Dartmouth Relays... season ending injury

Well, it was great while it lasted.

At Dartmouth, I was looking to try to PR at the 800m, and it was not an issue of besting my times from last year, but by how much.  All-American is 2:06, and I thought I had a legitimate shot.

There were several problems going into the meet.  I was sore in the achilles on the left side, having been not quite right since the double back 800m (in spikes) 3 weeks ago (where I ran 2:12 only about 20 mins after PR'ing in the mile).  Also, the race was at 9:30 AM, instead of the usual Friday afternoon.  This meant that I didn't have much time to get warm, loose, stretched, or relaxed.  It was all about getting there before 8:30 (2+ hour drive) and then trying to compress the warmup as much as possible.  I was spending time chatting with folks I hadn't seen for a while, including Adam Harder, who was coming off a bad achilles injury,  Bill Newsham from GBTC, Laura Barre, and a few other Mass Velocity teammates.

The race itself got underway, and I started out in 2nd place behind a Canadian.  He took off at sub 2:00 pace, and I let him go a little, but came through at 30, then 61.  By 600m we both started fading, but I realized I had been on my toes (in the spikes) for all 600m and I was fatiguing in the foot/calf area very badly.  I tried to get off my toes but the spikes were relatively unforgiving.  I came through at 1:33, so I only needed a mere 33s 200m to get my target time, but I was starting to think something was wrong.  At 700m, I started to back off a little, and the change in pace caused and abrupt searing pain in my calf along with an audible pop.  Within 1 step I had stopped dead (in lane 1) and fortunately I wasn't creamed by any other runners.  I limped off the track (a very good sign in itself) and went over the to training area.  Tucker Taft helped find me a trainer and some ice. 

The trainer gave me the Thompson test, which I flunked, suggesting a tear of the Achilles.  I knew that it only hurt on the medial side, however, and I was able to limp a tiny bit (plus I didn't faceplant, which is the typical achilles tear outcome).  Within 48 hours the swelling had gone down enough for me to deduce that it was a gastrocnemius tear, rather than achilles, and so now I am out for 3-6 weeks with a long rehab course to follow.

If only I could have finished the race!! 

So I won't be wearing spikes any more, and I suspect the mile will be the shortest distance I will be able to race for a long while.  These never heal completely, and there is always a serious risk of recurrence.  The good news is, I don't need surgery, and I should be back running before I decondition completely.

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Darin

Milennium Mile

Last week, Nick and I went to BU for the second Mini-meet.  Nick set his PR at 5:26.1, while I was not feeling great and managed a 4:55. We planned on doubling back in the 800m as well, but the snowstorm was on the way and we needed to get out of Boston fast! Interestingly, Nick's first 200m split was 3 seconds faster than mine.  Alex raced the 1500m last week at UNH with a 5:47 finish.

The big race for me was the Milennium Mile, where the four of us drove to Londonderry for a perfect day of racing.  It was about 45 degrees and cloudy, and the race drew a record 1100+ registrants (although only 927 completed the race).   I raced to a 20 year PR at 4:28 (I was 4:34 at this race twice in the past few years) and I was the top 40+ runner this year.  I started off in 66/67 for a 2:13 first half, and slowed a bit into the finish.  My recent cold symptoms caught up with me to some extent, otherwise I think I could have gone even faster (there is always next year!).  The extra core workout and stretching routines get the credit for my increased speed this year.

Nick PR'ed at 5:14, Alex had a PR at 5:47 (the same as his 1500m time, which is consistent with the downhill nature of this course) and Melissa had a PR despite having a bad cold over the past week, hitting 6:49.  Her mile split at nationals was 6:50, so obviously she can go faster!

Mass Velocity Teammate Bobby Segal was there, hitting 5:39 (that's got to be a PR!) and potential new teammate Harris Hardy took second in the 40+ category with a strong 4:34.

More indoor track races are coming in January...

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Darin