Recover Your Stride

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Vacation week

I did very little running last week as I was on vacation in Maine. The week did produce my lifetime personal worst at the 5k distance. I also did a lot of experimenting and so I have some new goals in mind.

Monday: 3 miles (Mine Falls Trail Race)
Tuesday: 25 mile cycling with group
Wed. 0 miles
Thurs. 0 miles
Friday 0 miles
Saturday 3 hilly miles along the Maine shoreline
Sunday 0 miles

Yesterday Monday (3 miles Mine Falls Trail Race)

I wore a newer model of an insole that I tried out a few years ago during Monday's 5k. This insole felt good standing around in and I only used it for a few hours the previous day. It was my first run using them and I felt it. I was using different hip muscles which fatigued quickly and I felt like I was running in slow motion. I ran over two minutes slower than the two preceding weeks. I talked with the founder of the insole company on the phone the next day for awhile and wore the insoles the rest of the week, but while my feet felt supported, I found my walking stride was off and uncomfortable. So you don't have to look it up, I ran an embarrassing time (for me) of 25:23.

I also worked on some new hip stretches this week and got really intense with my foam roller. Rather than just a few slow passes up my quads. I did 20 passes on the front of my quads, 20 on each side, 20 on the IT band, and another 20 at the top of the hip. I also did the other muscles of the legs, but it is my quads that are the tightest.

When in Maine....Lobster!

On the way home from Maine, I remembered another insole I used a few years ago and remembered I still had a pair laying around. I put them on after returning from Maine Sunday night and everything felt right with my world for a change. I went out for a late night walk-run to see how they felt. Now whether it was just a good day (after hours in the car-I doubt it) or that I it might be these insoles that work for me, I don't know. I did the final trail race tonight and ran over 2 1/2 minutes faster than I did using the other insoles and my legs felt more balanced than they have in a while. I also set my PR for the course this year (under 23 minutes-and exactly 3 minutes slower than 2 years ago right before I stopped running with my bad hip) by maybe 20 seconds and this after a week of limited running and excessive eating! I will talk about both insoles at another time after more testing.

How I feel when running: imbalanced and muscles of stone:
need to do more foam rolling!

I am done trying to race for now and have decided I need to work on kettlebells and the core more. I was real happy that this book showed up yesterday: Anatomy for Runners: Unlocking Your Athletic Potential for Health, Speed, and Injury Prevention by Jay Dichary. After looking through the book for over an hour last night, I think it is fantastic! It delves into a lot of things I have looked at and applies them to running at a much higher level than any other book I have seen. The book is written with humor and explains things in depth while going beyond what the typical running book advocates. I am going to use it as a template for strengthening up my imbalances and weaknesses. If you are working on building up your form, I would highly recommend taking a peek at this book. Jay Dichary is the director of the SPEED Performance Clinic at the University of Virginia.

Monday, August 20, 2012

On Running Shoes

Back in 2008, I wrote a post, A New Type of Running Shoe: Glide'n Lock about an innovative idea for a running shoe based on a system called the Glide'n Lock running system. Like a lot of new and creative ideas, I thought it might disappear or die-off due to lack of interest, financing, or simply that it just might not work. It seems that this glide'n lock idea has persisted and that the shoe is not being sold world-wide under the name of On Running Shoes.

It seems like On Running Shoes sponsors a lot of triathletes as opposed to runners. If you watched the London Olympic men's' triathlon maybe you were blown away by the speeds of the top 3 finishers (first and third were the Brownlee brothers from England). Lurking in the background behind the top three were a couple of other runners trying to run themselves onto the Olympic podium. The eventual fourth place finisher, David Hauss from France, ran the 10k portion of the race in a time of 29:53 wearing a pair of On shoes. There are a lot of other sponsored triathletes, probably the most interesting to me is that one of the big-four triathletes from the 1980s, Scott Molina, says he is back running and enjoying the shoes. The only pure runner mentioned is marathoner Tegla Loroupe, the two time New York City Marathon champion.

It will be interesting hearing reports on how this shoe works for runners as it uses an unique technology on the sole. There is a lot of information on their website for those who are interested.

Monday, August 13, 2012

2012 Falmouth Road Race and Falmouth Mile Videos

This year I got to watch the Falmouth Road Race for the first time ever after running it over 25 times. I decided to cheer on the runners where Surf Drive and the bike path cross, three something miles into the race. I was not ready for how dizzy you can feel watching all the runners go by. I shot video of all the competitors until my battery died. If you ran the race, you may be in here. It was fun to watch, but next year I hope that I am back to racing again.

Here are the first few wheelchair competitors:

The leaders and the first wave of runners (article on race):

Here is the wheelchair division of the Falmouth Mile:

Here is the men's division of the Falmouth Mile:

I videotaped the women's mile, but the finish was very fuzzy, so I did not put it up on youtube. If some one wants to see it let me know.

The week that ended with an Olympic Marathon and the Falmouth Road Race

Got up early to watch the Men's Olympic Marathon and then headed out to watch the Falmouth Road Race. Meb Keflezighi ran an inspired race to finish fourth in London.

Never count Meb out like the Olympic organizers did at the start of the marathon.

One thing that upset Meb was being snubbed in the introductions before the race. Ten athletes stood in front of the rest of the marathon field and were introduced to the crowd and world-wide televison audience. The ten athletes were: Wilson Kipsang of Kenya, Ayele Abshero of Ethiopia, Arata Fujiwara of Japan, Getu Feleke of Ethiopia,Scott Overall of Britain, Abel Kirui of Kenya, Ryan Hall of the USA, Marilson Gomes Dos Santos of Brazil, Rachid Kisri of Morocco and, surprisingly, the little-credentialed Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda, who would go on to win.Missing from the mix, Meb Keflzighi, the only Olympic medallist in the field and the US Olympic Trials Champion. The snub riled Meb after the race. "I was a little upset on how the introduction went. To be an Olympic medallist which none of those 109 people that started the race did not have and to be the New York City Marathon champion. ... I was very upset. Shame on (the) IAAF. ... None of those guys had what I had and to be not introduced like that definitely hurt," he said.

Last week:
Monday: 5 miles (3 miles Mine Falls Trail 5k- 4 seconds slower than the previous week)
Tuesday: 23 miles biking ( 20 miles on a group ride-lots of fun)
Wednesday 8 miles ran in Skechers GoRuns for the first time since February
Thursday 8 miles ran in Altra Provision for the first time since February
Friday 8 miles back to running in the Hoka One One Bondi B-my hip felt better with the more flexible shoes, but I need to transition slowly
Saturday 4 miles at Falmouth
Sunday 4 miles kickbiking to and from 3 mile mark of the Falmouth Road Race
Total 33 miles running- good week-but slow- the three 8 milers in a row is a good sign

One exercise I am getting back to that I have lagged off on is the BOSU Squat. I see that it was also part of Tyson Gay's recovery from labral tear surgery, too. He mentions it helps his stabilizer muscles that he often doesn't work. I hears some little pops and stuff in my hip when I do these. I wonder if it is the the little muscles activating and moving for a change as I try to balance. I do feel better after doing these squats rather than just regular squatting.

BOSU Squat

Stand on flat side of BOSU with feet shoulder-width apart and arms extended forward
Squat until legs are bent 90 degrees
Drive up to start position; repeat for specified reps

Sets/Reps: 3x15

Coaching Points: Keep eyes focused straight ahead // Fire glutes to explode up from squat

Tyson Gay: “The glute muscles need to be strong for sprinting, and doing the BOSU Squat really fires the glutes up. It also helps me work the stabilizer muscles to strengthen those smaller areas that don’t get worked when I’m doing machine exercises.”

Thursday, August 9, 2012

1982 Falmouth Road Race

1982 was the 10th running of the Falmouth Road Race. Alberto Salazar and Joan Benoit-Samuelson were the two winners. The official race results say the temperature was 77 degrees with 70% humidity. There were 4500 official runners and 1500 unofficial runners.

Alberto Salazar in the lead approaching 6 miles.

6 miles in, the race leaders pass the Hoyts. #6 is Mike Musoyki who would finish 4th,
behind him is 2nd place finisher Craig Virgin, and 3rd place finisher Rod Dixon is behind Craig.

5th place finisher Marc Curp

There used to be a video of the 1982 Falmouth Road Race online, but it seems to be missing now. Maybe I can get that uploaded here. Here it is:

Race story on the 2012 Falmouth Road Race:

FALMOUTH - By the time he reached a little upgrade in the woody stretch of roadway leaving Woods Hole, Alberto Salazar had taken the lead in the 10th Falmouth Road Race and, by the time he came out of those woods, the race, for all practical purposes, was history.

This was simply one more Salazar jewel to savor in a year that has seen him finish second in the world cross-country championships, run to a stunning record in a hot Boston Marathon and become the first since the late Steve Prefontaine to hold American track records for both 5000 (13:11.93) and 10,000meters (27:25.61).
Racing away from Michael Musyoki, 1980 Falmouth winner Rod Dixon and 1979 winner Craig Virgin, the resolute and gifted Salazar ran alone for the final four miles of the 7.1-mile race to finish in a record 31:53.3. Virgin (32:12) outkicked Dixon (32:16) and Musyoki (32:17) in the furiously competitive battle for second.

On the eve of the race, Salazar had slight doubts about even lining to defend his Falmouth victory of last year in the record time of 31:55.6. "I picked up a slight stomach bug," he said, "and if it didn't get better, it would have seriously hindered my running. I just picked it up two days ago." But he called a doctor Saturday, got a prescription, and was just fine yesterday.

Equally impressive on a morning when temperatures soared into the high and humid 70s after a relatively cool week was defending women's champion Joan Benoit's smashing 36:33.7, which leveled Grete Waitz' two-year-old record of 37:12.5. "When we found out Grete wasn't coming (due to a stress fracture)," said Benoit's coach, Bob Sevene, "she (Joan) said, I'll just have to go for the record.' "

After Keith Brantley of the University of Florida carried the lead through the first mile in 4:23 (only to wilt into a 24th-place finish), the race quickly evolved into the expected duel among Salazar, Virgin, Dixon and Musyoki. They went through two miles in an unofficial 9:02 and through three in 13:36. And then, see you later, Alberto.

"I was surprised I was able to break away as soon as I did," said Salazar. "Once the race started, I just didn't want to let anybody pull away from me. I just kept an even pace. I started to get a side stitch after about 4 1/2 miles; from there to six miles, I slacked off. I was a little worried about Musyoki or someone moving up. That's why I kept looking back.

"I was never really that psyched to go out and break a record. I was surprised when I did. The big difference was mental. Last year I had something to prove. I'd had a year full of injuries. Falmouth was my first big race coming back. This year, I'd already set a world record in the marathon (New York) and American records for 5000 and 10,000 meters.
"I was surprised they let me get away. If they want to do this every year, it's fine with me. I used to try and stay up with the leaders as long as I could before I finally won this. As good as they were, they were making a mistake. I read where Dixon said he felt he could catch me in the last mile and a half. There's no way he can if I have 20 seconds on him. You've got to stay with the guy.

"There's always a chance you can lose. I lost in Europe (in his two American record runs) in the last 400 meters. Nobody pulled away from me. I feel I'm as strong as anyone in the world. It's just my lack of a finishing kick. But all these guys were hanging on me. If I improve another 15 seconds and run a 27:10, they're not going to be there. It felt very easy today. If I had to rate it on a scale of 10, last year was a nine and this year was a seven." Would anyone like to predict what he'd have done to the other runners had he run a nine?

That's just Salazar. He picks and chooses he races. As Dixon said, "That's his second road race (the other being Boston) since February. It's my 32d. If I were obsessed about winning this race, I would take eight weeks off. I didn't run his race today. I ran my race - in my mind, the best possible race I could run."
Virgin thought it had come down to him and Musyoki for second. "We were battling it out," said Virgin. "I thought we had dumped Rod. I heard a noise behind me and I said, Oh boy.' All of a sudden, Dixon goes right by us. That's when I reacted.defensively .

"I found out last week at Maggie Valley (a 22:56.9 win in a 5- mile race that included Dixon and Musyoki) I had a kick. Confidence breeds confidence. I don't have a lot of confidence because I don't have the races. I was impressed by Alberto's leg speed. That's the thing that months of training builds up.

"He was smart to come back from Europe a month ago. If he had just come back a week ago, he'd have been more vulnerable. I feel the same way he did in the 1980 Olympic trials when he finished third and he'd had only a couple of months of training after an injury. He set an example for me. He struggled. He came back. Everybody in the top five here has had a year of injuries at some time." Virgin, himself, is coming off a kidney ailment suffered at the end of March

"For a guy who doesn't have any speed," Virgin added, "Alberto has made a real contribution to American distance running. I said in 1979 we were behind the Europeans. He's made great strides. He's the pace setter. I'm happy. Today, I was the best runner except for Alberto. It's a hard course and if we had caught Alberto, his ship would have been sunk. I had said I wouldn't be surprised if three or four people were coming over that final hill together. It was that way. Except for Alberto."

Virgin also questioned the security of Falmouth's rating as America's No. 1 road race, despite its $32,000 budget for invited runners. "My feeling is that Falmouth has lost some of its depth," he said. "A race is just like a runner. You have to get better every year. You can't survive just on tradition. Some of the guys just didn't come back because of the way they were treated. They (at Falmouth) have got to make a move within the running world to keep pace."

Falmouth was born out of the fantasy of a bartender named Tommy Leonard and it was first staged exactly nine years ago yesterday. Whatever its future, Falmouth 1982 will be a part of road racing history. For nobody was about to overhaul Alberto Salazar in his run to a record finish on a picture-postcard Cape Cod morning.

3rd place Rod Dixon

2nd place Craig Virgin

4th place Mike Musoyki

The legs of champions

Marc Curp, Mike Musoyki, and Rod Dixon

5th place finisher Jaqueline Gareau

Bill Rodgers-not in results

Dave McGillivray- who is the new race director of

the Falmouth Road Race

Bill Rogers and Johnny Kelley

My name is missing in the results, but my training log
says I finished about 250th with a time of 41:10.
Not bad as I had broken bones in my ankle in April of
that year.

Here are some pictures sent to me by Louise Goldberg, daughter of my high school cross-country coach at The Stony Brook School on Long Island. Mr. Goldberg took took these from the Nobska Lighthouse hill. I recall seeing him there as I went running by.

Can anyone identify any of the other runners?

Here are the top results (click to expand)

Here are the top women.

Monday, August 6, 2012

The guys you're trying to beat

What a great week for running with the Olympics on television for some motivation. The men's 10000 meter race is so far the best race of the Olympics! I would have liked to see Tyson Gay medal in the Olympics, but he just fell short. He has done a brilliant job coming back from his labral tear surgery just a couple of weeks before I had my surgery.

Here is a most interesting article about coach Alberto Salazar and where America's running programs need to go in the future. It is interesting that the Kenyans and the Bekeles had previously asked Alberto to consider coaching them.

The Bekele's are Nike-sponsored runners. Decent guys, by all accounts. No doubt, sensational talents. And while Salazar turned down an offer from the Kenyans a few years ago, and rebuffed the Bekele's a few years ago in their first ask, he toyed with the idea of taking on one, or both, last year, around the time he took on Farah. He even took the idea to Rupp, just to feel him out.
Maybe to motivate him, too, a little. Who knows?
Rupp said, "Aren't those the guys we're trying to beat?!?"

And did Mo Farah and Galen Rupp beat those guys!

Last weeks mileage
Monday 3 miles- Mine Falls Trail 5K 23:16 a 40 second improvement from 2 weeks earlier
Tuesday: bike 8 miles
Wednesday: run 8 miles
Thursday: run 5 miles in Falmouth
Friday: run 8 miles
Saturday: 0 miles bike 8 miles
Sunday: 0 miles
Total miles: 24 miles running

The muscles around my hip are having a hard time with the 5k races. I need to work on stability more as well as to get more range of motion. These races hurt a lot, despite my overall slowness. I can't get the hip to move me faster. I did the race again tonight in the the same exact time as last week.

Desiree Davila's Olympics

I have been reading for weeks about Desi Davila's hip flexor injury and whether she would or wouldn't attempt the Olympic Marathon. It is too bad that such a tough runner was felled by an injury right before the biggest race in her life, the race that had been her lifelong goal.

A hip or groin injury suffered during a series of workouts in early July didn't allow her to train regularly in the run-up to London. She worked out on an anti-gravity treadmill, underwent daily physical therapy for the injury and even took a cortisone injection last month before heading overseas.

There was no alternate to take her spot, so she justly suited up for the marathon race in London and hoped for a miracle. It didn't happen and she ran 2.2 miles before dropping out.

An article today brings up a possibility that Desi has a labral tear in her hip. That is something I had been wondering about all along.

An MRI had ruled out a fracture, but Davila, 29, will go for another round of tests when she returns home, she said. It could simply be tendinitis in her hip flexor. It could be a torn labrum. It could be a sports hernia. She's heard all sorts of theories the last few weeks.

Hopefully, it is just tendinitis. A sports hernia and labral tear require surgery and a long recovery. If it is a labral tear, Desi can gain confidence in the fact that New Zealand 1500 meter runner is looking like a strong candidate for a second Olympic medal despite arthroscopic surgery for a torn labrum three years ago as well as Tyson Gay's fourth place finish in the 100 meters yesterday after surgery on his hip last July. It is a injury and surgery I know well, as I am now one year post surgery for a torn labrum in my hip. Whatever happens, we can only hope that Desiree Davilla gets another shot at Olympic Glory in Rio. After all, who can forget Desi's inspiring run to the finish line at the 2011 Boston Marathon?