Little by little

I'm feeling better with every run. I still don't feel like my "old self" but I'm sure that will come with time. I felt good after my usual 2 miles today and have gotten in several "runs," so I went a little further for a total of about 2.5. The fact that the weather was a little cooler than yesterday certainly helped my situation. It feels great to get my legs moving again.

Another runner on hiatus hits the road

Sierra was born June 10th and my midwife told me that I should not do any exercising for at least two weeks. So, June 24th, I went for a "run." I use "run" loosely in this case because it was really a combination of really slow jogging broken up with some walking for 2 miles. Two days later, I did the same two miles and walked for about 400 meters in the middle. The following day, I actually really slow jogged for the whole two miles, only stopping to let the dog pee. Today, I did my two miles again and jogged the whole way (again, one quick stop for the dog to pee). I still don't feel "normal" and I have a long way to go before I get back to where I want to be both running-wise and weight-wise, but it feels great to be moving my body like a runner again.

I am really going to try an ease back into things and build my mileage slowly because the last thing I want is to be sidelined because I got over-ambitious about what my body could handle. I'm still a little sore "down there" so I will definately be taking it easy for awhile longer.

Happy running!

Progress Report

Here's what my first four weeks back look like:

Week of 5/26: 28:17 minutes (3 runs)

Week of 6/2: 48:53 mintues (3 runs)

Week of 6/9: 63:24 minutes (4 runs)

Week of 6/16: 64:44 minutes (4 runs)

I've been alternating between two pairs of running shoes: Brooks Adrenaline and Radius. My feet are much happier in the less supportive and controlling Brooks Radius...

A year ago today...

was my very first day of marathon training for the 2007 Hartford Marathon. Just to reflect for a post: A year ago today I had doubts about my body's ability to withstand a pretty aggressive marathon training plan on paper. I had doubts about my left knee and foot and my right shin. My knee and shin made it, but my foot did not. Within a month and a half of marathon training, my muscle imbalances had been corrected; my foot, on the hand, had gotten worse. I began favoring my foot, which caused discomfort in my left shin, until I couldn't anymore, which usually happened between mile 4 and 5 of long runs, but I'd continue. That's when the serious damage was being done.

I don't know that I'll ever attempt to train for a marathon again, but if I do, I'll know what to do differently. After a good long run (20+ miles) at Mansfield Hollow State Park on September 23, 2007 (less than a month before the marathon), I became overconfident in my running and began pushing the envelope on every run after that leading up to the marathon. I pushed and pushed and pushed, and my body began showing signs of overtraining. I became anxious and sleep-deprived. At the marathon, I ran strong through 22 miles, despite my injured and nagging foot, particularly on the downhills, and crashed somewhere between miles 22 and 23. Despite achieving my initial goal of a sub-4-hour marathon (which was later amended to 3:30), I was disappointed that I didn't finish as I strong as I thought I would even at mile 20.

If I ever attempt to train for a marathon again, I'll try to get away with running only 3 to 4 days a week, as opposed to 5, and I'll emphasize cross-training. All of my miles will be LSD. My marathon goal will be to finish strong.

By the way, Endorphin's one year anniversary has passed. I'm pleased to post that it's still kicking. I hope that the summer season will inspire some posts from other bloggers...

Felt stronger this weekend

There's no question that my foot is positively responding to more running. I'm doing 2 or 3 three-mile walk/runs during the week and a longer one of its kind on the weekend. Last weekend I did about 4 miles in about 51 minutes, 20 of which were running. This weekend I did about 4.5 miles in about 53 minutes, 26 of which were running. I felt strong and that I could have done more.

I've come to the conclusion that my foot was seriously injured even before starting training for the Hartford Marathon in June of last year. Granted, I'm not running as much yet, but after a run my foot would be seriously weakened. Now, it feels so much stronger after a run. That said, I'm coming to terms with the fact that my foot has healed. Since starting walking again, this has been the most difficult part of the recovery.

I plan to do only pure aerobic running (9 to 11/minute pace) through October of this year and then introduce some anaerobic running in tempo runs and speed work. I need to rebuild the base I had going into the Hartford Marathon. That is going to take some time given the amount of time laid-up recovering from foot surgery. Nearly six months passed with no running.

Back on the road

After five long months of no running, I'm finally back at it. I've been doing 3-mile walk/runs. I'm up to about 16 minutes of running time. My left foot feels fine. No pain. My whole left side is noticeably weaker than my right, though. I'm also having the same issue with my right hamstring/hip that I had three-quarters of the way through my first marathon training cycle. My PT showed me some good stretches that target the issue, for lack of a better word(s). At this point, my only goal is to get stronger.

I hope that the last bump in this long road will be the removal of the implant in my left foot. My doctor wants to remove it within the next three months. The typical removal time is between 6 and 9 months post-op. I'm just over 5 months post-op. In terms of the ligament's strength, it's about 70%; running will help improve its strength. By the 6-month mark, it should be about 100%, allowing for the removal of the implant. For those of you who don't know (or don't remember), the implant's purpose is to protect the ligament repair. Thus, it's temporary. The removal of the implant will require 3 weeks of inactivity (no running or cycling, etc.) to allow for healing.

I've expressed to my doctor my desire to continue running marathons, and he's assured me that I can do so. His goal is to help me get to where I want to be. I'm trying to come to terms with my running limitations (even though my belief is that we're only limited by a lack of willpower). I know that I'm best suited for middle-distance running, but I'd rather it be long-distance running. I recently read: SOMETIMES OUR FAVORITE DISTANCES AREN'T THE BEST. I'm more obsessed with distance than speed, but I have a love both. There must be a balance.

I'm anxious to see where the next few months take me.