NY Half Marathon: 1 hr 51 min

It has been nearly two years since I have been able to race without pain in my right heel. Probably due to carrying too much weight, losing my running form over the years and striking too hard on my heels and not enough stretching, the combined factors had resulted in some pretty severe plantar fasciitis. However, with some rest (no running for almost a year), combined with yoga, weight loss and changing my running style, I’m back out on the road again and running better than ever.

Today was the culmination of two long years of recovery from injury and, hopefully, the start of my return to long distance running… but differently than I had been running in the past.

At the end of my first year without running, I bought some of the Vibram Five Fingers barefoot “shoes,” which are like running in a pair of work gloves for your feet. Over a period of a few months, I learned how to run again on the treadmill, but now without landing so hard on my heels. The Vibram Five Fingers are the best way to start strengthening the foot, bringing it back to the naturally sturdy piece of running equipment we were born to use.

I also started taking yoga in June 2008, building up to five classes per week. This was all part of my plan to recover from the plantar fasciitis by strengthening my feet and also to begin incorporate both core work and balance with flexibility into my sport routine. The injury to my heel was on the first sign that my body was aging and I needed to do more through my fifties, sixties and seventies to keep the essential bits from falling apart as I continue to train and compete.

Another part of the success has been the shift to running in Newton lightweight Stability Trainer shoes, which are designed to absorb the shock of the footfall in the midfoot/forefoot, rather than traditional running shoes that are built up for heel-to-toe running. The problem is that we don’t run heel-to-toe unless our feet are wrapped up in these kind of shoes, like Nikes and Brooks and our feet aren’t built to handle the stress that we put on the heel in landing so hard over and over again. Now, after learning to run again in the Vibrams and appropriated shod in the Newtons, I’m running better than any time in the last ten years.

Today’s race was just perfect.

Mile	Time	HR Average
1	9:18	156
2	8:50	160
3	8:45	154
4	8:50	162
5	8:20	163
6	8:45	163
7	8:22	163
8	8:32	167
9	8:15	168
10	8:04	168
11	8:22	170
12	8:15	172
13	8:04	175
Finish 13.1	:55 (End time 1:51:41)	178

Nice negative splits throughout and redlining heart-rate.

Here are the NYRRC stats:

Last Name	First Name	Sex/ Age	Bib	Team	City	State	Country	Overall Place	Gender Place	Age Place	Net Time	Finish Time	Split Time	Split Time	Split Time	Pace/ Mile	AG Time	AG Gender Place	AG %
Goree	Langston	M56	8349		New York	NY	USA	3937	2726	61	1:51:39	1:51:39	0:54:43	1:20:30	1:46:44	08:32	1:33:42	1134	63.2

Going into the race, I had estimated my finish time to be 2:00, and had been seeded back in the pack, starting with more than eight thousand people in front of me many of who had either figured that they were going to run a lot faster than they did or I ran by them as I shaved nine minutes off of my predicted time. My finish position was 3937, so I must have run past about 4000 runners. But, one way or another, the entire race was spent working through the crowd (does it take much brainpower to figure that if you are going to run slowly or walk, to do it to the side of the road in a race??) My fastest miles mid-race were around miles nine and ten, running down 7th Avenue where the crowd spread out and I could really move along without having to worry about winding my way through clumps of slower runners.

My entry into the NY Marathon on 7 November 2010 is already guaranteed since I have delayed entry for the last two years due to injury. Hopefully in just 230 days, I’ll be ready for a nice fast day running through the five boroughs.

But, for today, I’m anticipating some very sore legs and planning to spend some hours in the recliner, watching some basketball and inhaling a few calories.