Long Run after lay-off

Twelve miles yesterday. I'm not sure I've gone about this in a smart manner. I need to be a bit more intelligent and thoughtful about how I'm running.

As expected, I got one of my three programmed runs in last week. I was away the first portion, and just not in a good spot to run. Where the lack of smarts comes in is the week before. The previous week was a recovery week: three short easy runs. Last week was a mileage building week: long run (12 miles-which I accomplished), a tempo run (6 miles) and a short easy run (2 miles). If I'd been a thinking man, I would have run last weeks program two weeks ago, and used the travel week as the recovery week, thereby not missing the speed work. I'll need to keep this in mind.

As for yesterday's run, it went as well as could be expected. I didn't quite hit the goal pace (12 miles at 10:04-I did 12.1 at 10:34. I think, looking at the graph it was the end that really did me in. I felt slow during the last 2 miles or so. Just like I had to keep pushing the pace to get anywhere. (The fact that it was almost all uphill probably didn't help matters much.)

As you might discern from above, I'm not too happy with the run from yesterday. My legs are still quite sore. I'm hoping it's due to the one week layoff.

It was busy out there yesterday. In and around a park area there was significant traffic on the foot paths. Everyone from kids in strollers up to people so old I was surprised they could still get around and walk. The down side was, I had to wait to pass people sometimes. It was also very muddy (but luckily not icy). This is probably related to the fact that I ran in mid-afternoon, instead of early morning.

On the Paris front: I am now in possession of my medical certificate. That means the only thing between me and Paris is training.

Morning Run.

Really need to put those screws in my shoes...

Ran past some reservoirs this morning. One of which was bone dry. But the two next to it were pretty full. I'm guessing it's some sort of flood control measure? Or maybe maintenance on the pumping system? Goodness knows we've had enough rain/ snow to put water in them.

Scared the bejeebers out of a doe. Poor thing, kept running down the path I was on to get away from me.

It was cold: 20F when I left. Not much better now, but morning is the only time to get a long run in w/o having it take over your entire day. I must not be the only one who thinks so, despite the weather, I saw another 9 runners out this morning. That plus the deer, plus two Polizei out on foot patrol with MP5s. Not that many dog walkers out this morning though, only 4. There are usually many more of them out and about.

Odd things weather can do. I left the house with about 24 oz of water. I barely touched it. Maybe I was a little better hydrated to begin the run, but I suspect the weather. In the final phases of my workup for the Stuttgart half last June, I was putting down over 24 oz of water on runs of about the same distance. During the race itself (which was unseasonably hot) I did all my water bottles, plus just about every hydration point except the first.

Silly Man. (again)

I went out today to inaugurate the 'official' training period for the Paris Marathon. It was scheduled to be 3 miles at 10:10 and I just couldn't bring myself to do that. I went out with a co-worker and we did 5 at about 9:15 instead.

Overall, it was a good run, until we ran into the woman and her dogs. We were running two abreast on a decently wide (yet snow and ice covered) paved trail. She was on our right with one dog, and the other dog over on the left. There was also an older couple about 5m behind her, also on the right.

Being a rational beast, my co-worker took early and decisive action and fell in behind me on the left of the trail. Which, of course meant that the woman took her one dog over to join the other on the left. Right in our way. I'm sure this is some German custom about only passing port-to-port.

So, this required us to jump back over to the right. At this point my foot slipped on the ice, causing me to crash down on my left hip, knee and of course, wrist. This despite the fact that on the way out (this was the return leg of an out-and-back) I made specific note of how icy this area was. And how I really wasn't looking forward to running down this slope with all the ice. And how if I did slip, the one thing I really didn't want to do was to try to catch my whole body weight with my hand. But, yes, that's exactly what I tried to do.

So, my wrist which was just about 100% from Thanksgiving. Is now sore again. Joy.

Let's just hope this isn't a bad omen for the whole marathon experience. Which, thanks to the vagaries of U.S. Military medicine, I'm still not medically cleared to run. But the doc specifically said not to stop what I was already doing. So, to me that means I'm still cleared to 13.

Stuttgart Half Marathon

The observant among you may have noticed the added Personal Record in the left column. It's not hard to record a new PR when it's your first race at the distance!

Looking back at previous posts, you may also realize that 2:03:18 isn't quite the time I was hoping for. Honestly, as the race went, I'm quite happy with it. It was a lot of fun, and very crowded (well over 15,000 runners). Complete with samba bands, cheerleaders (yes, German cheerleaders I'm not kidding). But I get ahead of myself.

We left the house and took the train which was fine, except as we got closer and closer to the start the train got more and more crowded. While the race wasn't as big as last year's Marine Corps Marathon, unlike the DC Metro the Stuttgart transit system didn't throw on any extra trains...just the normal Sunday schedule (i.e. one every 30 minutes).

Once we got there things were fine. We made our way to the starting area and had quite a bit of time. More than we expected, since we planned (conservatively of course) to get there 30-45 minutes early. We just didn't expect the 45 minute delay in the start time. It worked out alright though, b/c the LM got to watch the hand bikes warming up (the picture is of a rider getting his medal but you get the idea.) The thing that worried me, was that as we were standing there waiting to start, it just kept getting hotter and hotter.


Herein was the big problem with the day. Heat. All of my long training runs had been done in the morning. Usually completed by 10:00. The race was scheduled to start at 9:00, so I should have been done by about 11:00. But add in the 45 minute delay... That and the average temperature for the past few weeks has been hovering about 17C/63F Yesterday the temperature was about 32C/90F. This created some serious problems

Tangent

One of my co-workers today uttered the following words while talking about his mountain bike race and my half marathon this weekend:"All those super thin people had a lot of trouble, but you and me, we've got nothing to worry about!" (This from a guy who is going to ride the Trans-Alp mountain bike race later this summer, so I didn't feel too bad.)

End Tangent

Because it was hot, and I really didn't feel acclimated, I didn't push it. And I'm glad I didn't. There were a lot of people having a lot of trouble. This was most evident in the later miles of the race. Going up a slight hill about km 15 or so, I had the runner in front of me start weaving all over the course (right into the arms of a fireman). Then, most disturbingly in the 19th km, I heard yelling up ahead. In a small alley way off the side of the course I caught a glimpse of a runner-a man-with blood dripping down his knees, screaming in agony, thrashing about on the ground being restrained by several medical workers and race stewards. Yeah, great weather.

I must say though, the people of Stuttgart were just great. Lots of support along the way, music, cheerleaders, a couple of drunk guys dancing about... But most importantly, quite a few of them (and some firefighters manning the routes in their trucks as well) took it upon themselves to spray down runners as we went by. Much appreciated!

The above water sprays were especially appreciated because the actual race water stations were pretty uncoordinated. Things pretty much came to a stop as soon as you approached one. Which slowed everything down. A lot. This was probably the low point of organization for the run, which was really unfortunate. I was just glad I had my belt on.

As for the sights and sounds. I'll leave you this link to the LW's blog. She's covered most of the highlights. Just let me add, she didn't see the post race showers! To be blunt, there's not a lot of modesty to the German character. Basically open air showers, with a little screen separating the men from the women. But of course, the men's showers were open to just about anyone. (The ankle deep water in the showers themselves was just an added bonus!)


Overall, my griping aside, it was a great time.

- - - - - - -

Kit review:
Amphipod belt: good, no irritation, I wore 3x 8 oz bottles (probably should have worn 4) and the pouch with Jelly Belly Sport beans.
New UA running shirt: I'd worn it a couple of times over the past few weeks and it was great. No irritations at all
UA shorts: this is the first problem I've had with them, even though I've worn them numerous times (long runs included) I had some chaffing issues. (The link is to the newer version of the shorts I was wearing.) I've got to think the chaffing was made worse by the heat, humidity and the fact that I was continually doused in water and/or sweat.

Cobblestone Classic

Race Report.
Yesterday morning I ran the Cobblestone Classic 5 mile run. Tag line "Where Tanks Once Tread" (To find out why, read the Tangent below). A Five mile course from Patch Barracks to Panzer Barracks along Panzerstraße.

Warning: Long Historical Tangent Ahead.
(A tip of the hat to Blunoz for format)

Patch Barracks was originally called Kurmärker Kaserne and was constructed starting in about 1936, by, you guessed it, our good old German friends...


Panzer Barracks (originally Panzer Kaserne) was built around the same time. Kurmärker Kaserne was the home for the 7th Panzer Regiment...


...it had the headquarters area, offices, barracks, support facilities and the like...


...and Panzer Kaserne had the training area and shooting ranges for the Panzers.

To get from Kurmärker to Panzer Kaserne, they needed a road. Just any old road wouldn't do. Tank treads tend to be a little rough on asphalt, and they'll turn dirt roads to mud. So they came up with a solution:

Cobblestones

Great for tanks not so good for knees and ankles!

The bases were needed to support the newly re-arming German military during the run up to the Second World War. They played a supporting role in the military re-occupation of the Rhineland.

Kurmärker Kaserne didn't make it out of the war too well:(Nice bullet holes above)

The combined USAF and RAF gave it a bit of a plastering.

The 7th Panzer Regiment didn't do that well either. It surrendered in Tunisia and finished the war in POW camps back in the U.S.

(Source note: all of the above photos came from a EUCOM history brief about Patch Barracks. I cannot attest to the status of copyright on any of them).

End Tangent.

This is at least the 3rd running of the Cobblestone classic (which I know only b/c I saw a 2006 Cobblestone Classic T-shirt).

I've fallen off the wagon the last week. I did 11 miles last Saturday, and due to an equipment malfunction (sock position) ended up with some nasty blisters on my right foot. I ran again on Monday, only 4.5 miles and really regretted it. So I took the rest of the week off. (Which has some implications for my half-marathon training plan but in the short term really made my legs feel heavy when the race started. But it did give my blisters enough time to heal which was really what I needed.)

The race started alright. I made a conscious decision to start nearer the front this time. In past races I've spent a lot of time and effort at the beginning of the run playing dodge 'ems with slower runners, walkers and stroller pushers starting near the front. That worked out better than my past starts. (No, there were no starting guides or any order at all really to the start. Just "line-up and go". Very un-Armylike.)

The problem was I felt miserable pretty much from the start. Legs heavy, lungs weak. To make things worse the course was not easy. Pretty much immediately after leaving Patch Barracks it enters the woods, where it remains till the end, so the scenery is nice.

But there are the cobblestones. And there are the hills. It's pretty much just a series of hills for the entire 5 miles. With a nice long one at the beginning. (see the profile below). I'm not a hill running champion, I tend to slow down quickly, and get very slow as they go on.

I did have the advantage of having run almost all of the course before. I've explored most of the woods through which the course wound during my weekend long runs, except for the last half mile or so.

Needless to say, my "good start" stopped about mile 1 1/4 when the first real uphill began. I continued to trudge up the hill passing the 2 mile mark near the top of the hill at 16:16, a bit of quick and easy mental gym: 8:08 pace. Not exactly scorching.

Finally at the top, I sped up a bit as the course leveled out for a little bit and then began a slow relatively steady descent. I was able to maintain that pace, running next to a co-worker who had a GPS watch. It said we were running sub 6:00 pace. It lied. No way. We were holding an on/off conversation, which I cannot do at a sub 6:00 pace. Besides, we were maintaining pace for waaaaay too long for me to be sub 6:00. Even counting the downhill.

If you look at the elevation profile below, it was the second to last hill that really did me in (the one that starts at mil 4.3 or so). I think I pushed the pace a little too hard going up, trying to run with the same guy. Consequently, I didn't have much left.


To make matters worse, I started hearing a slapping footfall behind me. Getting closer. And closer. Soon enough, a scrawny little 11 year old boy just screams by. Very disheartening. About 5 miles in and passed by an 11 year old.

Then came the coup de grace to my race. Where was the finish? I just felt I had to be nearing the 5 mile end. We turned off the main trail that I'd run before onto a side trail I was unfamiliar with. As we curved around in the woods, I was really needing that 5 mile end point. My legs felt dead. My lungs weren't much better.

Then around the corner!

(Commence inner dialogue)

A sign! 5 miles!!! Joyous day!

But...wait....where ...(pray tell) is the finish line??? Refreshments????? The END??!!!!

Ahhh, [expletive deleted] race organizers!
Can't even advertise the real [expletive deleted] length of the [expletive deleted] race!
Yeah, but they sure can find a [expletive deleted] hill to make us run up.
Must have been a [expletive deleted] Marine again. [expletive deleted]

(End dialogue)

Well, eventually I did see the end, around a corner up a hill (of course).

Finish time: just over 42 minutes. Pace actually slower than my PB 10k time.

But honestly, with the hills, I'll take it. And it was fun. Just wish they'd said it was 5.something miles, not "5 miles".