Pear Blossom: iPod blunders, untied shoes, and Hal Look-alikes

  Before I knew it, April had rolled around and that meant it was time for the Pear Blossom Run,  I actually felt nervous for this race.  I have run it twice before, but both times I had much greater endurance because I had been racing at longer distances.  This time, 10 miles was a long way for me to run and I wasn't sure how I would handle it.  I thought about doing the 5K, but after helping out with a couple of training groups that were running the 10 miler, I felt obligated to do the longer race.
  I woke up extra early on race morning so I could head into Medford with my family.  My son was going to run the 5K and I wanted to be there to cheer him on.  Unfortunately, my son who is 12, has decided that he is close enough to being a teenager that he can start acting like one.  At the last minute he came up with some excuses and decided not to run it.  Anyways, since we had all made the effort to get up early and drive to Medford, we really wanted him to run but he just wasn't in to it.  And just like that, with everyone slightly irritated, my family headed home and I was left standing there in the cold with an hour and twenty minutes to spare.  It didn't take long for me to run into a few friends. Fortunately, time passed rather quickly and it was time to line up.

I decided to line up a little ways back from the front.  I didn't want to intimidate Max or anything!

  The gun went off and I settled into a somewhat comfortable pace.  My main objective was to not go out too fast so I would still have something left in the last couple of miles.  In fact, I was hoping to be able to pick it up a little bit in the second half of the race.  Earlier in the week, I had washed my i-Pod shuffle and fried it so I had to borrow my wife's nano.  Unfortunately, I never really figured it out before the race and didn't have it set up properly.  I listened to one song during the start of the race and then it went silent.  I couldn't easily operate the touch screen with gloves on and decided it was too much of a distraction to deal with at that moment.  I had my headphones on but all I could hear was the sound of my breathing.  I ended up settling in next to another runner who was running the same pace at about the 3 mile mark and we stuck together for the next 4 miles.  The race was pretty uneventful for those early miles.  I really enjoyed seeing some of the runners from the training groups as I headed back from the turn around.

If Bolt could set a world record with his shoes untied, I figured I could make it 4 miles!

  I was at about mile 6 when a minor tragedy struck.  My shoelace came untied.  I had felt my shoe loosening up in the middle of the race but I was hoping it would hold together.  I knew if I stopped, I would lose my rhythm and pace.  I was starting to fatigue and figured that I better just keep moving.  After I finished, another runner that was near me for the majority of the race, said that's the longest he had seen someone race with an untied shoe.  I told him that I didn't want to take the time to stop.  Now he brings up a good question.  Is that the longest someone has run in the Pear Blossom with an untied shoe?  My answer is probably not, but that may be worth checking into.  Apparently, this guy thought it was pretty impressive.  They may want to add it to that pamphlet we get each year with our packet, the one with all the historical data.  It's probably the only way I could get my name into that thing since I don't run sub six or five minute mile pace.

On a positive note, I did run faster than the Avengers!

    Around mile 7, a group of motorcycle cops were headed down the road, followed by two cops on bikes.  One of the bike cops looked over at me and said, "Hi Hal".  I was trying to conserve every last bit of breath I had by then so I just responded by saying "Hi".  I think he was also concerned about my untied shoe, but can you really blame him?  I didn't want to take the time to explain that I wasn't him.  If I was him, I would be up near the front of the pack because Hal always puts in a solid run at the Pear.  This year, Hal and a group of runners from Southern Oregon were down at Lake Sonoma running a 50 miler. For those of you who don't know, I often am confused with Hal Koerner of Rogue Valley Runners.  I often have people say "Hi Hal" to me when I am running around town or they will come up to me in the gym and tell me how much they enjoy the shoes they bought from my store.  I even have joked with him about making appearances on his behalf when he can't be around or is out of town.  If for some reason Hal is actually reading this, I would promise to charge a reasonable fee for appearances.  I think it could work as long as I wasn't asked to run during the appearance.  If I did have to run, I could always say that my legs weren't recovered or something from my last 100 miler.  Just a thought.

Tyrone Raber helping me pick up the pace to the finish!

    Just after the 9 mile marker, I saw my friend Tyrone Raber.  He had raced in the 5K and he stuck around to watch some of the 10 mile race.  He started running with me in that last mile.  It helped me pick up the pace and it also took my mind off how tired I was.  That last mile flew by.  I was able to pick it up all the way to the finish line and ended up with a time of 1:14:02.  My goal was to run under 1:20 which was under 8 minute mile pace and I easily did that with a 7:24/mile pace.  I was happy with the run and I did much better than I thought I could do.  Next up, an 18 mile jog on the trail around Lost Creek Lake.

2012: Time to rebuild

  It's time to get caught up on all the racing I have been doing in 2012.  At the start of the year, I was contacted by SOU to help build a training program for a Pear Blossom run training group.  It was part of their healthy campus initiative and I gladly offered my services.  I came up with a 12 week training program for both the 10 miler and the 5k, I also offered beginner and intermediate programs.  So whether I wanted to or not, It looked like I was going to be training for the Pear Blossom, so I figured that I might as well race it to.  We had a good response for the initial sign ups but the group would begin to dwindle drastically as the weeks rolled by.  I feel it was partly my fault because I couldn't be as involved as I would have liked.  For those of you who know me, my wife is an accountant and this is her busy time from January to April.  It is also my busy time at work after New Years so it doesn't leave much free time for any of us.  In fact, we agreed upon making this time of year our off season so we wouldn't be stressed about trying to squeeze in runs and follow a running plan.  We focused on strength training which isn't as time consuming.  I think the schedule will work out well in the long run.   I decided to share the training programs with the members of Anytime Fitness in Ashland and try to create a training group there.  We had a nice little group of runners that were committed to running the race.  In February, I was contacted by Nathan Olsen who was creating a Southern Oregon running group through meetup.com.  We decided to add our Saturday morning group run to the meetup group.  We started having more people show up and I find that I really enjoy the social group run. It brought back the good memories of the RVR group runs on Wednesday evenings that my schedule hasn't allowed me to run lately.  I hope to get back to running with that group this Summer.
  In January, I ended up racing in the Frostbite run 5K.  My wife and I planned on doing a longer run later in the day so I wasn't going to race but I had just enough money and motivation to sign up at the race.  However, I didn't have running shorts or any real running gear so I ran it in my cotton shirt and sweatpants.  It was definitely hot and uncomfortable but at least I had on running shoes.  I improved on my 5K time from the Pioneer run a little bit with a 21:41.

Heading out on my part of the relay at the Couples Truffle Shuffle.

I never can seem to catch the Rabers!

  Mid February, I teamed up with my son and ran the Couples Truffle Shuffle out at Griffin Creek Elementary school.  For those of you who don't know that race, it's a 10K relay with each person running a 5K.  By now I was starting to get in a few training runs each week.  I ended up shaving a minute off my 5K time from the Frostbite run.  The following Saturday my son and I went out to the Rogue River 5K where I ran the exact same time as the Couple's Truffle.  I was expecting a faster time since it was a mostly flat course but it didn't happen.  At least I can say I am consistent.

Reaching the turnaround at Rogue River!

Working to keep up with Chad Wikander (Co-race director of Granite Man) and Karl Pryor at TNT

   In mid March, I ran the TNT 6 miler directed by Hal Koerner of Rogue Valley Runners.  I have a real love/hate relationship with that race.  I like the varying terrain with all the hills and the mix of road and trail, but after the first significant hill, I always end up gasping for air the rest of the race.  I ran a 47:03 which was only a minute and a half slower than the last time I had run it.  With my minimal training, I was quite pleased with the result.

TNT always provides a nice mix of tar and trail

  Next my family and I made the drive out to Central Point for the Shamrock 5 mile run. I ended up running a 35:17 with a 7:03/mile pace.  I was feeling good about my racing as we were heading toward the Pear Blossom run.  However, I was having a hard time getting in my training runs at the end of March and my confidence began to fade.  Next up, Pear Blossom!

2011: The lost year of racing!

  I know it's been awhile since the last time I wrote in this blog, but last year didn't go the way I had planned when it came to racing.  It's been frustrating to say the least and I have spent most of my time on the sidelines.  Here is a recap on how the year unfolded.

I was off to a promising start with my 10th place Crystal Springs 50K finish!
(make note of the smile)

    Things got off to a promising start as I was able to run my first ultra of the year in January.  Shahid, my wife and I headed down to the bay area to run the crystal springs 50K near Woodside, CA.  I had finished 2010 feeling pretty run down and hadn't been putting in a lot of miles.  I was able to get in a couple of long runs before the race but I definitely wasn't in the best condition for a long race.  However, it sounded like a fun adventure and I figured I would give it a go.  I knew it was going to be a rough day when I hit the 6 mile mark and my legs were already feeling fatigued.  I still had a long ways to go and I wasn't sure I would be able to finish.  I don't know if this makes any sense, but even though I didn't feel strong physically, I felt strong enough mentally to get through the race and finish.  I knew mentally what it would take to finish and I was able to gut it out.  I actually ended up running a 5:09 which was my second best 50K time and it was good enough for 10th place.  I hobbled away from that race feeling pretty good about the result and hoping to build upon in for the rest of the year.  However, there was a pain in my achilles that was just a preview of what was to come.

   That brings us to February where I suffered one of my major setbacks for the year.  I was preparing to run the Hagg Lake 50K and things seemed good.  My mileage was starting to build up again and I felt confident about the race.  Unfortunately, right before Valentine's day I wrecked on my road bike. I was finishing up my first long ride of the winter, 30 miles and it felt suprisingly good.  I lost my focus and swerved right into a gap in a storm drain.  I didn't have enough time to react and I went over the handlebars while still attached to the bike.  I slightly seperated my right shoulder and had a small tear in my right quad.  I also snapped my head back to keep from busting up my face on the pavement.  Kelly Lange of Hands on Wellness and Massage Therapist Timothy Olson helped put me back together. The accident took me out of Hagg Lake 50K and as my shoulder and quad began to heal, my neck continued to get worse.  I started to have headaches, dizziness and vertigo.  It got so bad that I couldn't run and I had a hard time working.  Luckily, I was eventually referred to Jordan Weeda of Wellspring Centre for Body Balance.  He was able to get my head on straight and the symptoms started to subside.  I still have some issues with my neck but I am much better now days. 

I thought the beard might help me run faster but no such luck!

    I was able to get back to running and on a last second whim, I signed up for Pacific Crest 10K.  I was going to treat it as a training run, but the competitor in me came out and I ended up running hard.  The time was nothing spectacular for me, but it was the best I could do for the condition I was in.  I ended up second in my age group and 14th overall out of 400 plus runners.  Suprisingly, I came out of Pacific Crest feeling pretty good and it was a test race to see if I was ready to handle the Ashland 4th of July run.

Just chatting it up with Bryon Devore.
I don't think that guy right behind us appreciated it!

   I signed up for the 4th of July run.  Of course I always try to run my best in a hometown race.  Leading up to the race I had done some extra stretching and foam rolling for my calves (big mistake).  Unfortunately, it seemed to aggravate my achilles tendon instead of alleviate it.  I felt it in my warm up jog but figured it would go away as I got warm.  I felt it the whole race and after I finished, my calf tightened up and my achilles just plain hurt.  I was concerned because I was going to be running a half marathon up in Portland with one of my clients.  I knew I had to be ready to run in that race since my client and I had been training for 6 months and I didn't want to disappoint her.  I ended up being 30th out of the Males in the 4th of July race.  I was happy with the result but not the damage to my achilles that I had incurred.

Catching back up to my client after a restroom break.
I didn't leave her behind, Honest!

  I was able to help my client finish her first half marathon at the Fueled by Fine Wine race.  It was cool to check out a new race and it was an interesting mix of road and trail.  We ran through a couple of the vineyards and it definitely had it's share of hills.  I kept my client engaged in conversation to help keep her mind from focusing on the fatigue and the hills. I would like to think that it worked but the reality was that she probably didn't want to waste her breathe to tell me to "shut up" or she was just being polite.  I probably wouldn't recommend that race for a person's first half marathon but it definitely had some nice scenery.  Since I was running to pace and provide motivational support, I ended up feeling pretty good at the end of the race and I could partake in the wine sampling.  Probably wouldn't have felt like doing that if I had ran hard.  It was a fun trip and I was happy that my client was able to reach her goal and we even finished under the cutoff time.  She had come such a long way, from struggling with 100 meter intervals to finishing a 13 mile race.  It was awesome!  My Achilles was sore after that race but since I never had to run hard, I felt like I didn't make it any worse.

Finishing strong and tearing up my Achilles in the process!

   Next up, the Deschutes Dash Sprint Duathlon.  My family and I first went to this event in 2010 and really enjoyed the races.  They have a very challenging youth triathlon which challenged my son's limits (most youth triathlons are ridiculously short) and I enjoyed the sprint triathlon which features a down river swim.  Since I am not the greatest swimmer, I found the river swim to be comforting since the river would eventually get me to my destination.  However, because of my neck problems, I hadn't been swimming and decided to try my hand at the duathlon in 2011.  The sprint duathlon consisted of a 5K run, 20K bike ride, and a 5K run.  This would be the race that would destroy my 2011 race season.  I ended up finishing in 9th place and 1st in my age group. We jumped into the truck and headed back to the Rogue Valley which tends to be a common occurrence for me after races.  It's not the best thing to do post race.  Once we got back home, I couldn't walk with out a limp and was in excruciating pain.  My Achilles heel was literally my weakness!

   I spent the rest of the year trying to rehab it.  I need to thank a lot of our local health practitioners for working on me and I know each one of them played a part in helping me heal.  Kelly Lange, Timothy Olson, Molly Romero, Jordan Weeda, and James Yang.

   I was able to do a few small races in the end of 2011 which included the Pioneer run 5K and the Turkey trot 2 miler.  Even though I still have issues with my Achilles, it was good to get back to running at the end of the year and a positive sign for 2012.

  Things I learned in 2011.  When you have an injury that begins to surface, nip it in the bud immediately and don't let it become chronic.  That was my first mistake.  I was so worried about losing all my endurance but you can always build it back up once you get healthy.  I also realized that stretching injured soft tissue is a very bad idea.  Let it heal before you start trying to lengthen it.  What worked for me was to get treatment on it such as, massage, chiropractic adjustment, graston, and acupuncture.  I have also found benefit in eccentric heel drops.  So that was how 2011 played out.  I will get this blog caught up to where we stand in 2012 soon.  If you read this far, I am amazed!