2010 Boston Marathon

I have great hope that my mechanics will be in great form by April next year, so I just entered the 2010 Boston Marathon. Of course, I am having a hard time walking today! It has nothing to do with running two marathons over the previous two weekends. I am fiddling around with putting pads under the metatarsals of my big toes. It feels real good walking as I easily have more balance. The goal is to keep my left foot from rolling to the inside and everting out, throwing off the balance of my left leg and the left side of my body. Simply put, this could be due to having Morton's foot, which is not always a longer second toe (not true for me) but a longer second metatarsal (very true for me). I was purposely taking this week off, but ran a few miles on the treadmill Wednesday. I felt my left calf tightening up and stopped. Today I went for a run (how could you not in the warm weather?) and felt good for 3-4 miles, then the calf started tightening again. As I neared my house after 6 miles, it was getting too tight to even run on. Now I am limping around in worse condition than after either marathon I just ran. I sort of expected something like this and I think it is due to the pad under my left toe's metatarsal helping that foot be more stable (a stability I could feel right up my leg and into my hip). Because it is stable the foot wasn't rolling to the inside edge and everting to the outside as much. I could push off with the foot and used the inner side of my calf for a change. That is what tightened up from overuse. I have a lot more fooling around to do to see if this is going to work for me, but I have all winter for that. Hopefully, by April I will be running strong. It will also be ten years since I finished in last place at the Boston Marathon. I sure hope I can improve on that finish!

I am using Spenco Molesking to build a pad under the head of my first metatarsals. I got the idea from this book Why You Really Hurt: It All Starts in the Foot by Dr. Burton S. Schuler. It is a quick and easy read about Morton's Foot. The doctor isn't selling anything. He is just giving an easy accomodation for a common problem that can cause lots of pain throughout the body. It is explained thoroughly in the book and a cheap remedy is shown. You can find the remedy here if you don't want to read the whole book, but obviously the book goes into more detail. Here is the website for more information on the book.

Christopher McDougall author of Born To Run in Manchester Nov. 4

I just got an email alert that Christopher McDougall, who wrote "Born to Run" will be in Manchester at the Barnes and Noble at 7:00 tomorrow night(Wed. Nov. 4). I don't know if I will be able to go just yet, but I am hoping that I can be there. Someone else might be interested so I am posting this short notice. Website is here.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4TH
MANCHESTER, NH

7:00PM
Discussion, Q & A, and Signing
Barnes and Noble
1741 South Willow Street
Manchester, NH 03103

Quick Peeks at the Vivo Barefoot Evo Running Shoe

I love the Terra Plana Vivo Barefoot Dharma shoes I bought last January. I have worn no other shoe since then, except for my running shoes when running and my Vibram Five-Fingers when mowing the lawn. They are so comfortable I don't even want to take them off. Vivo Barefoot shoes are built to give you that barefoot feeling when you are walking. They have no heel, they have ultra-thin cushioning, and they have a wide toe-box to let your toes spread out. Unfortunately they are not really made for running. In the Spring Vivo Barefoot promises to come out with a running version of thier shoes, called the Evo.

Here is a video of Christopher McDougall, the author of the book "Born To Run", who advocates barefoot runing. At then end of the video you can see the Vivo Barefoot Evo running shoe.


Here are some more prototype pictures from the Barefoot Runner blog.

This podcast on The Living Barefoot Show covers the history of Vivo Barefoot and Terra Plana, speaks about Vivo Barefoot shoes in general, and talks about the release of the new EVO running shoe to be released in the spring of 2010.

Here you can sign up to be contacted as soon as the Evo is being sold.

Hanging Out at the Manchester Marathon

Last week I took an easy run through the Cape Cod Marathon. I felt fine afterwards and wondered what I would do this weekend. I ran 8 miles the day after the race and started thinking about doing the Manchester Marathon this week. Then my class at school got sick. By Tuesday, I had nine of my 27 students out (some with the flu). I did not think this was good for my health and felt a bit off (either a very mild case or from a Tetanus shot I got on Tuesday). I did not run again until Friday.

I had been rethinking things about my foot and ankle and decided to try something different for that run. There is a very short article in The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook: Your Self-Treatment Guide for Pain Relief, Second Editionby Clair Davies on Morton's Foot (you can see the whole article here). I have a copy of the book from a few years ago and was looking into it again after getting some interesting feedback from an anonymous poster with similar problems as mine. It was on one of my silliest posts (or at least the pictures) and I often was tempted to take it down, but I figured someone could offer some good advice someday on it. I got some good advice.

While doing Feldenkrais movement therapies. I have been noticing that my back and hips are moving more freely (particularly with these movements as they are done lying on the floor). It got me thinking that maybe it is not my back and hips that are the problem and I was again looking at my feet. This poster advocated trigger point therapy and Posture Control Insoles. It was also suggested that I look at my TMJ joint. I had used the Posture Control Insoles a few years back. At first, I had incredible success, but then my body adapted and they stopped working for me. I also found that the insoles were rough on my feet and I developed many calluses.

Last month, I revisited them again and bought a different style from them called ProKinetics® Natural Body Balance insoles. I tried them for a couple of days a few weeks ago and did not like the feel of them. There is some gel under the heel. I got rid of the arch, but it still did not feel right in my shoes. I decided to glue the extra and thicker wedges onto my regular thin shoe insoles on Wednesday. I ran 8 miles Friday and felt wonderfully balanced with a much straighter left foot that didn't cave in. Of course, I also noticed my calves were a bit sore from the different push off and balance points.

The point of these insoles is to correct Morton's foot. Typically, Morton's Foot is diagnosed as a long second toe (compared to the big toe). I don't have this. Morton's Foot is really a long 2nd metatarsal. Well I do have that (by a lot! )The ProKinetic Insoles have a wedge shape pad to be placed under the big toe and its metatarsal so that the foot doesn't roll inward and turn the toes outward and create problems all up the leg. Clair Davies suggests using Dr. Scholl’s Molefoam® Padding to build up under that toe. It sounds a lot cheaper than the insoles (particularly if you only want to use the wedge). I also found some recent message board postings from female cyclists with similar problems here. One poster called KnottedYet on page 3 says you can treat this with both accommodations and corrections:

The pad under the first met head is an accommodation.
Stretching the tightened structures of the forefoot and strengthening the muscles of the foot (and really all the way up to the hip) is a correction.

She later posts some exercises to treat this and bring it under control;"

Dropped Met Head Program
To be done over the course of 6 weeks, and maintained there-after.

Consists of two parts: first stretching, then strengthening. Done in that order for every session.

Stretch by folding your foot like a taco shell. Hold your bare foot in both hands. One hand on the left, one hand on the right. Thumbs parallel on top. Line up your fingertips between the 1st and 2nd met heads or on the 2nd met head, whichever feels better. Press down with the heels of your thumbs while you press up with your fingertips. You are essentially folding your foot in half lengthwise. (restoring your metatarsal arch and then some) Hold for 5 seconds. Do 10 times in a row.

Strengthen by working the muscles of the forefoot that support your metatarsal arch. Make a fist with your toes as tight as you can. Hold it for 5 seconds. Splay your toes out as wide as you can. Hold it for 5 seconds. Do 10 times in a row.

Week 1: do the session 3 times a day, spread through-out the day. (morning, noon, and evening for example)

Weeks 2-6: do the session 6 times a day, spread throughout the day. (every 2 or 3 hours, for example)

Maintain by doing however many sessions you feel you need to keep your met arch lively.

Interesting stuff that I am starting to do!

The ProKinetic Insoles add the idea of proprioception to the mix. Here is how they describe how the insoles (or wedge) work.

Friday night I debated with myself whether to enter the Manchester Marathon and try out the insoles during the race. I know that this is a real STUPID move to alter your mechanics so quickly, but I was feeling experimental. The weather looked nice for the race so I entered. Realistically I didn't think I would finish using the insoles. I was particularly worried about a knot it my fight calf, but you never know what will happen if you do not try so I entered at the last moment.

It was a great day for a marathon today. I drove up the road to Manchester and saw a few friends before the race: the highly trained Mike Wright and Carl Hefflefinger (who had a bit of an Achilles strain). At the gun, the runners (marathon, 1/2 marathon, and relay runners) took off together. Mike Ward caught up at about 1/2 mile and we talked a bit before he pulled ahead. Let me just say that this is one hilly race, and where did they get all these uphills with so few downhills? After about one mile, people started passing me. Lots of people kept passing me. I have never had so many people pass me like this. I was passing no one. I was feeling sluggish and trying to get a feel for if my legs would even work with these things in them. I also had a tight lower back, sort of like last week but not as bad. My hips were certainly rotating differently although I cannot say I was balanced. The course kept having uphills and people kept passing. I was running with people that I normally far ahead of in a race and I was unnerved by all the passing, but I just wanted to run comfortably and I didn't have too much confidence in completing the race at all. Whose dumb idea was this?

At about six miles after running through a wooded path (nice) for a while I came to some port-a-johns. Then I had to wait a minute to get in and lost about two minutes in all (but I felt better- I made another stop later in the race- I lost about 3 minutes in all). Finally, I passed some people, but I just felt like I was chugging along at a very slow pace. Fortunately, my calf wasn't hurting at all. My hamstrings were tightening up however from the changed stride. I passed Carl Hefflefinger and his Achilles was sore and he said he was going to drop out. Why can't I be that smart? Actually, I kept thinking it would be a good smart move on my part, but I knew my half marathon time would be so pathetic if I did.

At about 11 miles, a lot of the 1/2 marathoners were dying and I finally started passing people. I passed one person who had the same awful stride that I did so I chatted it up with him. I ran with him until the split where the 1/2 marathoners went to the finish and the marathoners continued on their way. I took the marathon turn and now I was committed. I hit the 1/2 marathon in 1:46:30 something and realized this was going to be a much slower day than the Cape.

However, once we got rid of the 1/2 marathoners I started enjoying the day. There were fewer runners on the course, but always a group in sight. I started picking off runners at a fairly good pace. In fact, from this point on, no one passed me (except two relay runners). As I gained more confidence in my legs and feet, I started running faster. I enjoyed the faster pace more and the constant passing of runners. It was still hilly, but there seemed to be more downhills. I enjoyed this section of the course and the miles flew by. I felt better during the last 6 miles than I did at Falmouth last week. I was running well, but was trying not to "kill" my legs. After a while, I realized that I had a chance of going sub 3:30. I kept passing people and tying to pick it up. I passed the 3:25 pacer (but he was off pace) and then with a 1/2 mile to go I passed the 3:30 pacer. He said he was on pace. From there I took it in and finished in 3:29:22. It was one of my slowest marathons ever, but I enjoyed the day (well the second half) and I was curious about what the course looked like and now I know! That was the hilliest marathon I had ever run, except maybe for a marathon I ran (some walking) in March 1983 in Newton, MA called the Garden City Marathon. My certificate says it was the N.E.A.C. Marathon Championships and that I finished 149th in a time of 3:34:06. It is nice to know that I can still run hills faster than I did when I was 24. I do not remember much about that race except that I used it as a training run for Boston, the many hills, the big houses, and the walking.

And my legs were trashed after today’s race! My hamstrings are quite tight and my calves and ankles are a bit sore. I survived the addition of the wedges, even though it was not a smart thing to do. So I made the good choice after all in running the race.

Here are the results. Mike Wright killed the course with a 2:54:24 and Mike Ward (who just turned 50) raced his second race of the year and finished in 3:19:17.

Hanging Out at the Cape Cod Marathon

Yesterday was a gorgeous day for running, and having decided to run the Cape Cod Marathon (photo gallery from Cape Cod Times) last week I was in the right place when the cannon went off Sunday morning signaling the start of the 32nd edition of the race. I wasn't there to race, but to enjoy the day, have some fun, and see what happened with my body. The sun was shining and a short-sleeved shirt and Triad singlet would be the order for the day and there was no shivering, even before the race started. Having run this course multiple times and it being my hometown, I finally figured out how to survive the course, which can be a killer with the rolling hills in the second half. Go out slower, no matter how much the flat first miles beg you to speed.

At the start, I was talking to a woman from Minnesota named Julie Musselman who wanted to run about 3:20. I told her how to keep it easy and tear it up only near the end. She was at Falmouth to run a good time before going in for foot surgery on Thursday. Well there is an incentive to give it your best shot! I went out at an easy pace, enjoying the crowds at the start. I was was also enjoying conversing with runners around me. As we ran around the Falmouth inner harbor in the first miles, some guy with headphones on was shouting and saying how his time would be unofficial as soon as he was disqualified (a rule for the race). I don't get the need for the headphones at all in a race especially when you are a talker, like he was. Even further, I do not get why he was running if he knew his time would not count upon disqualification. As we hit the Heights Beach area after the first relay transition zone, I was listening to a couple other runners talking and had to interrupt to ask some questions. One guy was pacing his buddy during the marathon. The remarkable thing was he had just run (or raced) 53 miles the day before. I was bumping between runners and conversations. It is rather friendly out there when you are not racing! Eventually I caught back up with Julie, from Minnesota, who was running with another great storyteller by the name of Zeus Estrada. Zeus trains with Bill Rodgers and it is always fun to talk about the greatness of Boston Billy. In fact, Zeus was the person who escorted Bill Rodgers through the 2009 Boston Marathon. I found out he was my age and was suffering a calf injury, which seems to be a common problem for us older runners. I was enjoying the conversations with Zeus and Julie, who knows a lot of the Team Minnesota runners, however I wanted to take a pit stop at the East Falmouth School so I veered off the course and bid them good luck. After a one to two minute break I was back on course.

Next up on the road, I saw a runner who looked familiar, but I wasn't sure as he still looked like he had the stride of a collegiate runner. I greeted him and I was right. It was Andy Rogovin, who used to be one of the top runners on Cape Cod (2nd place in the Cape Cod Marathon in 1983 in 2:30:49) and I am pretty sure a sub 2:30 guy who is also about my age. I remember him most as the guy who took third place in the first Cape Cod Endurance Triathlon (Ironman) back in 1983. I was in that race and ran four more of them. I told him to look up the video of that race that I put up on YouTube awhile back. He is also the guy that beat me when I ran my fastest ever 5 miler back in 1982, 6 days after bombing out in the heat of the Boston Marathon. I ran 26:48 and then broke some bones in my right ankle area the following week playing softball, and I was never to run as fast again (although I think it was more my move to triathlons the next year that slowed me down).

As we headed through the cranberry bogs of East Falmouth, and hit the 9-mile mark I saw that I had a split of 69 minutes. I had no pacing plan in mind and can't do the math of pacing during a race, but this one I could figure. I was on a pace of a little under 3:27 (of course I did have that bathroom break). That was OK with me as I figured I would run around 3:25 today. From that point on, I only recall one marathon runner passing me the rest of the marathon, although I may not have seen some pass. Some relay runners would pass, throughout the race. The race became less busy and there weren't many runners to run with anymore.

I hit the half marathon in about 1:40 and I was not tiring. Unfortunately, my left leg was all off during the race. All the little Feldenkrais movement patterns I hoped to work on would not work as my body ended up all out of whack. I think there was a twist or kink in my lower vertebrae and all the muscles in my lower back were extremely tight. I believe I passed Zeus through the Sippiwisset Hills, but only think it was him because he was wearing compression socks. I did cheer him on. I had been talking to people in the race, but not looking at what they looked like. I was only drinking water and had a packet of "Sports Beans". I decided they were too sweet to eat while running. I think I had half of a GU or whatever they were handing out. I wasn't in need of energy so I was just being careful.

As we hit Woods Hole, I saw three female racers ahead and thought that I would be seeing a good race develop in front of me. The ladies are usually stronger at the end of a marathon, particularly when they are competing with each other. At the relay exchange right after the old schoolhouse in Woods Hole, I tripped on a speed bump in the road. I almost went down as my left leg went back and I lunged forward trying to maintain balance. My back stretched out but was startled. I had to slow down to make sure I didn't hurt anything. I noticed the lunge pulled my left lower back straight and it started loosening up a bit. I quickly caught the three ladies and a few other people and they were behind me by Nobska Lighthouse.

I figured now was the time to start racing, but running with the left leg out of whack was not easy especially since my back started tightening up more after a few minutes of relief. Try this: put a wedge of about 1/4 -1/2 inch in the outer half of your left shoe. Run. You will notice your foot and ankle rolls to the inside and your weight will rest on the inside of your left knee. This will rotate your knee and hip in the wrong way and throw off your stride as well as cause imbalances in your back. Now do that for 26.2 miles and you will know how it feels to run in my body! I was not feeling like going too much faster. In the last few miles, I didn't get faster, but didn't really slow much at all. The pounding and tiredness (typical to a hard marathon) wasn't there, I just didn't feel the need to "go for it". There were three huge puddles in the last 3 miles covering the roads. You had to go to the side of the road to miss them and run in the sand and ruts. With my leg out of balance, I could not run properly in the more "technical" areas and each time I fell off balance and ended up splashing into the puddles.

Then I realized with two miles to go that I wasn't under 3:20 pace, so I just kept an easy pace to the finish line. It ended up being a pleasant day to run, another marathon in my cap, one of my slower marathons, and another learning experience. I had to limp with the tightness in my left glutes right after the race, but otherwise had no soreness, no blisters, no chafing, or anything else unpleasant (except a very salty face). At the finish, I saw former high school teammate Duncan Warden. He did not run the marathon, I think he had been biking along the course, but he was doing something worse than the marathon. He said he was going to bike down to the ocean and go dive into the water. I'd rather run a marathon!

I have many ideas of what is going on with my stride. Hint: I am taking a close look at my left heel, which may be misaligned and creating a lot of my problems. After the race, I was walking around just fine with very little muscle soreness and I still had a spring in my step. Today I was back to normal and ran 8 miles. My quads had a little stiffness, but I could run with a normal (for me) stride. I am considering what I might do this weekend: the Santa Fund race on Saturday, or ... I have always wanted to try the Manchester Marathon. That is on Sunday. I will have to check the weather report. If it is a good day, I might check it out. I did see Jim Quadros after the race. He didn't run, but when I mentioned I might do Manchester, he warned me that that Marathon killed his running. His hips haven't been the same since he did it a couple years ago, although he went much faster (sub 2:50) On the other hand, maybe just maybe the race will fix my hips!

Key finishers at the 2009 Cape Cod Marathon

1 Joseph E. Ekuom 2:33:13
2 Nicolas Karr 2:39:05
3 Benjamin Ndaya 2:41:36
4 Jeffrey Redfern 2:46:50
5 Anthony Crudale 2:50:04
6 Ian Clark 2:51:16
In 1980 I ran 2:51:48 at the Cape Cod Marathon(Otis course) and only placed 44th out of 241 runners- times have changed!
7 Dominique Devin 2:52:02
8 Darren Moor 2:53:50
9 John Piggott 2:54:27
10 Justin Thibault 2:54:49
13 Mary-Lynn Currier 2:56:14 (first female)
14 Megan Malgeri 2:56:53 (second female)
34 John Shepherd 3:10:46 (first senior)
44 Stephan Grilli 3:14:15 (second senior)
55 Julie Musselman 3:17:40 (I hope your surgery is successful!)
62 Adrian Forde 3:19:24 (third senior)
67 Hassan M. Haydar 3:21:45 (fourth senior)
69 Jim Hansen 3:22:44 (fifth senior)
77 Andy Rogovin 3:25:27 (seventh senior)
84 David Birse 33:28:17 (ninth senior-never saw him on the course-would have liked to have said hello)
95 Zeus Estrada 3:30:44 (not bad on a gimpy calf!)
481 Beth Nelson 4:25:43 (former winner of the race and top runner and triathlete from Cape Cod(3 times top 10 in the Hawaiin Ironman in the 1980's, including fastest female marathon 3:17 one year- that was faster than some of the top ten male runner's times!)

Other tidbits:

I have now run a marathon in 5 different decades of my life. I ran my first in Dallas when I was 18 in 1977. I have run marathons (40-50) since then in my 20’s, 30’s, 40's, and now my first in my 50's. Next year I will have run a marathon in 5 different decades (if I run one): the 70's 80's 90's, 2000's and 2010's.

Pushed the Button, One Week to the Cape Cod Marathon

I have had a very poor three weeks of running, since racing the Applefest 1/2 marathon. I had a two week cold of some type, a sore calf-achilles, and for the past two weeks my left side has been acting up. I only got about 2 or 3 runs in per week with nothing over 8 miles. I decided, with the weather outlook this weekend, that I wouldn't get another long run in and so I wouldn't enter the Cape Cod Marathon next weekend. Yesterday wasn't a bad day, like they predicted, and after doing a new Feldenkrais lesson Saturday afternoon, my left leg straightened up a bit and the pains of the last 2 weeks left, so I drank a glass of water and headed out for a run.

I had a nice loose run, although I lost a lot of conditioning during the downtime, something I also noticed Wednesday night at the track when I struggled through 3 X 1600 in 6:13, 6:07, and 6:06. I was enjoying feeling loose again and decided to try to go 16 miles. I started losing my form around 13 miles, but soldiered on thinking I would go 21 miles. At about 16 miles, I changed my mind, as I had nothing to eat or drink and going longer would only do some harm. I headed home and ended up doing 18 miles.

I got a long run in, so today a hit the "Enter" button and entered the Cape Cod Marathon for next Sunday. I am not going to worry about time and just see what happens. I guess I would be happy just running under 3:30, although if everything feels right I could go faster. If I qualify for Boston, it gives me an option to do that race in the Spring.

The past two weeks, my left leg has been acting up (out of whack). When that happens, I get a pain in my butt, in my lower back, and my knee feels tight and constricted. I also notice my left foot rotates out to the side more and when I run I have to roll over on the inner side of the foot which twists my knee, tightens my adductors, and gives me pains all over. Usually this is where I start stretching and beating myself up making it worse. I was doing lots of back Feldenkrais lessons, but started looking for foot-ankle lessons. The lesson I finally found, had me working on the ankles, my left one has limited mobility in one quadrant. I noticed that while rotating the ankle, I could feel its effect right in my left glute that gets really tight. There is a definite connection there and after about 1/2 hour of gentle movement and rotations, I was getting a smoother movement. When I was done, things weren't perfect, but I could run without the constrictions I had beem feeling all over my left side. I find it very fascinating noticing, through Feldenkrais, the ability to move in different ways and the positive effect I can achieve. I am slowly unraveling the tension and tight spots throughout my body and feel a lot freer in the back and hips. I also still find a lot of tight spots, so this is going to be a long process. Today is the best my body has felt in the past three weeks!

I don't expect much out of this marathon, in fact it is probably stupid to do it as I should not put new movement patterns under so much stress, so I will keep it low key and turn it into a long run. Hopefully the weather will be better than what the runners in the Bay State Marathon had to face today.

Nashua Pal Elementary School Cross-Country Championships

Here is an Animoto video I made of the Nashua Pal Elementary School Cross-Country Championships today at Nashua North High School. It has some Main Dunstable runners (my daughter's school), some Mount Pleasant runners (my former students), and many runners from New Searles (where I teach). (results here) There are lots of little people learning how fun it is to run, in Nashua.