Do you stop to visit friends mid-run?

 Gotta run!

 Picture this. You’re running along outdoors, clocking your miles, when you see a friend or neighbor, beckoning you to come near. Or maybe you encounter someone you know on the trail. Do you run on past him or her, or do you stop to visit for a few minutes? 

For me, it depends on several factors. Here’s a dozen possible considerations, on-the-fly. (I'm just being honest here.) Maybe you can think of more questions you’d ask yourself right about then.

• Am I trying to beat incoming weather?
• Am I sneaking in a run during a scheduling crunch?
• Am I meaning to contact this person anyway?
• Am I just starting my run?
• Am I overdue for a deadline?
• Am I pretty sure this person will want an extended conversation?
• Am I nearly done with this run?
• Am I struggling with this run for some reason?
• Am I eager to connect with this person?
• Am I clocking an important training run?
• Am I gearing up for a tough race?
• Am I running to keep up with my training buddies?

 I guess the point is that there’s no hard-and-fast rule that a runner has to stop and chat, when a simple hand-wave can suffice for now. It’s always possible to follow up later with a call or a text or a social-networking message.

 

If you do stop to socialize, do you pause your activity tracker?

I wish I’d remember to pause and restart my Garmin, every time this happens. (It’s especially tricky in colder weather, when we tend to wear several layers of sleeves, along with mittens or gloves.)

 

To jabber or to jog? It’s always a judgment call.

Maybe sometimes it’s important to pause and enjoy the journey, greeting a friend along the way. But sometimes we just have to send a wave and keep on going.

 

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Image/s:Composed by this user on online generator

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Why do runners crowd the road shoulder?

 Beep-beep! Road runners (Nope, not the feathered kind.) dash and dart along city streets, county roads, rural highways, and other thoroughfares. We pound the pavement, logging training miles for marathons and more. Frequently, that means we endure honking (and other signals) from motorists, as they roar past us. 

 

For safety reasons, pedestrians (including runners) are supposed to go against traffic.

 Non-runner drivers may wonder why runners often crowd the road shoulder, perhaps even stepping over the line into the actual roadway at times. Quickly, at least 16 reasons come to mind, listed alphabetically.

1. Agricultural equipment – It’s not unusual for rural runners to encounter balers, mowers, planters, plows, sprayers, and other farm tools along the edges of roads that pass farm fields. Short of vaulting over these, joggers have to step sideways to pass them.
2. Broken glass – This is a sticky widget for runners. Who wants to plant a sneaker on someone’s discarded liquor bottle or other glass item?
3. Car parts – Hubcaps, blown tires, and other automotive components clutter roadways. You guessed it: joggers have to steer around them.
4. Chewing gum – Gross! This is a sticky widget for anyone making tracks along a route.
5. Dead stuff – Roadkills are buzzkills for runners. ‘Nuff said.
6. Dog droppings – It’s hard to pick up the pace, if one steps where someone else failed to pick up after pet.
7. Gravel and slippery sand – Got road construction? Navigating such areas in running shoes requires detours, often into the edge of the actual roadway.
8. Ice and snow – Winter runners can bank on it. Snowplows don’t usually clear road shoulders. That puts us right in the path of oncoming drivers, as well as their slushy/salty splashes.
9. Mud – It doesn’t take an unpaved dirt road for a jogger to find mushy mud. And don’t get me started about potholes.
10. Parked cars – This is extra tricky on curvy roads or when drivers park their cars half-in and half-out of driveways. (If I had a nickel …)
11. Pets – Runners appreciate it when pet owners control or otherwise contain their pets. Sometimes pet perimeters extend all the way to the edge of the road. So we might veer away from an excited or seemingly agitated animal.
12. Puddles – Splish-splash, I was taking a run. Wouldn’t you rather step around a puddle than in it? Ask any runner about cranking out miles in soaked sneakers.
13. Ruts – Unkept road shoulders or areas of soft, soggy ground can trip up runners. That puts us in drivers’ path.
14. Tall or thick vegetation – Can you say, “Ticks”? If you’ve ever found an embedded tick after walking or running through unmowed grass or woodsy areas, you get the picture.
15. Toys and bikes – I’m still surprised to see these left along roadways, unless it’s bulk pick-up day.
16. Trash – Whether dumpsters or piles of discards, these send runners sideways to avoid tripping or other surprises.

 Generally, runners do our best to stay out of harm’s way. Most of us are not deliberately trying to interfere with traffic. But sometimes we have to shift our paths a bit.

 Sure, it’s courteous and safer for runners to go in single file, if we’re running along a road. But we still may step into the street, if the shoulder sports hazards. And, of course, runners are supposed to go against traffic, unlike bicyclists and those in/on other wheeled vehicles. It helps when we can see vehicles coming in our direction. But we need drivers to look out for us as well. (Dare I launch into a diatribe about texting and inattentive driving?)

 Maybe that’s why many runners choose to log their miles on trails, rather than roads, whenever possible. Some even stick to walking/biking paths or even sidewalks.

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Image/s: Public domain photo

 

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The worst-run race I ever experienced ... and why

  But first, full disclosure. I’m not actually gonna tell you which race it was. Not worth the litigation exposure.

 Any runner who has done more than a few races can tell stories of the best and worst run events. Be they 5Ks, 10Ks, half marathons, full marathons, or ultras, each race has a story.

 

This is not that race.

 

What lessons can be learned from the worst of all races?

 A few years ago, I splurged on a fancy themed destination half marathon, starting and finishing on an historic resort property. The website was flashy. The swag looked swell. The course photos were scenic. And a friend was an enthusiastic race ambassador. So I signed up.

 Oh, boy. Was I in for a surprise or what?

1. The entry fees were higher than most major races. This might have been OK, if the race was aimed at benefiting some worthy charity. But nope. It was all for-profit.
2. The race expo was miniature, despite big hype beforehand. Basically, the only exhibitors were the race company, the pacer organization, and a couple of referral/multi-level marketing (read: pyramid) sellers hawking scents and soaps and such. There wasn’t a running-related vendor in sight.
3. The swag tees were flimsy and cheap. To make matters worse, several runners didn’t receive the sizes they ordered. And for those who did, the fit wasn’t as expected.
4. The race map was generic with no race info. The race company had simply copied the resort’s publicity map. No race directions, course routes, or other relevant information was added.
5. The location wasn’t all it was advertised to be. Who knew the pretty lakefront locale would be overcome by lake algae, with wave ripples sending sludge and foam along the shoreline running path?
6. Parking was very limited. Runners who opted not to stay as guests at the resort property had to park along the edge of a busy, curvy county highway and hoof it to the race location. They also neglected to arrange for shuttling relay runners to the midpoint. (I didn’t do the relay, but I heard this was a real quagmire.)
7. They had no PA system for the start (or finish). This led to some confusion, as mid-to-back-of-pack runners could not even hear the start. And it was a good thing runners knew the national anthem by heart, even if we couldn’t find the flag anywhere around.
8. The course roads were open. Ever run a half marathon on the narrow or non-existent shoulder of a county highway? (Remember what I said about runners having to park out there too?) OK, some of the course traced a running path, but after the first mile or so, the course hit the roads. And so did the traffic.
   
9. No split clocks on the course. Hey, they barely even had directional signs. And that’s only if you count chalk arrows on the ground at various turns. (And don’t get me started about the total lack of course marshals to direct runners and vehicular traffic.)
10. What? Only two aid stops for a half marathon? And all they offered was water -- lukewarm water on a hot summer morning.
11. The final stretch ran across loose gravel and the resort’s lawn. Tired runners trudged through bumpy terrain to reach the finish line. Smile for the cameras, folks! And don't step on those flower beds. Just leap over them.
    
12. The finish line ran out of waters before half of the field finished. Who counted the registrants and then planned the purchase of finisher water bottles?
13. The post-race breakfast ran out of food. The race promotional materials highlighted the fancy eggs Benedict and bacon breakfast. Photos displayed tables of colorful fresh fruit, elegant pastries, and assorted giant cookies. But anyone crossing the finish line after the first 100 runners or so had to settle for a paper cup of warm water and a granola bar.
14. One bartender was expected to serve hundreds of runners at the after-party. Mimosas for everyone! Well, only those who got there first or stood in a line that wrapped around the whole crowd.
15. The race organization became my permanent pen pal after the event. Despite many unsubscribe requests on my part, they continue to flood my email address with announcements for this event and others they hold in various destinations. I think I will pass.

 

What were the pluses?

 They had fabulous pacers (actually a different company) and really spiffy finisher medals. And my friend (the race ambassador) gave me a 10% discount code on the event.

 Was that enough?

 

Related Items:

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Image/s: National Parks Race - public domain photo

 

Feel free to follow Runderdog on Twitter, as well as Run Run Run in Wisconsin and Northern Illinois (Runderdog Runs the Midwest) on Facebook. Please visit my Amazon author page as well.

Sciatica is a shocking show-stopper for runners

 

Ever step on a high-voltage cable? Don’t even think about it.

 That’s sort of what sciatica (sciatic nerve pain) feels like. At least, that’s my own best estimate.

 It’s crazy-painful. Like many runners or other athletic types, I’ve broken plenty of bones. I’ve had stitches in several spots. I’ve had a frozen shoulder, a collapsed lung, and a host of other injuries – not to mention chronic migraines.

None of those comes close to the agony of sciatica.

Sufferers have described sciatica as aching, burning, sharp jab, or stabbing pain. It often plagues pregnant women (when the baby’s weight adds pressure to the lower back), as well as older folks who spend a lot of time sitting. But active folks can have it too.

 If you’ve ever lived through this ordeal, you’re already nodding your head. (That might be the only thing that doesn’t hurt with sciatic pain. Or nearly so.)

 Wish I had a heroic story to go with this injury. The truth is, I was pulling out a too-big and too-deeply-rooted plant in my garden on the first really lovely spring day of the year.

You know how the story goes.

 Immediately, I felt something go wrong in my lower back. Then I could hardly stand to my feet for a while. Soon, the high-voltage torture ran from the small of my back all the way down one leg. Fire gripped that hip, those glutes, that hamstring, the back of that knee, that calf, that ankle, and that foot.

 Soon, the foot went pins-and-needles and then numb. For nearly a month, that foot alternated between pins-and-needles and numb. I couldn’t trust that ankle while walking. (Forget about running for a while. More on that below.)

 An x-ray showed only a 23-year-old compression fracture. My primary care physician quickly tagged that as the cause of my sciatic pain. 

Um, not exactly. 

There’s like a 6-inch distance between that spot and the onset of sciatica. My chiropractor, physical therapist, and neurologist begged to differ with the PCP, pointing directly to a lower vertebral spot (right smack at L-4). Classic sciatica.

Did I mention insurance won't cover an MRI till after at least a month of physical therapy?

Ten weeks later, I’m just barely coming out of the woods on this thing.

 

What is sciatica?

 The sciatic nerve is the biggest (largest and longest) nerve in the human body. It runs from the lower part of the spine all the way (on each side) past the hip, buttocks, thigh, calf, ankle and foot. It ends by the big toe. It’s approximately 2 cm (almost an inch) in diameter at its widest spot. That’s a lot of nerve!

 Sciatica occurs when the sciatic nerve is pinched or compressed, usually by a bulging or herniated disc between two vertebrae (often L-3 and L-4). And it’s a whopper.

What does sciatica mean to a runner?

 Running is a no-go till it subsides. People try, but pounding the pavement isn’t exactly what the doctor ordered. (Walking is good. More on that in a minute.)

 Lifting is a non-starter. I was instructed to forgo any exercises with weights and to steer clear of anything over 10 pounds in daily life. In our house, that meant someone else has to tote the 50-pound bag of dog food into the house.

 Yoga is a mixed bag with sciatica. Some yoga stretches can be helpful, but twisting can make it worse – much worse.

 Sitting is out of the question for a while. That rules out deskwork (unless you stand up for it), and biking is not an option (especially trail biking or bumpy road biking). Don’t mention horseback riding or motorcycling for a couple months.

 Sleeping is a stretch. Many sciatica sufferers can sleep on their backs. Not so for me. The only way I’ve caught any Z’s has been on my stomach. Side-sleeping is starting to become an option, but only on the good (non-sciatica) side.

 Standing can be challenging, especially after a few minutes. Walking is a bit better and sometimes helps to alleviate some of the sciatica stiffness, as long as you don’t go too far. For two months, I had to force myself to get up and walk at least a mile or two (wearing compression socks and a lumbar support belt with an ice pack at first), just to push back the pain of trying to be still (or adjust painful positions) overnight. 

And if you have MS or another chronic medical condition (such as an autoimmune disease), guess what ongoing sciatic pain (and all that lack of sleep) can do. That’s right. It can trigger a flare-up/exacerbation.

  Doctors may suggest steroids (either orally or by injection into the affected area of the back), physical therapy, back surgery, or any combination of these. And maybe massage.

 For me, the answer has been a combination of chiropractic adjustments (first twice a week, but then weekly), added to physical therapy (on a similar schedule). It’s a long struggle, but it eventually helped.

 In the meantime, I missed a bunch of races. I’ve skipped a lot of cardio and strength training sessions at the gym. I’ve done a lot more walking than running.

 But I’m coming back.

Related Items:

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·        Mid-season knee injury puts a crimp in marathon training

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·        Sick days are setbacks for runners!

 

 

Image/s: Public domain photo by WolfBlur - Pixabay

 

Feel free to follow Runderdog on Twitter, as well as Run Run Run in Wisconsin and Northern Illinois (Runderdog Runs the Midwest) on Facebook. Please visit my Amazon author page as well.