabbing at the back of his left leg. Ah hah, that explained it. He was battling a hamstring cramp.That's the only way I could get this close to him 5 miles into a race. I briefly thought about slowing down since beating him today would be tarnished. Thay didn't last long, as I decided I have to take opportunities like this when I can.
I surged past him with about 2 1/2 miles left. I put about 100 yards between us before pulling up for a walk break. I was beat. But I couldn't rest long as he was like a Terminator that just wouldn't quit until completing its mission. After only a few short seconds I could hear his heavy breathing, as well as his footsteps coming up from behind me. That was my sign to start running again. I would run for a few minutes and then be forced to walk when would repeat the process. This continued for about 2 miles.
Finally, I broke out of the trees and began the last 1/2 mile on a road that cuts through Burke Lake. This last half mile is quite hilly...2 big uphills followed by 2 big downhills. I knew I couldn't run the uphills so I needed to 1)have a decent lead over Bob as began the first uphill and 2)push myself hard on the flats and downhills. I looked over my shoulder as I began the walk up the first uphill and saw Bob coming out of the woods about 30 seconds behind me. That was a decent lead but I wasn't sure it would be enough. I couldn't see him behind me as I crested the hill so I stuck with the plan and pushed myself hard on the downhill. I felt like I was going to be sick but I pushed on until the last uphill. As I trudged up I looked back and saw that I had gained a little ground on Bob. I now knew that as long as my wheels didn't fall off I would finally beat Bob.
I began running again as I crested this last hill. I could see the finish line. I checked my watch and saw that I was going to break my goal time. Now it was just a matter of making it official. As the timer cheered me on, I ran through the finiah in a time of 1 hour, 27 minutes and 40 seconds. No world record for me but this nearly as satisfying. Bob finished about 1 minute later. Sharyn finished perhaps 90 seconds after that and the woman who I trailed early was about 1 minute behind her.
The bananas were gone by the time I made it to the post race refeshment area so I grabbed a bagel which I learned was rock hard after 1 bite. The only beverages that I saw was powdered gatorade. I had a sip and thought it was pretty bad so I went to my car where I had a cold bottle waiting for me. I then returned home and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast made by my supporting wife Dori (who ran on the treadmill downstairs while I ran the race). Then it was time for a nice nap on the couch.
Last year I ran the race basically by myself and without any competion to push me I ran a pathetic time of 1:43:44, finishing dead last. I looked at my times from previous years and I thought a decent time for me at this stage would be anything under 1:30:00.
I took off with the pack at the start and found myself winded within 3 minutes. I took a quick walk break on an uphill and was passed by just about everyone. I took a quick look behind me and saw a group of women gaining on me so I started off again.
At around the 1 mile mark, the 4 women passed me. I was able to stay close the last of the women though and actually passed her about 2 1/2 miles into the race. At 3 miles I was surprised to be passed by Sharyn Gordon. She must have really started out slow (or did I start way too fast as usual?) Sharyn and I almost always run similar times. While I am faster than her, she has more endurance and is a slow and steady runner who never takes walk breaks. I knew if I could stay close to her I could have a decent chance of breaking 1:30:00.
As we approached an earther dam about 1/4 mile from the turnaround I saw Bob Gurtler about 300 yards ahead. I call Bob (not to his face) Old Red because he is in his 70's and he usually runs wearing a red singlet. One of my goals coming into this year was to beat Bob in a race. Bob is a very prolific runner as he runs over 100 races a year. I have probably raced against him close to 100 times and I have nver beaten him. Well, I had never been so close to him this far into a race before. That definitely inspired me to pick up the pace.
By the turnaround I was about 30 seconds behind Bob and about 15 seconds behind Sharyn. After retracing oursteps over the earthen dam I had cut those times down to about 20 and 10 seconds respectively. Then Sharyn unexpectedly pulled over once we entered the woods to get some stones out of her shoes. I fully expected her to pass me again as I was really starting to feel the effect of pushing to catch Bob but I never saw her again until the finish line when she finished about 2 minutes behind me.
I felt like I was tracking an animal in the woods as I chased after Bob. I would lose him in the trees and the many turns in the trail and then I would spot his yellow singlet (where was his red shirt today?) As I pulled closer I could see him periodically grabbing at the back of his left leg. Ah hah, that explained it. He was battling a hamstring cramp.That's the only way I could get this close to him 5 miles into a race. I briefly thought about slowing down since beating him today would be tarnished. Thay didn't last long, as I decided I have to take opportunities like this when I can.
I surged past him with about 2 1/2 miles left. I put about 100 yards between us before pulling up for a walk break. I was beat. But I couldn't rest long as he was like a Terminator that just wouldn't quit until completing its mission. After only a few short seconds I could hear his heavy breathing, as well as his footsteps coming up from behind me. That was my sign to start running again. I would run for a few minutes and then be forced to walk when would repeat the process. This continued for about 2 miles.
Finally, I broke out of the trees and began the last 1/2 mile on a road that cuts through Burke Lake. This last half mile is quite hilly...2 big uphills followed by 2 big downhills. I knew I couldn't run the uphills so I needed to 1)have a decent lead over Bob as began the first uphill and 2)push myself hard on the flats and downhills. I looked over my shoulder as I began the walk up the first uphill and saw Bob coming out of the woods about 30 seconds behind me. That was a decent lead but I wasn't sure it would be enough. I couldn't see him behind me as I crested the hill so I stuck with the plan and pushed myself hard on the downhill. I felt like I was going to be sick but I pushed on until the last uphill. As I trudged up I looked back and saw that I had gained a little ground on Bob. I now knew that as long as my wheels didn't fall off I would finally beat Bob.
I began running again as I crested this last hill. I could see the finish line. I checked my watch and saw that I was going to break my goal time. Now it was just a matter of making it official. As the timer cheered me on, I ran through the finiah in a time of 1 hour, 27 minutes and 40 seconds. No world record for me but this nearly as satisfying. Bob finished about 1 minute later. Sharyn finished perhaps 90 seconds after that and the woman who I trailed early was about 1 minute behind her.
The bananas were gone by the time I made it to the post race refeshment area so I grabbed a bagel which I learned was rock hard after 1 bite. The only beverages that I saw was powdered gatorade. I had a sip and thought it was pretty bad so I went to my car where I had a cold bottle waiting for me. I then returned home and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast made by my supporting wife Dori (who ran on the treadmill downstairs while I ran the race). Then it was time for a nice nap on the couch.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Leaping Lizards
I just returned from the quad-annual(?) DCRRC Leap Year Tidal Basin 3K. I continued my very slow but steady recent improvement with a time of 18:32. Doesn't sound like much but when you consider I was somewhat pleased with a time of 18:59 just last week, I'll take it. I was speaking with Charlie Mercer before the race and he asked me what my goal for the day was. I told him 10 minute per mile pace, or about 18:36. He challenged me to break 18 minutes. I knew I couldn't do that today but his challenge did get me focused on breaking that 10 minute per mile barrier. So Charlie, if you are out there, thanks for the inspiration.
As always, I started the race too quickly. I find it difficult not too start too quickly in these small races (we had about 25 today) where just about everyone is at least good. I was running not far behind both Shirley Sameshima and Dee Nelson at about the 1/4 mile mark. They both usually run the 3K in the high 14's or low 15's so to be close to them given my current fitness level probably means I'm going out too fast. Sure enough, I was suffering as I ran across the first bridge and stopped for a quick walk break after getting across it.
I knew I had 1 runner behind me and if you know me you know I hate being in last place. So I started running again until just before the 2nd bridge. I walked for about a minute this time as I was having a tough time getting my breath. The trailing runner appeared right behind me so I was off and running again. I looked back for him about 2 minutes later and there was no sign of him so he must have stopped for a walk break himself.
I took my last walk break at the third and final bridge (are you detecting a theme?). It was a short break as I knew I was running very close to my goal pace and thus had no time to waste. That left about .36 miles to the finish. Fortunately, a decent wind was behind us at this point. I tried to maintain a steady pace coming in and then I increased my pace with about 80 yards to go. They called out 18:31 when I crossed the finish line but my watch actually showed 18:32 so I'm going with that.
I spoke to one of my favorite runners after the race, Peter Blank. After running in 163 races in 2007, he told me he was going to cut back in 2008. I had seen he had over 20 races completed for the year and I questioned his "cut back" plan. He said he had actually run 27 races but he was slowing down. I told him that didn't sound like someone cutting back but he explained that if he runs 3 races in a track meet on a Saturday, he is not running on Sunday. So I told him he was still crazy but at least it was a sensible crazy.
Next race is the Burke Lake 12K on Sunday. I have a love/hate relationship with that course...mostly hate. More on that next time.
As always, I started the race too quickly. I find it difficult not too start too quickly in these small races (we had about 25 today) where just about everyone is at least good. I was running not far behind both Shirley Sameshima and Dee Nelson at about the 1/4 mile mark. They both usually run the 3K in the high 14's or low 15's so to be close to them given my current fitness level probably means I'm going out too fast. Sure enough, I was suffering as I ran across the first bridge and stopped for a quick walk break after getting across it.
I knew I had 1 runner behind me and if you know me you know I hate being in last place. So I started running again until just before the 2nd bridge. I walked for about a minute this time as I was having a tough time getting my breath. The trailing runner appeared right behind me so I was off and running again. I looked back for him about 2 minutes later and there was no sign of him so he must have stopped for a walk break himself.
I took my last walk break at the third and final bridge (are you detecting a theme?). It was a short break as I knew I was running very close to my goal pace and thus had no time to waste. That left about .36 miles to the finish. Fortunately, a decent wind was behind us at this point. I tried to maintain a steady pace coming in and then I increased my pace with about 80 yards to go. They called out 18:31 when I crossed the finish line but my watch actually showed 18:32 so I'm going with that.
I spoke to one of my favorite runners after the race, Peter Blank. After running in 163 races in 2007, he told me he was going to cut back in 2008. I had seen he had over 20 races completed for the year and I questioned his "cut back" plan. He said he had actually run 27 races but he was slowing down. I told him that didn't sound like someone cutting back but he explained that if he runs 3 races in a track meet on a Saturday, he is not running on Sunday. So I told him he was still crazy but at least it was a sensible crazy.
Next race is the Burke Lake 12K on Sunday. I have a love/hate relationship with that course...mostly hate. More on that next time.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
I'm Back
No, I'm not quite dead. I just disappeared for awhile. seriously, I had no idea it had been so long since my last entry.
Here's where we stand as far as the running goals are concerned. Yesterday was the 58th day of the year and so far I have run about 76 1/2 miles. That's an average of about 1.32 miles per day...a far cry from my goal of 2 miles a day for the whole year. I am on pace for 50+ races for the year as I have completed 7 races so far and I have races planned for tomorrow and Friday.
I saw my orthopedics Dr. two weeks ago about the foot I broke back in October. It was still giving me trouble into February so I was concerned that it either wasn't healing correctly or perhaps there was more than just a break that resulted from my fall. After an examination he believes that I have the early stages of plantar fachitis. I am now wearing silicone heals in my shoes when I run to absorb some of the impact when I run. So far so good as I have run 4 straight days without pain. However, I took a lot of days off in January and February in attempt to let my foot heal so I have some ground to make up if I am to reach my initial goals.
On January 20th I ran the Tidal Basin 3K in 18:59, While significantly slower than where I believe I should be, it was my fastest 3K in several months. I am hopeful that I have turned the corner and that I'll start to see slow and steady improvement in my running going forwards. On a related note, I have also seen my weight drop about 8 pounds from it peak in mid January to about 202 pounds. Again, I have a long way to go here as well as I would like to get to about 185 pounds but it is a start. I have the DC Half Marathon in 4 weeks so I would like to be down to about 195 pounds when I run that. I think anything more than that will be very difficult to get around the course for 13.1 miles.
Finally, I am giving a great deal of thought to entering a sprint duathalon. There are several nearby that will be held in late April. I need to get on my bike and see if I have what it takes. More info on this to come later.
Until next time...
Here's where we stand as far as the running goals are concerned. Yesterday was the 58th day of the year and so far I have run about 76 1/2 miles. That's an average of about 1.32 miles per day...a far cry from my goal of 2 miles a day for the whole year. I am on pace for 50+ races for the year as I have completed 7 races so far and I have races planned for tomorrow and Friday.
I saw my orthopedics Dr. two weeks ago about the foot I broke back in October. It was still giving me trouble into February so I was concerned that it either wasn't healing correctly or perhaps there was more than just a break that resulted from my fall. After an examination he believes that I have the early stages of plantar fachitis. I am now wearing silicone heals in my shoes when I run to absorb some of the impact when I run. So far so good as I have run 4 straight days without pain. However, I took a lot of days off in January and February in attempt to let my foot heal so I have some ground to make up if I am to reach my initial goals.
On January 20th I ran the Tidal Basin 3K in 18:59, While significantly slower than where I believe I should be, it was my fastest 3K in several months. I am hopeful that I have turned the corner and that I'll start to see slow and steady improvement in my running going forwards. On a related note, I have also seen my weight drop about 8 pounds from it peak in mid January to about 202 pounds. Again, I have a long way to go here as well as I would like to get to about 185 pounds but it is a start. I have the DC Half Marathon in 4 weeks so I would like to be down to about 195 pounds when I run that. I think anything more than that will be very difficult to get around the course for 13.1 miles.
Finally, I am giving a great deal of thought to entering a sprint duathalon. There are several nearby that will be held in late April. I need to get on my bike and see if I have what it takes. More info on this to come later.
Until next time...
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Tidal Basin 2, Tim 0
It's been over 2 1/2 hours since I finished this months version of the Tidal Basin 3K and I'm still sweating. It's not because of the heat...its only around 40 degrees outside. I'm afraid that my lack of fitness is really causing me some challenges. I ran (and walked) it in 19:47...which is even 22 seconds slower than my pathetic time last month! However, it is quite a bit faster than I ran last week during the cruise so I'm satisfied with it.
I also ran 2 miles on the treadmill last night. I did not run Monday night because I'm a loser :) Last night's run was at a slow pace...around 4.6 MPH...but I did run the whole way which was a bit of a morale victory. I also had a very sore foot last night so again I'm satisfied with my time.
So the YTD results are as follows:
Miles raced 4.96
Miles run in training 14.0
Total Miles run 18.96
Average miles per day=1.19
Lucy, you've got some splaining to do! I'm way off my targeted miles per day of 2.0. I need to start putting in some longer runs.
I also ran 2 miles on the treadmill last night. I did not run Monday night because I'm a loser :) Last night's run was at a slow pace...around 4.6 MPH...but I did run the whole way which was a bit of a morale victory. I also had a very sore foot last night so again I'm satisfied with my time.
So the YTD results are as follows:
Miles raced 4.96
Miles run in training 14.0
Total Miles run 18.96
Average miles per day=1.19
Lucy, you've got some splaining to do! I'm way off my targeted miles per day of 2.0. I need to start putting in some longer runs.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Two weeks in
So it's already January 14th. Dori and I have just returned from a wonderful cruise. The bad news is I am behind in my 2 mile a day goal. The good news is that I ran every day on the cruise other than the days spent in Fort Lauderdale. So that means I ran (OK, I also walked some) on 6 days. I did 2 miles on each of those days. 2 days were on a treadmill, 3 days were on the top deck of the ship, and 1 day was on the beach (Labadee, Haiti).
I didn't do any running for several days before the cruise. In fact, the only miles run so far this year other than my runs during the cruise were the 3.1 miles run on January 1 in the DC Road Rinner race. That means my total miles run is now 15.1 for the year. At least it is more than a mile per day. I should be able to get to my desired average mileage pretty easily. At least, thats the plan.
I didn't do any running for several days before the cruise. In fact, the only miles run so far this year other than my runs during the cruise were the 3.1 miles run on January 1 in the DC Road Rinner race. That means my total miles run is now 15.1 for the year. At least it is more than a mile per day. I should be able to get to my desired average mileage pretty easily. At least, thats the plan.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Setting a low bar
Days 1
Miles Run 3.1
Well, 2008 has begun and if the result of my first race of the year is any indication, 2008 could be a repeat of 2007. Yesterday I ran the DC Road Runners Predictions and Resolutions 5K in Rosslyn, VA. I have run the race twice before so I knew the course (flat except for a tough uphill over the last 300 yards or so). My times in prior years were around 31 or 32 minutes. Yesterday I completed the race in 35:02. While I'm not happy with the time, I honestly have to say it's about what I expected. I ran the King Street Mile on New Year's Eve and struggled to a time of 9:01. I knew the 5K would be a struggle for me.
So the 2008 journey has begun. I'm already ahead of pace for my goal of 2 miles run per day. My right foot, which I broke in October, feels relatively good so I plan to continue to run a couple of miles a day over the next few days. I need to work on both speed and endurance so we'll see how it goes.
Miles Run 3.1
Well, 2008 has begun and if the result of my first race of the year is any indication, 2008 could be a repeat of 2007. Yesterday I ran the DC Road Runners Predictions and Resolutions 5K in Rosslyn, VA. I have run the race twice before so I knew the course (flat except for a tough uphill over the last 300 yards or so). My times in prior years were around 31 or 32 minutes. Yesterday I completed the race in 35:02. While I'm not happy with the time, I honestly have to say it's about what I expected. I ran the King Street Mile on New Year's Eve and struggled to a time of 9:01. I knew the 5K would be a struggle for me.
So the 2008 journey has begun. I'm already ahead of pace for my goal of 2 miles run per day. My right foot, which I broke in October, feels relatively good so I plan to continue to run a couple of miles a day over the next few days. I need to work on both speed and endurance so we'll see how it goes.
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