Monday AM road 4 with Uta and Melissa, 30:51
PM road 10 solo, feeling pretty heavy after yesterdays workout, 1:07:24
Tuesday AM road 4 with Uta, 30:02
PM at North Andover track, 5k warm up, drills, strides, 16x200 with slow 200 jog recovery, average 31.6, jogs in about 1:08 average. This is muscular endurance, more like lifting then traditional reps, ie the last one feels basically the same as the first aerobically. 3 mile cool down
Wednesday PM road 16.1 solo, 1:45:31. thought I was going to have to stop for drills around 11 mile but then things came around and I was ok.
Thursday PM 3 mile warm up with Uta, drop her off, half mile jog to start area, drills, strides. So my watch has a recovery adviser that is based on heart rate and the pace you ran. When you save a run it tells you how many hours you are supposed to recover before your next workout. I don't put much stock in it. I do get a kick out of it when I finish a warm up. Normally it tells me to take 5 to 15 hours recovery. Now today I was feeling pretty tired. I mean I failed to get up for the morning run. So after the warm up the watch said I needed 50 hours recovery so I'm assuming my HR was a good bit higher than normal. So I set off on my normal 3 mile tempo loop, 5:05 at the mile was a bit slow but not bad, the next mile was 5:15 which wasn't good and I wasn't feeling good. I decided to keep the effort tempo on the last mile and let the pace be what it would be... 5:28! Ugly! When I stopped I felt finished. I opted to skip the hill repeats and just do a 3 mile cool down.
Friday AM road 4 with Uta, 30:10
PM circuit with Anna, nothing too bad.
Saturday AM 4 mile with Uta, 30:12, really freaking cold, -12 wind chill
PM road 10 solo, 1:06:12, still freaking cold, 0 degree wind chill
Sunday AM 20.1 with Ruben in Chelmsford, mostly on rail trail. some snow on ground but not bad. I did drill for coordination at 14.75 but was ok otherwise. Cold again, 7 degrees, much less windy though so it felt ok. 2:06:02 total time. couple light drills after we finished.
Summary 95 miles for week, 2 workouts, neither was very impressive. I'm pretty tired. I always struggle a bit in March. I have a scheduled rest week after New Bedford Next weekend but I think I'll taper this week as well and hopefully feel some bounce again in a couple weeks.
Showing posts with label loss of coordination. Show all posts
Showing posts with label loss of coordination. Show all posts
Sunday, March 12, 2017
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Update on Coordination Struggles
My coordination problem has, unfortunately, defined my running career. At least from my perspective. It has followed a few trajectories along the way with very distinct turning points. Some of which were so clear that I new them the instant they happened and others I only saw in retrospect.
The problem started in late January 2007 during an alternation workout, actually it was one of the better sessions I have ever run. It happened on the last effort of the workout. I was so far gone I just thought it was a symptom of being on the edge of darkness. Quickly it would become a much bigger issue. Killing a couple workouts before I got mono and was forced to take a 6 week break.
The problem seemed in a holding pattern during the build up to the Olympic Trials. It was always there but it would only bother me in the very late stages of specific workouts. As such I was able to get very fit in spite of it. I even was able to race well in races where I lost the coordination. I lost coordination just after mile 7 at the BAA half and still finished top 10 in 1:06:17 which was a solid time on that course. I have little doubt I would have been sub 1:05 without the issue but I ran well. At the trials I lost control of it coming up to the 19th mile mark. It cost me. My last 10k was 32:56 with out the hobbling effect of losing the coordination I have little doubt I would have been able to match my previous 10k of 31:26. So I would have been able to run perhaps mid 2:13's. I may or may not have been able to catch Dan Brown. In the scope of things it was a minor difference. My time was slowed more by the hills than by the coordination on that course and the difference between 6th and 7th at the trials is small.
In January of '08 I was following a schedule Canova had sent me. I was sure with some treatment and focus the leg would sort itself out. Instead as my fitness soared my leg crashed until by march or so I couldn't do any of the long workouts. I also ran an abysmal half in Houston. I hit the the 5 mile mark in 24:05 feeling good, shortly there after I lost control of the leg and hobbled in with a 1:08:22.
At this point I changed tactics. Avoiding fighting the coordination in training and still trying every treatment I could find to fix the problem. For the next three years the pattern stayed the same. Slowly, ever so slowly, my leg got a little worse and little worse. I was forced to learn new ways to train. I worked well around it. I set PR's at the mile, 3k, 5k and 10k. I qualified for two USATF national indoor championships but all the time I was tortured by the knowledge that my best at 5k was middling on a national level at best but that a guy like me who has a 58.8 400 meter best in shape to run sub 14 for 5k is ready to kill a marathon. BUT I couldn't run one. I could barely run a 10k. By late 2010 I couldn't even do that anymore with any consistency, particularly I struggled it if was flat.
In January 2011 I had surgery on my low back. By march I was back running. The improvement was HUGE. I could race 10k with no problems, even if it was perfectly flat. Half marathons became what 10k's had been a 50/50 shot at getting by. I could do training runs longer over 9 miles again. I could do tempos up to 10k, sometimes more. I thought it was just a matter of time before I worked back to being fully functional. I was wrong. For two years this is where I held. The biggest victory was that pre surgery I knew it was only a matter of time before running would be taken from me completely and now I was not losing ground. I still searched for an answer but for the most part I was resigned to the fact that I would at least be able to keep running on some level but that I would never get to do the long workouts or races that I loved best.
In November of 2014 I raced Josh Mcdougal. He told me about his success in combating the problem by focusing on ankle flection and thoracic posture. It was a lighting bolt. I felt my ankle had been fixed by my back surgery- my disc had been cutting off nerve function to the ankle area. The improved posture caused a huge jump in what I could do without coordination.
I still had bad days but I had good days. I did a 20 mile HARD for the first time since 2007. I completed real marathon workouts. My fitness surged. I dnf'd at Boston but that was diet and fitness related not because of coordination.
Over the next year I struggled with health, mostly due it seems to diet, and my coordination stayed about the same. I could, on good days, do a lot. On bad days I could still struggle on an easy 12 mile run. With my diet issues sorted out I started running well again late last fall. The mileage back up. The workouts back in the mix. I managed a 36k hard, on grass. Still at times it seemed no matter how hard I held my shoulders back it wasn't enough. A few times I lost coordination and I swore my shoulders were pretty damn good. More and more I was realizing I was in a new holding pattern. I had been since January. I could get through half marathon races. I could do half marathon length tempos. Longer on soft surfaces but doing so was VERY hard because of the amount of focus and work on my shoulders needed to do so.
Then it hit me. "If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains however improbable must be the truth." It was impossible that for nerve function I somehow needed to run with my shoulders behind me. The problem must be elsewhere…. What was it McDougal had told me. Thoracic and Ankle! I had assumed my ankle was totally fixed. Yet I was running better on soft surfaces. On soft surfaces you inherently toe off more.
Monday I started focusing on toeing off more. It was hard. My calves are weak. By wednesday I did my medium long run. A weekly slap in my fast in terms of coordination. I generally do 16. I don't generally lose coordination BUT I do fight it constantly. Flexing my spine/shoulders back again and again. Feeling the coordination threatening to go from 10 miles on and struggling so hard to stay ahead of it. This time I ran and ran. My calves were begging for mercy by 14 or 15 miles but for 18 miles I didn't have any sense that I was going to lose coordination. All this and my shoulders were in Good position but not forced way back. I didn't have to do any isometrics while running to force them back more.
LIGHTING.
This may not be the last step in this long journey and it is going to be a couple awful weeks on my calves but this is another huge step in the right direction and I'm feeling very upbeat about my chances of really racing a marathon this year.
The problem started in late January 2007 during an alternation workout, actually it was one of the better sessions I have ever run. It happened on the last effort of the workout. I was so far gone I just thought it was a symptom of being on the edge of darkness. Quickly it would become a much bigger issue. Killing a couple workouts before I got mono and was forced to take a 6 week break.
The problem seemed in a holding pattern during the build up to the Olympic Trials. It was always there but it would only bother me in the very late stages of specific workouts. As such I was able to get very fit in spite of it. I even was able to race well in races where I lost the coordination. I lost coordination just after mile 7 at the BAA half and still finished top 10 in 1:06:17 which was a solid time on that course. I have little doubt I would have been sub 1:05 without the issue but I ran well. At the trials I lost control of it coming up to the 19th mile mark. It cost me. My last 10k was 32:56 with out the hobbling effect of losing the coordination I have little doubt I would have been able to match my previous 10k of 31:26. So I would have been able to run perhaps mid 2:13's. I may or may not have been able to catch Dan Brown. In the scope of things it was a minor difference. My time was slowed more by the hills than by the coordination on that course and the difference between 6th and 7th at the trials is small.
In January of '08 I was following a schedule Canova had sent me. I was sure with some treatment and focus the leg would sort itself out. Instead as my fitness soared my leg crashed until by march or so I couldn't do any of the long workouts. I also ran an abysmal half in Houston. I hit the the 5 mile mark in 24:05 feeling good, shortly there after I lost control of the leg and hobbled in with a 1:08:22.
At this point I changed tactics. Avoiding fighting the coordination in training and still trying every treatment I could find to fix the problem. For the next three years the pattern stayed the same. Slowly, ever so slowly, my leg got a little worse and little worse. I was forced to learn new ways to train. I worked well around it. I set PR's at the mile, 3k, 5k and 10k. I qualified for two USATF national indoor championships but all the time I was tortured by the knowledge that my best at 5k was middling on a national level at best but that a guy like me who has a 58.8 400 meter best in shape to run sub 14 for 5k is ready to kill a marathon. BUT I couldn't run one. I could barely run a 10k. By late 2010 I couldn't even do that anymore with any consistency, particularly I struggled it if was flat.
In January 2011 I had surgery on my low back. By march I was back running. The improvement was HUGE. I could race 10k with no problems, even if it was perfectly flat. Half marathons became what 10k's had been a 50/50 shot at getting by. I could do training runs longer over 9 miles again. I could do tempos up to 10k, sometimes more. I thought it was just a matter of time before I worked back to being fully functional. I was wrong. For two years this is where I held. The biggest victory was that pre surgery I knew it was only a matter of time before running would be taken from me completely and now I was not losing ground. I still searched for an answer but for the most part I was resigned to the fact that I would at least be able to keep running on some level but that I would never get to do the long workouts or races that I loved best.
In November of 2014 I raced Josh Mcdougal. He told me about his success in combating the problem by focusing on ankle flection and thoracic posture. It was a lighting bolt. I felt my ankle had been fixed by my back surgery- my disc had been cutting off nerve function to the ankle area. The improved posture caused a huge jump in what I could do without coordination.
I still had bad days but I had good days. I did a 20 mile HARD for the first time since 2007. I completed real marathon workouts. My fitness surged. I dnf'd at Boston but that was diet and fitness related not because of coordination.
Over the next year I struggled with health, mostly due it seems to diet, and my coordination stayed about the same. I could, on good days, do a lot. On bad days I could still struggle on an easy 12 mile run. With my diet issues sorted out I started running well again late last fall. The mileage back up. The workouts back in the mix. I managed a 36k hard, on grass. Still at times it seemed no matter how hard I held my shoulders back it wasn't enough. A few times I lost coordination and I swore my shoulders were pretty damn good. More and more I was realizing I was in a new holding pattern. I had been since January. I could get through half marathon races. I could do half marathon length tempos. Longer on soft surfaces but doing so was VERY hard because of the amount of focus and work on my shoulders needed to do so.
Then it hit me. "If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains however improbable must be the truth." It was impossible that for nerve function I somehow needed to run with my shoulders behind me. The problem must be elsewhere…. What was it McDougal had told me. Thoracic and Ankle! I had assumed my ankle was totally fixed. Yet I was running better on soft surfaces. On soft surfaces you inherently toe off more.
Monday I started focusing on toeing off more. It was hard. My calves are weak. By wednesday I did my medium long run. A weekly slap in my fast in terms of coordination. I generally do 16. I don't generally lose coordination BUT I do fight it constantly. Flexing my spine/shoulders back again and again. Feeling the coordination threatening to go from 10 miles on and struggling so hard to stay ahead of it. This time I ran and ran. My calves were begging for mercy by 14 or 15 miles but for 18 miles I didn't have any sense that I was going to lose coordination. All this and my shoulders were in Good position but not forced way back. I didn't have to do any isometrics while running to force them back more.
LIGHTING.
This may not be the last step in this long journey and it is going to be a couple awful weeks on my calves but this is another huge step in the right direction and I'm feeling very upbeat about my chances of really racing a marathon this year.
Thursday, January 14, 2016
2016 Goals
I have odd goals. Most often they are process goals or things that are not well defined. Yet in terms of the big goals I have accomplished almost all the things I dreamed of. They just haven't had the some of the side effects I assumed they would have. That said each year I have goals that I envision myself accomplishing for the year. This is what I'm hoping to do this year.
Be top 10 at the Cow Harbor 10k. This is one of my favorite races in the world. I have run there every year except one since 2008. I have been top 10 in all but two of those years, in 2009 I was just back from the world champs and not recovered yet and last year I was very not fit. I'm back in some form and I want to keep running well there. I love the race. I love the course. I love the people. I love the awards ceremony, one of only two races I can say that about. Also this races gives out a big check to the winner so a great race here could knock two things off this list, actually three because...
Process Goals
I have not averaged 100 miles a week for a full year since I started teaching full time. So 2012 was the last time. I would like to average a 100 miles a week or more this year.
To achieve the above goal I will need to go to Yoga as often as possible. I will aim for an average of once a week, understanding in the summer I will try for more like 3 times a week and I know during the school year there will be weeks that I miss.
I want to do a lot of long fundamental, fast, paced long runs. So 30k to 40k or more at say at least under 5:50.
I want to actively be training, not just running.
I want to be doing exercises to improve my coordination every day.
Outcome Goals
complete a competitive marathon effort
Set a PR in a major distance- I haven't set one in a legit distance since August of 2010 and if I don't set some soon it is getting pretty unlikely I will again. My current best's are 4:13, 8:08, 13:56, 29:32, 1:03:44, 2:14:56. My lifetime goals were sub 8:00, sub 14:00, sub 29:00, Sub 1:03 and Sub 2:10- So If I can get a PR I'm also very close to getting some more life goals.
Win a big check. I have never won a race that used one of those over sized checks for a photo after. This is one of my few remaining lifetime running goals that I haven't achieved. Need to get this done.
Run a 5k under 15mins in a race I have run at least one 5k under 15 in a race every calendar year since 2003. That is 13 straight years. One of my life goals is to get 20 straight years. My slowest year in the streak was 2003, 14:56 at the New England Collegiate indoor track championship, in the B heat. My fastest was 13:56 indoors in 2010.
Run a 5 mile or 8k under 25mins in a race I have run sub 25 in a race at least once every year since 2004, I would like to go for 20 years on this streak as well. Obviously I'm a long way from that but I can only get one year at a time. My slowest year was 24:44 in 2009, My fastest was 23:26 in 2006.
Run more half marathons, 2 or 3 more before the year is out. I have only lost coordination in one half since 2013 and it wasn't too bad in that one. I want to take advantage of this and get in some more races. My half in Jacksonville was disappointing but it was my fastest since 2012. I know I can do better but I need to race to make that happen.
Run a sub 30:00 10k. I love sub 30 10k's. Particularly on the road. To me THE road distance is the 10k. I have only run sub 30 a handful of times. I have also run a few times of 30:00 or 30:01. I really just take a lot of pride in sub 30 10k's. I look back on everyone with some pride. I'd like to add to the list.
Be top 10 at the Cow Harbor 10k. This is one of my favorite races in the world. I have run there every year except one since 2008. I have been top 10 in all but two of those years, in 2009 I was just back from the world champs and not recovered yet and last year I was very not fit. I'm back in some form and I want to keep running well there. I love the race. I love the course. I love the people. I love the awards ceremony, one of only two races I can say that about. Also this races gives out a big check to the winner so a great race here could knock two things off this list, actually three because...
Win a unique or interesting prize. I love races that give something very different out. I do trav's trail every year they give out cool handmade pottery coffee mugs. Cow Harbor gives out Bulova watches to the top 2 finishers. I'm totally open to suggestions on this one. I have seen races that give out a trip to someplace- perhaps the best prize ever. Or a bike- that would be awesome. So if you know a race that gives an awesome prize let me know because I would love to take a crack at it. - No Jim Johnson the feeling of wanting to die on upper walking boss or 'the wall' at the top of Washington does not qualify as an awesome prize I am interested in winning.
Win the men's race in a race that Melissa wins the women's race. We did this once where Melissa won the women's 5k and I won the 10k for men. But mostly we don't do too many of the same races and often when we do they are super competitive so one of us doesn't win. As an extension I would really love to finish first and second overall in a race with Melissa that would be really cool.
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Training Since Mid October 2015
I'm including the first few weeks here to give you a sense of my baseline fitness and what my training had looked like going back to labor day. These couple weeks are pretty representative of that time frame. I had one or two decent weeks mixed in with over 110 miles but mostly this is about what it had looked like. I include the October 11 race to show the fitness that work had given me.
Sunday October 11 raced Great Island 5k, flat but crazy turn 5k- upwards of 50 or so turns on the course, finished 2nd in 15:10, 3rd placer Andrew Huebner is a 2:17:05 trials qualifier though he is not in top form.
Monday PM 10. 6 miles in 71:11
Tuesday PM 20minutes easy with Uta and Melissa
Wednesday off due to life.
Thursday PM 3.5 mile warm up with strides, 3 mile hilly tempo 15:24, 1:30 recovery, 4x400m hill repeats with jog down recoveries(~2mins each) reps-1:33, 1:36, 1:35, 1:35, 3+ cool down. This can be viewed as the start of real training from here on I start doing more then just running.
Friday PM 12 miles in 1:17
Saturday 2pm 4k warm up, 32k around phillips fields in 1:47:54, average pace 5:25 per mile. This needs to be viewed in context. First I'm an aerobic monster. Second I had done a 30k on the fields at 5:29 pace on October 4. Third I respond to this type of training like no other so I improve at it very quickly.
Sunday AM 5 miles in 35 mins
PM 5 miles in 35 mins
Monday AM 5.3 miles in 37 mins
PM 10.4 miles in 68 mins
later in PM bikram yoga
Tuesday AM 5.3 miles in 37 mins
Wednesday PM 3.5 warm up with strides, Moneghetti fartlek around glendale loop covered 3.94 miles in 20mins 3 plus cool down
Thursday AM 5.3 miles in 38mins
PM 8.7 miles in 56 mins
Friday AM 5.3 miles in 37 mins
Saturday AM bikram yoga
PM 5.3 miles in 35mins
Sunday late AM Race USATF-NE xc championships, 8th place 31:12, felt strong to about 4.5 miles then just couldn't seem to go. Had that feeling like if I slowed down just a bit I could run all day but as soon as I pushed I was shit out of luck. 3 warm up, strides, 30 second hard effort, splits mile 4:52, 2mile- 9:58, 5k-15:37, 8k-25:05, 4 mile cool down.
Monday AM 5.4 miles in 39 mins
PM 12 miles in 1:17
XT bikram yoga
Tuesday AM 5.4 miles in 39 mins
PM 3.5 warm up with strides, moneghetti fartlek on glendale loop 3.95 miles in the 20mins, 3+ cool down
Wednesday PM 16.5 miles in 1:46:17
Thursday AM 5.4 miles in 39 mins
PM 3.5 mile warm up, strides, 5k tempo in 15:23, 1:30 recovery, 4x400m hill repeats with jog down recoveries, 1:38, 1:42, 1:41, 1:41 2 mile recovery.
Friday AM 5.4 miles in 39 mins
PM 12.3 miles in 1:20
Saturday AM 4k warm up, 36k around phillips fields in 2:01:30- 5:25 pace. very windy. Best long run I have had since the 2007 Olympic Trials.
Sunday AM 5 miles with Melissa and uta in 36mins
PM bikram yoga
Monday AM 5.6 miles in 40mins
Tuesday AM 10k in 46mins
Wednesday PM 3.5 miles warm up, moneghetti 3.97 miles in the 20mins, 3 plus cool down.
Thursday AM 5 miles in 36mins
PM 15 miles in 1:37
Friday AM 10k in 46mins
PM 12.6 miles in 1:22
Saturday AM 4 mile warm up, drills, strides, 8k tempo around phillips fields at half marathon goal pace, 24:33, 2k splits- 6:11, 12:21, 18:29. 1 mile cool down.
PM 5.2 miles with melissa including 2 miles in 11:12.
Sunday AM 22.3 miles, first 20 in 2:13 including 6 miles with Melissa, then 2 miles in 10:03(5:01.8, 5:01.2) then 0.3 easy back to house. total time 2:25:33
Thursday AM 3 plus warm up, drills, strides, 5k tempo in 15:07, last mile in 4:47, 1:30 recovery then 4x400m hill repeats with jog down recoveries, 1:38, 1:38, 1:39, 1:39, 2 mile cool down.
PM 5 miles with a crazy full stomach in 38mins really quite proud I didn't puke.
Friday AM 10.3 miles in 68mins
PM 6 miles in 42mins
Saturday AM 13 miles including 62mins at 5:30 pace over hilly loop, felt good but really struggled with coordination on slippery roads(it was raining)
PM 4 miles in 28mins with Melissa and Uta
Sunday AM 10.2 miles with Melissa in 73mins
PM 7.3 miles in 47mins
XT bikram yoga
Monday AM 10k in 47mins
PM 3.5 mile warm up with strides, moneghetti fartlek around glendale loop covered 4.02 miles in the 20mins, 3++ cool down
Tuesday PM 16 miles in 1:46
Wednesday AM 5 miles in 38mins
PM 3 mile warm up on woodway curve, drills, 3 miles of sprint float sprint around 160m indoor track 80 on 80 off, 16:10, 3 mile cool down.
Thursday AM 10k run in 46mins
PM 16 miles in 1:44
Friday AM 10k run in 45mins
PM 10 miles in 66mins
Saturday AM 4 mile warm up, strides, 10k tempo on phillips fields at goal half marathon pace, 30:43. 2k splits- 6:08, 12:17, 18:25, 24:36. 4 mile cool down
PM 10k with melissa including pacing her for her 6k tempo in 21:15.
Sunday AM 22.3 miles, first 20 miles in 2:07:38 then 2 miles in 10:00 (5:03, 4:57), 0.3 miles easy back to house
Sunday October 11 raced Great Island 5k, flat but crazy turn 5k- upwards of 50 or so turns on the course, finished 2nd in 15:10, 3rd placer Andrew Huebner is a 2:17:05 trials qualifier though he is not in top form.
October 12 to 18
Monday AM 4.1 mile recovery run 30mins
PM 4.1 mile recovery run 30 mins
Tuesday AM 4.1 miles
PM 5 miles in 40 mins
Wednesday AM 4.1 miles
PM 3.5 warm up strides, Monaghetti fartlek on Glendale loop, covered 3.84 miles in 20mins, 3.3 cool down total bit over 10 miles.
Thursday AM 4.1 miles 28mins
3pm 2 miles with middle school team
5:30pm 10 miles in 62mins
Friday AM 4.1 miles in 29mins
3pm 2 miles with middle school team
5:30pm 10.6 miles in 68 mins
Saturday off moving day
Sunday AM 5 miles 35 minutes. had hoped for second run but moving and getting set up prevented it.
October 19 to 25
Monday AM 4.1 miles 29mins
PM 5 miles 35 mins
Tuesday 3pm 3 miles with middle school kids
6pm 3++ warm up strides, moneghetti fartlek around glendale loop covered 3.97 miles in 20minutes 3++ cool down.
Wednesday PM 14. 6 miles in 1:34
Thursday PM 4 miles in 32 minutes
Friday 3pm 2 miles with middle school kids
6pm 6.5 miles in 48 minutes
Saturday AM Race great bay 5k, 2nd place 14:40, 5k warm up, drills, strides, 37 second hard effort, splits 4:49, 9:32(4:43), 14:13(4:40), got out kicked. Pushed from front from the mile mark on. I wanted the time so I went for that and hoped it would get the win as well but it didn't long cool down including some uptempo stuff with 1st and 3rd place finishers. total 13 miles
Sunday AM 15 miles in 1:37
PM bikram yoga
October 26 to November 1
Tuesday PM 20minutes easy with Uta and Melissa
Wednesday off due to life.
Thursday PM 3.5 mile warm up with strides, 3 mile hilly tempo 15:24, 1:30 recovery, 4x400m hill repeats with jog down recoveries(~2mins each) reps-1:33, 1:36, 1:35, 1:35, 3+ cool down. This can be viewed as the start of real training from here on I start doing more then just running.
Friday PM 12 miles in 1:17
Saturday 2pm 4k warm up, 32k around phillips fields in 1:47:54, average pace 5:25 per mile. This needs to be viewed in context. First I'm an aerobic monster. Second I had done a 30k on the fields at 5:29 pace on October 4. Third I respond to this type of training like no other so I improve at it very quickly.
Sunday AM 5 miles in 35 mins
PM 5 miles in 35 mins
November 2 to 8
PM 10.4 miles in 68 mins
later in PM bikram yoga
Tuesday AM 5.3 miles in 37 mins
Wednesday PM 3.5 warm up with strides, Moneghetti fartlek around glendale loop covered 3.94 miles in 20mins 3 plus cool down
Thursday AM 5.3 miles in 38mins
PM 8.7 miles in 56 mins
Friday AM 5.3 miles in 37 mins
Saturday AM bikram yoga
PM 5.3 miles in 35mins
Sunday late AM Race USATF-NE xc championships, 8th place 31:12, felt strong to about 4.5 miles then just couldn't seem to go. Had that feeling like if I slowed down just a bit I could run all day but as soon as I pushed I was shit out of luck. 3 warm up, strides, 30 second hard effort, splits mile 4:52, 2mile- 9:58, 5k-15:37, 8k-25:05, 4 mile cool down.
November 9 to 15
PM 12 miles in 1:17
XT bikram yoga
Tuesday AM 5.4 miles in 39 mins
PM 3.5 warm up with strides, moneghetti fartlek on glendale loop 3.95 miles in the 20mins, 3+ cool down
Wednesday PM 16.5 miles in 1:46:17
Thursday AM 5.4 miles in 39 mins
PM 3.5 mile warm up, strides, 5k tempo in 15:23, 1:30 recovery, 4x400m hill repeats with jog down recoveries, 1:38, 1:42, 1:41, 1:41 2 mile recovery.
Friday AM 5.4 miles in 39 mins
PM 12.3 miles in 1:20
Saturday AM 4k warm up, 36k around phillips fields in 2:01:30- 5:25 pace. very windy. Best long run I have had since the 2007 Olympic Trials.
Sunday AM 5 miles with Melissa and uta in 36mins
PM bikram yoga
November 16 to 22
Tuesday AM 10k in 46mins
Wednesday PM 3.5 miles warm up, moneghetti 3.97 miles in the 20mins, 3 plus cool down.
Thursday AM 5 miles in 36mins
PM 15 miles in 1:37
Friday AM 10k in 46mins
PM 12.6 miles in 1:22
Saturday AM 4 mile warm up, drills, strides, 8k tempo around phillips fields at half marathon goal pace, 24:33, 2k splits- 6:11, 12:21, 18:29. 1 mile cool down.
PM 5.2 miles with melissa including 2 miles in 11:12.
Sunday AM 22.3 miles, first 20 in 2:13 including 6 miles with Melissa, then 2 miles in 10:03(5:01.8, 5:01.2) then 0.3 easy back to house. total time 2:25:33
November 23 to 29
Monday AM 10k in 46mins
PM 10.2 miles in 68mins
Tuesday AM 10k in 44mins
PM 3.5 miles warm up with strides, moneghetti fartlek covered 3.88 miles in the 20mins, 3 miles cool down
Wednesday PM 16.5 miles in 1:47
Thursday AM 3 plus warm up, drills, strides, 5k tempo in 15:07, last mile in 4:47, 1:30 recovery then 4x400m hill repeats with jog down recoveries, 1:38, 1:38, 1:39, 1:39, 2 mile cool down.
PM 5 miles with a crazy full stomach in 38mins really quite proud I didn't puke.
Friday AM 10.3 miles in 68mins
PM 6 miles in 42mins
Saturday AM 13 miles including 62mins at 5:30 pace over hilly loop, felt good but really struggled with coordination on slippery roads(it was raining)
PM 4 miles in 28mins with Melissa and Uta
Sunday AM 10.2 miles with Melissa in 73mins
PM 7.3 miles in 47mins
XT bikram yoga
November 30 to December 6
PM 3.5 mile warm up with strides, moneghetti fartlek around glendale loop covered 4.02 miles in the 20mins, 3++ cool down
Tuesday PM 16 miles in 1:46
Wednesday AM 5 miles in 38mins
PM 3 mile warm up on woodway curve, drills, 3 miles of sprint float sprint around 160m indoor track 80 on 80 off, 16:10, 3 mile cool down.
Thursday AM 10k run in 46mins
PM 16 miles in 1:44
Friday AM 10k run in 45mins
PM 10 miles in 66mins
Saturday AM 4 mile warm up, strides, 10k tempo on phillips fields at goal half marathon pace, 30:43. 2k splits- 6:08, 12:17, 18:25, 24:36. 4 mile cool down
PM 10k with melissa including pacing her for her 6k tempo in 21:15.
Sunday AM 22.3 miles, first 20 miles in 2:07:38 then 2 miles in 10:00 (5:03, 4:57), 0.3 miles easy back to house
December 7 to 13
Monday AM 10k in 46 mins
PM 10.1 miles in 67 mins
PM 10.1 miles in 67 mins
Tuesday AM 10k in 45 mins
First hiccup- I tried a new shoulder exercise and it was way too much for me- almost impossible for me to explain how week my mid back and shoulder region- lower traps, rhomboids are. Anyway I threw my upper back into spasm and by mid day I could barely breath.
First hiccup- I tried a new shoulder exercise and it was way too much for me- almost impossible for me to explain how week my mid back and shoulder region- lower traps, rhomboids are. Anyway I threw my upper back into spasm and by mid day I could barely breath.
Wednesday off All I did was go to bikram yoga which didn't fix the problem but made it like 50% better which was awesome because that took it from real pain down to I just couldn't do shit.
Thursday 3:30pm Accupuncture.
6pm 4 miles with Uta in 31mins back/shoulders much better.
6pm 4 miles with Uta in 31mins back/shoulders much better.
Friday AM 10k 47mins
PM 6 miles in 41mins
PM 6 miles in 41mins
Saturday AM 13 miles in 1:21
PM bikram yoga
PM bikram yoga
Sunday Second hiccup. I was planning to go for a fast long run but I woke up feeling like I was coming down with a cold. Bad sore throat and a head ache. If you live in the Northeast you probably know a nasty virus has been going around and laying people out. I teach and most of us have pretty awesome immune systems but this had been laying people out. However Melissa had some crazy immune supplement mix of zinc, vitamins A, C and B6 with garlic, ginger and licorice extracts that I had taken earlier in this cycle when started to get sick and it kicked it fast. This time I was not so lucky. I got a tough chest cold. Thing is I didn't feel sick. I just was coughing something awful. I took some easy days and off days to try and get healthy if I had it to do over I would just train full miles and strides. I will be taking this supplement whenever I feel sick from here on out. I really was shocked how good I felt considering I was sick.
AM 15 miles in 1:41
AM 15 miles in 1:41
December 14 to 20
Monday AM 10k in 46mins
PM 6 miles in 42mins
PM 6 miles in 42mins
Tuesday AM 10k in 46mins
PM 10 miles in 67mins
PM 10 miles in 67mins
Wednesday PM 12 miles from my school in 1:14- parent conferences today so I don't have time to go home and run. I run from school between the end of the day and the start of conferences. I had hoped to have time for 16 but I had an unplanned early meeting with a parent right after school so I had to settle for 12
Thursday AM 10k 44mins
PM 12 miles from school, second night of conferences, 1:15
PM 12 miles from school, second night of conferences, 1:15
Friday AM 4.1 miles in 31mins
Saturday AM 4 miles in 28 mins
Sunday AM 7 miles in 53mins. I had planned to try and sleep a lot and take it easy just running with Melissa for a few days to kick the cold. I executed the plan but didn't get the desired result. I think this was a mistake. I should have just kept running full volume.
December 21 to 27
Monday AM 5 miles in 37mins
PM 10k in 43mins
PM 10k in 43mins
Tuesday AM 5 miles in 37mins
PM 10.3 miles in 70mins
Wednesday 1pm- half day at school. 16.1 miles in 1:41
Went to new chiropractor Melissa knows who is very good with exercises and she gave me new exercise to activate lower trap. Huge help for posture!
Went to new chiropractor Melissa knows who is very good with exercises and she gave me new exercise to activate lower trap. Huge help for posture!
Thursday AM 12.1 miles in 1:19, only one run because of family get together for Christmas Eve
Friday Merry Christmas!!! AM 7 miles in 48mins including a 5:24 mile with Melissa
Noon 11.6 miles in shorts and a T-shirt!!! in 1:12.
I was feeling pretty good by today. Still coughing but not nearly as bad. However I was feeling very confused about how to approach training for the next week. I have a goal race now only 9 days away. I haven't run fast for nearly 3 weeks. I need to get back in the swing but at the same time taper. I am very good with setting up full cycles but a spot like this I just didn't have a solution. I must have settled on 15 different plans. I should have called Gary Gardner. That is my normal fall back. Gary doesn't use the exact same methods I do but he more than understands what I do and he is one of the absolute best when something goes off plan at figuring out the best way to adjust and balance things. I can't tell you how many times I have gone to him with a seemingly intractable problem I just couldn't figure out and he thinks for 10 seconds and then has the perfect plan that ends up saving my cycle. Anyway it was Christmas and I was doing all the family stuff and what not so I didn't call him. All this is to say I'm not confident in what I ended up doing.
Noon 11.6 miles in shorts and a T-shirt!!! in 1:12.
I was feeling pretty good by today. Still coughing but not nearly as bad. However I was feeling very confused about how to approach training for the next week. I have a goal race now only 9 days away. I haven't run fast for nearly 3 weeks. I need to get back in the swing but at the same time taper. I am very good with setting up full cycles but a spot like this I just didn't have a solution. I must have settled on 15 different plans. I should have called Gary Gardner. That is my normal fall back. Gary doesn't use the exact same methods I do but he more than understands what I do and he is one of the absolute best when something goes off plan at figuring out the best way to adjust and balance things. I can't tell you how many times I have gone to him with a seemingly intractable problem I just couldn't figure out and he thinks for 10 seconds and then has the perfect plan that ends up saving my cycle. Anyway it was Christmas and I was doing all the family stuff and what not so I didn't call him. All this is to say I'm not confident in what I ended up doing.
Saturday AM 10.3 in 70mins
Sunday PM 13.7 miles with last two miles at goal half marathon pace. first 11.4 in 1:12 then 2 miles in 9:41.8- bit quick. I run on the roads so I don't have a lot of splits for these things. (4:54.3, 4:47.5) actually didn't feel that bad considering I have done zero speed for weeks.
Summary
So there you have it my training for this half marathon. Not ideal but the course and competition look ideal. I keep trying to remind myself that I have run a handful of 1:07 to 1:08 halves here in New England off worse or similar training on much tougher course in much tougher conditions. Also I keep reminding myself of a story from my good friend Tommy Neal. Tommy was training for the Gary Bjorkland half marathon as a qualifying attempt for the 2012 trials and he joined that group that Scott Simmons put together that was advised by Canova. The week of the race Tommy gets to sit down with Canova for a while and go over his training logs. At the end Canova says to Tommy who has best in the mid 29's for 10k, 49 something for 10 miles, and low 2:20's for the marathon that the good news is that he has not been training he just runs a lot. This means that Canova thinks he can improve in leaps and bounds with a few adjustments because the volume he is running shows he can handle heavy training. But poor Tommy is panicked his race is that weekend. He tells Canova as much. Canova asks what the course is like and what time Tommy needs to run. Canova says something like 'well it isn't a sure thing but 1:05 isn't that fast and a person could certainly run that sort of time on just a lot of running.' The result. Tommy ran 1:04:59 and qualified for the trials.
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Boston Marathon Race Recap: DNF and a huge success.
Most of you who read this certainly know by now I was a DNF in Boston on Monday. This was disappointing but not nearly as much as you might think or perhaps as it should be. My focus for a late winter or spring marathon since beginning to work on the upper back and shoulder posture was to see improvement in the coordination problem. So to me everything else was secondary. In this frame Monday was a huge success. In my last two marathons, NYC 2008 an the IAAF World Championships in 2009, I lost coordination completely at almost exactly 10k- just before in one and practically on the marker in the other and it was 'threatening' to go before there. In the 19 miles I made it Monday I never lost coordination and I held goal pace range for more than 20k and reasonable pace for 16 plus miles. This was HUGE for me. Everything else is a regular problem I am not afraid of. The coordination has been an unbeatable unassailable wall for almost a decade and to have concrete success in cracking it feels like a miracle!
So what went wrong, why did I dnf etc..
So I'll start with the events of the day and then I'll get into possible causes and that sort of stuff.
I had no real set pace plan going into the race. I was fit but I haven't been able to do a ton of specific work or get on the course. Ruben wanted to go out at around 2:16 pace and there was a group that was going for that. We figured given the weather that was quick enough to give a shot at sub 2:18, the trials standard and for Ruben the worlds standard, even if the wind was real bad in the second half but not so fast as to be a all eggs in the basket hammer out attack.
The first mile is very downhill particularly the first K, we were like 3:01 at the K but really relaxed and hit the mile in 5:06 (I'll put all the splits at the end of the blog). This felt great and Ruben and I were in a nice little group. I noticed the leaders got out very fast and I noticed that we were already into a head wind which I had hoped not to feel until at least half way.
I noticed Fernando Cabada had gone out conservatively just in front of us a bit and was already in no mans land. I really felt for the guy and hoped he would find a group soon. A 2:11 is much harder to run now than in decade past because so often you have to chose between running 2:05, or faster, pace or running alone. Going out in 2:09 and holding on is reasonable but going out in 29:35 for 10k is not for most guys.
I was thrilled how easy the first 5k was and how perfect my shoulders felt and that my leg was barking in the least. We hit 5k in 16:08. I know 16:00 are 2:15:00 pace so I figured we were right on. Already it the wind was quite noticeable and I was trying to stay in the pack but kept finding myself on the outside. Aerobically I felt incredibly easy and actually was wishing we were running a few seconds per mile faster.
Sage Canaday was the most aggressive in our pack and did a ton of leading. Really awesome job by him to run 2:19 in that wind. No doubt in my mind that was a 2:15 to 2:16 effort and to come on the heels of a 2:20 in hot weather in LA I really feel for the guy who I'm sure thought he would go to LA and qualify easy and get back to focusing on his Ultra stuff.
I was super pumped to pass 10k in about 32:21. I felt easy but to be honest I was VERY stressed as we came up to this point that I would suddenly lose coordination and this whole thing would be a failure. Rationally I knew that wasn't likely but it has been nearly a decade of failure and so it is easy to lose the rational side. After 10k I just told myself every step is an improvement and I really felt totally confident I would make 15k as I was not feeling any symptoms what so ever in the leg. I noticed after 10k the wind getting very tough and it was really hard to run into. We were running times in the low 5:teens but you knew the effort was 5 to 10 seconds a mile under that even in the pack and a strong head wind was my number one fear for the coordination so this was very tough mentally too. I rolled by 15k and was not thrilled with the 48:42 as I knew we had slowed a bit but with the wind what could you do. I felt strong and was thrilled the leg wasn't threatening at all.
There was a short little hill before 10 miles and suddenly my legs, quads really, were burning like hell and I got dropped off the pack. I tried to force back on because with the wind running alone was a sure to fail plan. It was no use my legs were shit. I was shocked. I have never had trouble like this in a marathon. This mile was a 5:22 my slowest so far and all I could think of was that Deek quote about how if you are hurting at 10 miles in a marathon you are in trouble. This was not good. Still I hadn't lost coordination and so I focused on running hard and seeing how far I could go without losing coordination.
I had a couple bad steps in the 11th mile where the leg felt like it was threatening but I realized I had let my shoulder/upper back position slip and I refocused on that and the leg quickly felt much better. I hit 20k in 65:43 which was just awful. I knew back in February running through snow and worst wind than we had out there today I had run 20k of alternations in 66:23 so to only be 40 seconds up on that was awful. That said I also knew that was fast enough to be right in my trouble pace for the coordination and I was still running strong.
It was a weird space to be in. Aerobically I felt great and I had full control of my leg which was awesome but my legs were completely dead just weak and hurting. I kept hoping as the aerobic effort was so easy things would get better but they just kept getting worse.
I tried to make the best of an unpleasant situation high fiving spectators including the Wellesely girls, so many of them my arm hurt after, and pushing on. Mostly running in the 5:30's Then mile 15 I ran something in the 5:50's and knew I was in deep crap. Still I had control of the leg so I tried to soldier on. 16 has a screamer of a downhill before you face the Newton Hills. I managed another mile in the 5:30's and told myself if I couldn't keep it under 6 mins I would drop out at 17. I ran 6:02 but by the time I got there I had figured out that if I ran about 6:00 to the finish I could manage a 2:26 or so which is pretty bad compared to what I wanted but not embarrassing and I decided 6:02 on one of the slowest miles wasn't that bad. Mile 18 was worse, 6:15. But I thought I could rally on the flat 19 mile but I was feeling very weird by this point. It was raining and I was very uncomfortable and my thought process wasn't too clear.
I started getting caught by folks from behind me and I was feeling very poor at this point and realizing I was looking at a very slow finish time. I also was realizing that though I hadn't lost coordination running at over 6:00 pace is not much stress on the system and wasn't telling me much if anything about the coordination issues.
As I said I was not all that clear headed at this point so exactly why I chose to stop just after the 19 mile mark. I think I was thinking I might drop out and I might just collect myself. As I stopped a group went by and I was surprised by them and sort of turned as I stopped and went woozy. As I stepped to the side of the road I blacked out for just a second and was caught by some of the very nice water stop folks. I realized my day was over. One of the volunteers walked me to the med tent. The pic below is me heading towards the med tent.
In the med tent I was evaluated by a doctor and was a bit hypothermic, my heart rate was low considering I had just stopped running, 50, but my blood pressure was also low again considering I had just stopped running hard at 108 over 60. I was realizing how cold I was. They gave me some hot broth and a blanket and then I took the tour of sag wagon busses back to the finish area.
In the med bus I was a hurting unit but I was also actually quite excited because I felt the enormous weight of the coordination issue being lifted off my shoulders. I felt guilty getting all this support when I was not dejected or in need of serious medical care. I mean don't get me wrong I wanted a hot bath and dry cloths like a man in the desert wants water but it still felt wrong to be happy in the dnf van.
Post race I felt really bad for not finishing for all the people who supported me and I felt badly for all the press I had received in the build up to Boston. I have had mixed feelings about the press from the beginning. Obviously by putting out this blog I had invited it and I wanted enough to get some shoe support and I got that. I however have from the beginning figured this was a long road back and knew there was a good chance there would be serious bumps in the road. On top of that all the press started to really happen just as I was hitting one of those bumps and it was an uncomfortable place to be. I always try to be as honest as I can with press people, with most everyone really, but in the end you can't control what is written and so a lot of times the public information out there isn't a fair assessment.
The point is I get, and appreciate, a ton of support from so many people out there and though I was happy with this race as I accomplished my process goal which was most important to me, I realized that I had fallen way short of any and all outcome goals and for people watching from the world around me that was a pretty big failure. As a fan myself I know what it is like to root for someone and have them fall short and fail and it hurts. It feels like you failed too. Or at least like you have suffered a loss. So I came up with a great idea to post an apology on Facebook. That was stupid. A few hours later I get back online to discover that the whole running world thinks I'm practically suicidal and they are saying some really nice things which made me feel all the more guilty. Oh well…
SO WHAT WENT WRONG??
First to tell you that I know for sure 100% what was the problem would be a lie. I have my theories and I'll address them but I could be wrong and only time will tell. I will list every thing that I think could have been the issue. I'm guessing that a few things together were the problem. I will list them in order of how likely I think it is each was the issue or a major issue in my failure from the things I'm sure were at least part of the problem down to some things that I very much doubt were an issue but heck it could have been.
1. My last good specific workout was February 18th. Two months before the race. I had hoped that with a couple close to specific workouts, 15k around mp and a 16 miler at about 85 to 90% of mp would be enough of a bridge to carry that specific work fitness to the day. But the reality is I hadn't even been able to run long runs during this period and by the time I was 100% healthy it was time to taper. I was able to train in non-marathon specific ways which meant that I am VERY fit but not ready for a marathon. I never even made it to where I ran out of glycogen because my muscles were so unready they quit first. I think if I had been doing regular 20 to 22 milers I would have at least been able to go 20 or so before running out of glycogen and then struggling.
2. conditions. I doubt very much these were the only issue I had but at the same time had the wind been at our backs I would have been running the same splits but with even less effort and I have no doubt I would have gone 16 miles, I was going to say 15 but the downhill 16th is a very easy mile to run, without any issues then I would have fought through the hills and really been hurting at 21 but running downhill with the wind at my back and salvaged a 2:20 or so. I did end up hypothermic. I tend to think it was a symptom of slowing down and struggling but it may have been something that was causing my body to work harder than it should and caused some of my struggles.
3. lack of long runs over the last 5 plus years. As a symptom of the coordination problem I have not been able to do much running over 10 miles since 2010 or so. I can do it now but I need to get a lot more in and that will help with muscular endurance. I started in that direction but with the hiccups the last couple months not having those in my background became a much bigger problem.
4. Food. I am eating a plant based diet now and I don't eat enough. I don't think I ate enough the morning of the race. I was STARVING after I dnf'd. I'll have to address this and may add some animal products back into my diet. If I had fallen apart at 18 to 20 miles I would think this was a bigger part of the problem I have a hard time believing I was struggling at 10 because of a poor breakfast though I have little doubt the poor breakfast played a big part in me passing out when I stopped.
5. Toughness. I may not be as tough as I once was. I was in a worse way in Berlin in 2009 and I didn't stop. I wasn't really that bad off in NYC but still I lost coordination at 10k and I finished. Now I dnf. Try to remember I had powerful reasons to finish both those races. At NYC I had a small by their standards but huge by my financial standards at the time appearance fee and I only got paid half if I didn't finish. I'd post the amount but I think there was a non-discloser clause and thought I doubt very much they would sue me or anything I really like the NYRR and would like to do their events again and have no desire to piss them off. At the world championships I was representing my country. I was going to finish that race if I had to crawl to the line. I am at my core a mediocre nobody from a nowhere town with little talent who trained hard for 10 years with no real prospects of success and suddenly I am wearing the Team USA kit, hardest national team in the world to make, on the second highest stage available. There was no way under the sun I was going to drop out as long as I had anything I could do to prevent it. For Boston I was there to test the coordination first and if things were going well try to run an OT qualifier. Honestly I would have been happy in those conditions to run anything in the low 2:20's but that wasn't happening and I felt no strong need to fight a war just for the sake of finishing. DNF or 2:30 something for a time look about the same to me at this time.
Finally I'd like to respond to a couple of comments that I thought were fair and probably represented what a lot of others were thinking but maybe not writing.
One poster asked something like what happened to you guys? I assume referring to both Ruben and I. Given the conditions I thought Ruben ran well. He was a bit banged up as well and wasn't able to do great specific workouts but was able to do some pretty solid long runs. He ran 2:21. I feel looking at the top finishers the course was probably 4 to 5 minutes slower than a Dubia or Berlin or Boston with Tailwind. Given that Ruben ran 2:16 to 2:17 type effort which is very good. For me I think I have addressed what I think happened.
Another poster put up a nice well thought out thing on why not quit teaching. It kinda pissed Melissa off but I thought it was a good post. He pointed out that working with kids you give them a lot of energy even if you don't realize it. Believe me I realize it. I don't work a very long day. I'm at work from about 7:45 to about 3:15, some days I have to stay until 5 or later but not often. I leave TIRED. I don't sit except at lunch and emotionally you put a lot in. There are just no breaks. So why not quit and focus a 100% on a sub 2:12 like the poster suggested.
Well some reasons are financial. My best year I made about $18k from just running income. If I ran a 2:11 right now I would guess I would struggle to get a shoe contract for much more than 10K. I made those sacrifices but I don't want to set myself, and my family, for financial hardship or even just more difficulty down the line just to chase a PR. I spent a number of years doing that and paid my dues and paid my financial price. I have a nice life now and I don't want to sell my house and put Melissa through all that for a second run.
Would it make it easier to run fast? sure. But this is the real world and that isn't an option for me in my current life. If I do run very fast while teaching and the chance to run full time and make a real living doing it arrises I would consider it. I have also considered trying to find a less stressful job but frankly I like my work and every job has its advantages and disadvantages.
I want to run fast but I am living a normal life now and I like my life. I'm not in a place where I want to gamble our home or financial future on a time chase that would be purely about personal satisfaction. In the current state of international running for a guy my age quitting my job to try and run 2:11 or even 2:09 is like a man quitting his job to run 2:30. You can do it if it really means that much to you but if you are doing for YOU and your own personal satisfaction. I'm not satisfied with my running but it is a rare night I wake up NEEDING to run 2:10. I can live with the few nights it happens because my family and our security is worth more to me.
Splits from Boston
1-5:06.94
2-5:14.92 (10:21.86)
3-5:12.40 (15:34.26)
4-5:12.65 (20:46.91)
5-5:16.88 (26:03.79)
6-5:10.22 (31:14.01)
7-5:15.16 (36:29.17)
8-5:13.15 (41:42.32)
9-5:18.06 (47:00.38)
10-5:22.54 (52:22.92)
11-5:23.45 (57:46.37)
12-5:31.07 (1:03:17)
13-5:31.19 (1:08:48)
Halfway 1:09:27
14- 5:37.32 (1:14:25)
15- 5:52.31 (1:20:18)
16- 5:33.77 (1:25:52)
17-6:02.83 (1:31.54)
18-6:15.13 (1:38:09)
19-6:10.64 (1:44:20)
Some photos I snagged off Facebook that show me running upright! (this is key for me to hold coordination)
So what went wrong, why did I dnf etc..
So I'll start with the events of the day and then I'll get into possible causes and that sort of stuff.
I had no real set pace plan going into the race. I was fit but I haven't been able to do a ton of specific work or get on the course. Ruben wanted to go out at around 2:16 pace and there was a group that was going for that. We figured given the weather that was quick enough to give a shot at sub 2:18, the trials standard and for Ruben the worlds standard, even if the wind was real bad in the second half but not so fast as to be a all eggs in the basket hammer out attack.
The first mile is very downhill particularly the first K, we were like 3:01 at the K but really relaxed and hit the mile in 5:06 (I'll put all the splits at the end of the blog). This felt great and Ruben and I were in a nice little group. I noticed the leaders got out very fast and I noticed that we were already into a head wind which I had hoped not to feel until at least half way.
I noticed Fernando Cabada had gone out conservatively just in front of us a bit and was already in no mans land. I really felt for the guy and hoped he would find a group soon. A 2:11 is much harder to run now than in decade past because so often you have to chose between running 2:05, or faster, pace or running alone. Going out in 2:09 and holding on is reasonable but going out in 29:35 for 10k is not for most guys.
I was thrilled how easy the first 5k was and how perfect my shoulders felt and that my leg was barking in the least. We hit 5k in 16:08. I know 16:00 are 2:15:00 pace so I figured we were right on. Already it the wind was quite noticeable and I was trying to stay in the pack but kept finding myself on the outside. Aerobically I felt incredibly easy and actually was wishing we were running a few seconds per mile faster.
Sage Canaday was the most aggressive in our pack and did a ton of leading. Really awesome job by him to run 2:19 in that wind. No doubt in my mind that was a 2:15 to 2:16 effort and to come on the heels of a 2:20 in hot weather in LA I really feel for the guy who I'm sure thought he would go to LA and qualify easy and get back to focusing on his Ultra stuff.
I was super pumped to pass 10k in about 32:21. I felt easy but to be honest I was VERY stressed as we came up to this point that I would suddenly lose coordination and this whole thing would be a failure. Rationally I knew that wasn't likely but it has been nearly a decade of failure and so it is easy to lose the rational side. After 10k I just told myself every step is an improvement and I really felt totally confident I would make 15k as I was not feeling any symptoms what so ever in the leg. I noticed after 10k the wind getting very tough and it was really hard to run into. We were running times in the low 5:teens but you knew the effort was 5 to 10 seconds a mile under that even in the pack and a strong head wind was my number one fear for the coordination so this was very tough mentally too. I rolled by 15k and was not thrilled with the 48:42 as I knew we had slowed a bit but with the wind what could you do. I felt strong and was thrilled the leg wasn't threatening at all.
There was a short little hill before 10 miles and suddenly my legs, quads really, were burning like hell and I got dropped off the pack. I tried to force back on because with the wind running alone was a sure to fail plan. It was no use my legs were shit. I was shocked. I have never had trouble like this in a marathon. This mile was a 5:22 my slowest so far and all I could think of was that Deek quote about how if you are hurting at 10 miles in a marathon you are in trouble. This was not good. Still I hadn't lost coordination and so I focused on running hard and seeing how far I could go without losing coordination.
I had a couple bad steps in the 11th mile where the leg felt like it was threatening but I realized I had let my shoulder/upper back position slip and I refocused on that and the leg quickly felt much better. I hit 20k in 65:43 which was just awful. I knew back in February running through snow and worst wind than we had out there today I had run 20k of alternations in 66:23 so to only be 40 seconds up on that was awful. That said I also knew that was fast enough to be right in my trouble pace for the coordination and I was still running strong.
It was a weird space to be in. Aerobically I felt great and I had full control of my leg which was awesome but my legs were completely dead just weak and hurting. I kept hoping as the aerobic effort was so easy things would get better but they just kept getting worse.
I tried to make the best of an unpleasant situation high fiving spectators including the Wellesely girls, so many of them my arm hurt after, and pushing on. Mostly running in the 5:30's Then mile 15 I ran something in the 5:50's and knew I was in deep crap. Still I had control of the leg so I tried to soldier on. 16 has a screamer of a downhill before you face the Newton Hills. I managed another mile in the 5:30's and told myself if I couldn't keep it under 6 mins I would drop out at 17. I ran 6:02 but by the time I got there I had figured out that if I ran about 6:00 to the finish I could manage a 2:26 or so which is pretty bad compared to what I wanted but not embarrassing and I decided 6:02 on one of the slowest miles wasn't that bad. Mile 18 was worse, 6:15. But I thought I could rally on the flat 19 mile but I was feeling very weird by this point. It was raining and I was very uncomfortable and my thought process wasn't too clear.
I started getting caught by folks from behind me and I was feeling very poor at this point and realizing I was looking at a very slow finish time. I also was realizing that though I hadn't lost coordination running at over 6:00 pace is not much stress on the system and wasn't telling me much if anything about the coordination issues.
As I said I was not all that clear headed at this point so exactly why I chose to stop just after the 19 mile mark. I think I was thinking I might drop out and I might just collect myself. As I stopped a group went by and I was surprised by them and sort of turned as I stopped and went woozy. As I stepped to the side of the road I blacked out for just a second and was caught by some of the very nice water stop folks. I realized my day was over. One of the volunteers walked me to the med tent. The pic below is me heading towards the med tent.
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| Photo by Chris Spinney |
In the med tent I was evaluated by a doctor and was a bit hypothermic, my heart rate was low considering I had just stopped running, 50, but my blood pressure was also low again considering I had just stopped running hard at 108 over 60. I was realizing how cold I was. They gave me some hot broth and a blanket and then I took the tour of sag wagon busses back to the finish area.
In the med bus I was a hurting unit but I was also actually quite excited because I felt the enormous weight of the coordination issue being lifted off my shoulders. I felt guilty getting all this support when I was not dejected or in need of serious medical care. I mean don't get me wrong I wanted a hot bath and dry cloths like a man in the desert wants water but it still felt wrong to be happy in the dnf van.
Post race I felt really bad for not finishing for all the people who supported me and I felt badly for all the press I had received in the build up to Boston. I have had mixed feelings about the press from the beginning. Obviously by putting out this blog I had invited it and I wanted enough to get some shoe support and I got that. I however have from the beginning figured this was a long road back and knew there was a good chance there would be serious bumps in the road. On top of that all the press started to really happen just as I was hitting one of those bumps and it was an uncomfortable place to be. I always try to be as honest as I can with press people, with most everyone really, but in the end you can't control what is written and so a lot of times the public information out there isn't a fair assessment.
The point is I get, and appreciate, a ton of support from so many people out there and though I was happy with this race as I accomplished my process goal which was most important to me, I realized that I had fallen way short of any and all outcome goals and for people watching from the world around me that was a pretty big failure. As a fan myself I know what it is like to root for someone and have them fall short and fail and it hurts. It feels like you failed too. Or at least like you have suffered a loss. So I came up with a great idea to post an apology on Facebook. That was stupid. A few hours later I get back online to discover that the whole running world thinks I'm practically suicidal and they are saying some really nice things which made me feel all the more guilty. Oh well…
SO WHAT WENT WRONG??
First to tell you that I know for sure 100% what was the problem would be a lie. I have my theories and I'll address them but I could be wrong and only time will tell. I will list every thing that I think could have been the issue. I'm guessing that a few things together were the problem. I will list them in order of how likely I think it is each was the issue or a major issue in my failure from the things I'm sure were at least part of the problem down to some things that I very much doubt were an issue but heck it could have been.
1. My last good specific workout was February 18th. Two months before the race. I had hoped that with a couple close to specific workouts, 15k around mp and a 16 miler at about 85 to 90% of mp would be enough of a bridge to carry that specific work fitness to the day. But the reality is I hadn't even been able to run long runs during this period and by the time I was 100% healthy it was time to taper. I was able to train in non-marathon specific ways which meant that I am VERY fit but not ready for a marathon. I never even made it to where I ran out of glycogen because my muscles were so unready they quit first. I think if I had been doing regular 20 to 22 milers I would have at least been able to go 20 or so before running out of glycogen and then struggling.
2. conditions. I doubt very much these were the only issue I had but at the same time had the wind been at our backs I would have been running the same splits but with even less effort and I have no doubt I would have gone 16 miles, I was going to say 15 but the downhill 16th is a very easy mile to run, without any issues then I would have fought through the hills and really been hurting at 21 but running downhill with the wind at my back and salvaged a 2:20 or so. I did end up hypothermic. I tend to think it was a symptom of slowing down and struggling but it may have been something that was causing my body to work harder than it should and caused some of my struggles.
3. lack of long runs over the last 5 plus years. As a symptom of the coordination problem I have not been able to do much running over 10 miles since 2010 or so. I can do it now but I need to get a lot more in and that will help with muscular endurance. I started in that direction but with the hiccups the last couple months not having those in my background became a much bigger problem.
4. Food. I am eating a plant based diet now and I don't eat enough. I don't think I ate enough the morning of the race. I was STARVING after I dnf'd. I'll have to address this and may add some animal products back into my diet. If I had fallen apart at 18 to 20 miles I would think this was a bigger part of the problem I have a hard time believing I was struggling at 10 because of a poor breakfast though I have little doubt the poor breakfast played a big part in me passing out when I stopped.
5. Toughness. I may not be as tough as I once was. I was in a worse way in Berlin in 2009 and I didn't stop. I wasn't really that bad off in NYC but still I lost coordination at 10k and I finished. Now I dnf. Try to remember I had powerful reasons to finish both those races. At NYC I had a small by their standards but huge by my financial standards at the time appearance fee and I only got paid half if I didn't finish. I'd post the amount but I think there was a non-discloser clause and thought I doubt very much they would sue me or anything I really like the NYRR and would like to do their events again and have no desire to piss them off. At the world championships I was representing my country. I was going to finish that race if I had to crawl to the line. I am at my core a mediocre nobody from a nowhere town with little talent who trained hard for 10 years with no real prospects of success and suddenly I am wearing the Team USA kit, hardest national team in the world to make, on the second highest stage available. There was no way under the sun I was going to drop out as long as I had anything I could do to prevent it. For Boston I was there to test the coordination first and if things were going well try to run an OT qualifier. Honestly I would have been happy in those conditions to run anything in the low 2:20's but that wasn't happening and I felt no strong need to fight a war just for the sake of finishing. DNF or 2:30 something for a time look about the same to me at this time.
Finally I'd like to respond to a couple of comments that I thought were fair and probably represented what a lot of others were thinking but maybe not writing.
One poster asked something like what happened to you guys? I assume referring to both Ruben and I. Given the conditions I thought Ruben ran well. He was a bit banged up as well and wasn't able to do great specific workouts but was able to do some pretty solid long runs. He ran 2:21. I feel looking at the top finishers the course was probably 4 to 5 minutes slower than a Dubia or Berlin or Boston with Tailwind. Given that Ruben ran 2:16 to 2:17 type effort which is very good. For me I think I have addressed what I think happened.
Another poster put up a nice well thought out thing on why not quit teaching. It kinda pissed Melissa off but I thought it was a good post. He pointed out that working with kids you give them a lot of energy even if you don't realize it. Believe me I realize it. I don't work a very long day. I'm at work from about 7:45 to about 3:15, some days I have to stay until 5 or later but not often. I leave TIRED. I don't sit except at lunch and emotionally you put a lot in. There are just no breaks. So why not quit and focus a 100% on a sub 2:12 like the poster suggested.
Well some reasons are financial. My best year I made about $18k from just running income. If I ran a 2:11 right now I would guess I would struggle to get a shoe contract for much more than 10K. I made those sacrifices but I don't want to set myself, and my family, for financial hardship or even just more difficulty down the line just to chase a PR. I spent a number of years doing that and paid my dues and paid my financial price. I have a nice life now and I don't want to sell my house and put Melissa through all that for a second run.
Would it make it easier to run fast? sure. But this is the real world and that isn't an option for me in my current life. If I do run very fast while teaching and the chance to run full time and make a real living doing it arrises I would consider it. I have also considered trying to find a less stressful job but frankly I like my work and every job has its advantages and disadvantages.
I want to run fast but I am living a normal life now and I like my life. I'm not in a place where I want to gamble our home or financial future on a time chase that would be purely about personal satisfaction. In the current state of international running for a guy my age quitting my job to try and run 2:11 or even 2:09 is like a man quitting his job to run 2:30. You can do it if it really means that much to you but if you are doing for YOU and your own personal satisfaction. I'm not satisfied with my running but it is a rare night I wake up NEEDING to run 2:10. I can live with the few nights it happens because my family and our security is worth more to me.
Splits from Boston
1-5:06.94
2-5:14.92 (10:21.86)
3-5:12.40 (15:34.26)
4-5:12.65 (20:46.91)
5-5:16.88 (26:03.79)
6-5:10.22 (31:14.01)
7-5:15.16 (36:29.17)
8-5:13.15 (41:42.32)
9-5:18.06 (47:00.38)
10-5:22.54 (52:22.92)
11-5:23.45 (57:46.37)
12-5:31.07 (1:03:17)
13-5:31.19 (1:08:48)
Halfway 1:09:27
14- 5:37.32 (1:14:25)
15- 5:52.31 (1:20:18)
16- 5:33.77 (1:25:52)
17-6:02.83 (1:31.54)
18-6:15.13 (1:38:09)
19-6:10.64 (1:44:20)
Some photos I snagged off Facebook that show me running upright! (this is key for me to hold coordination)
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| Photo by Caitlyn Germain |
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| Photo by Danielle Brideau Lussier |
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| Photo by Jeff Thelen |
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Fix You. Part III. Guest Blog by Melissa
This is the final installment and exciting conclusion of the Fix You blog. If you missed part II, click here: http://nateruns.blogspot.com/2015/03/fix-you-part-ii-guest-blog-by-melissa.html
“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.”
I drove home with Nate in the passenger seat. I was fuming mad but also worried sick. This was a major spine surgery and Nate convinced the surgeon to let him go home, with next to no post-op recovery time, no post-op monitoring, just because he doesn’t like hospitals. Yes, I’m a nurse practitioner, but I’m in primary care. I’m not scrubbing in on surgeries, I’m not rounding in the hospital, I’m not seeing patients post-op. I’m doing annual physicals and treating sore throats. This is out of my specialty. If something went wrong, not only would I be out of practice on what to do, but I wouldn’t have any of the appropriate equipment to manage a problem at home. It was completely unfair for him to put this on my shoulders. Not to mention I had to go to work in the morning.
I might have been fuming, but Nate was in his glory. Anyone who knows Nate knows he is a bit like Rain Man when it comes to running statistics. I frequently pick a random year and say, “Nate, Boston, 1982, Go!” and he will recite the top ten at the Boston marathon for that given year and give me their finishing times and personal best times. In his doped up state (it takes a while before the good drugs they use in anesthesia to wear off) he was even more like this, and certain that he would be running 2:10 in the marathon by the fall.
Nate flew up the three flights of stairs to our apartment. Part of me really hoped that he was having some sort of miracle recovery and that this would be a breeze. But a few hours later, Nate was in pain. He was laying in bed grimacing and told me his pain was suddenly eight out of ten. I had never seen Nate that uncomfortable, but he still had ninety minutes before he was due for Vicodin.
I explained, “Nate, I know you’re in pain, and that’s expected after surgery. But you’re not supposed to have any pain meds for another ninety minutes. Now, in a hospital setting things are different. They can hook you up to an IV and give you some Dilaudid, or maybe they’d even give you the Vicodin sooner, but we’re not in the hospital, are we. Someone wanted to go home, and so I need to follow the guidelines set out by the surgeon. So you’ll have to wait another ninety minutes. But I’d be happy to give you some ice.”
His vital signs were fine and the incision looked good so I knew his pain was due to the anesthesia wearing off. The tough love continued a few hours later when Nate tried to use the bathroom and found he couldn’t urinate.
“Honey?” He called, “Can you come help me?”
I went into the bathroom to find Nate standing over the toilet. I was confused. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t pee. It won’t come out” he said.
This was not on my list of anticipated problems. Actually, if I had sat down for days and brainstormed possible post-op issues, this would not be on that list. But I didn’t even consider acute post-op problems because I was expecting Nate to be in a nice, safe hospital for his recovery. Not here. And now that the pain meds had worn off, there was almost no way I could get him back down the stairs to bring him to the hospital.
“Nate, you listen to me right now. I’ve got an old catheter kit we used for practice at Boston College in the back closet. If you don’t pee in the next five minutes, I will use it on you. I will. You wanted to go home? Now, you gotta pee.”
He peed. I was completely relieved that he didn’t call my bluff on that catheter kit.
After that first hellish night, Nate’s recovery went quite smoothly. He couldn’t bend at the waist for weeks, which meant I was dressing him every morning. I came home at lunch every day and checked on him, occasionally finding him “stuck” on the couch or a chair, unable to get up without assistance, but after the first two weeks or so he was strong enough to walk stiffly around the block.
By six weeks, Nate was running again. The next few months involved lots of physical therapy and a slow build up of miles. The goal was to be on the starting line at the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials.
Nate started training in earnest. However, the coordination issue wasn’t magically solved. Prior to surgery Nate could only make it two miles into a tempo run before losing coordination. After the surgery he could go ten kilometers before he lost coordination. Nerves are funny things and their recovery does not always follow a smooth trajectory. We knew we needed to give the nerves time to heal before they “came back”, but the dramatic improvement immediately post-op was very promising.
However, by mid-summer, the nerves weren’t coming around quick enough. Nate ran a hot and hilly half marathon in 1:06, but struggled with coordination problems during the race. He wasn’t able to train appropriately for a marathon, and he knew he wouldn’t last very long before losing coordination if he tried. We hoped the nerves would heal if we just gave them more time, but as the months went by the improvement he saw stagnated, and some days were actually worse.
A year out from his surgery, his shoe company dropped him. He missed the Olympic Trials. We were standing on the dock as the ship faded into the horizon. It was so ambitious to think that he could recover within a year of major back surgery. Nate was an inch shorter than before his surgery, that’s how much bone and disc material was removed. How could we have possibly expected that he would be back so quick? I reassured him that, despite it all, the nerves would eventually come around and he would make it back. We just didn’t have enough time.
But things didn’t improve and by the fall Nate started teaching math at a local middle school. He continued to run over one hundred miles a week, but it was just running. He was not capable of running any of his favorite workouts without losing coordination. He could cobble together a half marathon, which was a great improvement compared to before the surgery, but the later stages of the race would be ugly.
Nate settled into life as a teacher with a running problem. We bought a house. The nerves never improved more than they had initially after surgery. I started to wonder if something else could be done. I encouraged Nate to follow up with the surgeon and ask.
Unfortunately, the surgeon felt like he fixed the source of the problem and there was nothing else for him to do. This was entirely true from the surgeon’s perspective, but heartbreaking for Nate to hear. Dejected, he went back to his new life, stopped posting his blog, and started to accept that this was his fate.
I felt stupid for sending him back to the surgeon. Of course the surgeon wouldn’t have any further answers because there was nothing left to cut. It was foolish of me to think the surgeon would have an answer. But I already knew that Nate’s problem was a nerve problem, so there had to be some doctor who could help us. I found that there was a neurologist that worked in my hospital network who had certification as a sports neurologist. A sports neurologist! How perfect! Someone who knows nerves within the context of sports. A match made in Heaven.
I was so excited to tell Nate about it. This doctor was in Winchester; Nate could just leave school early one day and see him. But when I told him, his face hardened. He did not share my excitement.
“I am not going to another doctor to be told that there’s nothing else that can be done. Frankly I don’t think I could handle being told that again. I’m not going.”
This was a blow. I pleaded with him. I apologized for sending him back to the surgeon, it was a really dumb idea, but this sports neurologist is not a surgeon. He’s a doctor and he can at least point us in the right direction.
Nate finally agreed and a month later he saw the sports neurologist. This doctor was a mad scientist type; extremely interested, extremely thorough, a doctor whose whole life is his work. I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually slept in his office. It was a breath of fresh air. Just in the office, the sports neurologist determined that Nate had less strength in his right leg; in fact his right leg was smaller in circumference than his left leg.
The sports neurologist needed some hard numbers. He needed to determine how much of a success Nate’s surgery truly was, and if there was any persistent impingement. This meant another EMG. I felt like I was torturing Nate. If you read blog II, (find it here: http://nateruns.blogspot.com/2015/03/fix-you-part-ii-guest-blog-by-melissa.html ), you’ll remember that undergoing an EMG is significantly worse than undergoing a root canal. For Nate, it was yet another blow he accepted with quiet resignation.
The second EMG showed function in both legs within the normal ranges, with the right leg function less than the left, but still normal. The sports neurologist concluded that the surgery was successful, but Nate’s piriformis might be pinching the nerve a bit and causing some increased dysfunction on the right side.
Nate started physical therapy again to address the tight piriformis, and he also started Bikram yoga. Bikram is a form of hot yoga that Nate and I had both previously tried. It was created by a yogi who healed a bad knee injury without surgery just by doing yoga. Nate liked it because, with his back surgery, there are certain yoga “postures” he shouldn’t perform, and in Bikram yoga the postures are always the same. Unlike a traditional yoga class, where the instructor might choose to focus on a series of postures that Nate shouldn’t perform, Nate always knows what to expect in a Bikram class.
Nate found that the combination of Bikram and physical therapy improved the overall function of his right leg. He was doing much better, still not as well as he hoped, still not enough for a marathon, but much better than he was the first year after his surgery.
Full disclosure, this is where I gave up. I thought we had all the answers to Nate’s injury. I thought the nerves had come back as much as they were going to, and that getting the piriformis to loosen up was the final piece of the puzzle. I thought the improvement we saw was the most we would see. I thought if Nate had his surgery sooner, if it was shortly after the problem first started, we might have seen greater improvement, but sometimes once nerves are damaged, especially for any length of time, they don’t come back fully. Nate’s nerve function was at least in the normal range now. It all made perfect sense to me, and I could think of nothing else that could possibly affect the function of his right leg. I sent Nate to multiple top doctors, sports doctors, doctors who know a lot more than I do, and they felt this was the answer to Nate’s injury. I didn’t question it any further than this. I regret giving up, though admittedly I don’t think I would have ever guessed the final piece of the puzzle on my own.
I may have given up, but, to his great credit, Nate never did. The improvement he saw in his coordination from physical therapy and Bikram inspired him, and made him feel that he could fix his leg the rest of the way. Enough to run a marathon. He’d occasionally ask me if I had any other ideas. I didn’t. I truly felt like the case was closed. I was disappointed, because my original goal was to restore Nate to glory, but I felt like I had found the problem and got it fixed, and sure there was some residual damage, but I couldn’t have anticipated that. I had done my best. As Robin Williams said in What Dreams May Come, “Sometimes when you win, you lose.”
Everything changed for Nate in November, 2014 when Josh McDougal beat him in the Manchester Half Marathon. This day flipped Nate’s injury on its head and opened a whole new world of possibilities. I am forever grateful that Nate chose to run that half marathon, that he was capable of running a half marathon, and that Josh McDougal met him at the finish line.
For those who don’t know, Josh McDougal is probably most famous for winning the 2007 NCAA cross country championships, defeating golden boy Galen Rupp in the process. He was struck down by injury shortly after that, and Nate was aware through various internet postings that Josh had an injury very similar to his own.
Josh beat Nate at the half marathon and waited for him to finish. Once Nate crossed the finish line, Josh asked him how he was doing with his recovery from the injury, had the surgery fixed him?
Nate told Josh that honestly he felt that the surgery helped to improve the leg function by about 50%, enough for him to run half marathons again but not what he had hoped for. Bikram yoga helped as did physical therapy to loosen the piriformis. Nate asked Josh how his recovery was going.
Josh responded that he felt his loss of coordination had been fixed for about six months. The significance of this news really cannot be understated. This wasn’t an anonymous Joe online who said he’d fixed his injury, this wasn’t a healthcare professional who was confident he could fix the injury, this was a man who knew the hell that Nate knew. A man who had felt his leg flop like a rag doll and who was able to fix it. He had literally been to hell and back. It was like magic.
Josh explained to Nate that his injury had two parts. The first part was tightness and dysfunction in the lower leg and ankle. Josh was doing physical therapy for this and Nate’s surgery had fixed this part. The second part, the part that Nate and I were totally in the dark about, was dysfunction in the thoracic spine.
The thoracic spine. A place I would have never dreamed of considering for a problem in the hip and leg. I immediately remembered looking at Nate’s MRI several years prior in my friend’s kitchen. He had herniated discs in his thoracic spine, too.
Nate’s reputation is that of a grinder, and he has the form to match. He looks like a man who is running incredible paces through sheer force of guts and will, and his shoulders are always rolled forward as he leans into the pace and grinds. Over time, this form likely caused the herniated discs to develop in his thoracic spine.
As he leans forward, those herniated discs impede nerve signals traveling up and down the spinal cord. Shortly after learning how Josh fixed his injury, our physical therapist ran into Nate at the gym and told him he had just attended a conference and heard about how herniated discs in the thoracic spine can sometimes be the cause of persistent leg injuries.
Josh was addressing his thoracic spine dysfunction with physical therapy and saw his symptoms resolve. Nate came home from that race and asked me if I knew of any exercises for the thoracic spine to help keep his shoulders back.
I knew several great exercises for the thoracic spine. Since high school, I enjoyed attending running camps where much focus was put on proper form and form exercises. I shared some very simple exercises with Nate, and he was so weak he could hardly even perform the exercises. In fact, with one of the exercises, called YTIs, Nate was so weak he could hardly hold his arms up against gravity. In contrast, when I do the exercises, I generally use three pound weights, and I am a weakling!
Nate’s weakness was striking and surprising. Imagine, someone who competed in the World Championships could be so weak in his shoulders that he couldn’t hold his arms up and out to the side while laying prone on the ground. I didn’t know how we could miss such a major weakness.
Nate and I ran together so I could help him with his form. He would strain to hold his shoulders back and ask me if the form was right. Despite the strain he felt, his shoulders were still forward. It took about a week of constant work before he was able to hold his shoulders back for even brief periods.
Nate heard that Alberto Salazar had his athlete, women’s phenom Mary Cain, run in an equestrian harness to keep her shoulders back and fight her own tendency to run with her shoulders rolled forward. We purchased the Equifit “shoulders back” harness on Amazon, and we affectionately refer to it as Nate’s “back bra”, because that is exactly what it looks like. Nate found that wearing the back bra was difficult, as his shoulders strained against it not only when running but also when wearing it around the house. His underarms chafed against the straps, but each day became easier. Each day he was able to hold his shoulders back a bit more.
Nate started to attempt workouts that challenged his injury. Workouts he was physically unable to do over the past seven years. He found that each time his right leg threatened to lose coordination, if he consciously forced his shoulders back, his symptoms would resolve. As time passed he was able to keep his shoulders back for the vast majority of runs and workouts. After his workouts, despite how challenging the workouts themselves were, Nate complained not about sore legs, but his sore shoulders.
With this final piece of the puzzle, Nate has returned to the workouts he loves best. The impossibly long workouts that take up most of the day. The workouts that Nate says “make a man out of you.” He has longed to complete these workouts and for the first time in seven years, he is. He is fully capable of completing a marathon without loss of coordination being an issue. It truly took a village, but he, like Josh, has crawled his way back.
The final piece of the puzzle was only solved in November; Nate has worked hard to improve the strength of his shoulders since then. He started his Boston preparation before he could keep his shoulders back for a full run. That, along with working full time (he is in the middle of the school year) makes Boston a rather ambitious goal. If we were only considering Nate’s injury then I think an early summer or a fall marathon would have been a better choice. A fall marathon would have allowed him to train in the summer, when he is not teaching.
But there are many factors that go into choosing a marathon. Nate chose to do Boston because he would have a training partner with him, Ruben Sanca. The difference between training with someone versus training alone is huge, and Nate has really enjoyed training with Ruben. There aren’t too many people who can keep up with Nate. I feel it has been beneficial for Nate both physically and emotionally to have Ruben there. The training he is putting his body through is so daunting and so taxing, and it has been so long since he’s done it, it’s helpful and reassuring to have someone out there with him.
I think there was also an element of striking while the iron is hot; Nate chose to run Boston before he woke up from the wonderful dream that his leg is fixed. Thankfully, I have seen the workouts, I have watched Nate run, and I know it is not a dream.
It will be amazing to see Nate compete in Boston, but more than that, it is amazing to know that Nate has marathons ahead of him. I am more excited to see what’s in store for Nate over the next couple of years. Because, for the first time in seven years, there will be marathons.
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