View Full Version : Race Report - Sort of - Steamboat Springs Marathon
Race Report - Sort of - Steamboat Springs Marathon
I've included a long and short report, so those of you with
little time can get the gist, and those of you that like to
savor the full story can get that too.
Short Story:
Lovely morning on a lovely course, 8100' ft start above
Steamboat Springs in Colorado. First four miles - perfect.
Five and six - a little fast but quite downhill. Seven-
Sharp pains in foot begin. Try stretching foot, modifying
gait, slowing down some, foot pain worse. Gimping through
eight and nine, next pit stop is at ten. Having to walk last
mile, foot hurting now while walking. Plopped down at medic
tent and get ride back with a few others. :-(
Long Story:
It was a truly gorgeous morning, low 40's, some clouds.
Claude and I caught the buses a short walk from our motel
room. Claude was ran the half-marathon. Nice bus ride up a
winding road, with green everywhere. I was in the front seat
and saw the 4 deer and 2 foxes that crossed the road right
in front of the bus. We were dropped off at Hahn's Peak, an
old west mining town-turned tourist area (though small).
Line of porta-potties with few users.(!) Took care of that
then just walked around and looked. Views of snow-capped
peaks, green meadows, lake. Wow. I was just a teensy bit
cold despite having on sweats and a jacket.
Time for the race to start! I'd done a little stretching,
but that was all. I intended to go out quite slowly the
first mile and use that as my warm-up. I took off all the
extraneous clothing and put it into the drop bag and dropped
it to the bus, leaving only a grabage bag and gloves over
the usual running togs. We lined up across the road (about
500 of us). Bang! Off we shuffled. Surprisingly, few took
off fast, most took off quite slowly. I had planned to try
for an 8:35 pace, with the first four slow and making up
some of the time on the steep downhills later. One of my big
bugaboos is starting marathons too fast, so this time, slow!
And I did. The first mile came at 9:30. I could tell I was
at 8100' elevation, I was breathing harder than normal for
such a pace, but it was fine. I felt really good and
positive. The bag came off after the first mile, and the
gloves at mile 2. Though it was cold, there was a lot of
humidity, so it felt warmer than it really was. In the first
four miles the race has two small downs and two small ups.
Second mile was 8:55 (good!), third 8:50 (good!), and fourth
8:46 (good!). Then we began a steep dwonhill section, where
I ran 8:01 and
8:04, feeling fine. "Made up a little time" I thought, and
settled in to a nice 8:30-ish pace on the now slight
downhill, which would continue to roll up and down, though
going overall down, until mile 20.
About midway into mile 7, I started getting *sharp* pains
in the heel of the left foot. I stopped and wiggled,
stretched, etc the area to see if I could make it stop. It
did, somewhat. So I started out again, and about 5 strides
later it started up again. Only worse. I slowed 'way down.
That helped some, the pain was less intense, but now every
stride. Tried some gait modifications to see if any of
those helped and no dice there. I kept plodding along,
trying things through mile 8, and at mile 9 started to
*have to* walk. Every time I tried to run it started up
with sharp, piercing pains. I started getting some pain in
the opposite knee. It was starting to dawn on me that
perhaps going on was a *bad idea*. Picture a loud Luke
Skywalker voice screaming "It's just Impossible!!" I
thought about the fact that if I kept going I'd also screw
up my opposite knee, and my knees are actually a strong
point. I went through all the stages - shock, anger,
denial, acceptance etc, and hobbled over to the med car at
mile 10 and plopped down in his chair.
Took off the shoe and massaged the foot, it was very sore at
the base of the heel where the fascia connects to the heel
bone. Know what that means. So I decided to DNF (though
truthfully, I waited awhile there to see if my foot "got
better" from the rest. yeah, I'm a runner...) So I took the
ride down and surprised Claude at the finish. He'd finished
the half and had stopped by the room and gotten all our
stuff (we had a very tight schedule to get back to the
Denver airport). He'd PR'd on the half and I was Very happy
for him, at least one of us had had a good run of it!
Maybe I'll have to try this one again someday. If I'd run my
planned pace I would have placed in my age group!! But we in
the "sag wagon" all commiserated and worked through the
feelings of being wimps for dropping out, though all of us
were injured and it was really smart of us to. It was funny
we all thought the *other's* injuries were serious and
merited DNF, while our own weren't. I guess it's just the
mindset we all have.
Now I'll pull my bike down and do that for a few weeks. I
want this to heal quickly and well, and not drag on like the
last one I had. I'll go get me an ice pack and pop an
ibuprofen.....
Thanks for listening!
Teresa, back in AZ
Sounds like a tough day, though you have the attitude to
make the best of it. Sorry for you DNF, but glad you didn't
do more damage (hopefully, anyway!)
Hang in there and enjoy the riding. It can be a nice
diversion from pounding the pavement...
Mike C
>From: Teresa Bippert-Plymate teresa@as.arizona.edu
>I've included a long and short report, so those of you with
>little time can get the gist, and those of you that like to
>savor the full story can get that too.
>
>Short Story:
>
>Lovely morning on a lovely course, 8100' ft start above
>Steamboat Springs in Colorado. First four miles - perfect.
>Five and six - a little fast but quite downhill. Seven-
>Sharp pains in foot begin. Try stretching foot, modifying
>gait, slowing down some, foot pain worse. Gimping through
>eight and nine, next pit stop is at ten. Having to walk
>last mile, foot hurting now while walking. Plopped down at
>medic tent and get ride back with a few others. :-(
>
>Long Story:
>
>It was a truly gorgeous morning, low 40's, some clouds.
>Claude and I caught the buses a short walk from our motel
>room. Claude was ran the half-marathon. Nice bus ride up a
>winding road, with green everywhere. I was in the front
>seat and saw the 4 deer and 2 foxes that crossed the road
>right in front of the bus. We were dropped off at Hahn's
>Peak, an old west mining town-turned tourist area (though
>small). Line of porta-potties with few users.(!) Took care
>of that then just walked around and looked. Views of snow-
>capped peaks, green meadows, lake. Wow. I was just a teensy
>bit cold despite having on sweats and a jacket.
>
>Time for the race to start! I'd done a little stretching,
>but that was all. I intended to go out quite slowly the
>first mile and use that as my warm-up. I took off all the
>extraneous clothing and put it into the drop bag and
>dropped it to the bus, leaving only a grabage bag and
>gloves over the usual running togs. We lined up across the
>road (about 500 of us). Bang! Off we shuffled.
>Surprisingly, few took off fast, most took off quite
>slowly. I had planned to try for an 8:35 pace, with the
>first four slow and making up some of the time on the steep
>downhills later. One of my big bugaboos is starting
>marathons too fast, so this time, slow!
>
>And I did. The first mile came at 9:30. I could tell I was
>at 8100' elevation, I was breathing harder than normal for
>such a pace, but it was fine. I felt really good and
>positive. The bag came off after the first mile, and the
>gloves at mile 2. Though it was cold, there was a lot of
>humidity, so it felt warmer than it really was. In the
>first four miles the race has two small downs and two small
>ups. Second mile was 8:55 (good!), third 8:50 (good!), and
>fourth 8:46 (good!). Then we began a steep dwonhill
>section, where I ran 8:01 and
>8:04, feeling fine. "Made up a little time" I thought, and
> settled in to a nice 8:30-ish pace on the now slight
> downhill, which would continue to roll up and down,
> though going overall down, until mile 20.
>
>About midway into mile 7, I started getting *sharp* pains
>in the heel of the left foot. I stopped and wiggled,
>stretched, etc the area to see if I could make it stop. It
>did, somewhat. So I started out again, and about 5 strides
>later it started up again. Only worse. I slowed 'way down.
>That helped some, the pain was less intense, but now every
>stride. Tried some gait modifications to see if any of
>those helped and no dice there. I kept plodding along,
>trying things through mile 8, and at mile 9 started to
>*have to* walk. Every time I tried to run it started up
>with sharp, piercing pains. I started getting some pain in
>the opposite knee. It was starting to dawn on me that
>perhaps going on was a *bad idea*. Picture a loud Luke
>Skywalker voice screaming "It's just Impossible!!" I
>thought about the fact that if I kept going I'd also screw
>up my opposite knee, and my knees are actually a strong
>point. I went through all the stages - shock, anger,
>denial, acceptance etc, and hobbled over to the med car at
>mile 10 and plopped down in his chair.
>
>Took off the shoe and massaged the foot, it was very sore
>at the base of the heel where the fascia connects to the
>heel bone. Know what that means. So I decided to DNF
>(though truthfully, I waited awhile there to see if my foot
>"got better" from the rest. yeah, I'm a runner...) So I
>took the ride down and surprised Claude at the finish. He'd
>finished the half and had stopped by the room and gotten
>all our stuff (we had a very tight schedule to get back to
>the Denver airport). He'd PR'd on the half and I was Very
>happy for him, at least one of us had had a good run of it!
>
>Maybe I'll have to try this one again someday. If I'd run
>my planned pace I would have placed in my age group!! But
>we in the "sag wagon" all commiserated and worked through
>the feelings of being wimps for dropping out, though all of
>us were injured and it was really smart of us to. It was
>funny we all thought the *other's* injuries were serious
>and merited DNF, while our own weren't. I guess it's just
>the mindset we all have.
>
>Now I'll pull my bike down and do that for a few weeks. I
>want this to heal quickly and well, and not drag on like
>the last one I had. I'll go get me an ice pack and pop an
>ibuprofen.....
>
>Thanks for listening!
>
>Teresa, back in AZ
>
>
>
>
In article <ca2b47$lij$1@oasis.ccit.arizona.edu>,
Teresa Bippert-Plymate <teresa@as.arizona.edu> wrote:
> I've included a long and short report, so those of you
> with little time can get the gist, and those of you that
> like to savor the full story can get that too.
>
> Short Story:
>
> Lovely morning on a lovely course, 8100' ft start above
> Steamboat Springs in Colorado. First four miles - perfect.
> Five and six - a little fast but quite downhill. Seven-
> Sharp pains in foot begin. Try stretching foot, modifying
> gait, slowing down some, foot pain worse. Gimping through
> eight and nine, next pit stop is at ten. Having to walk
> last mile, foot hurting now while walking. Plopped down at
> medic tent and get ride back with a few others. :-(
so sorry to hear about your foot woes preventing you from
finishing the race, Teresa. well, take care of it, cycle for
a while, and then leap back into the fray. and give it a go
again next year.
best of luck with the injury,
Cam
"Teresa Bippert-Plymate" <teresa@as.arizona.edu> wrote
in message
> I've included a long and short report, so those of you
> with little time can get the gist, and those of you that
> like to savor the full story can get that too.
Too bad about the injury, Teresa. The bike is a great
idea, though. I lost very little fitness during my appendix-
related layoff because of cross-training. I hope it
passes quickly!
cheers,
--
David (in Hamilton, ON) www.allfalldown.org "The most
insecure people are the ones you see putting other people
down constantly."
Teresa Bippert-Plymate <teresa@as.arizona.edu> wrote in news:ca2b47$lij$1
@oasis.ccit.arizona.edu:
> Took off the shoe and massaged the foot, it was very sore
> at the base of the heel where the fascia connects to the
> heel bone. Know what that means. So I decided to DNF
Sorry to hear that. You were smart to quit when you
did. During training did you have any inkling that this
could happen?
Phil M.
--
"I gotta go. You're killin' me."
Well, bummer :( Sorry to hear about your foot deciding to go
out on strike on you on the big day. You did the right thing
by baling when you did so you didn't risk farther injury. It
sounds like you've got a good idea what happened. Heal
quickly but soundly, so you can get back out there again.
> Maybe I'll have to try this one again someday.
Sounds like a keeper - great spot for a marathon and
organized enough to have sufficient porta-potties. Next year
you can experience the whole thing!
Dot
--
"Success is different things to different people" -Bernd
Heinrich in Racing the Antelope
Teresa - that's really tough.
After your consistent training and buildup it must be very
frustrating not to be able to finish.
I guess I was luckier. I had no problems finishing my last
marathon, but a month later when I was starting to get back,
I had foot problems -not PF... A few months later and I'm
still not back to running, but I have been doing a fair bit
of biking and pool-running.
I hope that you get over it quickly.
Anthony.
Hi, Teresa! I was sad to read about your DNF, but happy that
you stopped before getting seriously hurt. (So many people
enter marathons and then refuse to quit. I'm glad you had
the presence of mind to call it a day.)
And congrats to Claude!
Good luck with recovery, and the next race.
--
Brian P. Baresch Fort Worth, Texas, USA Professional editing
and proofreading
If you're going through hell, keep going. --Winston
Churchill
Thanks Mike. I'm *trying* to be upbeat about it. At least
I do have a really nice Bianchi I bought last year that
only has about 200 miles on it. Time to work her out! I
don't think I did too much more damage, it's sore today
but not bad.
Teresa in AZ
Mike Conway wrote:
> Sounds like a tough day, though you have the attitude to
> make the best of it. Sorry for you DNF, but glad you
> didn't do more damage (hopefully, anyway!)
>
> Hang in there and enjoy the riding. It can be a nice
> diversion from pounding the pavement...
>
> Mike C
Thanks, Cam. Yep, just thinking today about where I put the
trainer. Garage I think? I can put one bike on that for the
really hot days!
Teresa in AZ
onemarathon wrote:
> In article <ca2b47$lij$1@oasis.ccit.arizona.edu>, Teresa
> Bippert-Plymate <teresa@as.arizona.edu> wrote:
>>Short Story:
>>
>>Lovely morning on a lovely course, 8100' ft start above
>>Steamboat Springs in Colorado. First four miles - perfect.
>>Five and six - a little fast but quite downhill. Seven-
>>Sharp pains in foot begin. Try stretching foot, modifying
>>gait, slowing down some, foot pain worse. Gimping through
>>eight and nine, next pit stop is at ten. Having to walk
>>last mile, foot hurting now while walking. Plopped down at
>>medic tent and get ride back with a few others. :-(
>
>
>
> so sorry to hear about your foot woes preventing you from
> finishing the race, Teresa. well, take care of it, cycle
> for a while, and then leap back into the fray. and give it
> a go again next year.
>
> best of luck with the injury,
>
> Cam
Thanks, David. Glad to hear that it's an idea that's been
tried and worked for at least one rec.runner, as losing
fitness level is my greatest worry. (Though to be honest, I
usually cut back during the heat of the summer here anyway).
This time, though, I did catch it right away so hopefully it
won't drag on.
Teresa in AZ
SwStudio wrote:
> "Teresa Bippert-Plymate" <teresa@as.arizona.edu> wrote
> in message
>
>>I've included a long and short report, so those of you
>>with little time can get the gist, and those of you that
>>like to savor the full story can get that too.
>
>
> Too bad about the injury, Teresa. The bike is a great
> idea, though. I lost very little fitness during my appendix-
> related layoff because of cross-training. I hope it passes
> quickly!
>
> cheers,
Hi Phil- Yeah, I pulled it slightly about a month ago and
had been keeping an eye on it (had PF in the other foot for
about a year and a half). I ran my best-ever marathon with
that, and it didn't seem to bug it so I was hoping this foot
would be OK with it also. Not. I went into the marathon with
it lightly wrapped and with an ibuprofen in me. I have to
admit I was kind of surprised, the other foot never gave me
any really sharp pains like this one did. But today it
doesn't seem so bad. Could it have been a severe foot cramp,
maybe caused by the slight pull, I wonder???? Though it is
sore to palpate it at the heel/fascia junction. Oh well, ice
time again! (AT least it's summer!)
Teresa in AZ
Phil M. wrote:
> Teresa Bippert-Plymate <teresa@as.arizona.edu> wrote in
> news:ca2b47$lij$1 @oasis.ccit.arizona.edu:
>
>
>>Took off the shoe and massaged the foot, it was very sore
>>at the base of the heel where the fascia connects to the
>>heel bone. Know what that means. So I decided to DNF
>
>
> Sorry to hear that. You were smart to quit when you
> did. During training did you have any inkling that this
> could happen?
>
> Phil M.
Thanks Dot! I'm *already* starting to get twitchy about
doing something, so I put the bike on the trainer before
work this morning so I can ride after work. Ah well, there
are lots of marathons out there waiting yet! ;-)
Teresa in AZ
Dot wrote:
> Well, bummer :( Sorry to hear about your foot deciding to
> go out on strike on you on the big day. You did the right
> thing by baling when you did so you didn't risk farther
> injury. It sounds like you've got a good idea what
> happened. Heal quickly but soundly, so you can get back
> out there again.
>
>
>> Maybe I'll have to try this one again someday.
>
>
> Sounds like a keeper - great spot for a marathon and
> organized enough to have sufficient porta-potties. Next
> year you can experience the whole thing!
>
> Dot
Thanks, Anthony! Yeah, it was really hard to DNF. Hope
you're able to get back at running soon! I have noticed in
your reports that you haven't been able to run, bummer.
Though for me, at least, I've been through this with the
other foot and have a fair idea of what I should be doing to
make it happy now. ANd it's summer- so too hot to do too
much anyway...
Teresa n AZ
Anthony wrote:
> Teresa - that's really tough. After your consistent
> training and buildup it must be very frustrating not to be
> able to finish.
>
> I guess I was luckier. I had no problems finishing my last
> marathon, but a month later when I was starting to get
> back, I had foot problems -not PF... A few months later
> and I'm still not back to running, but I have been doing a
> fair bit of biking and pool-running.
>
> I hope that you get over it quickly.
>
> Anthony.
Thanks, Brian! I'll pass along the kudos to Claude, he did a
good job. It *was* hard to quit, I did try to think of any
way I could to finish, I'll admit. If we weren't rushed for
time to return to the airport I may well have tried to walk
it! ;-) But yeah, I'm glad I did decide to bail. I do think
it will heal faster now.
Teresa in AZ
Brian Baresch wrote:
> Hi, Teresa! I was sad to read about your DNF, but happy
> that you stopped before getting seriously hurt. (So many
> people enter marathons and then refuse to quit. I'm glad
> you had the presence of mind to call it a day.)
>
> And congrats to Claude!
>
> Good luck with recovery, and the next race.
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