Blogging died but I didn't. I miss blogs. I like the detail. I am tired of our soundbite society. News is headlines, Facebook is short, twitter even shorter. Never did Instagram or Tik Tok or much of anything else. We don't talk we just text because it is faster. Social media changed everything. But I want to read my fellow runners blogs and feel the pain and the happiness they feel.
My last post was March of 2016, I thought it was last year. Oh well, I am 62 now and my blog laid dormant for 6 years. What have I done since then in the running world? Well as you know I had some major injuries then in 2017 a Brain Virus. Then had an mis-diagnosed groin hernia for about 4 years that kept me from running long. But all is fixed and I am doing what I can.
I ran many a 10k and half marathon over the last 6 years. I did Vernonia Marathon in April of 2016. 27+ miles at Elijah Bristow in 2017, Marathon at Operation Jack in 2018 and 2019. 2020 covid killed the Marathon yearly streak I had going since 2000.
In 2021 I decided at 61 my hard trail Ultra days were probably coming to a close. I always loved SOB 50K at Mt Ashland and so Detour and I decided to give it one more try while we had the legs. We trained pretty hard. Ran the "Light at the end of the tunnel" marathon as a training run. I did 4:25 which was great for not pushing on rainy day but a sweet gentle downhill course.
I was very excited for SOB, it was a beautiful sunny day with just a bit of smoke. The plan was just to go easy and finish well. At mile 6 or so you start a great downhill on soft trails. But I was getting severe knee pain out of nowhere! It wouldn't go away even when I slowed down. As soon as I hit uphills no pain. I also noticed I was getting a arch blister, at mile 7. Crazy as I had used silicon on my feet and have not had foot issues this early in a race. The knee recovered as soon as we start that big grind climb up the forest road and I was just power walking with local young guy I had met on the trail. Chatting is always a great way to hide the discomfort. At the halfway point we get some nice downs on gravel road then make the quick turn to go around Red Rock Mountain. I hit that trail and my energy died. I was walking much sooner than I expected. About two miles later I got severe sharp hip pain on my bad hip side. This was about a 8 on the pain scale. I tried stretching and even resting for 5 minutes. I could hardly even walk it hurt so bad. I think it took me about an hour to go the next 1 or so to the aid station. No way I could even run a step. I sat and thought of my options. Call it a day or just try. I figured it was a hard climb to the next AS so I might try. I got 100 feet out of the AS and was in agony. Never had pain like this in a race. I turned around to head back to the AS, went about 10 steps and said "F*** it!" and going to try. I don't think I ran a step to the next AS which was probably 5 miles or so. I got there and sat for maybe 10 minutes. I was exhausted and uncomfortable but I knew in my head I could probably walk it in. So out I went gimpy and limpy! After a while I could trot a bit on the downhills but was super slow. Many of the older runners were passing me know. Didn't really care, just wanted to finish this great 50k one more time. I finally finished in crazy slow time of 8:50, by far my slowest 50k ever. But I finished. Gail came in a bit after me and was exhausted too. She really is so tough. That night it was beer and trivia at a local pub. I was so happy to have been able to complete this dream one more time. I think my trail Ultra's are done as my body just can't hold up. But running road marathons and some 50k's I think should be fine.
In October of 2021 Gail and I ran Autumn Leaves 50k. We were RD's for 8 years and due to Covid and injuries this was our first chance to run the event. It was a great sunny day with a bit of a breeze. Gail and I just ran together all day. What a way to experience an event you loved for the past 15 + years with your partner. We finished in 7:37. Plus I had tons of great junk food at the aid stations!! Oh yeah, I tore my calf muscle 3 months earlier and couldn't run for 7 weeks, so I was woefully under trained. Damn that Pickleball :).
In March I went to Longview to run Pacific Rim One Day Run or Pac Rim as we call it. I was going to do a 20 mile training run then just walk the 12 miles to get a 50k finish. I ran into my good old running buddy Sarah Duncan. She and I hung out for the last 15 miles or so. We ran the straights and walked the ends. I ran way more than I thought I could but as we have said, being with others makes it so much easier. Plus we caught up on the many years of life since we last chatted. I got my 32 miles in 6:56 and called it a Great Day! So fun to see friends on that 1 mile loop course. I think I could do this every year.
This April I ran Vernonia Marathon, such a great trail and nice course. But this year was cold, even snowed on us for a few miles. I really wanted to run sub 4:30 but speed has left my body. I ended up with a 4:41 which is fine but it's hard to see times slipping away when you are working just as hard as you did when you ran sub 4 hours. I was pretty much on track until the half way point, which marathoners know is 20 miles. My pace just went straight down every mile after that. The legs just didn't have the miles on them. Gail did the half and ran in the last half mile with me, which was fun.
Well its late May now. I have another marathon this weekend in Salem. I grew up there so I have always wanted to run a marathon in town. This one runs out towards the area I grew up. I wasn't a runner when I lived there. I hope to run 4:35 this weekend. 4:30 would be a gift that I am not trained for but a finish and feel good is now my favorite goal. Thanks Blogspot for keeping this alive. I have missed you. Even if no one reads this I know I can someday.
1 comment:
Have a great run this weekend! Rob Hester
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