Run through the pain... Think again!

For the past week I have been reduced to no running. My IT bands have all but locked up causing major discomfort in my hips and knees. At mile two of the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, I finally throw in the towel. My mom and others tell me that trying to run 12 marathons this year is too ambitious and I was bound to hurt myself. I totally disagree…

Since my embarrassing walk back to the start line of the Cherry Blossom I have reflected on how I allowed my self to get to this point. Notice I said, “How I allowed myself.” It is my firm belief that we have total control over our injuries. In my opinion and experience thus far I have determined that it is not the training or the demand of the sport that causes injuries - it is a lack of focus.

Discipline and steadfast devotion to a long-term goal helps me stray away from over-doing one particular workout or ignoring a persistent soreness. My current injury is a direct result of my lack of focus on the long-term goal of running 12 marathons this year.

Here’s how…

Running Phoenix Marathon at a slow-consistent pace resulted in no injuries, no soreness, and (most importantly) no deviation from the plan.

While training for the Los Angeles Marathon, I hit the weights irregularly hard. This was a product of “feeling good” ONE day. I did too many sets of calf raises with too much weight, which resulted in a slightly strained calf.

Thinking this soreness would eventually work itself out, I continued to run harder. In the Los Angeles Marathon I set a PR. I ran way too fast for a sore body and calf. This effort, on ONE day, caused a chain reaction.

The continued training on this sore calf caused a shift in my gait, which caused other (stronger) muscles and tendons in my leg to work over-time. Eventually, my IT band and knees were so sore that I resorted to walking two miles back to the start of the Cherry Blossom.

My point: the entire chain of events can by traced to one common theme – loss of focus. I lost focus on that one day of weight training and I lost focus at the Los Angeles Marathon. Both incidents and my own stubbornness caused this injury, and as a result I will not be able to run the full 12 marathons. On the other hand, I now have new goals: to rebound from this injury and run faster in one specifically targeted race: Chicago.

The more I run (or more importantly, don’t run) the more I learn. Marathoning is an older person sport. This is true because it takes time to put aside youthful indiscretion and remain true to a lasting devotion to your goal.

Cherry Blossom 10 Miler - Washington, DC

Race Day:
4/1/2007

Weather:
Overcast and windy. The weather gods spared us, however, and held back the rain.

Course:
Other than the fact that the large majority of the course was doubling back on the same road, I dont have any complaints. It was a perfectly nice course that I would have enjoyed more if I had been in better condition to run.

Personal Experience:
A race I probably should have "no showed" for, the Cherryblossom 10 miler was a painful experience. Lesson learned: never sign up for a race the week after a marathon. While you might be able to run 10 miles, the added pressure of not wanting to DNF keeps you from holding back when appropriate. Mark had the right idea when he bailed at mile 2. My pride just got in the way and I lumbered across the finish line with pain in more places than I care to list.

Conclusion:
Maybe I'm spoiled from running marathons, but I'd say there wasnt anything all that special about this race. One thing that I will mention that I thought was an excellent idea ... seperate starts for groups based on estimated finishing time. At no point on the course did I feel crowded to the point that it might slow down my pace.

Final Grade: B

First Inaugural ING Marathon - Atlanta, GA

Race Day:
3/25/2007

Weather:
With a high of 85 degrees, the heat was literally record breaking in Atlanta on race day. However, the race directors were smart in starting the race at 7a.m. and kept us out of the sun for a reasonable amount of time. With luck, future race days will have the advantage of cooler temperatures.

Also, look out if you have allergies. The pollen count was about 2300. Every car on the road was covered in a thick layer of yellow dust. Take your claritin!

Course:
This was without a doubt the most difficult course I've attempted. A loop course with many rolling hills made this race quite a challenge. While the suburbs of Atlanta are naturally hilly, the directors have to put some serious thought into remapping the course.

Beyond the actual mapping of the course, I'd say there are three things that you have to look at when evaluating a race: Start, Finish, and Aid Stations. Atlanta started on time and early enough to beat the heat. The finish line was not congested and i was actually very impressed with the efficiency of moving runneres through the gauntlet of chip collection, medal, and carbs. The race directors did an excellent job. However, the aid stations are where they lost me.

Problem #1 - The aid stations were far too small, particularly in the areas of the course where the marathoners and half marathoners ran togethor. They need larger tables and more volunteers. Having to come to a dead stop to get a mouth full of water is completely unacceptable.

Problem #2 - How do you run out of poweraide at everystation?? I ended up getting one cup of very dilluted poweraide around mile 13. Other than that, it was nonexistant on the course. Not having a sports drink on the course is a good way to send a lot of your participants to the ER. Next year they better stock up!

Experience:
There's nothing like staying with family when traveling for a marathon. Beyond the free room and board ... there is just something more relaxing about not having to deal with a hotel. While the course did not lend itself to setting a PR, I was happy to show Atlanta how DC does the marathon.

Conclusion:
All in all, this was a good marathon. I was impressed with how they did considering it was the first year. While there are a lot of bugs to work out, I can see this being a very successful and popular marathon in the coming years. Atlanta is a running town and its about time they got into the marathon business. If you're itching to go to Atlanta or are a local and can do it on the cheap ... go for it! Otherwise, maybe give them a couple of years to work out the bugs.

Final Grade: C+