Recovery Walk

Wednesday, May 4, 2016:

Three days after the marathon I like to do a short recovery run, just to shake out the stiff muscles and lube up the joints.  When I tried that today, I walked at a modest pace with my girls but turned around in a half mile because of pain in the right ankle.  It wasn't too bad, but didn't feel like the walk was making it any better.  I doubt that the ankle issue is a big problem, but we'll wait for it to go away before testing it much more.

Right now the larger concern is a pain in the left groin, reminding me of a sports hernia on the right side that was surgically repaired a few years ago.  I didn't really notice this problem until after the marathon, but now I still can't do a situp or a pushup without pain.  I don't yet know if it is a sports hernia, and of course it is quite possible to race even if it is.  It didn't hurt during this short walk, though it certainly might in a marathon.  Time will tell.

Day 10

We took another nice walk on the park’s grass trails today, a little farther and a little faster than before. What a nice day - 60 degrees and a cool breeze. 4.4 miles in 1:27, pace about 20 minutes per mile.

This is the 10th day after the hernia surgery, very little pain during the walk, but it’s certainly not healed yet. I haven’t tried to run more than a shuffling step or two, and won’t for a while. I’ll get more direction from the surgeon in our post-surgical evaluation on Monday, I hope.

I had my fourth session of acupuncture today too, treating the surgical incision and my chronic peripheral neuropathy. So far I can’t tell whether it’s helping; the neuropathy hasn’t improved much, but the surgery seems to be healing rapidly.

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:

A Better Walk Today

Two days ago I walked in a soccer dome and had significant hip-flexor pain on the same side as the sports hernia. Today we walked at Maplewood Mall, actually a lot nicer for walking than the soccer dome, though maybe a bit too civilized for running.

Anyway, we walked for 60 minutes, the same amount of time as two days ago, and we probably went a little faster, but the pain was less. It started after about 30 minutes, as before, and increased steadily for a mile or so, but then didn’t get any worse. In fact, it might have been a little less at the end than it was a mile before. Still only four miles, way shy of a marathon, but it’s a little ray of hope.

Peaches, cherries, blueberries, strawberries, all organic and all frozen. Organic walnuts and yogurt, on top of gluten-free oatmeal:

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:

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:

Recovery Run

Jim and I went for a lovely jog on the grass trails in the park Tuesday morning. The trail we took is 3.7 miles, but can easily and conveniently be extended to 4.8 miles, and we did that. I felt very good, with some tiredness in the legs from Saturday’s marathon, but no significant pain. The sports hernia is still there, but not much of a problem.

42 degrees with a little mist, the weather wasn’t perfect, but we enjoyed that park nonetheless. Jim walked when I needed to walk, mostly on the hills, and we had a good conversation. I don’t know how long we took, because my tired old Timex watch reset itself to January 1 at some point after I started it. It’s done that before in cold weather. Guess I need a new watch, probably a Garmin.

A little of the miles upon miles of fall color that we enjoyed driving to and from the Hartford Marathon last weekend. This could be Indiana, Ohio, or Pennsylvania - they were all beautiful:

ING Hartford Marathon

The Hartford Marathon. Connecticut has a good thing going here. We all three LOVED this marathon and would recommend it highly. And all of us did well in it, too, which of course helps with the loving. The marathon time limit is six hours, so I was shooting for six and went out slowly, hoping not to aggravate a sports hernia injury. But the expected pain didn’t appear, and I finished in about 5:42. The girls actually ran their best time in three years. This is a great day.

The ING Hartford Marathon:

What can you say? This is a grown-up marathon for grown-ups. I can’t think of any suggestions for the marathon committee. It’s all good. They had problems with excessive rain in the weeks leading up to the event, even the night before the event, but they reacted and fixed the problems. Good points:

• Going through one park, the mud alongside the paved trail was higher than the trail! I stopped to talk to the parks superintendent (still right there), who said that it had rained hard overnight and there had been two inches of mud over the trail, but his crews got out there at daybreak and pushed the mud to the side. He had feared that someone would slip and fall, but the trail was dry and almost clean. Huzza to the parks crew!
  
• Volunteers were wonderful everywhere. Spectators too. In fact, people were wonderful throughout Hartford, whether associated with the marathon or not. I like Hartford.
  
• The expo was fairly large and definitely worth a visit. Of course, as with all marathons, you have to go there anyway to pick up your running number and timing chip, but we enjoyed the expo too.
  
• ROADS WERE CLOSED TO TRAFFIC. I never felt nervous about vehicle traffic. That’s important.
  
• Hartford is halfway into fall color. I suppose it will be better in a week, but it was pretty good today!
  
• The race committee can’t do much about the weather, but if they could, they would be hard pressed to improve on today’s. Temperature was in the 50's and low 60's throughout, with alternating sun and clouds, and with a southwest wind that was more enervating than troublesome.
  
• When I finished the marathon at 5:41 there was still food left. Thank you Hartford!
  
• Bands played everywhere. Some just played music at extravagant levels, but many were actual musicians performing for free. In fact I’m a sucker for bagpipers, and there were two. Somehow those don’t need amplification.
  
• There actually were enough porta-potties along the race course.
  
• Aid stations were plentiful and well-organized.

My Marathon:

• The day before the marathon I was interviewed by the local FOX station, here.
  
• The morning of the marathon I was interviewed by the local CBS station, but I can’t find a link. Maybe someone else will find it. Also, there may be a short blurb on that station in tonight’s news (after football is over for the night).
  
• In recent marathons I had been concerned about a sports hernia (which is not a “real” hernia but is cured by the same surgery). With two more marathons coming up in the next three weeks, I planned to go slow, but no pains appeared and I was able to get ahead of schedule and stay ahead. There is just a hint of pain from that area now, after the race, but that’s all.
  
• According to my watch I finished in 5:41:46, but the unofficial time according to the race committee was 5:39:49, two minutes less. I don’t know how that can happen, actually. I clicked my watch at the start line and again at the finish, so my watch should be right. They might find an error in their figures. If not, then I’ll take the extra two minutes!
  
• I LOVED this marathon - every single minute. I think I enjoyed it more than I used to enjoy marathons when I finished in 3:45.
  
• When I interviewed with Fox on Friday morning, a local 59-year-old woman named Maggie, running her 59th marathon (!), was interviewed right before me. She brought a fistful of Hartford Marathon medals to her interview. Today we met during the race, too, at the start and then briefly around mile 24. We finished just a couple of minutes apart.
  
• I like to express my gratitude to other runners who are raising money to fund cancer research and support. I got a chance to thank a lot of TNT (Team in Training) runners today - they raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) which supports research for myeloma too. Thank you TNT!
  
• Several people asked about the new Team Continuum shirt (below), so I had a chance to spread the word a little.
  
• Five Clif Shot gels with caffeine, maybe seven or eight salt tablets along the way. I took plenty of video again.

Splits: 12:31, 12:39, 12:23, 12:30, 25:08 (2 mi), 12:43, 13:58, 12:18, 12:25, 13:13, 25:22 (2 mi), 15:59 (porta potty), 13:07, 13:10, 13:13, 12:19, 12:47, 27:06 (2 mi), 12:48, 26:05, 14:16 (?), 13:25, 2:22 (0.22 mi), total 5:41:46 by my watch, pace 13:02 by my watch. Apparently I did slow down a little in the second half, but most of that happened when I stopped to talk to people, including especially the TNT runners. Some of them were going the other way (part of the race is an out-and-back), so I would turn around to run with them for a few seconds.

Breaking news. The chip times have been removed from the results (for now?), so everyone’s finish time is the same as their gun time. Mine is 5:46:04, up from 5:39:49. See I told ya - they goofed on my time by almost exactly 2 minutes (and maybe everyone else's), and now they’re working on it, trying to get it right. Maybe they will. It does now show that I’m third of four in my age group. Maybe.

Happy Don at about mile 22:

After the finish:

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!

We’re Going! No question.

Should I even try to run the next marathon? What if the sports hernia gets a lot worse - we have seven more marathons this year. Or, what if we didn’t go to this marathon, and the sports hernia showed up at the next one anyway? In the end, the only way to know if I can run a marathon is to start it and try to finish. So we’re going to this one. I love this life!

Right now the injury is still there - a slight tightness on that side of the abdomen and in the related groin area. But the marathon is still a week away.

I’m really looking forward to it too, in a lovely FLAT park on Presque Isle in Lake Erie. The race starts right at sunrise, which is so cool. Sometimes the larger races have fireworks for a sunrise start - we’ll see - in any case, I can’t wait to start the marathon!

Today, September 11, 2011:

We three went to the park for an easy 55-minute walk. No pains, just a little tightness.

Saturday evening, September 10:

Anytime Fitness elliptical machine, 30 minutes at about 500 calories per minute, total 250 calories. Maximum heart rate was 111 bpm, so I need to ramp up the calories per minute, but this was a good enough workout for today.

Saturday morning, September 10:

Several of the St Croix Valley Runners were planning to run the Bear Water 20-mile run in White Bear Lake Sunday, so only three runners and five walkers showed up. We walkers strolled for about 2.5 miles while the three speedsters finished their five miles well ahead of us. No strain, good conversation.

All organic, including the leftover turkey:

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: