Working This Out

Well, it looks like this may take awhile, but all is not lost yet. Today I went out for another two miles (planned this time). The knee hurt after 1/2 mile but not as bad - probably because I was running quite easily.

I spent a lot of time doing "high knees" and "high kicks" and some short striding. While the knee was stiff, this went a lot better. Best of all, the leg stopped hurting after I finished - unlike yesterday where it continued to hurt most of the day.

Looks like the length of the run and the intensity of it contributes to the pain. So if I can keep flexible and fit with some short bouts of strides and stretches I'll take it.

The planned hill work for tomorrow has been postponed until Tuesday. I won't run it the leg into the ground, but giving the short length of each "repeat", I'm betting this will work better than a run of some mileage. Of course, we won't know until we get out there.

Congrats to Duncan on another sub 2:40. The time wasn't what he wanted but we all know what that's like. He's top drawer in the marathon and it won't be long before he breaks under 2:30 on his way to 2:22.

Spoke Too Soon

I should have waited until I actually went running before I posted that I felt better. Unfortunately, it is not the case. Two miles is all the left knee had. Too bad. I was looking forward to having this behind me. No pain at all during the week walking around on it. Looks like it's a true 'running' injury.

Details: Left knee area. Hurts to move leg - especially in running motion. Hurts to touch if pressed. Hurts to walk but lightens up as the day wears on. It is on the left side of the knee - sort of some connective "tissue / band / bone" that connects the upper leg to the lower leg.

I feel like Barbaro - but a poorer cousin.

To top it all off, the HR was elevated. I got about 7/8 mile before the leg started hurting. That's about 3/4 of mile further than the last time - what progress! Take 10 days off and get another 3/4 of a mile. Just great.

Looks like I'm at zero. You know what they say... "When you hit bottom, start digging."

Feeling Better

I have spent the last 10 days not running. I think I feel better. No pain for days so my hopes are running high. It is time to put the past behind me and focus on my new goal - the Wineglass Marathon on October 1st.

To work out some strength issues, I'll be running speed and hills along with my long run weekly until the the 2nd week of July. With this in mind, I cornered my friend Eric as he came by the house to pick up his daughter. Two winters ago, we ran some good hills and speed together. It's time to do it again. He agreed to meet Monday for the initial hill workout and we'll take it from there. Eric is good to join me on these runs. He pushes me to work harder and doesn't let me slack off.

So tomorrow will be the kick off with something easy. I am hoping the legs respond appropriately without the major pain from two weeks ago. However, just thinking about running gives my legs cramps. But I am glad to be contemplating my return to training.

18 weeks.

Demons

Had to get rid of them. Had to run. Had to run to the ground. Just had to do it.

Ok. So now that's done. What now? I suppose I should just stop.

So in that vein, I took today off. I am so tired.

Think I'll have a cup of tea.

The Truth Hurts

In my disappointment post, I declared that training (inadequate, ineffectual, insufficient) was to blame for last Sunday's performance. After reviewing my log since the beginning of the year, I couldn't have been more correct than that preliminary conclusion. I arrived at the training condemnation through the process of elimination - it was a nice day, good race, known course, good strategy, and feeling pretty good - it had to be the training. But now.... Now, the ugly truth is staring at me from the log. It shines a bright spotlight on my flaws in training, attitude, and discipline. It also questions my eyesight or intelligence. Quite frankly, I'm either blind or just stupid.

**The rest of this post may be distressing. Be forewarned that what follows is an autopsy.**

Subject: Marathon Performance
Date of Death: 5/7/06
Place of Death: Holyoke, MA - Mile 22 - 26.2

Executive Summary

Subject died while exceeding the body's ability to consume and transport oxygen while simultaneously exhausting all available fuel in the muscle fibers. The general cause of death is an apparent lack of conditioning and is considered an occasion of pity since this common cause of untimely demise is preventable. Considered common knowledge among runners, a certain amount of training, in proper order and avoiding injury, can prevent a tragic end to a training season. Also, it has come to my attention that the runner responsible for this Marathon Performance had all the necessary data that would have informed him that his then present course of action would result in severe muscle fatigue, pace reduction, and even total demoralization in the final miles of the Holyoke Marathon.

Report

Upon examination of the subject and its logbook history since the beginning of the year, it was noted that sufficient time existed for a fully trained specimen. In fact, the time allotted was 18 weeks. Exploring the traces of these past 18 weeks, I found the following:

Long runs of 20 miles or greater: 6.
Instances of running "long" but failing to reach 20 miles: 8.

>>Comment - Runner may have believed that running under 20 miles for his "long" effort sufficed given the number of times this actually occurred. Diagnosis: Runner delusional.

Number of weeks that weekly mileage exceeded 60: 4.
Number of weeks weekly mileage was less than 40: 10.

>>Comment - Runner may have rested his entire performance on one small spurt of good training when his weekly mileage was at or exceeded 100 miles for 3 consecutive weeks. Diagnosis: Runner living in fantasy land.

Number of training days in an average week: 4.
The same average excluding the 3 good weeks in March: 3.

>>Comment - Runner did not train consistently. Resulted in an abnormal susceptibility to injury from overuse and sudden training regimen changes. Diagnosis: Runner is a rester, not a runner.

Number of instances of 3 or more consecutive days off: 9
Average miles run on day back from 3+ rest period: 14.5

>>Comment - Runner is shocking the system with large swings in mileage. Diagnosis: Runner is psychotic.

Conclusion

Runner suffered from delusion caused by an incredible ability to see good in all things including bad training. Runner has potential to avoid similar marathon fates if he can practice good discipline, remain focused, and train like he means it.

Respectfully submitted,

Post-Mortem Team.