bummed

Sorry for not posting in a few days.  I had some sort of virus and was sick for three days.  Yuck.  Finally got back to the treadmill at the Wellness Center today, with 22 minutes programmed on the treadmill, 0.5 incline, starting out at about 6.5 mph then quickly upping it to 7mph.  Unfortunately this crazy leg of mine started giving me a little discomfort and finally I called it quits with 4 minutes remaining.  Not sure if the time laying up at home sick had anything to do with it.  Felt a little bit of the discomfort here just watching a movie.  Now having some serious doubts about OKC.  Don't think this is my iliotibial band.  Had issues with that once before and I think this is different.  The iliotibial band attaches just below the knee on the outside of the lower leg.  This pain is in the same general area so it does make me wonder, but having had that issue before I don't remember it feeling quite like this. 

My thought earlier today was this:  if I can recover enough to be able to run 5 miles, outside, by January 2nd, then I believe I can train to the level I want, in time for the OKC marathon on April 29.  I really like to have 16 weeks to train.  A marathon is not something you want to tackle without being fully prepared.  And with a goal of 3 hours 30 minutes I especially want to be prepared.  If I'm not healthy by January 2, then I have to rethink my marathon plans.  Maybe look into a late Spring/ early Summer marathon.  Maybe Swan Lake in South Dakota, June 10 or Marathon to Marathon in Iowa, June 9.  Definitely not interested in the Andy Payne held at Lake Overholser on Memorial Day. Way too hot and steamy that time of year here in Oklahoma. 40 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit is about ideal for a marathon.   I've found www.marathonguide.com is the best place to look up marathons.  Sort by date or by geography.

Peace and Grace....

Steppin' out

Woo hoo!  Finally,  a little running with no pain.  Yesterday, Day 19 since the marathon, I ran 2.36 miles in 21:30.   Ran on the treadmills at UCO.  This morning, after coffee at Panera Bread with my running pals,  Mark and Brent, I ran again on the treadmills:  2.63 in 22:30.  So far so good.  Rest day tomorrow then back to the Wellness Center again next week.  Baby steps.  Think I will just do two days running, followed by one day off as the schedule for the next week with gradually increasing mileage. No more than 3 miles at a time. After that if the weather is decent I might try a bit of road running.   Lord willing, by the first of the year, I'll be up to running 4 and 5 miles at a time during the week and doing 8 or 9 easy miles on Saturdays with my doctor buddies.

Rest is often the best cure for an injury.  The body needs time to heal. Stretching is helpful as a preventive measure. Increases range of motion. Always important to warm up before stretching. Strength training also plays an important role in helping to prevent injury.  Not talking heavy weights though.   Calisthenics are a good way to go.  Pushups, pullups, crunches, lunges are useful for increasing strength.  I rarely have back pain, even with many hours a day in front of a computer, and I believe this is due to a routine of doing pushups, pullups and other core strengthening exercises.

Well tonight in another first for the Baylor Nation, Robert Griffin III will be almost certainly receiving the Heisman trophy.  Another milestone in a great year for Baylor sports.  Sic'em Bears!

Can't get much better

Baylor Bear are running strong!  Nine wins!  Back to back victories over the longhorns!  RGIII is going to the Heisman Trophy Ceremony in NYC!  Basketball keeps on rolling with the men victorious over Northwestern and the women over Minnesota!

Wish I could say the same for myself.  15 days since Route 66 in Tulsa.  A little cross training tomorrow with abs and core work.  Perhaps again on Thursday.  Then maybe a short two mile jog on the treadmill for Friday.  Sure hope that is the recipe for success.

Peace and Grace to you all!

injured...

Went to the Wellness Center today to run a little on the treadmills.  Got dressed and went upstairs to the cardio machines, wearing my 2011 Route 66 marathon finisher shirt, a pair of grey running shorts and my Brooks Mach 11s.  Set the timer for 31 minutes and an incline of 0.5.  Belt started it's slow pace and I quickly moved it up to 6.9 mph.  Running went fine for the first half mile or so, then had a few little minor discomforts, but nothing that worried me much.  Then as I approached two miles my right leg started hurting.  Didn't go away and only got worse.  Ending up quitting after 19 minutes.  Covered 2.31 miles.  The pain seemed reminiscent of how I felt in the months after the 2009 Route 66.  So I am not going to sign up for the OKC marathon this week.  Price goes up $15 tomorrow.  But  I would rather wait a few weeks till I know I am healthy and pay the extra money, than to sign up now and later find out that I need more time to heal.  Now the trick is staying in shape without running.   May have to try the elliptical or maybe just walk with a really steep incline.  Hopefully a week from now I can give running another try.

Great time to be a bear

Sic'em Bears!   Such a great time to be a Baylor fan.  Football team has eight wins and is ranked in the top 20 going into the season finale with Texas.  The Men's basketball team is ranked 7th in the country.  The Women's basketball team is ranked number 1! 

Ok, now that I've discussed the Bears it's time to talk about running.  I redid my marathon training schedule.  Going into the Tulsa marathon I was hoping that my training was sufficient.  Now knowing I came up just a little short I decided that I needed to tweak my schedule. Actually I contemplated just blowing it up and trying something radically different.  The schedule I used for Tulsa was based on Hal Higdon's Intermediate II plan.http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/MaraIntermediate2.html  I shifted it so Sunday became Saturday and changed the mileage just slightly to fit my neighborhood routes.  Also made room for a 5k run at UCO.  Below is a week nine of a twenty one week schedule.  Mondays and Wednesdays peaked at 5 miles while Tuesday and Fridays went up to 10 miles.  The long run on Saturday went up to 20 with 12 miles on the Saturday following the 20 miler.  Now I'm going  to bump up the Monday/ Wednesday miles and leave the other days as before.  Also upping the second and third 20 miler to 21 miles.  (The Hal Higdon schedule has three twenty miles run it.)  Just seemed at Tulsa I ran pretty much right on schedule for the first 20 miles.  So I think if I train with runs over 20 miles I won't struggle as much when covering the last 6.2 in the marathon itself.  We'll see.  Maybe later this week I get back to running.  It's been 10 days since my marathon.  Think it's about time to do an easy 2 mile run in the neighborhood or 3 miles on the treadmill at UCO.
 

week	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
	rest	5 m run	8 m run	5 m run	cross	8 m pace	14

Recovering from Route 66

Legs are feeling fine.  About ready to start running again.  Just a little hesitant due to the my last experience following the Route 66 Marathon.  In November of 2009 I ran on the Saturday after the marathon and had pain in both legs after 5 or 6 miles.  Ended up struggling with leg issues throughout the next several months.  Finally started running in May of the next year.  So this time I'm being a little cautious.  Since I ran hard in Tulsa, I want to be sure I give myself enough time for my legs to recover.  Hal Higdon has written that he suggests two weeks or more following a hard marathon.  I know I pushed myself pretty hard.  My goal was 3 hours 30 minutes, Boston qualifying time for my age group.  Came up just a little short.  3:32:25.   Spent some time in the medical tent afterwards.  So now I'm thinking seriously about Oklahoma City.  Just enough time to rest for a few more days and gradually build to peak for the Memorial marathon on April 29, 2012.  3:30 here I come!