Nearly 2,800 Complete the 11th Annual Conejo Valley YMCA Turkey Day Dash

The 11th Annual Conejo Valley YMCA Turkey Day Dash 5K took place on Thursday in frosty cool early morning temperatures under mostly blue skies at Cal Lutheran.

There were 2,784 finishers in the race, with times ranging from 15:29 to 1:16:21. I was not there but I managed to get in a 45 minute run on Thanksgiving morning.

The overall winner was 20 year old Joel Gonzalez Jr, who sped to a 15:29 time, faster than any time I've ever run a 5K in, at an average speed of 4:59 per mile. Joel was 31 seconds faster than 2nd place finishers, 26 year old Matan Mayer, who tied  with 16 year old Thomas Schauerman, in 16 minutes flat. That's actually the first time I can recall ever seeing a tie in a local 5K race results.

The top 40+ male runner was 45 year old Jeff Wells, finishing 14th overall in 17:10.

The top three overall women in the race were Jessica Barnard (25) in 18:22, followed by Maddie Geesen (17) in 18:42, then Madelyn Vorgitch (19) in 19:49.  Eleven year old Sydney Covington of Thousand Oaks had an impressive showing, running a 20:04 for 5th female and 77th overall.

The oldest runner in the entire race was 87 year old Jean Gosse of Thousand Oaks, who managed a 46:17 time. Youngster Donna Vetricek, 78, finished in 26:14, a 8:26/mile pace, good for 470th overall and in the top 10% of all females. That's a pretty damn respectable time!

The oldest male runner was 82 year young Donald Moors, finishing in 39:53 for 1664th overall, leaving over a thousand young whippersnappers in his dust.

Good to Diagnose Injuries After You've Tried to Run Through Them

After six to nine months of grappling with a nagging injury in my right knee, I finally visited an orthopedic doctor this week to determine what the problem is.

I hate going to doctors, not that I don't like doctors, but I'd prefer to save my money and time if it all possible. That strategy has generally worked for me in the past in that I've been able to "run through" injuries that go away on their own over time (with the exception that I've had positive experience battling injuries through chiropractic care).

That said, the problem with my outer right knee has not gotten any better. I  recall in the summer, when riding bikes with the kids, that the knee issue would flare up, to the point that I'd have to reduce pressure on the right leg while peddling and peddle stronger with my left leg.

Same with the running. I've been able to continue running with the nagging, sometime sharp pain in my outer right knew by focusing on running on the inner knee. Not a simple feat. But then out of the blue, the injury flares up.

Every morning when I do my run, the knee hurts as I run downhill. But after a mile or so, it gradually goes away. But then later in the day, I could be walking the dog, and once I attempt to move at more than walking pace, I feel the nagging pain, like a little LEGO character holding a dull knife and stabbing me in the knee.

The first thing they did was x-ray the knee from all angles (can't wait to see the bill). But the good news from my very smart doctor at the Southern California Orthopedic Institute in Thousand Oaks is that, mechanically, the knee looks fine. There is an appropriate amount of space between the bones, etc. 

Good. That rules out knee replacement. Whew.

What he believes it to be is iliotibial band friction syndrome, possible lateral meniscus tearing and chondromalacia (which according to the Interwebz means a problem with the cartilage under the kneecap).

So, he recommends evaluation and treatment via physical therapy. I suspect they will show me particular exercises to do that will hopefully alleviate the IT band issue and allow me to run carefree again. We shall see.