Result of the 22 Miles of pounding

Saturday was Aunt Ginny's Birthday. And even though my body was saying "NO...your bum hip needs more rest"...I felt inspired to celebrate her memory and birthday with a 22 mile run.

The running group met at Boston College, which sits right at the foot of the legendary "Heartbreak Hill" in Chestnut Hill @ about mile 21-22 on the marathon course. The idea was to run from mile 22 to mile 11 and turn around, thus experiencing the heart of the course (miles 11-22) on the way back, with the same exhaustion you will on race day, especially the Newton hills.

There was a festive atmosphere along the marathon course, with thousands of runners getting their long runs in. Several charities and running clubs had water stops and cheering sections. Some media, lots of colors. And most importantly, most Newton drivers seemed to expect and give ample space to the runners.

The right hip was screaming at me at the start, but I chose to run with other runners, principally Marc, who was nursing a shin injury. For most of the run, Marc's GPS watch kept our pace and the occasional conversation kept the time moving and discomfort at bay. The last 8 miles was a bit chaotic however. I took a bathroom break. I tried to make up the distance, but my legs were like rocks. I think I didn't have enough glycogen stores, lack of sleep, and I was compensating for my hip with other muscles that weren't used to the pounding. I caught up with Marc later because he was having hamstring cramping, and the 2 of us basically limped back to BC.

Strangely though, I felt I did alright given the circumstances, good spirits kept me going. I hope and I don't think I injured myself more.

But I knew there had to be serious inflammations all over my legs, and deep in the hip.

When I got home, Alicia discovered I was filling up the bathtub with cold water...and then I dumped in all the ice we had in the fridge, and jumped in.

I hate cold water...but there is a certain mental toughness...or perhaps numbness...or perhaps stupidity that comes after a long run, that a little ice is not going to bother you.

I hope the 20 minutes I spent in there stopped excess swelling...or else I turned blue for no good reason.

I then later Saturday had the fortune of being invited to a colleague's daughter's 16th birthday party, and although we arrived late, there was still loads of delicious Indian food, and I was able to replenish my stores with rice, biryani, and some wonderful vegetarian dishes and desserts. And there was much rejoicing in this birthday milestone in a young girl's life, reminding me of the full circle of life and renewals we all should be grateful for.

Aunt Ginny's Birthday...summoning her spirit

Today would have been celebrating Aunt Ginny's birthday. I am inspired to go out and do my longest training run (~22 miles) before the marathon. It's been a frustrating week since having success in New Bedford last weekend. My hip has really been painful, walking, climbing stairs. I've taken loads of ibuprofen, stretched, taken yoga, had a sports massage exclusively on my legs...and stayed away from running for the last 5 days.


There is some rationale for not running on it yet, but this is the ideal time from a training standpoint to do the last run and taper for 3 weeks. I am relying a bit on spirit: that this is Aunt Ginny's birthday, and she had a strong spirit, and a fun-loving spirit that I hope to draw on for this penultimate challenge before the marathon on April 19.

New Bedford Half Marathon Pix

As I mentioned before, the New Bedford race was on a beautiful day with nice scenery. You can see Buzzard's Bay over my shoulder in one of the shots.

I feel a little bad about the other runner you see in the picture behind me. I noticed him early on, always about 30 seconds to a minute ahead of me for the entire race.
The red jersey is our Dana-Farber training jersey. When I fired it up for the last few miles, I managed to catch him in the final straight away...I pointed to my jersey. He gave me a thumbs up. For a second I thought maybe we should cross the finish line together as a show of unity. I think he said something like, "See you in Boston." I looked at my watch at that moment and saw I might break 1:50:00, and a burst of selfish adrenaline overtook me and I darted ahead for the last 15 seconds.

The brain is very tired by that point, and if your original race plan is to sprint to the finish (mine always is), it is easy to get carried away like that.

But don't worry, I didn't block his finish photo shots, and for both of us, this was a tune-up race for the big one April 19.

Half in New Bedford gives a whole race experience

This was a beautiful day.

Mid-50's with a light breeze off the ocean. Sunny...well maybe a bit too sunny to be ideal for long-distance running. I could kind of feel the sun sapping some of my energy. I wish you could put on a solar panel outfit to catch the rays and transfer the energy to your muscles, instead of it being drained. But I wore a brimmed hat and donned the first sunblock of the year and made the most of it.

 

The day was perfect for spectators too and they lined various parts of this easy to view event.

Over 2800 runners registered, this gave a good big race feel.

The course is predominantly flat, with 2 gradual hills, the second of which is at 11.5-12.5 miles, less than a mile to the finish.

Alicia and Ellis came down with me to cheer me on, seeing me off at the start, cutting across the center of the "looped" course to see me again at 5 miles (where they then enjoyed a mini-picnic in Buttonwood Park and visited the zoo there for a bit).

Running down to the point, I could smell the fresh salty sea brine air washing up to greet me. I found it renewing. Another runner at that point handed me Jelly Belly, energizing Sport Beans, Jelly Belly's with vitamins and electrolyzes. Who would have thought?

So the steady breeze for the next couple miles kept me cool, and that pesky sun at bay. Up the hill to the finish. I noticed another Dana-Farber runner just before the finish and gave him a thumbs up.

Most importantly, this was a tune-up race. I kept my pace a bit aggressive (similar to last weekend's run of a similar length), and held it consistently, and then kicked it in to a higher gear to finish strong. Goal achieved; just a few more milestones to cover until the big day.

 

Alicia and Ellis met me near the finish line and then we had lunch compliments of the race...get this...fried fish sandwiches and clam chowder. Really surprising at first, because I typically wouldn't think of reviving my self with fried anything and cream-based soup. But in this old New England town that inspired the tale of Moby Dick and still remains a major fishing port, it makes sense. And the saltiness, was pretty welcome as it turns out...delicious finish.

Playing Hurt

One of my coach's back in college said, "You can play hurt, but you can't play injured…so which is it?"

I have started experiencing a new pain in my right hip flexor (right leg, front, just below the waist), that has started to radiate into the joint itself, every footfall causes a shock of pain. This one is new to me, so it's a bit disconcerting. It's a jarring pain when starting to run, causing me to compensate a little by shifting my weight...not symmetrical, not the healthiest thing. Once it loosens up, it doesn't appear to slow me down…but after running, tightens up more, I get a bit of a limp after sitting. I'm trying different stretches, ice therapy, ibuprofen to get over the nagging pain, and I'll try to switch at least 1 or 2 runs per week into cycling or elliptical.

 

We'll see how it reacts to pounding it out in a Half Marathon tomorrow.

A Challenging Week and successful result

I had to travel back to Syracuse on business this week and made a concerted effort to get to the gym twice to workout. I ran on treadmills, lifted weights, took a yoga class and a cycle spinning class. A marked contrast to last week where the workout I got was rolling in a hotel bed and running to the bathroom.

 

On Wednesday, I got a deep tissue massage on my upper back and legs and I think it did wonders. Now don't think of this as a relaxing back massage. This was a workout. Think Elbows kneading knots out of quads, hamstrings and calves, against the grain, and at times, quite excruciating. But I think it releases a lot of toxins and tension out of the muscles.

 

The result was on the fourth time I ran in Lexington on Saturday, the legs just seemed to have the energy to keep pumping. I ran the approximate 1/2 marathon distance in under 1hour, 50minutes; 5 minutes better than my previous time. The weather really cooperated too: It was 39 degrees, raw, windy and rainy...no, really this is an improvement to low 30's, snow, slush and puddles.

 

Next Sunday I'll be in New Bedford, MA doing an actual half marathon as a tune-up for Boston, and build a pre-race routine.

 

 

Honest to Goodness 20 Miles

After writhing around a hotel room all of Wednesday. And spending half of Thursday in bed. And not really eating much solid food until Friday. I was a bit apprehensive at going out and running 20 miles on Saturday. I tried to make sure I was plenty hydrated and had enough easy to digest food (PowerBars and PowerGel) on me to keep my calories/energy up for the run. I also knew that my last 2 runs over 17 miles ended with me completely spent and seeing blue flashes and star out of the corners of my eyes.

But the day was beautiful, and over a hundred DFMC runners came to Waltham to run. I took it bit slower than what I would normally try, and the results were good.

This run winding mostly through roads in Lincoln, has 5 major hills, 4 minor ones and about 10 miles of rolling hills. It is easily a tougher course than most marathons.

So after 3 hours and 15 minutes of work I arrived safely back at the BSC in Waltham, tired but no blue flashes, and gratified that the second to last really long training run is over.

So, therefore, I think my illness must have been food poisoning to pass that quickly...or perhaps more likely...I'm allergic to Syracuse in the Winter.

Now I think I'll crash...no wait, we're taking my daughter Ellis to the playground now. Rest will come eventually. 

Minor Setback?

I took this past Monday off, then travelled to Syracuse on business with the best of intentions to workout. Took a 3 mile jog Tuesday evening, then after eating a big meal that night I awoke in the middle of the night to food poisoning or a stomach bug and writhed in my hotel room for a day. Wednesday and Thursday were a waste. Friday, I felt a bit unsure but wanted to test it out.
Went out for a short jog, and felt fine so I then managed to get in the familiar 5K out my front door, and at 80% effort logged my own personal best...I hope I'm back 100% tomorrow for a 18-20 miler with the group.