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.