I hadn’t even arrived in Philadelphia for the
Philly Half last month before I started formulating a plan B. With a
less than favorable weather forecast and a calf injury that had
sidelined me for most of the week, I was preparing for the possibility
that the race might not accurately reflect my training and more
importantly make me happy. On that train ride from New York, I shot an
email to a contact at Runners World to ask about the Runners World Half
Marathon festival in late October. I had wanted to run this race since
its inception three years ago and its proximity and affordability made
it the best choice.
I
was not disappointed. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is a beautiful town and
the race was superbly well-organized. Despite being the biggest running
publication in the country, Runners World puts on a race that maintains
the feel of a local community event while providing all the important
amenities of a major corporate event. The race itself is a challenge. My
goal was to run faster than I did at Philly and cross the finish line
feeling happy. Jason had come with me and we decided to run 5:25s-5:35s
right out of the gate. This pace came easy as we worked with a pack of
three other runners through the early miles. Bart Yasso lead us all on
the bike. The rolling hills kept the pace honest and when we hit the
first big hill at mile six, Jason and I were able to open a large gap on
the rest of the field – or so I thought. There were some serious climbs
after this point in the race. 15-20mph wind gusts added to the
difficulty of the climb. Around mile 8, a monster hill took me by
surprise and drained a substantial amount of my energy. A runner who had
not been in our early lead pack was able to pass us easily here and he
never looked back going on to win the race.
I ended up in fourth place after being passed in
the final mile by a runner I should have been able to hang with. Still, I
was more content with the race than I was disappointed. Sure, the time
was not a personal best and I missed the podium, but I went for it early
on a very tough course and unfortunately couldn’t hold on as long as
I’d hoped. The effort and the experience were far better than Philly and
that was the primary goal.
What
I should have done next was shut it down and take some time off. I had
run two half-marathons in a month. Even if Philly was a disaster, it
was still the best effort I could give on that day and with the conditions, probably much harder than
my finishing time would indicate. That’s not what I did. By
Thursday, my legs were still a little heavy but that didn’t stop me from
hopping into a workout of ten all-out 200s. Speed is not my strength.
Some people say, “you just have to keep working at it.” This is not
true. I will never be a sprinter. Ever. And I’m cool with that. So, ten
30 second 200s is a lot to ask from my legs. I knew before the workout
was even over that I would pay the price the next day. I underestimated
how high that price would be.
Friday morning I could hardly walk. I did a five mile run in the park at a pace that was slower than a shuffle. Dog walkers were passing me with ease.
 |
| Less running, more football on the couch with the loves of my life. That's a damn good way to spend a down week. |
|
I was glad I have an elevator when I got home from that run.
When I got to our 8th floor apartment, Pepper, who had not gone for a
run, wanted to play. I took off my shoes and obliged. It started as me
throwing her stuffed monkey down our long hallway, but after she brought
it back the third time I was too lazy and sore to bend over anymore.
So, I resorted to kicking it down the hall. As my foot connected with
the monkey me heel left the ground and I suddenly found myself in the
air. I braced for what was coming but the impact was still hard
and painful. I landed directly on my tailbone just above the area that
was already horribly sore. Pepper thought this was an extension of the
game and came over to wrestle as I winced in pain and cursed to hold
back the tears. I was down for awhile wondering if I had broken
anything. I was able to get back up without any searing pain so I
figured I was just going to be dealing with a nasty bruise.
That
tailbone pain made up for any hamstring pain that had dissipated on
Saturday and I gritted out a slow 45 minutes. At this point, I probably
should have cut my losses and bagged plans to run the Poland Spring
Marathon Kickoff 5 Miler the next morning. But I didn't. I had another
opportunity to pull the plug when I woke up Sunday feeling like someone
had hit the back of my legs with a crowbar. I should have crawled back into bed. But I didn't. I won't recap
how the race went, but the synopsis is: Not well. When you can't walk
comfortably, running 5:20s is not an option. I suffered through the
first two miles then cut my losses and survived the final three.
And
I haven't run since. I may not be able to take a hint, but I can take
three hints. This week has been a great week for a break. Ironically,
the week leading up to the New York City Marathon is not at all
conducive to any quality running for me. Rather than run a bunch of junk
miles on no sleep, I'm running no miles and trying to be as well rested
as I can during a fairly intense stretch of time. Today is the first
day I've really felt ready to run again. I'm usually itching to get out
the door after one day so that's a pretty affirming sign that the
mini-break was needed. Sunday, I'll get in some light jogging while
watching the biggest marathon in the world run through my city. Monday,
the training starts for Cross Country Nationals.
