In Iowa

Posted on April 13, 2008 by threlkeld

I’ve been in Iowa for the past few days. I flew out here on Wednesday to attend to what I suppose is meant when someone uses the term “family crisis.” My beloved 93-year-old grandmother suffered a stroke a little under two weeks ago and she was aiming to slip from this mortal coil, or so it seemed. She’d been in a great deal of pain and discomfort, with reduced capacity in key areas (can’t walk, can’t swallow, double vision in one eye). She raised her hand for the “no extraordinary measures” option and stopped taking water and food on Monday.

But you know what? My grandmother may be one of the few people I’ll ever know who left a hospice facility alive. She looked like she was fading on Thursday morning, and we were all getting prepared to say goodbye sometime during the coming days or weeks. I was even working on a draft of her obit. Then, in the afternoon, she perked up and began talking about wanting to fight on. From heartbreak to hope in the space of a few hours — Thursday probably ranks up there as one of the worst and best days of my life.

Now she’s out of hospice and back in the hospital rehab unit, taking food and water through a tube, as well as starting to manage food by mouth. She handled her first round of physical therapy yesterday like a trouper. Her sense of humor is intact, as is her fighting spirit. She has lots of hurdles in front of her: first, to learn to swallow, stand and walk so she can get out of the hospital. Next, weeks or months of work in the skilled nursing area of her retirement home. Then, if that goes well, a move over to assisted living. She even has an outside shot at getting back into her apartment.

I am in awe at her ability to survive.

I head back home tomorrow, but will probably make another trip out in May or June to cheer her on (and up).

Since this is a running blog, some obligatory running stuff is in order: I didn’t run for three days post-marathon, which seemed to be the perfect thing to do. On Thursday I did four miles at 10:30 on the motel treadmill, then five miles at 10:00 on Friday. Yesterday the entire exercise room was put out of commission until sometime next week due to a broken door.

So I headed out onto the streets of Cedar Rapids into 20 mph winds (I’m used to it!) and horizontal sleet. It ended up being a fantastic run. I hammered out six miles, despite the wind, for an average of 8:30 per mile. I’m running in my new Saucony Fastwitch 3’s and they are hands down the best running shoes I’ve ever worn. They weigh 6 ounces and make me feel like Gete Wami. Finished up the run at 7:50 (the tailwind helped on the way back), pleasantly relaxed and ready for the whatever the day had in store, which was good news all around, as it turned out.

I love running here. Cornfields, sky and flatness yield expansive vistas like this. The city is more or less a grid, with lots of major avenues, so it’s difficult for even me to get lost. And I rarely see other runners, so I get to feel like a local curiosity for an hour or so.

The weather is similar today (actually, colder at 20 degrees with the windchill), but I’ll head out for the same run in a few minutes.

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Potpourri post

Posted on November 9, 2007 by threlkeld

Just a random post to check in.

The big news of the past week was, of course, the big two races in New York: The mens 2008 olympic trials, during which elite runner Ryan Shay died. What can you say that hasn’t already been said about this? It’s just very sad.

The other big event was the NYC marathon, for which Paula Radcliffe staged a spectacular comeback. And Gete Wami came in second to win the World Marathon Majors — netting her a purse of half a million greenbacks — just 5 weeks after winning the Berlin Marathon. That’s called “running for the money.”

Since my last post, I recovered from the dreadful cold and took a quick trip out to Las Vegas. Since I’m so lazy, I’ll just point to my sister’s blog post about this fabulous family trip.

I will add that we did two runs while there, an 8 miler and a 15 miler. Las Vegas is hands down the worst place I have ever run. We basically did a huge circle in both cases, with the famed Strip in the middle. But all the streets are 6-12 lane jobs, so it’s incredibly noisy and the air is filthy with exhaust. The average humidity is something like 6% most days, so you’re constantly dehydrated. No wonder we only saw one other runner. Probably another idiot tourist.

At the conclusion of the longer run, we managed to get trapped behind a 64 acre construction project while trying to get to Dean Martin Blvd. We ended up getting rescued by hotel security, who had to drive us back to our hotel. That was pretty comical.

This week was spent getting over jet lag and ratcheting up the mileage yet again. The week’s not over yet, but barring disaster I should top out at 70 miles this week, which I’ll hold for three weeks, followed by a recovery week. And that’ll be it for the base building phase. It’s hard to believe I ran 26 miles during the week in June that I started this oddysey. I was looking over my running logs and found that in 2006 I averaged just 20 miles per week. My marathon training was around 40. And until I started base building in June, my 2007 average was 30 miles per week.

It’s amazing how adaptable the body is. These days, a 10 mile run is like a four mile run used to feel. In fact, it’s now my favorite distance. It takes about an hour and half and I’m pleasantly tired at the end, and very relaxed. So that’s my favorite run of the week (this may also have something to do with the fact that I do this one on Fridays). I’m wondering what my favorite “no big deal” distance will be a few months from now — 12? 14? 16?

No injuries so far, knock wood. I’m hyper vigilant to the point of paranoia. The past two days I’ve had very slight, intermittent shin discomfort on one side. So no progressive long run on Sunday, just an easy 18 miles. I monitor my resting pulse every day and run very easy if it’s more than 4 beats above normal. And I’m sleeping like a fiend some nights. If I need 9+ hours, I sleep 9+ hours. Going to bed at 9 o’clock does feel a bit weird, though. I suppose I can use the writers’ strike as an excuse soon.

The weather has been fabulously cold in the mornings — mid-30s, which is perfect for me. And there are more races than I can run to choose from in the next three weeks. Next weekend I’ll either do the Nyack Hospital 10K or the Mamaroneck 5 Miler. Haven’t decided on which one yet. Then a 5 Mile Turkey Trot in Rockland (if the weather isn’t horrible like last year). And — again, weather permitting — the Hot Chocolate 15K in Central Park on December 1, two days before I kick off my 18 week training program.

Finally, we’ve decided that in light of the fact that we’re both trying to “lose what we won in Las Vegas” (no, not money; just a few extra pounds), we’re going to go out for Thanksgiving dinner at a local place (An American Bistro in Tuckahoe) rather than make a bunch of stuffing and other food that will further derail us as “leftovers.” I’ll probably do turkey and trimmings for Christmas, but within reason.

So there you are. Race reports to come.

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Not another Chicago Marathon post…

Posted on October 19, 2007 by threlkeld

…per se. But instead, a link to an article that presents an interesting theory proposing low blood pressure, rather than heat-related illness and/or dehydration, was the likely culprit behind so many runner collapses earlier this month. The follow up article at the end of the one linked to is also worth reading.

I spent a few days visiting family in Eastern Iowa, where I was registered to race in a 5K breast cancer center fund raiser. The morning of the race, however, it was pouring buckets of rain. I was out there, warming up — the only runner warming up, in fact, which gave me a lot of hope of winning some cheap hardware — when they called the race due to lightning concerns. 10,700+ people registered for the three events (5K race, 5K walk, 1 mile fun run), and the turnout was good despite the weather. So it was a disappointment. But they raised a lot of money through registrations, so all’s well that ends well.

Now I’m laid up with a bad head cold. The woman behind me on the plane from Chicago to La Guardia was coughing and sneezing all the way, so I’m not surprised. I feel like warmed over dog food and my head feels as though it’s been filled with Kwik-Crete and cotton balls. This probably means I won’t be doing the Harry Chapin 10K race on Sunday as planned. That’s four races in a row that have been screwed up due to weather or illness. At least turkey trot season is coming up. Maybe it won’t be 80 degrees anymore by next month!

But there’s a silver lining. The day before I got sick, I managed to do a 16 miler at 8:40 pace / 76% heart rate. This is tremendous progress and has made me a true believer in the value of building a base of long, slow, low heart rate distance running. By way of comparison, the week I started base building four months ago, I ran a 9 miler at 10:36 pace / 75% heart rate under similar conditions. So I’m nearly two minutes faster these days. Maybe a 3:30 marathon is not such a pipe dream after all.

Up until very recently, I was doing most of my runs at 68-72% heart rate. Now I’m just doing that after the long runs and doing “easy” pace (75-80%) the rest of the time. So I won’t go into shock when my 18 week training program begins the first week of December. The date for the 2008 More Marathon has been chosen: April 6, the day after my 43rd birthday. So it looks like I’ll have to skip the copious libations and sugary treats until after the race.

I may kick my training off by running the Hot Chocolate 15K in Central Park to further assess progress and get a better sense of what my various training paces should be. Plus, who doesn’t like hot chocolate in December? (As long as it’s not 80 degrees out.)

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Back stateside

Posted on August 13, 2007 by threlkeld

I’ve been away for nearly three weeks, traveling in Switzerland and Holland. But I’m back and typing this as I download my hundreds of work and personal emails. I had a fabulous time (and have 500 pictures to prove it). Thanks for the comments — will post again soon!

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Women’s 2008 Olympic Trials Web site

Posted on June 2, 2007 by threlkeld

I discovered a very nice Web site for the Boston 2008 trials. Chock full of interviews, photos etc. with those fast, skinny ladies. I only have to knock 1:09:03 off my best marathon time to join them!

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Race Report: The Five Stages of Race Day D.E.A.T.H.

Posted on May 29, 2007 by threlkeld

With a tip of the hat to Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, I present to you the five stages of Race Day D.E.A.T.H. I experienced all of these stages, over a period of four hours, 17 minutes and 45 seconds on Sunday while running the 19th Annual Key Bank Vermont City Marathon.

D = Denial. “I’m just a little off my pace because of that last hill. That pain will go away.”

E = Exasperation. “Why can’t I make my legs go faster?! What on earth did I eat that’s making me feel this bad?”

A = Agony. “…potty. Ow. Ow. Ow. Where’s the porta potty? Ow. Ow. Ow. Where’s the…”

T = Tedium. “I’m jog-walking at mile 19. I wonder if there will be anyone at the finish line when I get there later this afternoon. Oh, look. It’s a downpour. Now I can walk seven miles in wet socks.”

H = Humiliation. “That fat woman up ahead is going to beat me.”

I suppose it could have been much worse. I was off my last marathon time by about 22 minutes, or about 50 seconds per mile. But it was just shocking how badly things started to go wrong starting at about mile 12. I’d kept to my 8:55 pace all the way, even though my stomach was bothering me.

But my legs started to really hurt at mile 12 (something that didn’t happen until mile 19 or so in the last marathon), and my pace began to drop off slightly over the next 6 miles, but I was struggling. Mile 19 was the the turning point, where I lost it physically and mentally. I also got the runner’s trots, which involved a stop of several minutes and feeling quite weak for the subsequent mile.

Like the last race, my thighs were in excruciating pain. But unlike the last race, I couldn’t keep running at a quick clip despite the pain. I just couldn’t make them go faster, and by mile 20 my pace dropped to 10:45. That was also when it began to pour rain, a downpour which lasted close to 20 minutes. By mile 22 I was walking/jogging at a pace of 12:52, looking and feeling like a drowned rat.

I rallied a bit (that’s being charitable) and managed to run miles 23-25 at well under 12 minute miles. But that was mostly because I just wanted to get the damned thing over with and get some food in me. The last 1.2 mile stretch was a cruel joke. My pace was around 13:30 and I began to suspect that they’d moved the finish line to Canada. I kept running by people screaming, “you’re almost there! Just around the corner!” but no finish line. When I finally crossed it, I was so disoriented (and relieved) that I forgot to turn off my watch, so didn’t get my time until last night.

Jonathan didn’t fare much better, having blown his goal time and suffered the same decay in performance as I did. The lessons I take from this experience are:

1. You can’t “coast” on the training for a marathon earlier in the season. I simply didn’t run enough miles, or do enough quality workouts, over the preceding two months (much of it due to recovering from a marathon and then a half marathon — and much of it just not having the time due to work commitments). I had enough conditioning to run a very strong half marathon in late April, and that was part of what was so dispiriting about Sunday’s race. My April half indicated a good marathon time (predicting 3 minutes faster than my March marathon time) — but you can’t “fake” a marathon. I’ll learn to trust my training history more than a time predictor next time.

2. A hard marathon in March, followed by a hard half in April, followed by another hard marathon in May is too much. If I do this again, I have to make one race the hard race and other two “fun” races, or “training runs with food at the finish.” 🙂

3. Don’t eat kung pao beef the night before a marathon. Too much fat, protein and fibre.

On the positive side, I was never really in serious trouble. I passed one runner being hauled away in an ambulance at mile 18 (he seemed lucid; I’ve a feeling it was a bad injury). And I saw another collapse at mile 25 — passed out cold. So I’m grateful that nothing like that happened to either of us.

And the people of South Burlington were kind, generous and full of good humor and encouragement. It boosted my spirits to run through neighborhoods where everyone came out — and stood in the pouring rain! — handing out bananas and orange slices and cheering us on. I even started high-fiving kids once I decided to accept my failure and try to enjoy other aspects of the experience.

Running along Lake Champlain was also quite an experience. Very beautiful, even in the pouring rain.

It’s a race I’d run again. Although since the More Marathon seems to be my big spring race goal for 2008, I might do the Vermont marathon as a fun run next time. They also give you a nice tee shirt, for the record. Simple design and technical fabric, so you can actually use it for running. And they have the heaviest race medal I’ve ever seen. It must be made of lead.

So that’s it for the spring marathons of 2007. I’ll focus on a full recovery from this one and then start building a base of 55-60 miles per week over the summer. I’ll probably run the inaugural East Hampton Marathon in September as a fun/training run, rather than race it.

The More 2008 race is 10 months away. Plenty of time prepare…

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The Day After

Posted on May 28, 2007 by threlkeld

Just a short post, since we’re still in Burlington, VT and getting ready to pack up and make the drive home.

I’ll do a full race report of the Key Bank Vermont City Marathon later on, but to summarize:

The race was a disaster for both of us
The people of Burlington are extremely nice
It’s beautiful here, even when it’s pouring rain

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Marathon next weekend. In total denial.

Posted on May 21, 2007 by threlkeld

One reason I haven’t posted regulary is that I’ve been working so much. I’m nearing a major project milestone (launch of a Web site, and I’m managing all editorial content-related aspects). I clocked 68 hours last week. So I’ve been quite distracted, to say the least.

But I have gotten in some running. Last week was the second week of my pre-marathon taper. I ran 23 miles. This week I’ll probably only run about 10. They say that no conditioning you do in the two weeks before a marathon is going to help you; if anything, it will tire you out. So I plan to run today and tomorrow and then stay off my feet until Sunday.

Sunday.

I will be again racing 26.2 miles on Sunday. And I’ll be driving 7+ hours each way to do it.

I am in denial about this fact. And since this week promises to be as crazed as last week was workwise, I’ll continue to be in denial until I actually climb in the car on Saturday to make the trip north.

After this race, it will be a summer of base building. Lots of long, slow running to get myself up to a steady 50 miles a week. Then I’ll do the innaugural Hamptons Marathon, after which I’ll start training for next year’s More Marathon starting in early November. I haven’t mapped out my training plan yet. But what I am doing differently this time around is devoting several months (instead of several weeks) to base building, in hopes that this will help me avoid another shin-splint-filled training experience.

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Race Report: Lehigh Valley Half Marathon

Posted on May 12, 2007 by threlkeld

What is it about the word “Lehigh” that makes we want to get up on a horse, make it rear up, and scream, “Leee-Hiiiiiigh!”

Okay, now that that’s out of my system, here’s a race report, albeit a bit tardy.

Two Sundays ago we made our second annual pilgrimage to Allentown, PA (popularized many years ago in a catchy song by Billy Joel about working class hopelessness). Allentown is just so damned charming. It reminds me of the R. Crumb drawings of Cleveland in the “American Splendor” comics of the 1980s. Run down, but in a somehow comforting, timeless way.

Anyway, we drove the two hours from NY and got there on Saturday. Picked up our numbers, chips and goody bags (tiny bags of Carolina rice seems to be a major theme among race organizers this year), and milled around the expo. I stopped myself from buying lots of things. Which isn’t to say that I didn’t buy them online when I got home.

We stayed overnight, as we did last year, at the Wingate Inn, located within spitting distance of Dorney Park Wildwater Kingdom. (“Whee!” Pause. “Splash!”). Remind me not to accept a ground floor room again. We were near an exit door (“Slam!” Pause. “Slam!”), plus treated to lots of fascinating parking lot chatter.

Last year, we parked near the race start, which was a disaster due to too many other people with the same idea. Last year we had no warmup — just a dash from the parking lot to the race start. This year, determined to avoid that debacle, we opted for the shuttle bus.

Which was also a disaster. 40 minutes between buses?! We had about five minutes to warm up this time around. But a foolish stop at the portapotty (and watches set slow) meant another disaster start. I managed to make it up near my pace group. Jonathan was about 20 rows behind where he wanted to be (the front).

Blam. Off we go.

Like last year, the crowds were great. Very enthusiastic and supportive. And the route is an interesting one, with much of it in a local park. This was the first race since the marathon in March, and I’d recalibrated my watch to avoid a repeat clueless performance. I ran a steady 8:30 pace for the first half of the race, then managed to speed things up for the second half. I ran with the 1:50 pace group nearly the entire way. But around mile 11, I started to get really tired and they gradually got ahead of me by about a hundred yards. Rats!

I finished very strong at the end, which was a change from last year. For the last mile, I ran at a 7:30 or so pace. I was really pushing to come in under 1:50. But, alas, it was not to be. I made it in 1:50:19. I’m still very happy with this time since it’s nearly 10 minutes faster than last year.

The other interesting thing about that time is that if I plug it into the McMillan Calculator, it gives me a marathon equivalent time of 3:52:40. A bit less than four minutes faster than my More Marathon time. So I’m either in better shape a month later, or I’m better at running shorter distances, or the More race was a tough course. I have no idea which it is.

But I should find out soon enough. Marathon #2 is in two weeks in Vermont.

Jonathan pulled off another age group win — he came in first in the 50-59 group. Yay him! I saw him pass me during an out and back section of the race, with only about 25 or so people ahead of him. So I knew he’d bring home a bauble.

It’s hard to know if we’ll go back next year. It’s a long way to drive (and you have to stay overnight, since the race starts at 8AM) to run a half. On the other hand, it’s immensely satisfying to have a real point of comparison from year to year. Now I’m wondering if I can take another 10 minutes off my time next year. If I made it 12 minutes I’d have a shot at a trophy too. Hmm.

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Back from the dead

Posted on March 12, 2007 by threlkeld

Sheesh. It’s been nearly a month and a half since my last post. So it’s time to do some catching up.

We spent about 10 days in Sedona, Arizona visiting family and, among other things, running in the half marathon there. If you’re looking for a truly tough race, do the Sedona Marathon or Half Marathon. It’s not only the hardest race I’ve ever run, it’s probably the hardest run I’ve ever run. It’s hills, hills, hills — mostly up. And at 4500 feet, which isn’t easy for those of us who live at sea level.

Still, despite the challenge, I was happy with my time: 2:08:29 and 12th in my age/gender group. Jonathan flew over the hills and took home a lovely age group award — second in his pack. And it’s an extremely scenic run — beautiful red rocks all around. But, given the course, I often had to remind myself to look around and enjoy the scenery.

Before the race, we were treated to free myofascial massages from a family member who does them. I think it helped, because my shins were much better during the race and beyond (popping ibuprofen like candy didn’t hurt either).

In fact, the shinsplints have nearly disappeared. I think the massage helped (and I think my muscles, tendons and connective tissues finally just started getting used to the increased training demands). But the primary reason I suspect they’re going away is that I’ve been losing weight. I’ve lost close to 10 pounds in the last six or so weeks. With each pound I lose, the shins become less and less of a problem.

So, the past two weeks or so have been the first time I’ve run relatively pain free since November. And I’ve been reminded of how pleasurable running is when you’re not in pain! I’m also running faster on my easy and long runs than I was in training, so I’m feeling more confident about my chances in the upcoming More Marathon (13 days away). Last week started my taper, so now I’m just trying to get used to not running 45+ miles a week.

I was training for a 3:50:00 marathon, but since the training didn’t go well due to the shin problems, I lowered my expectations to feeling lucky if I can do it under 4:00:00. Now that I’m running normally again (and carrying less weight), I’m trying to gauge my chances for hitting my original goal time. I’ll probably split the difference: go out conservatively and see how I feel after the first 6-10 miles, then pick it up if I can. The course in Central Park isn’t exactly flat (big hills at the northern end of the park — but only for the first half of the race), but it’s also not horrible. I guess I’ll just see how it goes on race day.

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