I'm back!

After almost 3 months, I've decided to start blogging about my running again. It's hard to blog about something you are not actually doing, and over the summer I didn't run at all for a few weeks and didn't get over a few miles per week, for several weeks. This was due to a nagging bout of patella tendonosis in my right knee, which I still have, but am starting to manage better. I continue to have piriformis syndrome, now that I know what it is. It's basically a pain in the butt (literally), and in me it shoot pain into my lower back. It first hit me during my first marathon a year ago, and it has never let up. I tried chiropractors, deep tissue massage, acupuncture, you name it and I have tried it to get past this. I recently went to Spaulding Rehab and saw Dr Vora who resolved my achillies issue a few years back. she is awesome!!!! She diagnosed the piriformis syndrome and scheduled me for a few rounds of trigger point injections. I had my first round last week and while getting injections of muscles relaxers, my glute,pirformis, and quad muscles were going nuts! I ran the next morning and my legs felt like I just finished running a marathon, they were beat! I took Saturday off and am about to head out for a 10-12 mile run. My right knee could act up, so I'll take miles as they come. My goal is to get consistent miles around 50+ per week with two hard efforts per week. I have maintained some intensity with spinning,biking, and hill running on the treadmill and I hope this translates into some Fall running fitness. I am signed up for the Hampton 1/2 marathon in October, and though I'll be running this as a training run and not a PR effort, I want to Hold a decent and consistent pace. My goal is to run the Boston marathon in a PR time, which I'll determine after another month or two of training. If I can rid myself of the piriformis, I should have a good shot at breaking 2:55. It really took me down last year in the later miles......along with my quads failing, but I can train for that. Ok, off to say 'see ya' to my girl and then heading for Breakheart res. This 10-12 is going to be hilly!

Shutting down blog for a while!

Ok, I'm shutting down this blog for a while. Injury and frustration with my running is getting the better of me. My back, glute, ham issue continue, and a new/old knee problem has caused me to walk back from a run twice in the last 2 weeks. Yesterday I had to walk/jog back 3 miles to work from the MIT track due to knee pain. My fitness level is dropping, my runs stink, and I'm constantly stretching, icing, loading up on ibuprofen and ultra sounding with little result. I have already signed up for the Yankee Homecoming 10 miler and will not run that race again out of shape, so the number & shirt is up for grabs. I'm going into cross training and strength training mode, and am not running again for several weeks. I'll re-open this lousy blog when I actualy have something running related to blog about.

First 10K in many years!

Yesterday I ran the Market Square Day 10K in Portsmouth NH. This was my first 10K since I believe, 1980. I think I've only run one other 10K road race, and that was when I was 15 years old after my first highschool track season. It was in Seabrook NH and I remember struggling over the last mile. Yesterday was a perfect weather day for a road race. It hadn't started to rain yet, and it was cloudy and cool. Logistically though, this is kind of a pain in the butt race to run. It is part of a large city celebration, it starts and ends in different locations, and either I didn't prep well for it, or the coordinators didn't provide a lot of logistical information to the runners.
My girls came with me to this race, which was nice, but that also means additional logicstics. We stayed over in our NH place, so we only had a 15 minute ride to the race, but getting a 6 year old up and out of the house early is always a challenge. Everything went about as smooth as possible and I got my number, hit the porto-pottie, and was warming up 10 minutes before the race.
Like most runners I think, I felt lousy before the race. In fact my running has been horrible, my back/glute issues have gotten worse, and my knee was still iffy since my last race. OK.....needed to get the excuses flowing. I got on the front line, and was standing next to Heidi Westover, so I knew there would be at least one woman who would beat me. I also decided to use her to pace me, as I was hoping for 5:45-ish pace. The goal was to crack 5:50 pace, and ultimately break 36:00 minutes. It wasn't to be, but let me explain. The gun went off, and we started running down one of the main streets, slightly downhill. About 30 people took off quickly, and at 1/4 mile I was running about 5:10 pace and Heidi was right next to me. I slowed down a bit and she pulled away pretty quickly. The first mile of this race makes a big loop around the main part of town, and at mile 1 we were running back through the downtown section where all the people were. That is kind of cool to get the support, but this race, I think, is a tough course. Lot's of up and down, lot's of sharp turns, and the roads are at times, beat up. Anyway, around mile 1...I say around, since I missed the official mile mark, but I had on GPS, I was right around a 5:40 pace. I felt OK (Back & calf), but my left foot started hurting. Within a few minutes I realized I was getting a blister on the outside edge of that left foot and it was really starting to hurt. I own two pair of racing flats. My oldest ones are a pair of Nike Zooms. They are really light and I wore them for the first time in 4-5 years at the Corporate Challenge 2 weeks ago. Since my knee was bothering me after that race, yesterday I opted for my other flats, a pair of Asics. These have a little more cushion in the heel, and I have an old pair of orthotics in them. I used to wear orthotics to help my knee issues several years ago. I stopped wearing them in my trainers a couple of years ago and have found success in a model of Brook's trainers. Anyway...I have not worn these flats in a while, since most of my races have been 1/2 and full marathons, and I wear my trainers for these long races. I guess I wasn't used to the orthotics and yesterday I paid a hefty price. By the second mile, every step I took...well....every other step I took, was painful. I tried adjusting my foot strikes, ignoring the pain, etc, but I was sufferring. Mean while, I lost some places, and a 3rd woman passed me around mile 2.5 or so. I was running with 3-4 other guys, and kind of locked into pace with them. The course rolled quite a bit, and I found myself running 6+ pace up the hills, and I didn't feel like I was getting the equal down hill back to make up the slow pace. I knew just after the 3rd mile my father was going to be there, and after I made my way under a raiload bridge and took a hard right up yet another hill...a long one this time, there he was. I could see him 100 yards up the road, and I was just making my way passed a young runner who went out to fast. (At least I passed someone during this race!)
As I passed my father, the only thing he said to me was "There are 3 girls ahead of you, you know", then I heard him snicker! Thanks Dad!!!! I kept plugging away and the course started to head back towards the downtown area. When we finally hit a nice level street I had the pace between 5:37-5:42 and was thinking to myself, maybe I'll come away with a decent time after all. Naaaaaa. My back was really starting to hurt, and I find that holds me back on the down hill sections, as I tend to tense up. My foot was really on fire now, and at 5 miles I was thinking about stopping. I was imagining what I would find when I took my sock off, as I was pounding for 5.2 miles on a blister that wanted me to stop at mile 1. Then I thought, I still have to get back to my truck and family, and the fastest way to do that is to keep running! I also had someone behind me, and I was trying to put some distance on them as best as I could. At 3.5 miles I took a peek on a corner and some guy was about 10 seconds back. Around 5 miles, I thought I had at least 30 seconds, but I was using the crowds to judge it. After I passed some people who were race supporters, I'd listen to see when they would cheer again, and I was guessing no one was right on me. I had lost lot's of space on two guys in front of me and I was just trying to finish the last mile of the race. Someone had said as I made my way up yet another long hill...."Last hill, cumon'". I later discovered there were two more hills in front of me....that was a dirty trick, but it did get me over the immediate hill! The course finishes down hill and there were lost's of people there for support. I didn't kick, I just tried to maintain some speed and finished in over 37 minutes. I was actually shocked to see the time. I didn't care at the moment, as my foot hurt so much, but I did see my wife and daughter waiting for me, and tried to get a high five from Kara, but I was sweaty and gross, so she wouldn't go for it. The hobble back to the truck was long and painful, but once I got changed, took a peek at my huge blister that wasn't bleeding or anything, just really, really angry at me, I felt better. My trainers enabled me to hobble around better, and we were able to enjoy.....in the rain....the Market Square festivities. I could not find the race results posted, or where the award ceremony was, but we were also busy sight seeing. I later found out I won the 40+ division, which just means a lot of old guys didn't show up! I do not feel good about running a 6:03 pace for a 6.2 mile race, but I'll chaulk it up to training. Speaking of which, I have not run any real distance since the marathon. My back is too screwed up to allow it. I'm on vacaton this coming week and after that it's MRI time. Coming up is a 5 miler in July and 10 miler in Aug. Nothing else is planned other than healing, training, summer vacations, etc.

Last night was my first race since the marathon and it didn't turn out too badly. It was the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge, 3.5 miler and I was very unprepared for it. I haven't raced short in a really long time, haven't done much faster training, and am still struggling with a back/glute/ham issue. OK....excuses out of the way. I've run this race a bunch of times, but I've never run well at it. It's a tough race, in that there are 12,000 runners, it starts out really fast (you have to with that many runners), and the beginning of the course is severely dangerous. A very wide Charles Street, chokes onto a very narrow hard left hand turn, 100 yards into the race. This year was better than most, as I only took a few elbows and bumps. The prior two years, I've seen a girl get knocked down and trampled, and last year I had to jump over a girl who fell, and that was after some guy landed on her back with his foot! I still can't imagine how she ever made it to saftey with 11,900 more runners coming her way. Anyway....I started out fast and after a quarter mile my 98% accurate GPS watch has me at a 4:48 pace. The brakes come on immediately, and 15 guys go roaring past me. I felt pretty good the entire race, and just didn't know what kind of pace I should or could hold. I hit the mile in 5:28 and felt pretty good about that. When I reach the half way point, where there is a sharp 180 degree turn around, I still felt good. This is where I am typically dying after going out too fast and can then get a glimps at who about to run me down. I was looking for Jim Rhodes, who I chatted with before the race. He typically beats me at this race and passes me around the 2 mile mark. I didn't see him at the turn around. I was able to pick up the pace a bit, and around 2 mile (I missed the marker) I was still in the 5:30's for pace. (high 5:30s). At 2.88 miles, Jim came up on me. I blurted something about him finally catching me, and he quickly gapped me, but I wanted to hold onto him. I totally missed the 3 mile mark, and just focused on opening up my stride a bit. The finish to this race invloves a hard right and left hand turns, and then a longggggggg straightaway down Charles street to the finish. I kept Jim within 20 feet of me on the turns, and found myself picking up the pace, feeling good, and passing people. I could have passed Jim before the last turn, but decided to be sneaky and just stay in his blind spot until the straightaway. I wasn't planning on sprinting to the finish, since I had no idea if I could, if I'd break, etc. We hit the straight away and I threw it into another gear and passed a few guys, but it was not my last gear. I could feel Jim coming with me, but I couldn't see him. This is a really long street, and I've seen guys total gas out every year. I waited until half way and then opened it up. I wasn't sprinting, but I stayed to the right and kept an eye on my left. I think I can actually move that one eye only during the end of races! I came in under 20 minutes, which was the goal, and felt great after one quick dry heave! It was a really good race for me. I ran and easy 8 miles on the treadmill this morning. I'm a little sore, and my back is killing me, but I'll worry about those issues later. I also ran into my cousin Elisa at the race. Out of 12,000 runners, I see a relative I haven't seen in years and years! It is a small world!

Today I brought my Blackberry on my trail run in the Fellswoods for the first time. I was motivated to capture some pictures after watching the movie 127 hours on Saturday night.

It also motivated me to do some enjoyable trail running instead of pounding the pavement. The pictures above are from the base of Wright's Tower in Winchester. It's a great shot of the Boston Skyline, and you'd never know the trail follows Rt 93 so closely. It's about 5.5 miles from where I enter the woods at Whip Hill in Stoneham. I ended up running 11.5 miles, and I took several technical paths along the way to keep the run challenging but enjoyable. At about 8 miles my lower back and glute started flairing up, and by mile 10 I was hurting. I need to take the next steps in getting this issue fixed, or I'm going to have a frustrating summer! I felt great up until mile 8, as I tapered off my workouts a bit last week with the thought of racing some 5Ks. Instead I got lazy after picking up a bug and feeling lousy towards the end of last week, but I've shaken it off, and feeling decent now. I haven't done any short racing and I was hoping to run the Redhook 5K in Portsmouth this coming weekend. If I race it, it's going to hurt as this is a flat and fast course, and without any pre-racing, who knows what will happen to me. Will I just run 6 pace? Will I totally blow up after going out too fast? Will I get beat by the first 60-65 woman?

We'll see................

Here's a non-race report blog entry. I'm guessing I'm 95% healed up from the Boston marathon, although I'm having lower back, glute, hamstring issues still. I'm back at the chiropractors, which seems to help, and an MRI is the next step. I haven't run more than 10 miles, so the back issue hasn't really held my workouts back too much. I've been cutting the distance and doing a little more speed work for two reasons. One, I'm feeling so slow and sluggish and some speed work just has to improve my racing. (The little racing I do). Two, I'll be hitting a few short (5K, 3.5 mile) races next month, so I should do some appropriate training for them. On Tuesday I hit the Stoneham High track again and did another 6x400 workout, with a 400 jog. It was friggin windy, but the workout felt a little easier than the week before. I wore my racing flats for this workout and it felt good to do some good old fashion repeats. I ran a little more consistant than the week before and 8 seconds faster overall. I again went to run under 70 for my final 400 and ran it in exatly 70. I'm still thinking....wishfully, that this track is a little long! My 400 were......75,76,73,73,73,70. I was sucking some big time wind after the last 400, which is a feeling I dont get from marathon training or racing. I was pleased with Tuesday's workout and on Wednesday I skipped running and continued to hit the weights more than usual. I'm trying to get a little stronger and faster, and then hopefully when I ramp up the miles over the summer, I'll be able to run a Fall marathon in a decent time. With the additional fast paced running and the weightlifting like old fashion squats, lunges, leg curl, etc, my Thursday tempo run was horrible. I ran the worst 8.5 miles in a long time. I was really struggling and I was a little bummed out about it. This morning I felt decent, and knowing I wasn't going to race on Saturday, I did what I call a punishment workout on the treadmill. (Punishment for the crappy Thursday run!) I warmed up for 2 miles, then did a 4x800 at faster than 5K pace. My legs were still sore from the prior week's workouts, but it actually felt good to bang out some 800's with a 400 jog in between. They were in 2:45, 2:40, 2:35, 2:32. I ended the workout running 3 miles at lofty goal marathon pace. I was initially planning on running the Breakheart 6K on Saturday, but have some family things to do instead. I'm not very patient with myself, but I'm feeling like my body isn't responding quickly to the modified training I've been doing. I feel sore and tired, but it's probably just a natural occurence for a non-20 year old!

I'm finally starting to feel reasonably normal 15 days since the marathon. I took one day off from training and three days off from running after Boston. Slowly the workouts have gotten better and the miles have increased. Today was the first 'double' workout I've done in....Hmmmmm....29 years? Repeats in the AM, and some trail running after work! I typically go into the Boston for work early, which is 5am. I get set up for the day and then head down to the company fitness center to workout. Tuesdays are either hill repeat day, or starting last week, is track/repeat day. I found myself at the MIT outdoor track last week and ran a couple of 400 meter repeats. Today I commuted with my wife to work, so I ran at home in the AM. I ran 1.75 miles to the Stoneham Highschool track, which is a very decent track. I started early, which is 5:45am or so, and my body took a while to warm up. I hit the track and I was bent on copying the 6x400 meter repeat workout that one of my hero's 'Dave Dunham' has been running, according to his blog. The first 400 was slow and somewhat tough for me......78 seconds. I was jogging a 400 in between these repeats. During this first jog, I was checking out the markings on the track, to see if this was a LONG track? Ha....no chance.....I ran for Austin Prep and we had a VERY short track, and I now live in Melrose, and the old high school track that they just ripped up this winter, was 9 meters short. I've never heard of a LONG track, but I was looking for a reason, other than me being slow, for the slow split. I found the markings as I jogged and after realizing this was probably a true 400 meter track, I got back to my workout. Here are the rest of my splits.....74,73, 75, 78, 71.......I took the 5th 400 fairly easy, and then I tried to run the 6th 400 at 69. I didn't make it, but......I wasn't going to kill myself for it, but I was certainly working hard. Boy.....I used to be able to rip off 400's like nothing. 59, jog, 59, jog, 59..........it's been a long time since 1982! I was pretty beat after this morning's repeats, but I felt decent enough to get an easy 4 mile trail run in after work. I'd like to throw in at least 2 double workouts per week, so I can maintain/increase my miles, and get in some quality target workouts. I need to get some speed back, and to train to race faster. I've been training for longer, slower races lately, and I feel....well....slower. I have the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge 3.5 mile race in early June, and it's 3 weeks sooner than prior years.
I doubt I can peak for this kind of race, but a few speed sessions should help a little, and then set me up for some summer races!