Trade offs

By Friday, I was starting to feel better but still had the spasm in my groin and left hip. I noticed that as I looked in the mirror, I was in poor alignment...left hip raised and left shoulder dropped as I went to protect all my soreness. I was enough improvement and realized that I did not die on Wednesday that I thought maybe I should give myself a try on the Saturday long run.

4:30 came early but I got out of bed and readied for the trip to Fort DeSoto near South St. Pete. This is the first group training I had made involving the Hillsborough and Pinellas county runners and walkers. It was still dark as I drove into the parking lot and made my way to the pavilion where everyone was signing in. I stood in a line over 8 people long to sign in and needed to use a citronella candle to see what I was writing. Once signed in, I made my way to the area where they were starting to do the group stretching. Things were still tight and tender but not sore and spasmed. The length to the end of the run is 2.5 miles so down and back is 5.0. The full Marathoners were scheduled to do 10 miles so they would run the down and back on one direction and the down and back on the other direction for their 10. To get 7, you could do the first 5 and then go 1 mile to the flag pole and 1 mile back.

It stayed dark for most of the first 2 miles. At that point I left the paved trail and had been directed to run to the end of the parking lot and then turn around for the return. Wow, this is easy. I was unable to read my watch in the darkness so I had just maintained a slow and steady pace with more running than walking and felt this was far easier than I had expected. That however, was because the first parking lot led to another and then another and I think at least one more. Boy can they ever accommodate a lot of cars there!

I had seen most of the runners on their way back as I was bringing up the rear but I had maintained my speed to stay ahead of the walkers. (Some of them have a pretty solid pace). My leg was feeling pretty good at that point and so the return was not bad. I completed the 5 in about 80 minutes. I had done no fast running since I did not want to further do in my left leg but felt great about making the 5 at all. I stopped at the water stop and saw my fund raising partner just completing her 7 miles. She had told me about how many races she had been in and how she had gotten to the 17 mile mark when they called the Marathon in Chicago just 2 weeks ago. She gave me what I needed to convince myself that I had come here to do 7 miles and 7 I would do. I made that first step for the flagpole and knew this was doable.

I don't remember anytime before that this fat old body has even gone 7 consecutive miles without a car, a bike, or inline skates. Wow, what an accomplishment!!! Another personal best.

I then made my way to the pavilion and got some snacks at the pot luck we were having. This was also the send off for the Marine Marathon runners and the Nike Marathon runners. Lots of pep and cheering as we went over the fundraising to date. So far, Suncoast Chapter of TNT has raised over $360,000 this year. We heard from three cancer survivors. One said that the treatment that she received led to near elimination of the type of lymphoma she had. That was a great testament to the efforts of the TNT program. One of the other honored teammates is an Iraq War Vet who was diagnosed with Lymphoma and sent back home for his treatment. He is the honored teammate for both Nike and the Marine Marathons. Since the Marine Marathon starts directly in front of the Pentagon, this was particularly appropriate that we have this man on our team.

As I mentioned to my daughter as we spoke on my ride home, I might not have stayed with this program for this long if not for the involvement in this really worthwhile cause. If it was just for my own health and well being and personal satisfaction, I could have found any number of excuses that would have justified quitting. Next week is a recovery week and I fully expect that the groin issue will be a thing of the past. After that more milestones, miles 8 and 9 for the two following long runs and mostly 4 milers for the weekday runs. I am not the least intimidated by 4 miles any more. Wow, what a change in attitude from just a couple months back!

Thanks to the nice folks that made the donations at the Macy's Shop for a Cause program where they allowed us to sell the discount coupons and keep the proceeds. It was not a huge addition but everything counts as we get near to re-commitment day where I need to have 1/4 of my funding in. Also, last but far from least, a special thanks to work buddy Bill, who was the first from my office to help me as I go forward in this great challenge.

Now the trade off, I followed the advice of Coach Steve last Wednesday with the ice bath after the run and found the process to be very invigorating. I did it again after yesterday's run and found it down right cold. I did some heavy duty shivering and stirred it all up with the jets from the tub. Yesterday, Judy and I went out to the mall and walking was tenuous but bearable especially after that first step following sitting. Today when I got up, however, though I felt the tightness that I expected from the long run, the spasm had subsided markedly. I am still careful but with some stretching while watching the Bucs this afternoon, I think I am past the groin issue.

Another benefit, as I knelt down to put the pool vacuum, affectionately know as Hayward around here, I tried to figure out how best to get up. I simply rolled back onto the balls of my feet, then into a crouch and stood up. No pushing up on one leg and pulling the other under me with a grunt. It seems that some other muscles are starting to join in on the party and balance is also benefiting. Trade offs like these make the miles shorter and easier to get beyond. Don't forget that I am working on countering a lot of couch potato practice.

Go Team