Rach, Pacer and Me after the Fools 25K
Well it has been awhile since I raced. In fact, that last "real" race I ran was the Wine Glass Marathon on Sunday, October 3, 2010. It was going to be my first attempt at breaking the herald 3 hour mark for the 26.2 mile distance. I had run the Boston Marathon earlier in the year and started training with Kam Lee two weeks after I returned home to Hudson. Kam constructed a very detailed run schedule that included running every day. Two-three speed workouts per week, and some key races throughout the season. It was by far the most intense amount of training that I have ever done. Often times run two times a day to get in the miles. Well, while the training went well, the key races that I participated did not. I went out too fast in every race and paid the price the final 5K or so. As we approached the marathon, my body was breaking down, but I was determined to give it all I had. Two weeks prior to marathon day I was doing a Tuesday track workout when it happened. I popped my right hamstring. I pulled up in lane two and hobbled over to the infield. I let Kam know what happened and he suggested that I back off the rest of the time and just try to get healthy. I was pretty dejected. My training had gone pretty well and I wanted to see what I could do. I traveled to Corning, NY with a lot of questions. Would I finish? How strong was my hamstring? Could I run a smart race and average 6:52? The beginning of the race was cold and rainy, but well attended. Wineglass is a very fast track with a lot of gradual downhill running. For the first 16 miles I was right on 6:52 pace and feeling good. Then at mile 20 things fell apart. It started to heat up and I was running exposed to the sun. I thought, just a 10K and you can break 3 hours. You got this. But it wasn't meant to be, I cramped and started some not so positive talk, and as I crossed the finish line I could hear the dreaded 3:10 group only a few hundred meters behind me. I made the long drive back to Hudson thinking only if...only if I was healthy, only if it had stayed cloudy, only if I would have raced those key races earlier in the season that way I should have. I was sad, but worse, I was hurt. After a MRI, I learned I had tore my hamstring and that I needed to rest it. I have rested it more or less for two and a half years. I have done yoga, cycling, bootcamps. I have seen orthopaedic surgeons, chiropractors, MD's, and DO's. I have had manual manipulation, ultra sound, and graston. I've done everything. But something happened about a month ago. I had just hurt my back in H.I.T. class and went to a chiropractor to get my back adjusted. That night I went for a 5 mile run from Happy Days and my hamstring didn't bug me. I thought at first it was because my back pain was so severe that it distracted me from my hamstring, but that wasn't it. The next day I went for an easy run and I still felt good. The following week, I showed up a the Vertical Runner in Hudson at 5:30 am to meet up with a group that runs there M,W, F each week. I did that for two weeks in a row and I felt good! I saw Kam on a Saturday at the store and asked if he wanted to go for an easy run. During the run I told him that I thought I was healed and ready to start training again. He gave me two workouts and asked that I do them for two weeks and get back to him. The Fools 25K was between the two weeks. So even though I hadn't been putting in high miles, I certainly am not in running shape. So I was happy to finish the Fool's run with a big smile on my face AND pain free!
Forget The PR 25K is on April 28th and I'm signed up! I'm hoping I can run a smart race and feel good throughout. We'll see. Until then....happy trails, Steve
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