Walk, Don't Run

Sunday, March 11 2012:

63 degrees today in middle Minnesota, very unusual for March 11. We three went for a lovely walk in the park, 3.6 miles in about 1:04:00 which is a relatively easy pace of 17.8 minutes per mile, or about 3.4 mph. Not very fast, but there was no pain at all. I did my therapy first, seven different resistance exercises and five stretches, before we went for the walk.

Saturday, March 10:

St Croix Valley Runners, with more walkers than runners today. We walkers went about 2.5 miles in about 45 minutes, while the runners did their usual five miles, some of them in considerably less time. I felt the abdominal wall strain (sports hernia) a little, but I doubt that it was re-injured at all.

I’m intent on getting the sports hernia healed one way or another. Monday I have a consult with a highly-recommended surgeon, but may decide instead to continue with therapy, acupuncture, massage, walking, elliptical, bike, weight loss, and whatever else I can do to stay somewhat in shape while trying to heal the injury. We’ll see.


Proper nutrition is very important to a runner:

B & A Trail Marathon, Annapolis, MD

YAY! We three all finished, and I finished almost a half hour ahead of my target. I’m a happy marathoner. Marathon number 63, state number 44 (Annapolis, Maryland). It couldn’t have gone better.

The B&A Marathon:

• Organization was almost perfect, the course was perfect, volunteers were better than perfect, even the weather was perfect (temp 40 to 47, partly cloudy). Nobody shut down anything until it was all over.
  
• The course is a lovely suburban trail, once a railroad bed. We started in the middle and went south 7 miles, then back to the middle and continued north 6 miles, returning to the middle for the finish. If you don’t like out-and-back courses, you wouldn’t like this, but I like to see the other runners and I got to see them all twice!
  
• The trail is almost entirely wooded, except at road crossings, of which there are few.
  
• Every crossing was manned by police or police volunteers.
  
• For some reason I had the impression that the trail was packed gravel, but it was blacktop the whole way. Nice clean blacktop. They had a serious rain the day before, a real soaker, but the trail was fine.
  
• The race was limited to about 1000 runners, and for the first mile or two it was on local streets, so by the time we got to the trail there was no crowding.
  
• Instead of yet another shirt, the race premium was running pants! Very nice ones, too. I will put these to good use right away.
  
• When I finished at five and a half hours, there was still plenty of food left. That doesn’t always happen in other races.
  
• There were plenty of aid stations, well stocked with whatever a marathoner would need. When I fished a gel out of my pocket, someone said “We have more of those if you need them.”
  
• Daffodils were in bloom. Songbirds conducted a symphony. We saw geese overhead, in formation. Frogs chirped in the marshes.
  
• The age-group awards are superb. Wooden plaques suitable for standing or hanging, with gold lettering describing the race, the date, and the exact award.
  
• Results are posted on their web site the afternoon of the race.
  
• They did run out of marathon medals, but will send one in the mail. That might matter more to a first-timer than it does to me.

My race:

• I had not been able to train since the Mississippi Blues marathon in January, because of a “sports hernia” (abdominal wall strain), and I was really a little worried about finishing this marathon. So I shot for six hours, the race time limit, but missed the first two mile markers and at mile three found myself a few minutes ahead of my plan. I felt good, though, so I kept going at that pace and finished in 5:32:45. Unfortunately, however, that was only good for third of three in my age group.
• Nevertheless, it was another marathon completed. Remaining marathons, in the order in which we hope to do them: Alaska, Vermont, West Virginia, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Hawaii.
  
• My last three marathons have all finished within two minutes of the same time. I wonder if there’s a message there. It’s not a very good time, really. Interesting: In Mississippi that time got me third of eight in age group 70-74, but today I was third of three.
  
• The temperature was about 40 at the start, and got up to maybe 48 at the finish. That’s lovely! I wore shorts and a short-sleeved tech shirt over a long-sleeved tech shirt for 3/4 of the race, then took off the short sleeved shirt. Perfect for the weather.
  
• Six Clif Shot Mocha gels (w/caffeine), at least 8 salt tablets.

Whining:

• The sports hernia hurt all the way. About a three on a scale of zero to ten, maybe a four toward the end, where a five would be enough to make me slow down. It was never quite a limiting factor.
  
• The right hip flexors hurt too, but that’s happened before and it isn’t really an injury - it gets better within hours after the marathon is over. The left hip flexors hurt a little for a while too, but settled down again.
  
• The right hip flexors are close to the sports hernia, and some of the time it was difficult to distinguish between those two pains.
  
• Nothing else hurt. Not feet, knees, hips, back, nothing.
  
• My pace was not limited by pain, but by muscle strength and conditioning. I went about as fast as I could have. I should be able to finish a marathon an hour faster, but will need pain-free training to do it.
  
• We have a nice 14-week interval between now and the next race, and I’m trying to decide whether to try to heal the sports hernia by natural means (therapy and graduated running) or by surgery, then therapy and graduated running. I have a second-opinion consult in about a week.
  
• I own a heart rate monitor, but don’t like to wear it on a marathon. At mile 17 I timed my pulse and found that the rate was around 120 to 125. That's low, but I was breathing rather easily most of the way.

Splits: 37:22 (3 mi), 12:31, 11:43, 12:49, 28:44 (2 mi & major natural break), 12:23, 12:01, 16:02 (major natural break), 12:04, 12:20, 1:08 (0.1 mi,half marathon time 2:49:07), 11:07 (0.9 mi), 12:50, 12:20,11:37, 13:03, 12:14, 13:06, 12:35, 12:23, 12:22, 12:29, 12:33, 12:43, 2:13 (0.2 mi), total 5:32:45. First half 2:49:07, second half 2:43:38, actually a little faster than the first half, probably by about the time required for two major natural breaks in the first half, with none in the second.

Happy guy doing OK:

Surgery Consult

Dr DSO, who did a minor and totally successful outpatient surgery on me 10 years ago. Go to a surgeon, and she’ll recommend surgery, right? Not if it’s a surgery that she doesn’t perform. The scheduler had assured me that Dr DSO does hernia surgeries, and she does, but not on a “sports” hernia, which is not really a hernia but a muscle pull, technically an "abdominal wall strain."

This requires a laparoscopic procedure, she believes, because it doesn’t make sense to cut through the strained muscles in an effort to strengthen them. She does laparoscopic surgery but not on the abdomen - she doesn’t believe in that treatment for an abdominal wall pull at all, and in fact doesn’t think it has a high success rate. Mine, in particular, is high on the lower abdomen, making such a repair even less appropriate. Huh.

She advised:

• Continue the physical therapy that I’m currently getting.
  
• Warm up properly before any run. I usually do warm up before a short race, though not for a marathon.
  
• Stretch properly after a run. I do my set of stretches frequently, if not after every run, but until recently I haven’t done a stretch that works the lower abdomen at all. She mentioned yoga.
  
• This particular injury is unlikely to turn into a real hernia or any other major problem, regardless how much it hurts. So just SUCK IT UP and run! She didn’t say it exactly that way. Good to know, though.

That is one surgeon’s opinion. The buzz in the runner community is that a surgical repair is simple and permanent, though, so I may see another surgeon and get a second opinion from someone who actually does them, like maybe the surgeon that my sports doctor recommended!

Maplewood Mall again today, the third time in four days. We three walked 4.5 miles in 1:04:30, for a pace of 14:20. No pains! Nothing more than a hint of the abdominal wall strain and the hip-flexor pain. Maybe this upcoming marathon will be OK. We’ll go to the mall again tomorrow if the weather permits. No running until the race, though, just walking. Fast is fine.

What a way to train for a marathon - yikes.

There is oatmeal under there:

Elliptical Yet Again

Elliptical machine again, this time at resistance level 6 instead of 8 (max), and 40 minutes instead of 30. 428 calories, 4.8 “miles,” 7.2 average MPH, 72 average RPM.

The sports hernia is getting better every day. Several times a day I do a particular stretch which helps the abdominal wall heal properly. Today that stretch didn’t hurt much, which is a good sign. Another measure of healing is absence of pain during a situp. That “situp test” test failed this morning, there was some pain, so I still need to hold off from running. I’m hoping to do the first walk/run early next week. I’m going bonkers, not being able to run.

The next marathon, in Annapolis, will be eight weeks after the previous one, in Jackson MS. Usually, with such a long interval, I’d do at least one long run about three weeks before the upcoming marathon. This weekend is at that three-week mark, however, and a long run seems unlikely. Ah, well.


100% grass-fed beef, organic beets with pineapple. organic broccoli & cheese:

Sports Hernia Advice & Treatment

I went to see Dr. Y last September, and he then suggested some time off from running, or very easy running without pain, to see if the sports hernia (abdominal wall strain) would heal. It sort of DID heal, and then a couple of weeks ago I decided to see if I could push it, ran four miles at almost a race pace, then another at a slightly faster pace, and the pain was back again, just like that. Oyeah. Hence today's doctor visit.

From Dr. Y, two choices:

• Consult with a surgeon. This is "general surgery," not orthopedic; or
  
• Try therapy for four or five weeks first.

Surgery is not the most conservative treatment right now - therapy is. Unfortunately, the therapist that the doctor prefers is not available at the moment, because she had a baby girl yesterday. Congratulations KL! However, I got an appointment with another therapist, two weeks from now. Huh. Wish it were sooner. KL is very good - I hope this therapist is.

Other information from Dr. Y:

• The sports hernia is most likely not pulled muscles but pulled tendons. I assume that tendons take longer to heal.
  
• Sports hernia is a "rule-out" diagnosis - it's a sports hernia if no OTHER problems are found, such as a real hernia or hip problems or whatever else, and there is still pain in the right place. He found nothing except the tender abdomen.
  
• The first step in conservative treatment is to stop the injurious activity (running) for a while and see if the injured abdomen heals. I did that, because I was able to run nine marathons since September, mostly without pain. So, on to therapy.
• Be sure to get back to him if the therapy hasn't helped within four to five weeks. Actually, it'll be hard to know, because I have a marathon in four weeks, so I'll be doing a longish marathon-pace walk/run in a week and then tapering. I'd expect the injury to get better during the taper with or without therapy, so I may need more than five weeks.
  
• I asked how quickly I might expect to heal from the surgery, and he obviously couldn't give an exact answer, but I think I heard him say eight to ten weeks before running again. Less, perhaps, because I'm in good shape, but more because I'm 71. I'm surprised at that length of time - it seems like I've seen people bounce back from a real hernia repair much more quickly. If surgery is required, I want a doctor who has done a LOT of hernia repairs and can do them laparoscopically.
  
• This doctor advised ice and Tylenol for pain control, not ibuprofen, "as it may inhibit the healing process." I don't use much pain control anyway - I'd rather know what's going on in my body.

Up to now, I've been able to keep the pain at bay by simply walk/running very slowly, so slowly that a marathon takes 5 1/2 to 6 hours. Training has been at that same speed. The run part is at a good pace, about nine-minute miles, but only for 30 seconds at a time, followed by a rapid walk lasting at least that long before the next run. The result is a pace of 12 to 13 minutes per mile, and the walking somehow prevents re-injury to the abdomen even though I do end up running lots of miles at a nine-minute pace.

This morning I ran in the Stillwater Dome, walking only the corners to avoid re-injury to the adductors. The resulting pace was about 10 minutes per mile, and that amount of walking was not enough to keep the sports hernia happy. It hurts. Next time I'll try running the long sides and walking the corners plus the short sides, see how that goes.

The photo has nothing to do with anything, but I like it.

Mississippi Blues Marathon, Jackson MS

Marathon number 62, state number 43. Seven left: Vermont, New Hampshire, Maryland, West Virginia, New Mexico, Alaska, and Hawaii. We have a plan for running a marathon in each of those states in 2012. Lots of things can go wrong though - we’ll see if it all works out.

My race:

• No injuries! HOORAY. More below in the "whining" section.
  
• I explained my situation to one guy, that I was running with cancer, seeking to finish the 50 states while I could still run, and he congratulated me on that active lifestyle, complaining that too many people with incurable cancer are too busy dying.
  
• I’m not sure that I know any of those people; the ones I know in the support group are pretty busy living, but he may be right.
  
• I started a little slowly because the race course was hilly, so it’s possible that I could have gone a little faster, but not much.
  
• For the first seven miles I ran with Elvis! He liked to talk, so he ran my pace, but he was breathing pretty hard and I eventually left him behind to talk with some other folks.
  
• One man in the race ran 113 marathons last year. By comparison, I ran 13 and thought it was a lot. He ran more than two a week.- I’m not even sure how you do that! It must be a logistical nightmare just getting from one place to another.

The Marathon:

• Organization was great.
  
• Volunteers were wonderful! We drove the race course the day before the race, and Sunshine commented that it would take a million volunteers to keep us on course and guard the side streets. Yup, it did, and there were a million of them!
  
• Mile markers were nice, and hard to miss (though I missed a few anyway).
  
• Aid stations were plentiful, with both water and energy drink, and there were at least three gel stations.
  
• It’s hilly! We spent more time and distance going up or down than we did on the flat. No complaint - they said it would be hilly.
  
• There was music here and there, and I enjoyed it.
  
• Food after the race was great.
  
• Complaints:
  • The course was entirely on city streets, and not more than a mile of those streets were closed to traffic. A lot of the race was in residential neighborhoods, and traffic there was light, but some was on more heavily traveled roads with traffic moving faster. That’s never very comfortable.
    
  • The running lane was always coned off, but on most streets this put the runners on the edge of the road, where the running surface was usually sloped sideways. I’m very happy and a little surprised that I didn’t have any knee or hip problems, as I have in the past from this kind of course.
    
  • The streets of Jackson are in very poor condition. Runners definitely had to watch their step to avoid tripping on a bump or stepping into a pothole.
    
  • I know that it’s hard to lay out a course, but this one didn’t take us past the current state capitol building or the Supreme Court building, and I’m not sure about other landmarks. I don’t remember many city parks, or any other scenic areas (rivers?), mostly residences, including a few burned-out ones. I did see lots of churches, though.
    
  • Bottom line: I didn’t like the course. I have no other complaints about the race at all.

Whining:

• The PFS (runner’s knee) showed up by mile seven but never really bothered. Hooray!
  
• Similarly, the abdominal wall strain (sports hernia) also showed up around mile seven but never became a problem.
  
• At one point my left leg went a little numb for a while, then slowly returned to normal. It happened while I was walking. I hope this was an anomaly and not a new problem.

Splits: 37:16 (3 mi), 38:04 (3 mi, chatting w Elvis), 12:19, 11:49, 12:11, 25:39 (2 mi), 12:58, 11:50, 1:30 (0.11 mi, half-marathon point 2:43:37), 10:52 (remainder of mile 14), 12:37, 25:21, 12:12, 16:40 (potty stop), 12:54, 12:53, 13:42, 12:34, 13:03, 12:30, 14:37 (1.22 miles to finish). Total 5:33:33, according to my watch. Official results are not up yet and may be slightly different.

This was a city street, and a lot of them were as rough as this half mile:

Last Runs of 2011

Saturday, December 31, 2011:

St Croix Valley Runners. We meet every Saturday morning at the Northland Tennis Courts along County Road 12. This morning there were seven of us, two walking and five running. I started out with Dave, but then left him and shortened the usual 5-mile route down to 3.5 miles, because I was feeling some pains and have a marathon coming up in a week. I finished the 3.5 miles in 33:22, though, for a pace of 9:32. I’ll take it.

Whining: The right knee with PFS did hurt a little, most of the way. I’ll have to do something about that.

Wednesday, December 28:

One more winter run in the park. I can’t remember when we could run on the grass trails after Christmas, but today the ground is almost bare. The ground was frozen, though, and the grass matted down, so the trail was a bit harder than usual. 4.8 miles in 49 minutes, for a pace just over 10 minutes/mile. OK for today. I ran most of the way, except a few of the downhills.

Whining: The sports hernia hurt a little, mostly in the beginning. The right-knee PFS (“runner’s knee”) squawked more than it has for several months. I hope it goes away again.

You can almost see the oatmeal under there:

Fortitude for First Descents Marathon, Lewes, Delaware

This sweet little marathon was scheduled for August in Cape Henlopen State Park, but was rescheduled because of a hurricane that came by exactly at the wrong time. That was our good fortune, though, because we couldn’t make it in August.

The mission of the marathon is fund-raising. "First Descents is committed to curing young adults of the emotional effects of cancer and empowering them to regain control of their lives by experiencing outdoor adventure therapy through kayaking, rock climbing and other outdoor adventure sports." We didn’t contribute much to the fund-raising, just the entry fee, but we definitely enjoyed their marathon.

Good Stuff:

• It wasn’t a certified race, but I think it was at least 26.2 miles. All three of us agreed that we worked just as hard as we had in the recent rainy and hilly Seattle Marathon, and we needed just a bit more time to finish this one than we needed in Seattle.
  
• The spark plug of the race is Elysa, I think, who is also on another mission: www.racethestates.com. If so, then I think that Lynne (at run the day dot com) was the engine. She did LOTS.
  
• The course is relatively flat. I can think of three places where I was glad to get to the top, but actually the top wasn’t very high. It’s not quite flat, but it’s not really hilly either.
  
• The course was a combination of roads, paved trails, and crushed-rock trail. Honestly I loved that rocky trail, winding through the woods, up hill and down dale. It was well made and I would have been delighted to run the whole 26 miles on it. Alas, that piece was probably only a mile long, but we did it four times!
  
• Cape Henlopen State Park is a pine forest, with the forest floor covered in brown pine needles. I saw some junipers too, but mostly is was pine, whatever kind of pine will grow in sand.
  
• Marathoners ran the 6.55-mile loop through the forest four times, while the half-marathoners ran it twice. In addition, another quarter mile or so was tacked on the front of the race, because, perhaps, the race organizers wanted to be sure that the course wasn’t short. I didn’t ask about that though.
  
• There were three aid stations, placed a little over two miles apart. Each had water, energy drink, energy gels, and delightful volunteers.
  
• The U.S. Army shares part of the park, and assisted at some of the aid stations. Also, along the way, are relics of the armaments of World War II, with 8-inch guns (I think) for taking out ships and submarines, and 3-inch guns (for sure) for air defense, along with many well-spaced mostly-underground munitions bunkers.
  
• German submarines actually sank 400 vessels off the East Coast of the U.S. during that war. Delaware bay gives access to several major ports, which would have been vulnerable to attack, hence the formidable defenses.
  
• A German sub surrendered off Cape Henlopen, after hearing that the war had ended. No shots fired.
  
• Considering the pine forest, the rocky trail, the war history, and splendid views of the ocean, I didn’t mind repeating the same loop four times. Delightful.
  
• Weather was pretty good, considering what it could have been. Average temperature was probably between 40 and 42, with sunny skies for the first two loops and cloudy for the last two, but no rain. The only problem was wind, which was muted by the pines much of the way.
  
• Also, according to the race web site, the horseflies are fewer at this time of year! Indeed, there were none.
  
• Not so good: They had soup and other food for race finishers, but that shut down early, probably about 5 hours after the start. Really, if it’s a six-hour marathon, the finishers’ area should stay open for six hours! If the aid-station volunteers can tough it out in the wind, then so can the people in the warm building.

My Race:

• Marathon number 61, state number 42, finish time 5:32:40, probably third of three in my ancient age group of 70 and up (results are not up yet).
  
• Early on I thought I was running short on energy, but that didn’t happen. The last loop was only a little slower than the others.
  
• I ran and walked, as usual. Most of the time I ran 30 seconds and walked about 50, but often cut the walking part shorter. I suppose that I actually ran more than half the distance, though not half the time.
  
• I passed our car four times on the course, so I used it as a private aid station, dropping a shirt after the first loop and picking up gels three times.
  
• The temperature was right on the edge for shorts, but they worked out fine. For most of the way I wore a wind jacket over a single long-sleeved wicking shirt, plus ear cover and gloves.
  
• Interesting: Our car remotes worked very poorly in the parking lot, and even worse near the finish-area building. We thought something in the car had failed. However, I suspect that a nearby radar installation was interfering with the tiny radio signals from the remotes. They work just fine now, away from the park.
  
• Six gels (with caffeine, the only legal performance-enhancing drug), eight or nine ThermoTab salt tablets. I took one or the other at every aid station.
  
• Because of the interesting multi-loop course and a few out-back segments I bumped into my sweeties running the half marathon at least three times. I like that.
  
• Whining: The right knee hurt just a little, but that went away. The “sports hernia” (abdominal wall strain) hurt a bit toward the end, but was never a limiting factor. The left hamstrings got sore, up near the top of the muscles, but were not limiting. Calves threatened to cramp, but didn’t. All in all, pace was limited by energy and nothing else. I probably couldn’t have run it much faster.

Splits: This was partly a trail marathon, so there were no mile markers, but I recorded a few times passing the finish line: 1:24:22 (one loop plus maybe 1/4 mile), 2:43:13 (two loops), 1:25:04 (one loop), total 5:32:40, overall pace 12:41. Again, though, I believe that the course might have been at least a quarter mile long. That’s OK - better long than short!

Sunshine and Don discussing the course during the race:

St. Croix Valley Runners

Saturday, November 19, 2011:

I hadn’t run for a week, doing yard word instead, but this morning the weather was fine for running, cool but pleasant, so I joined the SCV Runners on the weekly 5-mile jaunt. The abdominal wall strain (“sports hernia”) made itself known for perhaps 50 or 100 paces, as usual, and then quieted down, as usual. No problem.

Nice run, actually. I walked only a little, up a couple of short hills, and otherwise just kept jogging, finishing the five miles in 46 or 47 minutes (no watch), for a 9+ pace. It felt good. One week to the Seattle marathon.

Traveling to Seattle by way of Portland, Lookout Pass at the Montana-Idaho border was the trickiest driving. Slush on the road, but, happily, not a lot of traffic. We had chains along, but didn't have to use them:

Good Run

I had a weary run last Wednesday, but felt a lot stronger today. The cold is still hanging on, so maybe that wasn’t the problem Wednesday - most likely that was just muscle tiredness from two marathons.

Today was a good day. I felt stronger at the end than at the start, always a good sign. 4.8 miles in 53 minutes, for a pace of about 11 minutes/mile, good enough on that hilly dirt & grass trail, better than Wednesday for sure.

The “sports hernia” (abdominal wall strain) hurt a little for the first 100 paces or so, then wasn’t heard from again. All of my recent runs have been like that, including the last three marathons; abdominal pain for just a short time at the start. I’m hoping it will eventually just go away entirely.

I had a nice little run with a 6-year-old yesterday, 1.5 miles around Lake Como, lots of spurts and stops, but we both enjoyed it.


Organic chicken with two cheeses, organic veggies, organic sweet potatoes, organic black grapes:

New York City Marathon

I finished in the dark! Well almost - I finished while it was still light, but spent a half hour or more collecting my race bag and then it was totally dark.

Anyway, the New York City marathon was the spectacular event that we all know it to be. When people ask me about my three favorite marathons, I always include NYC. Nowhere else have I experienced the crowd support and the incredible number and quality of volunteers. If you like bands, there are plenty of those too. There’s nothing quite like it.

Here are some more good points:

• Roads are entirely closed to traffic, all 26.22 miles.
  
• The entire event is totally organized: From the Expo to the finish line, nothing is left to chance.
  
• The Expo was huge and, at least when we went on Thursday, there were no lines.
  
• I’ve never seen so many police along a marathon route. I like ‘em!
  
• The only places without spectators were the bridges, where pedestrians are not allowed.
  
• It’s not really very hilly. In NYC, the hills are the bridges.
  
• There WERE ENOUGH portable toilets at the start. I’ve rarely seen that before. I stood in line for maybe three minutes, and then when our corral was called we went past dozens of empty ones that I could also have used with no line.
  
• The weather could hardly have been better, clear and cool.
  

They could fix this

• The first few groups of portable toilets had only four or five in the group, and a huge line of needers. What the ...!? Everyone (EVERYONE) knows that many hapless runners will screw up and need a toilet in the first few miles (experienced runners plan to use one no more than 30 minutes before the start). Later in the race there were as many as ten toilets in a group, maybe more, and no line at all.
  
• The huge crowd at the end, after the finish, is an embarrassment to the NYRR. Here you finish in your best possible time, and then you spend the next half hour or more standing in line to get your race bag. Arrrgh! That’s unconscionable. FIX IT!

They won’t. The NYC Marathon is what it is, take it or leave it. Most of us take it. If I ever do this one again I’ll arrange not to need a race bag (had a valuable jacket in it), and I’ll bug out right after getting the medal.

My race:

• Wonderful! All in all, I had a very enjoyable race and a good enough finish time.
  
• Time 5:51:58, pace 13:27, four minutes faster than a week ago, number 92 of 157 in my 70-74 age group, marathon number 59. I have completed a marathon in 40 states so far in the eight years since myeloma diagnosis, ten to go. I got faster toward the end, which is a very good sign - I was passing everyone. I really love that!
  
• I was part of a group selected for enthusiasm (who knew?) as a cheering section behind pre-race TV interviews. This was fun, but it meant that, except for the bus ride to the start, I was on my feet from 3:30 am to 5+ pm. I was concerned about starting the race already tired, but I was OK. My back got tired standing, but was fine when I got going running.
  
• Also, I had run a marathon one week before, three weeks before, five weeks before, and seven weeks before, so I was concerned about the toll from those escapades.
  
• At bottom, though, I have no idea whether any of those significantly increased my time. Probably they all contributed. But who cares? I finished, and now have three weeks to rest up for the next marathon, in Seattle. Maybe I can go a little faster.
  
• This was the long run for that next marathon, right? I’ll jog a little Wednesday, maybe again Thursday or Friday, and then run with my regular group of friends on Saturday. Take it easy on me you guys. After that it’s taper time already! I hope the trails in the park are still good.
  
• Nothing hurts. I escaped injury, as far as I know. The “sports hernia” (not a real hernia) spoke up a little bit, but was never a limiting factor. The only limiting factor, actually, was muscle fatigue. That’s NORMAL. Yay!
  
• I feel quite fatigued as I write this. That’s sort of normal too, but I am starting to catch a cold and that may contribute.
  
• This morning I woke up with a scratchy throat, and the race didn’t make it better. I will take good care of it tonight, with plenty of sleep, warmth, zinc lozenges, and vitamin C. We don’t have access to chicken soup and liniment (for the chest) now, but we will tomorrow night.
  
• My sweeties didn’t get to run this marathon, but they did meet me at mile 16 and again at mile 26. I love that. Turns out there were other friends at mile 26 too, but I was so focused on my sweeties that I missed them!
  
• I did get cold. I tossed a long-sleeved shirt at about mile 5, as the temperature warmed, but could have used it again later as the sun dropped low in the west. My mistake - I could have tied it around my waist. But a hot shower at the hotel corrected the problem!
  
• I met some new people who are important to me and the E-Race Cancer campaign and Team Continuum. Good people. I like them.
  
• There may be a CNN piece about my marathons on their American Morning show, Tuesday, November 15. But maybe not. I’ll try to keep an update here.

That’s enough. Have a good night. I will.

Splits: 13:43 (up the Verrazano Bridge) , 12:17 (back down), 13:31, 24:35 (2 mi), 12:45, 12:14, 26:19 (2 mi), 17:22 (1 mi plus bathroom), 12:48, 12:41, 13:38, 27:37 (2 mi),, 13:03, 18:39 (1 mi plus video retakes), 12:45, 14:29, 26:08 (2 mi), 12:32, 27:35 (2 mi), 12:03, 12:57, 2:35 (0.22 mi), total 5:51:58, pace 13:25. S’OK.


At mile 16, coming off the Queensferry Bridge, spotting my sweeties in the crowd:

It Doesn’t Hurt to Laugh

It hurts a little to cough, though. More about that below. The Marine Corps Marathon is a huge production, and well run, though this one may have been a bit unusual. A hard rain the day and night before the race, even snow, then temps below 32, made bridges treacherous both going to the race and early in the race itself. I slipped and nearly fell on an icy bridge in the pre-dawn darkness. I’m sure a few others were less lucky. The rain also turned lawns into 2-inch-deep mud, and some of the start-area essentials (porta-potties, charity tents) were on lawns. Nevertheless, the race committee and runners prevailed, and the race started on time and went well.

My Race:

• I shot for 6:00 hours and finished in 5:55:56, 26th of 42 in the age group 70-74. Imagine 42 old farts out there! Actually, quite a few guys were even older, including a 90-year-old. That’s my dream, one of several. This was marathon number 58, state number 40 (Virginia, because the race starts and ends there).
  
• I had a LOT of fun. This marathon was as much fun as the Hartford Marathon two weeks ago. Furthermore, I had energy left at the end. I didn’t try to spend too much of that, with another marathon next Sunday, but it felt great to be passing almost everyone in the last six miles. To do that, you really only have to keep a constant pace.
  
• I walk/ran with a four to 1 ratio, changing that to 3 to 1 later in the race. 90 seconds walk, 30 seconds run.
  
• I have never had the opportunity to thank so many Team in Training (TNT) runners, who raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). Dozens. I also thanked one MMRF runner, but didn’t see any others.
  
• In contrast to the pre-dawn weather, the race weather was beautiful. From about 35, I suppose, to at least 50 degrees. I started with three shirts and makeshift leggings pinned to my shorts, and jettisoned the leggings and a shirt at mile four. The second shirt went at mile 17, so then I was in a T-shirt and shorts. Perfect.
  
• I took a lot of video again, and my sweeties did too. I met them twice along the course. Also, several times, I handed my video camera to a trustworthy-looking person, then went back a little and ran past again while they taped, and then back again for the camera. The reason will be explained in a future blog. Anyway it cost a little time.
  
• I high-fived a LOT of people, especially kids. I love to see the grin on a short person’s face.

The MCM:

• Lots and lots of enthusiastic volunteers.
  
• Roads are all CLOSED to traffic. We never had to dodge cars. In fact, some of the people of Washington are not fans of the MCM because the road closures tie up the town. Tsk.
  
• Marines are everywhere, of course. Many of them are young guys, fresh crewcuts, some of them could be my grandchildren. They called me “sir.”
  
• It’s SO COOL running through the nation’s capital, over the tidal basin, past the Washington and Lincoln monuments, down the mall, past the capitol building and the reflecting pool, on and on. I did love that. Got the video, too! It’s surprising how quickly that part goes by.
  
• The course is hilly in the beginning, but quite level later on. The finish is uphill, but happily quite short.
  
• I have some suggestions for the race committee, but they’re trivial things in a race of this magnitude and I doubt they’ll call.
• I was surprised how many runners were with me at my glacial pace. Lots! In fact, almost 2000 runners finished after I did.

Physical:

• The only significant pain was the “sports hernia,” abdominal strain. That’s what still hurts just a little.
  
• During the race I heard from the left hamstrings left hip flexors, but those signals went away with the miles.
  
• Every muscle is sore now, as always after a marathon. That’s a good thing.

Splits: 12:29, 13:39, 13:21, 13:09, 15:37, 12:43, 14:02, 13:08, 13:18, 26:35 (2 mi), 12:51, 12:46, 13:58, 13:15, 32:00 (2 mi w potty stop), 27:15 (2 mi), 13:27, 13:24, 13:02, 12:19, 13:34, 14:03, 16:11 (1.2 mi). Total 5:55:56, pace 13:34. OK for today.

Sunshine and Sweetpea’s home-cooked meatloaf, made tonight on the range in the hotel. Everything in the photo is organic:

MMRF Race for Research

Once a year the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation holds a money-raising 5k run/walk around Lake Phalen. It’s a fun event. I’m still trying to get past a sports hernia, so I only ran 30 seconds of every two minutes, but that amount sure felt good! The course was re-routed slightly because of construction, so it was probably about 2.9 miles instead of 3.1. I finished in 36:56, for a pace of 12:44. Not speedy, but enough to finish just ahead of the only other guy in my age group.

It felt SO good to run, but I won’t run again until the marathon next Sunday.

For the record: The “sports hernia” is still there. No pain, really, except a little in the first 30 seconds, but it’s lurking there. Also, the right knee with PFS did hurt a little. Ah well, the price of an enjoyable life.

I’m discovering that some people don’t think that a sports hernia will heal by itself - that surgical intervention is usually required, as with other hernias. I hope not - I’m working on the stretches, exercises, and massage.

Splits: 11:08 (probably about 0.8 mi), 12:31, 13:17 (1.1 mi), total 36:56.


Sunshine and myself with our medals:

Three Days Later

I feel great! We three had planned to a "double" in a couple of weeks, a marathon in New Hampshire on Saturday and another in Maine the next day. But last Monday, the day AFTER the Presque Isle marathon, I really didn’t feel strong enough to run another one that day. Would it be any different two weeks from now? Probably not.

For that reason, and because we have several more marathons on the schedule this fall, we have scratched the New Hampshire marathon and will focus on the one in Portland, Maine in eleven days.

We now have a nice new Schwinn A40 elliptical trainer, which arrived Monday and which we assembled yesterday. This morning I put in 20 minutes of fairly vigorous exercise on it, racking up 213 calories. Neither the machine nor I experienced any problems. There was a little bit of squeaking (I think it was the machine, not me) but it went away. After a little more experience with the machine, I may post a review of it. So far it’s pretty good.

As I think back on my blog posts it seems like there has been a lot of whining about injuries, especially lately. I do need to log that information for future reference, but at least for a while I’m going to put it at the bottom of the post, unless it really is the headline. As of today, the pain in the right-side adductors / hip flexors is entirely gone, as expected. The sports hernia (abdominal wall strain) on that side is detectable but not painful. That’s the one of most concern in the long term. I have located a couple of web pages describing sensible, appropriate treatment for the sports hernia and have put together a recovery program which includes stretches, specific exercises, and self-administered massage. We’ll see how it goes and if I stick to it.

Meanwhile, today is a masterpiece!

Elliptical Machine

No exercise yesterday - I had the 24-hour crud. Slept 10 hours straight last night, woke up feeling pretty good, so I went to Anytime Fitness.

After a few minutes on the recumbent bike, 67 calories, working at a rate of about 500 calories per hour, I felt a brief pain in the right groin, possibly related to the sports hernia on that side. So I stopped the bike and went to an elliptical machine, where I ran up 133 calories to make the total 200. That was plenty after yesterday’s issues. It all took a little under 30 minutes and it’s equivalent to about 2.5 to 3.0 miles.

After stretching, I jogged easily about 20 yards to the car. I could tell that the sports hernia injury was still not quite healed, but it didn’t really hurt. At home, the situp test was negative - no pain. That’s good, and there are still 9 days to go before the marathon.

Breakfast after the workout: Oatmeal with organic strawberries, a nectarine, organic frozen blueberries, organic yogurt, walnuts. This should reboot the digestive system:

YouTube Video from Rhode Island Marathon

Here’s a video that was taken at the Providence, RI Marathon, several months and a few marathons ago:



If you have a Facebook account and haven't yet "liked" my E-Race Cancer fundraising page, I invite you to do so. It costs you nothing, and Team Continuum gets a donation from an anonymous contributor.

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Anytime Fitness has many kinds of exercise equipment, for resistance training and cardio. I have a free 14-day pass to one of the clubs, and used it for the first time today. I ran up 100 calories on the recumbent bicycle and another 100 on the fanciest of the various elliptical trainers, total about 20 minutes. No pain, no strain. The sports hernia and its associated adductor stress were silent. I also stretched gently twice, still no pain. Further, when I got home I did the situp test, again with no pain. The stressed area is barely detectable.

Yesterday there was pain, from Monday’s 3.5-mile run, but today is better despite the brief cardio workout. This is good! Healing is happening, and the two machines don’t seem to cause a problem. Tomorrow I’ll increase the cardio time. The two machines do give quads and hamstrings a nice workout, not the same as running but a lot better than nothing.

Victory 10k & 5k

I didn’t run either race, but we three went to the races to rub elbows with old friends, and I did my first running in two weeks, on paved trails adjacent to the race course. Unfortunately, I didn’t quite get away with it.

The "situp test" (I try to do an ordinary situp) before the run was pain-free. I ran 30 seconds of every 2.5 minutes, walking the rest at a rapid pace. But even that small amount of running did cause some pain at first, in the abdominal wall and also further down, perhaps at the top of the adductors. It didn’t hurt to walk, only to run.

I walk/ran about 3.5 miles in 48:20, and by the end most of the pains had resolved, so I was running rather comfortably. Later at home, though, the “situp test” was a little painful - the injury is definitely not healed. I’m disappointed, because there is a marathon coming up soon.

I do have an appointment with a sports doc tomorrow morning, and we’ll figure out the best approach. One way or another, I will run that marathon.

Breakfast:

Acorns on the Roof

Bonk. Bonk. Another clear harbinger of fall, as if tonight's change in weather wasn't clue enough.

St Croix Valley Runners today, but I didn't run - I walked with my sweeties, strolled actually, for about 45 minutes. More than two miles, less than three. No pain in the abdominal wall, either during or after the walk.

In the afternoon, that was followed by two hours of lawn mowing with a walk-behind mower. Still no pain in the gut. This is good. According to the plan, I'll do more mowing tomorrow and then on Labor Day I'll run a little bit.

I'm starting to think that the injury may have been caused by my attempts to do quads stretches, as directed by a physical therapist. Of course I didn't do it right, if I caused the strain, but this is the second time in my memory that therapy for one problem may have caused another injury.


Tonight's dinner. Oven-roasted vegetables & pineapple surrounding turkey curry with a few organic coconut chips on top. Dessert was organic chunky peanut butter on a banana.

Walking

I am SO itching to run. The "abdominal wall strain" is barely detectable now, even when I do a situp. But I don't want to make the mistake of trying to "run through" this injury, because I think it will just get worse and I have seven or eight marathons yet to run this year.

So no running until next Monday, and then only a short distance followed by a "situp check" of the injured area. After that, re-evaluate. Maybe longer in a couple more days, maybe not.

Today, friend Jim and I walked 3.7 miles in about 1:06:00, for a nice easy walking pace of about 18 minutes/mile. Nice walk, nice chat. No pain.


Bison in sauce, onions, organic beans, organic grapes:

Harbingers of Fall

On my long trail run last Monday, I saw a stand of sumac just starting to turn red. Moments later, I heard and then saw a flock of geese honking overhead, starting to train for their long journey to the south. Fall isn't here yet, but now I'm sure it's coming. I love fall. Not so fond of winter, but fall can be excellent.

No running yesterday or today, and none tomorrow or Friday, either. Maybe none for almost two weeks, as my "abdominal wall strain" heals. This afternoon I tried to do a pushup, but my abs said NO. I'll see if some stair climbing feels OK.

I'm still trying to figure out WHY I got that injury. I've run thousands of miles in the last 9 years, including more than four dozen marathons, with no hint of that particular problem. So what's different?

In five days I ran 40 miles, somewhat over my weekly goal. Further, I was wearing a water-bottle carrier for 31 of those miles, one which I keep fastened rather tightly around my waist so that it doesn't bounce on my butt. I suppose that could be a difference - I don't wear that in a marathon because I drink at aid stations. Does it squeeze my abdomen in some unnatural way?

In any case, I doubt the injury would have happened if I had paid more attention to core strength. Let that be a lesson.