Our Furman Faculty friends (and Pat)
This morning was the 43rd Green Valley Road Race. With a new course and a running race that we have been wanting to participate in for the past few years, we were both excited for the event. However, I had to skip the race due to recent niggle with my hip/back. As you probably know, this is nothing new for me to experience these niggles. Luckily, this time was not as serious as what I experienced this past summer. While I am not sure exactly why this happens, my pelvis/spine often gets twisted. It's not painful but I struggle to move my leg (this time again it's my left leg) forward without feeling some catching, tugging, pulling or tightness in my groin/hip/adductor. Oddly enough, it comes without much warning - although I'm sure it slowly happens overtime. Because I often feel similar symptoms when this happens, I am quick to recognize when I need to back off or adjust my running. Interestingly, the treadmill is actually the place where I can slowly put myself back into place. And I can still swim and bike without any issues - if anything, my biking continues to get stronger. While it may not make much sense what I often go through, here is a picture showing what happens when I get twisted.
You can see how my left ribs are protruding forward when I lay down (I sent this pic to my PT). I have to do a lot of breathing and movement exercises to try to keep myself from getting twisted. My PT exercises (and continuing to run on the treadmill) and also biking are helping to get me back in place. While I would have loved to run this race, I didn't want to take any risks with our first triathlon happening in 4 weeks.
But enough about me....let's talk about my speedy teammate Karel!
We woke up around 5am this morning and the furry crew was not excited about the early alarm. Except for our kitten Ella who loves to play first thing in the morning. Karel did his normal pre-race routine - espresso, oatmeal, another espresso, Normatec boots, change into race gear, a few bathroom stops and mobility, he was off to the race venue around 6:50am. The race started at Trailblazer park which is about 3 miles from our house. After Karel picked up his packet and warmed up, he made his way to the start line for the 8:15am (the 5-mile race started at 8:00am). This was our first really cold morning in a long time (27 degrees) so it was a bit chilly for the start. But Karel found the weather very tolerable for the 10 mile race.
Karel's game plan was to run with the leaders of the race right from the gun. He knew there would be some young speedsters at the race and he had no expectations for what he would be able to run (pace wise) on this very hilly course (~1250 feet elevation gain) so he decided he would just run as hard as he could with the leaders until he couldn't anymore.
The great thing about this race course is that it is very familiar to us. We have ran the course a few times and we run on the same roads a lot in our training sessions. Knowing where each uphill and descend occurred throughout each mile was mentally helpful for Karel - he knew where he could make up time (uphills) and where the pure runners would move ahead (downhills). There really isn't anything flat on this course so it was a really good course layout for Karel.
The first mile felt "easy" for Karel but that seems to happen in any race - the energy of the crowd just sucks you in. After about 2 miles, the field started to separate and Karel found himself with about 10 other runners (mostly men but a few fast girls). When Karel entered the neighborhood next to where we live (Carilion), he knew that tactics would come into play. The field started to break apart and after a steep downhill, Karel found himself with 3 other guys. By mile 5, it was down to 2 others near Karel.
On River Bend Road, Karel was able to break away from another guy and found himself in 2nd. Because I was inside our house on the trainer suffering away during my bike workout, we had two friends on the course giving me updates via text - which was awesome. I love watching Karel race but because I am traveling tomorrow, I needed to get in a good quality brick (and swim today) so we both discussed the plan and decided it was best for me to stay at home. Thankfully, this was just a "fun" race for Karel.
Although Karel was now in 2nd, it was only for a small amount of time. Karel really worked the uphills (which is a strength of his) and found himself repassed on the next downhill. Karel's legs just couldn't turn over any faster. At this point, the race really started. He could still see two guys ahead of him but it was all about that 2nd place guy who was still within Karel's reach. Karel knew he needed to hang on to keep his pace as he didn't want to push himself alone. So he gave everything he could for the next few miles - up and down the hills. But it wasn't enough. Although the rubber band didn't break, Karel ended up 3rd by about 20 seconds. First place was about 1 minute ahead.
Of course, Karel was not surprised that he was beat by two kids - 22 yrs and 19 yrs of age. At 43 years, Karel is just happy to still be able to hang with the kiddos (especially since he just started run training in 2012 when he became a triathlete!).
Thanks Kristen for the post race pic!
After the race/awards, Karel came home and gave me a brief update as I was running on the treadmill. After a recovery drink (which he had right after the race) and a few snacks, Karel went to the pool for a recovery swim to help loosen things out. I came to the pool just as he was getting out (his feet were cramping - not surprising after the hard morning effort). As for the rest of the day - we enjoyed our first snow day of 2020!
