Race day, remembered

OK, so the half marathon is done. Not too bad, but it could have gone better. Back up a couple of weeks:

The training schedule began to fall apart nearly two weeks ago. QMH was having persistent knee pain which her doctor rates as to be expected at the age we are and the distance we’ve been training for. We both were busy at critical moments, and couldn’t quite tackle the last long run, a 12-miler that we should have accomplished on March 4. So, we have run no distance longer than the 10 miles on February 25, and at most, maybe 10 runs of 3 to 4 mile in the last two weeks. Not exactly peaking for race day, no.

Because we planned poorly, we needed extra time on Tom King morning to pull our gear and our après run clothes together. Consequently, we left home 20 minutes later than planned, then hit traffic, and got to the stadium with under 10 minutes to spare before the start of the race. NOT my idea of the best way to psych into the distance.

Still, we wiggled our way as close as possible to the front of the crowd (they do separate the 15 or so top competitors from the rabble, but we were close enough to cross the starting line within a few seconds of the gun. The weather was clear and cool at 35-40 degrees, very good for runners as the race stepped off.

It matters not that a thousand people pass us in the first mile. Some serious runners are fast; we are serious and slow. The first 3-4 miles were as usual somewhat hard for me, with too much time to worry about whether my timing chip was securely tied on my shoe laces. In spite my having to stop for a shoelace retie, we chugged through the first few miles at 9.5 and then 10 minutes each. Both of us had been concerned that our wind was not as good as other years, but this didn’t turn out to be any problem. We were surrounded much of the time by runners who sounded much more labored. But, we got into a comfortable pace and the early rawness eased.

At the halfway point turnaround, we clocked under 61.5 minutes – a very good pace, all things considered. Things began to slide a bit after that. In the confusion of our disorganized departure, TQOMH had forgotten to take the medicine that holds her acid stomach at bay. It was really bugging her, so we walked probably four stretches in the second half.

Both of us finished with much less “leg” than we’d have preferred. And, well after the race was over, I noticed that I had worn my year-old shoes instead of the month-old pair.

Fine. Next year, we lay out our clothes and pack up the lip balm, tissues, gloves and hats the night before. Oh, and we won’t lose our grip on the training schedule just when we need it.

In the end, we finished in 2:19 and a few seconds, about 5 minutes behind last year’s time.

We took the rest of the day to recover calories, ice tender knees and feet, nap and celebrate our sense of accomplishment.

Erm, postponed

The 12-mile training run we planned for Friday got cut off at 4 miles, because we got started a little late and ran into a schedule conflict. No run today, Saturday, and precious little time for a run on Sunday. This means we must run the 12-miler on Monday, and early, before the day gets away. With the Tom King run only 2 weeks away, this is squeezing the schedule more than a little bit . . .

In earlier days QMH and I ran 6 miles every other day, and we have often observed that missing a run made the next one exceedingly hard.

So, we are in for a challenge on Monday; to soften the blow, we hope to get in 4 miles on the Hunter's Lane track during Kid Kate's track practice Sunday afternoon.

Cross fingers.

Epiphany in the 7th mile

Hoo, boy. Did I mention that I turned 54 last weekend?

Today was 10-mile day, and it was a revelation. On my birthday last Sunday, I got up early and cranked out 4 miles on the treadmill, mainly so I could own a sense of accomplishment on a milestone day. During the week, two more 4s and a 3, all on the treadmill. And none of them all that easy. Friends, if you're training up to a long distance run, don't neglect the midweek maintenance runs. Missing one this week would've put me out of the game.

As it turned out, I was almost out anyway. The weather today was good for running 10: cloudy, high 50's. We chose to run on the measured course at Moss-Wright Park in Goodlettsville. We ran the 2.1 four times, then the 1.5, plus a little, to make 10. About half the course is asphalt, half cinder. When we hit the cinder part of the track, I started to suffer, my ankles, shins and feet feeling fatigued and worn out. By the time we hit cinders the second lap, now 3+ miles into the 10 mile run, I was worried. The third time, it was serious; I'm tired, I'm winded, I'm wondering if I need a stress test before the half marathon. Trying to imagine how we'll survive financially if I need a bypass operation. Don't laugh, this is serious.

Now, here's the spot where experienced runners can feel free to sneer. I came around again, wondering if I needed to walk a while; then, I tried lifting my chin and looking a little farther ahead on the path.

Everything changed. The legs got better, the wind got better - I wasn't quite new again, but running was suddenly so much easier I had to hold back to keep from running away from QMH. I had adopted a dumb, beginner's bad habit, something like 25 years into my career as a jogger: mostly because of the discomfort in my left foot, I have been watching my feet so closely that I screwed up my form. Tilt the chin up a few degrees so my feet disappear, and I can run as well as I should be running at this stage in my half marathon training course.

The rest of the 10 miles was about as easy as it should be after the training we've been doing.

Did I mention my new shoes? Just a fresh pair of New Balance 991s, my standard shoes for close to a decade. Did I mention that the brainless greyhound chewed a hole in the right toe, just a week after I opened the box, before the shoes had 10 miles on them, for crying out loud?

Next weekend we must skip forward to a 12 mile run, to adhere to our schedule for the 1/2 marathon on March 18. Chin up!

Ramping up to the half-marathon

The training schedule we follow calls for a three-mile run 3-4 times per week, and increasingly longer training runs each weekend leading up to the March 18 Tom King Half Marathon.

Ran 8 on Friday 2/10, on a flat circuit of .8 miles in Joppa, MD. My peroneal tendon thing (see below) was ever-present, but the primary impression was that the second half of the run was much more comfortable than the first.

Ran 9 on Friday 2/17 in the fairly hilly terrain around home in Hendersonville, TN. Again, it takes 1-2 miles before the persistent discomfort in the left foot eases. The last couple of miles were pretty tough; I must report that I thought the run was over a mile too soon and I really had to grit my teeth and persevere once QMH set me straight on the 10 minutes left to run.

Now, some thoughts on injury:

First, if you're middle-aged, take the aches and pains seriously. Find out what causes them, and try to make 'em go away. Some 12 years ago, I had a round of plantar fasciitis in my right foot. This is an inflammation of the big bundle of tendons that runs along the bottom of the foot from heel to toe -- big limp, big pain. The doctor recommended better shoes, and more conscientious stretching. The problem went away and never returned.

More recently, in late October 2005, I developed a pain in the left foot -- not the plantar thing, but very persistent at a low level of discomfort. This time the diagnosis (in mid-November) was a strained peroneal tendon. A month of anti-inflammation pills (and deeply curtailed running schedule) didn't do much, and neither did a round of physical therapy, although the stretches I learned were helpful. Walking, pivoting, stepping off the curb wrong, all these things can make it twinge. Sit in an office chair for a couple of hours, and I sometimes really feel it in the first few steps.

In January, I finally ran out of time for pampering, and resumed my full half-marathon training regimen, being careful to stretch before and after runs, and to ice the foot after the long ones. Running doesn't seem to make it worse, so I'll keep stretching, and keep on training.

Here's a recipe for a reusable water-and-alcohol ice bag.

In the end, this one is not going away, and middle-fifties seems to mean discovering a new aches-and-pain baseline.

Smack in the Middle

At twenty-five years old, I felt I was right in the thick of life, and that feeling continued for at least fifteen years. Now, I refer to myself as middle-aged, and QMH makes the point that my mid-fifties would be the middle of a one hundred-year life span. Hmph.

Still, a week short of my fifty-fourth birthday, I'm smack in the middle of training for my fourth annual half-marathon. Let this be clear: I am not a competitive runner, or a highly conditioned athlete. I'm a long-time jogger who's middle-aged -- er, mid-fiftyish. No special prowess, typical aches, pains and challenges, mental, time-management, physical.

This blog will record my thoughts on the mental and physical aspects of year-round fitness based on jogging three to five times weekly, and the particular challenges of working up to a 13.1 mile run in which I know that more than half the 2,000 other entrants will finish ahead of me. I hope that at least a few of them will finish behind me.

The Tom King Half Marathon steps off March 18 in Nashville, Tennessee. I'll be there start to finish -- you're invited to follow along.