Several More Seconds

Last Friday afternoon, I pointed ye old Honda Fit to the west and headed over to Cincinnati to run in the Food on the Run 10K.  I was concerned about how wise it would be to do the race.  On Tuesday of last week, I ran an intense 8-mile VO2 max workout.  Then, following my Pfitzinger training plan to the letter, I ran a brisk 10-mile workout the next day.  To tell you the truth, I didn't want to do it because my hip was cranky and there was a freezing, driving rain outside.  Nonetheless, off I went and like any stubborn ultra runner, I was determined to pound my way through the workout and the pain.  While I completed the mission, so to speak, I paid dearly for it as I was crippled up the next two days as my physical therapist Rob Acciavatti noted.  Lesson learned?  I won't be running back-to-back days anymore.  It's either adapt to the cards I've been dealt or stop running entirely; I have to take what the body will give me.

In any case, off on my road trip I went.  Road trips have provided me a whole lot of pleasure over the past few years.  There's something about cruising off to some distant place, near or far, with some music playing, munching on my Subway 12" Veggie Delight, talking with my friends on the phone, that just trips my trigger.

Along the way, I took a quick spin through Athens, Ohio to see my alma mater, Ohio University.  It had been many, many years since I drove through Athens and all sorts of memories came flooding back as I drove through a town that seemed comfortably frozen in time and recalled favorite watering holes and war stories.

Just east of Cincy, I drove straight into the jaws of a massive thunderstorm, a storm that I would later discover spawned several killer tornados.  There was a constant flicker of lightning.  Strong downdrafts pushed my car all over the road and the sheets of rain greatly limited my visibility.  As I was driving along at about 30 mph, all of a sudden I noticed a fairly good-sized tree (4-5" dbh?) had fallen across the road.  With no reaction time at all, I centered and jumped the sucker and proceeded on my merry way!  Had I been going 60 + mph, the outcome likely would have been much more negative.      

I stayed at the Hilton downtown and was pleasantly surprised.  What a cool place!  I could imagine Cincy would be a nice weekend trip -- wandering around Over-the-Rhine sightseeing, hitting a Thai restaurant, checking out a Reds game, followed by a stroll along the Ohio River.  What do you think?

View of downtown Cincinnati looking towards the Ohio River.

Saturday morning was windy and chilly.  The run started down at Yeatman's Cove in a park along the Ohio River.  I was surprised by the number of people in attendance; there might have been upwards of 1,000 runners just for the 10K (there was also a 5K).  The gun went off at 9 AM and the first mile + went up a climbing grade (1 or 2%?).  Almost from the onset, my hip hurt and I felt stiff from standing around in the cold for an hour prior to the race.  With the grade my pace fell well below my target.  After two miles, I felt demoralized to tell you the truth.  However, then the course descended back into the park and I was able to pick some time back up in the next two miles.  As the course entered the park it swung out along the Ohio River and I caught up with the eventual overall woman's winner.  Her and I were in lockstep with every stride fighting through a fierce headwind but I felt like she was running a nice race and so I used her as a de facto pacer.  Finally, the course turned around near the Reds' stadium and it was a straight shot back to the park.  I managed a 40:33 which was a PR for me by 1.5 minutes and won my age group.

What made the day perfect was a visit from Steve Wendall and Stacy Gelhaus of Pittsburgh when I arrived back in Morgantown late yesterday afternoon.  We had a beautiful evening stroll along the rail trail followed by a very nice dinner.  Knowing people like Steve and Stacy makes my life full and rich and puts things in focused perspective.  Thanks, you two!

What has been interesting the past few weeks has been the mental component to my physical health.  There have been some lower than low lows where I am filled with a despair imagining my life without running and I plop down in the middle of the rail trail during a run for a good cry.  But then there comes a beam of light like yesterday where for a glorious moment I am running wild and free again, wrapping my arms around the world, refusing to feel sorry for myself, refusing to go quietly into the abyss and the darkness of the night.

I do not know how much running I have left ... a 1/16th of a tank of gas?  I've taken drastic steps to hang on to Boston like grim death.  I've slashed my miles down to 40 high-quality miles across 3-4 days.  Gone are the minimalist shoes and flats.  Gone are the so-called recovery runs.  Gone are any Zone 2-type workouts; they have all been replaced with increased strength training, spinning, and ... swimming.  Yes, the very swimming I learned a year and a half ago and quit a thousand times ... the irony of it all.  I wear compression shorts that are as stiff as chain mail and the Hoka Bondi B shoes I now run in have almost singularly salvaged my 2012 running (thanks, Dave Frazier for the recommendation).  They are wonderful and I would encourage anyone who is having running-related joint problems to momentarily put down their copy of "Born to Run" and at least consider Hokas.  A friend of mine who is of a similar age, Bill Gentry, has an interesting "run-walk" strategy I have been thinking that I really need to pick his brain about.  Bill has a remarkable consecutive day run streak he has amassed over the past few years.  Way to go, Bill!                      

As far as the FAI itself, the pain right now is manageable when I run (a 3/10?).  An Aleve from time-to-time helps.  Stretching after all workouts helps.  The physical therapy has helped.  All the aforementioned have helped.  However, this is not the sort of injury I will bounce back from, where if I just put in a million hours of rehab, then I will one day be completely recovered.  I was going to see an expert in FAI over in Nashville but then thought better of it for several reasons.  Instead, I will be seeing Dr. Stone up in Pittsburgh at UPMC next Friday for another opinion, the last opinion before making any further decisions.

Finally, I want to say "hat's off" to friends Tad Davis and Maria Dalzot for their great race performances at the Ugly Mudder trail race recently in Reading, Pennsylvania!  Wohoo!  Maria won the woman's race and Tad is shaping up to be one of the finest male master's runners I know if he keeps this up :-)

Now ... if I could find a way to just shave off several more seconds each mile in the next 10K, could I break 40?  Hmmm ... just several more seconds.  I figure if my other hip starts having problems and as I turn another year older very soon, then I'll have my next 10K just where I want it!  (That's meant to be some dark comedic relief.)

Just several more seconds ...