Getting back in the groove

It's November already, and I feel like I am almost back in the groove of regular running.

The month of October ended with 138 miles.  I have been able to get in a 2 hour run each of the past three weekends, with the longest now up to 11 miles.  Still a bit of a struggle, but a lot better than the last few months.

What I was most excited about last month was the Medoc Trail Races.  There are two races as part of this event, a marathon and a 10 miler.  Back at the end of last year, when I was planning out my schedule, I had targeted the Medoc marathon as a major goal.  But, with all that has gone on this year, that got scratched.  In fact, my entire schedule for the year was cancelled.  No running events at all scheduled after the first week of May.  Just a slow build back towards normal after 8 weeks of not running.

Medoc always sells out early, but this year, there were some last minute chances to register.  I had just worked up to my first 10 mile run in months, so, I signed up for the Medoc 10 miler.  This was the first event I have been able to run since the first week of May.  I did not feel well prepared for a 10 mile trail race.  My first 10 mile run in months had been on the ATT.  A very flat run, not at all like the landscape at Medoc.

I though that if I kept it slow, I would be OK.  I fully expected the 10 miles to take about 2 and a half hours.

So, I started slow.  In fact, very slow.  Around a 12 minute mile pace at the start, which was on the road.  I thought I would not be able to keep that pace once the trail started.  Too many roots and rocks to look out for.  I also knew I would be walking a lot of the hills. On the few places where I didn't have to watch out for rocks and roots, I was able to get into a good pace, and it felt pretty good.

I was surprised to hit the 5 mile mark at one hour.  Much better than expected, close to my pace lately for running on a flat smooth road.  I wasn't really keeping a close look at my time up to this point, but I started to think that I might be able to finish at closer to 2:15 than my expected time of 2:30.

So, I did start to pay attention to my overall time at each of the remaining mile markers.  At 1:30 into my run I was up to 7.5 miles.  Everything still felt good. I knew there was still the stair section to go, but I started to think more about a 2:10 finish being possible.

After the stair section, I lost track of time.  I was starting to get tired enough that I needed to really concentrate on foot placement.  I really did not want to fall.  Things were going too good for that to happen.  Before I knew it, I was coming through the camp ground area. I looked at the time and saw that I was still under 2 hours.  Then, I was coming off the trail into the grassy area and could see the finish line.  Still under 2 hours.

So, I sprinted. Or at least what counted as a sprint for me.  My garmin shows my final quarter mile at just under a 9 minute mile pace.  And, I passed under the barrier with the clock time showing 1:58.

So, next year I really need to do the full marathon at Medoc.  One of the best events around.  Great volunteers, great atmosphere, and great swag.

Looking ahead, if the legs keep feeling good, I hope to run the Pinehurst Turkey Trot HM this month.  Then the Reindeer Fun Run 12K next month.  After that it will be time to plan for next year.

Base build starts again

September is here, and I am finally running again.

Actually, I was able to start again last month, but it was a month of not really having a focus.  Just trying to get out again as much as possible, and see how it goes.  A lot of it was brutal.  It felt like I was starting all over again.  And, I guess I was.   The longest run I was able to do was 7 miles, and that took around an hour 20.  Most lunch time runs went for the full hour, but I was only able to get in 4 and a half or 5 miles.  There were a few 6 mile runs, but not many.

So, its almost back to square one.  All events that I had thought about are off, and I am looking ahead to what I may be able to build up to in the future.  One possible schedule is as follows.

Pinehurst Turkey Trot Half - November 23

Aberbeen Reindeer Fun Run 12K - December 7

Little River Trail Run 10 mile - January 18

Roanoke Canal Half - March 8

Tobacco Road Half March - 16

I think I can do all of these. There should be enough time to gradually build my base up again.  It will be nice to get back to where a two hour run feels good again.  But, the reality is, right now, one hour feels like a long hard run.

On a personal note, things are still tough.  I miss my Dad a lot.  After he passed, my Mom took a turn for the worse.  She is now in hospice care, so I try to get back to Knoxville every few weekends to see her.  There is a chance she may recover, but its just a chance, and time will tell how this all works out. I still have some residual pain from the shingles attack. The rash from that seems to come and go, almost going away, but not quite fully. Not as bad as a few months ago, but I know its still there.  I know this will eventually go away, but it is annoying.  

Until then, I get out and run.

June, 0 miles

June was not a good month.  It was a month filled with both pain and sorrow.

I had stopped running in early May when I came down with a case of shingles.  While I could have run, the pain in my shoulder was such that it hurt to walk.  I walked mostly with my hand in my pocket to keep the arm from moving, and moving at a run seemed not to be a wise thing to do.  The only thing that kept the pain at bay and allowed me to sleep was a prescription of Vicodin.

I found out after a few weeks of taking Vicodin, that 4 or 5 day for a couple of weeks was more than enough time to build up a nice little addiction.  I realized this when I cut back to only 2 as the pain started to subside.  The next day I had sweats, a mild fever, nausea, and a runny nose.  Once I figured out what was going on, I made the decision to stop the Vicodin entirely.  June and I had a 9 day vacation planned, and that seemed to be a good time to go cold turkey.

But, vacation was not to be.  A few days before it was to start, I got the call I had been expecting for some time. My Dad had just been hospitalized, and it was decided that he should go directly to hospice care.  It was my Dad's decision that if all possible, to die at home instead of a hospital.  So, hospice care was set up there.

I did get there in time to be with my Dad as the end came.  My brother and sister were also there. Thankfully, it was pretty quick and my Dad didn't suffer too much.

He was my first coach, starting way back in what was then called Buddy League baseball.  I think that was when I was 8.  After that, he coached my Little League team.  He also coached several of the different age groups of football teams that I played on as well as a few of the basketball teams. Years later, when I first started getting serious about running, I mentioned to him how much I enjoyed running, and wasn't it a shame that I didn't start when I was young.  He replied, "You probably enjoy it so much now because your didn't do it earlier."   He was a wise man, and I miss him greatly.

Dad, dressed to play basketball with his company team.

Mom and Dad on their back deck.

Me and my brother Bob.  He moved back home to take care of my parents as they needed more assistance the last few years.  I can't thank him enough for all he has been doing the last few years.

Me and my sister Diana.  She also took on a lot of the responsibility in the care of my parents, dealing with insurance, etc. Perhaps the hardest thing in dealing with all of this was being 350 miles away, and not being able to be there when needed.  Having both my brother and sister still living in Knoxville as been a blessing.

As hard as all this is on me, I know my Mom is having a much more difficult time.  Mom and Dad knew each other since grade school, and were married for 62 years.  Here is a great shot of the two of them and me at the local swimming pool.

I'll miss you a lot Dad, you were a great father.

May, Philosophers Trail, then some time off

The month of May started off good.  The Philosophers Trail Runs race was early in the month.  Had a lot of fun, even though my time was still a bit slower than I expected.  Here I am getting close to the end of the 15K, somewhere around the 2 hour mark.

The week after the race was a different story.  Had reasonable runs at lunch on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, then took a few days off.  I had planned on starting up my long runs again over the weekend.  However, I had a bit of pain in my shoulder, followed by an odd rash.  So, I went to the doctor.  Not one of my favorite things to do.  Got the bad news that the pain and rash were caused by shingles.  I asked the doctor if I could keep on running.  The answer I got was sure, if you feel up to it.  But the reality was that no, I did not feel up to it.  Not even close.  

The pain got a bit worse each day for a week or so.  And its now going on 4 weeks of no running.  Rash is finally starting to clear up, but the pain in the shoulder is still there.  Hopefully, that too will ease up in a week or so.

So, I am now in a period of down time.  Nothing at all on the calendar, but I am looking at what half marathons are nearby for the fall.  And if all goes well, I should be able to start base building again in another week or so.

DNS

My first DNS (did not start).

There were two events scheduled in April, the Run Raleigh HM, and the Medoc Spring Races.  The morning of Run Raleigh my alarm went off, and instead of putting on my race clothes that were laid out, I rolled over and went back to sleep.  Fatigue has been building up for a few weeks, and when race day came, I didn't have any energy.  Well, I probably could have pushed to do it, but it seemed a better choice not to.  I thought if I did the race, I might not make it to the start line for the Medoc Spring Race the following week, and that was an event I was really looking forward to.

So, I slept in.  Then later that day, I went to REI and bought a new chain for my bike.  Put it on, pumped up the tires, and went out on my first ride on over two years.  Only an hour, about 15 miles.  Felt a bit strange to use some different leg muscles, but not bad.  So, it might be time for some cross training.

I did make it the the Medoc Spring Races.  Loved the event.  7.5 miles of trails with a staggered start.  The race started at 9am with females 73 and up; then two minutes later, females 70-72; two minutes after that, males 80 and up, females, 66-69.  And so it went.  I started at 9:20, only 10 minutes before the scratch runners took off.  So, all the fast runners had to pass me.  And they did, most of them within the first two miles.  Pretty humbling experience, but a lot of fun.  Finished in 1:26.

The next day I went to the Run for Boston event in Raleigh.  Sobering but uplifting run.  Lots bigger crowd than expected.  I knew there were a lot of people at the start, but the full size of the crowd wasn't really evident until the turn around.  Then I could see the road was shoulder to shoulder on both sides,

Here is just before the start.

 And near the turn around. Both of these photos are from the event's facebook page.

I had felt bad for having a DNS earlier in the month, but this really helped put that back in perspective.

This month, one more trail race, the Philosopher's Way 15K.  This race is named philosopher because of Horace Williams, first chair of the Mental and Moral Sciences Department of UNC Chapel Hill, now known as the Department of Philosophy.  And here is Horace, wearing the shirt from the race (courtesy of the trailheads.org facebook page).

Should be another fun run.