I am feeling pretty good today. There is some slight pain in my hip, but nothing serious. I have an appt. on Monday the 22nd to discuss with the Doc.
I did a light 2 miler today in accordance to Hal Higdon's Recovery program. It was nice. Let's see how things go...
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Marathon Fallout...
Mike Downey of the Tribune is entitled to his opinion, but he makes himself out to be a tool. It takes alot for a Monday morning quarterback to get on his soapbox and chastise runners for being foolish to run. Stong work, Mike. You've got a whole new group of fans.
Another writer in the sports section said they should narrow the field for future marathons. That idea has some merit. He goes on to say that runners should have to qualify. I can't say I agree with that. Without knowing the breadth of the marathons available for runners, I have to ask how it is people new to the sport get a chance to break in. Does it mean we need to go to Milwaukee next year? There's nothing wrong with Milwaukee, it's a great city, but...
Let's talk about what went wrong.
Was there enough water/Gatorade? No. It's just that simple. Let me quote Carey Pinkowski, race director for the marathon: "Our participants were not drinking the water, they were pourng over their heads. That's something, I'll be honest with you, we didn't anticipate."(Chicago Tribune, October 9, 2007; Section 1, p.12) Excuse me, Mr. Pinkowski, but have you ever watched ANY part of a marathon or taken part in one? That's a question, not an accusation, by the way. To say that they couldn't forsee runners pouring water over their heads is ludicrous. That's poor planning. A mantra for ALL project managers out there:
Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.
And that goes for the runners as well. I can only speak for what I experienced. I saw plenty of runners out there that brought nothing with them. That means they probably used as much water to drink as they did to pour over their heads. If there was a little planning on their parts, plain and simple.
The blame has to go to both sides. But let's talk about the real world. The culpability will rest with the event organizers. And I am waiting to see the litigators come out of the woodwork. I think I might pass on any class action suits that come out of this, if any do.
For more incendiary stuff, take a look at the letters to the editor(Voice of the People) of the Chicago Tribune. This one is really good.
Another writer in the sports section said they should narrow the field for future marathons. That idea has some merit. He goes on to say that runners should have to qualify. I can't say I agree with that. Without knowing the breadth of the marathons available for runners, I have to ask how it is people new to the sport get a chance to break in. Does it mean we need to go to Milwaukee next year? There's nothing wrong with Milwaukee, it's a great city, but...
Let's talk about what went wrong.
Was there enough water/Gatorade? No. It's just that simple. Let me quote Carey Pinkowski, race director for the marathon: "Our participants were not drinking the water, they were pourng over their heads. That's something, I'll be honest with you, we didn't anticipate."(Chicago Tribune, October 9, 2007; Section 1, p.12) Excuse me, Mr. Pinkowski, but have you ever watched ANY part of a marathon or taken part in one? That's a question, not an accusation, by the way. To say that they couldn't forsee runners pouring water over their heads is ludicrous. That's poor planning. A mantra for ALL project managers out there:
Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.
And that goes for the runners as well. I can only speak for what I experienced. I saw plenty of runners out there that brought nothing with them. That means they probably used as much water to drink as they did to pour over their heads. If there was a little planning on their parts, plain and simple.
The blame has to go to both sides. But let's talk about the real world. The culpability will rest with the event organizers. And I am waiting to see the litigators come out of the woodwork. I think I might pass on any class action suits that come out of this, if any do.
For more incendiary stuff, take a look at the letters to the editor(Voice of the People) of the Chicago Tribune. This one is really good.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
RACE DAY....I FINISHED!!!!! (edited 10/8)
And MAD MAD PROPS to everyone out there who finished. If you're reading this and you don't live in the Chicagoland area, the temp at about noon today was 91 degrees. At least that's what a bank sign said, so I am going with it.
IT WAS BRUTAL!!!
Now here's where I feel for some of the folks who did not come better prepared. This is not to rip on them at all, because sometimes you just don't have the benefit of friends that gave done this before. Here's what I did that I didn't read about anywhere (and the people who suggested it):
1. Frozen bottle (for a bike) of Accelerade. (Dave Otwell)
2. a gel bottle for 3 gel packs. I added water this morning and was good to go. Adding that water removed the gag factor. ("Nancy" at the running store...not her real name...it's marathon related, so don't ask)
3. 5 powerbars yesterday and 1 this morning. I was totally carbed up. (Dave Barstow)
Thanks to all of them.
Anyway, by the time I got to the first water station - No Gatorade...just water...good thing I came ready. second water station - No water, no Gatorade. Again, I still had enough to keep me going. I really, really feel for the people out there that didn't have a fallback.
I became one of those people at around mile 16 (station 8). Again, no hydration. By the 10th mile, I ran out of my Accelerade. Tossed the bottle I was using, served its purpose, which was dumb since some stations didn't have cups later on.
Things went south for me at about the same time that they said the course was closed. My left hip started to burn a little at about mile 10, but then at about 19, my right knee started feeling like a long needle was being inserted. Was I compensating? Anyway, we were told about about mile 20 that the race was cancelled. What they didn't say is that runners that didn't make it past the halfway point by 11:30 were going to be re-routed.
Be that as it may, I was already at about mile 17.5 by then, well past halfway. At 19 I started walking. Good thing too as hydration for the next 3 miles was a little spotty.
Let me gives kudos to the volunteers that hung out at miles 20 and later. Strong work on the part of them. On top of that, the spectators...man those people were still out there. That was really awesome.
Let me break my reverie by extending my condolences to the Schieber family. Chad Schieber, 35, died during the race today.
So, I found this little quote in an article online:
"Almost 10,000 of the 45,000 registered runners chose to not race in the heat despite more mist stations, cooling buses and water-soaked sponges."
Mist stations? StationS? There was ONE...at about 25.5. Anything else was an opened hydrant or a caring spectator who had a hose spraying out onto the runners. Mist stations, my ass. I mentioned mist stations to one of the organizers at the Expo on Friday and he kinda looked at me as if to say "I wish..."
Alright...so how long did it take me? About 6 hours. I had hydration and sore mechanics to worry about. Before the bad news at 20 (and the left hip tightening up), I was on pace to finish at 5:11 or 5:18-ish. Pretty darn good for those temps and my break from the training plan.
So, the hip and knee, I'll be taking it easy for the next week. And then I'll set up an appointment about the hip. There might be some issues there.
Alright...that's all for now. I think I may just retire this puppy now. We'll see.
And just throwin' it out there, there's no way that I can do another marathon with my hip like this. Maybe short distance, but nothing to the extent of a marathon.
IT WAS BRUTAL!!!
Now here's where I feel for some of the folks who did not come better prepared. This is not to rip on them at all, because sometimes you just don't have the benefit of friends that gave done this before. Here's what I did that I didn't read about anywhere (and the people who suggested it):
1. Frozen bottle (for a bike) of Accelerade. (Dave Otwell)
2. a gel bottle for 3 gel packs. I added water this morning and was good to go. Adding that water removed the gag factor. ("Nancy" at the running store...not her real name...it's marathon related, so don't ask)
3. 5 powerbars yesterday and 1 this morning. I was totally carbed up. (Dave Barstow)
Thanks to all of them.
Anyway, by the time I got to the first water station - No Gatorade...just water...good thing I came ready. second water station - No water, no Gatorade. Again, I still had enough to keep me going. I really, really feel for the people out there that didn't have a fallback.
I became one of those people at around mile 16 (station 8). Again, no hydration. By the 10th mile, I ran out of my Accelerade. Tossed the bottle I was using, served its purpose, which was dumb since some stations didn't have cups later on.
Things went south for me at about the same time that they said the course was closed. My left hip started to burn a little at about mile 10, but then at about 19, my right knee started feeling like a long needle was being inserted. Was I compensating? Anyway, we were told about about mile 20 that the race was cancelled. What they didn't say is that runners that didn't make it past the halfway point by 11:30 were going to be re-routed.
Be that as it may, I was already at about mile 17.5 by then, well past halfway. At 19 I started walking. Good thing too as hydration for the next 3 miles was a little spotty.
Let me gives kudos to the volunteers that hung out at miles 20 and later. Strong work on the part of them. On top of that, the spectators...man those people were still out there. That was really awesome.
Let me break my reverie by extending my condolences to the Schieber family. Chad Schieber, 35, died during the race today.
So, I found this little quote in an article online:
"Almost 10,000 of the 45,000 registered runners chose to not race in the heat despite more mist stations, cooling buses and water-soaked sponges."
Mist stations? StationS? There was ONE...at about 25.5. Anything else was an opened hydrant or a caring spectator who had a hose spraying out onto the runners. Mist stations, my ass. I mentioned mist stations to one of the organizers at the Expo on Friday and he kinda looked at me as if to say "I wish..."
Alright...so how long did it take me? About 6 hours. I had hydration and sore mechanics to worry about. Before the bad news at 20 (and the left hip tightening up), I was on pace to finish at 5:11 or 5:18-ish. Pretty darn good for those temps and my break from the training plan.
So, the hip and knee, I'll be taking it easy for the next week. And then I'll set up an appointment about the hip. There might be some issues there.
Alright...that's all for now. I think I may just retire this puppy now. We'll see.
And just throwin' it out there, there's no way that I can do another marathon with my hip like this. Maybe short distance, but nothing to the extent of a marathon.
Friday, October 5, 2007
18-5 Day...rest for the weary...
I had a late night last night doing some work. I wasn't watching the Cubs despite I think that they are doing a capital job providing hitting, pitching and fielding practice for the D-Backs.
Picked up my packet today and also a race number belt. I can use it for the next race.
Tomorrow I am going to jog 2 miles...just to see how I feel. I am also going to be wearing the number belt and the HRM so that I have a sense for how it will be during the marathon. Shouldn't be a radical departure from what I have done so far.
And now, if you'll bow your heads with me: Please dear God, let it cool off on Sunday......
Picked up my packet today and also a race number belt. I can use it for the next race.
Tomorrow I am going to jog 2 miles...just to see how I feel. I am also going to be wearing the number belt and the HRM so that I have a sense for how it will be during the marathon. Shouldn't be a radical departure from what I have done so far.
And now, if you'll bow your heads with me: Please dear God, let it cool off on Sunday......
Thursday, October 4, 2007
It's 18-4 day...a long time since I have posted...
My running has been pretty erratic of late, primarily due to construction work on the house. I've had more than a few days where I have worked so hard on the house that I was too tired to run. Which in retrospect was probably pretty stupid.
Alot of people have asked if I think that I am ready for Sunday, a scant 3 days away. My response? It doesn't matter at this point if I am ready, I am doing it. The only thing that could stop me is injury or if the train breaks down on the way to Chicago.
I figure what I will do is start at what I think is comfortable and go from there.
So what's been going on over the last few weeks, seriously almost 3 weeks??? Well, suffice it to say that I ran a few times, missed one big run day, which was definitely a no-no and shorted another big run day, another definite no-no.
The shorted run: I was in Kentucky visiting my Mom who is still recovering from knee surgery (get better Mom). I decided to run indoors on her treadmill instead of in the heat. What was supposed to be 12 miles turned into an hour on the treadmill, and definitely not 12 miles. And I don't think that I ever sweat that much....ever. My wife came in and I was ready to tell her that she needs to get a rain poncho on... I decided to cut it short since apparently conditions were not conducive to a good run...it felt like 12 miles though.
A quick note: Kudos to Lisette for getting into it. Start easy and go from there. Believe me when I say that my first time out running, I only ran 1 mile. Baby steps....
See you out there!!!
Alot of people have asked if I think that I am ready for Sunday, a scant 3 days away. My response? It doesn't matter at this point if I am ready, I am doing it. The only thing that could stop me is injury or if the train breaks down on the way to Chicago.
I figure what I will do is start at what I think is comfortable and go from there.
So what's been going on over the last few weeks, seriously almost 3 weeks??? Well, suffice it to say that I ran a few times, missed one big run day, which was definitely a no-no and shorted another big run day, another definite no-no.
The shorted run: I was in Kentucky visiting my Mom who is still recovering from knee surgery (get better Mom). I decided to run indoors on her treadmill instead of in the heat. What was supposed to be 12 miles turned into an hour on the treadmill, and definitely not 12 miles. And I don't think that I ever sweat that much....ever. My wife came in and I was ready to tell her that she needs to get a rain poncho on... I decided to cut it short since apparently conditions were not conducive to a good run...it felt like 12 miles though.
A quick note: Kudos to Lisette for getting into it. Start easy and go from there. Believe me when I say that my first time out running, I only ran 1 mile. Baby steps....
See you out there!!!
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