Bloomsday 2017

May 17, 2017May 17, 2017 Hip Brother Tom

This year’s Bloomsday is in the books. With a finish of 50:36 for this 12k course (7.46 Miles), this was by no means my fastest race, but considering the issues I had with my achilles, it was one of the most rewarding. After my rim-to-rim run through the Grand Canyon in October 2016, my achilles tendon on my left leg tightened up on me. Numerous attempts at running after a few days rest caused me to injure it more. So I resigned myself to the Zero Runner and pool running, trying to stay away from any real outside running. The trick worked for the most part. After the achilles started feeling normal again in mid-march, I battled other injuries related to trying to “catch-up” with my training in time for Bloomsday. From calf strains to hammy tightness, it was a constant battle to get quality miles in. So when Bloomsday rolled around, I was thinking I would be happy to get 7 minute miles in and hopefully break 53:00 minutes. I thought that goal was appropriate given the fact that “Cemetary Hill” and the dreaded “Doomsday Hill” stood in my way. When I finished and the clock showed 50:36, I couldn’t have been more relieved. 6:46 pace for the race. I’ll take it…..today. Tomorrow is another story….I am back to training.

Speaking of training, this result is just another justification for the zero runner. This zero impact trainer got me through those tough months when the achilles just wouldn’t loosen up. I have owned the machine for 11 months and just a month ago, I finally went hands free. This is just a great machine for training and preserving your body. Here is a little video of me training on it. It truly is an awesome machine for injury prevention.

This topic has 8 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 6 months ago by Felicity.

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- May 17, 2017 at 6:46 am #10683
  Hip Brother Tom
  Keymaster
  This year’s Bloomsday is in the books. With a finish of 50:36 for this 12k course (7.46 Miles), this was by no means my fastest race, but considering
  [See the full post at: Bloomsday 2017]
- May 17, 2017 at 10:03 am #10685
  bkohut
  Participant
  Great race Tom and congrats on the time! The zero runner is very cool.. Look Ma.. No Hands! I need to try one of those… I have “run” hands free on the elliptical but clearly not the same thing.
- May 17, 2017 at 10:43 am #10686
  Rusty Rathburn
  Participant
  I still have not fully mastered the hands free on the zero runner. Looks like I need to work on it.
  Sorry about your injuries. Seems like everyone I know is getting injured these days. However I think that’s the norm for us 50+ people.
- May 17, 2017 at 1:35 pm #10688
  Hip Brother Tom
  Keymaster
  Admittedly, it takes a little getting used to….kind of like running after a hip replacement. 😉
- May 17, 2017 at 1:36 pm #10689
  Hip Brother Tom
  Keymaster
  You’ll get there Rusty. Like I said, I finally attempted it at around 9 months.
- May 23, 2017 at 6:11 pm #10691
  Dave Whiteside
  Participant
  Congrats on your race time Tom, very impressive for anyone, not to mention someone who’s been injured and had a hip replacement. I know you work hard for this, both running and planning it. I’m sure it was a great success. I remember the hills, they were not fun, at least during the race. Leading from the front again, thanks for all you do.
- June 2, 2017 at 1:24 am #10693
  Felicity
  Participant
  Well done Tom, fantastic time you did especially after your injuries.
- June 2, 2017 at 1:25 am #10695
  Felicity
  Participant
  I still battle my way around this site. Can someone advise me the quickest way to post a new comment.
- June 2, 2017 at 1:26 am #10697
  Felicity
  Participant
  Okay,here’s my race report at long last ( I can hear Dave Whiteside saying,not before time!!)
  As a family of runners,well mostly,we decided mid 2016 to run Two Oceans ultra marathon and 21km which is held in Cape Town on Easter Saturday. Training was going well with a few hiccups in between but one by one younger family members pulled out due to work commitments until there were 3. Myself,my husband and oldest daughter. Husband and I elected to do the 21km whilst I had passed the mantle of running the 56km to my daughter deciding that perhaps an ultra was not the best way to treat 2 hip replacements ?( I have done 14 of them). Good Friday dawned & we were down to 2 runners,husband having gone down with a severe throat infection ?.
  Race day was brilliant,temperature at the start was a tad on the chilly side for me at 10C. I had a blast of a run from start to finish even though I was extremely nervous as I knew what major hills lay ahead. I finished strong even though I was venting my frustration at the lack of my speed. My finishing time was 2:38 which is extremely slow for me as I’d normally do a half marathon in 1:40. I’m convinced that my surgeon took out my speed motor when he replaced my hips ?. For me,it’s very frustrating but at the end of the day I know I should be grateful that I’m still on the road & able to run.
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