Artichoke's Running Blog (Ken Spence)

5 miles on the treadmill at just under 9:00 pace.  Ran late Sunday evening instead of this morning since I had to go into work early for a conference call with the Mexico office.  Today is my youngest son's birthday.  21 years old and now legal and living in northern Argentina where he reported it to be 112 degrees last we talked with him.  Going to run easy all week and take Friday off before Painter's Half-marathon on Saturday.  They're still predicting sunny weather and in the mid 50's for a high.  That should make it about mid 40's at race time.  The weather could be just perfect.  Let's hope!

Slow and easy this week.  5 miler in 48 minutes, or around 9:36 pace.  Two more runs and then a rest day before Painter's.  60 degrees and sunshine is predicted for a high.  Race ought to be in the mid 50's.  Looks like it will be perfect if the weather dudes don''t start fudging on that great forecast!  Good luck to all of you who are running it.

5 miles at 8:49 pace.  A decent run until the very end.  I need to vent here.  This is my sad tale:  I have this concrete waterway (gutter) across the street from my house that is out to get me.  Last February on an early morning run with almost totally dry roads, I started out on my run, slipped on some black ice in that waterway, falling down very hard on both knees.  My knees have never been the same since.  After 25 years of running with few injuries, and never any knee issues, I can no longer say that.  Inspite of the fall and the knees hurting some ever since, I have still be able to run very well this past year.  Although there is knee discomfort, it's only about a .5 or a 1 on a 1 to 10 scale and I've been able to run quite well.  I just have never felt like things are that good in those 2 joints anymore while doing it.  I ran my best of 3 Boston's in April.  Ran my old man PR of 1:32 at Hobble Creek Half-marathon in August and then a 3:23 old man PR at St. George and have generally trained pretty well.  (I was only 2 minutes shy of what I ran SG in 1985.)  The left knee had started to get better and then came on this past summer evern worse and I was diagnosed with patellar tendonitis, which the Doc said shouldn't be related to the fall.  The therapist felt that with some proper stretching, etc. it would eventually go away.  It has generally improved, and usually feels better along into the run and even went totally away during the last miles of the St. George Marathon in October.  Of course, the next day was another story.  At any rate, I continue to run well even with the knee issues and probably suspect that something else is going on in the right knee that probably should be looked at by an orthopedic specialist.  So.......anyway.  Here it is, this morning, 11 months later and this time getting back from my run and in this very same concrete waterway across the street from my house, I go down again on some black ice.  Didn't see any ice anywhere the entire 5 mile run and then literally at the end of the run as I was forced to make a tighter turn than ususal due to a car coming up the road.....I go down on my right side with my right arm underneath me.  It feels like I have either cracked or separated ribs in two places, high and low.  I'm really hurting and with one run left to test it out tomorrow, I don't know whether I'll be doing Painter's or not at this writing.  I have had more rib injuries than anyone I know.  This is the second time from a fall while running.  Two times while straining to pull something like a refrigerator on a hand truck up some stairs or pulling a root out of the ground.  One time by a chiropractor as I tensed up during a manipulation.  One time reaching over the arm of a couch to pet my dog and another freakish one while laying face down on the floor and then having to sneeze.  So, here I am with yet another rib injury, that will surely take at least another 6 weeks to feel good again, as they typically do.  How's that for a story?  I'll probably still be at the Painter's Half-marathon on Saturday in St. George, either running or at least cheering everyone on. 

No running.  The ribs on by right side are very sore from my fall of yesterday.  Painter's looks very doubtful

No running.  Still hurting from my fall, but was going to take today off anyway.  Still going to St. George, but most likely will not be able to run.

Well, I didn't know for sure until just before the race if I would try running or not.  I tried a warm-up jog in the parking lot prior to the 1/2 marathon and my ribs just couldn't tolerate my lungs expanding.  It is still tough to breathe in fully and between that and the bouncing up and down, I just was in too much pain.  I thought I would just watch the race or maybe help out at an aid station or something, so I began walking from the very back and just kept going.  I was almost at the very last, only passing 3 other walkers all within the first mile, then I thought I would just circle back on the other trail to the starting line, but changed my mind a walked the entire distance.  I managed about 16 minute miles walking and I have never really been a very fast walker.  This is the first time in 26 years of running that I chose to walk the entire race, just to see what I could do.  It gave me an interesting perspective that I have never quite appreciated fully.  I got to the first aid station and saw all of the hundreds of paper cups being picked up by the volunteers.  I thought that I had always appreciated race volunteers, but when I saw all that they had to pick up and how far along the trail the cups had been spread, I really had a better appreciation.  They were still in very good spirits, however, still holding out cups and shouting WATER or GATORADE as if I was in the middle of the pack instead of near the very end.  They were real troopers.  I also had a greater appreciation for walkers, in general.  I have run both the St. George Marathon (2008) and Boston (2007) in serious rain storms with shoes that were soaked and never got a single blister, yet walking those 13.1 miles at 16:00 minute pace I got HUGE blisters on each foot.  A lot of things learned yesterday and a new appreciation for those at the very back of the pack and for those behind the scenes at the aid stations.  I hope to back running once I heal up.