Sweet Victory

In the aftermath of yesterday’s tragedy in Boston, I struggled to understand how I felt. I found some solace in the words of others; one review that did a stellar job of capturing in a few short words what the Boston Marathon means to runners . Another one offered a poignant description of how what happened was the antithesis of what running is all about . But even so, I felt that these words weren’t capturing what I was feeling. Like many, I watched the videos over and over, trying to find sense, trying to find a reason, trying to find something to make me think that things were ok, but the more you watch, the more you realize that for many, things may never be ok again. Finally, I realized what it was. What I’d been scared to admit. Watch the video from the finish line again. Or like me, just replay it in your mind. Now, at the moment just before things changed, pause it. Whisper to yourself, “There’s a bomb somewhere in this picture. Choose the safest place to be before you hi...

So, three weeks after my hundred miler, my ankle is still far from great. Despite a cortisone shot, it's only allowing me up to 2 days of running in a row before soreness and swelling returns and I need 1-2 days off. Understand, I'm not disappointed or even particularly distraught. It simply "is what it is." If I couldn't run, that would be an issue. I can, but not as much as I would like. And that requires a certain reshuffling of spring goals. Originally, I had planned on doing the North Face 50 Mile in Bear Mountain, but that was my plan if I managed to sneak in 2 long runs after the 100. That didn't happen. Up until last week, I thought if I could manage a 20-25 miler last weekend I could go to the Iron Master's Challenge 50k at the end of the month, but by the end of the last week, I knew that wouldn't happen. So, I woke up bright and early Saturday AM and punted: I drove up to Adamstown for the Rumspringa 1/2 Marathon, my first 1/2 in 4.5 yea...

In a post before my hundred mile race, I casually mentioned that I'd be ok with getting injured if I completed it. We should be careful what we're ok with. After 3 days of all over-achiness, I was left with some pulled muscle-tendony stuff in my left ankle, which is the opposite foot from the one I was concerned about before the race. I rested it for the remainder of the week, went on a 5 mile run, and promptly asked for (and received) a cortisone shot from my doc. Yesterday I ran 7 miles. Today I ran 7.5, but the foot is far from alright. In fact, it hurts fairly much. Mostly, I'm ok with being injured right now. The 100 miler was by the far the most important thing on my agenda. But still, I had 1 eye on the 50 mile North Face in NY in May, and another one on the 50k Iron Master's Challenge at the end of April. If I can't managed a long run by the middle of the month, both of those will need to go by the wayside. For the first time in a long time, I don...

This is the final post of my 100 mile race report. You can read part 1 here and/or part 2 here . There are a lot of things that can derail an ultra. Dehydration, injury and fatigue are broad buckets of three of the greatest and being diabetic simply adds high and low blood sugars to the mix. But none of these concerned me more than nausea. Nausea has the ability to quickly put an end to an ultra race. In essence, not being able to keep fuel in your belly is like having a leak in a gas tank. It’s only a matter of time until you stop moving. And of course, my insulin strategies for the race were based on a regular intake of fuel. During my training, I had moved away from energy gels to solid food and had successfully avoided nausea on my long runs. This had been intentional as I had completed all of my ultras last year by doing a lot more energy gels, but beginning to feel bad by the end of them. During the first 70 miles of my 100 miler, my stomach had been an awesome shape, an...