Unavoidable?

New York Times, Sep 26 '08

Here we are again. Back to the doctor and physical therapy. Races to be forfeited, training to be missed, fitness levels unavoidably to decrease. I tried everything I could to not to get to this point but, obviously, I tried too hard and stopped a bit too late. It all started with a left knee/hamstring pain that flares up after running and keeps persisting after rest. It does go away slowly, but too slowly for my taste. When I saw the doctor about this three weeks ago we didn't come to a good conclusion and we are trying a lot of different things in PT to figure this out. For good measures I also threw in the reoccurring pain in my right hip and for that we actually figured out what it most likely is: a labral tear, i.e. a bit of cartilage that covers the rim of the hip socket is damaged. I still have to get x-rays and maybe an MRI to be certain but looking back on when the pain started many, many years ago (12+ miles non-stop on a kick scooter) I think I agree with this assessment. That, at least, will not stop me from running. So, as soon as the hamstring (or knee or whatever it is) problem is under control I'll be back on the road.

All that means, though, that I won't be able to race (due to the lack of training) until at least the end of February. I already missed the 5/10 miler and the Fred Lebow Half in Central Park a couple weeks ago and I will miss the Riverside Park 5k in a week, and most likely the NYRR 4M in Central Park at the end of next month. I hope to be able to run again in 2-3 weeks and that should give me plenty of time to prepare for the Washington Heights 5k on March 1st without getting injured (while running a pathetic pace.) I added a handy little widget to the right side of this blog that shows you my race schedule for this year. It will be modified and added to as needed.

This Sunday I am scheduled to volunteer for the Super Bowl Sunday Gridiron 4M in Central Park. I thought I should earn the +1 for the 2016 Marathon as soon as possible to avoid the rush. Then the following Wednesday I will be part of the 2015 edition of the Empire State Building Run-Up. This is an event that had been produced by the NYRR since its inception but the ESB management company decided not to renew the contract for this year and gave it to my all-time favorite race management company NYCRUNS. This is a paradigm changing decision because over night the ESB Run-Up changed from an NYRR-produced event with all its pomp, glitter, and polish to a, hopefully, a lot more laid-back, fun, and just awesome NYCRUNS production. As soon as I heard about this change I offered my time to volunteer. I just have to be part of it. This is going to be awesome. Plus, I'll get $25 in race credit! I will write about this experience in a later entry, for sure!

I'll be resting for a while. Hopefully, you all will keep on running!

Another year, a new chance for even better things!

Happy new year, everybody. I slacked off a bit to keep my blog updated so this is going to be rather long entry again. I've got three races to cover, give an update on my injuries, recap the year, talk about my running resolutions for 2015, and finally mention a bit about my planned races in the new year. Let's not dawdle and jump right in, shall we?



Race recaps

Since I missed all of winter racing last year due to injury I am glad that things are better this year. I am planning on running all of the races part of the NYCRUNS Winter Series (two of them in Riverside Park, one on Roosevelt Island, and one in Central Park) and getting a head start on earning guaranteed entry in the 2016 NYC Half. So far I ran two of the winter series races, the 5k in Riverside Park and a 10k on Roosevelt Island, and my last race to finish up the 9+1 for the 2015 NYC Marathon, the NYRR Ted Corbitt 15k in Central Park. Due to problems with my right ankle and left hamstring I wasn't in tip-top shape and pretty much neglected any training and just ran the races. Considering the lack of mileage I think I did pretty well:

• NYCRUNS Winter Running Series 5k, 11/30/2014, Riverside Park, net time 20:35, pace 6:38, 26th out of 458 finishers total, 6th out of 42 finishers in my age group
• NYRR Ted Corbitt 15k, 12/13/2014, Central Park, net time 1:03:50, pace 6:51, 254th out of 4,468 finishers total, 34th out of 308 finishers in my age group
• NYCRUNS Winter Running Series 10k, 12/21/2014, Roosevelt Island, net time 41:21, pace 6:40, 28th out of 479 finishers total, 5th out of 45 finishers in my age group

I am especially proud of my 6:51 pace in the Ted Corbitt because I redeemed myself from the not so good outcome at the Bronx 10M. I met a teammate of mine, Chris, in the start corral and we talked about how we planned this run to be. He said he was going to run a 6:30 pace more or less, while I was aiming at a 7ish pace, so I just latched onto him and didn't leave him out of my sight. I also made a point of not overtaking him (there were a couple of opportunities to do so) because I wanted to leave this to the end of the race where I would come from behind, surprising him. Unfortunately, the hills in the second loop of the course put an end to this plan prematurely and I had to let him pull ahead while I struggled through the last couple miles. The course was a 4M loop, a 5M loop, and some through Central Park but the hills, especially the Cat Hill, makes it challenging. I definitely need a lot more hill work, maybe a few training runs in Riverside Park or the Harlem Hill in Central Park would be a good idea. The next half marathon I am signed up for is 2 complete loops of Central Park, all hills included. Fun! Here are the split times according to Endomondo:

1. 6:44, I struggled a bit with my phone and the armband, the start was on the 102nd St traverse
2. 6:23, nice and easy, rolling hills
3. 6:48, first edition of the Cat Hill
4. 6:34
5. 6:55, for some reason I slowed down as soon as I took the corner from the traverse back to the West Park Drive. That was entirely psychological.
6. 6:45, back to the rolling hills
7. 6:53, is it over soon?
8. 7:12, Cat Hill, 2nd edition
9. 6:53
10. last half mile in 3:11, back to the 102nd St traverse

That was my 9th and last one to get guaranteed entry in this year's NYC Marathon. This is exciting and I will be able to register for it in a couple of weeks. Once I pay my $200 and some I am committed and I am planning on taking advantage of the marathon training program that my running club offers every summer.

There is not much to say about the other two races. They were fun and I did as expected, maybe a few seconds too slow but it's okay. The competition was pretty stiff, I must say. Plenty of sub-40 minutes in the 10k race in my age group. One day I hope to join them.

Injuries

Ugh, let's talk about the not so good stuff. As I mentioned a few times before my right ankle and my left hamstring have been bothering me quite a bit. It didn't stop me from racing but I wasn't able to do much in regards of training between them. After the 10k I stopped running altogether for two weeks over the holidays and started again last Saturday with an easy 4M loop around Roosevelt Island. The ankle seems to be holding up but the back of my thigh, just above the knee, hurts when I step on the foot and it developed a spot that hurts when pushed deep within the muscle. The foam roller seems to ease the pain a bit so maybe I just keep rolling it out religiously. I am due for another round of Euflexxa injections anyway, so I will bring it up with my doctor. My right hip joint also flared up but this always comes and goes. I became a bit lazy with my strength training for my hips and gluts so this is definitely something I really need to pick up again.

Recap of 2014

I have been running now for two years, running races for 18 months. It's been a very good year once I recovered from ITB injury in the spring. I was able to go faster and longer. I hope I can add more to that in 2015. Here is the year 2014 in numbers:

• 28 races run
• 132.1 miles raced
• 764 miles run in total
• 8 PRs run
• 8 age-group awards won
• 5:45 best 1M pace
• 6:17 best 5k pace
• 6:25 best 4M pace
• 6:33 best 5M pace
• 6:36 best 10k pace
• 6:51 best 15k pace
• 7:03 best 10M pace
• 7:47 best half marathon pace
• 2 pairs of shoes used (and abused)

It's been a very good year. I hope my current injuries are just fleeting and 2015 will kick in with a bang. I have to catch up with quite a bit of training but the first race of the year will happen in a week already.

Resolutions for 2015

This is an easy one: treat injuries with respect. I think I did quite well last year but I probably overdid the racing part in the summer and didn't allow enough rest in between races and training. Other than that, I want to finish a half-marathon without injuries, and run my very first marathon. I also pledge to get myself a GPS-enabled running watch. I need to watch my splits with more care. All in all, I am just going to have even more fun.

Plans for 2015

I would say I will have at least four highlights this year. The first one would be, of course, the 2015 NYC Marathon on November 1st. I have guaranteed entry and I will run it. Secondly, I will also earn guaranteed entry for 2016, of course, doing the 9+1 again. Included in this will be running all five of the NYRR 5-Borough Series (excluding this year's NYC Half) to get guaranteed entry into the 2016 NYC Half. Since I volunteered for the Brooklyn Half last year I have a guaranteed spot in this year's edition, which is a good thing to have because this race sells out within a couple of days. Last, but definitely not least, I will be doing my first destination race. I was accepted into the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in Washington D.C. via lottery. The hotel room is already booked and we are going to go on a family vacation that weekend.

My preliminary race calendar for the next three months (and a bit of a preview for the rest of the year) is as follows:

• 1/11, NYCRUNS Winter Running Series: Central Park 5 Miler
• 1/25, NYRR Fred Lebow Manhattan Half
• 2/1, Volunteer at NYRR Gridiron 4M
• 2/4, Volunteer at NYCRUNS Empire State Building Run-Up
• 2/7, NYCRUNS Winter Series: Riverside Park 5k
• 2/21, NYRR Al Gordon 4M
• 2/22, Volunteer at NYCRUNS Central Park Marathon
• 3/1, NYRR Washington Heights 5k
• 3/14, Public Prep Ultimate Pi Day 5k
• 3/15, Volunteer at NYC Half
• 3/21, NYCRUNS Riverside Park 10k
• 3/29, NYRR 10k Spring Meltdown
• 4/12, Cherry Blossom 10M
• 5/16, NYRR Brooklyn Half
• 6/21, NYRR Queens 10k
• 8/1, NYRR Team Championships
• 8/22, NYRR Percy Sutton Harlem 5k Run
• 10/11, NYRR Staten Island Half
• 11/1, NYC Marathon
• 12/12, NYRR Ted Corbitt 15k

I will probably pick up a few more NYRR races and fill in the gaps with NYCRUNS events. I may also add a few more volunteering opportunities for NYCRUNS produces races since it pays the bills. I enrolled as a member so I get the added benefit of discounted entry fees and the ability to defer up to three races per year. The three most exciting events in the current schedule: Volunteering at the ESP Run-Up (this is awesome!), the Cherry Blossom, and the Marathon.

Happy new year! Keep on running all through 2015!