Crescent City Classic: More Of A Fun Than Serious Race For Me This Year

Here's how the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper photographed the start of today's 20,000-runner Crescent City Classic 10K race. Do you see me there? ;-)

I suppose it's all how you look at it.

Three weeks ago I was limping with a Grade II Right Calf strain, threatening to keep me from running today's Crescent City Classic - not my longest race at only 10K, but my favorite race of the year because of the no-other-race-like-it, carnival-like atmosphere. I wrote about my injury here.

I took a full two weeks off from running hoping it would heal on its own. It got somewhat better, but it didn't heal completely.

I made it through three runs this week just to get some blood flowing through my legs and hoping that I wouldn't re-injure myself.

Well, I made it through the race today, but the lack of recent running and the tenderness of my hurt calf showed. I was hoping I could still run something around 45 minutes (7:15 per mile). In fact, I was on pace for that through the first two miles, but as I felt the tenderness growing in the third mile I couldn't maintain it.

For miles 4, 5, and 6.2, I had to drop to about 8 minutes per mile finishing around a disappointing 48 minutes (7:44 per mile average). I was afraid to push it to a painful re-injury so I just maintained that 8-minute pace to the end.

I know, I know. I should be happy I was able to participate at all. And I am.

But since going vegan in May '08, every race I've run has been a PR (personal record) or very close to it, and with no different training than I had ever done. A month ago I had high hopes for this, my first 10K race since then, but instead this one broke the streak.

With the disgustingly sweltering New Orleans summer heat and humidity coming soon, I won't be able to do any fun long runs for quite awhile. That's probably a good thing as it will let me heal. And as area races soon dwindle down to 5K, 3 miles, and during the worst months, just 2 miles, I'll still have some fun times ahead.

Several people have suggested over the past three weeks I look at taking up biking. It's low-impact, easier from an endurance standpoint, and uses different muscles to allow for healthy cross training. New Orleans had a Half-Ironman Triathlon (swim, bike, run) last week. I suppose Triathlons, or more likely for me, Duathlons (run, bike, run) are things to think about for the future.

I guess I'd need to get some kind of road bike though, huh? Well, we'll see.

Running Injured

I have to vent.

You may have noticed in my profile that I'm a long-distance runner. I run the New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon or Half-Marathon every year. I have also run the 26.2-mile distance in other states as well. Here's a picture around Mile 7 from this year's race in February.

But the biggest race (in terms of number of runners and the excitement generated) I run each year is the Crescent City Classic, a 10K race in New Orleans. At its peak it had nearly 30,000 runners, but post-Katrina it's about 17,500.

The only race I have run with more runners was the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC, which had about 29,000 entrants.

I've never made the top 500 finishers in the CCC, which would get my name in the newspaper and win a free race poster. My best finish was last year when I came in 628th.

But since I went vegan in May 2008, all of my race times have improved. I don't think that's coincidental at all.

I very nearly set a PR (personal record) in a 5K race in November while qualifying for a forward spot in the CCC. It would have been a PR if I hadn't run into a truck - yes, a parked truck. Don't ask.

The Half-Marathon in the picture above was the second fastest Half-Marathon I ever ran, second only to the first half of my fastest full Marathon ever, which was a decade earlier. In short, I've been cooking since going vegan.

With the Crescent City Classic just three weeks away, I reinjured both strained calves today that had semi-healed, but lingered for awhile now.

It all started about six weeks ago with my attempt to refine my running form biomechanically. Without knowing what I was doing I strained my calves. Since I realized what I did wrong, I have corrected my form and taken it easy with more rest days, massages, etc. The soreness never went away completely, but I was managing.

Unfortunately, I should have just shut it down and let it totally heal. I have had to cut my last two runs short because of extremely sharp pains - first in my left calf three days ago (followed by a couple of off days to let it rest), and then in my right calf today.

I'm hoping that if I have to give it two weeks rest, I can heal enough to let me get a couple of training runs in before the race. Even then I certainly won't be at my best.

I know - if I can't do it there's always next year. But it's so frustrating.