Back Running After a 5 1/2 Week Hiatus and Los Angeles Marathon Results

After 5 1/2 weeks without running a step due to doc's orders after an eye surgery, I finally started pounding the pavement again on Sunday, March 18th. The next day was followed by a head cold that I've finally fought off (knock on wood) but I've been very gradually working back into it.

At age 47, I'm finding my recovery and buildup times have grown quite a bit as compared to 20 years ago. But then again, in 20 years of running, I've never taken 5 1/2 weeks off, even for a running related injury. And this latest comeback comes on the heels of 45 days taken off after my initial eye surgeries back last October. Needless to say, my fitness level has taken a hit.

1 1/2 weeks back into running, pretty much daily, an FINALLY, this morning, my body started to oblige again. The biggest sticking point for my running after taking time off seems to be my hamstrings. They get sore easily. I'm not big into stretching but a bit of hamstring stretching off and on seemed to make them feel better. Nothing fancy. Just find a wall about hip heighth, pull one foot up and start stretching.

So at this point I have no race plans but as my fitness improves I'll start planning my next event. I'm itching to run a marathon but I'll need 4 to 6 months to train.

Speaking of marathons, the Los Angeles Marathon was also on March 18th...perhaps that was my motivation.

Over 22,000 people registered for the race and 18,881 crossed the finish line. There were 660 registrant from Ventura County and Agoura Hills and of those, 546 completed the race. The average time of all local finishers was 5 hours, 8 minutes and ranged from 3:04 to 9:57.

There were eight local finishers ages 16 and under and four 75 year old runners. The average age of all 546 runners was 40.

The winning overall times were 2:12:12 (men) and 2:25:39 (women). The top 10 fastest local Ventura County area participants by chip time were:

• Michael Conoscenti of Newbury Park in 3:04:43
• Jose Garcia of Oxnard 3:05:41
• John Wheeler of Simi Valley 3:08:35
• Ramon Hernandez of Thousand Oaks 3:09:03
• Erin Chenoweth of Ventura 3:09:55 (Top Local Female! 23rd female overall in race!)
• Levi Moellering of Moorpark 3:10:13 (He's only 17 years old! Nice job Levi! 1st place overall in his age division!)
• Golan-David Danino of Ojai 3:10:36
• Jason Griffith of Thousand Oaks 3:12:04
• Jose Lastre of Camarillo 3:15:09
• Brian Pidduck of Ojai 3:18:18

Other top 10 finishers in the age divisions included:

• Katie Tapia of Ventura 3:35:05 (9th place in 45-49 age group)
• Serafin Barajas of Thousand Oaks 3:59:45 (9th place in 65-69 age group)
• Sheila Galinsky of Camarillo 5:18:57 (9th place in 65-69 age group)
• Joe Herzog, Sr  of Simi Valley 5:52:09 (10th in the 75-79 age group at age 75! This was a highly competitive age group with a winning time of 3:19:21**)
• Thomas Sullivan of Camarillo 6:17:50 (2nd in the 70-74 age group!)
• Linda Loiselle of Camarillo 7:07:11 (2nd in 55-59 age group)

**In fact, I've contacted race organizers as the 1st and 2nd place finishers in this age group appear suspect. The exact names finished the prior year event in comparable times...except their ages last year were 33, not the 77 listed in this year's event. This could just be a big coincidence...but something appears off to me.'

Congrats to all that crossed the finish line, regardless of time and place! You all accomplished something special!

Long Hiatus But Soon to Come Back to the Running Scene

Well it has been a long time but I'm still here. As mentioned 5 weeks ago, I had another eye procedure and my surgeon gave me a thumbs down to running for 6 weeks post surgery. Well, I'm almost at that point now and am chomping at the bit to start running again.

One thing this extended hiatus has taught me is that my body does not turn into a blob after 5 weeks of no aerobic activity. I've gained a few pounds, but nothing a week or two of running won't take care of. Because I'm a bit obsessive/compulsive when training for a marathon, I tend to overtrain and as a result risk injury and illness. Now that I've seen what zero training has done, or not done, to me, I think I'll be apt to take more days off!

In the meantime, I've cancelled my Boston Marathon plans. I'm not one to run a full marathon with a base of zero miles. I guess I could train a few weeks before the race but I've opted to save my money and pick another marathon in the fall. I'm out $150. The Boston Marathon organizers are not flexible with injury situations and has a no-deferral. no-transfer policy.

Speaking of marathons, the L.A. Marathon (or I should say, the Honda LA Marathon as it is officially now called), is this Sunday. I know many people are running it. Amazing. after such a DRY winter, the weather report for this weekend is quite dreary (see weather advisory below).  An inch to 2 inches of rain this weekend and high temps in the low 50s!

Reminds me of my very first marathon, the 1994 LA Marathon, which was also run in the rain. I can't recall how much rain I encountered (seemed to not be too bad until I finished), but I can tell you that it didn't bother me that day. Good luck to all marathoners this Sunday!

"BY FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY... THE UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO DEEPEN ACROSS CALIFORNIA... WITH A COLD FRONT LIKELY SPREADING PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA. BEHIND THE COLD FRONT... A VERY COLD AND SLIGHTLY UNSTABLE AIR MASS WILL BRING A THREAT OF SHOWERS SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY... AND POSSIBLY MONDAY. SOME OF THESE SHOWERS COULD PRODUCE BRIEF HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND SMALL HAIL. CONDITIONS WILL ALSO BE FAVORABLE FOR ISOLATED WATERSPOUTS ACROSS THE COASTAL WATERS.

THERE IS STILL SOME UNCERTAINTY OF THE EXACT TRACK OF THIS COLD UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM... WHICH WOULD AFFECT THE DURATION OF SHOWER ACTIVITY BEHIND THE FRONT. HOWEVER... PRELIMINARY RAINFALL ESTIMATES FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY ARE GENERALLY EXPECTED TO RANGE BETWEEN ONE HALF AND ONE AND ONE HALF INCHES ACROSS MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA... WITH LOCAL AMOUNTS UP TO 2 INCHES IN THE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS."