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It’s been a whirlwind Team in Training weekend! We had our Summer Season Kick-Off on Saturday morning, a TNT fundraiser (bachelor/ette) auction Saturday night and our welcome ride on Sunday morning.

It felt good to be back on my bike, even if I did forget a few things, like preparing my bike and getting my GPS ready. So, I had a sticky front derailleur that didn’t want to shift and my GPS was still on “run” so I didn’t get good data for the welcome ride. Gotta get those sorted before the next ride.

We had a nice welcome ride despite my little hiccups. The weather was great and the group completed the ride in around two and a half hours. I was riding sweep with the medium-fast group, but ended up riding sweep for the whole team because I just kept riding with slower and slower riders to make sure they stayed on the route and finished the ride. So, I was the last person into the parking lot. But I didn’t mind. There will be lots of opportunities to work on my own fitness throughout the season.

After the ride, we had our tire-changing clinic, then we gathered to hear an honoree story. It was given by John Garza, who lost his daughter Marie to leukemia five years ago. I’ve ridden with John and have great respect for him. At 53, he did his first Iron Man triathlon. It took him over 20 hours, so he wasn’t an official “finisher”, but he certainly has my respect!

Now it’s time for some football and some rest. Go Niners and Go Team!

A lot has happened since my last post:

1) I crashed my motorcycle and sprained my right knee
2) I tried to come back too soon from that injury and experienced a setback
3) I got sick right before my event, and…
4) I finished the San Jose Rock and Roll Half Marathon!!!

The Crash.

The motorcycle accident was pretty minor. I was riding home from a nice day in the twisties on my DR650, a dual-sport motorcycle that’s really a street-legal dirt bike. I was in a long line of traffic going about 35 MPH on a perfectly straight piece of road and was checking my mirror. When I brought my attention back to the road ahead of me, traffic was coming to a stop.

Under normal circumstances, this would have presented no problem. But this was the first real panic stop I’ve ever done on this bike and because it has so much suspension travel, the brake dive was really extreme. I felt like I was going over the bars and probably squeezed the brake harder by accident. This caused the front knobby tire to skid, the bars turned to the left and I went over the right side of the bike. But I had slowed greatly by this point and probably wasn’t going and faster than 25 MPH when I lost traction. So, since I wasn’t going that fast, I didn’t clear the bike when I fell off it and it landed on my right knee.

As soon as I stood up, I thought “Oh shit, I crashed!” Then I felt some pain in my right knee and thought, “Oh shit, am I going to be able to run my half-marathon???”

The net result was not that bad. The driver behind me stopped in time and helped me pick up my bike. My riding friend and I straightened the forks and after I calmed down, I rode home. But something was definitely wrong with my knee.

I should have gone to the doctor to find out what was wrong, but I didn’t. I was able to walk on it without too much pain, so I just dealt with it and knew it would heal.

What I didn’t know was how long it would take to heal.

The Setback.

A week after the crash, and after missing two training events, I tried to run. That was a big mistake! From the first step, I felt a lot of pain, but I just pushed through it and ran my normal 4/1 interval around the Campbell Community Center Track for 3.5 miles, then cooled down with another lap and a half of walking. When I got home, I did a cold bath and even put some ice in the tub to help minimize the swelling.

The knee was really sore the next two days, and when I was walking down the conference room stairs at work, I felt a “twinge.” It wasn’t a “pop,” but if felt like someone plucked my ligament like a guitar string and when it snapped back into place, I felt a sharp pain. I limped noticeably the rest of the day and knew then that I’d have to go to urgent care later that evening.

The urgent care doc tested my knee and took some x-rays, which were negative. He called it a knee sprain and said it would likely heal on its own, but if I wanted to help it heal faster, I could get an immobilizer and some crutches. I didn’t think it was that bad, and knew that my running was what caused the problem, so I declined the extra gear and got a referral to see an orthopedist. When I asked him if I’d be able to run my event in two weeks, he gave me a “are you kidding?” look.

I was crushed.

I went out of town shortly after that, so the soonest I could see the ortho was the Tuesday before the event. He agreed with the urgent care doc that it was a knee sprain, but when I asked him if I could run my event, he was a little more hopeful and said, “Maybe, why don’t you try running on it and use your best judgment?”

So the next morning, I ran 2.5 miles and had no major pain afterward (just the usual stuff you’d feel after running after a long layoff), so I thought I’d try running 3 miles at the Thursday evening buddy run and if that turned out okay, I’d run the event. I went to the send-off party that night and went to bed thinking my chances for running the race were about 50/50.

Then I got sick.

The Cold.

I went to work Wednesday after my run and my nose was running a lot. But I didn’t have any other symptoms, so I thought it could just be bad allergies. I had just come back from Wisconsin, where the temperature never got warmer than 75 degrees (although that was unusually warm for this time of year over there) and returned to 100 degree weather here. So I thought that was it. But on Thursday morning, my chest was feeling congested and I was coughing a lot. So I worked from home and thought, “Well, this is it. I’m sick and won’t be able to run this weekend.” But I got better by the next day and thought, “screw it, I’m going to try to run and if I have to walk most of the course, so be it. The ortho said I couldn’t damage my knee, so I’m just going to do my best. Shrimp Louie wouldn’t have let this stop him!”

The Race.

On Saturday, I went to our Inspiration Luncheon and told everyone I was going to give it a go. We got our final speeches from our team manager, the event organizer, a special honoree, and our head coach. We were ready to go!

On Sunday, I grabbed all of my gear and hit the road uncharacteristically early because I didn’t know if road closures were going to be an issue. Even though it was a 10-minute walk from the start/finish area, I parked at the HP Pavilion parking lot that was reserved for participants because it was easier than stressing out about parking and it was free. I ended up leaving a lot of stuff in the car because I didn’t feel like carrying my cell phone and anything that didn’t fit in my back pocket and was too valuable to leave in my gear check bag got left in the trunk. I was going fast and light and would rely on other people (and the event organizer) for any photos of the experience.

We got to the starting area and got a last pep talk from our coaches. The race groups you according to your anticipated finish time, so the faster runners can have a clearer path. Since your time doesn’t officially start until you cross the starting line, this is not a big deal. When I signed up for the race, I foolishly/ignorantly put down “2:30” as my anticipated race time. That put me in Corral 12 at the starting line. It had taken me that long to run 12 miles a month earlier, so I knew I was not going to come close to that, but falling behind is not a big deal when you’re that far from the elite runners to begin with.

I met two participants, Zach and Jesselle, in my corral, plus an out-of-town TNT member whose name escapes me. Zach and Jesselle were running a 3/2 interval, so we would not be running together, but I agreed to run with the woman from Michigan.

It took about 25 minutes to get going and we were all quite nervous standing around in the corral, but once we started running, it was very exciting! It’s also kind of intimidating running amidst 14,000+ other runners, but there’s no way to prepare for that. You just have to adjust and let the crowd spread out naturally before hitting your own stride.

During the start, one of my peeps, Kathryn, caught us and the three of us ran my 4/1 interval for about the first six miles. After that, I was feeling good and kept pulling away from them, so I told them to stick together and I would run on my own.

Throughout the race, the course is lined with well-wishers. We were told to write our names on our shirts so people could cheer us by name, but I didn’t have the right marker to do that, so I was only known by teammates. But everyone’s support was just amazing, and really gave me a boost whenever I passed people cheering. There were rock bands along the route, which is why it’s called the Rock and Roll Marathon Series. They also provided great ambience and a morale boost.

We also started encountering coaches after Mile Six. They would run with us and check on our spirits and physical condition and keep us motivated. That meant a lot, too! I have no idea how many miles they ran that day, but I would guess that it’s more than a half marathon, that’s for sure!

My mind was on my knee for the first few miles, but after about six miles with no unusual sensations coming from the knee, I just focused on finishing. Thankfully, the course is extremely flat, so after I got to Mile Ten with no issues, I had no doubts that I would cross the finish line.

My official time was 2:44:44, which is only 4:44 longer than my original goal time! I think that’s great considering all I’d been through and how little I’d run just before my event! It’s a testament to the Team in Training program, our coaches, my teammates and, if I can brag a little, to my own dedication to this race and this organization.

I really love being a Team in Training mentor! It keeps me motivated to exercise; the money I raise helps so many people; and I really love watching and helping others achieve things they didn’t think they’d be able to do. It’s so gratifying on so many levels.

I want to thank my coaches and the training staff for whipping my butt into shape, my fellow mentors and the TNT staff for running a tight ship (really, organizing 150+ runners and walkers is pretty amazing), and to my participants for motivating me to get out there and lead by example. It’s always easy to blow of a run here or there, but knowing that there are other people who count on you to answer questions and provide moral support gets me out of bed before the crack of dawn to do something I’ve always hated: running! As I’ve said recently, I still hate running, but I think runners are cool. So cool, in fact, that I will tolerate running just to hang out with them 🙂

And lastly, I want to give special thanks to two groups of people: our honorees, who inspire us with their tales of struggle, survival and success; and my kind donors, who motivate me with their generosity and help the cause immensely.

Yesterday, I set another personal record for running. Six weeks ago, it was eight miles. Two weeks ago, it was 10 miles (I missed the 9-mile run). On Saturday, it was 12 miles! I set a goal of running the 12 miles in 2:30, and hit it on the nose, but not without a bit of a sprint at the end. Part of me wanted to just run an extra 1.1 miles to do a half-marathon distance, but the coaches know what they’re doing and have a plan for getting us there, so I am going to stick to the training plan until I cross the finish line at the San Jose Rock and Roll half-marathon.

The team run started at Natural Bridges Park in Santa Cruz and wound its way north through the beautiful Wilder Ranch State Park. Half-marathoners like me could run up to 12 miles, so that’s what I did. It was really hard because the trail was mostly single-track. It would’ve been really easy on my full-suspension mountain bike, but on foot, the rocks, gravel and uneven terrain really beat up my lower body.

I was told that a dip in the ocean would help with the post-run recovery, and two weeks ago at Monterey, it really did help. But our start/finish area was right next to the bay (see below), so you could grab your beach gear out of your car, take a dip in the cold ocean, get out, dry off, change into fresh clothes, and get in your car and drive home.

The beach at Natural Bridges is about half a mile away from the start/finish area, and there was a lot of wave action. So, you had to walk all that way with your beach gear, go in the water up to your neck because waves were breaking in the waist-deep zone, then get out and walk all the way back to your car. All the walking really negated any positive effect the cold water had on your aching joints and muscles, so I ended up dipping my feet in a bucket full of ice and water at home (I am still not up to doing a full “ice bath”).

Here is the Monterey run, just for comparison’s sake.

Physically, I am starting to have issues with my right leg, especially my right heel. I am normally “duck footed,” so my feet point outward. While running, my left foot points more forward, but my right foot still points out to the right. This causes an awkward, rolling motion and really hurts my heel and ankle region after 8 miles or so. I am going to have to work on that, or abandon my ultimate goal of running a full marathon next summer if I can’t fix it.

Oh, and here is the eight-mile Balzer Field run in Los Gatos, CA.

Started off at Blackford Elementary School and ran along the Los Gatos Creek Trail to Campbell and back for a total of 5.2 miles. Normally I run the whole way with the participants in my run group (wave 2), but as I started dropping them, I decided to run my own pace using a 4/1 interval. I felt good and ran pretty hard, but I wasn’t completely spent at the end…just glad to not have to run anymore.

When I got home, I uploaded my GPS info and noticed that I have equaled my time trial time. I ran that as one complete run for 3 miles. I did it in about 36 minutes as timed, but because I ran on the outside of the track, I actually did three miles in 34 minutes. That put my pace at about 11:20/mile.

Today, I did 5.2 miles in 58:12 for an average pace of 11:16, which includes walking every minute and a bathroom break at Campbell Park. So, Jeff Galloway‘s run/walk method seems to be working great!

I also got to ask Coach Kris what I’m doing wrong. Every time she sees me run, she says I need to work on my form, shorten my stride, increase my cadence, etc. But I don’t feel like I have any way to fix what’s wrong based on that kind of feedback. So when she said it again today, I talked to her after the run and asked in general what was wrong with my running and for one thing to concentrate on fixing every time I run. She said my arms and legs are all over the place, so the one thing I can work on is making sure my arms and legs move in a straight line from front to back. That I can do! I look forward to working on that from now on until it becomes second nature.

I also talked with a few more participants. There are so many people on the run team! But it’s my job to meet as many as possible, plus it’s good to break out of my introverted nature and force myself to be more social. One of the conversations turned to the subject of ice baths. Sridhar had run the Portland Marathon despite an injury that kept him from completing the longest training run of the season. He said he actually likes them…probably because they numb the pain. But we talked with his mentor, Ilya, who is moving from marathons to ultra-marathons, and he said what I thought I’d heard/read before–that ice baths help reduce swelling so your joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons don’t get too painful. He also said that he doesn’t do the ice bath, but just sits in a tub of cold water. So I tried that today, too. Don’t know if it actually worked, but I feel fine and it wasn’t that bad. So maybe I’ll add it to my regular training regimen.

I’ve had cramping issues in the past and thought they were over, but with all the running I’ve been doing lately, they’ve come back. Not bad, but I had a charley horse for a week and couldn’t roll it out with my foam roller. So I talked to my coaches about it and they said I should see our masseuse at the next track session. He was able to work the knot out, but gave me a big bruise, so I couldn’t continue the treatment on my own. But coach Kris watched me run and told me I needed to shorten my stride. I knew this, as well as needing to increase my cadence, but it’s a completely different way of running that takes a lot of practice. It’s more like shuffling your feet. Seriously, I’m supposed to be taking 180 steps per minute! I understand why — the principle is the same on a bike — it’s just hard to get used to doing it.

At yesterday’s buddy run, I really focused on that and am not sore today. Maybe I’m starting to get it. Here’s yesterday’s run.

I also am using the run/walk method. I tried to do our time trial running the whole way and did 3 miles in 36 minute. Not bad. It puts me in wave two, which is the second-slowest, so at least I’m not THE slowest. But my run/walk pace is only about 13:30, so I’m not losing a bunch of time, and if it keeps me fresher throughout the whole half-marathon, it’ll be worth it.

On Thursday, May 31st, we had our first buddy run. Erin, Marc, Nick and I met seven participants at Campbell Park for a little run on the Los Gatos Creek Trail. It was nice out and we had a great time getting to know one another…so much so that we missed the turnaround time because we were talking too much and ended up running a little longer and farther than planned: 47 minutes and about 3.6 miles total. Oops.

On Tuesday, June 5th, we met at the Los Gatos High School track and did some circuit training, followed by our first core workout. We warmed up a little, then ran around the track for three minutes. Then Coach Kris blew the whistle and we did a non-running exercise. Then we’d start running again. It was a good workout and an interesting way to break up the running. I don’t remember all of the exercises, but they started out easy, like walking on your toes or your heels, and ended up with harder stuff like doing ten pushups. Since I have no upper body strength, that was hard! After about eight intervals (2.75 miles), we cooled down and did some core training. Since I have no core strength, either, that was also really hard! I actually strained a muscle doing one exercise where you get on your hands and knees, then extend one arm out straight and extend the opposite leg out straight and try to hold that position for 30 seconds. We also did some planks. This involves propping yourself up on your elbows or extended straight arm(s) and trying to keep your body perfectly straight. After doing all of this, my feet were the least of my problems!

After the track session, we had our injury prevention clinic. Coach Kris is a massage therapist at Sports Medicine Institute and her director gave a talk about how to, um, prevent injuries. The basics were to avoid over-training, build up your entire body (which is why we do core training) and listen to your body. Certain kinds of pain are more significant than others, such as joint pain and muscle pain near joints. He also showed us how to use a foam roller to loosen up certain parts of your muscles and fascia to prevent injuries after running and between workouts. After our gear clinic, I talked to one of the people at Running Revolution about foam rollers and he said that if I could do a century without needing one, I probably wouldn’t need one for running. But after trying one, and discovering a tight spot on my left thigh were IT band issues usually appear, I might get one and start using it. IT band issues are one of the most common injuries, and you can’t really stretch that region very well, so prevention is key.

Yesterday, Marc and I met four participants at Campbell Park for another buddy run. This time I actually remembered to set my GPS to beep at certain intervals, so we would know to run for four minutes, then walk for one minute, for a total of 40 minutes. Jennifer, Janine and I did about 3.2 miles. Marc took two participants who wanted to run the whole time, so they probably got a bit more distance than we did, but that’s okay. Everyone finished and only Janine had any issues (her calves started cramping a little when we stopped).

So, what have I learned thus far? I need to do more core work outside of training. Since this stuff only takes about 10 minutes, I should be able to do that every day. But like Nick said at the first buddy run, if you aim to do it five days a week, you’ll probably do it three days a week, which is good enough to make progress. I think I’ll also join a gym today and see if I can get some cross-training in during the off days.

Fun track training last night. First, we went over track etiquette. Inside two lanes are for faster runners, outside two lanes are reserved for the walk team, and we warm up running clockwise and do our training counter-clockwise. Then we warmed-up for about two laps, then did some dynamic stretching. I personally didn’t feel anything during that part, so I need to find out if I’m doing it wrong or what.

Then we formed three-person teams and ran 3x200m relays at our own pace. We were told NOT to sprint and that this was not a race. I teamed up with two women around me, (Laura E. and Nicole C.) and we did our 3x200m relays for about 40 minutes. We finished up with a cool-down lap and worked on some static stretching.

After the session, one of the walk team members held a “hang with the gang” taco fundraiser. It was nice chatting with my teammates over some delis, homemade tacos! Also bumped into one of my participants, Fay C., and found out she works in downtown Campbell, too. Apparently, she’s been at every event, but never introduced herself. WTF? Am I that intimidating or just repulsive? Wait, don’t answer that.

A lot has happened since my last post. The biggest thing is that I was asked to be a mentor! I received a call from Simone, our team manager, on the Wednesday before Kick-Off asking if I was still interested in being a mentor.

When I inquired about being a mentor before the season, she told me that they prefer their mentors to have been through the program as a participant first. I was cool with that and decided to be a participant. But we have SO many participants that they need more mentors to support them. So, I accepted.

Kick-Off was great and we have something in the neighborhood of 180 participants on the run/walk team (about 150 runners and 30 walkers). That’s a big difference from the cycle team, where we have around 30 members. I met some of my participants and left feeling very enthusiastic about the season.

Speaking of the cycle team, it was fun seeing some of the guys I rode with last season moving up into mentor roles for the cycle team, too. And one former cycle teamer who’d joined the triathlon team last season was back as a mentor, too. I’m sure they’re going to have a great season and be great mentors.

On Tuesday following kick-off, we had our gear clinic. It was at a running store right down the block from my office, so I walked over. We had a really good turnout. I learned a lot and am interested in some of the hydration options. As a cyclist, I’m used to drinking every 10 minutes or so to keep hydrated. But the runners I talk to seem to drink much less frequently than that. I will go shopping with my 20% discount coupon tomorrow and get the store owner’s opinions on how to stay hydrated on runs. 🙂

Last Saturday, we had our first training run. Even though it was only 10 minutes from my house, I was late because I couldn’t find parking and the staging area was a good 5 minutes from the entrance to the park. Bad Warren, no biscuit! But it went well. I learned that we will most likely be training in run/walk intervals.  I know I could run 4 miles without walking, but decided that if that’s the training program, I would go along with it. I had a personal goal before the season started of running the entire 13.1 miles of the half-marathon. But now that I’m a mentor, I think I am going to be asked to run with our participants, which might scuttle those plans. We’ll see.

When we were asked to say what interval we would be running/walking, I paired up with another mentor who was a big guy like myself. He said he’d be doing three miles at 3 minutes running and 1 minute walking. I figured if it was good enough for him–and he’d run a full marathon before–it was good enough for me. We set out and I was running with a girl who was also a new distance runner. Her name is Karina and she was a soccer player, so she’s probably used to doing a lot of running, just not long distances all at once. Her mentor, Kristine, was out and I was covering for her, so it was good for me to keep Karina company during the run. Although I showed up late, I was still doing my job!

My participants who showed up chose other intervals. Kristen and Linda are training for the USMC marathon, so they set out with the 4-mile group. Kathryn is new to running, so she chose to run two miles with the 2/2 run/walk group.

After I did my three miles, we all gathered at the staging area for bagels, beverages and some words of encouragement from Coach Tim and Honoree Leah, who is also participating. (Side note: my participant Kristen is also an honoree, but she is not in the honoree program right now. I think she wants to focus on her training and not worry about the public speaking responsibilities of an honoree. I still applaud her whenever I can when we are giving props to our honorees.)

Anyway, that’s the update. Tuesday night will be our first coached track event, then on Thursday, I’ll be one of three mentors leading a “buddy training event.” This will happen every Thursday, so I picked the one closest to me: Campbell Park. In between, I have to squeeze in some cross-training, too. I’m looking forward to all of it!