A lot has happened in the past year but I will just give a summary of our races and travels. After a great fall and winter of training I tweaked a hamstring in the middle of May so I could not run the big Elizabeth River Run. In fact, I was in PT for 4 months doing stretching exercises, foam rolling, heat, ice and help from a sports medicine doctor. I got to spend some quality time with my favorite PT, Alex at In Motion Physical Therapy. I started back very slowly in the beginning of September with pool running, the elliptical machine, and riding the bicycle.
It is true what they say that as you age the injuries come faster and take a lot longer to heal! Life is not fair that’s for sure.
I am afraid to do anything resembling speed work, hill training, or to increase my mileage. As luck would have it I tweaked it again in December during a 10K on a cold, windy day so it is back to rest and stretching! Yippee! I am almost certain it is sciatica and that is no fun.
I want to give a huge “shout out” to our good friends, sponsors, gurus, and all around good guys from Running Etc. in Norfolk and Virginia Beach. Notice we wear their clothing at almost every event and send customers to them on a regular basis. Mike Robinson, Pam Robinson, John Lomogda, Doug Dugroo, Drew Midland, Carol, Walt, Vince, Becky Bean, Jonathan Harris, and Shannon are all so professional and know their stuff. We are so fortunate to be Ambassadors of the best running store ever!
I was a “Group Leader”/ Pacer on Saturday mornings for the J&A Training Team from January through the middle of March so I did not get to participate in races until April. This is Debbie and I before the Run For The Animals 10K in Onancock, Virginia on April 10th.
Debbie and I each won our age group. We love this race on the Eastern Shore especially since it benefits the animals throughout the area. We love to stay at the Spinning Wheel B&B with hosts Tom and Linda.
In April I ran the Bunny Hop 5K in Old Town Portsmouth, Virginia. This is my old buddy and competitor Bill Hart in the blue singlet above. It is amazing how he has stayed injury free over the years and continues to run so well! Bill was just elected into the Tidewater Striders Hall of Fame for the Class of 2017!
One of the highlights of the year was getting to visit our daughter Brittany and her husband Josh in beautiful Boulder, Colorado in June. The weather was perfect, 50s for the low and 70s in the daytime. Britt took us to a different trail everyday and we got to sport our Running Etc. clothing.
On Halloween weekend we ran the Bertie County, NC Spooktacular 5K in Windsor, NC. This town was hit hard by flooding the week before but it was cleaned up in time for the run. We formed a team and won the team title. It was Team Mallery from the owners of the B&B in town called the Inn at Gray’s Landing. Larry Mallery came all the way from Los Angeles to win his age group and beat me. The girl on the left is a local school teacher, Taylor Snyder. I highly recommend this race in a quaint town in eastern North Carolina.
In November Debbie and I ran the Redneck Romp 5K in Wachapreague, Virginia on the Eastern Shore. I wore this retro Tidewaters Striders singlet. In the pic above are our new friends and neighbors, Rachel and Bryce Thummel.
Debbie is kicking it in and winning her age group in the Redneck Romp 5K. She has been amazing since she started running just over 3 years ago!
In December we ran the Ward’s Corner 10K in the beautiful neighborhoods near the Ward’s Corner section of Norfolk. Both of us got 2nd place in our age group. I made the local newspaper (in the neon shorts) my favorite color!
We are looking forward to a great 2017 and plan to take more trips and spend more time with our grandson.
See you on the roads and Happy Holidays!
DOUBLE HIP RUNNER 