Taking the Test

Today, Saturday, September 5th is race day. I can't say I've been looking forward to this since I've been injured. There are risks. The risk of making the injury worse, maybe even bad enough to keep me out of the New York Marathon. Another risk is running a poor race and having my ego bruised. Injury or not, I expect to win my age group. I may not have any right to expect a victory, but I do.

I kept to my race routine. Eating toast and a croissant with coffee on the drive to the race. Listening to the radio, or at least pretending to, I say outloud the good workouts I've had despite the injury. I recite to myself that I've been smart to mix cycling with running. I tell myself that I've run this distance 4 times and have gotten 3 first places and 1 second place in my age group.

Checking in, I get my number, go to the bathroom and walk back to my jeep. I pin my number on the shirt, put on my trail shoes and do some stretching. All around me are other competitors. College students and their friends, older men wearing their team gear, preening and talking about big races to come or big races they've done in the past. Women chattering away about anything not to do with racing. Like a show, it goes on all around me, but I am not a part of it. I am in my shell. The same shell I've entered before races since I was 11.

The starter yells "go" and the runners in the 30K and 50K start up the hill. It's a steep hill and I concentrate in taking short quick steps and breathing regular. The first part of the race is a 20K loop that goes up and down for long stretches. My glute and quad are fine, I'm surprised. Gradually the crowds thin out. Coming down through the forest to the feeding station, I grab a cup of energy drink and run back on the course. My split time is good and the pain is not so bad that it doesn't slow me down.

The last 10K is really grim. I have to focus eveything I have in maintaing a pace. Something that is hard to do when the hills are so steep that walking them is just as fast as trying to run. I deal with it, passing some men, all younger than me. On one downhill section, a woman passes me and I don't see her after that. It didn't bother me, I have my own goals. On a downhill section, my calf cramps up and my foot catches a tree root. SPLAT! I go face first on the ground. I'm stunned and a little scraped up and dusty all over. Still, I get up and go back running. Not much choice, really when you think about it. 2 miles to go and I try to keep up with two male runners but eventually they gap me and I don't keep up.

Coming down the last stretch, I catch up to two women running for a team from Auburn which I can tell by reading the back of their shirts. I keep a steady pace and resist the urge to showoff and sprint past them to the finish. One of the nice things about trail racing is that its not road racing and this is one example, they enjoy their moment undisturbed. I look at the clock at the finish and am a little shocked. 2:59, a new personal record by six minutes. I didn't expect that, not with all the walking I did.

As I'm sitting on a bench eating my chili (another trail racing tradition) two of the guys that finished in front of me ask me about my race and how old I am. When I tell them, they're surprised. One of them says "when I'm as old as you, I hope I can run as fast as you did" which was a compliment, I think. The results are posted and I am happy to learn that I finished 18th overall and 1st in my age group. It was a happy drive home.

Suffering for my Sport

The photo above is the last half mile of the 2009 Boston Marathon. By this time, I knew I had missed my goal time. My back was killing me, quads and hams too. Truly a suffer fest. why do I bring this up? Because in two months, I'm going to New York and will be trying to redeem myself. Since my last post, I've been alternating cycling with running. It seems to be helping, although after a quick run, I hurt, a lot. This Saturday (September 5) I have a 30K trail race which will be a test on my fitness. More on that later.

Injury Report

For the last week, I've been fighting an injury to my left quad and glute. Literally a "pain in the butt." Yesterday, the doctor told me she thought it was a minor tear and gave me some anti-inflamatories and told me to not run. I did take the pills and managed to get in a decent run today. I will take the next day off and ride a bike.

Best Book For Self Coached Runners by Brad Hudson

Run Faster from the 5k to the Marathon by Brad Hudson

I cannot recommend this book strongly enough. I use it as a reference all the time and although I try real hard to be original on this site, it and Brad have influenced my thinking on a number of training issues. Please, if you run and plan to race, get this book. Brad's facebook address is listed below.


http://www.facebook.com/pages/Run-Faster-from-the-5k-to-the-Marathon/42451678640?ref=nf

The Second Cultural Revolution

I know this is supposed to be a running blog, but since very few people are reading it these days, I'd thought I'd put in something new.

THE SECOND CULTURAL REVOLUTION
BY
JOHN MATNEY


The United States is currently undergoing its first cultural revolution and the similarities between this one and the cultural revolution in the Peoples Republic of China of the 1960’s and 1970’s are so nearly identical that it is truly frightening.

First, there is Mao and Obama. Known for singular names and politics. Both are cult figures with huge followers of young people. Blindly following their leader’s directives, hints and slogans. Each has its own “Bible,” Mao’s being the “ Little Red Book” while Obama presents his Audicity of Hope.” Disagreement with the authorized dogma is not permitted by our “Leader” and his followers. The Red Star was the official PRC publication while in the United States, we have Time Magazine which faithfully places the photo of our leader on its cover every two weeks.

While Mao had his wife to oversee the youth and their education and cultural activities, which included encouraging children to turn in their parents as counter revolutionaries, Michelle Obama oversees the youth movement known as “AmeriCorps” that is to become a “citizen army” as well funded as the Department of Defense. Soon, the youth will be advised to turn in their parents for offenses such as reading Milton Friedman or Adam Smith, using coal in their Weber BBQ or refusing to turn in their non-hybrid cars.

Second, as in the PRC, where elites were placed in charge of entire industries, armies and the collective farms, we now have dozens of “CZARS,” unelected experts chosen by Obama and are accountable only to him who will dictate the “leader’s” will and ensure that those dictates are carried out by the plebes or peasant citizens. Expertise is no longer valued, only loyalty to our “leader.” Soon, we can expect to read about five year plans that these CZARS have created. Lawyers will be running factories or General Motors, knowledge about building and selling cars is no longer necessary, only that one has pledged his or her loyalty to the Messiah.

Just as Mao had Chou En-lai, Obama has Rahm Emmanual, the man charged with putting the leader’s thoughts into practice. Whipping the politburo into shape and spitting out directives and “laws” will become commonplace. Soon there will be no thought given to reading the laws that are passed, no debate taking place and as in the PRC, lots of smiles for the cameras as we march steadily into our brave new future. A future where we are all eating “healthy” food, driving correct cars or better yet, riding our bicycles and encouraging the elderly to stop taking up so much space and kill themselves.

So, let’s look forward to the day when we fellow comrades, wearing identical organic clothes can gather in stadiums all across this great land and cheer at our “leader” as he gives another brilliant speech on the future of our Peoples Republic. Don’t forget your red book!!

All Natural or Total Geek

In the never ending quest by road runners to get faster, an entire multi million industry feeds these runners with charts, tables, ultra light shoes, dvd's and articles and books that have decimated entire forests. Deluged with this information, some runners, myself included, stop reading and watching and charting and go back to what we love, name running. Granted, I am blessed to live at the base of Mt. Diablo and can get to a trail head via an easy 10 minute jog. So excuse me for making the decision that charts etc. take away the fun from my runs. Will I ever average 6 minute miles on the trails I run? No way! Is running the trails harder than running on the roads? Definitely! Is it a lot more fun? OH YEA!!!!! So, pardon me, while I head off to run on Donner Road and the Tickwood trail for a nice sunset run. See ya!

Lack of Motivation? Feeling Guilty?

All athletes have times when the motivation is just not there. For self coached athletes, this is a problem that comes up more than for athletes that have a coach. Coaches provide constant motivation. Most of us have to provide our own motivation. Yesterday, I skipped a run to spend time with my wife and to travel to Sonoma to check it out. It was nice, the weather fine and the company even better. Still, on the drive home, I felt some guilt for skipping my run. Coming home, I still felt some aches and pains from earlier workouts this week and hoped that skipping a run was actually a good thing.

This morning, I woke up and turned on the tv to watch the Wimbledon Final between Roger Federer and Andy Rodick. Both players were seeking something historic. Federer was trying to become the winningest tennis player of all time for Grand Slam tournaments (US OPEN, AUSTRALIAN OPEN, FRENCH OPEN AND WIMBLEDON) and Andy Rodick was trying to win Wimbledon for the very first time. The match was incredible! All tied going into the fifth and deciding set, Federer finally won 16 games to 14. The stamina, speed and athleticism of both athletes was awe inspiring. So inspiring for me, that I just had to hit the trails after the match. Pushing myself hard, I got in a much better workout than had I not watched the match.

So, the lesson to be learned here is that inspiration and motivation can be found almost anywhere, just keep those eyes open.
REMEMBER-quality runs are more important than just putting in the miles.