When I'm 64...

(The following is a gratuitous birthday posting)

I'm not exactly sure when it started, but with these numerical candles, we started reversing the numbers. It may have been the year that my mother-in-law turned 59. We made her 95 so she'd really feel old.

Today, July 11, I'm finally older than my youngest son, who's 61 for a few more days. On the 20th he'll turn 71 and be older than me once again. My wife is a nice even 44 no matter how you look at it. Tyler is just plain ancient at 91. I think it’s funny that I'm still younger than my MIL, at 86 and yet older than my sister-in-law at 63. Goofy I know, but we have fun with it.

The cake by the way is a totally from scratch banana cake made by my irreversible wife. Sadly scratch cake baker is not a phrase she usually identifies with. She made it to go along with Tyler's dinner the other night. Homemade banana cake is one of my faves and reminds me of my childhood. It was darn good and much appreciated.

I'll celebrate tonight with a 5 mile run and dinner at Red Robins. A birthday burger sounds good to me.

So how "old" are you?

He Cooks, Part II

Tyler has been home for the last three weeks on summer break. His school is on year round schedule. He will get 12 quarters, 4 years at a traditional school, completed in 3. He left this afternoon to head back to San Diego for the summer term. When he first come home on June 16 I asked him to cook a meal for us sometime before he went back. In true teenage style he waited until the last possible night to rise to the occasion. Lisa took him shopping earlier in the day. Grandma and Aunt Leslie were able to join us. Bryan was at work.

He made a salad with mixed spring greens with pine nuts and feta cheese and a strawberry vinagrette dressing he made from scratch. The entree was pan seared oven roasted chicken breasts, apparently his favorite (very similar to what he made last time). This time he paired it with garlic mashed potatoes and carrots and asparagus sauteed with minced garlic and shallots.


It certainly looked good and was yummy to boot.

On the running front I met up with the Cruisers at Tagge's Gym for a jaunt through the Redwood Grove and into Chino Hills State Park. The usual loop up Northridge, down Sycamore, returning on Telegraph is 14 miles. I only had 9 on the schedule. I suggested just heading up Telegraph, turning around at about the appropriate point and heading back out. My primary motivation was babying the foot by missing the uphill work.

The cool thing about this run is that Jeff from Time to Run showed up to run with us. Another cool thing is that between runners and walkers we were 29 people. Some people were doing the 3 mile Tagge's loop, while almost everybody else followed my lead on the Telegraph out and back run. Jeff and I ended up taking the lead once we hit Telegraph. From Tagges to CHSP is about 2 miles. The back end of CHSP is mile marker 8. The plan was to run to mile marker 5 and then retrace our steps.

Mile Marker 8 is actually somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 mile into the park. Jeff and I ran along, not really knowing the pace. Not too far behind us was Jay and John (not Dr. John). Running east on Telegraph was hot, even at 8:00 in the morning. We finally came upon the 5.5 mile mark. Only 1/2 to go before we turned back. We ran for another 6 minutes or so and never did see the mile marker. Jeff over ruled my desire to hit the landmark so we turned around.

I was having great difficulty seeing from the sweat dripping into my eyes. The trip back down Telegraph was a blessing, we had a nice breeze in our face most of the way, which helped keep the sweat under control. We figured we'd traveled at least 5.5 miles out. By the time we hit 8 miles I was pretty much toast. I started lagging behind and finally told Jeff just to gone on without me. He was still running strong, while I was not. I had met Jeff several years ago, the one time I met up with the 6:42 group on a Sunday. That was long before either one of us were bloggers. It was a lot of fun to get to share the trail with him.The approximately 11 mile run took 1:45. The 9:33 pace was acceptable but it sure hurt far more than it should have.

Sunday I got in 4.5 miles before waking the family for breakfast; hash browns and scrambled eggs this week. With that I met my goal of >25 miles for the week at 26.6.

Tonight after my massage and chiropractic appointment I put in 3 miles on the trail is Bonelli. It wasn't a speedy effort but everything felt in good working order which hasn't been the case far too often lately. Week 3 of the plan calls for a drop in mileage, as does every third week for the first 12 weeks. I plan on taking full advantage of it.

Enjoy whatever your week brings your way.

Mr. Consistent

Tyler and I ran the Surf City 5K in Huntington Beach this morning. This was my inaugural race back in 2003 after picking up running just a month before. My time was 34:27. I ran that race a lot like Tyler runs these races now.

Ten days ago we ran a 5K in 31:48, my watch, or 31:57, official. Today's 5K came in at 31:55, my watch, 32:24, official. The big difference today was the size of the crowd. There were 1642 finishers compared to 269 at Lomita.

Tyler postponed the first walk break to the turn around point rather than at the mile marker. He took 2 more, one for a 60 seconds and the last for 30 seconds. As usual he turned up the speed near the finish line. At Surf City the actual finish is around a left turn. Tyler overestimated his ability to sustain the final kick.

During the race I tried to convince him to use some of that final kick during the race when he feels compelled to walk. I really think he can do it. The battle is more mental than physical. On the way home we discussed strategies for getting faster.

I'm a little disappointed with this race. For starters; no goodie back. Not that big of a deal really, but noticable. And my pet peeve; t-shirts only in large and extra large. Why? Do I really need another t-shirt? Not really. It iss just that I come to expect these things, especially at a race of this size. I guess more a reflection on me than on the race.

On the plus side I like that they have 3 divisions for this race that go off at 3 separate times. There's a HB resident only race, an open division race, and a stroller race, along with 1/2 and mile race for the kids. There were 8 choices of race venues in So Cal this morning. Next year it may be time to try another race to celebrate Independence Day.

At the finish line they were giving out 32 oz bottles of Deluge Sport Drink. I tried the "Intense Lime" flavor. It reminded me of KoolAid. We drank a lot of KoolAid as kids. My parent's rarely bought "pop". Deluge has the same calories as Gatorade, but only about 1/2 the sodium. Deluge also contains taurine, l-glutamine, and l-carnitine. The one thing I do like about it is the lack of high fructose corn syrup, the number 3 ingredient on the Gatorade Xtremo flavor I was using as comparison. It appears as though Deluge is trying to expand their market. They seemed to be linked to motocross currently.

At the race I also picked up a hard copy of the Race Place magazine so that Tyler and I can find our next 5K.

Just Like Starting Over

A couple of weeks ago, during the run with Forrest, I was also running along with Jay. Jay mentioned the Villa Park 5K. This race is put on by a member of the 6:42 group. This year Jay was sharing the RD responsibilities. I had volunteered at this race last year. I told Jay that I would be willing to volunteer again this year. He told me that they had the volunteers covered and invited me to come out an race it instead. I'd never been an "invited" athlete before. I couldn't very well turn down the RD.

The race starts and finishes at the Villa Park High School Track, which is right across the wall from where the 6:42 group meets weekly. The plan was to meet there, run the 6:42 route, beginning at 6:42 and making it back in plenty of time for the 8:00 start. The turn out for the warm up run was 4 women and 2 guys, me and Dr. John. We got a late start so we cut the route short and got in 5.5 miles rather than the normal 6.42. The women ran a 4 mile option. The 5.5 miles were done in 9:29 pace. I already felt tired and wondered how the race would go.

We finished up just in time for me to change shirts and run into Vons to use the facilities. I lined up some where near the front and was joined by Gary and Julie. Julie is fast, but was planning on taking this one easy. Gary was hoping to break 30:00. I told him that I had better break 30:00. I didn't really have any expectations for this one. I hadn't raced a 5K since I set my PR (21:54) in May 2006.

We took off and I somehow got the jump on Julie for maybe 100 yards, then we ran together for about 100 more then she was gone and soon out of sight. She ended up finishing around 21:00.

I hit the 1 Mile mark in 7:46. I wasn't really pleased or disappointed with the time. It just was what it was. Not too much later I started thinking that this was going to be a long race. I was wishing that Tyler was along with me so I could take a walk break. I hadn't told him about this race since he had just raced last Saturday and would be racing again on July 4th.

Sometime after about a mile and a half I saw someone up ahead that I recognized. It was Sam from the Jingle Bob and Brea 8K rivalry. I hadn't seem him at the start. He was walking, I just cruised right by. In that instant I knew that I didn't have it in me for another race to the finish. I'm not sure if he recognized me but soon after I passed him he began running again and caught me.

At the 2 Mile mark we were pretty much side by side. After I hit my watch, he asked where we were at. I misread the time and told him that I was at 18:00 and commented that I was sucking big time. I thought I had slowed down considerably. I realized after the race that I had actually done Mile 2 in 8:14 for a total time of 16:00. Soon after that Sam started walking again.

I knew he was back there and suffering so my goal became to gain as much ground as I could to fend off another photo finish like the 8K. The last 3.1 came in at 8:09 for a finishing time of 24:09 (7:47 pace overall). This is back where I was nearly 2 years ago.

Sunday I woke up just late enough that I didn't feel like I had time to get my Bonelli run in and get the family up and moving towards church. I definitely didn't have time to run and cook breakfast. I opted for making breakfast. After church we went to lunch and then did some shopping for the boys. That put me in the middle of the hottest part of the day. Lisa went over to visit her Mom (She is back home now, the infection seems to be under control). Bryan was at work, Tyler was gone. I got caught up on blogs and did some other reading and finally decided to hit the road at 4:30. I wanted to attend a special service at church later that evening and wanted to run Bonelli, otherwise I could have postponed the run til later and one it on the streets.

The goal was a recovery run. The 95 degree temperature guaranteed that I kept the pace nice and slow. I even took my fuel belt along, something I never do on a usual 5 miler. I was very glad to have it with me. It was hot. I never saw another person on the trail. I wonder why! I made it back home in time for a quick jump in the pool and a shower and made it to church with time to spare. I was definitely still cooling down for the first 15 minutes or so of the service.

With that run I made my weekly mileage goal of greater than 20, with 21.9. Not counting the double half marathon week it has been 9 weeks since I've broken 20. Next week's target mileage is 25.

During the service the pastor brought up a young man, Patrick, who was preparing to ship out to Iraq on July 16. It reminded me of our friend's sons Will M. in Japan, Matt O. in Iraq and Joe's son David in Iraq as well. We should all pray for these guy's safety and well being every chance we get.

Incorrigible

1. bad beyond correction or reform

2. impervious to constraints or punishment; willful; unruly; uncontrollable

3. firmly fixed; not easily changed

4. not easily swayed or influenced

(from dictionary dot com with some editing on my part)

The copy machine in my department is frequently on the fritz, usually with a continuous paper jam. Sometimes the last person to use the thing just walks away to leave the next poor soul who needs a copy to fix the problem. Most often they tell the administrator and put an "Out of Order" sign on it. Today somebody but a sign on it with the word "Incorrigible". I couldn't help but chuckle every time I walked by the thing. These odd little words get stuck in my head.

Tonight called for a 5 mile run. My plan was to turn it into my midweek tempo run. I headed over to Bonelli for the flat Cottontail route. I started off the first mile fairly easily then tried to kick it in gear. I felt like I was moving along at a decent clip. At the turn around point I was at 22 and change. Even with my limited math skills in motion I could tell I was over 9 minute miles, not exactly tempo worthy. I don't think I could have gotten much more out of my legs. I was beat by the time I got back to the car. My 9:15 pace isn't exactly where I need to be or even expected to be.

Just two months ago I ran a marathon in 8:33 pace. Yes, it is still really early. Only Week 1. But that silly little word popped into my head. At this point the copy machine and I have something in common - incorrigibility

Great Minds

We were all pretty much on our own tonight for dinner. Lisa was at the hospital visiting her Mom. She's been in there since Friday suffering from some kind of blood infection that has settled in her knee, which had been replaced about 10 years ago. Bryan was at work. Tyler was at the gym with his friend. I had come home from work early to help Tyler take the dog to the vet. She's 13 and was acting quite peculiarly. She's was diagnosed with Vestibular Disease. She was experiencing vertigo symptoms and was acting like a drunken sailor. The vet said the symptoms could last for 72 hours, but 5 hours later she seems to be doing much better. She's even eaten and drank water.

Anyway, I ate dinner early (left overs) and decided to put my run off until it cooled down a little. After the run I went to the grocery store to pick up some dessert. We like to have a scoop of ice cream nearly every night. I had just picked out a couple of half gallons and was on my way over to grab a bag of Chocolate Chip cookies. As I turned the corner at the end of the aisle I almost ran into Lisa. She had stopped at the store on the way home from the hospital for the same thing. She had a bag of cookies in her hand and was on her way to the ice cream aisle when we ran into each other. Great minds! We sure had a good laugh about that one.

Tonight's run was over in Bonelli for 3.3 miles. I did the Picnic Loop with little added spur trail along the lake.

My mileage last week was 16.1. My goal next week is to finally break 20 miles again. Sunday I wanted to get a run in and I really wanted to try to stay on dirt. The Via Verde horse trail is only 3 miles, I wanted more than that. I was apprehensive about repeating my Sunday Morning Bonelli loop as I had done it Wednesday and experienced a few little twinges on the top and side of my foot a couple of days after that. I finally remembered the Cottontail Trail that I used to take last year with Bryan on the bike. It is about half on dirt and basically flat. I hadn't done this since we lost Daylight Savings last fall. It is funny how a run that was a staple last summer had been out of my repertoire for so long I had forgotten about it.

Today is the official start date of the MCM training. I also realized on my run that I had just run 3 days in a row. It's been weeks since that happened. Keep your fingers crossed that my foot holds up to the increased frequency. I made it through 4 days last week, but not without minor reminders from my foot. I'm not sure how it will react to a 5 day week. I'm more than a little anxious about the outcome.

Founder's Day 5K

This was my second chance to run a race with my oldest son. Since the first 5K he has been asking me to find another race to do. Like many of us he was finding it difficult to get out there and run without a goal. His three week summer break offered the perfect opportunity. We had our choice of several races this weekend but settled on the Lomita Founder's Day 5K and 10K. With California being a relatively young state Lomita was celebrating their 100th anniversary.

We got there in time to find parking and get registered for the race. This is the first time that I've not registered for a race before hand. Tyler called almost daily to see if I had registered yet. We did a 1/4 mile warm up, basically just because we had the time.

The race got started on time. It took us about 10 seconds to cross starting line near city hall. The route was basically a big square taking us through the neighborhood and back to the starting line. The course was very gently down hill on the first leg of the square which meant that the third leg was up hill. Tyler's A goal was sub 30:00, with his B goal of improving on his last time of 34:00.

The first mile came in at 9:23, way ahead of where we needed to be to break 30:00. I'm not very good at judging pace. The fast start would come back to hurt Tyler later on. Soon after the 1 mile mark Tyler asked for a walk break. One minute later we were running again. At this point we began leap frogging an older gentleman (turns out he was 75). He was in a cotton t-shirt, gray sweats and what looked like cross trainers from the 70's. He was just plodding along steadily.

Mile 2 came in at 10:36, including the walk break. That was still less than 20:00 for 2 miles but we couldn't afford to slow down at all to be able to break the 30:00 goal. Mile 2 was followed by the second walk break. Mr Gray Sweats ambled on by us. Soon after we turn the corner for the long uphill.

There was a short but significant climb at the end of this leg, around mile 2.5. I really tried to encourage Tyler to keep going up the climb, but he opted for a walk break. I insisted on keeping it short. He had also complained of a side stitch earlier. We slowed down some to help ease the pain.

On the last leg and just before the 3 mile mark, Tyler took another short walk break and then took off like a bolt of lightning for the finish. The last 1.1 clocked in at 11:50 for a final time of 31:48 on my watch. He managed to pass someone just before the finish line. I finished a few seconds later. With the addition of the 10 seconds to get to the starting line our final times look like this:

So although he didn't make his sub 30:00 goal, he did set a new PR by 2:03. It was very cool. Tyler was shocked when the winner of the 10k (twice around the square) crossed the finish line in 35:30, just 3.5 minutes after us.

While he's home we are going to run the Surf City 5K on July 4th. That was my first race back in 2003. He will finally get to run a completely pancake flat course. I expect this PR won't stand for long.

The Final Detail

I registered for Marine Corps Marathon on May 9th, the day that registration opened. Registration has long since closed. I booked my hotel the following day. I've had one last detail left. Wednesday, I finally booked airfare to Reagan National Airport. It's a done deal. Now I just need to get a couple of 20 milers under my belt and on my feet and I'll be ready to go.

Nothing to stellar to report on the running front. Tuesday was another easy 3 miles in Via Verde. I'm getting really good at easy 3 milers. It seems to be my fall back distance when things aren't going well. I clocked a whopping 8:50 pace, which is slow compared to where I was 6 months ago, but about on par with everything since my foot started acting up. The easy pace seems to keep the pain in check. I'd rather run slow for a while pain free than faster, in pain and risk not running at all.

Wednesday I had taken a vacation to run an errand. I turns out my errand was done by about 8:15. I had a whole day to myself to do whatever I wanted. My wife was at work as was #1 son. #2 son was at summer school. It was such a beautiful morning and my foot had been feeling pretty good so I decided to make my way over to Bonelli for my 5 mile loop. I wore the Trance for stability rather than the Cascadias. Again I kept the pace really easy. The hills really kicked my fanny. I walked up way more than usual. My lack of consistent high mileage training, the extra couple of pounds and temperatures in the low 80's all kept me moving slower than I used to. I was super happy to out there though and my foot didn't seem to mind it either. I was a little horrified when I stopped my watch to see 56:27 for 5 miles (11:17 pace).

I enjoyed a couple of weeks of relatively pain free running, but I'm a little afraid to push things up notch just yet. I almost ran today to get 3 straight days of running but ended up putting that particular hurdle off till next week when the marathon training is scheduled to start. I'm still toying around with plans but I'm pretty sure I will be taking a low mileage, just make it to the finish line approach to MCM.

Saturday I will accompany Tyler (#1 son) on his second 5K race. He asked me to find a race to do while he was home on break. He is hoping the break the 30 minute barrier this time out. The way I've been going lately, it may be me that is the rate limiting factor this time out. I'll be sure to let you know.

A Run with Forrest

First off I want to thank everyone for the good thoughts and suggestions on the foot and ankle pain. I really want to thank David and Ryan for their suggestions. I've stretched this week like I've never stretched before and the frozen bottle of water has gotten a lot of use on the soles of my feet. I've even sat on the floor, rested my calf and achilles tendon on the bottle and rolled back and forth on that. Things have not worsened for sure and even seem to be getting a little bit better. Kim, if you're reading, check out their comments on the last couple of posts, hopefully it will help you too.

My mileage is still on the low side with only 16.5 miles on the legs this week in three runs. I did take the (mountain) bike out on the roads Monday evening for 11 miles in 55 minutes or 12 mph. Not exactly burning up the rubber, but it was good to be out there. Tuesday and Wednesday were exactly like last week, 3 miles each day mostly on dirt in 8:40-ish pace.

Saturday was another excellent running day with the CA Cruisers. We ran the loop around the Newport Back Bay. I'd last run this route with Jeff back in August of 2006, my how time flies. I had decided to wear some newer Trance 6, from Brooks. I'd bought these back in March and had only worn them about 20 miles so far. I really wasn't fond of the styling and even though I've always worn a size 10 in Trances from NXR, NXS, and NXT, these seemed big and clunky. I was hoping that their "stability plus" rating would be beneficial to my PF symptoms of last week. The Back Bay loop is a good 10 miles and because it's a loop around a body of water there is no short cutting the thing no matter how bad you feel. If the feet started hurting at 5 like they did last week, those last 5 wouldn't be pleasant.

We had a pretty decent showing this morning with plenty of people for me to run with. Jay was there, as was Jim and so were Julie and Gary who I hadn't seen in months. We all ran loosely together in various groups. Along with us regulars was a new guy, Forrest (I'll resist the obvious one liner). Forrest is the 16 year old son of another member of the group. Jay teased him about being able to run much faster than us "old" guys, but Forrest knew what he was in for. Since his Mom and grandfather were both runners he knew that slow and steady was the way to treat the long run. Between the five of us in the lead pack we all took turns kind of looking after Forrest.

Forrest is in training for the Disneyland Half Marathon in September, his first. He's a member of the marching band at his high school and works out with weights. Couple that with youth and he was in decent shape. He had recently gotten fitted for running shoes at the local Snail's Pace store.

By the time we had hit 6 miles we had already tackled the hills of the run. Forrest was with Jay at that point and was beginning to tire. Jay pointed out a small shortcut through a parking area that saved him about 1/2 a mile. When Julie, Gary and I caught him next he had run out of fluid. Julie and I ran with him and found out that except for one 8K race he had never run more than 3 miles; no wonder he was tired. We were both a little surprised that his Mom hadn't eased him into this a little more.

He was still in good spirits. We suggested that maybe a walking break was in order. He plugged along for a while and then finally decided to take us up on the offer. I walked with him. After 2 minutes I suggested that it was time to get going again. We ran together for 8 minutes when he asked for another walk break. Somehow Julie was right there with us so the three of us walked up Back Bay Drive together. I watched the clock and suggested we only walk for a minute. I also convinved Forrest to drink from one of my as yet untouched Fuel Belt bottles. Between miles 7 and 9 we took 3 maybe 4 walk breaks. At that point Forrest was pretty much done. I debated with myself whether I should push him to keep going or suggest that he take it easy. I ultimately let him decide how and when we was going to finish the run. He told me that the soles of his feet hurt and that maybe he would just walk the last mile or so in. The others in the lead pack had all gone ahead, as did I at that point. I stopped periodically to make sure that Forrest was still coming. I even caught him running a couple of times.

It was good to see the smile on his face when he was done. All the others made a huge fuss over him for completing his longest run ever. He took off his shoes and had a nice blister on the arch of each foot. His final pace for the 10 miles was somewhere around 10:15. Not too bad, considering he'd never covered that distance before. I was pretty proud of him for running with us when he could have run with the middle or back of the pack. It was a good run, seeing everyone encouraging Forrest and getting to know him along the way.

The good news for me is that my feet felt pretty good the whole way. There was very little hint of the pain in the arches that plagued me the previous week. There is still the weird roving pain in the ankle of my right foot. I think the stretching and icing worked their tricks. Later in the afternoon on Saturday my feet felt more achy than normal, but were tolerable.

Father's Day, the whole family went for a short hike on the Lower Monroe Trail in the foothills above Glendora. I had originally invited Lisa for a walk in Bonelli, but Tyler (home for a 3 week summer break) suggest the other trail. The boys spontaneously ran parts of the trail today. Wouldn't it be cool if I could get them out for a trail run. We only went in about a mile and back out, but I definitely viewed it as a possible running route some day. Earlier in the day we went out for Mexican food. It's a tradition we started back in 1987 when Lisa was pregnant with Tyler. We haven't always visited the same restaurant over the 20 years but we've always managed to have our fill of chips and salsa, and a lot of other good stuff, on Father's Day.

I hope all you fathers out there were able to spend some meaningful time with your kids.

Peters Canyon

Between the CA Cruisers, the 6:42 group and members of the Brea Boot Camp we were 21 happy runners on Saturday morning at Peters Canyon. True to the dependable June Gloom of southern California, it was a wonderfully cool, overcast morning for a run. Although this was my first time to run in Peters Canyon Park, others of the group had done this run many times before. The Cruisers are mostly Orange County residents of Brea, Yorba Linda and Orange. I'm a commuting member of the group driving 30 or so miles each way from my home in LA County.

Peters Canyon is a small suburban park in Orange, CA at the edge of civilization. The trails remind me of Bonelli, but more exposed. There is a small reservoir with a 2 mile looping trail and then a small finger like projection of land that is surrounded on all sides by fairly typical southern California subdivisions. The finger like part of the park is less than a quarter of a mile wide in most places and a little over a mile long.

Although I had committed myself to staying on flat land for a while, I had talked to Dr. John during the week and he assured me that the run was mostly flat. I had discussed the "hills" at Saddleback with his wife just a week or so ago. She felt that Saddleback was hilly. I would call it gently rolling. Based on that definition I thought it was safe to give Peters Canyon a try.

The conditions Saturday morning were ideal due to the June Gloom but I could imagine that during the summer the heat would be borderline intolerable. At the far south end is a small eucalyptus grove that offers a very brief respite from the sun. The trail here is also curvier with several easy switchbacks compared to the relatively straight sections elsewhere. The trail on the east side of the park, East Ridge Trail, has the parks major hill followed by a few rollers as it heads south. (Although I think any hill that you can clearly see the top from the bottom isn't really all that major. I'm also sure that it is less than a quarter of a mile long.) After the U-turn through Eucalyptus Trail the Peters Canyon Trail on the west side of the park is a long straight gradual up hill grade back to the reservoir loop.

As it turns out, the hills although small by most definitions and small to me under normal foot conditions, were bigger than I would have like to subject my foot to. I ran the gentle ones at a slower pace, but walked down the steeper ones as a precaution. I took the up hills as usual.

All told, I ran 7.5 miles and Peters Canyon is worth another visit. My right foot felt all right most of the way. About 5 miles into the run both my right and left arches began to hurt, almost a burning sensation. I'm now convinced that I've got myself a case of plantar fasciitis. Oh, joy of joys. This is not the turn of events I expected following my crash month. Celeste seems to think I should be refitted for shoes. I don't think there is going to be any quick fixes with whatever is going on with my feet.

After the run, we met up at a coffee shop/bakery. The muffins and cookies sure looked good, but I controlled myself and had a chai tea and a banana. One really bad side effect of my decreased running of late is the 6 pounds I've gained since the Eugene Marathon at the end of April. I am going to have to give bike riding some serious consideration this next week along with some frequent and consistent stretching exercise. Only 2 more weeks before MCM training is supposed to officially begin.

This last weekend and next some of the Cruisers are taking part in the World Famous Mud Runs at Camp Pendleton. These runs have been on my radar for awhile now. They fill quickly and I have missed out. Running and crawling through the mud looks like fun to me. How about you?

Back to Back

Back to back runs is something I haven't done in over 6 weeks. April 19 and 20 were the last two consecutive days of running until today. It's hard to believe. Between my cold, marathon taper, marathon recovery, and injury I haven't put together a decent week of training in a long time.

I ran 3 miles yesterday and then I ran 3 more today. Both runs were over on the dirt in Via Verde. In keeping with the nice and easy theme I even left my watch at home. I had originally planned on running Tuesday and Thursday, but a bunch of us are going out after work Thurs. to celebrate a co-worker's graduation. Our Admin. Professional got her Bachelor's degree in Organizational Management at 53! She deserves a party.

The foot feels.....OK....not great, but OK. Its funny that the aches and pains seem to move around. Another blogger with foot problems mentioned the same thing (sorry I can't remember who; there are several of us ailing at the moment). Sometimes I don't notice anything and others the pain is in the arch, sometimes on the top, even on opposite sides at times. No running now till Saturday when I meet up with the Cruisers for a jaunt in and around Peters Canyon, down in OCTR country. Will I run into Jessica?

The Second Half

I got it done, not exactly the way I had envisioned it, but I got it done; and I really did enjoy it. Last Monday was the Saddleback Half followed 5 days later by the Fontana Days Half. This is the only local race that I have a three year streak going. I would have four except that in 2004 I ran the Rock and Roll Marathon in San Diego that occurs on the Sunday following Fontana. I'm not sure I will ever do that particular combination. Although it sounds more doable now than it did in 2004, I've got 41 other marathons (states) to run first.

The funny thing is that the two races/runs came down almost exactly the same. I've spent more time than I should have comparing the numbers.

The similarities include:

• I ran the first 9 miles with a friend, Jay at Saddleback, Terry at Fontana
• I made a bathroom stop during mile 9, a convenient portojohn at Saddleback, a convenient bush at Fontana
• I ran the last 4.1 miles faster than the first 9 miles in both races

In retrospect, running 2 half marathons within a week wasn't that tough of a challenge. It pales in comparison to back to back marathons or an ultra but it was a fun little series to do. It was made that much easier for me because I really only ran them rather than race them. I held back early on and only sped up for the last four miles. This seemed to be prudent considering the foot issue.

I met several people that I knew at the race. I saw Larry, a coworker. We've both been running since 2003, but this is only the 2nd race we've run together. The first was the LA Marathon and there's little chance of seeing each other in that crowd. I also saw an associate pastor, Ron, and Ed from our church. And then I met, Mike, a guy from our old church when we lived in Rialto.

Although my times were faster at Fontana, my placings were significantly lower. I guess a lot of people come to Fontana intent on taking advantage of the downhill course.

The foot seemed to have faired well. I of course iced it when I got home, again more preemptively rather than in response to any specific pain. I've finished the series of anti-inflammatories so the next few days and weeks will be telling. David asked in a comment whether I've ever suffered from plantar fasciitis? Although I haven't received that diagnosis, I'm leaning strongly towards thinking that may be what I've got. My heels have been hurting for nearly a year. My increase in mileage and recent change in shoes may have just been enough to aggravate it even further. I do plan on babying the foot for at least a couple more weeks to assure no further damage.

The Great Crash of 2007

It is a crash that is far less memorable and the effects are far less wide spread than the Crashes of 1929 and 1987, but it was a crash non the less. I feel fortunate that the crash happened now rather than in October as those other crashes did. October would have put a serious crimp into the Marine Corps Marathon.

I ran an easy 3 miler today on the dirt of the equestrian trail in Via Verde. I won't run the next two days in preparation for the Fontana Days Half on Saturday. Today's run concluded my mileage for May 2007. The grand total is: 44.6 miles. This represents my lowest mileage month ever, except of course all those ZERO months the first 42 years of my life. I even ran more than that in January 2006, 49.7 miles, when I spent the first two weeks of the month in India.

I find it a little ironic that two months ago I was celebrating my highest mileage month ever and yet that probably had a lot to do with the current state of my right foot. The bummer part is I didn't even get to cash in on the high mileage at Eugene. I missed my chance to "sell high".

I've been working up my schedule for MCM. I usually do an 18 week buildup to the big day so I don't' officially start training until June 25. I am going to take it pretty easy until then and even then ramp up a little slower than usual depending on how the foot holds up.

The whole ankle/foot is kind of stiff and overall my legs are tighter than usual. During tonight's run I didn't feel anything out of the ordinary. I also continue to ice the foot and I where shoes all the time to keep the arch supported. And as much as I dislike the idea, I'm staying away from Bonelli or other trails to avoid the down hills for awhile.

I feel fortunate that I've had a good long run (pun intended) of 4 years without any major injuries. So now it's a couple of days rest then off to Fontana to complete my So Cal half marathon tour.

You Knew I Would (Didn't You?)

I returned to So Cal on Tuesday evening, to weather that looked incredibly like the weather I had just left behind in Seattle - cool and cloudy. I had scheduled the remainder of the week as vacation so that I could join our friends camping in Carpinteria.

Wednesday, I kept the appointment with the orthopedic doc. The anti-inflammatory seemed to be doing a good job of controlling the arch pain, especially considering that I was on my feet much since last Friday. He was encouraged with no swelling and no trigger point pain and was in agreement with my plan to try an easy run, assess the situation and then to run the half easily.

Thursday to Sunday I spent in Carpinteria. The weather wasn't ideal for lazing at the beach. The temps were in the 60's with a pretty substantial breeze. We were lucky to see the sun for about an hour each day from 2:00 to 3:00 in the afternoon. We still got in most of the usual activities; a walk to the seal habitat, the tide pools, softball, local area hikes, campfires and songs, s'mores, lots of food and fellowship. The lack of sun did not dampen our spirits, it just prohibited sun bathing. The trip normally lasts to Monday, but we had the wedding to attend so came home Sunday afternoon.

The wedding was beautiful, but it is hard to imagine that we have friends with children old enough to get married. We first met the bride and her family when she was 3 years old. I realize that my own children are growing up and I easily accept that fact, but I still think of our friends children as the youngsters they were when we first met them.

Back to running and the foot. Friday was the day to officially test out the foot. I had planned an easy 3-miler along the Carpinteria Bluffs trail from the campground heading east to the ball fields and back. I was really nervous about the run. I actually walked the first half mile on pavement to get to the dirt path. Once I hit the dirt, I took off at an easy pace and was pleased that everything felt good. There were some other twinges elsewhere; I hadn't run a step in nearly two weeks so that was completely unexpected. I hit the ball park, stopped for a drink at the water fountain and headed back. This time when I hit the pavement I kept going all the way back to the campsite. Everything felt good for the duration of that short run. Later, the ankle felt a little stiff but no aches to the degree after Malibu Creek.

Monday morning I was up at before the sun to make my way down to Laguna Hills for the Saddleback Memorial Half Marathon. This year was the first year that I would have the chance to run this race, thanks to the wedding. Memorial Weekend is special to me in terms of running in that it was at this campout in 2003 that some fellow campers finally convinced me that I could run marathon. I ran my first miles within days of that campout. The Saddleback race is highly publicized and has a positive reputation. I have seen many race t-shirts in my hometown, nearly 45 miles away from the race site. The race has always been unavailable to me because of the same camping trip that got me into running. The race has further allure to me because of its proximity on the calendar to a favorite race, the Fontana Days Half. These two events allow runners to get in two half marathons within a week.

I showed up early and immediately ran into fellow Cruisers Dr. John, Dorothy, Mary, Cathe and Cass. Soon we were joined by 6:42 runner Jay. Jay and I are nearly evenly paced. I had decided that I would likely run with Dr. John in part to keep my pace on the slower side to insure a pain free run. Jay offered me the opportunity to run a little faster but still somewhat under control. At the starting line I ran into Greg and his son.

The first mile of the race took us for a lap around the Laguna Hills Mall (I missed the split). At mile 2 Jay and I were at 18:10, about where Jay wanted to be, but he urged me to go on ahead whenever I was ready. I wasn't ready yet. I really wanted to take it easy and just get through the race pain free. The course is not flat but I would call it gently rolling. During the first significant up hill section I had a couple of little twinges which I found odd because it almost never hurts going up. It is going down that is the problem.

Jay and I continued to hang together for the next 6 miles. They went down like this: 8:25, 8:50, 8:50, 8:57, 8:55, 8:49. Jay continued to encourage me to go ahead. I stubbornly stayed with him. Around mile 6 the course enters Aliso & Wood Canyon Park. The course doubles back on itself twice here. The first leg is higher than the second. It was fun to see runners coming and going on two paths. It reminded me of ants at a picnic. Somewhere in this section we came upon Tom going the other way. Before I would shout out to him, Jay had already shouted out. I had no idea that Jay knew Tom. I met Tom through my friend Terry from work. Tom knew Terry from a training program in Chino Hills. I'm still not clear how Tom and Jay know one another, they live in cities about 30 miles apart. The running world is indeed a small world.

During Mile 8, I told Jay that I was going to make a stop at the big blue boxes (port-o-johns). He suggested I run up ahead and then catch up with him on the other side. So I took off and was amazed at how good I felt. It was fun picking off people of the slight grade to the johns. Soon after leaving the johns I had to make another stop to tie my shoes. Mile 9 was 9:51 including both stops. I caught back up to Jay within a half mile. He again suggested I go on ahead, adding that there were only 4 miles left and it was time to kick it in. My foot was feeling good and that last mile felt good (actually running time had approached 8:00). So I finally took off.

During those last 4 miles, miles that are gently, yet continually up hill, I passed runner after runner. No runner passed me. Compared to a trail hill this was nothing but it was just the kind of grade that I enjoy. It was a really good feeling to be passing people at this point in the race. Starting out slower and speeding up later is a good race strategy, but I had never put it into practice before. I hadn't intended on putting in into practice today either. I owe Jay a huge thanks for encouraging me.

The next three miles went down in 8:09, 8:22 and 8:17. Mile 13.1 was 9:13 (8:23 pace). I was passed by 2 guys in the last 0.1 mile of the race. The race finishes up hill with a couple of twists and turns. I heard the announcer but couldn't see the finish line. After the last blind left turn the finish line is less than 100 yards away, leaving little time for a finishing kick. My final time (by my watch) was 1:54:49. Not too bad, but I wasn't expecting a PR. The best part is that my right foot/ankle held up fine. I iced it once I got home just as a precaution.

Many times during the race, especially during those last 4 miles when I ran alone, my thoughts turned to Jeff, smsmh and TC. Jeff had commented on my "Past, Present and Future" post. I was aware that TC's arrival was imminent. I was happy to read earlier this morning that he made his appearance a few days ago. TC is healthy and I trust that Jeff and his wife are adjusting to their new roles as parents with skill and grace. Even though my own boys are well into teenage and young adulthood, the news of a new baby brings all those early emotions, apprehensions and excitements flooding back. Congratulations to the Amazing Hip Family.

Runless in Seattle

I've been in Seattle since last Friday for work. Seattle is the site of this year's trade show for the orthodontic industry. Our team was fortunate enough to pull off the launch of our newest product, so I was lucky to get to attend. Being on your feet in a trade show booth isn't all that glamorous but I was just very happy to be in Seattle.

I really love the Pacific Northwest. I've mentioned before that I've always thought I would want to live there. Last year when I ran the SEAFAIR marathon in Bellevue, I fulfilled my wife's requirement that we at least visit before I pack up my belongings like the Beverly Hillbilly's.

As much as I disliked the idea, the trip offered the perfect respite from running. Whenever I travel I really look forward to finding somewhere to run. It is required planning for any trip I make. But to help whatever is wrong with my foot heal up a little, I was committed to not running while I was gone. I didn't even bring my shoes or my gear so that I wouldn't be tempted. I wasn't exactly sure how eight hour days standing around the booth would effect the foot, but I wasn't going to run.

Surprisingly my feet have been tired, as expected, but the pain in my arch has subsided considerably. The rest from running combined with the anti-inflammatory seem to be working quite nicely. It has been a mental challenge to not run. It seems that everyday I've seen at least one of the sales reps on their way out for a run. I even found out after I got here that the trade association conducts a 5K fun run complete with race bibs and t-shirt. This year's event was held at Myrtle Edward Park on Elliot Bay. Under normal circumstances I would have for sure taken part in this event. Instead I slept in Sunday morning.

I have gotten out to some good eats in downtown Seattle. I've had lunch at Virginia Inn, a small laid back bistro, and at Purple Cafe and Wine Bar, a hip wine bar (no wine was drunk since we had to return to the show floor). We've had dinner at Palace Kitchen, a fresh PNW grill. Quite by accident we also had drinks at the Dalia Lounge followed by Pizza at Seriously Pie, all restaurants under the same management. Tonight we are having dinner at a much acclaimed and anticipated, Wild Ginger. I sure hope it lives up to the expectations.

The unfortunate effect of no running, standing at a booth all day and a food tour of Seattle is an expansion of the waistline. Moderation doesn't come easy. I'll be back home Tuesday evening and am scheduled to see the doc on Wednesday. So far things look good. I will stay the course at least until next Monday.

A huge congratulations go out to two of my favorite Canadian bloggers, Mark and Robb for completing to very colorful marathons, the Red Deer Marathon and the Blue Nose Marathon. Mark celebrated his return to the marathon and Robb ran his first.

Better Than 50/50

Now I know why I hate going to the doctor. Once I finally admit that I need their services it is nearly impossible to get in to see them. Admittedly part of this is my own fault due to work schedules and a planned vacation.

I called a doctor in the clinic I usually use. They had an orthopedist/sports medicine guy. He had an appointment on the May 24; 10 days from the day I called. That wasn't going to work because I was planning on being in Carpinteria camping. But then the scheduler found an opening on the 15th due to a cancellation. I took it, but I would be seeing one of the docs PA's first as the doc was in high demand.

Later that day I got a call from the clinic. That appointment "was made in error, could I reschedule for Friday?" Friday is my travel day to the big annual trade show for my industry, so that wasn't going to work. The next time that our schedules coincided was Tuesday, May 29. I wasn't thrilled about that but I took the appointment. I figured two weeks off the foot would probably do it some good anyway.

Later that day Celeste suggested that I give her orthopedist a call. (As a side note, Celeste came back to work for us just last week. So now I'm not a lone soldier in my department anymore and I have a running buddy to commiserate with, Yeah!). Her doc was able to see me on Wednesday at 9:45. I snatched that appointment up.

The doc seemed pretty knowledgeable. He asked about how long it has hurt, whether I changed shoes, etc... He took an x-ray just to see. Of course stress fractures aren't usually found in an x-ray but it is a place to start. The x-ray were unremarkable, no sign of fracture as expected. He also prodded and poked my foot. There was no pain associated with this. Normally the point of the fracture is quite sensitive. Since I'm able to walk without a limp and from everything else he heard and saw he thinks I may just have tendonitis. He prescribed an anti-inflammatory and said he wanted to see me in two weeks. If I still had pain he would send me for a bone scan or MRI to definitively rule out the stress fracture.

I'm pretty much OK with taking the two weeks off. Over the weekend and until Tuesday, May 22. I will be at the trade show. Then I will be in Carp camping until Sunday, May 27. Then things get a little bothersome. The first of the two half marathons is Monday the 28th, Memorial Day. The doc wants to see me on the 30th. So instead of waiting two weeks I have an appointment set up with the doc on Wednesday the 23, the only day I'll actually be home before the race.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the meds will improve the pain (and they should if it is just tendonitis). If the darn thing is still aching then I have a decision to make.

What do you think the odds are that I'll run the half marathon on Memorial Day?

Suicide is Painless

The Malibu Creek Trail Challenge

This was the second time I’ve run this race, the first being 2005.Earlier in the week Matt had posted about this race’s connection to M*A*S*H. I actually did see the Jeep this time around; I don’t remember seeing it the first time. I was looking forward to this race for several reason; I really enjoy being off road, I was hoping to better my time from 2005 (2:24) and I was going to get a chance to see Jessica and Matt in person. (thanks to Jessica for the photo of Matt and me)

I did see both of them at the registration area a few minutes before the race started. Matt and I were doing the 14 miler (Matt had already run 13 miles on his own) and Jessica was doing the 4 mile option.

Just before the Jeep the race goes through about a mile of single track. Last time I spent considerable effect overtaking and passing people in this area. This year I just fell in behind a few people and ran conservatively. I knew that once we hit Bulldog, a wide fire road, there would be plenty of opportunities to pass.

One of my pet peeves about running up and down hills in a race is all the people that I pass on the way up that just barrel past me on the way down. The negative side of me thinks “anybody” can do that, why don’t they tough it out and run UP the hill as well. In theory I’m not opposed to walking, it is the perfect strategy for an ultra or someone that isn’t a strong hill runner. I guess it’s just my stubborn pride that makes me want to run up the hill as well, even though at times I realize I’m not “running” all that much faster than some people are walking. I also think that if we are all on the same hill at the same time that they must be at least as strong a hill runner as I, so why not run? For me the race is always lost on the downhill since I’m not a very good downhill runner in the first place. So who am I really frustrated with?



I’ve mentioned my right foot hurting lately. Because of that I took most of this last week off. I was a little concerned about how my foot would hold up on the trails at Malibu Creek. At the start of the race, the foot ached a little but then gave me no problems on the climb up. Unfortunately on the first few short down hills I could tell things were not going to be good. The three mile climb up Bulldog from mile 3 to 6 is followed later by a nearly equivalent continuous down hill from mile 9 to 12. By mile 9 my foot was pretty uncomfortable. I even felt like things were moving around in there, things that weren’t supposed to be moving. Each step down was pretty tentative. I was reduced to nearly a walk on the down hill, I sure got passed a lot this time. The occasional uphill section offered some relief.

During a run my head gets filled with all kinds of random thoughts. A lot of those thoughts make it here; many of them are left behind on the trail. During those painful miles I started to question why had I signed up for a trail race knowing the condition of my foot – not very smart. Why did I insist on running the race – just plain stubborn. For some reason the M*A*S*H theme song popped into my head – Suicide is painless.

It wasn’t really painless but I thought I had probably just committed the equivalent of running suicide, jeopardizing at least the near future. I was sure that I was doing damage that I hadn’t really needed to do, but I keep moving forward. With each painful step down hill I saw my 2:10 goal disappear, then 2:24, then even 2:30. After the long descent there is one final hill that seems bigger than it really is because of its placement at mile 13. That hill is a demoralizer, but I was looking forward to something other than down hill. Just to keep the negative thought train going here, I thought “this trail sucks, I suck!” And finally at 2:37:55 it was over.

Thankfully I have a short memory and after having some food and chatting with Jessica at the finish line, I was back to my normal self. My foot ached, but walking was not that uncomfortable. After Jess left I decided to walk back out the road about ¼ miles to the end of the trail and wait for Matt to come in. He was about 30 minutes behind his projected time, but was still upbeat. I walked that final stretch with him. He grabbed some food and we sat, talked and cheered the half dozen or so people that finished later. I probably mentioned my foot about a hundred times during that hour, sorry Matt. Matt is such a laid back guy, it was good to spend some time with him.

Many people, especially my wife, have suggested to me that I have a doctor check out my foot. I’m not much for visiting the health care professional. I pretty much subscribe to the “ignorance is bliss” school of medical prevention. It’s that whole stubborn, stupid thing.

After being home and bare foot for a couple of hours my foot ached pretty badly. I had some errands to run so I decided to wear my running shoes for the best support. I kept them on the remainder of the day and things felt better, sore, but better.

Tomorrow morning I will make a doctor’s appointment. If I don’t’ I’m going to need more than my foot looked at (right, Lisa?). Today my quads are sore, but it’s the good kind of sore that I enjoy. I will live to run another day, I just don’t know when right now.

Through early morning fog I see
visions of the things to be
the pains that are withheld for me
I realize and I can see...

That suicide is painless
it brings on many changes
and I can take or leave it if I please.

"Suicide is Painless"
Music by Johnny Mandel
Lyrics by Mike Altman

From the Halls of Montezuma

Registration opened today, so I wasted no time getting myself signed up. I immediately called Dr. John to make sure they had signed up as well. Although it won't officially be another state, I'm sure it will be quite the experience. June 25th will begin the official training. I still hope to sneak something else in there, but it is less of a priority now that I have an official goal.

Past, Present and Future

Past:
Here's a summary of the results from Eugene as posted at onlineraceresults.com

Summary
number of finishers: 1497
number of females: 660
number of males: 835
average time: 04:21:43

Darrell James
bib number: M509
age: 45
gender: M
location: Covina, CA
overall place: 444 out of 1497
division place: 44 out of 113
gender place: 344 out of 835
time: 3:44:39
pace: 8:35
half: 1:46:15
20mile: 2:45:42
last10k: 58:57

I'm amazed at all the number 44's in my placing and that I wasn't very far off the mark when I hit the half way point. The photos are up at ASI. Check me out on the way to the finish. Lisa said I was leaning way to the left and looked like I was about to fall over. This picture (-035) shows that pretty clearly. This is the picture she took of me on the way to the finish line, not looking too bad there.

Another interesting story about the marathon that I forgot to relate. Just as we were about to board the flight home I notice a guy sitting across and down in the waiting room wearing the fluorescent yellow Maniac jacket. I approached him and asked him the obvious question and yes he had. He was Maniac #184, Eddie Hahn. It turns out his seat on the plane was just across the aisle from mine and he regaled me with marathon stories the whole way home. It sure made the trip home go really quickly. Eddie has run a lot of marathons all over the world, thanks to his 20 years in the Army, including 27 states.

Past (Part 2):
I can't let a month go by without updating the mileage stats. I ran 146.6 miles in April, my lowest total so far in 2007. April would have been the lowest mileage month accounting for the taper but the cold just made it a little bit lower. The week of the marathon the only miles I ran was the marathon itself. I've still got some miles in the bank if I want to complete the 2007 in 2007.

Present:
This week was a recovery week. I almost always take off after a marathon until the following Saturday. This time I really didn't have much choice, the cold had me pretty wiped out all week. I was able to get over to Bonelli on Saturday morning. The weather was very much like the weather the prior weekend in Eugene, partly sunny in the 50-60 degree range. I ran the trails around the perimeter of the park for 9 miles. I took it nice and easy. Right from the get go my right foot hurt. It hurts across the top on the inside below my ankle, the navicular bone, based on my web search. It has hurt off and on for awhile now. It hurt from the get go at Eugene as well. I was hoping that after a week off it would feel better. It is especially sore on the down hills. My calves were also in knots most of this run. Later in the day I was pretty spent.

Miles for the week: 9

M: 0

T: 0

W:0

H:0

F:0

S: 9 miles, 1:35:17 (10:35 pace)

S: 0

This weeks numbers make last week look like a high mileage week!

Future:

Earlier in the week I firmed up some plans for a couple of local races. I signed up for the Malibu Creek Trail Challenge. I ran this race in 2005. I missed it last year because it fell on the same day as race #2 in the 5k series. My original goal was to surpass my 2005 time. Now I'm a little worried about the foot instead.

I also signed up for the Fontana Days Half Marathon. This will be my third running of this event on June 2.

Our family usually goes camping over Memorial Day weekend with a group from church. This year they way things fell together we didn't get a spot, which turns out to be a good thing because we are invited to a wedding on Sunday the day before Memorial Day. We may spend a couple of days sharing a site with some other families. All this means I will be home on Memorial Day for the first time since I began running. The Saddleback Memorial Half Marathon is run on Monday. I've wanted to do this race and now I have a chance. The cool thing is the two races, Fontana and Saddleback are only 5 days apart. Many people run both. I think it will be fun.

Tyler wants me to find another 5k for us to do. That's a request I will be happy to take care of.

Still no definitive marathon plans, but I will be looking. Wherever I go will likely be without Lisa, so all I have to do is find a state she has no interest in. How hard could that be? Marine Corps registration opens this coming week and Rocket City with Joe and Wes seems darn inviting. I've doubled my number of states in the year and a half that this blog has been on-line, so I've got to keep the momentum rolling. With 40 more to go, I'm looking at a good 10-15 years before I'm done.

Eugene - A Step Forward, A Step Backward

Three days since the big race, the Inaugural Eugene Marathon, and the details are starting to get a little fuzzy but here goes.

My wife and I flew up to Portland early Saturday morning. So much for getting a good night's sleep two nights before the race. The flight to Portland from LAX took about 2 hours followed by a 2 hour drive down I-5 to Eugene. We were immediately struck by the trees and green everywhere. The PNW is just beautiful. Eugene is home to the University of Oregon. Team spirit is obvious everywhere. The one way streets in Eugene gave us some problems but I got to the expo around noon on Saturday and enjoyed lunch at the 6th Street Grill. We drove over to Hayward Field to assess the starting area. I had heard that Hayward Field was open to the public and thought to run a mile for Drew, but there was a meet going on (sorry, man). Later that afternoon we met up with Michelle and Jenny and a whole host of Washington runners. Rob and Eric had finished Capitol Peak Ultra but were still in Washington, hours from Eugene. We were joined by Sarah, Mark and her little guy before long. It was certainly fun getting to meet the person behind the blog.

I woke up Sunday morning to a beautiful day. I couldn't really believe that I was about to run another marathon. I was happy to be feeling much better considering how I had felt earlier in the week. On Friday at work many of my (non running) co-workers were questioning the wisdom of running a marathon with the cold symptoms still obviously hanging on. I tried to explain to them just how much I had invested in this little endeavour - training time, plane tickets, hotel reservations, etc. They were afraid that I would make myself sicker and end up with bronchitis or pneumonia. I guess the possibility exists but it was sure going to take more than a cold to keep me from running this, or any, marathon.

I drove over to the start, a 15-20 minute drive from our hotel. I got a good luck kiss from Lisa and walked toward the starting area and realized I didn't have my fuel belt. I always run a marathon with my fuel belt. I like having fluids when I want them and it had my gels in it. The start was still 40 minutes off so we drove (quickly) to the hotel and back again with 10 minutes to spare. Thank goodness for a small race field. As soon as I joined the masses I ran into Rob, Eric and Sarah. The others were in the port-o-john lines. It was good to see Rob again and to finally meet Eric. We discussed my primary race tactic as just trying to stay ahead of Rob and Eric. I also ended up running into Denis and John from the CA Cruisers, again thanks to the small race field.

The race started on the street just east of Hayward Field. It would have been cool to run a lap on the track but at the start of the race that probably would have caused quite the log jam even with the small field. At mile 5 we ended up on the west side of the field and were a little more spread out, but a lap on the track was not to be.

Rob ended up lining up in the back of the pack. Eric was near the 3:30 pace group. Things were a little crowded so I decided not to work my way up to him. After the start I caught up to him and we ran about 1/2 mile together before I decided to ramp things up a bit. Mile 1 went by in 8:28, a little conservative but probably not too detrimental to the 3:30 goal.

Mile 2 - 7:18
Mile 3 - 7:41
Mile 4 - 7:55

Mile 2 I went a little overboard on the downhill but got things back in control by mile 4. Just after mile 4 I made my first port-o-john stop, mostly as a preemptive measure. Having not run all week the system wasn't quite where I'd like it to be. I decided to get things taken care of early before I reached a panic situation.

Mile 5, 6, 7 - 24:43

I still felt that I was on track considering the bathroom stop. In yet another episode of poor planning I didn't have a pace band to determine my cumulative time. I was going simply by the time at each mile and up to that point I believed I was still under 8:00 miles (turns out I was right on at 8:01).

Mile 8 - 7:51
Mile 9, 10, 11 - 24:05
Mile 12 - 8:00

During Mile 12 we were in the town Springfield. One man outside his home hollered out "Welcome to Springfield, you won't be here much longer." I'm not sure if that was supposed to be encouraging or just wishful thinking on his part.

Mile 13, 14 - 17:53

Somewhere along in this stretch I had stopped to take bathroom break #2. I noted my time in there at just over 2:00. I was happy that even with the 2:00 minute break I had maintained roughly an 8:00 pace. Later I figured out that I was at 1:53:53 at that point, I needed to be at 1:52:13 to make my goal.

Mile 15 - 8:14

I wasn't sure what had happened here. I hadn't felt like I had slowed down but the watch clearly showed that I had. After this marker I saw Lisa for the first time. She asked how I felt. I told her I was slowing down.

Mile 16 - 8:18
Mile 17 - 8:24
Mile 18 - 8:41
Mile 19 - 8:57

At this point the half marathoners were no longer with us, they had departed at our mile 13, so the field had thinned considerably. At one point there were people within striking distance ahead of me but no one within a couple hundred yards behind me. Mile 18 to 20 were a very tough section for me. Much of these miles were also on concrete bike path. I really dislike running on concrete. I think it effected me more mentally than physically. At Mile 19 we crossed over the Oswosso bridge into a really cute neighborhood of Eugene. I marveled at the rhododendrons and other flowering shrubs. I came upon a guy that had been reduced to walking. He would run a few steps and start walking again. I could feel his pain. I took my first and only walk break as well. I walked for about 30 seconds and then convinced myself not to give in and ran on.

Mile 20, 21 - 18:16

Somehow at mile 20 I started to feel a little better but didn't really pick up the pace. Just after mile 20 I was passed by the 3:40 pace group, about 8 people. It was at that point that I conceded for sure my 3:30 goal and wasn't even sure I could hang on to 3:40.

Mile 22 - 9:05
Mile 23 - 10:47

During Mile 23 I had to stop for the 3rd time at the port-o-johns. I've been having a lot of trouble lately with this during my long runs. I'm not sure if its a byproduct of age or diet or if there's something medically wrong. But getting this under control would have saved me about 6 minutes on my overall time.

Mile 24 - 9:32
Mile 25 - 9:11
Mile 26 - 9:16
Mile 0.2 - 2:05

Final chip time was 3:44:39. So although my hopes of a BQ weren't realized I was pretty happy with the race. Possible problems could have been the effects of the head cold. The potty stops definitely had an effect. Making the boneheaded beginner mistake of going out fast, may have also contributed to my demise after mile 14. My PR is 3:40:52 at St. George with the assistance of the downhill course, so I don't feel too badly about adding 3:47 to my time on a flat course. Sorry Terry, but my race time has nothing to do with something as noble as administering CPR.

It was a beautiful day for a race, the temps were in the 50's most of the way, the sky was partly cloudy and there was only a light breeze. The people of Eugene were fantastic about encouraging runners; we had our names on our bibs. I wore my Marathon Maniac singlet and that got me a lot of extra love from the locals. At the finish line I got a Maniac Hug from Lenore Dolphin. In addition I had achieved my goal of staying ahead of Rob and Eric. Eric was less than 3 minutes behind me. As runners were passing me in the last miles I kept expecting to see his yellow Maniac jersey going by. So yes, Eric, I did hear your footsteps coming and that kept me moving forward. Rob had a tough day, but he's still an inspiration. I ended up running into Denis and John again in the cool down area. They finished just after 4:30. I ran into Sarah too and got to chat for a while.

Later that afternoon we enjoyed lunch with Michelle, Eric, Rob, Jenny and George before they left for the long drive back to Washington. Saturday night during dinner, #1 son called and asked me about the race. When I told him my time, he asked what happened to the 3:30 I wanted. I told him that I really didn't think I could do it anyway. He told me "Well it's no wonder you didn't make it if you had already decided that you couldn't." I couldn't really argue with that logic. It seems to me that I had a similar conversation with him in reverse several years ago. I guess they really do hear what we tell them. A little later we checked in with son #2. Less than a minute after hanging up with him he called us back to ask about the race. It is pretty cool that they were both interested and thinking about me.

For Lisa and I these trips are as much a mini vacation for us as they are a chance for me to run a marathon. It is nice to get away from work and home for a couple of days to be alone together. We like to check out the local area and enjoy the sights and food. Saturday night we enjoyed dinner at Koho Bistro, a little place in a strip mall off the beaten path with very good food. I had the Maple Butternut Squash Ravioli.

After lunch with the WA Maniacs we headed down to Cottage Grove for the covered bridge tour. The route took us around the Dorena Reservoir, a very scenic drive. The Row River Trail runs between the road and reservoir. I was excited about it as a great place to go for a run. On the way back we stopped and got some really good coffee drinks at one of the little trailer coffee shops that are everywhere in Oregon. We stopped at the Sweet Life Patisserie in Eugene and picked up a Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake tartlet, a piece of Peach crumb pie and a peanut butter cup to enjoy later. We had dinner at the Steelhead Brewery.

No trip would be complete without finding a good local pancake house for breakfast. We discovered Ye Olde Pancake House for Monday morning. We spent the rest of the day at the Oregon Garden in Silverton. It is a fairly new garden but has some wonderful displays. The problem with taking my wife to these places is that she wants to have the gardens recreated in our yard. Unfortunately gardening in SoCal is not quite the same as gardening in Oregon. I do enjoy gardening, but haven't put much effort into it since we moved to this house, although I really don't like the landscaping we inherited. Since I've taken up running the lawn and garden have definitely been neglected. I've got my priorities you know.

Drew and many others have asked what's next. Drew specifically asked about my Colorado plans. Currently Boulder Backroads is my choice based on magazine reviews. It looks like I will be joining several of the CA Cruisers at the Marine Corps Marathon in October. I feel like I have time to squeeze in at least one more state before then. I'm certain I will count MCM as my DC marathon. I have Richmond planned as my VA marathon.

As far as the cold goes, I can't say for sure that it affected the marathon. But I can say that the two things have had a synergistic negative effect on recovery. I feel worse three days later than I can ever remember feeling after a marathon (is that runner's amnesia) and the cold symptoms have worsened. I expect to be running by Saturday at the latest.

So Donald, there's the Eugene race report and more. Thanks to you all for hanging in there to the end and for the support in person and via the blog. Time to firm up the plans for Number 11.