Bloomer Boogie 5k Race Report

My first race in Michigan in years was a race filled with firsts.  Some of them welcome, some of them, not so much.  The first "first" is that this was the first race I could walk to.  Across the river from my apartment is Bloomer Park, a Rochester Hills city park that is filled with narrow trails.  A perfect setting for the Bloomer Boogie 5k—a cross country race.

It took me about 20 minutes to get there (including a climb of 147 steps).  I was excited because the race was small, and on the Rochester High School cross country course.  I love cross country courses, and this would be my first chance to use the spikes in my cross country shoes since 2003.  2003!

Notice the Spikes of Doom and the awkward giganto-chip

While I was worried that I would be the only person wearing spikes, my fears were assuaged when another guy shows up with spike.  The difference between he and I was that he was fast and I wasn't.  Spoiling the ending here, but this fellow won the 5k, and with a time of 17ish minutes, he was the only person to break 20 minutes.  So, it's clear that one of my firsts was not that I took first place.

The race begins, and to spare you the minutia, I'll say that the first 2 miles were good.  I averaged 7 min/mile, and the course was wonderful.  It was really narrow in places, so it was all about strategy.  I needed to get out quickly, and surge when it opened up.

Enter mile 3.  

As I was going downhill on a narrow path with a slight curve, I noticed a wooden footbridge about 5 feet in length traversing a small ditch.  Knowing that spikes can get caught in the soft wood and cause a tumble, I was very focused on getting my footing correct on the bridge.

WHAM.

With all that concentration, my right foot caught the ground, and down I went, Superman style.  I landed in a surprisingly soft pile of dirt and skidded along for a few feet.  I quickly rolled to the side to avoid being trampled, and then I got up and kept moving.  

My running mojo was shot.  I wasn't in a whole lot of pain, but I lost my groove and could only muster a final mile of 9'30".  Not my best performance.  But, after crossing the line, I stopped at the awards table and a woman asked me my age.  I blanked out for about 5 seconds, then replied with "25".

"Congratulations!  You took 2nd Place in the M20-29 age group!"

So, that's my other first—my first age group award.  And while I got this cool medal, it was a completely unsatisfying experience.  After the tumble, my race was awful, and I didn't really deserve a medal for that performance.  I'll explain away the 2nd place by saying the overall winner was in my age group, so he wasn't counted in the age group awards, and that the remaining guys in the age group numbered 4.  So, I basically got 2nd place by default.  And that sucks.

I didn't survey the damage to my knee until after I finished, and while it wasn't bad, it wasn't pretty either. There must have been a few rocks in the soft dirt, and my knew was pretty scraped up.

This photo was taken just after I got home, but it looks much worse now.  There are some scrapes and scratches in there that make it look like I was attacked by a large cat, and the muscle is pretty tender right now.  Nothing a little time won't heal, but it leaves me with this question:

Why is that the first race where I place in my age group is also the first time I've ever fallen while running?  Yes—first time I've even gone horizontal while running.  Ugh.

Oddly, I want to do this race again next year.

Fun Side Note:  After I arrived, I saw a name on the registration list that I recognized.  It was the same name as one of my cousins.  I didn't know if would be the same person, but I saw my cousin cross the finish line on what was her first-ever race.  Congrats, Jessica on finishing your first 5k!  

Days Off

It seems as though my PR-busting performance in the Twin Cities Marathon has finally caught up with me.    During a set of 400s last Tuesday, my right knee began to develop a little bit of pain on the front-inside part of the kneecap.  I'm 95% sure it's "Runner's Knee".  So, I've cut back pretty drastically on my miles since then.  I swam on Friday, and did an easy 10 mile run on Saturday.  The long run wasn't problematic, but if I went any faster than 9 min/mile, my knee would hurt.  So, bottom line, it wasn't better, I just wasn't aggravating it.

Between icing my knee and rest, I've been going crazy.  I may try an easy 4 or 5 miles tomorrow just to see how things are going.  It's rather frustrating because it's been a few weeks since the marathon, and I was doing really good building back up.  On top of that, I've developed this strange twitching phenomenon in my left bicep, and it's migrated a bit to my left quad.

But…  I know it's good to take the time off and heal up.  A few missed days of running won't destroy all my fitness, and I'd rather get this knee healed up than let it drag on for weeks and months.

So, here's to rest and recovery—may it be fruitful.

P.S.: Another Flash Run this week.  Wear a costume!  www.facebook.com/twincitiesinmotion

A BIG Thank You, and a Return From a Blogging Sabbatical

It's been a week or two since I last blogged, and a lot has happened since then.  First, though, I want to thank you for your help in the "Fashion Forward Your Fabulous Fool" contest.  I was holding on to second place, and in the last few hours, was passed.  BUT, I still got 3rd place!  I owe it to all of your votes!  So THANKS!

Back to our regularly scheduled blogging…

Last Friday-Saturday I made a quick trip to Valpo for the memorial service of a dear friend.  I had every intent of doing a fartlek on Saturday morning in Valpo, but the combination of a long drive (8 hours + Chicago) and getting into Valpo very late caused me to sleep in (I'm not complaining about the extra sleep…) and miss the fartlek.  So, I drove back on Saturday (8 hours again, and Chicago) and got in late.  Well, on Sunday, I decided to do the fartlek.

While doing it, I just didn't feel good.  It was probably because I was exhausted from the trip, but I just felt like crap.  To top it off, my left Achilles decided to act up on my way back.  I took Monday off of running, and went out on Tuesday, but the Achilles acted up again, and I was only able to go about a mile.  Dejected, I took Wednesday off, but resolved myself to get my interval workout in on Thursday.

Thursday: Went to the track for 6x400s.  (Note: I hate 400s.  I've always hated 400s.  I hated them so much in high school track that I started running the 3200m just so I didn't have to run the 4x400 relay.  Yes, I ran 2 miles so I didn't have to run a ¼ mile.)  The workout went well and my Achilles stayed in check.  I still hate 400s, but I was happy to get a full workout in.

The highlight of this week, though, was today's run.  It was a really rainy morning, and I needed to get a tempo run in.  I like to do this where I can run without getting interrupted by traffic lights or intersections and usually do this up and down the river parkway.  But, there was a big half marathon/10k on the river parkway today, so I hopped in the car and drove over to Lake Calhoun.  It was fantastic.  Rain.  Lake. Running.  'Twas wonderful.
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Katie and I have a really exciting race coming up next weekend, but I tell you more about it sometime this week.

The Return

After touring the world with my rock band, The Iliotibials...

It's been 2 weeks since my last run. I spent most of the first week limping around and riding elevators. I finally caved and saw the doctor, which turned out to be a good thing. He was able to diagnose what was wrong (Iliotibial Band Syndrome) and show me what to do to help it get better (stretch). I'm supposed to ease back into running, so I only went about 1.25 miles today (and it was an agonizingly slow pace). It was starting to hurt at that point, so instead of running through it, I just walked.

The Doc also suggested biking so I could keep my fitness level up until I'm ready to fully return to training. It felt good to run again, but I need to be careful. Marathon training starts in 3 weeks, so I don't need any more injuries.

TC Marathon Countdown: 148 days

New Shoes and a Wonky Knee

I bought a new pair of running shoes this weekend. Decided to go with the new model of my trusty Brooks Adrenaline GTS's. Best pair of running shoes I've ever had, so here's hoping the new model isn't so different.

I also managed to do something to my knee. Started running and my left knee felt funny. I stretched it and kept going. Then it became too painful to keep running, so I decided it was ok to stop running and give the knee a break. Unfortunately I was about a mile from the apartment when I decided this (stubborn me), and had to walk/limp the whole way back.

It's feeling a bit better today, so hopefully I'll put shoes to the pavement Monday or Tuesday.

TC Marathon Countdown: 161 days