A Rough Week, But at Least I'm Lucky

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, right? So when October gives you excruciating knee pain, hang up the running shoes for a while and hop back into the pool and onto the bike. After finishing September with a bang at the Run for the ROC 5k, where I ran a personal best 17:43, I soon found myself struggling to hit my running stride without a stabbing pain in the front of my right knee. I’m not sure if it was the relative intensity of track workouts, races, or long runs that triggered the pain, but the volume should not be the culprit giving my history of injury resilience at higher run training volumes in triathlon season, not to mention the absence of cycling and swimming mileage this fall.

Whatever the reason, I’ve had to adjust the past week’s training to a mere 1-2 miles of treadmill running until my knee pain was unbearable, and finish with a few pool yards or a bike ride. When this past Saturday finally rolled around, I had accumulated just 5 miles of running all week, and there was a morning 5k I had planned on running with my friends from the Skidmore Running Club. Unsure if I would be fit to race, I went to the race site early and alone instead of traveling with the club. This allowed me to get a warm-up in, decide whether or not I should race, and possibly bail without the other runners knowing I had even gotten out of bed should the pain be too bad.

After 3 miles of easy warming up, the pain was minimal, and I decided to have a go at the race. Even if I was reduced to a walk, the raffle prizes were sweet, so I figured it would be worth it. My friends and I all toed the starting line, and when the start horn sounded, we were all bullets out of a gun. For some reason, as always, the crowd took off at a wretched pace, as if everybody forgot how long 3.1 miles actually is. Nonetheless, I found my way to the front of the race in a matter of seconds, probably owing to the large hill at the beginning of the course (It can be difficult to book it up such a hill too hard and then find your stride quickly when it flattens). The rest of the race was relatively uneventful, which I always enjoy. The out and back portion allowed me to see my friends and give them all a friendly wave of encouragement, which was nice. Of course though, after the second mile marker, my knee began to hurt. With the out and back format, I was able to judge how far back the next runner was, and I estimated I had about 20 seconds at the moment. I tried running the numbers through my head to figure out how slow I could run with this pain and still win. My final conclusion was that it was better to finish it in strong just in case, because you never know what somebody else has in their tank. I pushed hard up to the last 200 meters or so, and when I was able to glance and see that there was nobody within the 200 meters behind me, I finally felt comfortable jogging it in for my first ever 5k win, with 34 seconds to spare before the second runner came cruising in. My college friend and new Running Club president, Kate, managed to pull of first in the female overall rankings as well, giving the Skidmore Running Club its first ever race sweep! Kate and I both won gift certificates to a Mexican restaurant, so I suppose we will be celebrating our victories sometime this week with enchiladas and margaritas.

I have to admit, I am not particularly proud of finishing a race anything short of my hardest work ethic, but some days I suppose you can only play the cards you were dealt, and this is what I had to work with on Saturday morning. I shamelessly will admit that I am lucky to have finished on top, but my grandmother always told me, “luck is always better than brains,” so I wonder if luck might be better than fitness? Since finishing triathlon season with Timberman, I have been on the podium at every race (except for cyclocross…) this fall. As much as I would love to take credit for these accomplishments, I think a little bit of fitness and a whole lot of luck is where it’s at. Hopefully my luck will continue into the rest of the fall and winter training, and I can get back to higher volume running for the OUC Half Marathon in December.

On another note, the 2012 Ironman World Championships also just happened this weekend, which naturally leaves me inspired to work harder and get fitter throughout the winter. Pete Jacobs decisively beat out fellow Aussies Crowie and Macca, who got far more media attention leading up to the event. This is Pete’s first title, and when asked about how he felt at the finish line, his words were “I’m in love.” He mentioned being in love with the sport, the island, the crowds, his support team, wife and kids, and nobody could have put it better. That’s what I feel when I train and race. Sometimes we lose sight of what matters most when the pain sets in, but we have to remember why we do it- for the love of the sport. It also helps to keep take note that, even though Oz has won the title for a 6^th year in a row, Germany and Belgium dominated the top 5 this year. Fair weather in Australia makes the major metropolitan likes of Brisbane and Sydney ideal training homes year round. Meanwhile, the Nordic folk in middle and northern Europe are either bundling up or taking the training to the indoor trainers for about half the year. Next time I ride and my toes start to get a little numb, I’ll just have to tell myself, “If the Germans are doing it, I can too.” I am going to come out of this winter with the strongest swim stroke, most powerful pedal stroke, and the fastest running feet of any season. Mark my words, when the race season rolls around this spring, I will be ready for it. And hopefully I will catch a little bit of luck too.