Back in Business

I'm happy to report that my training for the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge is back on!  Well, it was never really off, but for the last 10 days, I haven't run, which when you're training for a marathon, is a bit of a hindrance. It's been 10 days (well, actually 9 as I took a day off) of stationary bike riding.

But today, after an early visit to my orthopedic/sports medicine physician's assistant, he confirmed what I hoped he would confirm: the problem with my left foot was most likely not a stress fracture. Could be a variety of minor issues (key word "minor") and with regular ice, stretching, I can get back to the road, and with 86 days left to Marathon Day, that's a huge relief.  So here's what I've learned from a week off the road.

10. It only took me about 2 or 3 sessions on the bike to realize why I'm running a marathon and not riding in the Pan Mass Challenge. Bike riders will say that it's a lot harder to run 26.2 miles than it is to ride 190 miles in two days. I'm not sure about that. I can't even imagine riding 90-100 miles a day, for two days back to back.

9. Then again, I didn't think I could ride a bike for nearly two hours straight, but I did. Not saying it was fun but I did it.

8. One thing the stationary bike has over a treadmill? You can tweet from your iPhone on a stationary bike. Who knew?

7. 15 minutes, 1.7 miles on the treadmill. Best run ever? Maybe not, but after nine days of not running, tonight's tentative tiptoe on the treadmill sure felt like my best run. Ever since I left the doctor's office this morning, I had been looking forward to the treadmill tonight.

6. So the plan is 50% running this week leading up to an 8-miler next Sunday and if no problems, I'm back full tilt the following week, which means 16-18 miles two weeks from now. Bring it on.

5. Figures it's been relatively mild out this past week. Oh well, if it stays above 10 and the road's passable, I'll be out there.

4. The bike may be easy on the feet and knees, but it's a pain in the butt. Literally.

3. The running went on hiatus for a week, but the fundraising kept going. I officially went over the $4k mark this last week - 3 months to train, $6k left to raise.

2.  I always knew that running was a part of me, but this week proved that to me. The toughest thing about not running for the last week and a half wasn't doing the bike, or taking the week plus off running, it was the thought of possibly not running for 6-8 weeks.

1. My many thanks to everyone for their well wishes as I moped through this last week and a half. All those crossed fingers must've worked.

Happy running everyone.

My Toughest Week

As my training for the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge continues, this week the focus of my Sunday ramblings is, well, my left foot. I haven't run since Tuesday, a very comfortable 6+ mile run at about an 8:30/8:35 pace and that afternoon, my left foot starting hurting a bit. By the end of the evening, it was hurting a bit more and by Wednesday morning, I knew I wasn't going to be running for a little bit.

At this point, I'm still not sure whether it's a stress fracture or just a sprain but judging how well it's responded to rest (as in no running) and ibuprofen (by Thursday, I barely remembered that my foot was hurt), I'm hoping that it's just a sprain. A stress fracture would have me off the road until the end of February, which would still give me 7-8 weeks to get ready. If it's just a sprain, I'm hoping to be running in another week. Not ideal, but either way, with bike and elliptical work, I'll  just do my best to keep progressing until I can run again. We'll see an orthopedist on Friday and see where to go from there.

Needless to say, it's been a tough week. Some thoughts.

10.  I'm constantly reminded at how simultaneously fragile and resilient the body is; it didn't take much to shut me down, but then again, it didn't take long for my body to bounce back.

9. Let's here it for Vitamin I, as in ibuprofen. (Thanks Chris, I stole that from you.)

8.  Man, it's boring riding a stationary bike.

7. Thank you NPR for entertainment -- Car Talk and Wait Wait back to back cuts the boredom. . .  a little

6.  The trickiest part about riding the bike is trying to find out what the equivalent workout is. I have no idea how to translate xx miles at xx pace into minutes and levels on a bike. If anyone has a clue, let me know.

5.  Go donors! Officially over the $4k mark now, almost half way to the fundraising goal. That was an important milestone to pass this week. Thank you to everyone who contributed. Definitely brought it into perspective about why I'm doing this. Not to be too cliche here, but there are cancer patients out there who'd be thrilled to be able to ride a bike. If I can't run for six weeks, I'll figure it out.

4.  And then there's Haiti. Talk about perspective.

3.  One benefit about riding a bike? It's a lot easier to eat Gu on a stationary bike than it is when you're running.

2.  Even still, I'll take running -- on the streets, on a track, on a treadmill -- over a stationary bike ANY DAY.

1.  Think positive thoughts for next Friday. Here's hoping the orthopedist says, "Nah, not a stress fracture. Go ahead and run."

Happy Running!
-michael

Now we wait. It seems like i have a possible stress fracture or sprain of my left foot. If it's a stress fracture, then it's no running for six weeks. Not much I can do about that except hit the bike hard and get back out there when the foot heals.
I'll take it as a positive sign from the universe that both my nurse practioner and rad tech were marathon runners. I'm not going to let this setback stop me!

Let's keep that wind chill above zero, okay?

Another post. Another week of training for my Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge, and a very good one on both the running and the fundraising fronts. As the countdown to the 2010 Boston Marathon continues, here's this week's worth of thoughts and training updates.

• 14 miles in 15 degree weather on Sunday. Luckily, no serious wind. to speak of. The first 5 or so were at about 8:35-8:40 but slowed down for the last couple and ended at a respectable 2:02 which is about an 8:46 pace. Even if I ran the last 12 at 9 minutes, I'd still be under 4 hours. Next week will be a big test to see if I can hold the pace for 16 miles!
   
• Have to admit my most used iPhone app is The Weather Channel app. One click and I know what to wear on my morning run. If you know of any other good running-based apps, let me know.
  
• Speaking of which, 22 degrees is the forecast for tomorrow am and I'm thinking, "Good. It'll be warm." So, tell me, when did 22 degrees become warm??
  
• It's addictive, this running thing. Sunday night I was thinking, "ugh, do I have to run again on Tuesday?" By lunch time on Monday, I'm thinking: "Can't wait to my run tomorrow morning." By dinner time, I'm thinking about doing a tempo run.
   
• Thanks to all my donors for a fantastic week for fundraising. You've gotten me real close to the $4k mark!  Almost half way to my goal of raising $10k.  My fundraising page is here.
   
• Found out I'll have good company on race day. Valerie Bertinelli's running for Dana-Farber, too. No word on what her projected time is but I hope she's planning on running my pace. It'll be entertaining to be running along side her. Then again, I'm two years younger than her, so I'm hope I'm running faster than she is.

 

It's all about Time and Distance... and Weather

This week as my training for the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge continues, I'm thinking about time and distance... and weather.

1.  Most people would say that having run one marathon is an advantage when training for another one. I'm not so sure. On the one hand, I know that I can do it. On the other hand, I know how hard it was.... and I'm hoping to shave at least 15 minutes off my time of 6 1/2 years ago when I was a sprite 40 years old.

2. When I lace em up on Marathon Day in April, it will be 15 years of running on my surgically repaired right knee (ACL reconstruction). So why is it that my left knee is the problem knee?

3. Finished my longest run to date the day after Christmas. A 12 miler in under 1:45. I did the math and projected a finish time of just over 3:45. For a moment, I had the delusional thought that I could push for a qualifying time of 3:30 (for my age bracket). For a moment.... then I reminded myself that it's not what you run the first 12-13 in, it's what you run the back 13 in.

4. Still shooting for 4 - 4:15 total but would be thrilled to see a 3 at the beginning of my time.

5. My donors ROCK. Thank you everyone for putting me over the 1/3 mark. With more than $3,300 raised, I'm more than a third of the way to my $10k goal! Your generosity and support means the world to me.

6. My father raised an interesting question: When is it too cold to run outside?  Doesn't look like there's any magical answer to that, but I'm going to try to stay out there as long as the wind chill doesn't get near or below zero. For now, just happy that it's going to be in the thirties tomorrow. If you want to be freaked out about the dangers of running in cold weather, read this.  Or for a less scary bit of outdoor running,  here's some advice from New Balance.

7. Fellow DFMC runner and blogger, Courtney writes: "How come shorter distance and slower time can feel harder than longer distance and faster time?"   Beats me, but it's so true. My 12-miler was easier, and faster (in pace) than my six-miler last week. 


8. When six miles seems too hard, it's time for a day off. Done.

9. Umm, when did we move to Fargo? 17 degrees and snowing this morning. Been snowing all weekend. That means one fast run on the treadmill and one slippery run on a couple inches of snow.

10. Happy New Year everyone. Hope 2010 is off to a good start for you.