2011 KC Corporate Challenge -- Volume 2

The Mile
June 7

This race was just wonderful.  I lost the race last year by a couple of seconds and it really bothered me.  This year, on the other hand, a couple of weeks before the race itself, I ran a 4:51.0 1600m in the company tryouts and I felt ready to take on anyone who might show up.  I was right.

I led out the first quarter plus nine meters in a reasonable but aggressive seventy-one and one half seconds and really never looked back.  The wind was blowing strong.  According to the National Weather Service reporting station nearby it was seventeen miles per hour out of the south (headwind for the homestretch) with gusts up to twenty six.  It’s pretty hard to run a good time leading a race into wind like that, but I felt that it was the right decision to take charge of the race regardless.  By the time I came through 809 meters in 2:27.5 it seemed I had several meters on second. 

I tried to push hard into the third lap.  I figured if anyone was close, this was the time to shake him.  Last year I waited until 400 to go to make a move and that cost me because the guy who beat me took me with a wicked kick that he started at 300m out.  I figured if anyone could beat me by going with me with 800 to go then he deserved to win.  But it turned out to be moot.  With the wind all I could manage was a 75.8 third quarter, but going into the gun lap I had opened a decisive lead.  No one was nearby.

In the fourth lap as I came into the turn for the final 200m I heard Andy Deckert, the P.A. announcer, my old high school Cross Country and Track coach, and one of the biggest positive influences in my life, announce, “This runner has an excellent chance of breaking five minutes if he can stay on pace.”  At that point he didn’t yet know it was me.  I hadn’t seen him for a couple of years, and I hadn’t talked to him before the race.  Because this, of all my KCCC races, was the one I wanted to win the most, I intentionally didn’t talk to him before the race because I wanted to focus on my warm-ups.  Also, a long, long time ago, Andy used to say something that really made me mad sometimes.  It was wise and it was right and it has had wide application in all areas of my life since then, but it still made me mad.

“Coach, I’m going to run a really fast time today.  I’m going to break 4:40 today,” I might say.

“Show me.  Don’t tell me.”

I figured today I would just show him….

I won the race by 40m or more in a time of 4:57.95; let’s call it 4:58.0.  I was kind of disappointed with the time since I figured I should be capable of at least a 4:45 on race day after a 4:51 tryout, but on the other hand nobody really pushed me, and that Kansas south wind really made things tough.  Besides, as I told my boss later, I couldn’t be too disappointed because the point of a race is to win, not to time trial, and I had done that.  It was sweet.  It’s always good to cross the string.

After the race I cooled down a bit and made my way up to the announcer’s booth at the top of the stadium, and how blessed I was to spend a few minutes with Andy.  He seemed pretty shocked to see me!

“Hello, Coach.”

“Well, Joe, how are you?!”  Disbelief in his expression.  “Were you in that race?”

“Yes, sir.  I won it.”

“You won it!  Well…. Why didn’t you tell me you were running?  Why didn’t you let me know?”

“Well, Coach, I figured I would show you rather than tell you.  Besides, I kinda figured you might recognize me out there.”

Now that last comment really wasn’t fair of me at all.  Not at all.  I should have never said it.  Poor Andy pointed out that it had been many years (27, in fact!) since he had routinely recognized my stride from a distance on a hilltop.  Of course he was right, but I think he really felt badly, at least a little, that he hadn’t recognized me.  And then I felt bad, too, because it was really completely unreasonable that I should have ever suggested that he should do. 

In spite of this bit of awkwardness, though, we spent a few good moments re-connecting between his announcements, and I relished every bit of it.  Who gets to win a mile race at 44 years of age in front of his old coach and mentor?  What a huge blessing.  It was wonderful. Even though the morning was not so good, what a perfect evening it was.

2011 KC Corporate Challenge -- Volume 1

Before too much more time goes by and my journaling descends down into the depressive abyss of injury, loss, surgery and rehabilitation, it would be good to write down my thoughts about KC Corporate Challenge, putting together some race reports about my personally very meaningful victories in those events.  Last year when KCCC rolled around I was just turning the corner after a year of recovery from my ACL reconstruction in 2009 and the running was just starting to really come back to me.  I raced the 5k and finished (17:46) second in my age group to another Garmin guy and felt pretty good about that.  Then two or three weeks later I raced the 800m and the Mile, finishing second in those races, each to a different opponent.  It was satisfying to medal in all those races and put up some ostentatious points for Garmin in the process, but afterwards I concluded that I just wasn’t running to win like I should.  I was wimping out at the ends of races, not closing the deal, and I made it a goal shortly thereafter that in 2011, God willing, there would be no more silver medals.

Fast forwarding a year through five personal records at three distances I came into the KCCC events this year with a pretty good level of fitness and a fierce desire to win my races in spite of my fairly significant knee injury, the extent of which I would only learn the morning of my Mile.  I’ll start these reports with a quick one about the 5k.

May 7.  KCCC 5k.

The KCCC course is pretty darn tough.  The first mile is almost all downhill, but that is more than made up for by the fact that the second mile is predominantly uphill and the third mile is rolling and finishes up a hill that has to be a good 600m long with 100 feet of gain.  I ran under control the beginning of the race and felt pretty good, but I was surprised to still be in contact with the leaders after 1200m or so.  Then they took off!  It was okay because I didn’t expect to be able to stay with the guys who would be running under 16:00.  As we made the big hill climb in the second mile I used the opportunity to power past three guys.  A couple of them made moves to go with me but faded back as I continued to surge.  But then there was that next guy!  By about the halfway point I took him, but he went along.  Then he took me back.  Then I took him back.  Then we settled into something of a truce by the time we came through the 2-mile point.  We pushed each other through most of the second mile, but when we reached the final uphill I gave it up and let him go.  Or maybe he took it from me.  Either way, I finished in 7^th place overall behind my fellow duelist by about 3 seconds in 17:06 (gun time).  Later, in the track meet, this same guy (9 years younger than I) would run a 2:01 800m, and I think he ran his mile race in the 4:30s.  Wow.  I guess I don’t understand why he wasn’t under 16:00 with the other fast guys where he belonged – maybe he was having a bad day.  Maybe he’s just not a distance guy and I would have buried him at a longer distance.  Who knows?  Anyway, he beat me by a smidge.

In the final analysis I am a little disappointed that I didn’t fight harder and beat that guy.  My race was still enough to win my age group decisively and make me the fastest guy in any over-40 age group.  It was fun, too, and I had my first Corporate Challenge gold – one third of the way to my goal of no more silver medals.

Just Show Up

The race this morning was basically an experiment in how to do everything wrong.  A little beer (but just one) the night before.  A terrible night’s sleep punctuated by a violent thunderstorm after staying up way too late.  Sleeping in 25 minutes past the alarm.  I really only barely made the decision to get up and race – I nearly decided to just lie there and screw it.  Stopped quickly in the 7-11 for some coffee and a pure simple-carb pre-race breakfast, a package of six chocolate-covered mini-donuts.  By the time I got to the race I didn’t have time to do anything really resembling a proper warm up; maybe I ran a mile at best and no strides or anything of the like.  But sometimes it turns out that all it takes is showing up.  I ended up winning anyway in 17:18, which isn’t stellar, but was enough to win by a wide margin this morning and it felt like a gift from God to win another one.  My streak of pretty darn good races that started last fall in Minneapolis continues, even though it is about to come to an abrupt end.  Sadly, the experience was kind of joyless this morning.  That magic feeling that usually comes with running hard and winning wasn’t really there today.

Winning, but not looking too good without a shirt!
Photo Courtesy of SeeKCRun

“I thought I was flying like a bird, so far above my sorrow

But when I looked down I was standing on my knees.

Now I need someone to help me, someone to help me, please.”

I had thoughts of running some good fast races this summer before bowing to the knife, but now I don’t know.  Maybe it’s just best to get on with the surgical misery and start the long, hard road toward an attempted comeback.  It’s all hanging over me like a dark cloud and I don’t even seem to be able to enjoy the running I am capable of doing, not on a day to day basis nor even on race day.  Anyway, I can tell my fitness is not where it was 5 months ago.  It’s not even where it was a month ago.  Visions of running a really fast 2-mile this summer are evaporating and probably realistically completely out of reach given my state of body and mind.

Bad Bad Bad News for a Runner

Got the following report on the morning of June 7.  Ironically, perhaps mercifully, I won the Corporate Challenge Mile race for my age group the same evening in a respectable time of 4:58.0.  But the following has really been sinking in hard this week  I guess it explains a lot about my running (pain) this spring.

Exam: MRI of the left knee without contrast.

Indications: Recurrent left knee pain with joint clicking.

Technique: Routine MRI of the left knee using standard image sequences.

Findings:
Comparison is made with the prior MRI from St. Joseph's Medical Center dated 1/27/2009. There are surgical changes of an ACL reconstruction. The graft is intact.
There is attenuation and irregularity of the posterior horn and body of the lateral meniscus. Previously the meniscus appears intact. Although the findings may reflect a partial lateral meniscectomy, a recurrent tear is a consideration, particularly if there had been no prior meniscectomy. There is high-grade partial-thickness chondral irregularity along the weight-bearing surface of the lateral femoral condyle and lateral tibial plateau. On the cartilage sensitive sequences there is an unstable appearing chondral flap along the lateral margin of the lateral femoral condyle. There appears to be fluid undercutting of the cartilage in this region. The chondral abnormality measures approximately 11 mm
anterior to posterior x 12 mm transverse. There is reactive marrow edema signal involving the lateral margin of the lateral compartment with early arthrosis and subchondral cyst formation in the lateral tibial plateau. The medial meniscus is intact.
The posterior cruciate ligament is preserved. The collateral ligaments and extensor mechanism are intact. There is mild chondromalacia along the lateral patellar facet.
There is a physiologic amount of joint fluid. The muscle signal intensity is normal.
The proximal tibiofibular joint is intact.

Impression:
Development of irregularity along the inner margin of the posterior horn and body of the lateral meniscus since 2009. The findings are most suspicious for meniscectomy changes, however, if a meniscectomy has not been performed then this represents a lateral meniscal tear. Moderate lateral compartment arthrosis. There is a 12 mm high-grade partial-thickness chondral flap involving the lateral margin of the lateral femoral condyle. There is fluid undercutting this chondral defect suggesting an unstable chondral tear.

Electronically Signed By: Xxxxx, M.D., Xxxx
Signed on: 05/20/2011 08:15:38