3 Days/week

Sunday I did my first long long run since the marathon and I'm thinking I need to start making it a habit. My plan is to run 3 days/wk as I was training for the marathon, as it is convenient, effective, and keeps me from getting hurt. However, instead of Tuesday being an easy run I am going to try to do always do speed work, hills, tempo, or intervals, on the weekday runs. I think I will have plenty of time to recover and this way I will make the most out of my workouts. Not sure the easy run is needed if I'm only running 3 days/wk.

I hope this will keep my in good distance running shape but also improve my speed in shorter races.

Ryan Hall on his experience in Central Park

"Now, when I watch the final mile of the race part of me gets embarrassed at my enthusiasm as it is very uncharacteristic of my nature, but part of me remembers what I was feeling when I was out there. After years of struggle I was realizing my dream. It was overcoming all the hard times that made that moment so sweet and sharing it with my friends, family; and teammates made it even sweeter. I will never forget running through Central Park that fall morning, running through my sanctuary."

Dr. Reach Follow-Up

Saw Dr. Reach this morning. Radiologist's interpretation of MRI: normal. Reach sees spring ligament tear, however. Does not see osteochondral lesion but thinks may have had one in past. Also sees scar tissue around ankle joint. Sending MRI to Duke and Mayo Clinic for confirmation on tear. Tear won't heal on own. Surgery required. In meantime, strengthen PTT and engage in low-impact sports. Fit for custom orthotics. Blow me.

The Man

Worth a read

Review of Nike Free Technology

An answer

I saw Dr. John Reach of Yale Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation yesterday. He is doctor number five. He gained my trust in mere minutes. He spent the better part of an hour with me. He did a thorough examination of my foot and looked at the wear pattern on my marathon shoes. He couldn't figure out what was wrong with my foot by simply examining it, but he said that the wear pattern on my shoes is normal and that, since they are stability shoes, they might be overstabilizing my foot. He then went to an ultrasound tool. He found some thickening of my posterior tibialis tendon and some fluid in my ankle joint. He thinks that I have an osteochondral lesion and/or a spring ligament rupture/tear, both of which, he assured me, can be treated. For my sake, he'd much rather have it be the osteochondral lesion, which likely resulted from a sprained or twisted ankle (something done when drunk, probably, and of course, I have no recollection of this). If it's a spring ligament rupture/tear, then running marathons and long distances will be more of a challenge. If the MRI shows neither one of these possible diagnoses, then we can blame running shoes.

My goal is to write here about my next run.

very, very, very interesting article

ShoeGuy: Rebel Without and Arch
When a foot's foundation keeps breaking the rules

By J. D. Denton

A friend of Ryan Shay, Lauren Fleshman, writes beautifully about his life

A Tribute to Ryan Shay

"Strides: Running Through History With an Unlikely Athlete"

Runner's World recently interviewed Ben Cheever, author of the newly published "Strides." He was asked, "What do you say to people who think running is boring?" His answer: "They haven't run far enough. If they've tried and quit, it's probably because they are running too fast."

"In long run, 'Just Do It' solid advice for all of us"

This ARTICLE is absolutely brilliant.

Men's Olympic Time Trials -- Central Park

I had the great pleasure of watching, in person, the men's Olympic time trials in Central Park this morning. I was among very few spectators at 7:45/am, but once the men approached the 5K mark (22 mile mark, and where I stood in the cold and wind for the better part of two hours) for the second time, the crowd grew. The lead pack for the first lap was thick and by the second lap, there were only 5 guys. Ryan Hall ran alone for the third and fourth (final) laps. Watching him run is truly magical. If you get a chance, watch at least the last 5 minutes of the race. By the fourth lap, he had more than a two minute lead on the second place runner, Dathan Ritzenhein, and Dan Browne and Brian Sell, the third and fourth place runners, respectively. I did not expect to see Sell trailing Browne for the fourth lap, as he was way off the lead pace for the third lap. I couldn't help but cheer him on. After watching the fourth lap from the 22 mile mark, I ran across Central Park, with hundreds of other people, to watch the same runners cross the 24 mile mark. By then, Sell had moved into third. Hall and Ritz had first and second sealed. I couldn't make it to the finish for these guys but ended up hanging out there for the guys finishing slower than 2:17. I got to see Meb up close and got some good pictures. At one point, he fell to his knees and was later on the ground sobing. At first I thought that this was because he didn't make the team, but after I found out that his training partner, Ryan Shay, had died during the race, I knew what had caused his emotion. And so we have our Olympians. Congrats to Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein and Brian Sell. This was a lot of fun.

On another note, I did a lot of walking and running yesterday and today. Somehow I'm able to do this pain free in my casual shoes but can't seem to make it to the end of my street (literally) without pain in my running shoes. ???

Also, today is a day of mourning, as we lost Ryan Shay at the 5 mile mark of this morning's race.