I'm Having Lower Back Pain and Sciatica Again

For the second time in a week, I’m writing something that isn’t a race report.  This one is an injury report.  After two and a half years of good health, I’m having lower back issues again.

This all started at the Jackal Trail Marathon, which was the first race in a five-day series.  I was on my last lap of a trail loop when I tripped on a root and fell.  I didn’t land on anything hard, but as I rolled, I felt a twinge in my lower back.  I got up and continued running.

For the next few days, I had discomfort on the right side of my lower back.  This was a familiar location.  This is the same place where I felt pain several years ago when I had a disc protrusion in the lumbar region.  It’s also the same side where I’ve sometimes experienced sciatica.

I could still run, but each day I had to start slowly.  I need a few minutes for my back to loosen up before I could settle into a normal rhythm.

Beyond that, bending down low to the ground was uncomfortable.  I especially noticed it putting on socks.  I also had discomfort getting in and out of bed and rolling over in bed.

It got worse last Wednesday, when I was running the Native Jackal Trail Marathon.  This was the last day of the series.  It was another trail marathon, and I was on my first of ten laps.  Near the end of the loop, there was a steep hill.  As I approaching the top of the hill, it wasn’t as steep, so I was able to pick up my pace.

I thought the last part of the hill was just a gentle uphill slope, running over soft pine needles.  I didn’t notice that there were small logs built into the hill to form a series of small steps.  I tripped on one of these logs and lurched forward awkwardly before regaining my balance.  I immediately felt a sharp pain at that same site on the right side of my lower back.  Whatever I had done four days earlier was now worse.

For the next two or three minutes, every step was painful.  The pain gradually subsided and I was able to continue running.  My back discomfort didn’t stop me from running, but bending down was more difficult now.

After the race, I didn’t feel too much different than I had the previous four days.  Certain motions were more uncomfortable than before, but I still felt normal as long as I wasn’t bending or twisting.

I returned home on Thursday.  I felt OK bringing my bags to the car, other than the fact that I got out of breath easily.  That was the lingering symptom of overheating badly during my last race, when I was running in extreme heat and humidity for more than eight hours.

I felt OK driving back to Memphis, and I felt OK walking through the Memphis airport.  Things got worse after I got off the plane in the Minneapolis airport.

I had checked my bags, but I still had a backpack with my laptop and other electronics.  My gate was one of the farthest from the central part of the terminal.  They have trams and moving walkways, but I chose to walk the whole way.  I usually do that, so I can get extra steps.  On this occasion, it was probably a mistake.  By the time I got to baggage claim, I was experiencing a great deal of discomfort in my lower back.  I was also hunched over slightly as I walked.

Every day of the marathon series, I got dehydrated, but I was usually able to rehydrate before the next race.  The last race was much hotter than the others, and I was out in the heat for a longer time.  I drank about 11 pints of fluid during that race, but it wasn’t nearly enough.  On Thursday, I thought I did a good job of rehydrating.  Friday morning, I weighed myself for the first time in a week.  My weight was still down four pounds compared to a week earlier.

I went grocery shopping that morning, and I noticed a new symptom.  Walking through the store and the parking lot, I didn’t just have pain in my lower back.  I also had weird sensations in my right leg. That’s where the sciatic nerve runs.

I’ve had sciatica in my right leg two or three times before.  It can have a few different causes.  Dehydration can make it worse.  It could be a disc protrusion that was pressing on a nerve root.  It could be synovial cyst that was pinching a nerve root.  It could simply be tight muscles in my lower back, made worse by dehydration.  These are all things I’ve had before.  The worst case would be a herniated disc.  That would probably sideline me for a long time.

I made an appointment to see a spinal specialist, so I could find out what I was dealing with.  The earliest appointment I could get was Monday afternoon.  I put off running and other exercise for another day.

On Saturday, I tried to go for a short run.  It did not go well.  I immediately felt more discomfort on the right side of my lower back.  Also, I couldn’t run at a normal pace.  I was shuffling forward slowly with abnormally short steps.  I knew I couldn’t run as far as I normally do, but I still wanted to at least go a mile.

Within the first few minutes, I felt a sensation in my right leg that’s hard to describe.  It wasn’t actually painful, but it didn’t feel right.  The outside of my thigh felt weird.  It’s like when a muscle just feels tight, but I knew it wasn’t the muscle.  It was along the line where the sciatic nerve runs.  I’ve felt something similar before.

I couldn’t run the whole way.  I had to take several walking breaks.  I may have done more walking than running.  It was frustrating how long it took to complete a mile, but I eventually got it done.  I haven’t run since.  I’ve kept up some of my strength training, but I’ve had to omit exercises that might be too hard on my lower back.

Day to day activities have sometimes been difficult.  At times, I couldn’t stand up completely straight.  Other times, I could stand and walk normally.  Sleeping has also been more difficult.  It’s tough to find a position that’s comfortable.

My doctor appointment was today.  The big advantage of waiting until today, rather than going to urgent care is that I saw the same doctor who I saw two years ago when I was having similar symptoms.  She knows my full history.  She also knows how many marathons I run.

I’m scheduled to have an MRI tomorrow morning.  Until I get the MRI results, I won’t know for sure how bad this is.  In the meantime, I'm already started my treatment.  If it’s not a herniated disc, I could potentially be training normally within a week or two.  As another doctor once told me, you can do a lot of healing in 10 days.

Race Report: Cape Cod Marathon

On October 8, I ran the Cape Cod Marathon.  Deb has always wanted to visit Cape Cod, and I had never run this marathon before.  Deb was also interested in visiting Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and Plymouth.  Since these places are all close to each other, we decided to spend a week in the area.

Saturday, October 7

We flew to Boston and drove from there to Falmouth.  I had received emails from the race organizers warning us that construction on the Bourne Bridge was reducing traffic to one lane, causing significant delays.  With that in mind, we took a route that avoided this bridge.  It was a longer route, but the drive time was more predictable.

The remnants of Tropical Storm Philippe was making its way up toward Maine.  The storm wasn’t hitting Massachusetts directly, but it brought rain to the region.  We encountered some rain on our drive to Falmouth, but it was winding down by the time we arrived.

Packet pickup for the marathon was at Mullen-Hall School.  Packet pickup on Saturday was only available until 3:00 PM.  To make sure we got there in time, we went there first, before going to our hotel.

After checking into our room, we did some shopping along Main Street.  Then we went for a scenic drive, stopping at Nobska Lighthouse.

We returned to Main Street for dinner, where I was able to get a pizza with scallops and bacon.

Sunday, October 8

Sunday was race day.  The race didn’t start until 8:00, so I was able to grab a quick bite to eat before we left the hotel.  Deb dropped me off at Mullen-Hall School, where the race started.  We were able to come into the building to stay warm until the race started.  They had a gear check, so I could wear extra layers to the start and have them available later when I finished.

This is a relatively flat course.  There are few hills, but they’re not that big, and they’re mostly in the early miles.  In the last year, I’ve qualified for Boston four times, but all four of those races were on downhill courses.  One of my goals has been to get back into good enough shape that I can qualify on a course that doesn’t have any net descent.  This was the right course, but with the weather was challenging.  The temperature was in a comfortable range, but we had winds averaging about 20 MPH.

Without the wind, I would’ve committed to goal of breaking 3:50, which is what I need to qualify for Boston.  Because of the strong winds, I didn’t think that would be feasible.  I decided to see how the first few miles went before committing to any goals.

When the race started, I almost instinctive began running with a short stride and a rapid cadence.  That’s how I run in downhill races.  Three of my last four marathons had downhill starts, so I started running that way without even thinking.

As I realized how rapid my cadence was, I paid more attention to how I felt.  I wouldn’t have a good feel for my pace until I finished the first mile.  In the meantime, I tried to establish a good pace, while not working too hard.  That’s always easier said than done.

For most of the first mile, we were running straight toward the coast.  There were enough runners around me that I wasn’t noticing the wind too much.  When we reached the coast, we turned and started following the coast.  Now, we were going straight into the wind, and it was strong.  I was worried my hat would blow off, so I pulled it on as tight as I could, and I tilted my head down.

I reached the first mile marker in 8:25.  I knew that pace wouldn’t be sustainable, particularly now that I was fighting the wind.  I eased up a bit, so I wouldn’t wear myself out.

Early in the second mile, we turned and ran away from the coast.  Now we weren’t going into the wind, so it was a little easier to gauge whether my effort was sustainable.

I reached an aid station much earlier than I expected.  I didn’t feel like I needed to drink yet, and I didn’t want to disrupt my rhythm, so I skipped that one.  There were plenty of aid stations.  I drank Gatorade or water at all of the others.

Mile two wasn’t quite as fast as the mile one, but it was still easily fast enough for a Boston qualifier.

Next, we turned onto a paved bike path that eventually brought us back to the coast.  We were surrounded by trees, so we were sheltered from the wind.  That mile was slightly faster than my first one, so I had to back off again.

When we got back to the coast, we turned back onto the same road we were on earlier.  At first, I could feel the headwind.  Then we road moved away from the coast, and we had shelter from trees on both sides.  That helped a lot.  It took most of the sting off of a section of the course where we were going into the wind.

This was the only part of the course that could be called hilly.  Miles four through six were rolling.  The hills weren’t all that big, but it was enough to affect my pace.  I slowed down a little going uphill and then picked up my pace going downhill.  Mile four was the first one to be slower than 8:40, but I was still going at a Boston qualifying pace.  With each mile, I got more serious about that goal.

At the five mile mark, we ran past Nobska Lighthouse.  Coming up to the lighthouse, we had to climb a hill.  Just as I crested the hill, I felt the full force of the wind.  There was no shelter now.  After the lighthouse, it was briefly downhill, but the wind resistance was crazy.  We ran past a beach, and I saw big waves crashing on the beach.

My time for mile six was 8:48.  That was my slowest mile so far, and it was the first one that wasn’t on a Boston-qualifying pace.  I knew, however, that we were reaching the westernmost point on the course.  After that, I could enjoy several miles with the wind at my back.

Right at 10K, we turned onto another paved bike path.  The next several miles were flat, and the wind was mostly at our backs.  At first, I could actually feel the tailwind.  Then, as we were more sheltered by trees, I didn’t feel the wind at all.  The important thing was that I no longer felt any resistance from the wind.

For the next few miles, my pace was in the low 8:30s.  I questioned whether I should be running that fast.  On one hand, it’s faster than I needed for a Boston qualifier.  On the other hand, I knew that later in the race, I would have to run into the wind again.  I expected the late miles to be much slower, so I wanted to get in some faster miles while it was easier.

After about nine miles, I started to feel warm.  I could feel the inside of my shirt getting sweaty.  I had been wearing gloves since the beginning of the race, but I didn’t feel like I needed them anymore.  I took them off and stuffed them in my fanny pack.  I knew I’d have to run into the wind later, but I also expected it to warm up a few degrees by then.

By now, we were back on that same coastal road, but we were going in the opposite direction.  Looking out at the waves, I could see that the wind was coming from the southwest.  It wasn’t directly at our backs, but it would feel like a tailwind whenever we were going east (along the coast) or north (away from the coast).

We turned onto the same street we started on, but after a few blocks, we turned and continued east until we reached the inner harbor.  Then we ran around the harbor.

Mile 10, shouldn’t have been any more difficult than the previous three miles, but I slowed down by about 10 seconds.  It’s possible I just got relaxed a bit in that mile, but I started to second guess whether I had been running too fast.  Was I starting to get tired already?  I continually asked myself the same questions.  Was I working to keep up my fast pace?  Yes.  Was I working so hard that I would run out of gas later?  Maybe.  I wasn’t sure, but I was committed to breaking 3:50 if I could.

I saw a mile marker up ahead, but I knew it was much too soon to by coming up on 11 miles.  It was the 25 mile sign.  Later in the race, we would come back this same way.  From here on out, every easy mile with a tailwind would be balanced by a mile with a headwind.  The tougher miles would all come at the end, when I might be running out of gas.

I sped up to 8:32 in mile 11.  Then I slowed to 8:42 in mile 12.  In mile 13, I tried to pick up my pace again.  I apparently overdid it.  I ran that mile in 8:17.  That was my fastest mile of the race.  I’m still not sure how that happened.  I know I was picking up my effort in that mile, but I didn’t think I picked it up that much.  Maybe we had a stronger tailwind in that mile.

Between miles 11 and 12, I saw the 24 mile sign for when I’d be coming back.  I never saw 23 or 22.  Then, just before the 13 mile mark, I saw the 21 sign.  When I looked at a map of the course before the race, I noticed a couple loops that we would run on the way back, but not on the way out.  The 22 and 23 mile marks, were apparently on one of those loops.

At the halfway mark, I was almost on pace for 3:45.  Knowing I would have to come back into the wind, I didn’t expect to run as fast in the second half.  I was cautiously optimistic that I could break 3:50, but I just didn’t know much I would slow down going into the wind.

In the 14th mile, we turned and crossed a long bridge over one of the many inlets.  I started to see faster runners coming back.  As they came back over the bridge, they turned to begin a loop that we wouldn’t run until later.  The fastest men had already gone by, but I saw a few of the elite women coming back across the bridge.

In the next mile, we turned and ran away from the coast.  Before I got to 15, I saw the 17 mile sign for the runners coming back.  That told me I had less than a mile before turning around to come back.  When I eventually saw the 16 sign for the runners coming back, I knew I was almost to the turnaround.  I had mixed feelings about that.  On one hand, it always feels better psychologically to know you’re on your way back toward the eventual finish.  On the other hand, it would get tougher physically.  I still had the wind mostly at my back, but after the turn the wind would be against me.

As I started coming back toward the coast, I could feel the wind resistance.  I picked up my effort to compensate.  Some runners were slowing down, so I made a point of going past them.  I saw one runner who wasn’t slowing down.  She seemed to be maintaining a consistent pace, so I tried to keep up with her.  At first, it took effort just to keep from falling farther behind her.  I continued to pick up my effort until I was gaining ground.  When I finished the 17th mile, I saw I actually sped up to 8:23 in that mile.  I didn’t expect to go that fast with wind resistance, but I was working harder now.

Soon we turned and headed back toward that long bridge.  Here, we were going more directly into the wind.  Suddenly, I caught up to the woman I had been chasing.  She must have slowed down going into the stronger wind.  I didn’t want to slow down, so I went past her.

At times, I was tempted to tuck in behind another runner, so they could block the wind for me.  Doing that might mean slowing down to their pace when I could go faster.  I kept going around people, even though it meant fighting the wind myself.

After the bridge, I turned and started one of those loops.  I liked the loops.  On these sections, we felt the wind from different directions, instead of just going straight into it.  Also, these sections took us farther form the coast, where we were more sheltered from the wind.

As soon as I turned the corner to start this loop, I saw the 18 mile sign.  I knew 19 and 20 were also on this loop, because I never saw them before.  My time for mile 18 was also in the 8:20s, despite the wind resistance.  I didn’t expect to actually speed up when I started running into the wind, but it gave me a lot of confidence.

In my next mile, I didn’t have to fight the wind, but I also didn’t have anyone to chase.  Several of the runners ahead of me were either walking or slowing down.  I tried to keep up the same pace, but I must have let up a little.  This mile wasn’t as fast as the previous two.

Before I finished that loop, the woman I had worked so hard to catch before passed me.  Now I had someone to chase again.  That helped me pick up my pace, but only until I passed her again.

I reached the 21 mile mark just as I was getting back to the coast.  In miles 19 and 20, I slowed to roughly 8:30, but in mile 21, I sped up to 8:21.  Then I turned the corner and felt the full force of the wind.  Along the coast, there was no shelter from it, and I was now going directly into it.

I fought like mad to keep from slowing down too much.  At times, I wondered if this would wear me out too much for the remaining miles.  It reminded me of last January’s Las Cruces Marathon.  After maintaining a good pace for 21 miles, I turned into a strong headwind.  I wasn’t able to keep up the same pace running into that wind, and I used so much energy, that even after turning out of the wind, I kept slowing down.

I had to fight the wind for almost a mile, before we turned to begin the last loop.  As I turned the corner, I told the runner next to me that it was nice to get out of that wind.  He agreed.

Right after the turn, I saw the 22 mile mark.  I slowed a little in that mile, but not as much as I thought.  I slowed to 8:35, but I was pretty happy with that.

On the loop, a volunteer said to watch for the turns.  This course has a lot of turns, but they’re all marked well.  In addition, there were volunteers at every turn to make sure you knew which way to go.  I give this race high marks for that.  You won’t miss a turn and get lost on this course.

I sped up to 8:24 in mile 23, but then I had to run along the coast again.  When I turned into the wind, I didn’t remember how far it was to the next turn.  Ahead of me, I could see a hill.  I didn’t want to have to run up that hill going into the wind, so I was hoping we would turn before the hill.  At first, I didn’t see any runners on the hill, but as I kept looking ahead of me, the runners reaching the hill continued going straight.  Getting up the hill was tough.  After the hill, I still couldn’t see the next turn until I got around a bend.  When I got close enough, I recognized the turn.

We were starting to go around the inner harbor again.  I could remember where I had seen the 24 mile sign before.  When I saw it, I kept running hard until I got there.  I was no longer running into the wind, yet I was just as tired.  I was still putting in just as much effort.

I ran that mile in 8:25, even though it was mostly into the wind and there was a hill.  If I was happy about running mile 22 in 8:35, I was ecstatic about running mile 24 ten seconds faster.

Our race bibs had our names printed on them, so I heard a lot of spectators cheering for me by name.  As I was making my way around the inner harbor, I heard two women yell, “Go David” and “Keep it up, David.”  Just as I was passing them, one said in a softer voice, “He looks tired.”

I knew how tired I felt, but hearing someone say that made me acknowledge it more completely.  That could’ve taken the wind out of my sails, but then I looked down the street and saw the 25 mile sign in the distance.  I focused on getting there.  I ran mile 25 in 8:24.  After so many recent miles in the 8:20s, I realized I might actually be running the second half faster than the first half.  By now, I was confident I had already done everything I needed to do to break 3:50.  That was in the bank.  My goal now was to run negative splits.  I might even break 3:45.

There was a brief downhill section right at the 25 sign.  I used that to keep up my pace as I headed into the second-to-last turn.  After the turn, I knew it was only about half a mile to the last turn.  I was going into the wind, but not for that much longer.

About a block before the last turn, I saw a course marshal guiding us to turn right at the next corner.  As I made the turn, I caught up to a runner who looked like he was struggling to keep moving.  I said, “We’re done with the wind.  Just run to the school.”  I don’t know if it helped him to hear that, but it’s what I would’ve wanted to hear.

With about half a mile to go, I kept up my effort.  Then my watch recorded my split for mile 26.  It was 8:21.  My watch sometimes recorded splits before I got to the mile marker, so I looked at my watch again when I reached the 26 sign.  My time so far was 3:42:06.  I wanted to know if I would break 3:45.  I had almost three minutes to get there.  It was in the bank.

As I looked at my watch, I briefly took my attention away from the road.  There was a small pothole.  It was only about five inches in diameter, but my toe caught it, and I went down.  I slammed into the pavement so hard that my fanny pack came off.  I got to my feet as quickly as I could.  The runner closest to me stopped to make sure I was alright.  When he saw me pick up my fanny pack, he resumed running.

For the record, I don’t remember seeing other potholes on this course.  Most of the pavement was in excellent condition.  I just picked the worst possible time to take my eyes off the road.

I didn’t take the time to put my fanny pack on before I started running again.  It was awkward to run while carrying it, so I had to put it on while running.

I didn’t have far to go, but that fall took a lot out of me.  I wasn’t running nearly as fast now, but I just needed to keep moving.  I’d get there in time.

I felt like I scraped my hands, but when I looked at them, there were no visible scrapes.  I also felt like I skinned my knee, but I was wearing tights.  I’d have to wait until after the race to see if there was a hole or tear in my tights.

I was just starting to pick up my pace again when I heard a runner approaching from behind.  It was the same woman I had passed in mile 14 and again in mile 21.  Apparently, she was never that far behind me.  After we went through the final intersection, she passed me like I was standing still.

At this point, I was only competing with the clock.  I could see that I would easily get there before 3:45.  I crossed the line and stopped my watch, but I didn’t look at my time yet.

As I moved through the finish area, I drank a cup of Gatorade, and then I got my finisher medal.  I don’t need to bother taking a picture of my T-shirt.  The finisher medal depicts the T-shirt design.  It’s a nice shirt.

I saw Deb waiting for me at the exit from the finisher chute.  She was tracking me online and was able to show me my official time.  It was 3:44:04.  Despite falling, I ran negative splits by more than a minute.

I really don’t know how I did that.  With the wind, the second half was much tougher than the first half.  Also, this course, while mostly flat, is nowhere near as easy as the Clarance DeMar Marathon, yet I ran faster here than I did at that race.   I don’t know where that came from.  This was my second consecutive BQ, but this time I did it on a course with no net elevation change.  I also did it with more than five minutes to spare.

I stopped in the food tent long enough to get a donut, a can of NA beer, and a bag of potato chips.  Then I went inside to retrieve my gear bag, and we drove back to the hotel.

Deb dropped me off, and then she went shopping while I got cleaned up.  When I took off my tights, I saw multiple cuts and scrapes on my right knee.  The tights didn’t seem to be damaged at all, but my knee was bleeding.

I also banged my right elbow when I fell.  By chance, I already had a band-aid on that elbow from a previous scrape.  I could’ve taken that band-aid off a couple days ago, but I kept forgetting.  I banged my elbow exactly where the band-aid was, so it kept me from scraping the same spot even worse.  I didn’t realize it yet, but the band-aid was also providing compression.

When I took off the band-aid, my elbow looked no worse for wear.  Thirty minute later, I look at my elbow, and there was swelling about an inch thick.  I had never seen swelling like that.  It didn’t happen until after I took the band-aid off.

I also started to notice some mild soreness on the right side of my rib cage.  I don’t think I broke anything.  It didn’t hurt that much.

When Deb got back, we went back into town together to have ice cream at one of the shops on Main Street.  Then we had dinner at an Irish pub.

By the end of the day, the swelling on my elbow was only half as thick.  By the next morning, the swelling had gone down completely.

Monday, October 9

We left Falmouth right after breakfast to drive to Hyannis, where we dropped off our rental car and boarded a ferry to Martha’s Vineyard.  The ferry trip took an hour.  When we arrived in Oak Bluffs, we only had to walk about two blocks to get to the inn where we were staying.

When we arrived, it was too early to check into our room, so we stored our luggage and started sightseeing.  We did a little window shopping, ate a lunch, and walked around the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association, to see all the colorful homes.

When we were done with sightseeing in Oak Bluffs, we checked into our room.  Then we took a bus to Edgartown to do some sightseeing there.  We started by walking to the Edgartown lighthouse.

On our way back into the downtown area, we stopped by the waterfront.

The homes in Edgartown are all white with black shutters, so it wasn’t as colorful as Oak Bluffs.  Some of them, however, had flowers and interesting decorations.

On our way back to the bus stop, we saw the Old Whaling Church.

When we got back to Oak Bluffs, Deb went back to the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association, while I went back to the inn to do a workout.  Some of the exercises I do require putting weight on my elbows.  That was difficult with the scrapes on my right elbow.  I also started to notice that the right side of my ribcage was more painful when I took a deep breath.  It’s possible I bruised a rib when I fell.

For dinner, we went to restaurant that’s known for having the best lobster rolls on the island.  It was certainly the best lobster roll I’ve ever had.

Tuesday, October 10

After getting up early to eat a light breakfast, I went out for an early morning run through Oak Bluffs.  My route took me past the East Chop Lighthouse, and I was out early enough to see the sunrise.

While I was running, Deb watched the sunrise from the pier.

After waiting for a brief rain shower to pass, we went out and explored another neighborhood in Oak Bluffs.

We were originally planning to take a ferry to Nantucket in the morning, but it was late in the season, and Hy-Line Ferries trimmed their schedule back to just one ferry per day from Martha’s Vineyard to Nantucket.  Instead of leaving at 9:05 AM, we didn’t leave until 12:55 PM.  That gave us time to have lunch before leaving, but we didn’t have as much time on Nantucket.

We arrived in Nantucket at 2:15.  As we entered the harbor, we had a good view of the Brant Point Lighthouse.

As we walked to our hotel, we noticed all of the streets in the city center were cobblestone.  This is Main Street.

We spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the streets around our hotel, which is the oldest part of Nantucket Town.  Most of the buildings have weathered cedar siding, so they tend to look alike.

We also walked to the Old Mill.  The blades of the windmill had been taken down, presumably for winter.

We got tired quickly after doing so much walking on brick sidewalks and cobblestone streets.  We had dinner at a restaurant that was near our hotel, and we didn’t venture out again until morning.

Wednesday, October 11

We had a couple hours in the morning to continue exploring Nantucket Town.  Then we boarded another ferry to take us back to Hyannis.  After picking up a rental car at the ferry terminal, we checked into a hotel in Yarmouth and then returned to Hyannis to do a little sightseeing.

We stopped at the Veterans Memorial Park to see the JFK Memorial and the Korean War Memorial.

Since we were already there, we also walked down to Veterans Memorial Beach, which is almost empty at this time of year.

We stopped at the hotel long enough for me to go for a short run.  Then we went back into Hyannis to walk up and down Main Street and check out the shops.  Then we had dinner at an Italian restaurant near our hotel.

Thursday, October 12

We needed to drive back to Boston, but we had most of the day to get there.  That gave us time to spend half of the day in Plymouth.

Our first stop in Plymouth was Plymouth Rock, which may or may not have been the site at which the settlers of Plymouth Colony came ashore.

Next, we toured the Mayflower II, which is a replica of the original Mayflower.

This is the deck where 102 passengers and their animals all lived for 66 days.

We also went to the Plimoth Patuxet Museum.  This is an open-air museum which recreates the type of homes found in the abandoned Wampanoeg settlement of Patuxet, which is where the Plymouth Colony was founded.

There’s also a recreation of a 17th century English village, populated by actors in period costumes, going about their daily tasks.

When we were done in Plymouth, we continued to Boston, where we checked into a hotel near the airport.  Our flight wasn’t until Friday, so we were able to spend the late afternoon and evening in Boston.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  3:44:04

Average Pace:  8:33

First Half:  1:52:41

Second Half:  1:51:23

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  495

Boston Qualifiers:  155

Race Report: 2022 Twin Cities Marathon

On October 2, I ran the Twin Cities Marathon.  Lately, I’ve been running marathons every other weekend.  This was going to be an off weekend, but it’s hard to pass up a hometown race, and this is one of my favorites.

When I signed up for the race, I was cautiously optimistic that I would be healthy enough that I could run on consecutive weekends.  My sciatica has improved significantly, but I keep re-injuring the proximal hamstring tendon in my left leg.  It was showing improvement before the Tallinn Marathon, but I aggravated it when another runner stepped on the back of my left heel, just as I was lifting my foot.

I rested for the next week, and that really helped.  It felt better in the week leading up to the Heartland Marathon, but then I had another mishap.  During that race, I tripped on some uneven pavement and absorbed a lot of shock as I struggled to keep my feet under me.

Since that race, I’ve been icing it and getting more rest.  I only ran once during the week.  My plan for this race was to pace myself according to how my left leg felt.  I expected a little soreness, but I wanted to find a pace that didn’t seem to make it any worse.

In the meantime, I had an epidural steroid injection for my sciatica.  It hasn’t bothered me as much lately, but I still notice it.  I suspect the synovial cyst in my L5/S1 joint had already partially drained, but this injection should help significantly with any inflammation around this nerve.  I had the injection on Friday.  They wanted me to rest for the remainder of the day.  I asked them if it would be OK to run on Sunday.  The doctor said if I could run a marathon a week ago, there was no reason I couldn’t run one this weekend.

I waited until Saturday to pick up my race packet.  Packet pickup was at River Center in downtown St. Paul.  In addition to a long sleeve T-shirts, the race packet included a hat.  The T-shirt and hat each had designs noting that this was the 40th anniversary for this race.  It was my 14th, so I’ve run about a third of them.

I went to the expo just before lunch, so I could have lunch at Cossetta’s, which is a few blocks away.

One of the side-effects of the injection I had on Friday is insomnia.  I didn’t get much sleep Friday night, so I took it easy most of the day on Saturday.  I went to bed early that night.  I slept better than I did on Friday, but I had to get up pretty early.

The race starts in downtown Minneapolis and finishes in downtown St. Paul.  The race organizers discourage driving to the start.  Instead, they want you to take the transportation they provide.  You can ride the light rail for free by showing your race bib.  Alternatively, they provided buses from two of the hotels in downtown St. Paul.

One of the places I could catch a bus was the Radisson.  There’s a large parking lot next door where I’ve always parked in the past.  They charged $30 for event parking on race day.  I didn’t remember it being that expensive, but it’s been a few years since I last ran this race.  I didn’t have a backup plan, so I paid the $30 dollars.

I could’ve walked to the nearest light rail station, but catching a bus at the Radisson gave me an opportunity to go inside and use their bathroom before boarding the bus.

I was expecting a long line to board the buses, but people were getting onto buses almost as fast as they showed up.  I was on a bus and on my way within a few minutes.  As the crow flies, it’s only 10 miles from downtown St. Paul to downtown Minneapolis.  It didn’t take very long to get there.

The race starts on the eastern edge of the downtown area, next to the football stadium.  Once we were dropped off, there wasn’t any place to go inside to stay warm.  The race provided a gear check, so I wore warm layers and waited as long as possible before checking my gear bag.

The temperature at the start was 55 degrees.  That’s great weather for running, but I expected to feel cold once I took off my warm-ups.  Surprisingly, I didn’t.  There wasn’t any wind as we were waiting to start.

I was assigned to the second of three start corrals.  The first corral started at 8:00 AM.  My corral started six minutes later, so it wasn’t a long wait.  As I crossed the line and started running, I forced myself to take short rapid steps.  I’ve found that shortening my stride eases the discomfort in my left leg.  It’s not my natural stride, so it’s hard to keep it up.  The only way I can force myself to keep my stride consistently short is to maintain a fast cadence, which is tiring.

I didn’t have a good feel for how fast I was running.  The rapid cadence made it seem like I was running fast, but my stride was so short that I easily could’ve been going slow.  I didn’t know for sure until I finished the first mile.  I ran it in 9:36.  That’s pretty close to the pace I ran in my last race, but that was with a more natural stride.  Running that pace with such a short stride was more tiring.  I had doubts about sustaining that pace.

Anytime you’re running in a large race, it takes a few minutes to settle into your pace.  Before that, it’s too crowded, and you’re held back by people in front of you who haven’t reached their pace yet.  As a result, my time for the first mile was misleading.  I started that mile slower and finished it faster.  That became apparent when I saw the time for my second mile.  I ran than one in 9:15.

I knew that pace was too fast, but slowing down wasn’t easy.  I had difficulty slowing down while maintaining a fast cadence.  It didn’t help that I was starting a downhill section as we got close to Kenwood Park.  I wanted to slow down, but I actually sped up in that mile.  I ran it in 8:54, which was clearly much too fast.

Before long, we reached the chain of lakes in southwest Minneapolis.  The road here wasn’t as wide, and I sometimes found myself boxed in behind a few runners who weren’t going as fast.  I used that to my advantage.  Rather than try to get around them, I forced myself to stay behind them.  In was never long, though, before I found myself out in the open again.  There was an ebb and flow to my pace, but I gradually moderated my pace.  Over the next few miles, I slowed down to 9:05, then 9:15, then 9:25, and finally 9:35.  When I got to 9:35, I stopped slowing down.  That pace still felt tiring, but it didn’t seem ridiculously fast.

Running around the lakes, I found myself instinctively running the tangents.  I’m so familiar with these parkways that I never needed to look ahead to see when a turn was coming.  I just knew.  I could’ve run this part of the course with my eyes shut.  Besides running this race 14 times, I’ve also run numerous shorter races around these same lakes.

After seven miles, my pace stabilized in a narrow range.  For the next eight miles, I was never faster than 9:25 or slower than 9:35.  The pace didn’t feel sustainable, but I was doing what I had to.  My top priority was running in a manner that didn’t aggravate my injured hamstring tendon.  I knew I risked running out of gas later, but that was a lesser concern.

After leaving the lakes, we ran along Minnehaha Parkway.  The next few miles had some small hills.  Here, I found it easier to maintain a short stride.  Going up a hill, I naturally shorten my stride.  It’s like shifting into a lower gear.  Going downhill, I take short rapid steps to lessen the impact.

When we ran under the Nicollet Avenue bridge, there were drummers set up under the bridge on both sides of the road.  That brought back a memory of my first marathon, which was also on this course.  Under this same bridge, a four-piece brass band was playing the theme from The Muppets.  Musicians always set up under the bridges, so they can stay dry if it happens to be a rainy day.  That wasn’t a concern today.

At 11 miles, we briefly left Minnehaha Parkway to run a lap around Lake Nokomis.  This lake used to be the site of the FANS 24-hour race.  Over the years, I’ve logged more than 800 miles around this lake.  I’ll always feel at home there.

The Minnesota Vikings were playing the New Orleans Saints today, but the game was played in England.  Over there, it was an afternoon game, but in our time zone, the game started at 8:30 AM.  I was about halfway around Lake Nokomis when I heard a spectator say that the Vikings were winning 13-7 at halftime.

When I reached the halfway mark, I was more than two minutes faster than I was in my last race.  I was on pace to break 4:10.  It occurred to me that I never saw the 4:10 pace group.  I’m pretty sure they were lined up somewhere in front of me, so I should’ve passed them by now.  Maybe I passed them early in the race, and it was so crowded that I didn’t notice them.

I didn’t expect to break 4:10 today.  I wasn’t even confident that I would break 4:15.  Since the early miles, the pace had felt tiring.  Your pace should never feel tiring in the first half of a marathon.

Most of the aid stations had water and Nuun.  Just past the halfway mark, I reached one that also had pickle juice.  It might not sound appetizing, but I drank a glass of pickle juice.  For the first half of the race, it was cloudy.  Now the sun was coming out.  I expected the temperature to warm into the mid-60s, so the salt in the pickle juice might be just what my body needed as it got warmer.

When we got back onto Minnehaha Parkway, I found myself working harder to stay on pace.  That wasn’t a conscious decision.  I just did it.  I brought my shoulders forward and started driving with my knees.  As I did that, I realized I wasn’t maintaining the same fast cadence.  Realizing I was letting my stride get longer, I worked hard to force myself back into a faster cadence with shorter strides.

From time to time, I compared how I felt today with how I felt at the same point in my last race.  I felt like I was working harder than I should be at this point, but I recalled feeling the same way 14 miles into my last race.  For the first time, I had a faint glimmer of hope that I might be able to keep up this effort for 12 more miles.

When I drank at the aid stations, I usually slowed to a walk for a few seconds and then quickly resumed my previous pace.  At 15 miles, I started to notice most of the runners ahead of me were also walking through the aid station, but they weren’t as quick to start running again.  I had to get around them and look for the people who were still running.  Then I had to match their pace.

It was getting warmer, and I started to notice more and more of the runners around me were either walking or slowing down.  I could no longer rely on anyone around me to run a consistent pace.  I had to do it on my own.  I had to keep lifting my effort to stay on pace.  That often meant gradually moving past most of the people around me.

I was running north along the west bank of the Mississippi River.  When I ran under the Lake Street Bridge, I knew it was only one more mile to the Franklin Avenue Bridge.  That’s where we would cross the Mississippi.  I could no longer think about all the remaining miles.  I had to segment the course.  My immediate goal was to stay on pace until the Franklin Avenue Bridge.

When I finally got to Franklin, I had to go up a ramp to get to the bridge.  It was tiring, but I worked hard to sustain the same pace.  As I neared the bridge, my watch recorded a split.  Despite the ramp, I ran that mile in 9:25.  I was getting tired, but I was still keeping up the pace.

As I crossed the bridge, I heard a large group of spectators cheering loudly.  The cheering seemed to follow me as I crossed the bridge.  I looked to my right and saw about 30 young men running across the bridge on the sidewalk, while continuing to cheer.  It turns out they were all cheering for one runner, and that runner happened to be just in front of me.

After crossing the bridge, I saw the number “3” painted in the street.  That was the three mile mark for the 10-mile race, which started 40 minutes before the marathon.  Both races start in downtown Minneapolis, and they share the same finish line in St. Paul.  The 10-mile race takes a direct route, while the marathon takes the scenic route.

I had seven miles to go.  Up until now, our route had been somewhat circuitous, but the last seven miles would be much more direct.  Knowing that made the remaining distance seem more manageable.

As I came off the bridge, I reached another aid station.  The cup I grabbed was fairly full, so it took a few extra seconds to drink it all.  I was concerned that I would have difficulty getting back to my previous pace.  It helped that the next mile was slightly downhill.

Now I was running south along the east bank of the Mississippi.  For one mile, it was relatively easy.  Then I started a three-mile section that’s slightly uphill.

Mile 21 has a slight uphill trend, but it’s not that noticeable.  I put a little more effort into maintaining my pace.  Despite my effort, I slowed to 9:38.  That was my slowest mile so far, but only by a few seconds.

Mile 22 has a more noticeable hill.  There’s a point where you turn away from the river and run up a long gradual hill.  I saw a lot of people walking on this hill.  In the past, I’ve sometimes walked part of it.  Today, I was determined not to slow down any more than I had to.  I knew I’d slow down a little, but it wouldn’t be for lack of effort.

As I neared the top of the hill, I saw some of the buildings of the University of St. Thomas.  Then I made the right turn onto Cretin and the left turn onto Summit Avenue.  When I finished mile 22, I saw that I slowed down by another five seconds.  That wasn’t bad.

It was shortly after turning onto Summit Avenue that I noticed how much the balls of my feet hurt.  It didn’t feel like I had blisters.  There was soreness all the way across the ball of each foot.  After thinking about it for a second, I realized why they hurt so much.

I’m normally a heal striker.  I make contact with my heal and then shift my weight to the front of my foot.  Because I was keeping my stride so short, I was making contact farther forward.  I was striking the ground with the balls of my feet.  I’ve never run like this for an entire marathon, so it’s not surprising that my feet would hurt.  Late in the race, my painful feet slowed me down as much as my fatigue.

The next mile, along Summit Avenue, is also uphill, but only slightly.  Earlier in the race, you wouldn’t notice, but I was already tired.  I tried hard to regain my pace in this mile, but I couldn’t do it.  I slowed down to 9:59 in that mile.

I knew exactly where the high point was on Summit Avenue.  As I got there, I knew the rest of the course was be much flatter, and in some sections, it would be downhill.  I was running out of gas, but I fought hard to bring my pace back down.

It occurred to me that the Vikings-Saints game might be done by now.  Right on cue, I heard someone in the crowd say the Vikings won.  I saw some spectators on the other side looking at their phones.  I asked them what the score was.  They just said, “they won.”

It wasn’t until after I got home that I discovered how close the game was.  The Vikings won by a field goal, but in the closing seconds, the Saints attempted a field goal that would’ve tied the game.  The ball hit the upright and bounced out.

In the last three miles, I started to have some mild discomfort around my tailbone.  When My sciatic nerve gets inflamed, I feel the pain in my right leg or right hip.  This was different.  It was mild soreness right through my tailbone.  Maybe it was residual soreness from the injection I had on Friday.  Maybe it was sore muscles in my lower back.  All I know is it was something new, and that was disconcerting.

In better news, I still wasn’t experiencing any increase in the soreness in my hamstring tendon.  If anything, it felt less sore now than it did earlier.  Its possible, I didn’t notice it as much because my feet hurt so much.

In the next mile, I brought my pace back down to 9:36.  I slowed down during that tough three-mile stretch, but I wasn’t coming apart.

After the 24-mile banner, I saw the 8-mile banner from the 10-mile race.  I knew when I got there, I would have exactly two miles to go.  I was tempted to look at my watch.  I had been paying attention to my individual mile times but not my total time.  If I looked at my watch now, I’d have a pretty good idea whether I would break 4:10.  On one hand, seeing I was on pace to break 4:10, would give me more incentive to finish strong.  If, however, it was out of reach, I might be too discouraged to keep up my effort.  I decided I was better off not knowing.

To my right, I saw a large sign saying, “free beer,”  I’ll do a beer stop if I don’t care about my time.  I’ll also do one if I’m killing it.  At this point in the race, I cared about my time, and I was hanging on for dear life.  If it was any earlier in the race, I would’ve skipped it.  With less than two miles to go, I didn’t think it would hurt, so I paused for a second to have a beer.

At 25 miles, I reached the last aid station.  Having just finished a beer, I didn’t feel like drinking again this soon.  I pressed on.

My time for that mile was disappointing.  I slowed down to 9:45.  I knew the last 1.2 miles would be mostly downhill, so I fought to pick up the pace.

Halfway through that mile, I looked to my left and saw a cross above the trees.  It was the steeple of St. Paul’s Cathedral.  I would pass the cathedral just before getting to the 26 mile mark.  When I reached the cathedral, I had to turn my head to look at it.  It’s the second most majestic landmark on the course.

As I reached the 26 banner, I saw that I had brought my pace back down in that mile.  I could see the finish line ahead of me, and it was all downhill.

The runners around me were all passing me as they put on their best finishing kicks.  I was still taking short rapid strides, so there was a limit to how fast I could go.  I maintained my effort, but I couldn’t speed up like the people around me.

The Twin Cities Marathon may have the most majestic finish line of any race I’ve done.  Beyond the finish line, you can see the Minnesota State Capitol, and you’re running right at it.  I had my phone with me, and I wanted to take a picture, but there’s no way I was going to give up any time when I was fighting to break 4:10.  I crossed the line in 4:09:36.

This race is almost all on tree-lined parkways, and the leaves were just starting to turn color.  Appropriately, the finisher medal depicts a leaf.

There was a variety of finish line snacks, but I didn’t feel like eating much.  I ate a banana and picked up a bag of potato chips to bring with me to the beer garden.

As I neared the end of the finish line chute, I finally stopped to take a picture of the capitol.  It’s not the same view you have as you’re approaching the finish line, but you get the idea.

I knew the layout of the finish area, so I made my way straight to the gear retrieval.  I was impressed by the efficiency of the volunteers.  Within seconds of seeing my bib number, they were already handing me my bag.

Later, as I was relaxing in the beer garden, I took a picture of St. Paul’s Cathedral looking back from the finish area.

I ran more than three minutes faster than my last race, despite employing a stride that probably wasn’t as efficient as my natural stride.  I was able to maintain a rapid cadence and run on the balls of my feet for an entire marathon.  I’ve never done that before.

Throughout the race, I felt mild soreness in my hamstring tendon, but I never got the sense that I was making it worse.  That was my overriding goal.  I’ll have to wait and see how it feels in the next few days, but that’s encouraging.

It’s hard to believe that just four weeks ago, standing upright was painful, and I could only walk by hunching forward.  Today, my sciatic nerve was never an issue.

Race statistics:

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  4:09:36

Average Pace:  9:31

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  466

Minnesota Marathons/Ultras:  89