Decades on the road

Last Monday, while on the finishing stretch of a morning 10k run, my second at 66 years old, a motorcycle rider slowly drove beside me, the driver asking me how old I was. He was somewhere between his mid-20's and early 30's by my estimate. Smiling, I told him I was 66 years old. He quipped back: "Bata pa ko gadagan ka na, sir, ba. Lig-on kaayo. (I've seen you running since I was young, sir. Such endurance)."

I was perhaps in my mid- to late-20's when I started running, and have gone on since that time in the mid-80's, except for a couple of years or so that I dabbled more in cycling and run much less. I have been running since my return sometime in 2005-2006.

Many times, commuting on a tricycle when I came home from the city where I worked for about 5 years or so, the driver would ask if I still ran, and tell me how I have been a common sight running along the highway most mornings. Not seeing me on my usual early morning jaunts at that time pethaps made them ask: "What the hell happened to that running guy?"

I can only smile thinking about it.

Other runners I have run with when I started, most of them younger than me, have stopped running. I have run with many others who have picked up the habit over the years. I don't see many of them on the road nowadays. The few that still do seem to be moving faster than me now, but many more have stopped.  My times have slowed down over the years. My 45-minute 10k runs when I was in my mid-50's are now done in over an hour, closer to 2 hours in fact. But I am thankful I can still do it. I can still run. Not many my age here do that.

Now that I have retired from work, and have more time to run and ride, I am doubly grateful. I am blessed, and I will continue to make my runs and my rides my songs of praise. 

1987 (?) in my early 30's.
Running a lap around the North Cotabato Provincial Capitol dirt track
to finish a 21k race during the province's anniversary celebration that year. 

1999 at 44.
Running to the finish of the 16th Davao Finisher's Marathon 26k run.

2000 at 45.

Crossing the finish of the 17th DFM. 

I did a repeat of the previous year's 26k run.

2010 at 55 years old.
At the finish of the 27th Davao Finishers' Marathon 42k.
My official race time: 

4:23:16.

2011
Sprinting to the finish of the 28th Davao Finisher's Marathon 42K.
My official time: 3:52:21,
good for 10th among male finishers.
I was 56 years old.

Reality bites again

 

This is not a post about running; it is a post about NOT running and the frustration that goes with it.

At 65, my body is definitely not what it used to be. I logged what was perhaps the best marathon time I ever ran close to ten years ago when I was 55 one a tough hilly course, a sub-4-hour effort - 3:52:21, which had me break into the list of top ten male finishers. I ran 6 days out of a week's 7 back then, logging an average of 10 kilometers a day and doing 15k's and half-marathon distances on weekends. It seems those days are long gone, simply memories etched in ink on the pages of my logs and in posts on this blog. I do not think they can happen again, though I wish they would.

Since I started running again after the lockdown restrictions last years were lifted, I have been averaging 7 minutes and a half pace per kilometer when I used to do 5 to 5 and a half minutes on average. The distances I ran became shorter, the runs less frequent - 5 days in the week, at times just 4. But even as the mileage dropped, it made itself felt: the bothersome twinge, which at times become immobilizing pain.

Last January, while going for a 10k, I suddenly felt a pain in my left buttock and was forced to stop before I could even hit halfway of the 5k mark. Sciatica aggravated, I thought. I have been feeling some twinge in the sciatic area for a while now, but this was something else. There was a stabbing pain with every step of my left leg; I had no other option but to walk all the way back home.

I tried to run again after resting for a week, but the pain was still there. After several days of rest and stretching routines, it felt better so I tried to do a 2-kilometer jog-walk, walking and jogging for a kilometer and jogging the other kilometer back home. I reminded myself patience pays and to just trust the process.

Over the next few days, I upped my running distance from 2 to 3 and then 5 kilometers. I also graduated from jog-walk combinations to full jogs, all untimed, all slow. In the weeks that followed I was able to log 15, 20 and 25 kilometers of weekly total mileage. I was somewhat elated, though I wished I could go faster. I told myself good things take time.

It seems I may have gone back running too early.

An out-of-town engagement gave me additional rest days which I thought would mean better running when I got back to it again. To my frustration, it was not to be. On May 29, while out for a 6k run, a near-stumble seemed to have over-stretched my butt and thigh muscles again and I was back to finding running a bit bothersome again. this time it caused a pain in the groin area. My planned 6k became a cumbersome 2k jog-walk. 

I am back to square one again, frustrated, but I guess I can blame no one but myself for being the impatient, stubborn old dog that I am. 

A lot of physical changes happen to the human body as we grow older. It does not happen overnight but as time moves on, we feel the effects. I guess one feels more of it at 65 than at 55. Still, at 65, I believe I still have the capacity to run well. It is just a matter of being able to adjust, come up with a routine that is best suited for my age and ability. I am still looking for that. 

Or am I just fooling myself into believing I still have it in me to come up with good runs, good distances, good times?

Frustrated as I may be with what has been happening to me lately, I definitely do not want to give up; not now, not for this stubborn old dog. 

A better year? Hopefully...

A better year? Hopefully...

With the coronavirus pandemic and everything that came with it, I do not think anyone will call 2020 a great year.

It caused lockdowns which affected business, schools, even sports and leisure activities. Plans were waylaid by the pandemic for many. I was looking ahead to running a marathon again this December and maybe a half before that. But this was not to be. The pandemic happened and the restrictions on movement came with the varying degrees of quarantine imposed by the government. Simply put, no running for close to two months.

Even now, there are no races for the running masses. Events are limited to elites and with limited audiences as well. The recent Hakone Ekiden, a big event in Japan, was held on almost empty streets. Thousands used to line the streets to watch the much-awaited long-distance relay race from Tokyo to Hakone and back.

Looking back, I closed 2020 with a 200-kilometer total mileage for December. Since after the restrictions were lifted in May, I logged 748 kilometers until the end of the year. I put in 392 kilometers between January 2 and the start of the lockdowns in March. Despite the close to two months of not running, that's still 1,140 kilometers put in for the year. Not bad, I suppose.

My retirement from work has given me more time for running. I don't run as fast or as long as I did but at 65 years old, to still be able to put in 200 kilometers in a month is something. So, I'd say it's still a fairly good year overall. Like most, I look forward to a better 2021. I hope to run better. Log faster times, longer distances, and be able to race for real again. 

To start off my running this year, I did a slow 10k this morning. It was cold and there was a slight shower. I ran for a little more than an hour. Not bad for a first run.  

My playground awaits!