The Waiting Game

5 days to go.  It's raining again.  As Gomer Pyle used to say, "Surprise, surprise, surprise, surprise."  Yesterday, I had a good run.  I say good, because my IT band only acted up a little bit.  And most importantly, it was actually nice while I was running.  I woke up and went to get a last massage before the race.  After that, my IT band felt great without any pain.  It tightened up a bit during the morning, but I set out at Noon for my run.   My schedule said 7 miles with 2 miles at marathon pace.  Well... considering my current plan is to run 7:30 pace (seems more reasonable given the condition of my legs and my training), I figured that this run should feel pretty easy.  My inability to pace showed through again.  After warming up at 7:51, I then proceeded to run 7:28, 7:18, 7:13, 7:27, then 7:39 and 7:37.  So, my two miles were significantly faster than marathon pace, and my IT band tightened up a bit more during the run.  I'm hoping that I'll run smarter in Boston, and that my IT band won't complain. 

No time to be (a) patient

The countdown continues:  7 days to go.  Since I was a bit whipped from the road trip this past weekend, yesterday was a day off, both to recover and to give my legs a chance to heal.  I'm kneeling at the altar of the almighty foam roller and TP roller this week, hoping that things will continue to improve.  A fairly easy 6 miles at Noon is on my schedule today.  Tomorrow is a massage and then a last tune up run with a few miles at goal marathon pace.  I joked earlier this year that my goal marathon pace is nearly my long run pace, so I'm hoping it will feel easy.  It had better feel easy!

The Final Countdown

8 days to go!  The taper starts in earnest.  Hmmm.  In order to taper, you need to start from a high amount of mileage.  Since I never really got to high mileage, it won't be much of a taper.  It's more of a rest and try to heal up.  My IT band is still a bit on the grumpy side.  I ran a track workout on Thursday which was 3 x 1600 at 5k pace.  I had planned on running the first one normally, then the second one backwards, and the last one normally.  Now, by backwards, I don't mean literally running backwards; rather, I mean clockwise rather than counterclockwise.  So, it's turns to the right instead of the left.  I figured that it would stress my IT band less.  Historically, I've nearly always run the "normal" way on the track.  After doing this my entire high school career, I found that I couldn't run as fast if I ran "backwards."  And so, after 30+ years of running on the track always turning to the left, it seemed as if I was doomed to run the Thursday intervals slowly.  I even contemplated doing them on the path in Fort Steilacoom park so I wouldn't have to turn, but I can't help running on the track whenever I get the chance.  So, after running the first one, and feeling some pain in my IT band, I steeled myself to run the second one, figuring that I would have a great alibi if I was slow.  Shockingly, I ran faster, and my IT band didn't complain.  One good turn (pun intended) deserved another, so I did the third one backwards as well.  I managed to descend that one, too.  Of course, I was starting from a relatively slow time, so descending was a good thing.   And... the added bonus was that it was sunny enough to wear sunglasses.  Will wonders never cease?

After a day off for travel to Bend, I did an easy 4 mile run on Saturday morning.  It was cold (30 degrees). And my IT band complained, even forcing me to stop and walk a bit when I was going down a hill and felt a really sharp pain in my knee.  Arrrgh!  Fortunately, it let up quickly and I was able to finish my run.  Then, I did some strides back and forth in front of Kenny's house.  I was imagining the dogs watching from the window, like they were watching a game of ping-pong:  "Look, there's Daddy... look, there he is again... and again...and again."

Relief! Finding out what IT(B) was that caused my knee pain

Yesterday was a day off from running.  It was a good thing, because my left knee was still hurting.  After trying to figure out what worsened the pain, I realized that it wasn't the menisci, since weightbearing did not worsen it.  I went to see my massage therapist to see if she could help.  Almost as soon as Amy started working on the area, she said it was my IT band. 

Guess it's a good thing that I don't make my living diagnosing myself.  After getting a lot of work on my left IT band, soleus, and hamstring (some that nearly brought me off the table-think Sigourney Weaver in "Ghostbusters"), my knee was nearly pain-free.  Yes!  Clearly, it was a direct reaction to my turned ankle.  Funny how my soleus didn't even bother me until Amy started working on it.  Of course, my right IT band was also a bit tight from my long run, too, but I was expecting that.  I'm hopeful that things will resolve by marathon day. 

In the meantime, I've ordered a foam roller to use (how many PT tools do I have at home?  Nearly enough to start my own clinic!)

A bad wheel

Today is a day off from running.  This is both planned and fortuitous.  The knee pain that I mentioned yesterday persists, and is both puzzling and troubling me:  puzzling because I can't exactly localize it, although I know how I did it; and troubling because... well, it's two weeks to the day before the marathon, and, last I heard, running involves two legs and not one.  I'm pretty sure that the knee pain was caused by turning my ankle twice while running long last weekend.  When I went on the track the following Tuesday, I could feel it towards the end.  And, as I was running yesterday, it started to bother me while I was running up Chambers Creek.  I couldn't understand this, since the pain was lateral, and I was running up the hill on the right side of the road; I know that runners are supposed to run on the left against traffic, but I'd much rather be running with traffic up a hill instead of against traffic (where cars are screaming downhill).  So, I usually stay on the right when going uphill.  Anyway, the camber of the road would put more stress on the medial aspect of my left knee, but it was bugging me laterally.  And when I came back down the same road (this time against traffic on the left), it really started to hurt.  Hmmmm.  Well, that made sense because the camber was now putting the stress laterally, and I was going downhill. 

I can't find an exact spot that says that it hurts "RIGHT HERE."  All I know is that something hurts in here:

I'm hoping that a day off with some stretching and a massage will help to calm it down. 

Can you tell I'm stressing about it, oh, maybe just a little bit?

The final long run

My last long run was today.  After some horrible weather on Friday, yesterday was dry but windy.  I had planned to run after the SST Social Bike ride (the first one in Dupont, so as the President, I felt obligated to ride), but Ryan's 1.5 hour baseball practice became a 3.5 hour ordeal, and I was the single parent to Ryan, so I had to opt out of the run.  I planned to run 16 miles this morning, checking in on Ryan after about 1.5 hours of it.  Today was a very pleasant, although chilly day, with the sun peeking out and a moderate wind from the west (the "back" part of my out-and-back was going to be harder)

It's funny how your perspective changes as you progress along a training plan.  I figured that the first part of my run would be along Grandview and would "only" be around 11.5 miles.  I was pretty close as it came out at 11.4.  How did I figure 11.5?  I guessed that it was longer than 11 but shorter than 12, so there you go.  Because it was 11.5 miles, I only took a gel flask with some Mountain Huckleberry Hammer Gel (my favorite flavor) and planned to stop at home for a quick drink before the second part of my run.  I wasn't sure where to go for the second part of my run, but decided to run the North Fort trails. Turned out fine, although my left knee started aching as I descended Chambers Creek.  I'm not sure whether it's my IT band, or whether I did something to my lateral meniscus, but it hurts when I extend it, stand on it, or walk on it.  Great.

As I was doing my run, this is how warped my thinking has become (long runs and marathon training does that to you, I guess).  I thought, "Maybe I should keep doing two hour runs every week during the triathlon season.  It would certainly maintain my run fitness and would be easy to fit into my Sunday schedule."  A sharp stick into the eye would take less effort, and probably be just as effective.  Just kidding.  I'll have to see how I feel after the marathon.

Now, the taper starts.  I hope to get healthy and recover for the next two weeks.  15 days to go!

Running with BOB

I had the rare opportunity to run with BOB yesterday.  Who is BOB?   A better question is:  What is BOB?  I'll give you a hint:  I run with BOB often when I'm in Arizona.  Yup, BOB is the big orange ball in the sky who put in a much needed appearance in the Pacific Northwest yesterday.   It was a nice day without rain, shockingly enough.  Yesterday was supposed to be an easy 5 mile recovery run, and for the most part, it was.  My legs felt sufficiently good that I picked it up towards the end; picking it up was relative, because when I looked at my watch at the end, it wasn't very fast.  This is starting to be a recurring theme, and I think I need to resign myself to it.  I'm rethinking my goal pace for the marathon, so that I can have a good race without blowing up too early.  Of course, I'm still hoping for my breakthrough, but I don't think it's gonna happen. 

I do think I am fortunate that I am still able to run.  Regardless of the pace, the fact that I'm still putting one foot in front of the other on a regular basis after 30+ years of running makes me feel like I've been pretty lucky. 

17 days to go!