Redemption Denied

I hit the first mile marker at the Xtreme ten miler over the weekend, and despite the fact I felt like it was working kind of hard, my split was at least 30 seconds slower than I was hoping for.  That's when I realized (yet again) that I'm not as young as I used to be, and my body doesn't recover as quickly as it did at one time.  

I love running on the trails at Waterfall Glen.  It is a hilly, shaded, scenic 9.5 mile loop that has become a popular destination for runners, especially on weekends.  Despite my appreciation, however, the trail doesn't love me back.

A year ago at the Xtreme 10 mile race on those trails, I overheated and finished in a fashion that I don't really want to write about here.  It was one of my worst races in recent memory.  So I really wanted to redeem myself this year.

Well, I didn't bonk.  But I didn't run fast either.  I ran a hard race (The Terrapin 5k) on Thursday night, and hoped to use that as a warm-up for the ten miler.  Unfortunately, it turned out to be my race, and the ten miler was more of a cool down.  I ran about the pace during the race that I normally do on training runs there (about 7:45/mile).  That's fine, I suppose, but it was hardly the redemption I was hoping for.

And I felt  even older, and slower, when I saw some of my friends from the Elmhurst running club taking home trophies.  Other's like my friend Jim Papp (who I am sharing a 'high five' with) ran really good times.  A friend from my old High School, Rob Chenoweth, won the master's division with an amazing time of 57 minutes and change.  And his fiance, Beth Engel, also took home a trophy.  They both run for the Fleet Feet team.

 Aside from my personal experiences of running less than my best there, it is a great race, and I encourage everyone to give it a try.  It is truly a 'runner's race'.  The waterfall start reminds me of school cross country meets.  And the charity truly benefits from a great contribution.  The Community Nurse Health Association provides healthcare to low income families in the western suburbs.  The race raised an amazing $62,000 for their mission.

Congratulations to them, and to everyone who ran well.  There will be more races this summer (like the Rock-n-Roll half marathon this weekend) for me to turn in a better time.  As for redeeming myself at Waterfall Glen, I guess I'll have to try again next year!

See you on the roads....

Dead Head Birthday

A few weeks ago, my wife asked my opinion about what we wanted to do the night of her birthday.  Her preference was to run the inaugural Terrapin 5k in Grant Park, then go to dinner.  Well, twist my arm!  It certainly sounded like a good plan to me.   And the best part is that it wasn't me trying to convince her to let me run another race!

So like a good husband, I offered to run with her to help pace her to her goal time.  She wanted no part of that however, so I was free to run my own pace.  I knew nothing about the race until we showed up at the starting line, but it sounded like a fun concept, and a fun night, featuring a post-race concert by the jam band Mr. Blotto. 

I am actually focused on a race this weekend, the xtreme 10 miler at Waterfall Glen, so I had no real plan  to run hard two days before.  That was part of the (somewhat selfish) reason for my offer to run with her.  So made a starting line decision to run the first mile at a good pace and see where it went from there.  I crossed that mile in 6:35, and was suddenly faced with a choice.  I could push it and try to break 20 minutes, or I could back off and keep myself fresh for the weekend race.  I figured I would give myself permission to take it easy at the ten miler if I broke 20.

In the end, of course, I did neither.  I kept about the same pace through the second mile before deciding I didn't really feel like dragging the rest of the night by letting it all hang out for he final mile to make a push to break 20.  So I kept the same pace and finished in 20:21, for a pace of 6:33.  

Interestingly, it was the same course I ran a 5k on last month.  I placed third in my age group at the Jim Gibbons run, and was really focused on trying to run well there.  At the Terrapin, I barely stretched before, and did no warm-up, yet, my finishing time was exactly the same!  20:21.  In this race, however, the time waas good enough only for 8th place in my age group.

There are a couple of messages in those results.  The first is that, for me, warming up may be a little overrated.  The second is that finishing places are all relative.  Where you finish really depends on who shows up for a given race.  This one was more than twice the size of the the Gibbons run, and it attracted a stronger field.  Who knew Deadheads were good runners?

But my results aside, the race, on this night, it was all about my wife.  After crossing the finish line I managed to hustle over to get my camera and get a shot of her at the finish line.  She fell a few seconds short of her goal time, but it was a really impressive effort for her anyway.  It was her first race since giving birth to our youngest daughter a few months ago, and only about the third time she's been able to run at all since then because of a back injury.  I felt very proud of her!

There were a few organizational flaws with the race, like a beer line that seemed longer than the course, but, overall it turned out to be a nice run and a great concept.  I'm not a die-hard Deadhead, so I had to ask one to learn the origin of the name for the race.  Terrapin Station is the name of a popular Grateful Dead album and song. 

Overall, I heard mostly positive comments from other runners.  My wife's friends who were along for her birthday all ran as well, and then celebrated with a nice dinner afterward. 

It was my idea of a perfect birthday, and it wasn't even my idea!   Since my birthday is in February, there aren't many races in Chicago to choose from.  So Happy birthday Christine!

See you on the roads.....

    

Pain in the butt!

Running is much more than something I do.  In more than 30 years, it has become part of who I am.  It is one of the most enjoyable, essential parts of my life.  But lately, it's not been so much fun.  The reason is something we can pretty much all relate to, but, in my stubborn male personality, I've simply ignored it, hoping it would go away.

I'm talking about injuries.  We all deal with aches and pains pretty regularly when we run.  But there is a difference between the run-of-the-mill sore muscles, and a recurring pain.  Since at least January, that's what I've been dealing with.  That means I've trained for an run a marathon as well as a number of other races since the pain set in.  I've run fairly well, but the times could have been better without the injury.   At first I thought it was a product of the high mileage I was putting in before the Boston marathon.  But since cutting back after that race, it's gotten no better.

There's really  no other term for it.  It is a pain in the butt.  And in my case, the pain extends down my hamstring to the IT band at my knee.  It was a mystery to me.  It hurts the most during my runs, and calms down a little other times.  I tried ice.  I tried ibuprofin.  Stretching my hamstring.  Nothing worked.   It's something I've never dealt with, or even heard of in all my years of running.

Then, coincidently, I ran accross an article in the current issue of Runner's World, written by Benjamin Cheever, that describes the exact symptoms I've been dealing with.  It seems he had the same problem, and went through numerous trials and specialists to get to the bottom of it. 

Now my ailment even has a name!  Piriformis syndrome.  Apparently, it is not disabling.  It is a muscle that's not likely to tear or break or anything.  But it does tend to irritate the sciatic nerve, which runs the length of your back down your legs.  It causes major back pain for a lot of people.  I have managed to avoid that, but the pain in my right leg is bad enough.

Here is a link to the story in Runner's World.  It is titled 'The Big Hurt': http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-297--13237-0,00.html

A little research on the web yielded numerous articles about Piriformis syndrome, as well as several stretches that target the specific muscle.  Stretching alone makes a big difference.  Other treatments, (which I have not tried) are also available.  But the two stretches below are my favorites.  They come from the website I have provided a link to below as well.

 

http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com/archives/piriformis-syndrome.php 

It's only been a week, and my stretching has been spotty.  But I have noticed a difference.   Most importantly, I know what it is I'm dealing with, and how to solve it.  

I've been blessed to have been relatively injury free over all my years of running.  Other than a nasty bout with plantar faciitis a few years ago, I've never had an injury that forced me to stop running for any length of time.   That's as much luck as anything else.  And it was certainly lucky that I ran accross the Runner's World story when I did.

Now I have hope that I can soon enjoy injury-free running again soon.  See you on the roads....

Let's Rock

One of the cool things about the sport of distance running is that you get to run in the same race, start at the same starting line, cover the same ground, and finish at the same place, as the elite athletes of our sport.  It really is the people's sport.  Anyone can do it, and no one will look down on you if you finish a marathon in 6 hours any more than if you finish in under 3 hours. 

But living in the Chicago area gives us access to a greater variety of races, and a higher level of elite athlete than many smaller towns.  The Bank of America Chicago marathon obviously draws many of the top runners in the world, and has been home to world records for both men and women. 

But there are many other races that draw some pretty good runners also.  A few years ago I was one of dozens of runners who could claim to have beaten the legendary Frank Shorter in a race.  He took part in the Jim Gibbons 5k, and jogged the course.  I ran hard.  But still, I finished ahead of an Olympic Gold Medalist!  So what if he was several decades removed from his prime.

I am reminded of this because Shorter will be back in town the first weekend in August for the Rock-n-Roll half marathon.  I don't know whether he's running, but he is making appearances in conjunction with the race.  That's cool.  But the bigger news from a sports perspective is that one of the best American women distance runners will also be in town.  And Kara Goucher is running the race! 

Goucher is using the August 2nd race as preparation for the marathon in the World Championships a few weeks later in Berlin.  Coincidently, I have run the last two marathons she ran as well.  Well, not as well.  Goucher finished third in both the 2008 New York marathon, and the 2009 Boston marathon.  She was the top American in both races, and finished heartbreakingly close (:08) to the leaders in an extremely tight finish at Boston. The picture below is from the finish line.  Hers was the highest finish by an American in Boston in 16 years.  Her New York finish was the best American effort since 1994.  And she has continued to run well, winning the 5000 meters at the U.S. Championships last month.

The Rock-n-Roll organizers deserve credit for bringing her here for the race.  They took over from the Chicago Distance Classic this year for the inaugural run here.  The Distance Classic has had a spotty history of quality over the last decade or so.  They have never brought in world class runners.  But since the new owners took over, the race sold out with 18,000 runners weeks ago based on reputation alone.  And they seem determined to make sure the race lives up to the reputation is has gained in other cities.  They'll have live bands at least every mile along the course, and a big concert afterward with Blues/Jazz/Rock artist Susan Tedeschi.  That will be in Grant Park and free and open to the public.

Goucher's appearance means that arguably the two best female U.S. marathoners will be running in Chicago this year.  Deena Kastor plans to run the Chicago marathon in October.  She missed the fall and spring marathon seasons after her injury in the Beijing Olympics.  It should be quite a treat for fans of the sport.

I will watch Kastor's race on TV, but I plan to run the Rock-n-Roll half.  I expect to cover the same ground as Kara Goucher.  And I expect she will be showered and dressed for the awards ceremony by the time I finish!

See you on the roads....

Summer Vacation

Summer vacation, when we were younger, was a great time to waste away the days, hang out, and maybe run a few miles to get ready for fall cross country.  Our high school coach tried to entice us into putting in the miles by offering those who ran 300 miles over the summer a t-shirt.  The 300 mile club, if memory serves, was not a t-shirt I ever earned.  Heck, I was a middle distance guy!

Even in college, our coach encouraged us to get some miles in during the summer, but run easy.  No races.  No speed work.  He wanted us fresh for the rigors of the season.  I don't know that it would have made much of a difference for me, but that's another story.

Times have changed.  What used to be a three month break from school, is now a week or so of time away from work.  But with four young kids in the Wisconsin Dells, relaxing is not part of the agenda.  And getting some miles in was not a luxury, but a challenge!  It's the same challenge many of us face during the summer running season. 

In our case, the kids were revved up for vacation.  They wanted to hit the pool, or the circus, or anything outside of the hotel room as soon as the sun appeared.  Taking a break so I could run, as you might guess, was not part of their agenda. 

During past summer trips I have had more urgency to my training because I usually have had a fall marathon in mind, so taking a break was not an option.  This year, I'm taking skipping the fall marathon.  But I still have races planned, and still want to stay in shape. 

So, most days, I found myself sacrificing sleep, getting up early and hitting the road before everyone else was up.  When I got back it was off to Mt. Olympus or some such place, usually with barely enough time to rinse off.  It was fun to spend time with the kids, don't get me wrong.  The parks can be fun for adults too.  I even got a brief chance to swing a baseball bat in the cages, something I haven't done in years.  But this blog is about running, not family life!

 

I also did start the vacation while we were still in town by running the 4 on the 4th race in Elmhurst.  And I got a long run in the next day before hitting the road for the long drive to the Dells.  And I don't want to sound like a complainer.  The early morning runs in Wisconsin were actually beautiful.  I got to run on a hilly, remote road, and got enough miles in to make sure I have no excuses for the upcoming Waterfall Glen 10 miler, or the Rock-N-Roll half marathon after that. 

But after getting back from the vacation, I was ready to go back to work.  I needed a break.

See you on the roads....

   

Independence Day

I was about a quarter mile after the start of the 4 on the 4th race in Elmhurst when I turned around and realized my friends were no longer running with me.  We started out together.  But that, apparently, was it  My wife pointed out that is appropriate considering it was Independence Day.  In any case, I had no expectations for the race.  No goals.  I just wanted to take part since it was happening in the town where I live, and sponsored by the running club that I belong to. 

So I convinced two of my regular running weekend running partners John and Tom to sign up as well.  We rode over together.  We warmed up (a little) together.  We started together.  Then they left me.  Or I left them, depending on your perspective.  I did finish ahead of them, though that was not my objective when we started.  They have both beaten me in other races over the years. 

Really, I didn't care about my time for the race.  Sometimes, though, when you get in a race that feels good, you just go with it.  I know that a distance of 10k or less is much better suited to my abilities than a longer run, such as a marathon.  So I guess I just went with it. 

That's not to say I ran a really good time, or that I surprised myself.  I ran about 6:40 pace for the 4 miles.  That qualifies as a good workout for me, but not a strong race.  Although since I haven't focused on training for a shorter race for many, many years, I'm not sure what a good time would be for me at this point.  I just know that the shorter the distance, the more confident I feel that I can hold a faster pace.

That pace wasn't going to do much for me in this race though.  As we were doing our short warmup, my friends and I noticed that there seemed to be a lot of fast runners entered.  About a thousand runners were entered in the race, but since it was part of the CARA circuit, it attracted a talented field of runners.  The winner broke the course record by running about 19:08.  I finished something like 8 minutes later!

I confess I don't know for sure because I forgot to stop my watch at the finish, and have been too lazy to look up the results online.  I know, that's really lazy!  But it goes to the point that I really don't care too much about the results.  I enjoyed the race.  I enjoyed seeing my friends from Elmhurst and my regular running partners all in one place.  And I enjoyed getting my run in early on a holiday, then going home and starting the 4th of July before my family had even gotten going yet.

I should mention that it was a really enjoyable race.  Race directors Bob Richards and Susan May did a really nice job putting it together, and attracting a strong field.  The weather was ideal.  The course was easy enough, and the post race gathering was cozy.  Probably the best part about it was that we had a 5 minute drive to get there and were able to park in a giant lot for Elmhurst College.  So it was all good.

My friends enjoyed the race as well.  They finished not far behind me, and we all felt good about being able to enjoy the rest of the holiday with a good run out of the way early.  They are both strong runners who are in the process of getting back in shape.  Shorter races like this help them work on their speed as well as gauge where how they are doing.

As for me,  I'm still trying to figure out what's next.  A lot of runners are gearing up for fall marathon training right now.  I am not planning on that, and if I don't start to increase my mileage soon, it will soon be too late.  But after years and years of going through that training cycle, I'm trying to give myself permission to let it go right now. 

So we'll figure it out eventually, but it's fun to feel like I'm in good shape, just for the sake of being in good shape  Or in other words, it's fun just to run for the sake of running. 

I'll see you on the roads....