Starting over again

After sitting around for a few days, okay over a week, I think it may be time to get going again.  Actually, I hadn't planned to take too much time off, but I haven't been feeling particularly motivated to start training.  I think it's the "Post A-race letdown."  No, there isn't really anything named that, but I think it's a real phenomenon (that doesn't look right somehow).  In truth, it probably exists for any big thing in which you have planned/trained/studied for a long time, and then... it's over.  The first thing that I think is:  "Now what?"  Well, with the triathlon season looming, I THOUGHT it would be easy to get back in the water and on my bike.  But sitting around, hanging out with my family, watching TV, and eating chips has been a great way to decompress.  I did ride last weekend, and strained my right quad climbing up one of the hills in downtown Tacoma.  DOH!  I think it's because my legs were still damaged from the marathon.  I've also been very good about using my foam roller.  It's almost like getting a massage every day... a very DEEP massage... a dig-your-fingernails-into-something-preferably-not-your leg-because-it-hurts-so-good massage.  You get the picture.

I swam for a short time before my massage on Monday.  After warming up with a 400, I had to share a lane with a few other people.  One of them asked if I wanted to swim a short set with him.  He suggested 200's; after wondering whether I could swim a continuous 200 at all, I suggested 100's instead.  The interval?  He suggested a 1:30 sendoff (SCM).  I tried not to snort too much water up my nose at this.  Besides the fact that I haven't really been in the water since December, I've never been able to swim 100's on 1:30 SCM.  We ended up doing them on 2:00, which seemed fairly easy, except that was about as fast as I could go.  Yikes, I've got a lot of work to do. 

Today, I visited the gym for the first time since... I'm not sure.  I decided I needed to regain some strength, so I tossed some weights around without hurting myself.  I figured it would be a gentle way to start over.

You may have noticed that I changed the color of the font.  It was brought to my attention by Bruce (one of probably two people that have been reading this) that white on black can be quite blinding.  So, I've changed it to a subtle shade of blue.  The calming color along with a nice cup of chamomile tea, and my musings (or is it ramblings?) will undoubtedly cure most cases of insomnia.

Race Day +2

I was going to call this a post-mortem, but decided that was a bit too morbid.  So instead, I'm calling it what it is:  2 days after the race.  The story picks up  on Hereford, which is the turnoff from Commonwealth Avenue, as I'm finishing the race.  Hereford is a short, evil street:  evil, because it has a vewwwy (say "wascally wabbit" and you'll understand what that last word was) slight incline, but after 25+ miles, any incline is evil.  In fact, when I ran this race last in 2006, there was a guy that cramped up and was lying in the middle of the street, with a policeman yelling (encouragingly, of course) at him to get up.  Anyway, I turned left off of Hereford, and onto the last stretch on Boylston, and somehow, I didn't remember the Finish Line being THAT far away.  But I got there and finished in 3:44:24.  And if you look at my splits, yes, I really did run a 2 hour back half after a 1:39:50 front half.  Ouch.  And then we had to walk... and walk... and walk.  It really only turned out to be probably less than 1/4 mile to get space blankets, drinks, food, medals, and our clothing, but it was a really long 1/4 mile.  Because there were so many people walking there by the time I finished, we were inadvertently bumping into each other.  And that's when I realized that my legs were really tired.  I had so little muscle strength left in my legs that, everytime I got bumped, I nearly fell over!

Fast forward several hours to my ride on the T to visit my aunt and uncle and their family in Newton.  It was rush hour, and we were packed like sardines.  There were a couple other marathoners on the train, and none of us were able to balance very well.  Whenever the train would stop and start, we would very nearly fall over.  It was comical.

The next morning (Race Day +1), I awoke to some very sore legs.  The trip to the airport on the T was not nearly as bad as the previous night, although descending steps was entertaining.  At the airport, you could spot the marathoners a mile away:  we were all wearing some article of Boston Marathon clothing, and/or carrying the free Adidas poster, and we were all doing the same post-marathon waddle.  The net downhill of the Boston course really punishes your quads (that's eccentric contractions if you want to know the technical term), and, I think, there are very few people who have trained enough on hills to keep the legs from hurting. 

And even with all that, and even with my thoughts throughout my training that this was probably going to be my last marathon, I have taken a look at which marathon I could do to qualify for 2013.  To me, there's nothing like the Boston Marathon.  Maybe if I were to qualify for Kona, I'd feel the same way, but even then, I don't know that I'd appreciate it as much as I do the history, significance, and pageantry of the Boston Marathon.

Sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you!

Well, it's over.  Funny how you spend all this time anticipating the marathon, and once you're there, your only thought is, "I can't wait until it's over."  I'll summarize this by saying that the race didn't go the way I had hoped, and hence, the title.  I finished officially in 3:44:24, which is my slowest marathon ever.  Ironically, I was able to enjoy this race more than my other Bostons, because I was able to look at and soak in the atmosphere (of course, that was because I was going so slow).

Alright, here are the dirty details.  We (Rob Ory, Mark Bieber, and I) headed to the bus pick up point at 6:15 AM.  By the time we got there, there were already big lines to get on board.  The trip to Hopkington was pretty uneventful, although my seatmate was pretty chatty and profane.  Hopkington was cold, windy, and sunny, so we found an area that was protected from the wind by the school.  After waiting for 90 minutes, it was time to dump our gear and head to the start.  Of course, even though I had used the Port-a-potties at the school, I had to go again (call it nervous bladder) on the way to the start.  As we got to the start staging area, we saw a huge line in front of the Port-a-potties, so I found a tree, and Rob did the same.  As I was finishing up, I looked up and was surprised to see a woman drop her shorts and squat no more than 15 feet away; maybe I'm chauvinistic, but I assumed that the outside world is usually a bathroom just for males.  Obviously, I was mistaken. 

I quickly walked up to my corral (Corral 1 in the 2nd wave), and the gun went off.  The first few miles of the race are fairly steeply downhill, and I basically jogged through the first 5 miles at 7:10-7:15 pace, a bit quicker than planned but my effort seemed about right.  After that the road started undulating, so it was time to get to work. 

I got through 8 miles at 7:15 pace, but then my IT band started to act up.  In addition, my GI tract started complaining with some cramps, so I stopped at a Port-a-Potty.  That was when life turned ugly.  As I left the Port-a-Potty, I started to run, and was immediately stopped by sharp pain in my left leg.  I tried to stretch and massage it, but was only minimally successful.  I started jogging, hoping it would loosen up, and it started feeling a bit better, although it was still bothering me.  Talking mental stock of this, I wondered whether I would be able to run another 18 miles.  Figuring that I had to get back to Boston somehow, I decided to keep going.  I also really wanted a finisher's medal, so I planned to finish no matter what.  I wanted to at least run through the "scream tunnel" at Wellesley; there is no way to describe this adequately, but it is a great Boston Marathon tradition.  No, I did not stop for a kiss.

I then got through the 1/2 still in reasonable state, despite having to stop again because of my GI tract.  Same drill with my IT band again.  By then, it had warmed up enough, and I ditched my shirt, so I was only running in a singlet and shorts.  Basically, I was trying anything to distract me and keep me going.  After the 1/2, my legs really started bothering me.  Because my IT band was acting up, I was changing my stride to compensate.  Long story short, I ended up walking a fair amount, although I did run all the way up Heartbreak Hill.  My aunt had showed me where she was going to watch for me in Newton, and even though I slowed down (it wasn't mattering much at that point) as I ran past Newton City Hall, I missed her, and she never saw me.  More walking and running until mile 24, at which point, I figured that I could suffer my way through the last 2.2 miles.  As I ran past the Citgo sign, I realized that it was only 1.2 miles to go, so I was able to pick it up for the last part. 

All in all, pretty much everything that could have gone wrong today did go wrong.  And while I'm disappointed that I didn't perform better, I also understand that one runs a marathon with the conditions of the day, both your own body's as well as the weather and circumstances.  It has been a long journey to get to this point.  I feel fortunate that I was healthy enough to get to the start line, and have had so much support from people. 

Does this blog continue?  I hadn't planned to go on after the marathon, but I may continue it as I transition to the triathlon season.  Thanks for reading.

Tomorrow... you're only a day away

I awoke this AM to blustery wind and rain.  It was similar to last year on the day before the Surf City Marathon, although the rain wasn't nearly as bad.  Still, because I remember struggling to get my shoes and socks dry, I decided to run on the treadmill.  3 miles later, I was done and ready for some breakfast.  After some fruitless searching for a McDonald's (none in this area?  Really?), I gave up and went to Starbuck's for oatmeal and coffee.  Then, it was off for some final souvenir shopping.  I ventured into the Expo and it was total chaos in the Adidas section.  People were having a last buying (feeding?) frenzy.  I managed to escape with my credit card (mostly) intact.  After watching some mindless TV, it was off to the Mapparium.  What is the Mapparium?  It is a 30 foot high globe of the Earth, which is made of stained glass and that you can look at from the inside.  This is at the Mary Baker Eddy library, which is the home of The Christian Science Monitor.  While I won't comment on the philosophy of the The Christian Science Monitor, the Mapparium was interesting.  Then, it was back to the room to put my feet up and get ready for tomorrow.

In search of Hammer Gel

Boston appears to be a GU town.  Well, at least that's all I could find at the Expo and a bike shop.  Well, PowerBar is an official sponsor, so there was PowerGel, too, but there was no Hammer Gel to be found.

Okay, rewind to the beginning of the day.  It was even colder this AM when I went out on my run.  And the wind had turned 180 degrees and was now blowing straight out of the east.  Not good.  What was a glorious tailwind Thursday and Friday had turned into a nasty headwind.  Since Boston is a point-to-point course that runs east... well, you get the idea.  I ran 5 easy with some strides, and then set off for Panera Bread to get a Cobblestone.  If you've never had one, they're basically a baked apple fritter somewhat shaped like a muffin.  Chased it down with some more Starbuck's coffee and I was set to head off to the expo... which was absolute chaos.  The number and packet pick up was easy.

If I would have been smart or more claustrophobic, I would have stopped there.  But, no.  I decided I had to look in on the paraphenalia associated with any expo.  And, of course, it appeared that all 25,000 runners and their families had the same idea and timetable that I had.  But I eventually got out of there without finding any Hammer Gel.  I was told that there might be some at a bike shop down the street, so I stopped there first.   Out of luck there, but they suggested REI, which was just down the street across from Fenway Park.  Under normal circumstances, not a huge deal.  However, because the Expo/Packet pick up was accessible from my hotel without venturing outside, I only had on a sweatshirt.  And the wind was cold and whipping around.  And I had this big bag of STUFF from the Expo.  Still, I thought it would be fun to wander by Fenway Park, since the Red Sox were playing today.  If I had been dressed more warmly, I might have considered getting a ticket; they were selling on the street for around $20.

I returned back after successfully finding my Raspberry and Montana Huckleberry Hammer Gel.  After thawing off in my room, I headed down to the pool for a quick swim and a massage.  The pool was 15 yards long, so I got dizzy with all of the flip turns.  But getting into the pool for the first time in a couple of months was nice.  The massage helped my IT band quite a bit.  Then my big decision:  what to have for dinner?  Pizza or a burger?  I decided to try the 5 Napkin Burger place that I had passed on my morning run (what else to do on my runs than to scout out where to eat?)  After two tries to get a burger that was medium well (the first two were medium rare- for ground beef?  No thanks), I finally got one that I could eat.  Of course, I had nearly finished my fries and beer before the burger made it to me.  At least the manager comped me the burger.  The woman next to me had a burger that was overcooked, and her friend's burger was undercooked.  You would think that a burger place would at least know how to cook their burgers.  Still, the food and beer were pretty good.  I'm hoping to get to sleep a bit earlier tonight; still haven't quite got my body clock regulated.

2 days to go!

The waiting is the hardest part

I awoke this morning to a very chilly, but sunny day.  I headed off for a short run along the Charles River.  My IT band was very grumpy, so my run was not very enjoyable.  After stopping at Finagle a Bagel to pick up a chocolate chip bagel with peanut butter, I went back to my room via Starbuck's to stretch and work on my IT band.  It finally loosened up after some time, making me a bit worried about how it's going to respond in 3 days time.  I spent the day with my aunt sightseeing; first we stopped off for some Dim Sum in Chinatown, then headed to Harvard Medical School to wander about.  She then drove me to the hills of Newton where I tried to imagine climbing up Heartbreak Hill.

(the top)

 (looking down the hill)

  Actually, the uphill part is not what is worrying me at the moment; instead it's the downhill after the hill that concerns me, due to to IT band.  Then, it was off to see the statue of Johnny Kelley in Newton.

All in all, it was a pretty relaxing day, so it gave me a chance to think about the marathon a bit.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

As I write this, I'm sitting in a hotel room in downtown Boston, not more than 1/4 mile from the finish line of the marathon.  It was a very early start to my day today.  There's waking up at the crack of dawn, waking up at 0 dark 30, and then there's waking up in the middle of the night, which I did today.  My flight left at 6:15 AM, so I needed to wake up around 3:15 AM to get on the road, get my car parked, and make it through security with enough time to get some breakfast.  Needless to say, the puppies were not even awake.  They meandered outside after I roused them, but quickly returned to bed.  I made it to Sea-Tac in record time (around 40 minutes), got my car parked, and caught the shuttle to the airport.  I haven't been on a plane trip since they instituted the new body scans.  I felt like I should have at least gotten a kiss.  They even checked underneath my watch band.  Oh well.  Had a nice leisurely breakfast of oatmeal and coffee (patronizing Starbuck's), and got on my plane.  And sat.  Without moving.  Turns out we were going to be delayed a bit.  Since my layover in Chicago was 1 hour, I didn't sweat it too much, although I hoped that I would stay in the same terminal, since O'Hare is a huge airport.  The flight wasn't particularly eventful or memorable, although the United flight attendants definitely could use some personality lessons.  And they managed to bang my elbow and foot in one of their mad dashes with the drink cart.

Got to O'Hare in plenty of time, and, true to the Ling corollary, turned and walked in the wrong direction.  Here's my excuse:  we arrived at C-17 and my connection was at B-14.  I figured that I would need to follow the numbers to C-1 where there would be connecting corridor.  Of course, had I looked in the other direction, I would have seen the sign that said, "B concourse."  But anyway, I reached C-1 and it was a dead end.  Since when have airports created their terminals where the lowest number gate was at the end?  Hmmmph.  That was okay; it gave me a chance to stretch my legs, and I was pleased that my IT band wasn't complaining.  As I wandered through the airport, I looked for a pizza place that was selling slices of "Chicago-style" pizza.  Unfortunately, they were only selling whole pies, so I passsed on that.  I wasn't even really that hungry, but was thirsty, so I stopped and got some water and a banana (again patronizing Starbuck's).

I arrived in Boston around 5:00 PM local time.  The last two times I was here, it was a quick shuttle bus to the subway, and then a pretty straight shot to downtown.  This time, the instructions were to take a bus to the South Station, and then get on the subway.  For some reason, that was the recommendation from the MTBA, so I followed that.  I thought that maybe things had changed since I was here last in 2006.   I won't be doing that again.  I figured out the way I had done it before... after I had to change off the second subway to get to my hotel.  I had the whole "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" thing going today.

After checking into my room, I quickly changed to get in a short run.  I wanted to head to the Charles River to run.  The weather was great!  Upper 50's and sunny.  What a welcome relief to run in a t-shirt and shorts.  I ran along the river, crossed the bridge into Cambridge and ran by MIT.  There were a lot of runners out, most of them plugged into iPods.  I caught and passed one guy just before going on the bridge, and he picked it up to stay with me.  I could hear him huffing and puffing right behind me, so I picked it up to see what would happen.  He stayed with me, so I picked it up again.  I was feeling good, and I think it was because of the weather.  I crossed back over the bridge and headed for the Citgo sign.  What's the Citgo sign?  It's a huge sign in Kenmore Square along the marathon route that is 1 mile from the finish.  So, I wanted to get to the Citgo sign and run along the marathon course.  It turned out to be a very nice 5+ mile run, with my IT band acting up here and there, but not complaining too much.

4 days to go!

The Waiting Game

5 days to go.  It's raining again.  As Gomer Pyle used to say, "Surprise, surprise, surprise, surprise."  Yesterday, I had a good run.  I say good, because my IT band only acted up a little bit.  And most importantly, it was actually nice while I was running.  I woke up and went to get a last massage before the race.  After that, my IT band felt great without any pain.  It tightened up a bit during the morning, but I set out at Noon for my run.   My schedule said 7 miles with 2 miles at marathon pace.  Well... considering my current plan is to run 7:30 pace (seems more reasonable given the condition of my legs and my training), I figured that this run should feel pretty easy.  My inability to pace showed through again.  After warming up at 7:51, I then proceeded to run 7:28, 7:18, 7:13, 7:27, then 7:39 and 7:37.  So, my two miles were significantly faster than marathon pace, and my IT band tightened up a bit more during the run.  I'm hoping that I'll run smarter in Boston, and that my IT band won't complain. 

No time to be (a) patient

The countdown continues:  7 days to go.  Since I was a bit whipped from the road trip this past weekend, yesterday was a day off, both to recover and to give my legs a chance to heal.  I'm kneeling at the altar of the almighty foam roller and TP roller this week, hoping that things will continue to improve.  A fairly easy 6 miles at Noon is on my schedule today.  Tomorrow is a massage and then a last tune up run with a few miles at goal marathon pace.  I joked earlier this year that my goal marathon pace is nearly my long run pace, so I'm hoping it will feel easy.  It had better feel easy!

The Final Countdown

8 days to go!  The taper starts in earnest.  Hmmm.  In order to taper, you need to start from a high amount of mileage.  Since I never really got to high mileage, it won't be much of a taper.  It's more of a rest and try to heal up.  My IT band is still a bit on the grumpy side.  I ran a track workout on Thursday which was 3 x 1600 at 5k pace.  I had planned on running the first one normally, then the second one backwards, and the last one normally.  Now, by backwards, I don't mean literally running backwards; rather, I mean clockwise rather than counterclockwise.  So, it's turns to the right instead of the left.  I figured that it would stress my IT band less.  Historically, I've nearly always run the "normal" way on the track.  After doing this my entire high school career, I found that I couldn't run as fast if I ran "backwards."  And so, after 30+ years of running on the track always turning to the left, it seemed as if I was doomed to run the Thursday intervals slowly.  I even contemplated doing them on the path in Fort Steilacoom park so I wouldn't have to turn, but I can't help running on the track whenever I get the chance.  So, after running the first one, and feeling some pain in my IT band, I steeled myself to run the second one, figuring that I would have a great alibi if I was slow.  Shockingly, I ran faster, and my IT band didn't complain.  One good turn (pun intended) deserved another, so I did the third one backwards as well.  I managed to descend that one, too.  Of course, I was starting from a relatively slow time, so descending was a good thing.   And... the added bonus was that it was sunny enough to wear sunglasses.  Will wonders never cease?

After a day off for travel to Bend, I did an easy 4 mile run on Saturday morning.  It was cold (30 degrees). And my IT band complained, even forcing me to stop and walk a bit when I was going down a hill and felt a really sharp pain in my knee.  Arrrgh!  Fortunately, it let up quickly and I was able to finish my run.  Then, I did some strides back and forth in front of Kenny's house.  I was imagining the dogs watching from the window, like they were watching a game of ping-pong:  "Look, there's Daddy... look, there he is again... and again...and again."

Relief! Finding out what IT(B) was that caused my knee pain

Yesterday was a day off from running.  It was a good thing, because my left knee was still hurting.  After trying to figure out what worsened the pain, I realized that it wasn't the menisci, since weightbearing did not worsen it.  I went to see my massage therapist to see if she could help.  Almost as soon as Amy started working on the area, she said it was my IT band. 

Guess it's a good thing that I don't make my living diagnosing myself.  After getting a lot of work on my left IT band, soleus, and hamstring (some that nearly brought me off the table-think Sigourney Weaver in "Ghostbusters"), my knee was nearly pain-free.  Yes!  Clearly, it was a direct reaction to my turned ankle.  Funny how my soleus didn't even bother me until Amy started working on it.  Of course, my right IT band was also a bit tight from my long run, too, but I was expecting that.  I'm hopeful that things will resolve by marathon day. 

In the meantime, I've ordered a foam roller to use (how many PT tools do I have at home?  Nearly enough to start my own clinic!)

A bad wheel

Today is a day off from running.  This is both planned and fortuitous.  The knee pain that I mentioned yesterday persists, and is both puzzling and troubling me:  puzzling because I can't exactly localize it, although I know how I did it; and troubling because... well, it's two weeks to the day before the marathon, and, last I heard, running involves two legs and not one.  I'm pretty sure that the knee pain was caused by turning my ankle twice while running long last weekend.  When I went on the track the following Tuesday, I could feel it towards the end.  And, as I was running yesterday, it started to bother me while I was running up Chambers Creek.  I couldn't understand this, since the pain was lateral, and I was running up the hill on the right side of the road; I know that runners are supposed to run on the left against traffic, but I'd much rather be running with traffic up a hill instead of against traffic (where cars are screaming downhill).  So, I usually stay on the right when going uphill.  Anyway, the camber of the road would put more stress on the medial aspect of my left knee, but it was bugging me laterally.  And when I came back down the same road (this time against traffic on the left), it really started to hurt.  Hmmmm.  Well, that made sense because the camber was now putting the stress laterally, and I was going downhill. 

I can't find an exact spot that says that it hurts "RIGHT HERE."  All I know is that something hurts in here:

I'm hoping that a day off with some stretching and a massage will help to calm it down. 

Can you tell I'm stressing about it, oh, maybe just a little bit?

The final long run

My last long run was today.  After some horrible weather on Friday, yesterday was dry but windy.  I had planned to run after the SST Social Bike ride (the first one in Dupont, so as the President, I felt obligated to ride), but Ryan's 1.5 hour baseball practice became a 3.5 hour ordeal, and I was the single parent to Ryan, so I had to opt out of the run.  I planned to run 16 miles this morning, checking in on Ryan after about 1.5 hours of it.  Today was a very pleasant, although chilly day, with the sun peeking out and a moderate wind from the west (the "back" part of my out-and-back was going to be harder)

It's funny how your perspective changes as you progress along a training plan.  I figured that the first part of my run would be along Grandview and would "only" be around 11.5 miles.  I was pretty close as it came out at 11.4.  How did I figure 11.5?  I guessed that it was longer than 11 but shorter than 12, so there you go.  Because it was 11.5 miles, I only took a gel flask with some Mountain Huckleberry Hammer Gel (my favorite flavor) and planned to stop at home for a quick drink before the second part of my run.  I wasn't sure where to go for the second part of my run, but decided to run the North Fort trails. Turned out fine, although my left knee started aching as I descended Chambers Creek.  I'm not sure whether it's my IT band, or whether I did something to my lateral meniscus, but it hurts when I extend it, stand on it, or walk on it.  Great.

As I was doing my run, this is how warped my thinking has become (long runs and marathon training does that to you, I guess).  I thought, "Maybe I should keep doing two hour runs every week during the triathlon season.  It would certainly maintain my run fitness and would be easy to fit into my Sunday schedule."  A sharp stick into the eye would take less effort, and probably be just as effective.  Just kidding.  I'll have to see how I feel after the marathon.

Now, the taper starts.  I hope to get healthy and recover for the next two weeks.  15 days to go!

Running with BOB

I had the rare opportunity to run with BOB yesterday.  Who is BOB?   A better question is:  What is BOB?  I'll give you a hint:  I run with BOB often when I'm in Arizona.  Yup, BOB is the big orange ball in the sky who put in a much needed appearance in the Pacific Northwest yesterday.   It was a nice day without rain, shockingly enough.  Yesterday was supposed to be an easy 5 mile recovery run, and for the most part, it was.  My legs felt sufficiently good that I picked it up towards the end; picking it up was relative, because when I looked at my watch at the end, it wasn't very fast.  This is starting to be a recurring theme, and I think I need to resign myself to it.  I'm rethinking my goal pace for the marathon, so that I can have a good race without blowing up too early.  Of course, I'm still hoping for my breakthrough, but I don't think it's gonna happen. 

I do think I am fortunate that I am still able to run.  Regardless of the pace, the fact that I'm still putting one foot in front of the other on a regular basis after 30+ years of running makes me feel like I've been pretty lucky. 

17 days to go!