Surgery Consult

Dr DSO, who did a minor and totally successful outpatient surgery on me 10 years ago. Go to a surgeon, and she’ll recommend surgery, right? Not if it’s a surgery that she doesn’t perform. The scheduler had assured me that Dr DSO does hernia surgeries, and she does, but not on a “sports” hernia, which is not really a hernia but a muscle pull, technically an "abdominal wall strain."

This requires a laparoscopic procedure, she believes, because it doesn’t make sense to cut through the strained muscles in an effort to strengthen them. She does laparoscopic surgery but not on the abdomen - she doesn’t believe in that treatment for an abdominal wall pull at all, and in fact doesn’t think it has a high success rate. Mine, in particular, is high on the lower abdomen, making such a repair even less appropriate. Huh.

She advised:

• Continue the physical therapy that I’m currently getting.
  
• Warm up properly before any run. I usually do warm up before a short race, though not for a marathon.
  
• Stretch properly after a run. I do my set of stretches frequently, if not after every run, but until recently I haven’t done a stretch that works the lower abdomen at all. She mentioned yoga.
  
• This particular injury is unlikely to turn into a real hernia or any other major problem, regardless how much it hurts. So just SUCK IT UP and run! She didn’t say it exactly that way. Good to know, though.

That is one surgeon’s opinion. The buzz in the runner community is that a surgical repair is simple and permanent, though, so I may see another surgeon and get a second opinion from someone who actually does them, like maybe the surgeon that my sports doctor recommended!

Maplewood Mall again today, the third time in four days. We three walked 4.5 miles in 1:04:30, for a pace of 14:20. No pains! Nothing more than a hint of the abdominal wall strain and the hip-flexor pain. Maybe this upcoming marathon will be OK. We’ll go to the mall again tomorrow if the weather permits. No running until the race, though, just walking. Fast is fine.

What a way to train for a marathon - yikes.

There is oatmeal under there:

A Better Walk Today

Two days ago I walked in a soccer dome and had significant hip-flexor pain on the same side as the sports hernia. Today we walked at Maplewood Mall, actually a lot nicer for walking than the soccer dome, though maybe a bit too civilized for running.

Anyway, we walked for 60 minutes, the same amount of time as two days ago, and we probably went a little faster, but the pain was less. It started after about 30 minutes, as before, and increased steadily for a mile or so, but then didn’t get any worse. In fact, it might have been a little less at the end than it was a mile before. Still only four miles, way shy of a marathon, but it’s a little ray of hope.

Peaches, cherries, blueberries, strawberries, all organic and all frozen. Organic walnuts and yogurt, on top of gluten-free oatmeal:

Nice Semi-Long Run

Fourteen miles on the paved trails in the park, a training/taper run for the next marathon, no problems. Murmurings from the right knee, left hip flexors, and left hamstrings, but nothing serious.

I took three Clif Shot gels, several salt tablets, and plenty of water, running 2/3 of the time and walking 1/3, just as I might in a marathon. Overall pace was 11:13, good enough for 10 days after running a marathon. Surprisingly, I felt stronger at the end than I did at the start. It’s a masterpiece!

Breakfast after the run, pretty much everything organic.

Last Finisher

We ran the Run-A-Palooza Jersey Shore Relay Marathon, a fundraiser for Special Olympics. Not my best day, but I finished. Actually, I think I may have been the last runner to finish!

Lots of problems:

• Temperature of 45 throughout (!), which is lovely, but the wind was continuous at 20 mph, gusting to 30 or so, and rain off and on for the last hour and a half. We ran mostly straight north along the Jersey shore, and the wind was from the ENE, so it was partly in the face and always a factor. That's my only real excuse.
  
• Nursing a sore right knee, I had not run for two weeks, only walked. Maybe that's not a good way to train.
  
• That right knee hurt a little in the beginning, then calmed down. Likewise the left hip, which has recently caused problems, was mostly silent.
  
• But hip flexors on both sides (muscles connecting the thigh to the hip bones) started to yell during the second hour and didn't stop. They were a limiting factor. Gosh I thought I'd gotten past the hip-flexor problems.
  
• And the LEFT knee started to complain about halfway through and just got worse throughout. Pain on the outside, might be IT band. We did run on the right edge of a lot of crowned roads, which could cause exactly that symptom. This became a limiting pain too, even on the flat.
  

Anyway I was on schedule for a five-hour marathon until the half, then gradually slowed until I was walking (as fast as I could) but not running for the last six miles or so - just hurt too much to run. Time 5:40:05, average pace 12:58. Best I could do that day. Marathon number 50, state number 33. Seventeen more to go.

About the race:

This race is designed to raise money for Special Olympics. The emphasis is on marathon relay teams and on the accompanying half marathon. A team of one runner (like me) is allowed, but not really encouraged, and I suppose the reason is that more runners raise more money. Also, the marathoners don't all start at the same time. We were asked to estimate our pace, and then were allocated a start time, slowest runners first, I suppose so that support teams (water stations, route marshalls, and medical) could be out there for the shortest possible time.

I screwed up here, and seriously overestimated my speed (underestimated my finish time) when I registered back in February. I thought I could run 11-minute miles, maybe better, and ended up with 13-minute miles. That amounts to almost an hour in a marathon. I should have started at 8:00 am with the first group out, but was assigned to the 8:40 group instead. Because of that mistake, and because it was so miserable out that the volunteers quit, I ran behind the support. After the aid station at Mile 19 (or so) I never saw anyone associated with the race except four runners who passed me. No water, no directions (marshalls), and no medical, not even a volunteer on a bike. Zip. In fact some of the directional signs were gone, blown down I suppose, no other runners in sight, and I wasn't entirely sure of the course once or twice. There may have been water along the boardwalk if I had known how to get it, but I didn't and came in mighty thirsty.

What the race committee could do:

• Be more willing to allow people to start earlier than their assigned time. I wanted to do this, even asked, but was unable to make it happen. I know this is a problem - everyone wants to start early - but obviously, there are problems both ways.
  
• This can be made easier in a relay with the use of Velcro-attached leg-wrap chips. Then a team's actual time is known regardless when they start. They use chips for the half - why not the relay?
  
• Keep track of the last runner. Perhaps I wasn't the last to finish, I don't know, but I doubt that the race committee knew I was still out there when I arrived. The finish line was down, and inside the post-race-party building there was no indication where a runner should report, people seemed surprised, and they were quite unprepared for one more runner. A race should always keep track of the last runner. Always, for safety reasons if no other. Happily, I did find a lovely woman who did it all for me - gave me a finisher's medal and took down my time.
  

Flip Side, the Good Stuff:

• We loved running on the boardwalk, even in this exceptionally-blustery weather. My two girls ran the half, which was an out-and-back entirely along the ocean, virtually all of it on the boardwalk. They loved it. The boardwalk is a wonderful venue, goes for miles on end, and the race makes good use of it.
  
• To my surprise and delight, the boardwalk itself was in good condition for running everywhere, bar none. No tipped-up board ends, no cracked or broken boards, nothing but a smooth running surface. There was a little sand, blown in from the beach 50 feet away, but they were cleaning that up even as the wind continued to blow more in.
  
• The marathon ran on boardwalk for perhaps half its distance, and on roads near the ocean for the rest.
  
• Everything started on time, as far as I can tell, within a minute or two of advertised, even in this problematic weather.
  
• Pre-race, lots of good emails with important details.
  
• We liked getting the race shirts before the race instead of afterward. I actually wore one in the race.
  

I highly recommend this race. Do try for better weather.

The cheesy happy face is on the back of each of the medals, apparently a trademark of the Run-A-Palooza races:

Where the Wind Comes Sweeping Down the Plain

And up the river valley! Tulsa Route 66 Marathon review. This one is as good as they get.

I recommend it to anyone:

• Plenty of time to finish, for either the full or the half marathon.
  
• Well-organized expo with lots of vendors.
  
• Enough spectators to make it interesting.
  
• Not a single car to be seen on either route - the roads were totally closed to vehicle traffic. Yay!
  
• Fall color was at its peak, and there really are trees in Tulsa, especially in the neighborhoods. Very pretty.
  
• Aid stations were well-managed, porta-potties were actually plentiful after the first few miles.
  
• The race was organized into three corrals, started about seven minutes apart. That worked fine, even though my sweeties and I started in the last corral.
  
• It was warm and VERY windy, but you get whatever weather happens on marathon day.
  
• Music of one kind or another at MANY places along the course, mostly NOT obnoxious. You could dance to some of it.
  
• I have no suggestions for the race management except more food at the finish - they ran out of the best stuff.

My race: Not so hot. I finished in 5:19:02, eighth of 12 in my age group. I hadn’t trained very much since my last marathon five weeks ago because of a cold and fever. Also some joints hurt, the course was hilly and windy, and the weather was pretty warm, going from 63 at the start to 73 at the finish. But mostly it was my lack of trim. How much can you lose in five weeks? A lot, I guess; this one took more than a half hour longer and that one was hilly too. Nevertheless, I FINISHED my 48th marathon in my 31st state.

My left hip hurt quite a bit after mile four or five, enough to slow me down, but got somewhat better after I took a naproxen (Aleve) around mile 10 or so. That hip problem is new, and I hope it’s not a harbinger of oncoming arthritis. Others in my family have had hip replacements and I’m not interested! Several other parts hurt as well - left lisfranc ligaments, both hip flexors, right toes, yada yada, it’s a marathon, duh. Happily, though, the calves both complained a bit but neither cramped up, not even after the race. I did take six gels and six salt packets along the way, with at least 5 oz water at every aid station. That helps a LOT.

This race did offer a rare treat: Just after mile 16 the marathon course converged briefly with the half-marathon course, and the timing was perfect: I caught up to my two sweeties and was able to run with them for more than a mile. We never get to do that in a real race, only in training, so we stayed together and made the most of it. Then they turned around with about a mile left to go, and I jogged on ahead for my remaining eight miles or so. Needless to say they finished first, but they always do.

Along the course:

• Young woman wearing a T-shirt: “Balls are my business.” I might have asked, but she was going faster.
  
• Signs “Up With Trees” all along Riverfront Drive. Tulsa plants trees. Indeed, the maples were in technicolor.
  
• Sign propped in front of a boy in a stroller: “This is a really boring parade!”
  
• Shirt: I’m older than you, more devious, and I train while you sleep!”
  
• ”Banana Man,” a sharp young Texan who had run another marathon the DAY before, taught me about organic bananas.
  
• Bumper sticker on a rusty pickup: “A dead Yankee don’t tell no lies.” Same with a dead redneck, you neanderthal.
  
• Otherwise, Tulsa was warm and welcoming.

Splits: 11:55, 10:42, 10:49, 10:47, 11:08, 22:01 (2 mi), 22:09 (2 mi), 23:14, 24:52 (2 mi), 24:40 (2 mi), 13:25, 16:44, 14:02, 13:15, 14:22, 12:12, 13:25, 23:58 (2 mi), 11:38, 12:10, 1:40 (0.22 mi), total 5:19:02. Uffda. I can do better and I will.

Tuesday, Nov 16, 2010:

Jim and I ran together in the Stillwater Bubble, 1000-foot loops, at a pace that I’m sure was 9-minute miles or so, for 50 minutes. It was my first run in almost a week, and Jim’s first in even longer, so we took it easy. After three miles I was actually having trouble keeping that pace, so we walked one of the short sides of the rectangle and ran the rest. No problems, no pains.

One of Tulsa's many parks:

Everything Aches

Actually only every MUSCLE aches, which is fine. Muscles are supposed to ache after a 20-mile run, so they will take the next long run a little more seriously. I ran on the N St Paul Community Center upstairs track, 20 miles, 270 laps, 1080 corners all to the right, about 35,100 paces. This was a difficult run for me, much more difficult than the 16-mile run six days ago. I’m not sure why, because I prepared for this one in about the same way, but I suppose it could be partly BECAUSE I ran 16 miles 6 days ago. Maybe. I used to be able to get away with that.

A slight pain in the arthritic left Lisfranc joint came and went, as did a slight ache in the once-injured right hamstrings. Hip flexors on both sides started to complain at about mile 14, but didn’t get too bad. This is normal for the last year or two. The only new pain was in the right leg, just below the knee joint, toward the outside, where some bones come together to support the knee joint. That showed up in mile 19, but disappeared soon after the run was over. Nothing hurts now :-)

The track is banked at the corners, so feet, knees, and hips were spared unusual stress, but evidently that benefit didn’t extend all the way up my body. Most disconcerting was the weariness in my trunk, as I tended to lean to the left, having trouble holding that shoulder up, starting as early as mile 6. That may be another reason why the run was difficult. The track was clockwise today, so all 1080 turns were to the right. One woman actually asked if I was trying to compensate for an injury, leaning so much to the left. It appears that I am sadly in need of core training.

I was able to run continuously for 18 miles, though, walking only briefly for water and gel breaks. The watch never stopped - no bathroom breaks. From 18 on, I did have to walk every fourth lap because I could barely hold myself upright and, besides, my legs were plumb out of energy.

I took 5 ounces of water every two miles, gel every four, and salt every four. No cramps! Splits: 9:47, 9:34, 9:44, 9:40, 10:03, 9:45, 10:18, 9:49, 10:23, 9:46, 10:25, 9:55, 10:32, 11:12, 10:44, 10:44, 11:12, 11:01, 12:20, 12:33, total 3:29:26, average pace 10:28. For the log: 130 paces around one full lap, 12 paces around one corner, so 48 corner paces in one lap. I can use those numbers to calculate roughly how much farther my left foot had to travel than my right foot did. Trivia. Next run: 3 miles for recovery, maybe Wednesday. I hope I can do that on a straight road.

Today's breakfast after the run.  Gluten-free cereal beneath.  The yellow is mango.  Mmmmm.

Twin Cities Marathon

Could there be better weather for a marathon? Temperature was 46 at the start and partly sunny, 50 at the finish and cloudy. For a mile or two I wondered if I should have worn a short-sleeved shirt instead of a long-sleeve technical shirt. Then the sun disappeared, the wind showed up, and I was happy with my garb. TCM has a very rigid 6-hour cutoff, no grace, and some of my favorite people would never make it, which is a bad point about TCM. But it has three good points: Excellent spectator support, even better volunteers, and a truly beautiful course. Today the fourth good point was the weather, perfect for a marathon.

Pace: I tried to run two minutes, then walk one minute. Hills made it difficult to do that with precision, because I see no sense in running up a hill when I’m walking some of the time anyway. But mostly it worked.

Finish: 4:50, better than the 5 hours that I had considered an outside acceptable time, but 12 minutes slower than last year. Ah well. I did enjoy this one though - only running really hard in the last two miles or so. The second half marathon took four minutes longer than the first half. Lots and lots of high-fives, especially little kids. They love it, and I wore gloves so everyone was safe. For several miles I ran with a new friend, Dave, who was going about my speed and seemed happy enough whenever I suggested walking for a minute. He sent me on ahead at about mile 18, but finished soon after I did.

Highlights: Supreme Court Justice Alan Page playing his tuba. Nuns in habits holding up a sign saying "Kick ass," except "ass" had been crossed out and the word "sin" written beneath. Three bagpipers. Spectators yelling "Go Don" hundreds of times - I wore my name on my shirt. Getting dropped off at the race by my sweeties, then seeing them after the finish to get picked up to go home. Expressing gratitude to several Team in Training runners, who are raising money for research that may help cure myeloma. YAY TNT! Seeing friends among the spectators. Running downhill, any hill, but especially the downhill finish. Seeing Steve Kalina run in full marine garb, with a backpack, to raise money for Toys for Tots.

Gear: Visor, long-sleeve tech shirt, gloves, watch, shorts, undershorts (w Vaseline), foam rubber knee covers (for warmth, also w Vaseline), Wrightsox 2-layer sox (no blisters), Brooks Burn shoes. Five gels (4 w caffeine), five 440-mg salt packets. Up to mile 20: at every aid station, take either a gel or a salt packet. Drink more water than thirst suggests. After mile 20, scratch and crawl to the finish any which way, take whatever salt and gels may be left over, with lots of water. I did need two potty stops, one taking five minutes and the other much shorter. I started with a short-sleeved cotton overshirt, but ditched that at about mile three or four. Ugly shirt anyway - no loss.

Injury: None. At all. Yay! Slight pain in the right knee fairly early on, resolved by itself when I moved to the center of the road. Slight pain in both hips from dancing to band music - lesson learned - resolved itself. Some pain in the right hip flexors, but not enough to slow progress. That seems to be chronic, but never a big problem. A little pain in the right Achilles or the calf just above it - gone now. That’s it! Quads are a little sore, but that’s to be expected - I ran down every hill. NO CRAMPS! Cool weather, salt, and good hydration may have prevented the cramps, which effectively torpedoed my Grandma’s Marathon (finish temp 93).

Discovery: I can do my post-race stretches IN our new extra-wide shower, which contains a grab bar. Why have I never figured this out before? It’s not very green - takes more hot water - but it sure did feel good today. That’s definitely going to happen again. Oh yeah. Almost as good as beer.

Splits: 10:21, 10:18, 42:01 (4 mi), 21:26 (2 mi), 11:05, 10:52, 10:27, 15:27 (potty stop with a line at M'haha & Cedar), 10:47, 0:32 (0.11 mile to ½ marathon mark), 10:59 (0.89 mi), 10:54, 11:19, 10:49, 11:41, 23:20 (2 mi), 11:29, 12:05, 11:01, 10:46, 10:28, 12:14 (1.22 mi), total 4:50:20, pace 11:04. It’s a masterpiece!



Post-race afternoon "brunch." The pancakes are blueberry, gluten-free. Syrup is maple, organic. Also organic egg & nectarine.

Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon 2009

Sunday, June 7, 2009:

I’m whipped! I don’t recall feeling any more beat up after a marathon than this one. But so far (barring a late-reporting injury) that’s the only bad news. Except that Sunshine and Sweet Pea decided not to try the half, because of injury and weather, so they didn’t get a half marathon in South Dakota. That’s bad news too, especially for them. But I did finish the marathon. Everything is sore, especially the right hip flexors and both calves, but getting better already.

I loved this marathon! Organization was faultless, volunteers were superb, and the venue was without peer. There is also a half marathon and a marathon relay.

The Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon runs on almost 26 miles of the incredibly beautiful 100+ mile Mickelson Trail. The trail surface is mostly packed limestone, almost as firm as blacktop when dry, if not quite so today. For people who need a little extra cushion, it would be perfect. It also gives up a lot of little rocks, though, and my shoes collected quite a few. See the photo. That biggest rock appeared at my toes (how did it get all the way up there?) at about mile 18 or so, and it hurt, so I considered stopping at a bench to take off the shoe and remove it, as I had done once before. But my calves were saying they might cramp up if I did that, so I motored on and the rock eventually found an out-of-the-way place to stay. I talked to one guy who had some very light and colorful gaiters over his shoes, from Dirty Girl Gaiters he said. When she gets back from fishing (!), I’m going to check out that web site again. I knew that rocks would be a problem, but I forgot that I wouldn’t be able to stop and shake out the shoes without other consequences. I have heavier gaiters for snowshoeing, but never even thought of using them to keep out rocks instead of snow. Duh.

Within a couple of miles of the start in Rochford, the trail goes uphill at about a 2% steady grade, eventually climbing almost 1000 feet before topping over and heading downhill again at about mile 14. It’s an old narrow-gauge railway right-of-way. The descent is a bit steeper, a lot steeper in a few places, taking us down about 1700 feet to Deadwood. I had anticipated going slowly up to the top and then faster on the way down. But the second part didn’t happen - I was so wrecked from the climb that I really couldn’t take advantage of the downhill.

Eventually I finished in 5:10:00, 302 of 367 overall, second of six in my age group, almost an hour after the first in my age group. He could have showered and been sipping a cup of tea by the time I stumbled across the line. The award is a cute railroad spike. They charge $5.00 if they have to mail the award, and now I know why. It's a real iron spike.

Weather was an issue. The forecast said low 40's for the whole distance, moderate crosswind, and rain likely, perhaps even lightning. 40 degrees doesn’t bother a Minnesota runner, in fact that’s a lovely temperature for running. But a hard rain can quickly turn it from nice to miserable, even dangerous. Happily, it rained right before the race and after I was done, but it never rained on me! Just a little mist and occasional fog. I carried a jacket around my waist, just in case, but never needed it. The trail was wet though. Most of the way that was no problem, because the packed limestone had absorbed the rain nicely. But for two or three miles the limestone was in poor shape and we ran on a thin layer of mud, maybe a quarter to a half inch, enough to make me choose my footing carefully to avoid a slip. The temperature varied too - in a couple of places along the trail I noticed frost on runners’ caps or shoulders - frozen sweat. My shoulders were like that too. But only my feet ever felt cold.

The Mickelson Trail is scrumptious. The waterfall in the photo is not actually on the trail (I didn’t carry a camera), but it is typical of scenes we saw on the way. Most of the trail is away from all signs of civilization, often traveling along and above an ancient brook or small river. The grade tends to be steady, but the trail winds a lot. Forests, fields, spring wildflowers, interesting rock formations, even caves. We ran on wooden bridges and even through a tunnel. The trail parallels a road here and there, but never a major highway, and it occasionally passes by a rural (VERY rural) home or ranch. It goes through the ruins of the mines that once gave purpose to the original railroad. I’d love to bike the whole 100+ mile trail. In the entire 26 miles we saw only four parties on bikes who were not obviously connected to the race; perhaps they were doing that. Be sure to bring a fat-wheel bike :-)

I don’t need an excuse for running so slowly, but if I did, what would it be? (1) I ran a marathon 7 days before, (2) The trail surface is slightly soft and absorbs a little extra energy from each step, (3) I carried a little more stuff (jacket, gloves, knee warmers...) than usual, (4) The race included more than 1000 feet altitude change, up first, and (5) Altitude reached about 5200 feet (a mile high), and that’s enough. Definitely a masterpiece.

I am SO impressed by Mr Dan Kuch, from Arizona, who finished this tough race in 2:46:33. Whooee.

Splits: 9:21, 9:17, 11:09, 12:04, 11:46, 13:08, 11:36, 17:19 (porta-potty & emptying shoes), 11:36, 11:23, 11:50, 11:46, 12:12, 11:30, 10:04, 10:48, 11:04, 13:06, 13:18, 15:02 (porta-potty), 12:43, 10:35, 11:34, 11:10, 11:22, 13:20 (1.2 mi), total 5:10:00, average pace 11:49. I’ll take it. My 36th marathon, 22nd state.


Tuesday, June 2, 2009:

NSPCC. I ran a mile, felt some pain in the left ankle, and stopped. The elliptical machine felt fine so I used that for a while.

Birmingham Mercedes Marathon, Post 2

This is a grown-up marathon, with most of the trimmings of a large one. Nice expo, well-designed race route with lots and lots of traffic control, wonderful volunteers, and some spectators. We’re glad we ran it. The weather was almost perfect with the temperature climbing from 38 at the 7:00 am start to 55 at my finish near noon. The route is moderately hilly ("challenging"), but that was no problem for me because I walked much of this marathon anyway so I just walked up most of the hills. The half and the full marathon used exactly the same route, with the full marathoners simply traveling it twice. I don’t mind the double loop, especially in this case where the route was rather picturesque. I appreciate knowing what’s ahead, in fact, on the second loop when I’m tired.

I did get confused by one of the mile markers. According to my watch, my split time between mile 12 and mile 13.1 was 7:48, which is WAY faster than I was running. I can’t explain it, unless perhaps one of the mile markers was out of position. I did stop at a porta-john between miles 11 and 12, which confounds the times a little too. My total time at the 13.1 mile marker was about 2:15:00, which actually does make sense. No explanation for the 7:48 split time.

The race’s on-line results were slow - my only real beef. My sweeties finished their half marathon well before I finished the full, and we left immediately after I finished, starting the trek back home, expecting to be able to find our times later Sunday evening when we reached our motel in Paducah, KY. No such luck. Nothing Monday morning, either. And no indication on the race web site when or whether the results would be forthcoming. Results apparently did show up later on Monday, while we were driving. Other marathons do much better with race results, many posting partial results while the race is still in progress. Almost all have the results on line by the evening of the race. Years ago people waited for the newspaper to publish results, or for their time to come on a card in the mail, but not any more; expectations are much higher. This race was ChampionChip timed, so Birmingham could have put results on OnlineRaceResults.com in real time, just as the big marathons do.

I started with no knee warmers but with two shirts, short-sleeved cotton over a long-sleeved technical shirt. The cotton shirt was discarded about midway through the second loop, and toward the end the long sleeves were plenty warm. My favorite Brooks Burn shoes served well, except perhaps for the pain in the left foot, which is something new. But no blisters or joint pains.

One mishap: Wonderful volunteers handed out GU gels at several stations along the route. Early in the race I grabbed one, knowing I’d need it later, and stuffed it upside-down in my shorts pocket. Soon I discovered that the volunteer had already torn off the top of that gel, opening it for my convenience, and it was draining its sticky contents into my shorts. Sounds funny now, but I was really pissed then! It might have been nice if the volunteer had warned that it was open, I suppose, but it was really my fault and it’s a mistake that I will certainly never make again! Yuk. I had two other gels in that pocket, totally gummed up by then, and probably should have just left them there, but I ate them as the race went along and ran with sticky hands, shorts, and more.

Splits: 10:58, 10:41, 9:45, 10:27, 10:36, 9:45, 11:35, 19:02 (2 mi), 10:13, 10:03, 13:45 (potty stop), 7:48, (mile 13.1 ?!?), 10:38, 9:50, 10:30, 11:15, 9:28, 11:03, 11:36, 11:32, 10:01, 11:03, 12:02, 25:46 (2 mi), 2:10 (0.2 mi), total 4:41:27, pace 10:44.

Ice Storm:

Sometimes we fly to a marathon, but this time we drove. It’s about a day and a half at interstate speeds. We were very impressed by the damage that the recent ice storm did in the region around Paducah, Kentucky. For almost 100 miles we saw trees broken and fallen, thousands upon thousands of trees, counting only those within view of the interstate. Though the storm hit in late January, nearly three weeks before our trip, we saw crews still restoring power to farms and remote homes as we drove by. Bucket trucks were everywhere. What an incredible mess.

Wednesday, Feb 18:

The pains that I felt in the race: quads, hip flexors, and left foot, all went away by Tuesday. On Wednesday we went to the club, where I intended to run three easy miles just to keep loose. During the second mile, though, my left knee started to hurt, on the outside, right in the joint it seemed. So I stopped. It’s a new pain, possibly ITB but it felt more like a bone issue. I’m not worried about it - I’ll run again soon and deal with it if necessary. Splits for that run: 9:41, 9:31.

Easy Sixteen Again

Since I’m not trained for a marathon, but scheduled to run one, I thought I’d half-run half-walk it. But it turns out that you have to TRAIN even for that. When I tried it a week ago my hips were mighty sore the day afterward, most likely from the walking part. I sure was glad that I hadn’t done a whole marathon. So today I did sixteen more miles, the first fourteen walk/run and the last two all running, just like a week ago. Friend Norm joined me for the last mile, on his way to his seven or eight miles running.

This run was a little faster than last week’s, by about a minute and a half total. So maybe training actually works? Better yet there was plenty of gas in the tank at the end. I ran that mile with Norm, who didn’t really want to start his run at a high pace, or I might have run mile sixteen faster than 8:20. Two pains: (1) A slight pain in the left back, muscles and not bones, maybe six inches above the navel; and (2) the Lisfranc joint in the left foot, a chronic problem that can hurt but is not a stopper. NOT a problem: (1) The hip flexors of two days ago; (2) the blister on the right big toe (wrapped in tape); and (3) so far no pain in the hips. Yay!

Norm started his run a few seconds behind me just as I started my last mile. When he caught up to me, he asked if I always ran with my left shoulder lower than the right. That was news to me - I have known for years that I tend to veer to the left when tired, but hadn’t realized that I actually TILT to the left. I wonder why that is. I have also assumed that the tiredness is related to my legs, which are, after all, doing most of the work. Maybe, though, I lean to the left because of tiredness in the upper body, signaled by the pain in the left back. Hmmm. I think so, because my legs really weren't very tired today. Some core exercises might help.

Thinking now about a 5:00 marathon. Let’s assume: Delays like potty stops will take up seven minutes, so I need to run a pace for a 4:53 finish. Running pace will average 9:15, and walking pace will average 14:00. Question: How much of the time must I run, while walking the rest? Average pace for a 4:53 finish is 11:11. Solving 9:15*X + 14:00(1-X) = 11:11. X = .6, more or less. So if I can run 6/10 of the distance, walking 4/10, I should finish with about seven minutes to waste along the way. 6/10*9:15 = 5:33. So in each mile run 5:33 and walk to the next mile marker, which should take 5:38. Pretty much half and half, by time, and just under 16 miles total running. I might be able to do that - worth a try.

Splits: 11:23, 10:54, 10:58, 11:22, 11:08, 11:07, 11:10, 11:18, 11:11, 11:18, 11:05, 11:10, 11:14, 11:17, 8:47, 8:16, total 2:53:35, overall pace 10:51.


Dinner one day last August: No-hormone no-anything chicken (or is it turkey?), organic sweet potatoes, local organic parsnips, organic catsup, organic mustard.

Inauguration Miles

Seven miles at the circular (actually rectangular) track at the club. I thought I felt the right adductor muscle for a moment, and was afraid that I’d have to stop, but it went away and stayed away. There is often just a little pain in the right hip flexors, and it’s easy to get those pains confused - have to think about it a little to be sure which is which. Anyway no pains that matter today.

I didn’t feel full of energy, but still ran an 8:47 pace for the seven miles. Not great, but good enough. Breathing was on the edge of three footfalls per full breath much of the way, indicating almost a race pace. Anyway it’s a masterpiece!

Normally I don’t eat anything (except maybe a latte) before a morning run. But I had such a good run last Saturday, I wondered if it was partly because I had inadvertently chomped down a couple of handfuls of cashews just before we left for the club. So today I tried a dollop of peanut butter, thinking that maybe nuts might give a little energy without forcing the stomach to demand too much of the limited supply of blood. But I don’t think it helped. I know that peanuts are not cashews, but I think Saturday’s good run was not about the nuts, it was because I had taken several days off because of the adductor injury. I’m getting old - it takes longer to recover, and days to recover fully. Speaks to the importance of taper before a marathon, or maybe before any race.

Splits: 8:53, 8:37, 8:40, 8:47, 8:50, 8:51, 8:51, total 1:01:29, pace 8:47.

Watching the successful inauguration today, my heart is bursting with hope. President Obama can’t possibly meet all of the expectations that we have for him, nor could anyone. Nevertheless the country will improve not only economically but morally and ethically, perhaps to become a model for the world once again. With our support, he can do it. See WhiteHouse.gov.



Last night's DEX dinner: Wild-caught Alaskan sockeye salmon with organic yogurt and herbs, organic spinach with artichoke hearts and melted cheese, organic peas.


This morning's post-run breakfast (& lunch): Organic oatmeal, organic blueberries, papaya, organic strawberries, cantaloupe, organic walnuts, very-dark chocolate, organic fat-free milk. Hard to believe that the berries are available in January, but there they are, and not outrageously expensive either.

Indianapolis Monumental Marathon

Saturday, Nov 1, 2008:

Indianapolis Monumental Marathon. Not bad, not great. This was the first-ever running of this marathon. It had a few startup jitters, but not a lot. I ran 4:32:38, about four minutes slower than Des Moines two weeks ago. I should have been faster, because this course is flat, but for whatever reason I wasn’t faster.

Things I liked about the marathon:

• Aid stations were frequent, more than one every two miles.
• There were about 1100 marathoners and 1700 half-marathoners, a nice-sized race.
• Much of the course was on tree-lined streets, ablaze in fall color.
• The weather was very good, a little warm toward the end but quite tolerable.
• Two or three aid stations had a table containing an assortment of gels. Nice.

Things I didn’t like as much:

• Much of the course was on roads open to traffic, with cones separating runners from cars.
• In a couple of places, drivers were stopped for a long time and got pretty angry. That’s not fun for anyone.
• Aid stations were disorganized, with no convention for distinguishing between water and gatorade cups. You always had to ask.
• Not many spectators.
• There was no expo. I was actually counting on one, to buy some gels. Fortunately there were gels on the course.

As in other recent marathons, I slowed a lot after 20 miles, walking frequently. I just ran out of gas. Hip flexors started bothering at about the halfway point, but I found that if I did an exaggerated duck-walk I could stretch those body parts and make the problem disappear for a half mile or so. Yay. Now I will add a stretch like that to my regular daily routine and see if that fixes the hip flexor issue more permanently.

We bought gasoline for $1.93/gallon in Indianapolis. It’s a 10-hour drive.

Splits: 9:46, 9:04, 9:25, 9:33, 19:01 (2 mi), 9:34, 9:23, 9:40, 22:10 (2 mi, potty stop), 10:06, 9:45, 9:48, 10:30, 10:18, 10:51, 10:54, 10:39, 10:49, 11:05, 21:58 (2 mi), 12:54, 11:24, 11:47, 2:24, total 4:32:38, pace 10:24.

Marathon Recovery

Saturday, Oct 11:

"Tour de North St Paul" 5k race, benefiting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. They also fund myeloma research, so I’m delighted to support LLS because they support me. A very nice little race through North St Paul, including a short piece of the Gateway Trail.

57 degrees, time 27:02, pace 8:43. I could have run a 5k faster than this if I hadn’t just finished five miles with my Saturday group. Good enough for today. No pains - those were apparently worked out in the earlier five miles. Nice semi-sprint at the end.

Saturday, Oct 11:

St Croix Valley Runners, 7:00 am at Northland Tennis Courts, five miles as always, nice run with George and Wayne. Lots of other people showed up today too, several of them walking because of injuries from TCM. Lucky me - no injuries this time at TCM.

56 degrees, just a long-sleeved shirt & shorts, no knee cover. My right knee did send a little hint that it likes the knee warmers, so I will wear them in the foreseeable future. The hip flexors hurt a little too, but they calmed down after a few miles. Oh, to be young again. Time 45:30, pace 9:06. I thought we were going slower, actually. But breathing was easy all the way.

Friday, Oct 10:

Same as Wednesday, just a nice jog to keep things working. Almost the same times as Wednesday, too. Hilly route.

49 degrees, wore knee warmers. No pains. Splits: 9:10, 13:07 (1.5 mi), total 22:17, pace 8:55.

Wednesday, Oct 8:

First run since Sunday's Marathon. I like to wait until the third day afterward. Local roads for 2.5 miles, no particular hurry, just keeping the body parts working after TCM and for the next upcoming marathon. I wonder if I can run 4:15 there? That’s a Boston qualifying time for me, but it seems out of reach right now. Maybe if I lose a few pounds.

44 degrees, I wore tights and knee warmers. No pains. Splits: 9:18, 13:16 (1.5 mi), total 22:33, pace 9:01.



I was mighty disappointed to drive 1100 miles to St Charles Missouri and NOT run a marathon. Blog posts here and here. But this is a touch of class from the organizers. Nice plaque, plastic on wood.

Twin Cities Marathon

The most beautiful urban marathon in America. Usually. Today it was OK, but not so beautiful in the rain and mist. Fifty degrees with a facing breeze for most of the race and, for a while, a heavy rain. Nevertheless, the weather was WAY better than last year’s 85-degree scorcher, and no problem at all compared with the rain and wind we experienced at the Lewis & Clark Marathon three weeks ago, courtesy of hurricane Ike. No apparent danger, today, of the race course being flooded out. This rain was quite a bit colder though - my hands were reluctant to open the Clif Shot packs and my feet felt like stumps, but after getting out of the wet shoes and taking a warm shower I could feel my feet again. My 30th marathon is finished, and all is well.

Time: 4:38:44, pace 10:38, number 14 of 35 in my age group. Plenty good enough. Four minutes faster than Grandma’s Marathon, and this is a more-difficult course, but then Grandma’s was a warm race. Not quite comparable.

Complaints: Knees were FINE! Yay! The left calf threatened to cramp up much of the way, but it never did and finally it gave up and acted normal. Hip flexors were a problem - they started to hurt somewhere after the half, and just got worse as the miles rumbled by, eventually slowing me because it helped to walk a little. Toward the end I walked often. The hip flexors have bothered before, but they haven’t stopped the show. I was tired, too, and the walks were welcome.

Splits: 9:46, 9:49, 9:36, 10:09, 9:37, 9:38, 10:14, 9:17, 9:49, 12:50 (porta-potty), 9:39, 10:30, 9:49, 10:38, 10:17, 11:08, 10:12, 10:59, 10:52, 11:18, 11:35, 12:34, 12:27, 11:17, 11:46, 11:00, 1:57, total 4:38:44. I ran a Galloway-inspired "run a mile and walk a minute" system. That worked fine, and partly because of it, for the first time in 30 marathons I managed to click my watch at every single mile marker without missing one, because I looked forward to each mile with a little extra anticipation. I see that most of the miles up to 13 were under 10 minutes, and all of the miles after 13 were over. No surprise - I certainly could have been better trained. Caffeine gels every four miles and salt twice. I think the salt may have helped with the potential calf cramp.

Saturday, Oct 4:

Easy 3 miles or so with the SCV Runners, most of whom walked . But I prefer to run a few miles on the day before a marathon, or the day before that. No time or exact distance. Ready for the marathon. Or not, we’ll see.

Thursday, Oct 2:

Three plus miles on hilly local streets, no problems at all. I feel great! Early-morning runs are so enjoyable in the fall. Splits: 8:57, 8:47, 9:24 (1.1 mi), 1:46 (0.2 mi), total 28:54, overall pace 8:45.



Recent fruity breakfast: Gluten-free oatmeal with organic flame raisins and dried cranberries, mango, kiwi, organic apricot, organic pecans, nonfat organic milk.

Warm-weather Training

Tuesday, July 8:

I think of the Gateway Trail as flat, because it's an old railroad bed, but in fact it isn’t flat. Most of the time it is sloping gently up or down, and in a few places there actually are short, but substantial hills. I decided to watch the Tour de France first this morning, which didn’t end until eleven, then go run ten miles on the Gateway.

The temp was 79 at noon, with a cloudless sky, but happily our part of the Gateway is nestled among tall shade trees for much of its length. A nice crosswind improved the weather too, and my hat brim never did drip today until I finished the run and started my stretches, an indication that the humidity was much lower today than yesterday. No pains of any kind. Warm-weather training at its best.

A fly flew into my mouth at one point, and of course I quickly spit it out. Then I noticed a neat pile of horse manure right next to me on the adjacent horse trail. I considered the possibilities, nay the probabilities, and rinsed out my mouth a couple of times with water from the bottle I was carrying. Uff-da.

My sweeties were on the Gateway too today, and we crossed paths once. That’s always nice.

Splits: 9:44, 9:03, 9:58, 9:35, 9:29, 8:54, 10:33, 9:20, 9:31, 10:59, total 1:37:04, average pace 9:42, same as yesterday’s 8-miler. That’s actually the right pace for a 4:15 marathon. I wonder how much farther I could go at that pace on a cooler morning. A lot, I think. I’ll be finding out soon; the training schedule has some 20-mile runs in it, plus some long races if my rickety old body holds together.

Monday, July 7:

I had intended to run 8 miles yesterday, but that was the right day to measure a race, so today’s goal was 8 miles at any speed. I chose my favorite dirt trail along the railroad track, which worked just fine. 70 degrees, bright sun, and very humid, so I ran slowly. At about mile six I thought I felt a little something in the right hip flexors, so I switched to a walk/run. The soft trail is a little like running up a slight hill, I think, which might put a little extra strain on the hip flexors.

Splits: 9:20, 9:39, 11:02 (1.2 mi), 9:16, then I lost track of mile marks, but the total was 1:19:43 for 8.2 miles, a pace of 9:43. Plenty good considering that my hat brim started to drip after only three miles, an indication of the humidity. And it’s DEX day, which makes it hard for muscles to absorb glucose, so I’m happy with the time.

Sunday, July 6:

I was going to run eight miles today, but measured the Whiz Bang 10k race for certification instead.

Saturday, July 5:

Saturday morning the St Croix Valley runners were at it again, 7:00 am at Stillwater's Northland Tennis Courts, five miles. Only five runners showed up, the rest in bed because of partying the night before, or running in the Afton Trail Race. I had a nice run with Doug at a pace of 8:33, which was a push for both of us. Lovely morning, fifth straight day of running, no pain!

Friday, the Fourth of July:

Marine on St Croix annual fourth of July 4.1-mile race. A wonderful, traditional downhill race for everyone, strollers too. The weather could hardly have been better - 73 degrees, low humidity, clear skies, no wind to speak of. A beautiful morning, and for that matter all of July 4 was exceptional. I ran the 4.1 miles in 32:10, for a pace of 7:57 according to the official results, 7:51 by my calculation if the race really IS 4.1 miles. I have run that race four minutes faster, but today that was not to be. No pains. Excellent fireworks in Stillwater that night too.

Thursday, July 3:

Just three miles on a fairly flat route, third straight day of running. What a beautiful morning, 56 degrees and sunny, and the route offers quite bit of shade. No pains. Splits 9:16, 8:52, 8:22, total 26:30, average pace 8:50.



Monday's breakfast: Gluten-free oatmeal, blueberries, mango, organic nectarine, filberts, walnuts, pecans, Dove dark chocolate, nonfat organic milk.




Monday's lunch: Canned wild-caught Alaskan sockeye salmon with cottage cheese and dill, papaya, organic peas.



Tonight's dinner: Leftover turkey, leftover assorted organic vegetables, organic chard with dried cranberries, chives, and pistachios, cucumber, organic red wine vinegar.

Railroad Trail

After experiencing some hip-flexor pain on Sunday, I planned to run up to 10 miles today or until the flexors started to hurt, whichever came first. I’ve previously dealt with hip-flexor pain by NOT running up hills, and even have a couple of flat running routes near the house just for that purpose. The Gateway Trail, within driving distance, is also pretty flat, but my favorite dirt-road trail by the railroad tracks is flattest of all.

So that’s what I did. Drove to a central point, ran 2 ½ miles one way, then back, intending to run 2 ½ miles the other way and back. But after the first five miles I could feel the right hip flexors already, so I ran one more mile and stopped. The pain didn’t get very bad in that last mile, but I think it was best to stop. I’ll try another flat four miles tomorrow and see what happens.

Six miles in 57:04, pace 9:30. Perfect pace, except that this is a dirt trail which takes a little more energy than a blacktop road, so I suppose it was equivalent to 9:00 or so. If I judged by breathing, it was even more work than that. Warm weather, 69 degrees and moderate humidity. A train passed by as I ran - I love that little road.



Recent breakfast: Gluten-free oatmeal with organic flame raisins and dried cranberries, banana, blueberries, organic nectarine, organic pear, mango, organic walnuts.

Hip Flexors

Sunday, June 29:

Local roads, 6.6 miles, moderately hilly, in one hour, pace 9:05. I meant to run 9:00 to 9:30 but went out way too fast as usual. In the second mile my right hip flexors started to hurt. This happened in the marathon too, though much later in the race. Furthermore the pain didn’t get any worse in the marathon, but this time it did, getting bad enough to make me walk some of the time. Huh. Walk a little and it was better, then run a little and it was painful again. It disappeared within minutes after finishing the run.

Gosh I hope this isn’t ANOTHER injury that will take a month or two out of the summer. I’ll wait until Tuesday and try another run until it hurts or ten miles, whichever comes first. Guess I'm still doing Grandma's recovery.

Saturday, June 28:

SCV Runners, 5 miles in 46 minutes. What a beautiful morning it was! Nice easy pace, no pains of any kind. Best of all we received a gift of organic veggies from friend Jim and took them home for lunch.



Saturday lunch: Jim's organic spinach, onions, beets, and beet greens, with a few dried cranberries, banana, organic peanut butter (for the banana). Yum.


Sunday dinner: Wild-caught Alaskan sockeye salmon, organic lime, Jim's organic beet greens, spinach, and onions, with a few organic raisins, plus orange and mango. I took seconds. Thanks Jim.