Status update

I can't believe it's been a month since I've been here! I haven't been following along in the blogging world for a while so I guess I'll start back in with a quick post then jump over to ya'll's blogs and catch up over this week.

I'm still struggling with some piriformis syndrome type symptoms and a pretty bad case of achilles tendinitis. I haven't run since Windermere but have been getting in a couple of aerobic workouts with the aquajogger since then. I started physical therapy a couple of weeks ago and have been on heavy duty anti-inflammatories for almost a month. I've made some good progress with the achilles, but it still feels off when I jog even just a little bit. I've taken the opportunity to focus on regaining some of my general fitness and strength by spending my workout time with some old routines and some new ones, mostly from Jay Johnson's resources on his blog, website, runnerspace and Vimeo. Ultimately I think maintaining solid strength training and flexibility routines will help keep me healthy but also improve my running. Had I not been injured I probably wouldn't have decided to devote substantial effort toward these endeavors so perhaps the injuries are blessings in disguise.

My plan going forward is to slowly build mileage up to 100 comfortable miles per week - however long it takes. I'll run a few races here and there and also throw in a weekly speed session along with strength and agility drills, but no formal periodized plan yet.

Bob: Thanks for your comments! I did do a Burn After Reading when I received an e-mail from Windermere to save $10 off next year's race! I'm looking forward to either Boston if I can afford it next year and increase my chances for corral 1 at CIM, or more likely Eugene for the spring. As for the Santa Rosa Marathon, I was initially planning on doing the half and I may yet. But the way things are looking now I probably won't try to race until October - I have a 10K and two halves that I'd really like to do.

Ewen: I wish I could attribute my "old & slow" feeling legs to lack of mileage or something excessive in my training, but I'm afraid they feel that way because they are old & slow! During Windermere I think a lot of things contributed to feeling terrible. Travelling + not running the day before, lack of running in the week leading up to the race, lack of volume in the months leading in, and the shoes were "the final kick to the crotch." I think the things I have planned for my mileage buildup will help a lot with this, though. I have lots of middle distance-specific ancillary work I'm going to do when my body's ready. Picnicking along the river is a better idea than marathoning along it for sure!

Billy & Glenn: Give me a shout anytime you're coming up for The Ave. I don't know that I'll go out of my way to run it again, but it's easy enough for me to get to and I'd love to spend a day or so with friends up in the redwoods!

Richie: I'm waiting to hear if I won tickets to the USA Outdoor Champs! Erin just started a job so it really doesn't work out time-wise or finance-wise for us right now. If I end up winning the tickets I may ask my dad for a loan so we can go!

Paul: I'm sorry to hear about your frustrating experiece at Windermere. Based on their advertising I'm surprised they screwed the markers up. I always try to learn something from every race I do. Next time make sure you leave everything on the course! Even if you don't reach your goal you won't walk away wondering "what if?" Good luck in your next attempt.

Windermere Marathon Race Report

I had intended Windermere to be my goal race this spring, where I’d be shooting for a 2:52. I started my training back in January before I was 100% healthy, which both inhibited my training and caused me to make some compromises to my running form. The latter resulted in a little piriformis syndrome (PS) and achilles tendinitis (AT) that I pushed through to be ready for the Napa Valley Marathon. In the eleven weeks after Napa I did little to no running, being hampered by a slow recovery, two nasty colds and worsening PS and AT. So Windermere necessarily became just a long run I wanted to enjoy along the Spokane River.

Spokane River in Riverfront Park:

The shirts are pretty nice!

I think there's too much gear required for the marathon:

Expo sign. They had two of these yet no start of finish line banner:

On the bus ride to the start I finalized my strategy, to run the first five miles at sub-3 effort then back off to my anticipated easy pace of 7:30 – 8:00 for the rest of the run. The purpose of that was to get a handle on what the sub-3 crowd looked like in case I decided to come back next year. Although a little chilly before the start, I stayed reasonably warm with just my garbage bag poncho. Even as people continued to show up I realized the race was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. Organization was a bit lacking as the announcer and runner services were on one side of the designated traffic lanes while the port-a-potties and closed lanes were on the other. Fortunately there wasn’t much traffic.

Before the start:

Almost the entire field in the starting region:

After assembling in the start region (there was no start line or banner) the starter finally got everyone to the correct starting point. It was only then we found out the “chip timing” meant that our gun time would be recorded at the finish line by the chip. Lame. No one wanted to be on the front line so I grabbed a spot next to the eventual winner, close enough to hear the pathetic girl giggle to the hired announcer “Oops! I missed it!” Apparently the timing system starts at a designated time, not as a result of a starting trigger. What’s more amazingly stupid than that is that they put such an incompetent ditz in charge of getting us started on time. It appears they tried to compensate for this in the final times, but they’re still not chip-accurate.

Upon starting I instantly knew wearing my NB 903’s was a mistake. All of the cushioning was shot, leaving my feet and legs aching from the very first step. Nonetheless I continued with my plan of running 6:50 – 7:00 the first few miles. It was a little frustrating as many people went out too fast and I was surrounded by several people who had no business running 7-minute pace. Usually that doesn’t bother me but most of them were pacing erratically but always near me. We looped back past the starting area and after a couple of miles were finally on the Centennial Trail heading back toward Spokane. At this point there was a good group of us holding a decent rhythm over the Spokane River and into Washington.
Mile 1 – 6:57
Mile 2 – 6:50
Mile 3 – 6:54
Mile 4 – 6:56
Mile 5 – 6:56

After 5 miles I started falling back off the group, more as a result of the pace becoming more difficult to maintain than sticking to my plan of backing off. Aerobically I felt like I was running a very easy pace, but my legs were already feeling like they’d gone 20 miles. The next few miles passed fairly quickly with only a couple of runners passing me. Running through the native grasses and wildflowers along the river with the rising sun at my back was quite nice. By mile 7 my legs were really turning to rocks and I was seeking out the uneven gravel shoulder of the trail just to get a little softness underfoot. Even then every step became painful for my PS, AT and quads by mile 9. During this stretch one of the guys who had no business running 7’s at the start went lumbering by me. His shirt read “Running Is My Prozac.”
Mile 6 – 7:12
Mile 7 – 7:35
Mile 8 – 7:30
Mile 9 – 8:01 (bathroom break)
Mile 10 – 7:35

Several more people passed me before the halfway point. I told the first few “good job” as they went by only to realize they were wearing headphones. After a while I just ignored them. After rounding a turn onto a long strait stretch I saw Mr. Prozac walking while taking a drink from his fuel belt. Just a couple of weeks ago Erin was complaining to me about jog/walkers beating her in races and I bragged that at my paces I don’t have to worry about that. And here I was getting beat by someone who shouldn’t be able to run faster than me, but he was Gallowalking faster than me! As I approached the halfway point where the half marathon started I realized the run was going so poorly that continuing would leave me more sore than any of my previous marathons and possibly quite a bit more injured than I already was. I slowed to almost a walk before the aid station so I could ask a volunteer for a ride back to the finish line. Just before I stopped three things hit me: 1) I made this huge trip to run this race and I’d be leaving without even a finisher’s medal, let alone an age group award or PR, 2) In 22 years of racing I’ve finished every single race I’ve started and 3) There was something completely ambiguous, unceremonious and unsettling about ending my run right here in the middle of the trail. So I put my head down and just ran until I was well past the aid station and reassessed what I was doing. I was struggling. My legs were in agony yet I didn’t have the aerobic challenge to keep my mind focused. I drifted from shoulder to shoulder of the path trying to find as much gravel and dirt as I could while other runners continued to go by. Then we came to a long detour through a neighborhood. The pavement here aggravated my leg discomfort even more and not being along the river with the pine trees and wildflowers made this stretch almost unbearable. Finally I started to break up the run into manageable chunks at 14 miles. I just had to run two more miles then I’d have only ten to go. I could run 10 miles in any condition no problem!
Mile 11 – 8:52 (bathroom break)
Mile 12 – 8:03
Mile 13 – 8:01
Mile 14 – 8:52 (bathroom break)
Mile 15 – 8:21

After crossing the river again the trail disappeared through a neighborhood again. After reaching mile 17 most of the remaining miles were through neighborhoods or on the shoulder of a busy road and it all became a blur. With no more visual stimulation and other runners beginning to struggle along with me I became more aware of our collective plight. The runners that were catching me at this point appeared to be struggling as well but were still pushing. Most slowly faded into the distance while a few others came back and forth as they struggled with trying to walk out cramps. Toward mile 18 I spotted Mr. Prozac walking again, but what’s this? In addition to beating me with the run/walk method he’s also had his own bike support this entire way? Unbelievable! Some of the previous mile markers weren’t marked and when they resumed at 18, they were off by a mile. Fortunately I had my Garmin so I knew I was at 18 and not 17! At this point I also heard the whistle of a train. The course crosses train tracks but the race director stated that trains never come through Spokane before noon on Saturdays! I was too preoccupied with my immediate little hell to think that was anything but funny, though. I somehow missed it but just barely. Several other runners were held up for several minutes.
Mile 16 – 9:14 (this was long)
Mile 17 – 7:39 (this was short – 8:57 average for 16 & 17)
Mile 18 – 8:47
Mile 19 – 8:45Mile 20 – 8:57

After a very tough few miles in which a couple of short uphill stretches really hurt my achilles I rewarded myself at mile 20 with a short walk break to stop the painful pounding on the pavement. After about a minute I continued running, but at a much slower pace. The course was now on the shoulder of a busy road and I kept thinking how unsafe it was and that they should have at least put some traffic cones out. It was really getting warm out and I didn’t know how much of the remaining 10K I’d be able to run. Coming up to an aid station at 21.75 miles a cramping runner asked Mr. Prozac’s bike support lady for some Sport Beans which she reluctantly shared. Even though I had gained a little ground on Mr. Prozac I knew it would only get worse for me and I didn’t want to deal with his taunting so I decided to take a 30-second break at the water station to get some much needed liquids and let him gain some ground. Just after the aid station I heard an unholy yelling behind me. The fourth woman was closing on me and apparently not happy with her course support person. I felt bad for the support woman – she wore a jacket matching her runner friend’s outfit and was at four points on the course that I remember, always with a smile and bottle yet here she was getting yelled at for some reason. Finally this six-foot monster lumbers by me and I encourage her “good job!” in as upbeat a tone as I can muster. She grunted “you too…. I’m cramping horribly…. Oh, fuck!” I really didn’t know what to say to that so I slowed down and let her get by as quickly as possible.
Mile 21 – 10:13 (walk break)
Mile 22 – 10:17 (aid station stop)

Despite my courtesy to Mr. Prozac and his course support, he remained just a few dozen yards in front of me. Through no fault of my own, with the 9:28 mile, I caught him again in the 23rd mile. Seeing the lettering on his shirt again and reassessing my body’s injury status I decided that upon getting home I was going to see my doctor so I could wear a “Prozac Is My Running” shirt for the next few months. Realizing that I was only at 23 in the same time it took me to run 26.2 a couple of months ago I didn’t think Prozac was such a bad idea.
Mile 23 – 9:28

During Mile 23 I also caught another runner who was struggling with cramps. Although it was really getting hot out I finally felt that the finish line was a sure thing. Invigorated (I guess that’s the right word) to be within a few minutes of the finish and ahead of Mr. Prozac I focused on maintaining a decent pace the rest of the way. This other runner went with me for a while and we started to close on the Grunter. Mile 24 was marked as 23 and despite being nowhere near any other runners or volunteers she screamed out her objection to being only 23 miles into the race. We reassured she was at 24 and the markers were wrong, but I’m not sure if our voices carried far enough for her to hear!
Mile 24 – 8:49

As I approached the grunter I lost my running companion and could hear her encouraging herself: “Fuck you, calf! Come on you fucker! I hate you!” I quickened my pace and swung wide around the curve to sneak by her. In addition to beating Mr. Prozac I now had new motivation to finish strong – one I’ve never had before: genuine fear. Coming across an overpass I peered down to the street below and noticed a woman who was at the start of the marathon walking along the street, well off the course and away from it. It was very bizarre. Not only could I not fathom what she was doing and where she was going, but I had no clue as to how she ended up at that location and well ahead of me since she was at the start. If she had gotten a ride and not raced why would she have not gone to the finish line instead of the middle of an industrial area where no one was around on a Saturday morning?
Mile 25 – 9:34 (this was long, Garmin says 8:36 pace)

The last couple of miles were finally along the river again, but as we neared the city center more and more half marathoners were blocking the trail, more and more pedestrians were taking the tangents away from me and worst of all more and more people were smoking. After navigating the final maze of a mile with several random turns I finally crossed the last bridge to the finish. I was much slower than I thought I was going to be, but I salvaged a hard earned victory in the closing miles over Mr. Prozac and the grunter.
Mile 26 – 9:23 (this was long, Garmin says 8:30 pace)

I knew I was late to catch my bus back to the airport so I grabbed what food I could and hobbled back to throw my stuff in my bag and hobble back to the transit mall. The extra 1.5 miles of walking post-race was not my idea of a good time. The only reasons I made my bus to the airport were that the bus driver was 10-minutes late and a drunk toothless couple on their way to a casino told me their bus would get me to the airport. Fortunately I had the entire Economy Plus row to myself to stretch out and rub my legs on the way to Denver. When I finally got home at 9:30 Erin had dinner and a Key Lime pie waiting for me!

I was disappointed with the organization of this race, with the confusion of the bus drivers, the botched start and the incorrectly labeled mile markers. I was also disappointed at the small field size. It was promoted well through fliers at CIM and several ads in Runner’s World but it amounted to less than 300 runners, most of them local. I’m glad I ran Napa all out and came out with a decent time. Even if I were in 2:52 shape for Windermere I think the solitude and uncomfortable surroundings in conjunction with the heat and crowded trail at the end would have unraveled the race for me.

On the positive side, I really like the well-deserved finisher’s medal and the volunteers were extremely friendly and helpful, rivaling the course support at CIM. I won’t make a point of running this race again but I’d like to give it another try someday.

Avenue Of The Giants Weekend

Last fall I had the grand idea to do the Avenue of the Giants Half Marathon since it could be rolled into a 3-day camping trip for Erin, Shadow and me. Unfortunately the weather forecast for the weekend was rain - and lots of it. Having already paid for the campsites and having camped for an entire week in the rain in the same campground back in high school I figured it wouldn't be a big deal.

After setting up the tent and our bed in the rain we took a short walk through the trees. Even though we weren't too happy about being wet, it wasn't cold or windy and it was nice to have the smells of the damp forest.

After getting back to camp I quickly got to heating up the chili Erin brilliantly prepared at home earlier in the morning. As the chili heated and we watched our tent get wetter and wetter Erin kept me entertained with stories of the kids she dealt with as a social worker. This one was about an afro...

The chili was absolutely delicious and just what we needed before hunkering down for the night.

Other than the short walk, Shadow was extremely dissatisfied with his inclusion on this trip.

We woke up with a pool of rain water caught in the rain fly which sunk down between the tent poles. After some coffee and a short walk we headed off to the packet pickup and found some good deals on socks and a fleece hat for Erin. She was being really good about tolerating another race weekend for me and especially being cold and wet for it so I decided to thank her by taking her down to Garberville for a warm breakfast inside:

Just before heading out of town I stopped in the Best Western and begged for a room. After an hour they finally found us a smoking room. At that point we couldn't really be picky so we took it. We hastily packed up our waterlogged camp gear and drove back out onto the course

to go for a short run. Even though it was still raining it was quite pretty through the mist and trees. Shadow even started to have fun finally.

Erin was extremely happy to get into the warm dry room and I must admit so was I. After resting for a little bit and getting cleaned up we headed out to get some dinner. This is where we ended up eating, right next to the hotel:

And the atmosphere, service, and quality of food is exactly what you'd expect from a restaurant specializing in Mexican, Italian and American cuisine.

After dinner we snuck Shadow down to the room and he was extremely happy. He also got meatball leftovers from dinner.

Although the room stunk to high heaven, all three of us slept really well. That was a much better experience than having to get up at 5am to break camp in the rain just to get to the race and back home on time.

Back on the road to the race the rain finally started letting up. The closer we got, the slower we went. The line of cars was pretty long...

We finally got down to the sand bar and were sent to the very edge by the river for some reason. Shadow was happy to get out and run around. He went swimming and even tried taking sticks away from another dog - very out of character for my little beta.

Up by the starting line and the intersection for the out-and-backs there was a ridiculously loud group of drummers under the 101 overpass making all sorts of noise. And of course that brings out the dancing nut jobs. Thank you, but we're in Humboldt County already - we don't need to encourage the weirdos.

Part of the chicken wire, adobe and straw contraption that's keeping my legs together:

Finally ready to go!

After my 1:28 debacle on a short course two weeks ago and ongoing achilles and leg issues I really had no idea of what to expect. I thought a 1:27 might be possible but I didn't really think about the time. I thought more of being in the top 10 and more specifically about not running the first half too fast. After some early jostling I was in 10th place a little less than a mile in.

Mile 1 - 6:26

I was running fairly comfortably but still probably harder than I wanted to be considering how easy the first few miles two weeks ago felt and how badly I fell apart. I tried to stay relaxed and breathe easy and not worry about it. The morning was extremely humid and I was completely soaked in sweat by the end of the first mile. It wasn't very pleasant but fortunately there was enough to focus on early to keep my mind off how uncomfortable it was.

Mile 2 - 6:48

A little more uphill than the first mile, but I didn't feel like I was working any harder. A woman pulled up alongside me here and we had the same rhythm going for a few miles. This was helpful to keep a consistent effort early on. It was actually nice to be in a race where a woman at my level was willing to work together. Most are either ultra competitive or assume I am and won't run as a team.

Mile 3 - 6:31

Another quicker mile than I wanted, but I started feeling okay about my effort level. We started passing the marathoners who were on the return trip here. There were three other runners strung out ahead of us, sometimes coming back and sometimes pulling ahead due to the hills, turns and footing. It was kind of bizarre; I'm used to being in road races where it's easier to control pace. This was like cross country with the different course elements affecting each runner differently.

Mile 4 - 6:44

A steady uphill slowed this one a bit but the effort was still controlled. After a short climb I started pulling away from the woman running with me and after coming down the backside I could tell she wasn't going to hold the pace.

Mile 5 - 6:31

I was alone in 8th and focused on the first place woman about thirty seconds up the road. Shortly after I refocused ahead, another guy came up and passed me and remained about ten seconds ahead, running about the same pace as me. While slowly closing on the first woman an older runner fell off his pace and I caught him just before the Albee Creek campground. He tried picking up his pace to keep up as I came up. Usually I just run my own race and let these types run with me for a while if they want. But for some reason I just wasn't in the mood so I surged for a few seconds and before I knew it I was up with the first woman. We were now on a long open stretch of road and I started gaining on the runner who passed me in the trees.

Mile 6 - 6:35

I went back and forth with this guy (Eric) a few times but really had to focus on my effort and staying as relaxed as I could at pace. I really had to focus here as there was no one on the radar other than Eric, my pace was starting to get a little more difficult and the long open road was wanting to lull me to sleep. Seeing the leaders coming back down the road was enough to help keep me focused.

Mile 7 - 6:28

More jostling with Eric and I led him through the turnaround at 42:53, just under halfway through the race. Although our moments of hitting pace didn't line up we were running the same average pace for quite a while. After making the turn I was surprised to see how downhill the road looked! This was enough to get me excited for the last half of the race. I came through the first half a bit more tired than I was hoping, but a lot faster than I thought I could.

Mile 8 - 6:19

I was really enjoying the downhill even though I was working pretty good now. I tossed what was left of my Cytomax in my handheld bottle away at the 5 & 8 mile aid station but was surprised to find I didn't have the same liberating sensation I had at Napa.

Mile 9 - 6:19

Another smooth mile, and just after entering the trees again I caught back up to Eric. Somehow our paces would match up well through the next few miles. Here we talked about going after the guy about a minute ahead of us. Eric was clearly feeling better than I was so I encouraged him to go after him when he felt he could.

Mile 10 - 6:20

The rough pavement, turns and rolling hills were really starting to take a toll on my legs at this point. Aerobically I was working, but was still pretty comfortable. My legs on the other hand, were feeling beat up. I was very happy to have Eric alongside to keep me going.

Mile 11 - 6:26

More of the same as mile 10 here, briefly chatting with Eric and gauging what we've got left. The few short uphills became extremely daunting.

Mile 12 - 6:29

My legs were fried going up the last climb and this is where Eric pulled out of reach. I was still happy with my pace and was thinking I could hang on for a sub-1:25, far exceeding my expectations for the day.

Mile 13 - 6:30

I picked up the effort considerably in the last mile. Knowing I needed "only" a 6:30 to stay on track for a 1:25 perhaps I didn't push as hard as I could have. This mile hurt, though. Again it was primarily my legs that failed me. They just feel weak, old and slow.

Finish - 1:25:01

After seeing the 6:30 lap time for mile 13 I knew I was sitting short so I ran the last 0.1 miles at a comfortable sprint. My calf, achilles and hamstrings keep me in constant fear of completely opening up at the end of a race. It was slightly uphill and I could muster only a :36, missing the mark by a second. Considering I was thinking a 1:27 was what I'd run I was still pretty pleased. I had yet to run a half marathon up to my fitness level from start to finish and today was the first one, so I'll take it. I ended up ten seconds behind Eric and I'm very glad there wasn't another 100 meters or so as the first woman was only a few seconds behind me; I thought I was alone. Phew!

Finishing hard with some 10K chump...

...who somehow outkicked me. Unacceptable. I need to get my bandicoot legs back in order.

The Finisher's Medal:

Parking mess on the sand bar:

Expressing my feelings for the HSU XC team. Even though North Dakota's in Division I now I can still hate them, right?

Wasting time waiting for the results to be posted...

And here they are...

1:25:01

7th overall out of 985

7th male out of 334

2nd (1st) M30-34 out of 54

(Since the overall winner couldn't double dip they gave me the Age Group win)

An interesting note on the overall winner, Matt Creason. He was a year behind me in high school and really lit up the North Coast Section. I never knew where he went to college, but he was definitely good enough for a scholarship. I beat him in our only other head to head race when I won the Frosh / Soph boys race at the Viking Opener in 1990. I'll have to snap my training around so I can take the tie-breaker next time...

Picking up my winnies: a medal, etched pint glass and beer!

We had to hit the road right after getting winnies to make it back to Santa Rosa for my dad's 60th birthday party. The one thing he asked for was a flat of fresh strawberries from a tiny roadside stand near Ukiah. I didn't see it on the way up and figured he'd have to go without. But just out of the corner of my eye on the way back down I spotted the tiny homemade sign and barely made the turnoff to get them:

We had a really good evening with everyone. Here's Erin with Trish:

Here's my dad trying to take credit for the grillies Trish prepared and I'm grilling:

My sister, dad and me:

When my dad walked into the backyard wearing that hat Shadow went nuts barking, not sure who the evil intruder was and why he was here to get his innards. Crazy dog!

4/27/09 - 5/3/09

40+ completely unremarkable miles with the exception of the Avenue of the Giants Half Marathon. The achilles tendinitis was a bit flared up this week.

4/20/09 - 4/26/09

67.5 miles This was my first decent week of running in a couple of months. I still felt pretty beat up most of the week but started feeling a little better on the weekend. The achilles tendinitis continues to be a major issue.

Sunday, 4/26: 16.5 miles (2:14:18)
Kenny Brown invited me to join a small group of guys for a long run in Annadel this morning. Lots of fast and/or experienced guys, mostly masters ultra runners now. A couple of guys my age-ish. I didn't feel particularly good for the first half but managed to hold my own making the first long climb. Toward the end of the second one Brian, one of the guys, started hammering and I really had to work hard to keep up with him, Kenny and Kevin, a triathlete who owns Echelon Sports in Santa Rosa. After a brief recovery toward the top I continued on with Kenny for several minutes before I realized we were again clipping along at a quicker pace. I was feeling okay and listening to Kenny's exploits of 2:26 marathons and running Comrades last year so I decided to roll with it. I had to work a little at times but it was mostly comfortable.

Saturday, 4/25: ~3 miles (37:00)
Erin requested that we do something she wanted to do this weekend since it was sandwiched between two of my race weekends. We spent the day in San Francisco, going to the Artistic Luxury exhibit at the Legion of Honor, getting a short run in through Golden Gate Park with stops throughout the Botanical Garden and Rose Garden and a quick stop at Sports Basement to replenish my powdered drink & gel supply. They don't advertise it but my friend Joe told me they give an additional 10+% discount off your purchases if you're a certified fitness professional. In the few trips we've made there over the past two years my savings have already paid for the certification. It was a beautiful sunny day and really enjoyable to go for a relaxing run.

Friday, 4/24: 12 miles w/ fartlek (1:40:03)
3.5 mile warm up, first 1.5 with Erin.
3 x [10 x :30 w/ :30 recovery jog] w/ 5:00 easy
1st set progressed from 8K effort down to 3K effort by the 3rd or 4th rep
2nd set progressed from 5K effort down to mile effort by the 4th or 5th rep
3rd set was all at mile effort (but probably 5K pace, gah!)
3.5 mile cool down.
This was a lot harder than I wanted it to be but I think I ran faster than I intended, pace-wise. It was nice to actually do some intensity again though.

Thursday, 4/23: 4- miles (40:23)
Easy run with Shadow. Didn't feel particularly good.

Wednesday, 4/22: PM - 10 miles (1:16:26)
Easy run from home. Felt only a little less flat than other recent runs.

Wednesday, 4/22: AM - 5 miles (38:29)
Easy run plus 4 x :08 hill sprints. Didn't feel that good but the achilles was good enough to try the sprints.

Tuesday, 4/21: 10 miles (1:20:54)
Absolutely miserable run from home along Brush Creek to Montgomery High School & back.

Monday, 4/20: 5+ miles (39:37)
Easy run early in the morning so I could get back to watch the Boston Marathon live. I love Kara Goucher's guts. I can't say I'm impressed with Ryan Hall's strategy, but he hung on fairly well through the finish.

River City Marathon: Half Marathon Race Report

In case you missed it in my previous post, I've pulled the plug on racing for a couple of months to give myself an opportunity to find some fresh legs and hopefully get over some nagging injuries. Since I was already registered for the River City event I decided to do it as a training run. Finishing a 13-miler at this stage would have been a little victory and I was hoping to push just a little bit to make it seem worthwhile. My biggest fear was that it would be a poorly attended event and I'd find myself in a position to race for an age group award. Since this race was in Sacramento I figured there'd be no chance of that so I was looking forward to a nice run along the beautiful American River Parkway.

Saturday's packet pickup: I have several complaints about this inaugural event. The first was that race-day packet pickup was discouraged, and the race information didn't state whether the race-day pickup would be at the finish line where the shuttles were, at the marathon start in Folsom and/or/nor at the half marathon start halfway between. Additionally, the half marathon start time of 8:30 was not announced until a couple of weeks before the event and the previous information on the website indicated a 7 am start for both events. So I had made plans to go to Fair Oaks Fleet Feet to pick up the packet the day before the race. Whatever. When I got there I found one or two amorphous lines. After about 5 minutes of nothing happening one of the two people handing out packets indicated two lines "Marathon pickup here, half marathon down there!" Okay, great some structure. Five minutes later we get to the front of the half marathon line when the other person shouted "Pre-registered runners back there, registration here!" Excuse me? Just then a volunteer helper showed up, took my name, race and proceeded to shuffle through race packets as if he didn't hear my name but was too sheepish to ask me again. He finally just walked away at which point I spoke up and the race director finally came over. He was defensive about my attitude, but he didn't get that I was upset about being told two different things by two different people, neither of which was correct so no one knew where they were supposed to be. I saw that they were understaffed and was not upset about having to wait. I have no problem being patient but my patience is short for incompetence. Finally that's over with and Erin and I head inside to check out their merchandise. Erin found a pair of shorts and a shirt on sale so we go check out and they ask if we want to be in their computer. I politely declined stating that I never come to Fair Oaks and there's a Fleet Feet in my hometown of Santa Rosa. So then the punk rolls his eyes and says "Yeah, they're popping up everywhere now." Apparently he's not aware that the Santa Rosa Fleet Feet has been in business longer than the one in Fair Oaks. I'll also add that the Santa Rosa Fleet Feet is perhaps the single nicest retail store I've ever been in whereas the tiny, crowded strip mall Fair Oaks version looks like a poor man's Footlocker. Apparently my inability to train makes other people stupider and more anoying.

Despite the wasted drive and annoying scene at the packet pickup, the day was not wasted. I was able to get a hold of my grandmother finally and she said they weren't able to get together Sunday for lunch, so Erin and I were able to stop by for a visit on our way back home. We stayed for only an hour, but it was good to see my grandparents for the first time since the Davis Stampede.

Race Day: After a 4 am wakeup and a two hour drive we got to the starting line with a beautiful morning dawning. After a short walk by the river it was time to start my warm up. I felt better on this warmup than on most of my runs lately so I was looking forward to the distance not being an issue.

Stretching my injured hoof before the race:

Racing to the starting line after using the natural restroom:

Getting the unimportant race instructions (such as no mile markers), after I missed the important ones:

Although the start was on a narrow path, no one was taking the available spaces at the front. I would have been happy to start several rows deep, but took one of the spaces up front since it was there. With an unceremonious countdown and "Go!" similar to the Save A Turkey Trot we were off. Three guys quickly took off and I was quickly passed by three more. But after the dust settled I found myself feeling pretty good and in 7th place. And therefore in a spot to content for an age group award. Uh oh. I tried to settle in to a comfortable pace I felt I could hold through the full distance and things went well for several miles. I checked my Garmin at about a mile and was right at 6:22 pace, but that slowed to 6:28 pace by three miles. After about 3 miles of slowly working on #6 I finally caught him and breezed by at 3.4 miles.

#5 wasn't more than 50 meters ahead so I turned my focus to him. Although I was still feeling pretty comfortable aerobically, my legs were starting to fatigue around 5 miles. Nonetheless I thought I could hold things together until late in the race. After closing the gap to 10 meters, he started to pick up the pace and back off to try keeping that 10 meters on me. We played cat and mouse until about 7 miles where I finally passed him, still on 6:28 pace. Just after passing him my legs became noticeably more fatigued and we entered a series of very long, straight stretches of the trail. Having no one in front of me made these straights appear exceptionally daunting and ultimately led to my mind following my body into the shambles. I backed off the pace to about 6:40's and was shortly repassed. After a mile #5 was out of touch.

Shuffling on alone I felt the heat start affecting me in the open spaces and the humidity through the trees. The beautiful lush riverfront had become a deadly sweltering jungle. At 9 miles I snuck a quick look back around a corner and saw that I was about to be caught again. Knowing it was inevitable I kept on plugging away, probably at 6:50 pace now. Finally at 9.5 I was now in 7th place again. On a hook-shaped swing in the trail I took another look back and couldn't see anyone, so I figured there was well over a minute back to #8. All I had to do was continue forward progress and I'd save myself the embarrassment of losing another place. I backed off the pace again the last three miles as my legs were feeling quite heavy, but the effort unfortunately remained about the same. As I approached the finish I saw #6 pull up just short and step off. A bandit! And I complimented his work and wished him good luck as he passed! Jerk. I cruised through the finish line, or more accurately the finish region. Other than the chutes, nothing was marked. I didn't realize I was done or slow down until someone said "I'll take your bib tag." Um, okay, you do that. Are we done here then?

The course was very pretty, but unpleasant having to dodge all the cyclists. The travel rules are backwards on the path and people seem to do make up their own anyway, so it got a little annoying after a while. The packet pickup and finish area were extremely unorganized and at times chaotic, but the aid station volunteers were great and very supportive. This was a low-key small event which I love, but I hope they've learned some lessons this weekend about how to put on a smooth event. After waiting around for a couple of hours they finally gave us some food and gave out the awards. I'm feeling pretty good tonight so I don't think I'll be setback this week for training.

1:28:07

6th Overall

6th Male

2nd M30-34

Entering the finish region:

Erin grabbed a shot of the American River near the starting line after we headed down the trail:

Here I am after getting my winnies:

And this is what the winnies look like.

Breaking Radio Silence

I suppose it's time to catch up in the blogging world, although there's really not much up on which to catch on my end. After a great race at Napa off eight weeks of compromised training, I figured a week off then two easy weeks and I'd be ready to start buckling down for my May 16 goal race, the Windermere Marathon. Things did not go according to plan. My recovery was slow in coming, and after some lengthy setbacks I'm quite far from being race ready. Here is a summary of my last several weeks:

• 3/2 - 3/8: No running. Recovery & celebration week!
• 3/9 - 3/15: 20 slow, uncomfortable miles in the form of four 5-milers.
• 3/16 - 3/22: 20 slow, uncomfortable miles in the form of four 5-milers. I finally started feeling better on the last one, running 6:57 pace with just a little effort. However, I noticed a sore throat coming on. I woke up the next morning (Saturday 3/21) with a terrible cold.
• 3/23 - 3/29: 0 miles, spent most of this week tossing and turning on the couch, working through the day in a zombie-like state and coughing up blood while being too hoarse to talk at all.
• 3/30 - 4/5: 3 miles, see above week. But this one was worse. It got so bad I had to call the doctor who prescribed some Codeine cough syrup and an inhaler as breathing was difficult at times. I thought I was getting better on Sunday so I tried a few miles. I was wrong. I somehow ended up with poison oak all over and the patch on top of my foot kept me from thinking about running for most of this week which would have been detrimental, so that was a blessing in disguise.
• 4/6 - 4/12: 40 easy miles. I felt about as bad for each run as I did during the second week after Napa. My Achilles Tendinitis returned and my glute / hip / groin issue remains.
• 4/13 - 4/19: 45 miles. Still felt completely flat and my legs are definitely recovering still. I'm not sure why it's taking so long. After Thursday morning's 5-miler I did 2 x :08 hill sprints hoping to infuse my legs with some life. Both were a struggle. Later that evening I did a 7-miler including 5 x 1,000m w/ 1:00 recoveries to see if an easy workout would help me feel better at all. Although my legs felt wobbly, weak and tired, I ran 3:49, 3:48, 3:49, 3:47, 3:45 and aerobically felt fine. I concluded this week with the River City Marathon's half marathon event. In addition to not being recovered from Napa yet I think my legs have lost some major strength and endurance relative to my aerobic conditioning. I've probably gained several pounds but haven't looked at the scale yet.

Considering how the last several weeks have gone and the fact I'm nursing some dead legs and lingering injuries, I've decided to abandon my plans to race for the next few months and instead just enjoy my scheduled runs while slowly building up my mileage and health again. So even though I felt like Napa came just as I was starting my Spring season, it was effectively the end of it. I still consider this Spring a success, however. While I did have some specific time goals I was shooting for, my primary goal was to run a marathon well and I accomplished that goal. Now I have plenty of time to work on some important fitness elements before launching an attempt at a sub-2:50 marathon at the California International Marathon.