Masters Runner

I Like Running - Masters Runner

I like to run. I also like to reflect about my running while I run, and at times I am lucky enough to write those thoughts down and share them on this blog. Since it’s been far too long since my last post, and a lot has happened since my 100 miler, I thought it would be refreshing to revisit and share my reflections of the last few months of running. 

Just recently I turned 40 in October, which has now catapulted me into the Master’s Age group category. It’s a fun group to be part of, as many of these runners have been racing competitively since college. Many of these runners at the top end I have raced over the years since college, post-college and on the USA circuit which included the Olympic Trials and various prestigious road races.

A few months ago I got to debut at the USA Cross Country 5k Masters Championships in Boulder. I had this race on my calendar for nearly a year, but I wasn’t training properly for it during that time period. So when the race came around in October, and only a week after I turned 40, it didn’t go as planned. I was hoping to place on the podium many months ago, but as I said, my training wasn’t up to par. I got smoked and felt many nagging injuries rise as a result of wearing spikes and not prepared for it. Lesson learned - train more and get some decent mileage in if you want to compete like you use to.

USATF Club Cross Country Championships 

Fast forward to this past weekend and some 5 weeks of “okay” training will result in an actual result you would like to see. Despite the mess of the race organizing logistics and the weather, I was very satisfied with my results. I finished 50th place for the altered race in a time of 31:45. This time is a little irrelevant since it’s cross country and not to mention that it was closer to a 6 mile race than a 10k race distance. However, the thing that stood out was the 50th place out of 334 athletes. I know I have worked very hard in the past to run well, and to compare that to what I am doing as a masters runner isn’t at the same level. I have definitely been slacking a bit on the mileage and overall focus as a runner. However, life is more balanced as a husband, coach, teacher, friend, and socialite (which I dislike doing these days, because all I want to do is stay home with my wife and dogs relaxing…).

There are way more things to juggle around in life and Arlene and I don’t even have kids yet. Although, instead of complaining, I have found so much more structure in a routine to keep up with my training, and to train competitively. I still feel that I can post some decent times as a masters runner, and hope to continue my training while staying healthy. If this happens, I would like to break 2:30 in the marathon as a masters runner and complete at a few Masters Championships over the next few years.

It’s an exciting realm to be in, and after our San Francisco Club Championship race, I have high hopes for the future of my running. Paralleling my own training alongside my youth athletes will be an exciting challenge that I hope evokes the same passion for this sport as I have had.

Getting ahead of myself - Injuries

We all tend to do this a lot - start planning for races before you are even ready to run.  Circling those far off race dates in the calendar, in hopes that you will be on the starting line, or just day dreaming about the possibility of crossing off one of your bucket list races.  Well, at least I do.  I tend to do this all too often, especially when I am not running.  The unknown of when I "will be training" seems to make the possibility of any race just a registration click away.  My wife can tell you that, when I am hurt, my race options seems to double throughout the season - "Honey, I want to do this race, oh, and then we can do this race.".  I guess the mind moves way faster than the body, but this seems to help with the mental aspect that I am not running.  The hope that I will be back training again is the light at the end of the dark and torturous tunnel.  And with the thought of races, comes the reality of training and getting stronger; running with your friends, and pushing each other to achieve a goal.  Those are definitely not occurring when you are cross-training by yourself, or sitting around waiting for your injury to heal.  Or thinking, "I'm not a competitive cross-training, why am I do this?".  But the fact of the matter is, that you, or I, will be able to run again, and enjoy all the aspects that it entails.  And know that these auxiliary workouts are going to get you healthy and running again.

As for me, I am still cross training with my trainer - Lawrence, twice a week.  My massage therapist - Laura, is continuously making my muscles and tendons feel like rubber, and I have seen a Dry Needling guy/Doctor, named Nick Speegle who will stab me a few more times this week while sending electrodes through those wonderful metal needles.  The goal of all of this is to heal my left achilles and test it out on Friday.  My achilles has been bugging me since forever ago, and it has really flared up recently after the marathon last month.  So I thought, it would be best to fully heal it and start off fresh this year.  I still have plenty of time left (the rest of my life, I guess) to figure out what races I really want to do, and until then, I will focus on the important aspect of recovering and healing.  Once that is accomplished, then I can break out the red marker and start circling all those races dates... or more importantly, all those sunday long run days with the Dukes Track Club.