April 26, 2014: In-Training for Peachtree, week 11

Goal: to improve my conditioning and running technique in advance of the 2014 Peachtree Road Race

Fortunately the shoulder has recovered enough for me to join the 2014 In-Training for Peachtree group, which met for its first week this morning at Town Brookhaven shopping center.  We have a group of about 70 runners, and 10 - 11 volunteer coaches, to accommodate a range of abilities.  The lead coaches are a couple of age groups ahead of me, but I looked up their times in a few recent races, and they have both finished 10K races in less than 50 minutes (my best time for 10K is 55:30).

Under those circumstances, I was surprised to find that I qualified for the "rocket subgroup"!  The coach in charge of this subgroup, Rob, set a pace of approximately 9:30 minutes per mile, which was a good workout for me but not pushing too much.  Three of us kept pace with Rob for a 25 minute run on Peachtree Road, initially heading for Buckhead, and after 13 minutes turning back at Club Drive.  We were a little too slow for one fellow in the rocket subgroup, but his pace is something for me to work up to.  And I was definitely the oldest person in the rocket subgroup, so I felt good about keeping up with them.  Peachtree Road in this section is relatively flat, so it was a good initial run for the group, to get a sense of each participant's starting level.  But the sidewalk was not great, so I was really careful.  We had to stop at a couple of traffic lights, but I was pleased with the average pace of 5:49 min / km (9:21 min / mi) according to RunHelper.  The best news is that I didn't feel any pain in the shoulder during or after the run.

I hope that some of the runs in the coming weeks will be through the Brookhaven residential streets, which I think will be a nice place to run, although probably more hilly.  As the In-Training groups meet on Saturday mornings, I probably won't run any organized races until the Peachtree on July 4, so I will post brief accounts on the weekly training sessions.  The sessions are listed in a "countdown" from week 11, with the Peachtree Road Race in week 1.

4.75 km (2.95 mi) in 27:38 minutes

April 24, 2014: The comeback kid

Goal: to begin running again; to test out the shoulder in advance of the first session of In-Training for Peachtree

The shoulder is healing nicely.  At the followup visit with the orthopedic physician last week, the doctor told me that I did not need to wear the sling all of the time, just when I needed support and/or protection, particularly in crowds.  Since that time I've gradually increased using the right arm.  With every passing day, my range of motion is improving and the pain is diminishing.  The bruises on my shoulder and upper arm are just now beginning to fade.  Today I could even shave and brush my hair with my right hand.

I cautiously began jogging again last Sunday.  I took one cautious, slow jog around the asphalt trail at Lucky Shoals Park (2.0 km), without significant pain, although I was careful not to pump my arms very much while running.  I was nervous about taking the first few running steps, and was tremendously relieved upon finding that I could run (at least jog) without any additional pain.  I probably could have gone farther, but had resolved not to overdo it on the first day.

Tuesday morning I took two laps (3.5 km).  I noticed a little pain on the downhill sections, probably from holding back my shoulders for balance, but no pain at all going uphill.  And this morning (Thursday) I ran three laps (5.2 km), without much pain or difficulty.  I did take it fairly slowly, 6:27 minutes per km (10:24 minutes per mile), but it felt good to complete a 5K run.  I'm back!

Hopefully I haven't lost too much conditioning, but I'm delighted that I'm ready for the first Peachtree-In-Training session this Saturday morning.  I'm looking forward to learning more about improving my technique, and relieved that I won't have to start out with the walking group in the first weeks.  Our first session will be a 25-minute run, so I definitely will be able to do that, hopefully covering about 4 km.

Goal: to begin running again: Achieved!

 to test out the shoulder in advance of the first session of In-Training for Peachtree: Passed! 

April 11, 2014: There's a first time for everything!

Goal: to cover 11K    

After giving the right leg a couple of weeks to recover after the Luckie 5K, I began running again, first a couple of easy 3K - 4K runs, and then a 10K jog on Tuesday evening.  That went well - I was not that fast - 67 minutes - but felt that I was ready to gradually build more distance.  Friday evening around 6:15 pm, I left the chemistry building with the goal of an 11K jog.  The weather was beautiful, around 70 deg F, a perfect Atlanta spring day.  I ran south on Clifton Road, past Ponce de Leon, and turned west on Clifton Terrace to intercept the PATH trail at the Candler Golf Course.  This pleasant green space extends past the Carter Center, and the trail apparently goes all the way to Centennial Olympic Park, although I got off at the Eastside Beltline at 5.5 km, a perfect midway point to turn north and begin to make my way back to the Emory campus.  There were a few families on bikes and some kids on skateboards, and a few faster runners passing me (but they were all younger), and not as crowded as on Saturdays or Sundays.  At Virginia Avenue, I left the Beltline and started heading west, towards Virginia-Highlands.

I must have been daydreaming in the midst of the pleasant run, just as the 8 km alert was sounding, when my toe hit an uneven place in the sidewalk.  I was thrown off balance, although I first thought that I might recover, with my legs racing faster to get under my center of gravity, but BOOM! I went down.  I had enough control to fall to the right side and to roll with the fall, so that I landed mostly on dirt instead of the sidewalk.  A group of children and a few adults were in a soccer practice in a small park, and they were calling out to see if I was alright.  I stood up quickly, relieved that I could do so.  My right knee was abraded, as well as a couple of spots on my hands, but my right shoulder had taken the brunt of the fall.  Right then I knew that my run was over (8.01 km in 52:19 minutes) and I hoped that I could manage to walk back to Emory, estimated distance 4 to 5 km.   

The pain in my shoulder wasn't too bad in the beginning, but was increasing by the time I returned to the chemistry building, 51:37 minutes later (4.64 km walk).  I cleaned up the abrasions in the restroom, and went to my office where I kept a zip-loc bag for ice.  The shoulder was quite swollen.  Fortunately there was plenty of ice in the ice maker on my floor, and I put the ice bag on my right shoulder while I packed up my papers and laptop with my left hand.  I thought about walking across campus to the emergency room, but decided that I could drive home with my left hand (fortunately I have automatic transmission!), clean up, and then better assess the situation.  When I got home and looked in the mirror at my badly swollen shoulder, in addition to the worsening pain, I realized that I needed to go to the emergency room.  I took a shower, got dressed in some clean clothes, and Bonnie drove me to the Emory emergency room for our Friday evening date. 

We brought our iPads and snacks, thinking that we would be there for several hours.  Fortunately when we arrived at 10 pm, the emergency room was not (yet) busy.  We waited only a few minutes before the first nurse took my history and symptoms, and in another few minutes I was in a treatment room.  X-rays revealed a broken right clavicle!  With that diagnosis I was definitely glad that I didn't try to gut out the weekend at home.  I was fitted with a sling, a prescription for pain pills and a referral to the orthopedic specialist for followup, and we were out of the ER in less than 2 hours!  That was a PR in my limited ER experience - thanks, Emory Hospital!  Fortunately my legs are fine, but it may be a few weeks before I will feel like running again, mostly because I don't think that I can run without pumping my arms.  

Fortunately the injury was not worse - I definitely did not hit my head, for instance, and I will recover completely from this injury.  I've read about other runners that seem to fall about once per year.  I've been running for just over a year now: this was my first accident, and hopefully it will be my last for awhile.  I'll be paying more attention when I resume running.  Thanks to Bonnie for taking care of me last night! And she will be helping me get dressed for the next few days. 

Goal: to cover 11K:  Achieved?  Does 8K running and 4.5K walking count?