06.05.08

Anyone got 5 bucks?

Posted in Uncategorized at 8:18 pm by Rob

When I was in 8th grade, I had a string of bad luck to start the year.  I ran for, but was not nominated for student body president.   There were  3 of us, and I didn’t make the 2 person runoff.  3 days later, I lost by one vote for the oh-so prestigious position of band president.  Next came the school basketball tryouts, where I was left off of the roster.  Lastly, I played in an audition for the traveling group with our band and again lost out.  This all happened in the course of one or two weeks, and, even at my immature state then, all I could do was laugh about it and shrug it off.  My father noticed this and gave me 5 bucks.  He told me that he was not rewarding me for failure, but rather for the way I handled it.  Well, the year got much better after that (I actually ended up starting on the b-ball team which was the only thing of those 4 that I actually deserved), but I never forgot the gesture.  This year, I returned the favor, giving him 5 bucks when he had a string of bad luck.   I have made it sort of a family tradition, despite the fact that he had forgotten about it.

I am now finding myself in need of such a boost.  My ailing back has only gotten worse since that last race on April 26th.  I decreased my running to 45 miles a week, then to 24, and then to completely off around 2 weeks ago.  I began noticing left leg weakness, cramping, and constant turning of my left ankle on even smooth terrain.  I hit the pool around 1 month ago, and have been doing nothing but swimming now for 2 weeks.  I have seen a physical therapist, sports masseuse, and non-surgical back doc who ordered Xrays (normal) and an MRI.  The MRI showed a mild bulging of one of my discs and very mild impingement on the nerve.  This is good news.  The only problem is that my pain has gotten worse this week.  This wears on me, this almost constant pain.

The second tragic event of the spring for me happened last saturday night.  My 11-year old golden retriever Tucker died in our house.  He had cancer in his left elbow last year and had his leg taken off.  He was much better until one week ago when he started having trouble getting up.  He got better until Saturday when he again could not seem to get up.  We had friends over at the time, and I tried not to make a big deal out of it, but I was worried.  This company ended up being a blessing, because it gave him time at home for the last couple of hours.  I decided after they left to take him in because he started having labored breathing, but he suddenly just stopped breathing.  It was a blessing in some ways, because he was too old and frail to survive invasive tests and procedures, and I did not have to decide what to do at the last moment.  A true friend, he made the decision for me.  He defined an incredible chapter in my life in that he was my first dog, and I met my wife because of him when he was 3 months old.  He has seen us through med school in Georgia,  residencies in Wisconsin, and then the birth of our 2 kids here in Chapel Hill.  To say that it has left a void is an understatement.  Anyone who has had and lost a pet can understand this.

I apologize for the depressing tone to this post.  I promise that I remain optimistic about the future.  These setbacks are just that - setbacks.  They will not keep me from doing what I love.  I fully plan on running hard again in the future, and look forward to again joining this group.  I would not be getting water-logged in the pool every day if I did not believe in this.

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04.27.08

An ill-defined spring

Posted in Uncategorized at 7:49 pm by Rob

I am now going into another “rest phase” before training in the summer begins.  I am doing this because we are going away for an 8 day vacation starting this weekend, and, more importantly, because I have been nursing an aching back and leg now for the last 3 weeks that seems to be demanding some time off from the intense workouts and long runs.

My title of this post has a double-meaning.  First, I have felt like I have been nursing one injury after another since December, which has been a first for me in the last  years.  The last ailment has been the most worrisome, as I have had left lower back pain and sciatic pain that has not healed.  I think this is more muscular than back related (as with piriformis syndrome or hamstring tendinitis) but I have been shocked at how long it takes to get over these things now.

Secondly, and most importantly, I do not feel that I had one great race this spring, which was disappointing.  I felt more fit than last year, and worked as hard or harder each week this year, but did not see the benefits I was hoping for.  This was evident with my sub-par time at the Duke Invite 5k (15:30 when I had run 15:14 last year) and my slow time at the Franklin 5000 yesterday, when I ran 16:11 compared to 15:48 last year.   True, I was running alone in front this time, instead of trailing someone like last year, and the race-planning left something to be desired (the 10 miler folks started ahead of us and overlapped the same course for 2 1/2 miles, which meant I had to weave through people after around 400 yards), but I was still disappointed.  As I mentioned before in a post, I care now much more about beating my old times than about winning or losing a race, and so this spring has been unsettling.  I was hoping to have something good to think about over the summer, like Marc with Boston or Brent and Tyler with Penn.

The good news about all this: I can’t wait to train again this summer!  I hope to be 100% soon, and look forward to doing something next year that will carry me through next summer.

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02.18.08

Finding a noble cause for old shoes

Posted in Uncategorized at 4:29 pm by Rob

I run at times with a friend at UNC.  He has recently returned from Uganda, and was telling me about a very noble cause he has championed recently.  I asked him to write about it, and about his request for our old used shoes.  Here is what he wrote:

My name is Scott Ickes; I’m a grad student at UNC and a former collegiate middle distance runner from William and Mary (’04). I have recently returned from a yearlong experience in Uganda where I taught and started a track and cross country team at Christ School Bundibugyo. Bundibugyo is a small mark on the globe along the Congolese border. It is one of the poorest and most remote district’s in Uganda, effectively cut off from the rest of the country by the towering Rwenzori Mountains. Christ School is a co-ed secondary boarding school that was started in 1999 by World Harvest Mission in an effort to bring lasting change and empowerment to the young people of this district through holistic education. To this end, our school’s track team became am important opportunity for about 40 of our school’s 350 boys and girls to participate in a sport. During our first year in operation we traveled to the national track and field championships and constructed a track at the school.

In order to remain active, Christ School needs a regular supply of used shoes. I am organizing regular shipments of used shoes, preferably women’s sizes 8 through 11.5 and men’s sizes 8-10.5. Spikes and road flats are also welcome. I usually work out at the UNC track on Wednesdays at from 6:15 to 7:45. I’d love your old shoes. Small cash donations (It costs about $4 per pair to send them) will be helpful, but not necessary.

Thanks,
Scott
sbicke@gmail.com

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02.12.08

Last Wednesday

Posted in Uncategorized at 12:22 pm by Rob

Tomorrow will be my last official CAC workout.  You see, I have decided to give up my spot on the team, and I know that people will be re-signing tomorrow night. 

Don’t think for a minute that this means I will slow down my training or racing.  I feel more focused now than ever before in my approach to this crazy sport.  I also want to make the standard in Run for the Oaks, and am shooting to break 15 minutes on the track.  I just dont feel right and have never felt quite right about taking a spot on this team when there are so many younger, better runners out there.  

My main priority has always been to be a part of this team, and to learn from Joan and all the talented runners in this area.  I feel that this has been fulfilled, and will continue to be fulfilled with every practice I attend.   As I have always said, the comraderie and friendship have been the driving forces for me, along with the insatiable desire to improve upon my times each year. 

This is not to say, however, that I have not appreciated the generosity of New Balance, Fleet Feet, and the Workout Log.  It has been a blast to see this incredible concept flourish, and to see this steady influx of talent.  I can’t wait to follow the progress of this group of people I have called and will continue to call teammates.  I just don’t want to take a spot that could be filled by the next great talent in the area. 

See you all tomorrow!

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01.19.08

Hello, old friend

Posted in Uncategorized at 10:02 am by Rob

Well it finally happened.  I had trained for 3 1/2 years without any injuries, and the streak is unfortunately over.  I tweaked one of my quad muscles, and have been off my legs now for a week.  I am not sure what did it, but think it was probably a combination of the long runs on the roads and the speedwork.  It hurts every time I lift my left leg in my upper quad.  I feel it when I get out of a chair or situp from a lying position.  I feel it particularly while running on any downhills.   Needless to say, this makes running all but impossible.

And so I have found myself back in the water full time.  For the last week I have been swimming and running in the water for an hour a day.  Ah, the memories it has rekindled of my time in college doing this exercise.  The strange looks from the swimmers, lifeguards,  and bystanders never get old (something I mentioned in an earlier post).  I also dislike the limitations of time, which never happens with running.  For instance, I had to hit the pool right at its 5:30 opening this morning because the pool would be closed after 6:15.

Despite the frustration about not being able to run on the trails or with my teammates, this nonetheless stokes the fire within me to keep pushing.  My goal is to maintain my fitness, rest this annoying injury, and salvage the spring road and track season.   If my skin doesn’t peel off by then from the nasty chlorine, I hope to hit the goals I set for the outdoor campaign.

Hope to see you all soon!

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12.28.07

Thanks teammates!

Posted in Uncategorized at 11:56 am by Rob

I just completed my 3rd consecutive Michigan workout last night.  While I cannot comfortably get out of my chair this morning, I feel great about the experience. 

I measured the tempo loops between intervals last night.  The first one was 2.05 miles, the second 1.63 miles, and the third 1.38 miles, making it a cumulative distance of 5 miles, and a total workout distance of 7.5 miles (8 if you include running up and down the steps).  The tempo pace was around 5:25-5:30 per mile, depending on the loop.

I feel great about the experience for one main reason: my teammates.  On the second tempo run, I fell off the pace of the lead pack with around 1000 meters left.  The top 3 guys slowed a little and Jason shouted back to me to push forward.  Brent then slowed further, to help pace me back into the group.  He also helped push me on the first mile, pacing me through 4:52, though I know he could run faster.

This is what makes this team special.  The top talent helps out the guys behind them, and the guys behind them cheer for and try to help out the top talent.  As I have said in a previous post, I truly get excited by my teammates accomplishments, and share them all with my friends in the running community.

I am not sure I had this kind of relationship with my teammates in college.  In fact, I am quite sure that I did NOT have this comraderie.  Perhaps it is because I was often in the lead group in those workouts, and not in the group behind, as I am now.  I was cheering on the younger guys, but was rarely cheered for by folks other than my close friends and coaches.  I think the greater reason, however, is that we have a great group of people in the CAC. 

When I ultimately stop with competitive running, I will remember details about splits in workouts.  What I will remember most of all, however, was moments like last night, when teammates slowed down to push me forward. 

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12.13.07

Just….Can’t…..Not Run!!!!

Posted in Uncategorized at 8:04 pm by Rob

I have always said that, if medical science proved that running was bad for me, I would quit.  I now know that this was probably a lie.  I don’t think I can stop.

I am currently in a “break” week, the first since May.  I am not supposed to run, to give my legs time to rest and get ready for the hard training ahead.  So, what do I now do to break up the stress of the day, and to give myself some time away from the family and from the stresses of my job?  I run…..

I remember Matt Kuchar, professional golfer, saying that after playing in a somewhat stressful pro tournament that he was looking forward to traveling with his father so he could rest, relax, and, well, play golf.  It seemed ironic to me that he would consider golfing a break, given this is what he does professionally.  I realized, however, that he was describing was different.  Playing with his father, away from the stresses of the PGA, was nothing but relaxing for him.

This is how I view running when we have these brief off times.  I love going out on the trails and jogging for 35 minutes on the average day.  I don’t feel the need to go fast or long, and I don’t do it every day.  I realize, of course, the need for rest, particularly as I get older, and so I take more rest days and more swim days.  What I realize most of all, however, is that there is nothing as liberating to me as running.  There is no book I can read, no food I can eat, no beer I can drink, and certainly no athletic activity I can participate in that gives me the feeling that pounding the trails does.  The cliche is true for me: it is an addiction.  I need it to feel centered, feel off-balance without it, and would give up sleep and food to have it.

The tragic death of Ryan Shay and some other lower profile runners early in their lives (my track coach, for instance, who died last year at the age of 47, while running) has made me worry at times about the safety of this sport.  I sure hope noone comes out with a study that says it is unquestionably unhealthy to run.   My mental health would take a big hit if this were the case.

In the meantime, I will take my easy week, run when I need to, and enjoy those weeknight beers and desserts.  They may not be quite as satisfying as running hard, but I will make do……for a little while.

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12.09.07

Thanks CAC!

Posted in Uncategorized at 9:53 am by Rob

It has just been 7 hours since we returned from X-C nationals, and I wanted to write this down while it is still so fresh in my memory.

What a great weekend!  From the take-off at Joan’s house on Thursday to the early a.m.  return last night in the vans, this was an experience I will not soon forget.   I have not gone on a group running trip or participated in a cross country race in 17 years, which made the whole adventure even more meaningful.   In the two-day buildup to the race, I got to talk with several teammates in an unrushed, unhurried atmosphere that is not typical of my day-to-day juggle between job, family, and sport.  This made me feel the impact of being part of this team.

Driving out and seeing the course the day before the race was also a unifying act.  Seeing the wet, cold, muddy, and slow conditions was not discouraging to me, but rather enforced the idea that we had trained and sacrificed for this together, had come to this venue together, and would face the brutal conditions together.

My favorite part of the entire trip was the warmup run we did before the race.  Running in our pack, passing other runners from all around the US, I felt the overwhelming impact of being part of this group.  Call me sentimental in my old age, but it gave me goosebumps.   I have not felt that kind of comradery since college;  in fact, I am not sure I felt it that strongly in college.  To have a group of runners, from 20 to 45 years of age, who each have a different focus and direction in their lives, but who have a unifying goal of being part of this team is one incredible force to experience.   I felt it during the entire trip, but especially during the warmup.

I ran as hard as I possibly could, as did my teammates.  I did not run particularly well, but left it all out there.  As I thought about that race on the trip home, I realized that, if someone asked me if I would trade that feeling I had during the warmup for a much better time in the race, I would have refused the offer.

Thank you CAC!

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11.24.07

Lost by 11 seconds

Posted in Uncategorized at 3:30 pm by Rob

I was a little disappointed by my finish at the Gallop and Gorge.  No,  I was not upset to finish behind Tom and the other guy who showed up.  I knew that competing with those 2 would be virtually impossible.  Rather, I was disappointed to lose to another guy - Rob Benjamin from 2006.  He ran 25:38, and beat my time this year by 11 seconds.

I was on pace to better that time.  I went through 3M in 15:17, which was 13 seconds faster than last year.  Mile 4 hit me hard, however, and I went through 4M in 20:37, which was just barely ahead of last year’s clip.  My finishing push was also a good bit slower, and the final result was 25:49.  I was happy with my effort, and don’t think I could have run it faster with any other approach.  It was more humid this year, and with similar conditions to last year, I think I would have held on better in the later stages.  Several of my teammates also felt this way about the conditions this year.

This competition with myself is what keeps me going, and what drove me out of mini-retirement 3 years ago.  It is the ongoing question we all ask: “Can I get better?”  Can I find big and little ways to become a more efficient and faster runner?

I cringe when other people, not involved in running or similar competition, say “You are so competitive!”  This, in  my case, is only partly true.  I am not caught up with trying to be the fastest.  If I was, I would have quit the sport long ago.  I have come in 2nd probably 15 times the number of times I have won.  This never got me down, however, if I continued to improve and if I felt that I left everything out there at race time.  This is still the case, which is a good thing when you consider who I am running with every time I line up with my teammates.

I am, however, extremely competitive with myself.  I expect to beat my times from preceding years when I enter these races, and don’t want to know when that will end.  It is an interesting question, though: “When will my consecutive years of training and racing be overwhelmed by my aging?” John and Joan have shown an ageless quality in their performances, and it encourages me that I have some time left, too.  I sure hope so, anyway……..

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11.03.07

The ultimate sacrifice

Posted in Uncategorized at 12:57 pm by Rob

Forgive me, Bobby, for what I am about to write.  I decided, 7 weeks ago, to give up weekday beer.  This may not seem like much of a sacrifice to you alcohol-abstainers, but it has been a difficult thing for me.  You see, I have been in the habit of having that one cold beer when I get home from work each day, for roughly the last 8 years.  It is something I look forward to and thoroughly enjoy while we are getting dinner ready each night.  With 3 months left in the fall season, however, I decided that this would be a great test of my commitment to running as well as I can.  

 I also have given up the desserts I used to have.  After putting the boys down to sleep at around 8pm, I would hit the freezer or cupboards for whatever unhealthy treat was available.  I did not usually do this every night, but 2-3 nights per week.  I have always thought that 2-3 pounds could make a big difference in running times, and decided to put this to the test. 

 I don’t know if the effect is real or imagined, but I have felt better while running since making these changes.  I had sure better run faster, because giving up that daily beer was no easy thing. 

You probably noticed two things in reading this post.  First, I didn’t say weekend beer.  Going totally cold turkey seemed like too big of a sacrifice, even for running.  Secondly, I am writing this post on a Saturday……….

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