On December 4, I ran the Rehoboth Seashore Marathon in Rehoboth Beach, DE. When I ran this race in 2013, it was my 200th marathon or ultra. This time, it was my 446th. It’s hard to believe I’ve run or walked 246 marathons or ultras in eight years. That’s an average of 30 per year.
There aren’t any major
airports in Delaware, so I flew to Philadelphia and drove from there. I had a morning flight on Friday, but I got
up much earlier than necessary. I woke
up a little after 1:00 and couldn’t get back to sleep. At 4:00, I finally got up and ate breakfast.
Two weeks ago, I injured
my lower back. Because of that, I made a
last-minute decision to repack my bags.
I usually carry a small soft-sided suitcase that fits easily into the
overhead bin on the plane. I don’t
usually mind carrying it, but having that extra weight on one side wasn’t going
to be good for my back. I used a roller bag
instead.
I arrived in Philadelphia
around 11:00, and I was in my rental car 20 minutes later. I decided to skip lunch and start driving to
Rehoboth Beach. The drive took about two
hours.
I’m most apt to notice
soreness in my back first thing in the morning or after sitting for too
long. I felt fine after my flight, but I
noticed a little discomfort after two hours sitting in the car.
I stayed at Hampton Inn,
which is about four miles from the waterfront.
After checking in and unpacking a few things, I drove into town to pick
up my race packet at Rehoboth Beach Running Company. While I was in town, I bumped into my friends,
Cade and Karen, and we stopped by Dogfish Head Brewery & Eats for beers. I was tempted to order a pizza, but it was
already 2:00, and I was expecting to eat a big dinner later. Instead, I opted to have a bowl of chowder to
tide me over.
After walking around town
a little, my back was feeling better.
Then I went back to the hotel to organize my clothes for the race. Later, I drove back into town to have dinner
with five other runners at an Italian restaurant near where the race
starts. That gave me an opportunity to see
where I should park in the morning. The
portions at the restaurant were huge. I
didn’t finish it all, but I still felt like I overate.
I needed to get up early,
so I tried to get to sleep early. At
first, I couldn’t get comfortable, because I had too much food in my
stomach. I eventually nodded off, but
woke up again, because I was hot.
Sometimes, after a big dinner, my metabolism will rev up a few hours
later. I folded back the blanket, but it
took a long time to cool down again. I fell
asleep a few more times, but never for more than 10 minutes at a time. I got a lot of rest, but very little actual
sleep.
The race started at 7:00,
but I needed to drive into town and park.
I left the hotel at 5:45 with a goal of finding a parking spot by
6:00. The start and finish were about a
mile apart. I was able to find street
parking about halfway between them. I
waited in the car to stay warm for as long as possible. Then I took off my warm-up pants, walked to
the start, and made a bathroom stop.
For the last two weeks, I’ve
been unsure whether I would run or walk this race. I was originally planning to race-walk it, but
that was before I injured my back. Prior
to the Philadelphia Marathon, I was doing most of my walking at a pace of 11
minutes per mile, and I was working on increasing my turnover rate. I sometimes got my cadence as high as 180
strides per minute.
Walking with such a fast turnover
puts a lot of rotation into my lower back. I suspect this injury started with walking too
vigorously and was made worse by the impact of running during the Philadelphia
Marathon, which included a few hills.
The day after the Philadelphia
Marathon, my back hurt whenever I tried to move. By the next day, I was already feeling much
better, but I was cautious about returning to training. In the next few days, I only ran or walked on
the treadmill, and I limited my workouts to only three or four miles. When I walked on the treadmill, I kept my
pace between 13 and 14 minutes per mile.
That’s as fast as I could go before noticing significant rotation in my
lower back. When I ran, I set the
incline to two percent, so I could reduce the impact of running by only running
uphill. That all went OK.
Next, I started doing
outdoor workouts. Some were continuous
walking. Others were a run/walk mix, where
I only ran the uphill portions, and I walked everywhere else. I had mixed results with the run/walk
workouts, but the walking workouts went badly.
Even though I was trying to holding back on my pace, I still kept
walking too fast. I always felt OK at
the time, but I would wake up with back pain the next morning.
In the last few days, I’ve
been taking it easy. I haven’t done any
running, and the only walking I’ve done has been at a casual pace.
For the race, I didn’t
know if running or walking would be harder on my back. The concern with running was the impact. This race has very little elevation change,
so I didn’t have to worry about running downhill. I wasn’t sure how bad running on level ground
would be. With walking, the concern was
putting too much rotation into my lower back.
I would probably be OK if I could keep my pace slower than 13 minutes
per mile, but I find it difficult to do that consistently when I’m not using a
treadmill to regulate my pace.
The temperature was in
the 40s. That’s not bad for running, but
it’s a bit chilly for walking, unless I’m walking fast enough to work up a
sweat. For that reason, I decided to
start out running, at least until I was warmed up.
I bumped into several
people I know in the start area. David
Shannon was lined up right near me, so I started the race with him.
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| photo credit: David Shannon |
I never looked at my
watch, but when we finished the first mile, David told me our pace was
9:37. That’s very close to the pace I
ran during the New York City Marathon.
It’s much slower than the pace I ran more recently in the Philadelphia Marathon,
yet it felt more tiring. I definitely wasn’t
feeling as strong today as I was two weeks ago.
That may have been the result of two straight nights without much
sleep. Sometimes you can shake that
off. Sometimes you can’t.
The first two miles of
the race were a loop through the heart of the city. Then we turned onto the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk. Last January, I ran a marathon that included
long sections of boardwalk, and running on that surface really bothered my
right knee. I think it’s because the
wood was slightly springy. My knee is
doing much better now, but it’s not 100 percent. I didn’t
want to risk aggravating it by running on this surface. I also didn’t know if running on the
boardwalk would be harder on my back.
For those reasons, I switched to walking as soon as I got to the
boardwalk. I told David to go ahead
without me.
When I’m cold, I have a subconscious
tendency to walk faster. Now that I was
warmed up, that was less of a danger. I
was able to switch to walking without going too fast. At this point, it felt like a rest break from
running, which made it easier to keep from going fast.
I had my phone with me,
and I stopped to take pictures of the boardwalk and the coast. The occasional stop helped keep me from
starting to pick up the pace. I was
walking at a slightly brisk pace, but I wasn’t going fast. I wanted to keep it that way.
While I was walking, I saw
a few friends go by. I also saw two pace
groups go by. First, I was passed by the
4:20 group. Later, I was passed by the
4:35 group. When I reached the end of
the boardwalk, I resumed running. I was
running by myself now, so I adopted a slower pace than before.
When we left the
boardwalk and got back onto city streets, there was a chip mat and a large
digital clock. A guy there said this was
the split for our first 5K. Looking down
the road, I saw a sign for three miles.
If we weren’t to the three mile mark yet, we couldn’t have finished
5K. Farther down the road, I saw a 5K
sign. Clearly, the chip mat wasn’t
measuring our 5K split. It was probably
there just because it was a major turn on the course. I’m not sure why they had a clock there.
We quickly turned onto
another street, and began a long out-and-back section. I immediately saw runners coming back. These were the fastest runners in the half
marathon. They had a much shorter
out-and-back than the marathon.
Now that I was running
again, I started getting sweaty. I
considered taking off my jacket, but it was easier to take off my gloves. I kept the jacket on for a few mile miles.
I eventually caught up to
the 4:35 group and passed them. I also
caught up to David. I had expected to
pass the 4:35 group now that I was running again. I wasn’t expected to catch up to David this
soon. Then he told me he had made a
bathroom stop.
I wasn’t noticing any
discomfort in either my knee or my lower back, so I decided to keep running
until I had a reason to walk. Earlier, I
considered running until I started getting hot and then taking a walking break
until I cooled off. Now that I was
running with David again, I was inclined to stay with him.
After about five miles, we turned onto a trail, which quickly gave us views of this pond.
At first, I couldn’t tell if it was firmly packed gravel or if it was pavement that was covered with a thin layer of grit. Eventually, it became clear that it was the former. Then I started to notice pine needles as we ran through some trees.
After another mile, we
reached something that looked like a bridge.
The surface was different from the boardwalk we ran earlier, but it had
wooden supports, so I assumed it might be a bit bouncy. Now I had a reason to walk. I told David I was going to walk it, and he
went ahead. What I thought was a bridge
was a walkway over a marshy area.
I was still wearing my
jacket, and it was clear that I would eventually need to take it off. Since I had slowed to a walk, I took the
opportunity to take off my jacket and tie it around my waist.
The walkway turned out to
be much longer than I expected. As I
continued across, I saw views like this.
The 4:35 group passed me
again. I assumed I would play leap frog
with them. They’d pass me whenever I was
walking, and I’d catch up to them when I resumed running.
By the time I reached the
end of the walkway, my hands and arms were getting cold. I assumed they would warm up again when I
resumed running. My arms did warm up,
but even after I resumed running, my hands remained cold. I had to put my gloves on again.
Around the eight mile
mark, I ran through Fort Miles. This is
a coastal fortification that was built during World War II. Now it’s a historic site.
As I left Fort Miles, I
was back on firm pavement, but there was a section that was noticeably
downhill. Most of this course is flat,
but it’s not entirely flat. On this
downhill section, I briefly switched to walking.
I was still three miles
from the end of this out-and-back section, but I was starting to see runners
coming back. At first, I saw the lead
runners. Over the next few miles, I
would also see several of my friends, who were running at a faster pace.
Somewhere around nine
miles, I passed the 4:35 pace group again.
I was running faster than they were, but it took two miles to make up
the time I lost when I was walking.
After another mile, I caught up to David again. After that, I ran with David for the rest of
the race.
Just after the 11 mile mark, we reached the turnaround. We were within sight of this tower. I'm not sure, but I think this used to be used for spotting artillery fire. I saw a similar tower in Fort Miles.
Before, I was seeing everyone who was faster than me. Now, I started to see the runners who were slower. I eventually saw almost everyone I know who was at this race.
David came here with a
large group of runners from Minnesota.
Whenever he saw someone he knew, he stopped to take a picture. Usually, I took a short walking break until
he caught up to me. One time, I was
about to start walking when I noticed our friend Karen just ahead. I ran just a little bit faster, so I could
catch up with Karen. We ran together
until David caught up to us. Then the
three of us ran together.
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| photo credit: David Shannon |
So far, I hadn’t noticed anything
on the trail that I could trip on. Then suddenly,
I caught my left foot on something. I
never saw it, but it felt just like hitting a root. More likely, it was a small rock embedded firmly
in the dirt. It caused me to pop up a
little and come down hard on my right foot.
I didn’t fall, however. A hard landing like that is the sort of thing
that could be hard on my back or my right knee, but neither one felt any
different. That was a good sign.
When we got back to the
walkway over the marshy area, I switched to walking again. David walked with me, but Karen went ahead on
her own. We didn’t walk all that
briskly. We walked at a normal pace.
When we got done with the
walkway, we resumed running. Before
long, I caught my left foot on something again.
I never saw anything sticking out of the trail, but it felt the same as
last time. Whatever I hit was embedded
firmly. Once again, I was thrown off
balance and landed hard on my right foot.
Once again, it didn’t seem to bother my back or my knee.
We eventually turned off
the trail and back onto pavement. We
still had two more miles before finishing this out-and-back section. These miles were uneventful, but I was getting
hot, so I took off my gloves again.
At 19 miles, we passed
the point where we originally started the out-and-back. We turned onto Henlopen Avenue which skirts
the northern edge of the city center. I
commented to David that I was surprised the 4:35 pace group didn’t pass us earlier,
when we were walking. He said, “They
did.” Apparently, a whole group ran past
us and I somehow didn’t notice. Now I
wondered if we would catch them again.
David needed to mix some
Nuun powder in his water bottle, so we took a short walking break. When we resumed running. Eventually, we reached a corner and saw Karen. She needed to make a bathroom stop, and that
allowed us to catch up to her. The three
of us ran together again, although we would eventually get separated going
through an aid station.
We crossed a bridge over
the canal and entered a residential neighborhood. In the city center, many of the businesses
had Christmas displays. Here, some of
the houses were decorated. This one caught
my eye.
We continued on city
streets for about another mile. Then we
started another out-and-back section on a trail. At first, the trail seemed similar to the one
we were on before. We ran through some
trees, and I noticed lots of dry leaves on the trail. Leaves make me nervous, because they can hide
rocks or roots. Then I remembered that I
had yet to see any trip hazards on this trail.
We emerged from the woods. With no leaves on the trail, it looked nice
and clean. A minute later, I tripped on
something. This time I didn’t keep my
balance. I tumbled onto the trail, rolling
over my right side and onto my back.
David stopped to help me up. My
hands were dirty, and they felt like I scraped them. I looked at my hands but didn’t see any
blood. I told David I needed to walk for
a minute before we resumed running.
After we started running
again, I glanced at my right elbow and saw some blood. I also noticed some slight discomfort on the
left side of my right kneecap.
Apparently, I banged my knee as I hit the trail. The knee discomfort I felt now was different
from what I’ve felt in the last year.
That seemed like good news. What
I didn’t want is for the old and familiar pain to suddenly get worse.
Having fallen, I paid
much more attention to the trail. Some
parts were clean, but other parts had embedded rocks. I needed to start watching for them. I became even more wary of leaves that could
hide them.
We had to run another two
miles before reaching the turnaround point.
Just before we got there, I saw the 4:35 pace group coming back. They weren’t that far ahead of us. I wondered if we could catch them. I asked David how much energy he had. He said the pace we were running was all he
had. I gave up on catching the 4:35
group. That’s just as well. Pouring it on in the late miles might be harder
on my back.
On our way back, we were
constantly talking. I enjoyed our
conversation, but I think it was taking my attention off the trail. Before long, I tripped and fell again. I was really regretting not wearing
gloves. I once again felt painful
scrapes on my hand, but there wasn’t any blood.
I noticed more blood on my right elbow.
I felt some minor pain on a different spot on my right knee.
David stopped and heled me
up again. For the second time, I needed
to walk for a minute to regain my composure.
Then we resumed running. After
that, David occasionally reminded me to watch my footing and pick up my feet.
We were almost to the end
of the trail section. I thought I was
home free. Then I tripped and fell
again. Each time this happened, I felt
more embarrassed than the time before. David
helped me up again and asked me if I wanted to walk. I just wanted to start running again.
It's worth noting at this
point that this isn’t a rugged trail. It
was mostly flat and a good solid surface to run on. There’s weren’t any roots. There were spots where there were small rocks
embedded in the trail surface, but they never protruded more than about a
quarter of an inch. Trail runners would
consider this to be a road race.
I don’t know anybody else
who fell during this race. It was just
me. Over the years, I’ve developed a
stride that’s efficient for road running.
My feet barely clear the ground.
When I’m on roads, it serves me well.
I don’t have much wasted energy.
All my motion is forward, with no wasted vertical motion. Unfortunately, it’s not a good stride for
trail running. My feet hit everything.
Early in a race, I can
adapt and pick up my feet. Late in a
race, when I’m fatigued, I fall back into old habits. All three of my falls came late in the last
four miles of the race. In retrospect, I
probably should’ve walked this section of the course. My falls all occurred over a span of about two miles.
When we got back onto
pavement again, I breathed a sigh of relief.
We had about two miles to go. We
were both tired, and I had some sore spots, but we just needed to put one foot
in front of the other for about 20 more minutes.
With less than a mile to
go, we crossed the canal again. The
first time we crossed it, we were on the sidewalk. Coming back, we were in one of the driving lanes. The middle part of the bridge has a steel
grate surface. I had to watch my step
carefully to make sure I didn’t trip.
This type of surface is treacherous, and it would really hurt to fall
here. We slowed down a lot, but we made
it across the bridge without incident.
We had to negotiate a few
more turns, but then we saw the finish line.
We crossed the line at about the same time. I haven’t seen the official results yet, but
according to my watch, I finished in 4:38:02.
David finished with the same time.
After crossing the line,
we each got a heat shield. It was sunny
now, and the temperature was several degrees warmer than when we started. It was still nice to have the heat
shield. It meant I wouldn’t need to get
any clothes from my car before going to the party tent.
The finisher medal had a
similar design to other years, but it was larger, and it included the shape of
Delaware.
They had an impressive
spread of post-race food. In the middle
of the street, they had a tent with two buffet lines. Hot foods included, waffles, bacon, sausages,
biscuits & gravy, hot dogs with warm buns, meatballs, macaroni &
cheese, and at least three other items I can’t remember. Outside the tent, there was a table with cold
items, including potato chips, bananas, Coke, and water.
After getting our food,
we headed for the party tent. At packet
pickup, we each received a wristband.
You needed the wristband to get into the tent. Each wristband had three coupons for free
beers. At the far end of the tent, they
had a table with an assortment of beers and hard seltzers.
We found a place to sit
down and made our way to the beer table.
To get there, we had to navigate through a huge crowd of people who were
rocking out to the music.
Eventually, we were
joined by most of the friends we had seen that weekend. Several of were 50sub4 club members, so we
took a group photo.
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| photo credit: Sadie Smith |
I heard the DJ announce
that one of the runners did her 50th half marathon. I wondered if he had any idea that several of us had run hundreds
of marathons. In particular, Cade ran
his 300th marathon at this race. Julia
made sure they knew, and one by one, we all had our names and accomplishments
announced.
I was at the post-race
part for about two hours, but eventually I needed to go back to the hotel and
clean up. Here are pics of the scrapes
on my right elbow, knee, and shoulder.
These are all superficial wounds that’ll be fine in a day or two.
This is what my left hand
looked like. It was somewhat sensitive
to pressure. I’m not sure how long that
will take to heal, but it doesn’t seem like a big concern.
After taking a bath, I
did some stretches that I do every day.
When I stretched my right quadricep, I felt some discomfort in my right
knee. That was something new.
Later in the day, I had dinner
at Cooter Brown’s with most of the other runners I had been hanging out with
this weekend. When I walked up the
stairs, I noticed some discomfort in my knee.
I’m hoping that proves to be a short-term symptom of today’s falls and
not a setback in healing from the old knee injury. Only time will tell.
Before dinner, I wasn’t
noticing any discomfort in my back.
After sitting down in the restaurant, I noticed my lower back when I got
up again. I’ll need to keep an eye on
that.
Saturday night, I slept
like a rock. The exhaustion finally
caught up with me. That’s usually how it
goes the night after a race. When I got
up, I started taking inventory of my various sore spots. My various scrapes had scabs, but those will
heal. There’s a small bruise on the tip
of my elbow, but that’ll also heal. My
left palm was still sensitive to pressure, but no worse than it was right after
the race.
I noticed some minor
discomfort on one side of my lower back as I moved around, but it wasn’t any
worse than what I’ve been feeling for the last two weeks. On the drive back to Philadelphia, I noticed
my back a little, but only for the first 30 minutes of the drive.
When I got to the
airport, it brought back memories of how my back felt the day after the
Philadelphia Marathon. I felt worlds
better this time. I’m cautiously
optimistic that my back is no worse now than it was before the race. I’ll train cautiously so it can continue to
heal.
I’m more concerned about
the knee. It’s too soon to say whether
this will be a setback to my recovery. I’ll
have a better idea in the next few days.
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