Boldly running where I've never gone before

It started off badly:  too much work at the new weekend jobs and a winter that wouldn’t leave.  Then there was the summer injury that took months to recover from, but finally things got back to normal in the fall.  So 2013 was The Year of Seven Races.  I remember each one fondly and all have their tale to tell.  They were just too damned few.  Oh well, 2014 will be a new year and I am not complaining.

February brought the Seabees 5k for which I travelled to beautiful sunny Hawaii.

In early June there was the Hatfield McCoy Half Marathon where I went possibly slower than ever but had the most fun at a 13.1 miler.

Late June held the Disco Dash, a 5k in Chicago that I ran with my cousins, and got to see the Village People in concert afterward (along with some really cool people in costume) once the rains cleared up.

Then in July came the Achilles injury flare-up and I ended up doing pretty much nothing until September when I began gingerly training for the three half-marathons I had signed up for earlier in the year.  So it was October before I raced again.

October 20 was the Detroit Free Press Half Marathon which was extremely cold but a thrilling chance to run from the U.S. to Canada and back.

November 3 was the Red Eye 8k, a local race in town, which I’d never run before but will certainly do again.

November 16 the LEO Run to Remember Half Marathon in Meridian MS was the hilliest hellfest ever but I still did enjoy it.

Thanksgiving Day, another new race for me, the Poultry and Pie Predictor here in Joliet, whose entry fee was less than $10.00 (how unbelievably low is that?!)  —   in which I didn’t even try to “predict” because I didn’t really get the whole thing about predicting your pace then running without a watch so you could win a turkey   —   but had great fun anyway.

And that was it!  I had registered for the St. Jude’s Marathon Weekend to run the half (if I could raise $500 which I couldn’t) and then for the 5k but ended up running n-o-t-h-i-n-g because the whole thing got cancelled due to an ice storm.

The closest I got was the banners on Beale Street the next afternoon during lunch after driving for 12 hours and not even getting as far as Tennessee the night before because traffic slowed to 20 mph on the dangerously icy roads:

.

But it was all good.  St. Jude’s made some money from my efforts so they can continue their excellent care of kids with cancer, and I’ll get a chance to register before everyone else in 2014.  I’ve already reserved my hotel for December 6 and I’m ready to run.

2013 was The Year of Seven Races but I won’t remember it as a bad one.  I got a slow start and then overcame an injury.  2014 will be better.  I already have some spectacular plans.  I’m going to run farther and maybe even faster but no matter what, I am definitely going to have fun.

As 2013 ambles off over the hill, I bid it farewell and look forward to the future.

More later….

The injury that started with a too-long and too-fast 10-miler in July dragged on for well over two months.  I took it easy the first month and hoped it would get better.  When it did not, I pulled out all the stops and began treatment with first rest, then rehab exercises, night splinting and home ultrasound.  By early October, I was able to walk a mile without pain.  I started from scratch back to running, slowly adding 10% per week of distance and stretching like someone was paying me for it.  I had already registered for three half-marathons in the fall and did not intend to miss them, even if I had to walk instead of run.

By October 19, when it was time to drive north for the Detroit Free Press International Half, I was up to 3 miles of running.  I figured I’d run 3 and walk 10  —  anything, just to be doing the race  —  no matter how many hours it took, as long as I finished.

It was a surprisingly cold day with a strong wind when I lined up in the dark with approximately 23,000 of my closest friends and running companions.  I didn’t bring enough clothing and my teeth were literally chattering.  Any runner who has ever been injured knows the thrill of finally being “back”.   But even the excitement of the first race after 3 months off couldn’t cut through that weather.  We started out and soon the really quick people were casting off clothing.  I saw a girl in front of me pick up a pair of gloves from the ground and so I did the same thing.  A couple of blocks later, I donned a discarded  windbreaker too.  I needed them.  Honestly, I was so conscious of the cold and of every little twinge possibly coming from my Achilles tendon, I don’t remember much else about the race.

By the the time we hit the International Bridge and ran into Canada there was no longer anything blocking the wind, and it was a bitch.   I’d never run from one country to another before so it was pretty exciting and the day was beginning to warm a bit. We spent a few miles on the Canadian side and it was a very pleasant little jaunt.  We came back below ground through the underwater tunnel which marked another “first” for me.  I’d never run underwater before!  In contrast to the chill on the surface, it was really hot  and humid down in the tunnel.

I ran most of the 3 miles to Canada, did a lot of run/walk intervals the next 3 miles in Canada and then walked pretty much all of the final 7 back on the Detroit side.  Even with the cold weather and my constant vigilance about the injury, I did enjoy the race and would recommend it to anyone seeking a unique experience running to another country and back on a fairly flat, well-appointed course with a lot of amenities.  Yes, it was a “big city race” with crowds and parking issues, congestion and blocked streets, all the typical complaints Chicago people have about races in our hometown, but it was quite a bit of fun and a great way to convince myself I was indeed healed from my latest bout with rotten old Achilles tendonitis.  It is a race I would definitely consider doing again (once all 50 states are off my bucket list).

A month later, I flew down to Meridian, Mississippi, for the second annual Leo Run to Remember Marathon and Half which benefited the Alzheimer’s Association and was sponsored by the Leo branch of the Lions Club.  That race was pretty much the polar opposite of Detroit:  small, poorly-supported and hillier than I’ve ever seen, but the weather was nice and I enjoyed the overcoming the challenge of the course elevation.  In a brief race report I wrote the day afterward on the Facebook page for one of my running groups, I said:

•  “A nice “little” race, the second annual, put on by an enthusiastic group of people for the Alzheimer’s Association. The 1/2-M course started at a softball field and wound along a state highway and through some neighborhoods. It was a very hilly course and some were unbelievably brutal (a fact I wish I’d known ahead) but otherwise the scenery was gorgeous. The course as well marked and there were adequate water stops about every 2 miles. Porta-potties were only at Miles 2 and 8.5 of the half. I saw runners using local businesses to “do their business” and I went into an urgent care center to do mine when I couldn’t hold it any more by Mile 6 or so. Nice tech shirts and medals were provided but there was no refreshment at the finish line (not even water nevermind the bagels or bananas). The weather down here is nice in mid-November, misty and 70ish, so it is a good choice for a late fall race. It is Meridian’s only marathon and brand new. I think the amenities will be better as they continue doing races and figure out what runners expect/need. For 50-staters or people who like to travel to do tough courses, I’d recommend this one. For people who like a well-appointed race or a flat course, keep looking. If I’d known ahead what it was like, I’d probably have chosen otherwise myself but I’m glad I did it. Being pushed and challenged but finishing with a smile is what makes us all better runners. Choosing the easy course keeps us rooted where we are.”

By that race, I’d gotten my running up to 5 miles straight and so I ran the first 5 and did run/walk intervals (with a lot of walking) for the final eight.  Like I said in my little review above, the course is TOUGH.  Even the races’s own Facebook page states the hills of Meridian are brutal and I couldn’t agree more.  But each one showed me how gutsy and strong I am and I AM glad I did it.

A photographer on the course caught me unawares and took a photo that showed up in the proofs package which inspired me to make my very own meme.   LOL

I do believe they will add more amenities as they go along and in future years there will be enough porta potties, free bananas at the finish, and many of the other staples we runners have come to expect as a given.  I like smaller races and earnest people, so I hope they do succeed in Meridian.

And that’s pretty much it for half-marathons in 2013.  I had signed up to run at the St. Jude’s Memphis Marathon Weekend but the entire weekend was cancelled due to an ice storm and I ended up concluding the year’s running with a couple of small local races right around Thanksgiving.

And injury rehab continues.