Running Update

I've been asked if I'm still running, so I want to give an update in that area.

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I was supposed to run in a 5k race yesterday. It's connected to this weekend's Connecticut Irish Festival in North Haven, one town over. But things didn't work out.


John's team (for which I am an assistant coach) was supposed to play Friday night, and if they won, they'd be in the championship Saturday afternoon (plenty of time for me to run my race in the morning). But their game was stopped in the third inning Friday night because of rain and lightening, so they had to finish it early Saturday morning, at 9:00am. They ended up winning, which put them into the championship game. However, in the meantime, on Friday night, the league decided that, with the threat of more rain Saturday afternoon, they'd play the championship at 10:00am Saturday, or whenever John's continued game was over.


So -- no race for me. His championship game was over at 1:30. And then to make it worse, John's team lost the championship. They were exhausted from so much playing in so little time. You could see it in the way they played the championship game.

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My not racing is probably for the best. Once I knew I wouldn't be racing, I planned a 3 mile run for early Saturday morning, but I stopped after about about 2.5 miles. Tired legs. And I know why:

Tuesday was the last day of school for the kids, so Tuesday night, we stayed out until about 9:30 playing kick-the-can. Our neighbor, who just finished her first year at Brandeis, joined us. At one point, we played in teams: boys against girls. During that game, I was the only boy left, and Catherine set out after me while her teammate guarded the can.

As a runner, I figured I had an advantage over her. So, I sprinted around the house, and looked back, thinking Catherine had given up chasing me. But she was right on my heels. So I sprinted around the house again. I looked back. She was still there. "This is fun!" she said, her pink sparkly flip flops glistening in the street lights' glow.

After the third sprint around the house, I tried to lose her by zigging left and then zagging quickly to the right, but I slipped on the grass and landed hard on the keys in my pocket. So I ended up with a bruise on my hip, cramps in my legs, and a tag on the head from Catherine to lose the game. (Not to mention Peter and John's disappointment in my ears. "She a six year old," said Peter. "In pink flip flops," said John. "And she likes Hannah Montana," added Peter, knowing this was irrelevent, but unable to stop himself.)


I'm still sore.

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Strudel is no longer runing with me. We stopped over a month ago. Then, about 10 days ago, she started limping, especially when she got up after lying down for a while. The vet checked her and thinks it might be an ACL injury (just like Tiger Woods has!). He's fairly conservative about things, so he suggested we try to limit her activity for a couple of weeks (which has been nearly impossible) and see if she gets better on her own. If she's better, it's probably a sprain or strain. If not, we'll go for an x-ray and decide what to do from there. The vet says this happens more often with older dogs, usually from wear-and-tear, but it's unlikely it was caused by running with me, or the agility training we do with her.

She seems better lately, so let's hope it isn't anything too serious.

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So that's a running update for those of you who were looking for one. I have a race planned for July, and another for August. Labor Day weekend is the New Haven Road Race, a 5k, plus a 20k that serves as the national championship for that distance. Then the fall racing season starts (it's cooler then, so there are more races scheduled).


Still running. A little less "relentlessly," maybe, but that's a good thing.