8th Annual FAAP Fall Classic 5k/10k

On Sunday (9-6-15), I ran the Filipino American Association of Pittsburgh's (FAAP) 8th Annual Fall Classic.  I had opted for the 5k not knowing how I would feel after Saturday's 23 miler and simply because it has been since March of 2014 that I raced a 5k.

I arrived at North Park about 30 minutes before the start and picked up my packet. I had plenty of time to warm up and talk with friends.  The 10k runners started 5 minutes or so before we were given the go ahead. 

The course was a cross country run with some singletrack with roughly 230 feet of elevation gain. I had planned to run it comfortably hard and hadn't expected much performance wise after the previous day's long run.  At the start I held back a little for the first 50 yards and then seeing the trail approaching I passed a few people while there was space to do so running around a 7:15 pace.  Once on the trail I slowed up a little.  Taking the hills by running a few steps up them and power walking the rest of the way I had a few people pass me, but without spiking my heart rate I was able to overcome them quickly once at the top of the hill.  It had been a while since I was on trail and I was feeling good and in my element.

The most technical section of the 5k wasn't very technical at all.  It was some windy singletrack with a lot of rocks and roots.  By now I was squarely in the tail end of the 10k runners who were taking this area cautiously.  Being a little more seasoned to trails I was able to pass a number of others , both 5 and 10k runners with relative ease.  As the course came back to meet the road I could see 3 people ahead of me. I broke into a full on sprint somewhere in the mid 5's. I managed to pass two people and coming up  close on the third he dug in hard and outran me. I had nothing left to give and happily crossed the finish line.

Afterwards I hung around and talked with friends and watched others finish. Checking the results sheet I couldn't believe  I came in 1st in my age group and 8th overall! I have never had a 1st place before and am ecstatic. Lisa took home a 3rd in age group.

Yeah, we kicked butt.

Before the awards ceremony there were traditional Filipino dances performed.  So cool!

Thanks to Mark, who is the RD, and everyone else who helped put on this great race!

I came back for all the miles

It has been a while since I have posted. Life, work....you know. All the normal reasons things get off track for.

After seeing a podiatrist, Dr. Hajnosz, I was diagnosed with tendonitis and a pinched nerve.  No stress fractures here!! I was clear to start running again and only needed to re-lace my shoes and keep pressure off the affected area so it could heal.  I was so worried. A stress fracture would have cost me the Akron Marathon and possibly the Marshall Mangler in November.

After the appointment I went home Tuesday night and ladder laced a few pairs of shoes and hit the ground running on Wednesday. I felt like a baby deer on new legs for the first mile. After that things fell back into place.

Ladder Lacing

Two weeks ago I ran 18 miles with Jason and Lisa, who were also running the Around the Square 5k in Regent Square. We met up at 7 and went up to packet pickup for them.  We managed to belt out 6 miles before the 5k started at 9. I went on ahead and ran the 5k course about 20 minutes before race start. It was nice having the road all to my self. I had bands playing for me and by the time I had reached the last water station on the course the race had started. The volunteers at the water station all started cheering when I ran by and offering water. I yelled back that I wasn't in the race and they replied, "That's okay!" I wasn't in the race, but I still found myself pushing the pace averaging around an 8:40 for 5k. Afterwards I ran back up the trail about 1/4 mile to grab some pics of the runners.

 Last week was another long run with Lisa. She was running 15 and I was looking for 19-20 so I ran 4 miles before meeting up with her at Millvale Waterfront Park. I planned a route and managed to stick to it until Oakland. Lisa had never heard of Conflict Kitchen so we ran by there. They are making Cuban food now. Even though it didn't open until 10 or 11 they were busy cooking up the day's eats. Oh man! The smells!! Lisa, our resident Cuban foods expert, seemed satisfied by the glorious scents pouring from la Cocina del Conflicto. This restaurant is so cool. They pick a country that the US has had or currently has some conflict with and serves up their food and culture with a side of politics.
After filling our olfactory up we entirely left my planned course. My fault entirely. I managed to find the one singletrack trail in all of Schenley Park to drag Lisa down. We followed Panther Hollow back into the city and picked up the Eliza Furnace Trail, better known locally as the jail trail. From here we crossed the Hot Metal Bridge into the Southside and finished our run on the Three Rivers Heritage Trail system.


Now I am into my heaviest week before the taper for Akron begins. The focus has shifted to mostly roads and increasing speed and burning fat for fuel. Of course, I am still getting some trail time in too. My first week back I got around 30 miles in with 11 on trail Saturday at North Park and 10 road Sunday. Last week and this week I am on track for back to back 50 mile weeks.

To help with burning fats as fuel I am taking a race pace to tempo effort run the day after the long run with no food in my system.  These runs have been around 8 miles in a carb depleted state. After the run I binge on carbs and refuel ye olde glycogen stores.  This gets the body used to burning fat at higher intensity pacing instead of relying solely on glycogen.

That is a little of what has been happening for the last 3 weeks or so in my training. Also, I spoke with Salomon. My hydration vest back pocket started ripping away from the body of the pack.  They asked me to first contact the seller. I wrote www.RunningWarehouse.com, whom I purchased the pack from 11 months ago, and included some pictures They have a 60 day return policy, but said they understand some things can't be resolved in that time period and are exchanging it! I have received nothing but excellent service from them on each occasion I have dealt with their company. Unfortunately they did not have the same pack in stock so I opted for trying the Ultimate Direction PB. I am looking forward to getting that next week along with a new pair of Mizuno Inspire 10's for Akron. It is a little close to the marathon for new shoes, but I figured it is better than running it in a pair of worn out shoes with over 430 miles on them and I have not fully transitioned into the zero drop Altras yet.

This weekend I have 20-22 miles on tap Saturday with another fat fuel run on or possibly trail on Sunday. Feeling fierce and ready to attempt a sub 4 hour at Akron!

Sidelined!

After Burning River I had planned to take a full week of rest or more. Well, I likely will be getting a little more than that.

About 4 days after the race my left foot started hurting. It was similar to a pain I had in the past involving my plantar fascia being too tight so I assumed that was the cause and started rolling my foot with a tennis ball. Saturday AM I headed out for a run with the cool cats of the Steel Ciy Road Runners. It was great seeing everyone.My foot was a touch sore as we started out, but as expected the pain died down within the first mile. And the pain wasn't all that severe. Around mile 5 it started throbbing with each stride. I had planned on 5 miles anyway so I decided to walk back to the SCRR garage. Really, my foot wouldn't have it any other way and made the decision for me. Lisa, being a kind soul, walked with me.  I decided to take another week off at that point.

Later in the day Tara and I headed out to do our household shopping for the week.  After a couple of hours my foot really got sore again and then , as quickly as it came, was gone. It was time for a medical opinion. My guesses included extensor tendonitis or stress fracture.

Sunady morning I stopped into Urgent Care. They X-rayed my foot and the doctor poked around on it. I left with a diagnosis of either tendonitis or stress fracture. In other words, I left with nothing I hadn't guessed already.

The radiologist saw no indications of fracture and the doctor thought she did. I scheduled with a podiatrist who also is a runner and came highly recommended from some of my SCRR people. Unfortunately, that appointment isn't for over a week.

Today (Tuesday) I went to the gym to bang out some crosstraining. I got a good leg workout with the arc trainer,bike, and weights.  No pain, but I am being very conservative in the event it is a stress fracture healing up.  I have plenty of time as far as training goes,though this might knock a few hours off my Akron finish time.

In short, I'm not sure what's up , but the symptoms match a stress fracture well. So for now I rest and crosstrain and likely will not know anything until at least next Thursday.  Who has a pool I can aqua jog in at 5 AM? :-)

Nutrition

Also, I have been focusing on nutrition for healing bone damage which includes a lot of fresh veggies for nutrients, bone broth soup, a collagen supplement in orange juice daily, and getting a good amount of protein, some of which is in easily digestible liquid form.