Rotary Ramble 5K, DeMotte,
Buck Hales
I passed
a big test on August 13, though never in my running
career would I have imagined that a 5K would be a test. I traveled to Demotte,
Registration for the race was unusual; we had
to fill out computer bubble cards, filling in circles for each of the letters
of your name. What a great idea-- no manual data entry! And Clydesdale weigh-in was seamlessly
incorporated into the packet pickup procedure. These Hoosiers do it right. We noticed a huge number of teen and pre-teen
runners-- all the cross country and student athletes from the local junior and
senior highs. Several RunBig members made the race as
it is on the RunBig competitive race circuit, a
collection of Clydesdale races. We
readied ourselves for the run, I felt quite nervous, never really having to
face this FEAR before in a race-- not knowing how it was going to be, good
pain, or bad pain? During my rehab I've
thought a lot about the old saying "pain is my friend" yes, it is-
but not the no pain, no gain of old, but what the
saying really means is to listen to your pain. One has to learn which is the good pain, and which is the bad pain. Running myself into
multiple stress fractures in my knee is an example of not listening to the bad
pain. Enjoying the soreness one feels
after a really good workout, that is the good pain. It was a very hard lesson to learn.
The start of the race was delayed as
the rain lessened and the lightening subsided. As it began to clear the heat
followed-- and by 8:50 when the race started it was getting steamy. The start
was quite hectic, but while waiting for the gun to go off, Marilee and I made
the acquaintance of young
Halie, an 11 year old girl from
Chesterton who was already a veteran of many races. We were quite amused by her antics,
confidence and commentary. Finally the
race started after the race director warned us that if it starts lightening
again, take cover if you want, but don't stand under a tree. Sage advice. Timers ready? G!.
And we were off-- it was very chaotic, as the 700 some starters had to press to
the middle of the road,
I motored on, enjoying the buzz of
the experience, the crowd, and the high school football players who seemed to
care less about the race, but were thoroughly enjoying the event. They would
walk 8 abreast blocking the road, then run like crazy for a few hundred yards,
and then resume walking. A very odd mix of all ages and levels of interest, a
very good group of hard core runners, lots of big fast Clydesdales and Athenas, many quite elderly runners, and then all these
kids. Dutch Days brought them all out. What else is there to do in DeMotte, anyway? I
reached the first mile, felt quite comfortable, as the clock ticked 9:30. I dutifully walked for about 50 seconds, and
resumed my plod. Mile two had the only bit of elevation, hardly a hill at all,
but I charged it and felt a bit of a surge in me way down deep, a sleeping tiger
in there rousing. Mile 2 was 10:06 which
included the minute walk. During the next mile I fell in with some local
runners, listened to their banter, talking about their scheduled 15 miler the
next day and training for the marathon. no wonder they
were going this slow. Which marathon I asked,
One last turn, another coach like
character was yelling "600 yards to go, dig it out!", and I pushed
ahead. Mile 3-- 10:03 with the walk interval at the mile 2 marker. I saw the
finish line and without batting an eye kicked--I sprinted the last 100 yards
and felt nothing but elation. Holy cats!
A bit of the old Bucky Burst! 30:27. I have never in my life been so
pleased to have run a 5 K so slow! Marilee bested me by several minutes and
commented that my running style had changed so completely she didn't even
recognize me now. My new form of running
could be described as “running from the center,” drawing on the core and
postural muscles to protect my knees—pushing more with my heels while keeping
myself drawn up, running taller and more up right. While
I was running I kept going through the drills that Dr. Nicola had given me,
crossing over so that I was running on a narrow line; kicking the ball in front
of me, so that I ran like a drum major; toeing off pulling the ground out from
below me. All of these drills made my
long rehab bearable. As I progressed from crutches, to walking with the brace,
all my therapy done on my back and side, to being able to stand on both feet,
to walking, then the treadmill-- graduating to the 7 step program starting with
30 seconds of running and 3 minutes of walking, progressing to 1 minute running
and 3 minutes walking, then 1:2, then 2:2, then 2:1, 3:1, 5:1 and at last,
9:1. I will not graduate from this
program, my prospects have me staying at 9:1 for the foreseeable future-- and I
am glad to comply....
Marilee and waited to see the awards
ceremony, saw Halie win a big shoe for coming in 2nd
in her age group. Watched the Clydes win awards for
running sub 20 times, and enjoyed the increasingly warmer day. After the race I felt no pain or distress-- though
I'd run up to 5 mile in my rehab, the intensity of running in a race is really
hard to simulate running on your own.
Considering that the initial prognosis was that I would never run again,
and that if I was going to do a marathon again I would have to power walk it--
to now being able to actually run, well, it was just great. During the dark months as last year came to a
close, while I was on crutches, not knowing if I'd ever run again, suffering
through the angst of the horrific presidential election, seeing runners and
both hating and envying them-- exhorting them to enjoy it while they can. To
now-- running again! Riding my bike to
work has really been great for the therapy, the Pilates, the form drills, it is beginning to pay off. I am guardedly
optimistic about my long term prospects, knowing that being able to run is a
privilege, a gift, nothing to be taken for granted. I am going to spend this
currency carefully.