Running For My Life

Being injured sucks. But…..there are always a few good things that come with the bad. So in the spirit of staying positive, here are some of the benefits of being injured:

• It has taught me how to live one day at a time since I can’t use a training schedule
• It has made me more flexible (not the physical kind) because my workouts sometimes change after I’ve started them
• It has taught me that there is Life After Running….something I thought didn’t exist!
• It has reduced the monotony of marathon training. Gone are the days of Monday-Recovery Run, Tuesday-Tempo Run, etc. Every week is different now.
• Instead of counting down the days until the Boston Marathon and getting over-anxious in the process, now I don’t care how many days until the race. In fact, I wish it were further away so I had more time to heal.

Obviously the list of negatives to being injured is much longer than this one, but I am trying to look for that silver lining in this dark cloud above.

Workout:

• Type: General Cardio
• Date: 03/31/2008
• Time: 05:00:00
• Total Time: 1:09:40.00

I am going to take it easy these final 3 weeks before the race. For starters, I am not going to run again until next Saturday. This week I am going to ride my exercise bike for an hour each morning, and on Tuesday and Thursday nights I am going to do some pool jogging. I am hopeful that next Saturday I can run 10 miles relatively pain-free since I am giving my injured Achilles a full week break from the constant pounding brought on my running.

Workout:

• Type: General Cardio
• Date: 03/30/2008
• Time: 07:00:00
• Total Time: 00:19:53.00

For some reason, a long run consisting of 15 miles on the elliptical machine and 7 miles of painful running was not very fulfilling.  It wasn’t the kind of workout that makes me feel “ready” for the Boston Marathon.  But I think it will be enough to get me to the finish line in 3 weeks.

I started with 8 miles on the elliptical, then went outside and did 7 on the streets, before heading back to the elliptical for 7 more.  Unfortunately the outdoor running portion of the workout was quite painful, especially toward the end.

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 03/29/2008
• Time: 05:00:00
• Total Time: 3:03:40.00
• Distance: 22 miles
• Average Pace: 8:20.7/mile

Even though I am not cranking out 70 miles of running this week like I had planned, I am still trying to do long cross-training workouts to mimic a peak week. In other words, I am tricking myself into thinking that I am peaking even though I am not. Or another way to describe it is that I am peaking in the amount of time spent working out, but not in the amount of miles I’m running.

This morning I did a hard 95-minute spinning-type workout on the exercise bike. Normally I had been doing 80 to 90 minute rides once a week, so by going longer I did in fact “peak” on the bike. Even though the workout probably won’t contribute very much to my physical shape in terms of marathon training, it will hopefully provide a big mental boost come Patriots Day in Boston. At least that’s the plan.

Tomorrow will be a very telling day for me. I am going to do 8 miles on the elliptical machine, then try to run 7 miles outside before heading back on the elliptical for another 7 miles. However, if the running portion goes well I may push that to 9 or 10 miles. Then Sunday will be an off-day or I’ll do a light workout on the bike.

The weather here still sucks. We got another 2-3 inches of snow last night and have now accumulated well over 100 inches this winter. It is officially the second snowiest winter ever for the Milwaukee area, with the snowiest being in the 1800s. And we still have plenty of time to set the record. To think I have been marathon training in this crap all winter…..no wonder I am injured! The strange thing is that Chicago is so close but has not had near as much snow. We have just been stuck in a nasty pattern since late November. Let’s hope we are rewarded with a beautiful spring!

Workout:

• Type: General Cardio
• Date: 03/28/2008
• Time: 05:00:00
• Total Time: 1:35:00.00

Yes, I made it 6 miles on the treadmill this morning.  So let’s see……I only need to be able to run 20.2 more to complete a marathon.  Tomorrow will be a cross-training day and then I am going to attempt 7 miles on Saturday.  With just 3 weeks to go before the marathon,  that doesn’t sound too good, that I am only running 7 miles.  But you have to remember that it was less than 3 weeks ago that I ran a 24 mile long run.  In fact, the week before that I did a 23-miler, and 22 the week before that.  So hopefully some of that will stay with me in Boston!  As for my injured Achilles, I get more perplexed by the day.  It was very sore the first 2 miles, then the pain eased up and didn’t bother me again.   I think that is good news……..

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 03/27/2008
• Time: 05:00:00
• Total Time: 00:53:30.00
• Distance: 6 miles
• Average Pace: 8:54.92/mile

Workout:

• Type: General Cardio
• Date: 03/27/2008
• Time: 04:00:00
• Total Time: 00:19:30.00

This is supposed to be the peak week in my marathon training so I am trying to pound out as many miles as possible even though I am limited as to how much I can run.  So this morning I did a 10-mile speed workout on the elliptical machine.  I did it exactly as I would on the treadmill and I felt pretty good afterwards.

However, the trouble started later in the day as my injured Achilles started creaking.  I don’t know how to explain it other than to call it a creak.  Whenever I bend it or walk up stairs, it makes this creaking sound.  So I made an emergency visit to my PT tonight and he said that the creaking is a pretty normal symptom of an Achilles injury.  He explained what makes this happen, but without getting overly technical, I will spare everyone the details (something about fluid and sheath around the tendon…..).

Tomorrow morning I am going to run 6 miles and then go another 20 on my exercise bike.  Unfortunately I am going to have to limit my elliptical/treadmill running the rest of the week because the injury isn’t healing as quickly as it should.   I will likely be spending more time on my bike than planned.  Then next week when the high school pool re-opens (it is closed this week for spring break), I can get some miles in the pool without worrying about slowing my progress.

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 03/26/2008
• Time: 05:00:00
• Total Time: 1:19:46.00
• Distance: 10 miles
• Average Pace: 7:58.72/mile

There are ups and downs in every injury rehab, and today’s workout was definitely an “up”.  My intention was to run 3 miles on the elliptical, then 4 on the treadmill, and 3 more on the elliptical.  I did the 3 on the ellipitcal and then went to the treadmill.  My sore Achilles was feeling good so I decided to tack on an extra mile.  So I ran 5 miles, which doesn’t sound like much but I haven’t made it that far running in over 2 weeks.  I finished the workout with 2 more miles on the elliptical and felt great afterwards.  So 10 miles total.

After my workout I stretched and iced, and then the soreness set in, but that is expected.  Tomorrow I am going to go 10 miles on the elliptical and wait until Thursday before I try running on the treadmill again.   Let’s hope I get the same results that I did this morning.

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 03/25/2008
• Time: 05:00:00
• Total Time: 1:29:10.00
• Distance: 10 miles
• Average Pace: 8:54.92/mile

I had intended to not do any physical activity today to give my Achilles another day to heal, but I couldn’t resist hopping on the exercise bike for a short ride tonight. I am not feeling any pain, but that doesn’t mean anything. It’s a tricky injury because I can’t tell there’s anything wrong until I start running.

The last time I did any running was last Friday so I think I’m ready to give it another shot again tomorrow morning. I am going to try to go 4 miles. Sadly, this is supposed to be my peak training week. If I was healthy, I would be running 70 miles this week. Instead, I will be lucky to do 10.

I am not giving up hope in doing the Boston Marathon. I am going to stay active, do lots of cross training, and give this injury time to heal. Hopefully I will be ready for the race, which is in 4 weeks from today. Fortunately I got enough miles in prior to the injury that I can afford to “rest”. I ran 24 miles just 2 weeks ago, and 23 miles 3 weeks ago, so I’ve got to think my legs will remember how to run that far!

Workout:

• Type: General Cardio
• Date: 03/24/2008
• Time: 19:00:00
• Total Time: 00:20:00.00

My wife and I went for a nice Easter morning walk through the neighborhood in which I grew up in Mishawaka, Indiana.  It is a very hilly area so the walk was somewhat painful but enjoyable nonetheless.  It’s always fun to see the old hangouts.

Workout:

• Type: Walk
• Date: 03/23/2008
• Time: 09:00:00
• Total Time: 00:53:00.00
• Distance: 3 miles
• Average Pace: 17:38.82/mile