Last week I decided to run the 7th Annual Norfolk Runs 5K. It's a smaller race with all the proceeds going to the local DARE chapter so I thought it would be nice to do. A good chance to see how my running was coming along and to just get out and race again. It also didn't hurt that it takes place in my town and that I was knew the course by heart.
Turns out that the weather decided to cooperate and it was a great day for a run. When it was time we walked up the hill to the start line (thank you for not starting it at the bottom of the hill!) and got ready to go. It was a bit odd that as I looked around at the people at the front with me there were like three women who clearly weren't in it to win and a bunch of 10 year olds. Ok, we'll just see how this turns out. The race began and what did the 10 year olds do? They shot forward as if out of a cannon. A few seconds later when they hit the wall I passed them and we began to settle into our pace.
A few people passed me early on but I was feeling good and running strong. about a half mile in the lead woman went by me but that would be it for the rest of the race. I had no idea what my pace was at this point; my Garmin was acting squirrely so I opted to go with the ordinary watch. We hit mile one and I noted the 6:14. A bit faster than anticipated.
Halfway and I passed Jackson on the side cheering me on. That buoyed my spirits and gave me a bit of a lift to get up the big hill that was waiting. It was just after that the downhill on the other side that I began to notice that that woman that had passed my not only wasn't getting any farther away but I was pretty sure that I was closing in on her. Hmm. Yup, I definitely was getting closer. A plan was hatched. Being familiar with the course I knew what I would do; I would continue to close on her up the slight incline and try to get as close as I could through the last hill over the railroad bridge. From there it was all downhill and I could hopefully power past.
I set the plan into action and ended up behind her a little too soon so I hung off her shoulder. After the bridge I turned on the jets, which I was surprised to find I still had, and made my move. At first I thought she may hang on but no, I was able to overtake her with ease. I made the last turn into the parking lot and into the chute at 19:53. Alright!
Jen and Catie were waiting for me so I went over to them and they told me I was 6th. Cool, I had no idea! Maybe that means I got an age group award. We waited until they posted the results and I excitedly ran up to see, could it be, maybe? No. Places 2 through 6 were all 30-39 year old males; I was fifth in my age group. Damn you 30 year old men! No worries. I ran well, I felt pretty good, and I was really happy with the results. All in all a good days run.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
What if?
With the Boston Marathon bombings seemingly a lifetime behind us, it's amazing how fast life can move, I've had the time to ponder the question, "What if?".
What if I had ended up running the marathon? People keep telling me, "but you're much faster than the 4 hours the bombs exploded at". True, but, because I was injured I had started to modify my expectations. Up until three weeks before the race I was still determined to run. Since I had lost a few key weeks of training I figured I could run it in around 4 hours comfortably. I would start in the first wave and cross the start about two minutes after the gun. If I ended up being slower than I planned I could have been crossing the finish line right around the 4:09 mark.
Even if I had been there though, no runners were hurt by the blasts. But what if my family had been there to watch me finish? They could have been standing on the sidelines with all those other people when it happened. Or maybe I could have finished it a bit faster than expected and joined them at the finish to wait for our other friends. There are so many possibilities.
Or what if we had ended up sending the kids to school and just Jen and I decided to go in to town to watch the finish. That was something that we had discussed and it could have gone that way if we hadn't ended up wanting to bring the kids out with us. We've done that before so there is no reason why we wouldn't have this time.
In the end, none of that happened though. The problem with What Ifs is that they can never happen, they are only questions. I didn't run, I wasn't at the finish, and everyone I know is fine. Speculating about what could have been is a deep rabbit hole that can lead to dark places. It can never serve a good purpose.
I still wish I could have run that marathon, even knowing what took place, but I didn't. With all these What Ifs floating around, the fact that I didn't get to run maybe isn't such a bad thing after all.
What if I had ended up running the marathon? People keep telling me, "but you're much faster than the 4 hours the bombs exploded at". True, but, because I was injured I had started to modify my expectations. Up until three weeks before the race I was still determined to run. Since I had lost a few key weeks of training I figured I could run it in around 4 hours comfortably. I would start in the first wave and cross the start about two minutes after the gun. If I ended up being slower than I planned I could have been crossing the finish line right around the 4:09 mark.
Even if I had been there though, no runners were hurt by the blasts. But what if my family had been there to watch me finish? They could have been standing on the sidelines with all those other people when it happened. Or maybe I could have finished it a bit faster than expected and joined them at the finish to wait for our other friends. There are so many possibilities.
Or what if we had ended up sending the kids to school and just Jen and I decided to go in to town to watch the finish. That was something that we had discussed and it could have gone that way if we hadn't ended up wanting to bring the kids out with us. We've done that before so there is no reason why we wouldn't have this time.
In the end, none of that happened though. The problem with What Ifs is that they can never happen, they are only questions. I didn't run, I wasn't at the finish, and everyone I know is fine. Speculating about what could have been is a deep rabbit hole that can lead to dark places. It can never serve a good purpose.
I still wish I could have run that marathon, even knowing what took place, but I didn't. With all these What Ifs floating around, the fact that I didn't get to run maybe isn't such a bad thing after all.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Marathon Bombing Suspects
The FBI has released photos and video of the two bombing suspects. Please take a look to see if you can identify them.
Video
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Boston Marathon 2013
After a late night of riding my bike along the marathon course and a long morning cheering on the runners at Wellesley I had finally settled in to take a nap Monday afternoon when my phone started ringing. I promptly ignored it, but it kept ringing. And ringing. So I got up and checked the voice mail transcripts. At first I was surprised to see so many, but then I read what caused me to run downstairs and turn on the tv:
" My friend Betsy just texted me that the explosion at the windows of Marathon Sports"
I stood in front of the tv for ten minutes watching the same video clip of the explosion. Disbelief and shock quickly transformed itself and I began studying the video, looking for anyone that I may know. Having met Kim and Vin at the half-way point I knew what they were wearing so I scanned the footage looking for any sign of them. Finally convinced that they weren't there I confirmed with the BAA tracking that they never reached the finish and weren't scheduled to for some time. Facebook had become the source of information for most people so I updated everyone as I found out anything.
What amazed me was how quickly I went from the shock of seeing what happened to transitioning into crisis mode to start collecting, organizing, and disseminating information out to people. But through it all one feeling remained with me; anger. Anger at whoever did this. This is my marathon, the marathon I grew up watching, the marathon that got me into running. It stands as a testament to the countless hours of sacrifice and perseverance that runners endure to better themselves and their dedication to reach for a goal for which some may never achieve. The Boston Marathon is an event like no other. It is a race, a celebration, a party, a destination, a day of victory. It is history. I stood in anger as someone tried to take away all of that.
I'm still angry, but also resolved to not let these events change anything I love about the marathon. The anger may last for awhile but one thing I am certain of is that I have no fear. No one can make me afraid to be involved with the marathon that I love, no matter what they do. Because in the end it's not just about celebrating a race, it is about celebrating the people who make up the race. That is what makes the Boston Marathon so special, the people, whether they are running, volunteering or cheering it's the people who make the race what it is.
After watching hours of tv and internet coverage, hearing all of the stories, and making sure everyone I knew was safe there were still no answers to why. So I did the only thing I could think of to do, I laced up my shoes, and for the first time since suffering the injury that kept me from running that day, I went for a run.
" My friend Betsy just texted me that the explosion at the windows of Marathon Sports"
I stood in front of the tv for ten minutes watching the same video clip of the explosion. Disbelief and shock quickly transformed itself and I began studying the video, looking for anyone that I may know. Having met Kim and Vin at the half-way point I knew what they were wearing so I scanned the footage looking for any sign of them. Finally convinced that they weren't there I confirmed with the BAA tracking that they never reached the finish and weren't scheduled to for some time. Facebook had become the source of information for most people so I updated everyone as I found out anything.
What amazed me was how quickly I went from the shock of seeing what happened to transitioning into crisis mode to start collecting, organizing, and disseminating information out to people. But through it all one feeling remained with me; anger. Anger at whoever did this. This is my marathon, the marathon I grew up watching, the marathon that got me into running. It stands as a testament to the countless hours of sacrifice and perseverance that runners endure to better themselves and their dedication to reach for a goal for which some may never achieve. The Boston Marathon is an event like no other. It is a race, a celebration, a party, a destination, a day of victory. It is history. I stood in anger as someone tried to take away all of that.
I'm still angry, but also resolved to not let these events change anything I love about the marathon. The anger may last for awhile but one thing I am certain of is that I have no fear. No one can make me afraid to be involved with the marathon that I love, no matter what they do. Because in the end it's not just about celebrating a race, it is about celebrating the people who make up the race. That is what makes the Boston Marathon so special, the people, whether they are running, volunteering or cheering it's the people who make the race what it is.
After watching hours of tv and internet coverage, hearing all of the stories, and making sure everyone I knew was safe there were still no answers to why. So I did the only thing I could think of to do, I laced up my shoes, and for the first time since suffering the injury that kept me from running that day, I went for a run.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Bib numbers are out
BAA posted the bib numbers for the marathon. I got 2531, first wave, third corral. Basically I'm in the first wave of runners to start right behind the elites. Oh, I mean, I would be in the first wave if I was running. Which I will not be.
Can I just fly away to somewhere for the next month so I don't have to be reminded every single day about this? It's really putting me in an irritable mood.
At least my swimming is going pretty good. I've been hitting the pool as often as possible and just plugging along. I've never been a great swimmer so I am surprised that I am doing pretty well. Sunday I did two long stretches of swimming that came out to a total of 1.25 miles (2200 yards!) which is much farther than I though I could do. Now if I could just figure out how to swim fast I may do somewhat respectable in the swim portion of the triathlon. At least I'm pretty sure I won't drown at this point.
Can I just fly away to somewhere for the next month so I don't have to be reminded every single day about this? It's really putting me in an irritable mood.
At least my swimming is going pretty good. I've been hitting the pool as often as possible and just plugging along. I've never been a great swimmer so I am surprised that I am doing pretty well. Sunday I did two long stretches of swimming that came out to a total of 1.25 miles (2200 yards!) which is much farther than I though I could do. Now if I could just figure out how to swim fast I may do somewhat respectable in the swim portion of the triathlon. At least I'm pretty sure I won't drown at this point.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
FML - Redux, Apocalypse
So Boston is pretty much out at this point. Turns out it was my Psoas which suddenly decided to give up on me and I haven't run in over three weeks now. It seems to be getting better but it is going to be at least another 4-5 days before it may be able to handle a run (and that's being optimistic). At that point it would be almost a month of no running which means that the dream is dead. No Boston for me. With just over 5 weeks to go there is no possible way to get into any sort of running shape.
This whole situation totally blows, I worked hard to get into this race and now it's all for naught. That's pretty much all I have to say other than that this whole thing really hasn't been worth the trouble. Seriously, it sucks.
This whole situation totally blows, I worked hard to get into this race and now it's all for naught. That's pretty much all I have to say other than that this whole thing really hasn't been worth the trouble. Seriously, it sucks.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
FML
So I haven't posted anything in a bit. Ok, more like forever. Here's the quick and dirty version of what I have been up to.
First off, real life: I finally got that promotion that I should have gotten 3 years ago. Strange thing about that, absolutely nothing at work has changed. Still doing the same thing but now I can afford a few extra pairs of running shoes.
Alright, when last we met I had just run the CVS Downtown 5k and was mildly pleased with the results. From there I continued to train being ever mindful to slowly up the mileage and pace so as not to aggravate the injured Achilles. Soon it was time for the Ho Ho Ho 5K and I was excited to run it. I planned on hitting a 7 minute pace and putting in a solid show. But the guy in front of me decided to go a wee bit faster so I stuck to him and then turned on the jets for the final mile and ended up twelfth overall with a 20:36. Alright! Getting back in shape!
And of course that didn't last. I went out for a normal run one day and ended up with sharp stabbing pain in my heel. That basically put my training on hold for a few weeks while I cut down on mileage and intensity to make sure I didn't do anything stupid like re-injure myself. Eventually it cleared up but the email from the BAA informing me that the marathon was 10 weeks away was most definitely not welcome news. I was way behind on my training at this point and getting nowhere fast.
I should also mention that up until this point I had been dealing with a severe case of shin splints. It didn't stop me from running but it certainly stopped me from doing any serious training. Damn things really hurt.
A few weeks ago everything started to clear up though. My heel/Achilles was feeling pretty good, the shin splints were getting much better and I was looking forward to really train. So I did. The past two weeks I have felt good and have got some great runs in. The Old Fashioned Ten Miler is this Sunday and I plan on using it to test where I am at endurance-wise. That is, I was planning on using it as a litmus test, right up until yesterday. I went for an 8.8 mile run (totally didn't mean to go that far) through the puddles and slush and snow which was fun but as soon as I stopped I realized there was a pretty bad pain in what I think is my Adducter muscle in my hip/groin. And it still hurts, which totally sucks.
So right now I am dead in the water. Running will definitely make this worse so I have to wait and see. I'm hoping that it is just overuse and a few days of rest will clear it up, I really don't want to skip the OFTM but I really don't want to screw it all up and miss the marathon. FML.
First off, real life: I finally got that promotion that I should have gotten 3 years ago. Strange thing about that, absolutely nothing at work has changed. Still doing the same thing but now I can afford a few extra pairs of running shoes.
Alright, when last we met I had just run the CVS Downtown 5k and was mildly pleased with the results. From there I continued to train being ever mindful to slowly up the mileage and pace so as not to aggravate the injured Achilles. Soon it was time for the Ho Ho Ho 5K and I was excited to run it. I planned on hitting a 7 minute pace and putting in a solid show. But the guy in front of me decided to go a wee bit faster so I stuck to him and then turned on the jets for the final mile and ended up twelfth overall with a 20:36. Alright! Getting back in shape!
And of course that didn't last. I went out for a normal run one day and ended up with sharp stabbing pain in my heel. That basically put my training on hold for a few weeks while I cut down on mileage and intensity to make sure I didn't do anything stupid like re-injure myself. Eventually it cleared up but the email from the BAA informing me that the marathon was 10 weeks away was most definitely not welcome news. I was way behind on my training at this point and getting nowhere fast.
I should also mention that up until this point I had been dealing with a severe case of shin splints. It didn't stop me from running but it certainly stopped me from doing any serious training. Damn things really hurt.
A few weeks ago everything started to clear up though. My heel/Achilles was feeling pretty good, the shin splints were getting much better and I was looking forward to really train. So I did. The past two weeks I have felt good and have got some great runs in. The Old Fashioned Ten Miler is this Sunday and I plan on using it to test where I am at endurance-wise. That is, I was planning on using it as a litmus test, right up until yesterday. I went for an 8.8 mile run (totally didn't mean to go that far) through the puddles and slush and snow which was fun but as soon as I stopped I realized there was a pretty bad pain in what I think is my Adducter muscle in my hip/groin. And it still hurts, which totally sucks.
So right now I am dead in the water. Running will definitely make this worse so I have to wait and see. I'm hoping that it is just overuse and a few days of rest will clear it up, I really don't want to skip the OFTM but I really don't want to screw it all up and miss the marathon. FML.
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