~Philadelphia Marathon 11/23/08~

[lourodrigis]

Hey guys...I'm back!

Got in around 9:30PM last night.

Quick summary...finished in 1:47:50. Not bad but about 2 minutes off my PR. Had to take an emergency Jodi-stop in Frontierland at Mile 3. Ended up hyper-extending my knee shortly after that when running down a hill which hurt the entire race. Got carted off to the medical tent in a wheelchair when the security people saw me limping badly after I finished. Got the knee wrapped, limped back to the hotel, and spent the rest of the day limping around CA and DL. All in all it was a great time.

I'll throw together a race report sometime today.

Lou

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

Hey guys...I'm back!

Got in around 9:30PM last night.

Quick summary...finished in 1:47:50. Not bad but about 2 minutes off my PR. Had to take an emergency Jodi-stop in Frontierland at Mile 3. Ended up hyper-extending my knee shortly after that when running down a hill which hurt the entire race. Got carted off to the medical tent in a wheelchair when the security people saw me limping badly after I finished. Got the knee wrapped, limped back to the hotel, and spent the rest of the day limping around CA and DL. All in all it was a great time.

I'll throw together a race report sometime today.

Lou

Congrats Lou. Sorry you hurt your knee, but it sounds like you had a great time. Awesome time for your half. That reminds me, I need to sign up for the Rochester 1/2 Marathon for 9/14.

 

[CynthiaCindy]

Lou - Ouch! I hope your knee is ok - Glad you had a good time.

Dave - Now that you are official at your new job, aren't you supposed to find out about Philly?

Jodi - Anymore running? How are you feeling?

Mike - Welcome back! Looks like we had about the same average daily mileage over our vacations I'm glad to hear that you had fun despite the tropical storm. Matt and I where thinking of you, Kathy, and the girls and figuring it had to be a bit harder to deal with all the rain when you have to worry about a family of five with 3 kids than it was for us. Sounds like you had a great trip though.

So, my 18 mile run on Sunday was terrible - for a completely unexpected reason. I'll try to keept this short, sorry if I ramble. Right before mile 11 I got this horrible intense pain in the middle of my chest. I stoped to try to figure out what was going on. It freaked me out a bit, but after focusing on my breathing and heart rate, it didn't seem to be an issue with that. I continued running (at a much slower pace) and stopped to walk a few times and actually sat on a bench once because the pain was so bad. Running definitely made the pain worse, but I wasn't having trouble catching my breath or anything. Anyway, got home and tried to figure out what was going on. If I sit completely still, there is no pain, only when I move and there is a place in the center of my chest that hurts terribly if I touch it.

I don't normally go to the doctor's but Matt convinced me to go this morning (and I didn't want to argue because I think I scared him on Sunday). So, after some poking and proding, the doctor thinks I have somehow managed to separate part of the muscle from my sternum. Got some low dose pain meds and if it doesn't feel better in 2 days, I have to go get an ultrasound . How I could possibly have managed to do something like that, I'll never know.

I did run - 8 miles - this morning before going to the doctors. It definitely hurt a lot when I ran, but since I was prepared for it, I was able to kind of tune it out and this run was by far the best run I have had since getting back from vacation. Go figure!

 

[Optimator]

Hi Ya Everyone.

Cindy - I blame getting hurt like that on old age. You're too young to claim that. Take it nice and easy and let it heal properly.

The girls were real troopers with the rain. It didn't bother them at all and truth be told, they probably had as much fun doing the little time-killing things like coloring and playing with toys in the shops as doing the big attractions.

Lou - Great time for DL! I was reading some of the race reports and it sounded like there were a few bottlenecks. That makes your time even more impressive. Baby that knee a bit. You've got some big races coming up.

Dave - So, how was the first official day of work?

I did leave out any mentions of Optimators but that doesn't mean I didn't have a couple . Man, I love the Biergarten and a nice tall dark beer makes it even better!

Chester - I saw your picture in someone's DL race report. How'd it go?

I got 6 miles in this evening. Nothing great but it could have been much worse considering my recent lack of activity.

Take it easy.

 

[KeenHo]

Hi everyone! (Cindy, Dave, et. al)

Lou~ Congratulations on your great time for DL! I'll take that any day. That would be a PR for me.

Welcome back Mike! Thanks for the trip report.

I got out tonight to run a bit. I had 4 on the schedule but I ran 6. Here are the particulars:

Miles: 6.05
Time: 51:42
Pace: 8:32

Splits:
8:41
8:43
8:15
8:24
8:41
8:33

More on tap for tomorrow!



Howard

 

[msblrobs]

WWWAAAAAHHHHHHH !! So pathetic when I don't have time to check in with the family

Howard - Awesome splits!! I am so psyched to see you set a new 1/2 PR in a few weeks .

Mike - Wonderful trip report . Glad you and the ladies all had a great time despite the weather .

Cindy - Please rest and let yourself heal!! Weird you had such a good run with the pain but I'm sure you'll take it .

Lou - Congrats on DL! Please be careful with the knee and give it a rest for a bit. Did you have the Monte Cristo at Blue Bayou ?

Dave - Sorry to hear about the back . I hope the new job is a great fit for you and brings you years of enjoyment!

Chester -

Colleen & Jodi -

Well, I did do 10 miles on Saturday but Jodi cursed me by continually referring to the humidity last week so it was just okay . I'm over it and going to say I'm in taper for PDR although I may do another 10 this weekend. I'm headed out for 6 this morning . My girls start school tomorrow so it's all about the prep today . Fingers crossed the fake nails my DD11 "needs" don't turn into a disaster project for me this afternoon .

 

[lourodrigis]

2008 Disneyland 1/2 Marathon

PRE-RACE
My family and I headed out to California a week before the race. We did 3 days in San Diego and 4 days at DL. My knee was bothering me before I left so I decided I would try to run 2 "easy" 3-mile runs while I was in San Diego to see how I felt. I ran on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings (5:30AM) in Coronado along the beach. The knee still bothered me a little but running along the ocean in Coronado takes away a lot of pain.

5K RACE
DW and DS9 ran the Family 5K on Saturday and DD8 ran the 400-yd Kids Race. For DW it was only her second 5K and first for DS9. Both ended up running over 2.5 of the 3.1 miles and neither really trained. DS9 finished around 38:30 which isn't bad.

1/2 MARATHON
I ran the 1/2 with my SiL and BiL who were both running their first 1/2's. I was placed in Coral A-Wave 1 which was nice because I managed to get about 50 feet from the starting gate and was able to avoid most of the MANY walkers on the course. SiL and BiL were placed somewhere in the back.

The temp at race time was around 72 degrees, which was okay, but the humidity was around 75% which was high for Anaheim. It was cool and dry every day I was in California except the day of the race...go figure!

Below are my Garmin split times...

Distance...Time...Split...time...
1...0:07:46...7:46...
2...0:15:44...7:58...
3...0:23:27...7:43...
4...0:31:46...8:18...(not a bad split considering a Jodistop)
5...0:39:38...7:51...
6...0:47:24...7:45...
7...0:55:31...8:07...
8...1:03:32...8:01...
9...1:11:38...8:05...
10...1:19:53...8:15...
11...1:28:16...8:22...
12...1:36:34...8:18...
13...1:45:04...8:30...
13.36...1:47:54...2:49...

The first 4.5 miles of this course were in and around the DL resort and were pretty tough due to the crowds and the many TIGHT twists and turns. Being able to start near the front allowed me to at least avoid having to dodge a lot of walkers. I spent most of the first 3 miles following the Clif Pace team that was running a 1:45 pace.

I also spent much of the first 3 miles thinking about having to make an inevitable Jodi-stop due to all of the bad park food I ate the day before. I made an executive decision to bail on the Clif Pace team around mile 3.5 in when I saw a little hidden bathroom in Frontierland.

Shortly after the bathroom break I ran into my biggest race problem...my knee. I think I re-injured it right after I got back on course. I popped a few Tylenols I had in my belt but they didn't help much. The good thing was that the knee only hurt REAL bad when I ran downhill so i was able to sustain a fairly decent pace for much of the race.

Running through DL and CA was nice but I enjoyed the WDW race so much more. First of all DL is so small and tight that there is really no room to breathe, let alone run.

Miles 4.5 to about 9.6 were totally uneventful. You run through the "beautiful" streets of Anaheim. Basically it was a run through industrial parks and cheesy commercial strips. The good thing was you finally had some room. I think I may have passed 50 people cheering in this whole section of the course.

Around Mile 9.6 you get to run around the Angels Stadium which wasn't all that spectacular but there was a least a crowd of people there to cheer us on. It's a shame they didn't run through the stadium like last year because that would have been a nice diversion.

I past the Mile 10 marker right after the stadium and thought I might have a shot at a PR if I could muster up 3 sub 8-mile splits. However, my knee and 3 days of walking through the parks until 10PM finally started to take there toll on me. By time I got back to the DL resort it was Mile 12 and I was just looking to finish strong.

After a quick run through CA it was back into Downtown Disney. I saw my family cheering and managed to muster up a little sprint to the finish line (official time 1;47:50). After I finished I snagged my 2 medals and then my knee said "what in the world were you thinking?".

POST RACE in the MEDICAL TENT
I limped back to my family who were still waiting for SiL and BiL to finish. DS9 was in dire need of a bathroom break so I took him over to the DL Hotel and that's when a security guard saw me hobbling. She aksed if I was okay and I asked if she could get me an Ace bandage to my wife, who is an RN, could wrap my knee. The security guard was in need of some action so she called in a Disney nurse via her radio and they said they wanted to take me to the medical tent via a wheelchair. I asked if they could take care of DS9's emergency first so they the guard ran him off to the bathroom while I waited with the nurse.

It was embarassing having to pass near the finishers in a wheel chair but oh well. It was somewhat of an interesting experience being in the tent and seeing some people that probably should have quit the race. I saw one 20-something guy who looked like he got hit with a 2x4. He was completely in a fog with 2 IV's in his arms.

I got interegated by a doctor, a Disney worker, and an Orange County nurse in the tent. I guess Disney needs to cover their butt so they wanted to make sure my injury, which happened in the park, was not a result of something they did or didn't do. I assured them I was fine and then I got my knee wrapped and 2 Tylenols.

By the time I got out of the tent I had missed SiL's finish. However, I did get to see BiL who finished around 3:30. Not too bad considering neither of them had run more than 10 miles before.

Sorry for the long report. I will post again soon with some other thoughts on the race later.

Lou

 

[Jodi]

Good Morning to my favorite DisBots!

Let me try and address everything that's been going on here over the last few days...

Mikey - Welcome Back (I've heard that's what you say when you're happy someone is back in your presence ). That was some trip you guys took, 3 weeks! I can barely get Bruce to away for a week . Too glad that you didn't let that beeatch Fay ruin your vacation & that the girls were happy to just be there . Are you read to start running & working now?? Glad the 6 didn't kill you - now you've just gotta get through the long work days/nights. What's next on tap for you? Any local races? Have you signed up for Philly? When do the girls start school?

LOUise - Welcome home to you, too! Your trip sounds like it was great, San Diego & DL? Nice. Sorry about the knee, how's it feeling? Give it a rest, eh? You deserve it anyway. So I shouldn't rush out to do the DL 1/2, eh? I've seen pics. of that bi-coastal medal, though. MAN that thing is SWEET, but maybe not $1000 worth of sweet, which is what it'd cost me to go out there for a few days . Maybe I'll just buy one on ebay or something. Sorry, too, about the JodiStop @ mile 3, but glad I could be in your thoughts somehow while you were out there . Can't believe you were toolin' around in a wheelchair...you're such a dramaqueen!!!!

Cindy - WTH? Sheesh, when is your ultrasound sched. for/do you think you'll have to get one? Did you injure your chest in some way? Reach backwards too far or something? That rib-connecting cartilage/muscle is so dang sensitive, I know. Sorry the run sucked, but at least the 8 miler was ok, right? How do you feel today?

Dave - How IS your cute little dad? How was your first day of work? What gives with the back, are you ok? What's the deal for Philly? Did you get that Yeti clue? Girls back @ school?

Howard - You are a MACHINE, man. Keep going, dude. RU ready for the MCM? Which weekend is that this year?

Chester - I saw your pics, too on somebodys race report, looks like you were enjoying yourself. How'd it go?

Sara - Nice job on that 10 miler, sorry about the humid curse. This weekend it's supposed to rain like a mofo. Not sure how I'm supposed to run my scheduled 12, but we'll see. OMG, I'm so lucky I didn't have a girl...fake nails? She'd have to show ME how to put them on . How was that run this a.m.?

Colleen - Did you get in any more long walks? When are u signing up for Philly, wench?

Running....Training....what's that? . After my failed attempt @ 10 miles last Friday I took Sat. & Sun. off & ran my scheduled 2 miles! on Mon...which felt great . Today I had a 6 mile tempo run but decided to just go out there & try & to run without keeling over. Turns out that when I don't try to go fast I go faster...So the run was a success. Finally. I ran the whole 6 w/o stopping (ooooooooh) & was within my scheduled tempo pace. We'll see what happens on Sat.

 

[lourodrigis]

LOUise - Welcome home to you, too! Your trip sounds like it was great, San Diego & DL? Nice. Sorry about the knee, how's it feeling? Give it a rest, eh? You deserve it anyway. So I shouldn't rush out to do the DL 1/2, eh? I've seen pics. of that bi-coastal medal, though. MAN that thing is SWEET, but maybe not $1000 worth of sweet, which is what it'd cost me to go out there for a few days . Maybe I'll just buy one on ebay or something. Sorry, too, about the JodiStop @ mile 3, but glad I could be in your thoughts somehow while you were out there . Can't believe you were toolin' around in a wheelchair...you're such a dramaqueen!!!!

Jodi - I've never been to DL and have been dying to go for the past few years. So I got pulled in hook, line and sinker when Disney hit me with that "special medal" email right after we got back from WDW 2008.

I may stop by DL again the next time I head out west but I cannot see staying there more than a day. WDW is SO much better. IMOH...DL is to Southern CA what Great Adventure is to people that live in NYC and PHL. It's just a "theme park" and I really didn't get all the Disney "magic" I get at WDW.

As for the race...maybe worth going once but I won't run again. If you want a special medal run 2 of the Elite Races. I could have ran the RnR VA Beach race instead of DL and would have got a pretty cool medal since I am running the PDR. Plus I would have saved $1000's.

Don't get me wrong I loved DL but we'll stick to WDW and the "free dining" for our next Disney trip.

Sorry for the rant.

Lou

 

[KeenHo]

Lou~ My wife (Cam) and I went out for the Inaugural DL half and ran it. We didn't much care for the course, but enjoyed being in the DL park, but not CA very nuch - too commercial and non-Disney for us. We are glad they have it slated for a change. We liked knowing that DL was Walt's vision and his baby. The (small) size is part of its mistique. I am not sure if we'll ever run the DL half again, especially since they moved it to Labor Day weekend. However, we will return to DL at some point down the road. The Haunted Mansion and the Matterhorn were both closed during the Inaugural Race, one for decorating for Halloween, the other for referb. I need to see the Haunted Mansion there.

I went out tonight and dogged it a bit.

Miles: 8.01
Time: 1:09:39
Pace: 8:41

Splits:
8:25
8:36
8:51
9:11
8:28
8:41
8:32
8:49

At almost the 2.75 mile mark I felt a twinge of pain coming on with the Hip Flexor so I stopped cold and stretched a bit. I decided to keep running and stretch it at each mile until it felt better. It did and I finished well.

Tomorrow I have only 4 miles on the schedule. I am looking forward to that!

Have a great night everyone!



Howard

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

Hey Everyone

Guess what?

I'm in!

 

[CynthiaCindy]

I'm in!

 

[Theta]

Hey Everyone

Guess what?

I'm in!

Dave, OK, let me decipher this message.... I assume you me Philly...if so


Cindy, what, torn muscle and you are running? Did you get the test results back yet?

Jodi, oh, I feel loved Jodi called me a wench again! No, I haven't registered for Philly yet, I need to get in 16 miles, 16 solid miles and then I will know I can do it.

Sara, I am so impressed you are getting ready to run a half marathon in a few weeks. Maybe I should go under the knife with my knee because there is no way I will be running anywhere anytime soon.

Howard, as always wonderful performance out there! Gotta love those sub 9 minute miles.

Mikey, welcome home! Wow, three weeks vacation! I don't think DH and I would enough to say to each other for three weeks. Seriously, sounds like you had a wonderful trip, with some really magical moments. How are the kiddlings adjusting to being back in school?

Lou, congrats on your DL half and the extra medal. Very cool!

I am going to try and get out for a 4 miler today. Did yoga yesterday and a cycle class on Tuesday. I am starting to feel a little stronger now that I am exercising more frequently, but with that comes the appetite. I can't seem to house enough fruits and vegetables now that the kids are back in school and I am working out more.

 

[Theta]

Lou, PM me today or tomorrow if you still want my MCM bib.

If not, I will sell it on ebay as the deadline is September 22nd.

 

[Jodi]

Hey Bots

Nothing to report here, rest days don't you know . Not exactly sure what's going to happen w/ my 12 on Sat. as we're supposed to get hurricane crap...we'll see.

Dave - Does that mean YES for PHILLY??

Cindy - What's the dilly-O with your sternumstuff?

Canada - I'm not signing up for Philly until you do...HMPF!

Lounatic - Thanks for the DL info, I'll make sure to go one day again but not plan an entire vacation around it like I would DW.

Howard - Nice job, as always, on the miles. Watch that thigh.

Mike - How's that cheek feeling after getting slapped back into reality?

Sara - How'd the nail thing go?

 

[Optimator]

feeling after getting slapped back into reality?

Ain't it the truth!! It was nice to be home for about 8 hours but now I'm ready to be gone again. And now I'm finally hungry enough to want a Mickey Bar! And a buffet. And a big beer.


Colleen - Nothing to talk about for 3 weeks with DH? I'm a sparkling conversationalist. Just ask Kathy (she may be able to respond when she stops the uncontrolled laughter ) .

My 3 cabelleros seem to be adjusting well to school life. DD5 started full day kindergarten so she's pretty wiped out by the end of the day but after a few first day adventures (let's just say she now knows to check for toilet paper before picking a stall) she's fine.

How'd the 4 miler go?


Dave - Great news about Philly!

Lou - How's the knee doing?

Cindy - Inspite of my management training and marital status that usually prevents such a question: How's your chest?

Howard - You are a machine! I can't wait to see your times when the weather really cools down. Say Hi to Cam for me.

Sara - How was your first day of school? Yikes to the fake nails. Gladly, nothing like that has come up for us.


I, like Jodi, am enjoying a rest day today. I did 6 miles last evening and it went pretty well but I was a bit stiff today. I'm scheduled for some sort of long run tomorrow so I'll play it by ear and not over do it.

Take care everyone.

 

[KeenHo]

Dave: Woo Hoo! Welcome to the group of Philliers!

Mike: Thanks, I'll enjoy the cooler weather for sure. I'll pass along the message to Cam. It is getting darker so much sooner now. I will be running in the dark a lot this fall I guess.

Jodi: Do I watch the thigh while I run? Won't that be dangerous? I might run into a telephone pole or something.

Tonight's effort:

Miles: 4
Time: 34:48
Pace: 8:42

Splits:
8:38
9:19
8:39
8:12

The pace for my 8 miler yesterday was 8:41 (at least I am consistent).

Tomorrow is a rest day and I sorely need one!

Enjoy your evening!



Howard

 

[msblrobs]

TGIF

Rest day today . The fake nails were off right before the first day of school yesterday morning . So silly to begin with but at least I made the effort and now DD11 sees the hilarity of wanting foreign objects glued to her fingers .

Colleen - Nice job with the cross training and seeing the strength gains . You must have jinxed me because I have to bail on the PDR for personal reasons. I'm bummed but there is a local 1/2 that weekend that I can still consider running so my training doesn't go to waste.

Dave -

Mike - Glad to hear your girls are enjoying school and best of luck on the LR today !

Howard - Another great run and enjoy your rest day!

Lou - Your thoughts on DL are spot on. For those of us used to WDW, it's vastly different and something you have to see to believe. We're planning on taking our kids there next May since they've never been but it will be a one time thing as well .

Jodi - I'm also not signing up for Philly until Colleen does . I actually still have to decide if I'm going to run the 1/2 or walk/run the full.

Even though I'm out for PDR, I have to decide if I'm going to run another 1/2 that same weekend locally so I may still do 10 miles tomorrow. We'll see . I'm traveling most of next week but will try to check in.

Have a great weekend guys

 

[CynthiaCindy]

Hi all. I have to make this quick, I really should be working.

Thanks to everyone for asking about my random chest injury. I still don't know however I did whatever I did, but it is feeling better. I think the doctor was probably wrong in saying that I tore something - if that were the case, it should still be killing me. The nurse called me this morning to schedule the ultrasound and I declined. Maybe I'm being stupid, but I can't imagine that anything that serious is wrong with me if it is already feeling better.

As for running, I ran on Wed. - 5 recovery miles. My chest muscle thing still hurt then. It was a pretty blah run. I took yesterday off and ran 8 this morning with no chest muscle pain

Sara - I'm sorry that I won't get the chance to see you at the PDR. I hope everything is ok

Dave, Jodi, and Chester - Did you get the latest Yeti email? All I have to say is huh - I totally don't get it. I am so going to be wandering around AK all night

 

[Theta]

Maybe I'm being stupid, but I can't imagine that anything that serious is wrong with me if it is already feeling better.

Cindy, I agree! If you are feeling better, just let it heal. Your body will let you know if it is really serious.

Sara, and Jodi so you girls are going to sign up the same day as I do? Can I have that in writing? If I can get a decent 16-18 mile walk/run, I think I should be fine.

Mike, so Kathy can't stop laughing at....or I mean "with" you? What kind of mileage to you have on for this weekend?

Howard, so are you turning into this lean, mean running machine or what? You are going to put the rest of us the shame.

Jodi, I thought we NCers were being nice sending up Flo, Danna and Dike up your way. Stay dry and keep your feet grounded when you run that 12 this weekend.

I did get my 4 miles in yesterday and yes, I am getting into shape because it was relatively easy. I had a nice yoga session today and I may get 6 miles in tomorrow.

On another subject, DS11 is hating middle school. Changing classes and remembering the expectations of 7 different teachers is getting to him. He complains that there is NO free time, no recess, no time to just hang with your friends. If you arrive to school early, his homeroom teacher throws a random "worksheet" in front of them to keep them busy?!?! I hate it when teachers load on a lot of busy work. DH and I had lunch today and we started talking private school. Does anyone here send there kids to a private school?