Running with Webbed Feet (LMJS Newsletter)

Do think you I will be stressing my knee too much to plan to run marathon distance? Do you recommend any exercises in particular to do that can be done without a gym? (links?) Are there foods for promoting joint healing? What about glucosamine or such supplements?

Hoping to run Oakland this year!

Dear Hopeful,

[This article was kindly contributed by Joanna Harper, who runs with the Red Lizard Running Club in Portland Oregon. The article originally appeared in the Women Running Together Blog.]

I just returned from San Diego where I had another memorable race, with a fun weekend thrown in; or was it the other way around?

Over the last few years, Team Red Lizard has been building up a strong cadre of master’s women, and we have had some notable successes in national cross country competitions, capped by our winning two team medals in last year’s club nationals. All of our team medals, however, have come in the friendly environment of the Pacific Northwest. This year I hoped we could change that.

I contacted all of the mature women who had previously run over hill and dale for our club, and I asked them if they had any interest in going to San Diego for the master’s cross country race or to Lexington for clubs. The overwhelming favorite choice was to go to San Diego, as it was closer, cheaper, a better travel destination, better weather, and two of our women have daughters living in the city. Even still, only four of these women eventually wound up making the trip.

This left us with somewhat of a dilemma that requires a little background information to understand. Master’s women’s cross country teams consist of three members, and are scored based on ten year age divisions.   Women can run for team divisions less than their age, but not greater. With two of our women in their fifties and two in their sixties, we could all run in the fifty team race, but understandably, our sexagenarian women wanted to run for the title in their own age group.

And thus it happened that Jeannie Groesz contacted a sprinter friend of hers named Betty Schaefer, and asked if she would run. Betty had only raced longer than 800 twice in her life, and had never run a cross country race; but after some persuasion was convinced to go. It didn’t hurt that she would be in Palm Desert prior to the meet, and would have a relatively short drive to get there. Meanwhile Betsy Seth and I tried to get another runner to join us for a fifties team, but in the end could not find anyone willing to make the trip.

With Suzanne Ray and Jeanie heading up our sixty plus team we would have a very good chance of winning, even with a novice as the third runner. But it soon became clear that we would face some stiff competition. The Lake Merritt Joggers and Striders team out of the Oakland area had been cleaning up, in what the Pacific Association of USATF calls the super senior division, and they entered a team not long after we did. Their ace, Sharlet Gilbert had beaten Suzanne in the Twin Cities marathon twenty years earlier, and was backed up by solid runners Carmen Briones and Kate Stewart.

There was another connection between the clubs, as they also were bringing along two “younger” women who would run as individuals. One of these two women, Maria Briones (Carmen’s sister) and I would be battling for individual medals in the 55-59 age group. The other woman was named Jeannine Holmlund and she would be running in the 45-49 division.

Being an analytical person, I couldn’t help but make projections on the race outcome, and to follow my reasoning, one needs to understand cross country scoring. The finish places of each of the first three runners for every team are added together, and the team with the lowest total wins. Additionally, in master’s running, only those runners who belong to teams within a given age group are scored. Thus if Suzanne could beat Sharlot, and Jeannie could beat Carmen (both reasonable possibilities) then we could win, even though Kate would surely beat Betty by a few minutes. There was a third sixties team from the hometown San Diego track club, and while they weren’t in the running for the team title, the placing of their runners would also affect the outcome.

It was with this expectation of a tight battle that we converged upon San Diego, the day before the race. Betsy, Jeanie, Betty and I met at four o’clock to go over the course, which consisted of a one and half mile, figure eight loop that we would run twice. Suzanne was still en route, and wouldn’t arrive until the evening. The terrain consisted mostly of grass and dirt, but with some bark chips, and more pavement crossings than I would have preferred. The route was also fairly hilly, with one serious climb that we would hit at about one mile, and again at two and half miles.

As we were jogging along, four women asked us if we were running the course, and could they join us. Given their ages, and the fact that two of the four were similar looking Hispanic women, I guessed who they were, even before introductions confirmed my hypothesis.  Just as our sixties star wasn’t there, neither was their ace, Sharlet.  I ran much of time with Kate, and she spoke of how amazing she thought Suzanne was.

I was staying at the race hotel with Jenny Newton, a fine runner from Missoula that I had met last year at Club Nationals in Seattle. Betty and her husband Don were also staying there, while the rest of our team was either staying with Suzanne’s daughter Mercy, or Betsy’s daughter Lisa. The Lake Merritt gals were also staying at our hotel, but did not have a car, so Don and I drove them back after our run. They seemed much impressed that we would go through any trouble to help a rival team. I joked that we were glad to take them to the hotel; however, if Sharlet had asked for ride, we’d drop her off in Tijuana.  After a little reflection, I regretted the jest, as it might sound racist to Carmen and Maria.

The rest of the evening consisted of banalities such as showering, eating, picking up our numbers, and getting settled into our new spaces for the night. Jenny was clearly a very neat and organized person, and I hoped that it wouldn’t bother her that I was neither.

Race morning dawned clear and pleasant, but warmed up quickly as the sun rose. It is always fun to see plenty of familiar faces while warming up, and it also affirming to see so many older women preparing for a cross country race. As we got ready, we also cheered on Mercy in the accompanying open race. Mercy finished as the fifth woman in a race that was competitive enough, that former NCAA champ, and pro runner, Angela Bizarri could only place second.

Soon enough the gun sent us on our way.  At one point early on, I could see the leaders across the course; Sonja Friend-Uhl had a good margin over Grace Padilla, with Jenny at the head of a tight chase pack that was not threatening the two leaders. Farther back in the pack, Sharlet was in front of Betsy, followed by Carmen and Maria running in tandem, and then came Suzanne, Jeannie and I more or less together. Suzanne is a notoriously slow starter, but always picks off runners as a race goes on, so I wasn’t worried.

Sharlet (508) leads Betsy (461) and Tracy Golba (458)

As we approached the tough hill, just past the mile point, Suzanne was gaining on Sharlet (and Betsy), while I had caught the Briones’ sisters, and I knew that Jeanie would be close behind.  I passed both Carmen and Maria on the hill. I hoped that Jeanie was right behind me and would get them too.

On the second circuit Suzanne corralled Sharlet, but couldn’t pull away from her.  Meanwhile, I was running out of steam, and a Latina in Lake Merritt colors went past me. At first I thought it was Maria, but I soon realized it was Carmen. That was bad news for our sixties team, although good news for my individual medal hopes.

At the finish, Sonja had widened her lead over Grace, and they finished well up on everyone else. A few gals passed Jenny, and she finished seventh overall and fifth in her age division. Sharlet and Suzanne came to the finish straight locked together, and sprinted for the line. Suzanne later commented that it couldn’t have been an attractive sight: two old ladies, one with no kick (herself) and one with a wild flailing kick (Sharlet). The wild kick beat the no kick, securing the individual sexagenarian win for Sharlet, and putting our team in a deep hole. Betsy crossed the line a few seconds later; then came Carmen, yours truly, Maria and Jeanie finishing in consecutive spots. At this point there was no doubt that the Lake Merritt gals would defeat us for the sixties title, unless disaster befall Kate. No such thing happened, and they earned a much deserved title.

During the cool down and award ceremonies that followed, all of us had plenty of chances to catch up with other runners we knew, and make some new acquaintances too. Silver was the lizard color of the day, as our sixties team, Suzanne and I all garnered medals of that hue. Team titles also went to the local team JH Cohn in the forties, The Impalas out of the Bay Area in the fifties, and the host San Diego Track Club in the seventies. Individual titles were awarded in five year increments; Sonja won the 40-44, Laura Stewart won the 45-49, Eileen Brennan Erler took the 50-54, Debbie Lee won the 55-59, Sharlet won the 60-64, Linda Frisby took the 65-69, Marie Louise Michelson got the 70-74, and Anne Garrett won the 75-79.

The winning sixty plus team of Carmen, Kate and Sharlet (l to r).

Most of the money went to teams, as it should, but there was also age graded money to the first three individuals. Marie Louise, Melody Ann Schultz (both seventy one), and Sonja went 1,2,3 in that competition. Jeanie was 6^th and Suzanne was 10^th. Once again I wound up chauffeuring the Lake Merritt ladies back to the hotel, and once more they were appreciative. They said if I was ever in Oakland, I could find a place to stay.

Suzanne, Jeanie, Betsy and I stayed through Monday to soak up some sun and relax. Most of us went to the beach Saturday afternoon; I had a nice dinner with Jenny Saturday evening, and went for a great hike Sunday afternoon with Suzanne. I also had two lovely morning runs Sunday and Monday, at Torrey Pines and Mission Bay respectively.

I also confirmed a few Facebook friend requests, including Jeanine from Lake Merritt. After I accepted her request, she sent me a very nice message thanking me for our comradeship, competition, and transportation.  She also said that she wished that she could see our team more often.  Her thoughtful message was just one more reminder that more important things than medals, and recognition are gained from traveling to these races.

[Thanks to Roy Carlisle for contributing this article!]

PALO ALTO MOONLIGHT 5K RUN Friday, September 28, 2012

GLIDE FLOSS BRIDGE TO BRIDGE 10K & 8K RUN Sunday, September 30, 2012

On Wednesday, my older brother, Dick, came riding in to Oakland on the morning train. He was in town early so he could prepare for two of his favorite races in one weekend. Our Palo Alto Moonlight 5K race started at 8:45 pm on Friday night and our SF Bridge to Bridge 8K started at 9 am on Sunday morning. We had faced this before and we both knew that we would be spent after it was all over. We also knew that it was a twisted sort of fun to challenge our 65 year old and 70 year old bodies to ride the adrenaline rush of these two completely unique races within 36.25 hours. There was a part of me that dreaded trying to do this. One race on a weekend was enough to put me into a long nap afterwards but running two meant that I was going to be crashing for a whole day after, not just for a nap. I now knew, after a few years of entering races together, that this was physically taxing for Dick also. It wasn’t just the race itself for him but he put a lot more effort into prep for a race, rising hours before each race to stretch and sort out various aches and pains.

Another part of me was excited about having Dick here to do these two fun races. Dick and I had been too far apart in age to be close when we were growing up but a few years ago we started to bond, first because he had contracted cancer and I was genuinely scared for him, two, because he started to join me in running again (he had been a star runner in his early days) and three, by sharing and reading the same books that we swapped back and forth.

It was also fun for me to include him in my extended circle of friends and family here in California because Dick is one of those genuinely easy going and friendly good men that show up on the planet every once in a while.  So every trip he made down here from his home in Vancouver, WA was a cause for joy for me and my social network.  And what he didn’t know about this specific trip was that I had been scheming with his daughter, Chandra, a lawyer in Seattle, to fly down on Saturday to join us for the Bridge to Bridge run. Chandra had recently started running herself and she was going to enter the 10K on Sunday morning. It would be a wonderful surprise for him and make the weekend even more joyous.

On Friday night I cajoled my friend and running buddy Jack to join us for the Moonlight run, and Jack’s nonstop wisecracking humor always helps us keep our spirits high for a race. Being around a mind as quick and witty as Jack’s makes both Dick and me want to run a quicker race. Of course that makes no rational sense but it is true. And Kim, my friend came along to encourage us, and just help us out. At a race we men need someone to keep track of us, watch our stuff, as we get very focused on the competition and the race itself. As if we were truly competitive. Well, I am not but Dick actually is. He often wins his age division in a race and he is always trying to pull off a PB, a personal best [time].

The Palo Alto race on Friday night has a treacherous start for the 5K because it begins in a parking lot but within a few yards it narrows down to small path that winds out along the bay. So hundreds of runners are bumping into each other, jostling for position, and trying to keep from getting knocked on their kiesters. And this is done in the moonlight, with neon glow tubes as the only guides, so it is hard even to see the runners around you. Every year the danger inherent in this frantic jostling start to the race surprises me. Why do this? But I am not the race director so who knows why they keep doing this. Having hundreds of runners bumping into each other in the dark seems crazy to me (although there did seem to be more runners with headlamps and glow tubes this year). It also seems odd to me since the 10K goes the opposite direction on a wide regular street so there is none of this jostling and scrambling. I can complain loudly about this but there I was running towards that small path just like everyone else. My body loves to run at night so there is no way I was going to miss this race even if I don’t like that odd starting line setup. Plus, it was one of the only races of the year that gives out a long sleeve tee shirt. And that dear readers, is highly motivating in the world of running and races.(Ask me sometime to show you a picture of 60 race tee shirts that my dear friend, Soozung, made into a quilt for my 60^th birthday and you will see why these are prizes to be coveted.)

Roy, Dick, and Jack after the Moonlight Run (Jack has on a long sleeve tee shirt from running this race in a previous year).

So I can also complain about the miles of running on gravel along the edge of the bay but it was a beautiful event with the moon shining bright and hundreds of runners enjoying the crisp fall air. A race in the moonlight did have one other advantage; I lost track of time and distance and that feeling was heightened when I couldn’t check my GPS watch in the dark for my usual race markers, pace and distance.  I knew I was running slowly and carefully but that was acceptable; I didn’t’ need any bone bruises from the gravel and I did have another race to consider in a very short time. Every runner knows that there is always something to complain about with every race, it is a part of the gestalt of doing races. But the thrill of entering into these semi-competitive events always outweighs the stream of complaints that I voice at every race.

After a couple of miles treading carefully on the gravel path the course files onto a residential street and then we know that we are about ¾ of a mile from the finish. We emerge out of the darkness into the glow of street lights which illuminates not only all of the other runners but for me it highlights the decision about whether to increase my pace or continue to lope along.

Running slowly in the dark meant that I was always on alert for being bumped off the path, or even of being knocked to the ground by faster runners. Fortunately that had not happened and now we were in the home stretch. Coming into the light juices up my competitive streak and I start my inner dialogue about how I want to finish the race. Usually I am thinking about sprinting and how much energy did I have left? I know I am going to sprint with maybe 30 yards left to the finish line, well, unless something unusual happens to prevent it, but I found myself experiencing a laissez faire attitude about it that night. My pace had been very slow so a sprint would not carry me under the 30 minute goal that I usually want to accomplish for a 5K, and so sprinting seemed superfluous. Who cared? Really. I decided I didn’t. But then I turned the last corner toward the finish and heard all of the fanfare that goes on at the end of a race. People yelling, runners speeding up, friends loudly encouraging their running buddies. I didn’t speed up; I didn’t prepare to sprint. As I got closer to the finish line Jack came out of nowhere on my left side and started yelling Go, Go, Go! Oh Damn, now I had to respond to his intense goading or live with unrestrained runner’s ridicule on the ride home! So I did, I took off like a shot and then did my own pushing and moving up through the few unsuspecting runners ahead of me. I admit that it does feel like I have run a better race when I sprint at the end, no matter what my pace or the distance. And I do like that feeling.

On that night Dick handily won his 5K age division with a speedy 25:25 time / 8:12 pace and even with my slow pace I placed second in my age division with a 34:23 time / 11:05 pace. Clearly Dick was burning up the gravel while I was loping along. Jack ran as an outlaw so we don’t have an official time for him but he is in Dick’s league, not a plodder like me. It is surprisingly fun to see Dick run like the wind, and I can celebrate his wins heartily although I have moments of nostalgic sadness because I remember when I could run at that pace. But those days are behind me, so now I can let him carry the winner’s desire to keep improving on a personal best time.

The drive back to the East bay was filled with the bonhomie of a shared experience and I hoped that I could recuperate with two nights of rest before the Bridge to Bridge on Sunday morning.

*******

I picked up Chandra at the Oakland airport on Saturday morning, after a fitful night of so-called rest on Friday night. Dick was not aware that Chandra would be in the car when I went to pick him up for a lunch with family and friends at my daughter Erica’s beautiful house in the Oakland hills. He also didn’t know that we wanted to welcome Chandra into the California contingent of the extended family since we had not had a chance to visit for many years. You can imagine Dick’s surprise when I showed up at the LaQuinta Inn with his beloved daughter in tow. My normally taciturn older brother was very expressive about this act of love and kindness on Chandra’s part. That she had registered to run the 10K on Sunday morning made him even happier as Chandra was new to the running game and he enjoyed race outings more when Chandra was able to join him.

Dick and I have run this Bridge to Bridge race in San Francisco now for several years. In fact, it is one of the scenic races that he most looks forward to each year so he plans a trip down from his home in Vancouver each fall in order to join me for this annual event. Usually the two races are only a week apart but every few years they end up on the same weekend which is a bit grueling but it does make for a less expensive and more “efficient” trip for Dick.

Kim, Roy, Dick, and Chandra before the 2012 Bridge to Bridge 8K/12K

Sunday morning was sunny with a crisp edge and that is usually a good day for running. Kim was going to walk the 7K course (but she said she actually did do some running) and Chandra was ready to run the 10K, while Dick and I were signed up to do the 7K (?) Except when we finished we checked our GPS devices and this course was definitely closer to an 8K. Odd, but it did make a certain kind of sense because they had changed the actual course radically for the first time in many years. Instead of a 12K and 7K they now had a 10K and so called 7K that was an 8K and it didn’t finish in the Presidio but on the flatland at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. But I am surprised that there weren’t more outcries because obviously it takes longer to run an 8K than a 7K. But these distances are not very standard in the race circuit so most people probably didn’t even think about it. You couldn’t compare your time to the much more standard 5K, and the 10K was probably more accurate since that is an Olympic distance. But my brother Dick is a very consistent runner and knows his pace well. And I don’t think that both of our GPS watches would both be “off” in the same way. One GPS watch maybe but not two, so they could say 7K all day, but we knew different. But you are wondering, who cares? Well, for runners the comparison to previous times and distances is keenly watched and comparing is, in fact, a small industry. There is a website that keeps track of every official race and all of the runners’ times automatically. You can got to www.athlinks.comand see some 70+ of the 150 races I have run in the last thirteen years listed. Now it is not always accurate and they do seem to miss a lot of races for some reason but they wouldn’t do it at all if every runner wasn’t keenly interested in these stats.

The BtoB course starts on the Embarcadero next to Justin Herman Plaza and right in front of the Ferry Building. It is a big enough race and accompanying crowd that they close down the whole street and we all run unencumbered right into and through Fisherman’s Wharf. It is never too crowded to find your own pace and there is an energy that wafts out of the stream of runners at these big races. I always feel enlivened by a race like this one. Although I will admit that both Dick and Chandra were long gone within seconds of the start. Dick cannot help himself. His legs are like pistons and many times he has told me that it hurts to run slowly, so he switches on the machine and off he goes, like some small locomotive.

I kept trying to find someone to “pace” myself with but that didn’t seem to work this year. Usually I can find a group of runners that are going at the pace I want to maintain and it helps me to keep a steady pace. So I had to bounce around from one side of the street to the other but it was such a beautiful morning that it was a joy just to be out in the crisp fall air, running along one of the most delightful waterfronts in the country.

For many years I have complained about how wonderful this course is until you get close to the finish. In the past it was a third of a mile uphill, and not some tiny incline but up a serious hill into the Presidio. That just pissed me off, and it made it hard to sprint at the end, although every year I valiantly gave it a go.

But this year we had a whole new finish on the flatland at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. Although I had never noticed it before there was a wide path that made it easy to gauge how far you were from the finish line and with no “bunching” up that would obstruct a sprint to the end. When I realized, and I didn’t know this until I had almost arrived at the end of the course, that a new finish line was not at the end of a steep uphill into the Presidio but was at the end of a track-like path straight ahead toward the Bridge, I was elated! Now I could seriously think about when I was going to sprint, calculate it, anticipate it, feel it rising in my blood. And sprint I did, until I felt like I was going to fly. No one really noticed but me, (Well, except for the race photographer whose pic below shows both of my feet off the ground as if I am running in the air) but that was okay; it is a satisfaction that will always make me glad I am alive.

Roy sprinting to the finish in the 2012 Bridge to Bridge 8K!

It was not an eventful race, no big storms, or unbearable heat, or runners tumbling and getting injured, but an enjoyable one. And I was glad, once again, that I was running in a race with others who enjoyed this solitary/social sport. Running is a requirement for me for health issues. Fortunately I enjoy the sport so much that I work to stay healthy and want to run, like my brother, well into my 70s, which would be a wonderful gift.

Dick, Chandra, Roy after the 10K/7K (8K) with Kim, our resident photographer behind the lens.

Eventually, after we were convinced that the course was closer to an 8K, we came up with the following stats. Roy did the 8K in 50:57 for a 10:15 pace and Dick ran the 8K in 40:31 for an 8:09 pace. Chandra ran the 10K in 62:32 for a 10:04 pace. Kim did walk/run the 8K in 66:17 for a walk/slight run pace of 13:20 which is a very brisk walking pace.

There is a sad note in all of this for me. When I started doing this particular race back in the early 2000s there were many more participants. For the old 12K, in 2000 there were 5,525 finishers, and in 2003 there were 4,660 finishers, and in 2012 there were only 1,655 in the new 10K. For both distances this year had only 2,554 finishers, so it would not surprise me if the sponsors finally decide that this race is too expensive to stage anymore. The precipitous decline in participants may indicate a growing loss of interest in formal races. But this might also indicate that registration fees--the registration fee for a typical 5K is often $30 to $40 and a marathon can cost as much as $100-- are a luxury that many people can’t afford today. This might also contribute to the growth of the number of “outlaws” in the bigger races. (Outlaws are runners who don’t register and pay the entry fee). I am not casting stones, as I have done that outlaw thing myself when a registration fee just wasn’t in my budget for the month.

Races are so much fun for me that I am constantly encouraging friends to enter races with me, to increase the social experience. For my own budget I have had to be more selective but I want these races to survive. Running invigorates me mentally and physically and it is important to me to do something I love. Even though doing two races in one weekend is a challenge that I hope only comes around once every few years!

Next Chip Timing Training:  Saturday, October 13th from 7:30 AM to 11:30 AM.  To enroll email John Momper at: jmomper@berkleey.edu

Chip Training-Chip Timing 101-Will be a hands on experience using the chip timing hardware & software.  The training is intended as follow-up to those who attended  the August orientation and  for first time attendees as well.

It seemed most appropriate that the oldest continuing running race in Oakland would support one of the oldest non-profit institutions in Oakland, Children's Hospital.  The Oncology department at Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland is at the forefront of treatment and research, developing and evaluating treatments that offer the best opportunities for survival and preservation of quality of life.  They provide access to all diagnostic and treatment methods available, including the option to participate in clinical trials using experimental therapies.  Their goal is to provide state-of-the-art care in a warm and supportive environment, that includes ongoing direct communication with a primary care physician.  The Hematology/Oncology department has its own 25-bed inpatient unit with private, air-filtered isolation rooms and a 20-bed day-use transfusion and chemotherapy unit.

On Thursday, August 16, 2012, Lake Merritt Joggers & Striders presented Dr. Joseph Torkildson a check for $1,000.00 for the Oncology department at Children's Hospital.

Photo:  Gareth Fong, Woodminster Race Director; Matt Fong, volunteer; Dr. Torkildson, CHO; Chris Fong, volunteer; Len Goldman, past LMJS president