So I’ve decided to push my luck, and my knee.  Sunday at 2 is the annual Second Empire 5K in downtown Raleigh.  I’ve done this race the past few years and its always  a quick and fun run.  It’s also one of the races in the Second Empire Grand Prix.  This year the Grand Prix is seven races instead of five.  Only six will count towards the standings but unfortunately I won’t be able to make it to six of the races.  In the end I’ll be lucky to do four of them.

Either way I’ll be running this race on Sunday and hoping for the best.  I was able to pull off a five mile run yesterday with little complications.  My knee was tight starting off but loosened up as the run went on.  Towards the end it started to tighten back up but today its only a little sore.  I credit that to walking a lot after the run, taking an Ibuprofen, and icing the knee for a couple hours after.  I don’t expect to put in a PR on Sunday but it’ll be nice to have another run under my belt again.  I probably push things too far but how else will you find your limits, right?

So I’ll be coming out of the gate getting back on the road slower than expected.  Monday at the soccer game I had my suspect ankle all braced up for the sharp twists and turns figuring that would be the weakest link.  Then my knee reared its ugly cap yet again.  Last year it was the MS 150 that set it off and it bugged me in last years Livestrong Challenge a month later.  This year at the Duke Liver Center Half-Ironman it popped up again with the same soreness though not as severe.  Anyway by the end of the game it was sore and stiff again.  Yesterday I set out for a five mile run to get back on track for my marathon training and my Livestrong Challenge training as well.  The rest of the night was soreness and stiffness yet again and this morning it hadn’t abated.

It looks like I’ll have to take it easy and try to get going slowly and hope for the best in a few weeks in Austin.  I’ve had my knee propped up on ice most of the afternoon and took some ibuprofen since its supposed to be an anti-inflamatory.  Ill try to run again tomorrow, and then Friday and Sunday and see how it goes.  From what I’ve found poking around Google this is simply an overuse injury so it should abate, hopefully sooner than later.

It’s been a nice week off since the Duke Half-Ironman but its time to get back to work.  The Austin Livestrong Challenge is less than three weekends away and then the Raleigh City of Oaks Marathon is six.  I’ve been doing some digging and based on the training plans I’ve found I may have put myself behind the eight ball on the marathon training.  I’ve been doing the base miles it suggested in my half-Ironman preparation but I haven’t been hitting the long run distances they have laid out.  Looks like my marathon may not be as enjoyable as I hoped.

Regardless my current concentration has to be on the Livestrong Challenge.  I’ll be riding Tuesday’s, Wednesday’s, and a long ride on the weekends.  This schedule will allow me to work on my running for the marathon as well as be ready to go for the Livestrong Challenge.

I started out the run with a simple plan, ten minute miles and break 7 hours. As before the earlier portions of the race were completely out of my mind and I was only thinking about the run, though my knee did keep my attention over the run. I kept my Livestrong cycling jersey on which led to lots of comments of support from those I passed on the sidelines. “Lets go Lance”, “Living Strong”, “Running Strong” would come out of the sidelines at various points of the run. I even had a volunteer at an aid station tell me how great the jersey was and how much she loved Livestrong. I’d like to say I had planned the whole thing out but mainly it came down to the fact that I like the jersey, it fits snugly, and it was faster to run in it rather than changing in the transition.

The beginning of the run was on the same road as the entrance into the park and as I started I heard the announcer acknowledging the fourth place finisher in the triathlon as well as the first relay team to complete. The road only lasted for a half mile before a right turn onto a gravel road going up a mile long uphill climb. I remembered from the website that there would be a gravel section because they made sure to note that it would be cleaned up by the park staff. I had assumed that it meant there was a gravel section. After a couple miles I realized that it meant the entire half marathon was going to take place on trails with the only paved portion being that section leading to the turnaround of lap one and the finish. If I had realized that I would’ve worn my trail running shoes which have stiffer soles to handle the uneven terrain rather than my normal running shoes.

As I started up the hill I saw my first walker which lifted my spirits. Not seeing him walking, which would have been cruel, but knowing that if/when I was forced to walk I wouldn’t be alone. At the top of the hill before a left hand turn was the first aid station. The course was setup great in that there was never a point where there was more than a mile to the next aid station. At the first station I began my running plan with a cup of water and a walk. I planned to have a cup of water at the first station, a cup of Cytomax at the second, a salt tablet at the third (which would be 30 minutes), and a gel at the fourth (which would be 40 minutes), and repeat. Each station would have me walk to drink and eat for a slight recovery before running again. The first and second station were the closest to each other and on both laps of the course I would feel a slosh in my stomach for a bit before it digested.

On the first lap of the run I felt really good, when I came across a mile marker I would check my watch to verify that I was running at exactly my planned pace of 10 minute miles. In the beginning I had to keep reminding myself to pull back a little as my heart rate floated over 150. 150 was the magic number I had found where I was maintaining my planned pace and not burning myself out too quickly. I made it 2/3 of the way through my first lap before I hit my first walking sections on a short steep hill. I would end up doing more on the second lap but I kept my first lap pretty fast with a constant pace. I also had my race number belt pop off and spent several minutes walking and fixing the buckle before moving again.

As I turned around to start my second lap I realized that I was dead on with 10 minute miles. I told myself that the next six were nothing I hadn’t done before and that it was only slightly more than my normal day to day run. A mantra I would attempt to repeat over and over for the course of the run. Sadly the miles were really starting to catch up to me and when I turned to face that first mile long hill I found myself walking again with over five miles to go. I got myself going again and found at the mile nine marker that my pace had finally started to slip and I was slightly over 10 minutes a mile. That got me going again and I walked less over the next two miles but I did walk nonetheless. At the next opportunity to check my pace I found I had maintained the same pace I had at the nine mile marker. There was another cool point about mile nine, it was the last time I was passed. For the first lap I passed people and people passed me but for the most part I was gaining ground. From the mile nine marker I was eating people up on the course and passing them regularly. Thats not to say I was going fast, just that I was maintaining where others were starting to lapse. Even with my walking once I passed someone they didn’t get back around me.

At mile eleven on the way back to the finish I was forced to walk again and checked my watch. A racer next to me asked the time and I let him know we had 21 minutes to beat 7 hours. He laughed and said these were going to be the hardest two and I told him all it would take were 10 minute miles which was all I was thinking of. That got me moving again and I left him behind as I ran to the last uphill of the race. At that point I walked the climb and he passed me to the aid station. When I got there I passed him again and ran to the final aid station and the steep downhill that lay ahead. The same racer passed me again as I had my last water and on the downhill I slid in behind him matching his pace. As we got to the bottom he slowed more and more while I still felt good. I knew that once i hit the paved road I wouldn’t walk again because there were too many people watching and the finish line was too close.

I passed the runner as I hit the pavement and didn’t look back.  I picked up my pace even though it burned my legs and I could tell I was going into the red zone quickly.  I made sure not to look at my heart rate.   As I rounded the last curve and could see the finish I heard my name called and looked over to find Zack and Caroline cheering me into the finish.  They had arrived while I was on my second lap and were watching for me to finish.  I got a grin for a second and turned back to the finish picking up the pace even more.  I heard the announcer saying everyone’s name but mine and remember thinking, and I may have said out loud, you better say my name or I’ll kill you.  He finally did as I entered the finish chute and my back seized up.  I crossed the line dieing to stop but not knowing where.  Finally I crossed all the mats and felt like crying.  I  couldn’t breathe at all and was gasping like a fish.  There were two little girls, one cutting the ankle timing chip straps and one giving the finishing medals.  I tried to say something but couldn’t and took the medal and put my foot out for the other girl.  I think I managed a thanks before stumbling out the other side.

I kept walking and trying to breathe as Zack and Caroline came up to congratulate me.  It was very cool that they made it out.  I tried to drink a Pepsi but couldn’t and gave it to Zack before sitting down under a table because I felt like I was going to pass out.  It was strange to be stationary again.  I finally got back up and walking and found my back relaxing and I was able to breathe easier.  I cleaned out my transition area and thankfully Zack agreed to carry my transition crate to the car while I pushed my bike.  I got another Pepsi and it took an hour to finish but I was able to get it all down.

We headed over to my house and I stopped at the store to pickup some beer and chips.  I had already started stiffening up and the walk in and out of the store plus the three flights of stairs to my condo took forever.  The rest of the afternoon was spent with my knee iced and HD football on the TV.  There were several recounts of the days events while we waited for food to arrive.  We ordered 20 wings, a pizza, and cheese sticks.

I felt great about finishing the race and I had beaten every goal I set for myself.  One of my ankles is still sore from the trail running and my knee is still tender.  In less than three days I’m back to relatively normal.  I’ve taken this week of off working out and eating right.  It’s my reward to myself for a race well done.  Starting Monday its time to train hardcore for the Livestrong Challenge with longer and more frequent cycling sessions.

My half-marathon time was 2:16:45 and my final overall time was 6:42:40.

I rolled out feeling pretty good considering how nerve wracking the swim had been. It’s weird and maybe this is something peculiar to me but I didn’t think about the swim again till after the race. After I finished the bike leg it was out of my mind as well. Each leg seemed like a brand new event, as if it were the only one I was doing and the previous leg wasn’t just completed but was the day before. I’m sure this is a pretty nice trick to have in my repertoire though it certainly wasn’t something I counted on.

I started out in a pretty big crowd of cyclists which made me think I was doing well so far. I wasn’t passing anyone and was regularly being passed myself. By the 10 mile mark I had been having a little dogfight with a girl in a white Zoot suit shirt. She’d pass me on the flats and I’d pass her on the hills, though the hills were by no means large at this point. Eventually she pulled away and for the rest of the afternoon I only saw people as they passed me. I set myself the goal of a nice evenly paced ride and would hope for 4 hours which I thought would be ambitious.

I had read a blog earlier in the week which helped me defined my nutrition plan. I ate a gel at the first 10 minutes and ate another at 1:10, 2:10, and 3:10. At 40 minute intervals I would eat a balance bar, the first 40, 1:40, and 2:40. At the first 40 minute mark I attempted the bar but it made me feel ill so I decided to eat half at each mark rather than push my stomach into something it obviously wasn’t prepared for. Over the course of the ride I drank a bottle of Cytomax and one full bottle of water and most of three more bottles. There were three aid stations where I would take on a new bottle regardless of how much of the previous I had drank. The first station meant i had to toss one of my real cycling bottles to make room for the sport water bottles they were giving out. I made sure to drink at least a couple swallows every 10 minutes switching between water and the leftover Cytomax. Granted I ran out of Cytomax about halfway but I kept to the plan with what I had left. For salt, extremely necessary because I tend to sweat way too much, I had one Endurolytes tablet every 30 minutes. Those pills are a lifesaver and I think they help me more than the gels do as far as endurance goes. Make sure you have some of these handy for your Livestrong Challenge ride.

A couple of interesting things happened at the halfway point of the ride. My knee started to hurt just like it did last year at the MS 150 where it promptly blew up and didn’t recover for months. It never got to the same level of pain as before but it did stay a constant throb for the rest of the ride, and even today as I type. This makes me a little nervous about the Livestrong Challenge because last year when this happened I was forced to change to the 70 mile route because it started hurting even earlier that day. I’m hoping since I never reached the same level of discomfort this time I wont have the same experience in Austin this year. The other thing I realized is that I was on pace to easily finish the bike ride in under three and a half hours. That coupled with my estimate of an hour swim meant I could be back at the transition by 11:30 and thus could beat seven hours by only running ten minute miles, which would be one of my slowest. I guess I was getting ambitious thinking of how fast I could finish when my goal the whole day was just to finish. To meet the goal of finishing I could walk the 13.1 miles and beat the cutoff.

When I was picking up my race packet at Inside-Out sports the guy gave me the tip to make sure not to burn myself out on the bike because at about mile 37 I’d start hitting some steep hills. I kept that in mind the whole ride and kept my heart rate in check with my heart rate monitor which I had decided would be a good idea for this race. My governing factor of speed though was the constant throbbing of my knee and not my heart rate. I think for the entire ride I never got higher than 145 even with the hills that came later. So my monitor was telling me I could really push it out faster but my knee, and later the other to a much lesser degree, was telling me I couldn’t. I kept the pace the same and shot for the 3:30 mark rather than push my luck.

At mile 37 right on cue the hills appeared. It felt like the Livestrong Challenge in Austin all over again. One big hill after another, some short and others long. They didn’t last long in comparison to the overall course but they were the bulk of the ride’s efforts. As with the rest of the ride I was still being passed but less frequently, which I attributed to the fact there weren’t many left to do so. I did notice after awhile the people’s age who passed me. As with any triathlon the ages were written on the back of each of our calves, mine being 32. So I knew that anyone, male, who passed me with 34 or lower means that I had passed them on the swim. Granted there weren’t many of these people but it did show that I wasn’t the worst one in my swim.

Around the 45 mile mark I finally passed my first rider which made me feel good. I would go on to pass three others before the finish line. There was a cruel trick played as I turned onto the road leading back to the park and transition area. Being a Sunday there were areas with groups of cars parked along the road for church. Each time I saw a group of cars I would think it was the drive leading back to the start/finish only to find that it was yet another church and my hopes were dashed again. As I felt myself getting closer I would stand up and stretch my calves so that they’d be loose and ready to go when I got to the transition. Finally I turned left onto the drive and was so glad to be back on the transition that i pushed out a quick pace into the transition area and hopped off my bike glad to be done and put the ride behind me.

As with the last transition I took my time, especially since i had gotten in faster than I could’ve ever hoped. I could average worse than 10 minute miles, though not by much, and still beat seven hours. I racked my bike and sat down to put on my socks and shoes. I lost some seconds because I hadn’t left my shoes with the laces loose and ready to go due to my lateness getting to the start, not that I minded. I emptied out all the trash from my cycling jersey that I had eaten on the road and threw it on my towel before heading out.

My cycling time was 3:26:47 and my second transition time was 3:49. Tomorrow the run and finish.