Rock n Roll San Diego Marathon Comeback: Still a lot of work to do

I had every intention to update this blog on my journey to run a marathon for the first time in 7 years. I really should have written an in-depth analysis of each long run I had leading up to the race. I've had a string of injuries and a long-time hamstring injury that now, after 7 years, is "mostly" gone.

On June 1, 2014 I ran my first marathon since June of 2007 at the Rock n Roll San Diego Marathon. Ironically I was returning to the last marathon I ran 7 years previously (and my fastest marathon time posted). It was a long 7 years without marathon running in my life. In 2013 I started to train in late March to try to squeeze in the Rock n Roll Marathon, but after a horrendous 20-mile training run in mid-May, I scrapped my plans to run it. I wasn't ready. I knew it would be a struggle and I knew I would be unhappy with my result. So I just didn't do it and focused on a possible winter 2014 marathon. Then when it came time to train in the fall, I decided to just wait until spring 2014 and I made plans to run RnR in June here in San Diego.

I may not have been ready to run the RnR Marathon this year either. But, I did complete the race, just not in the time I wanted. So here goes. This is my story and analysis of what went wrong and how I can learn from it.

Leading up to this race, I was able to several long runs of 14+ miles. I started tracking my training in January and began doing my long runs on the weekends. I started out with 8 and 9 mile runs by mid-January. By Feb I was up to 10 & 11 milers. In March I really turned the training up with a 14 and 15 mile run. My paces, according to my Nike + on my iPod, said I did those runs at close to 7:00 per mile pace, just under at 6:57 in fact. I never doubted the accuracy of the Nike application. I had calibrated it in February so I thought it was the truth. I felt strong. I felt confident. (FORESHADOWING HERE).

April 5, a 19 mile run at 7:07 pace in the sun. I felt decent. Everything was going my way. I never doubted anything. I felt I could sustain my pacing. I followed that run with an 18.5 mile run on April 12 at 7:09 pace, again in the sun. April 19, a 20-mile run at 7:03 pace. Things were looking up. My goal was to do at least 2 runs at 20+ miles. Ideally I wanted 4 but I didn't want to push it too much. It was my first marathon in 7 years. I wanted to make it to the starting line.

Here are the final long runs I did in the training cycle:
April 26: 14.6 miles at 7:03 pace
May 3: 18.69 miles at 7:09 pace
May 9: 22.1 miles at 7:01 pace (FINAL LONG RUN)
May 17: 17.07 miles at 6:55 pace
May 24: 14.06 miles at 6:50 pace

Based on my training, I felt I had this marathon in the bag. My original goal was to just run anything under 3:10:00, my Boston Marathon qualifying time for a male 35-39 years old. I'm 38 now. I figured that I could easily get under 3:10 but I was really training for a 2:59 (my secret goal) so I would have some cushion should anything go wrong in the race. I felt that if I could hold the paces I had during training, I could go a little faster (6:50 pace) in the race and possibly toy with another sub-3 hour marathon. I have done it twice in my marathon career.

SIDENOTE:  The first time was at the 2006 Boston Marathon where I ran the race of my life and finished at 2:59:07. Then, the next year at the Rock n Roll San Diego Marathon I ran another PR with a 2:57:41 finish. I was on fire those years. Then I got injured in Dec 2007 playing tennis and tearing my right hamstring badly. All bets were off. Off and on PT sessions and I sat 7 years on the sidelines without running another marathon until 2014. I missed the best marathoning years of my life (ages 32-37). 

MARATHON SUNDAY - June 1, 2014

FIRST HALF
Miles 1-6: I purposely didn't run too fast in those early miles when it's so easy to do so. Everyone is pumped and full of adrenaline. I wanted to stay EXACTLY on a 1:30:00 pace for the first half. I wanted to to have enough juice for the second half. These miles go from Balboa Park up through Hillcrest, down Park Blvd to downtown. Then it crosses through Little Italy (a few inclines). I crossed the 10K split at 42:24 (6:49 pace). Right on target.

Miles 6-13: I kept plugging along. There definitely were some minor hills here and other inclines I didn't expect. Through Little Italy after the 10K I definitely felt these. I also felt like I was sweating a lot more than normal. I was drinking the bottle I had around my waist and grabbed water at the stations every 2 miles.

Around mile 7-8 we entered Mission Hills and another small incline. I decided to take one of the GU gels they were handing out. Just in case. We made our way through Old Town (more inclines), then along Morena Blvd adjacent to Mission Bay Park. I knew the half-way point was along the bike course in Mission Bay Park. So in order to get over there we had to cross a bridge over the 5 freeway around mile 11 that also was a minor hill. I took my Cliff shot bloks here with water. Actually my bottle fell so I had to stop and grab it. My goal was to get to the half marathon by 1:30. I crossed at 1:30:18, 6:53 pace! RIGHT ON PACE!

Miles 14-20: Once I passed mile 14 I knew trying for a sub-3 hour marathon was out of the question. I was already fatigued, but I felt like I had some room to slow and not blow my chances at at least the sub 3:10:00. I kept moving and just focused on staying within distance and keeping a cushion. Miles 17-19 were definitely challenging me. I fought and fought and tried not to slow down. Before we went onto the 163 and faced the MAJOR hill, there was a minor hill in that we had to go across a bridge to get to the other side of the 5 during the last part of mile 19. I didn't like this at all. We were on the freeway now and mile 20 was right in front of me. I crossed mile 20 at 2:21:42, a 7:05 pace overall.

My actual time from crossing the half marathon split to mile 20 was 51:24 (6.89 miles at 7:27 pace). So I did slow down considerably from my first half pace. If I held this pace I would finish at 3:06-3:07 and change. I knew I would lose a few minutes on the hill though. It was going to be close. The sun also came out right as I was getting onto the freeway. Great.

Miles 20-21: I knew going in that the race had this MAJOR hill from mile 20-21. I figured it was less than a mile and I didn't think it was going to be that bad. I even drove on it in the days before since it was on the northbound side of the 163 freeway. It seemed gradual but I really couldn't assess the true nature of it.

I am going to say this now and I honestly believe it's the truth. This was the most difficult hill of ANY race I have EVER run in my ENTIRE LIFE. Period. Having this hill at this stage of a marathon is absolutely INSANE. Since I have run Boston Marathon 4 times, I honestly believe RnR is MORE DIFFICULT. This hill is EXACTLY 1 mile long with no breaks, all incline. There are no areas where the hill levels off and then continues to ascend. On Boston Marathon's Heartbreak Hill, there are areas where you have breaks of flatness. Not on this one.

I tried my hardest to NOT WALK. I made it about 3/4 of the way up and I just felt I needed to walk in order to save myself from collapse. I walked about 30 seconds and then ran the rest of the way up. The hill ended with the on ramp to get to Hillcrest and University Avenue on 10th ave. I had nothing left. As I crossed mile 21, I looked at the clock and determined I needed to run 7:40 pace the rest of the race (5.2 miles) to just squeak by with a sub 3:10:00 and a Boston Marathon qualifying time. Given the state of my body and my mind I knew odds were against me. I tried though.

Miles 22-24: As I crossed mile 22 I looked at the clock and I knew I wasn't going to break 3:10:00. I kept thinking about the 163 hill and how truly devastating it was. I was becoming extremely thirsty since the sun was out in full force now. This isn't how I wanted this marathon to end. At this point I was toying with the idea of walking the rest in. But I still wanted to post a decent time. I just didn't know if it was worth it to kill myself since I knew I wasn't going to finish under 3:10:00. I ended up walking portions of mile 22 and 23. I tried to walk only 20-30 second spurts. I only did this a few times per mile. As we made our way through Morley field, yet another hill. Not fun. Then finally we were on Pershing and I knew mile 24 was at the top of that hill. I decided I would run the rest of the race in (as much as I could). I flew painfully down Pershing and as it flattened out I walked again for 20 seconds. I then forced myself to run.

Miles 25-26.2: My legs were completely shot. It was painful to move. I could barely run but I ran. I just wanted to be done with it. I wanted to eat the pecan roll my good friend Alex promised she would bring to me at the finish line. I felt disappointed that all this training resulted in a sub-par performance. As I made my way down the final stretch I saw the clock read 3:18 something. I ran as hard as I could to stay within the 3:18 minute and finished at 3:18:52. It was my 4th slowest time out of the 11 marathons I have run since 2001. I finished 159th overall out of 5400 runners. Not bad, but I've certainly done better.

Finish line delirium: After I crossed the finish line I bent over to stretch my hamstrings, which felt awful and like I had lead in my blood. I had so much pain in my legs. I actually sat on the ground for a moment to catch my breath. I was not in a good state. I got back up since I was determined to find Alex and Jason who were waiting for me somewhere in the family meeting area. I told them to go to the "B" section and to expect me around 3 hours after the race started. So I was a little off. I then became very lightheaded.

A half marathon finisher girl asked me if I was ok. I could barely answer her. I told her I was dizzy and needed to sit down. I was stumbling as I walked, almost like a drunk, but a medicated drunk. She got someone from the medical tent to come over and I was wheeled into the tent. I was there for the next hour. They gave me Gatorade with added salt (disgusting!!), ice bags and told me to put my feet up on a box whileI laid in the cot. After the dizziness was mostly gone the next task was to be able to stand up. It took me 15 min to be able to do that. I then had to lay back down again and start over again. Finally I decided to leave and try to walk it off. I found Alex and Jason, who were miraculously waiting in the Family Reunion section. The walk out of the finish area to that section felt longer than the actual marathon itself! I bit into the pecan roll (despite not having much of an appetite).

Marathon Post-Mortem: When I looked at my Nike+ tracker on my iPod it said I ran 28 miles instead of 26.2. This meant that all of my runs using that application were inaccurate. This meant that it said I was running faster then I really was. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. I was led to believe I was in better shape than I actually was. All those "7:03" paced training runs were actually a lot slower. I have determined the pace was most likely off by at least 20-30 seconds per mile. I can't quite nail it down. Regardless, if I had had an accurate training device, I may have approached the race differently.

I have a few options if I still want to qualify for the 2015 Boston Marathon.

Option 1: Run another marathon before registration begins in mid-September for the Boston Marathon. That means I need to run a full marathon in under 3:10:00. I have found one race in Ventura, CA. The Ventura Marathon on Sept 7. The course is relatively flat from what I have read and there should be good coastal fog and cloud cover up there. I would basically start formalized training in late June through Sept. That means an additional 8 weeks of training. I'll probably need to build up to another 20+ mile run, maybe 2. It's a short time span but I am utilizing the training base I already have.

Option 2: Focus on running a marathon in early 2015 to qualify for Boston Marathon in 2016. Since I will be turning 39 in December, that means for the 2016 race I will be 40 (YIKES) but my Boston qualifying time becomes 3:15:00 instead of 3:10:00. Five more valuable minutesI will gain! This seems more realistic.

I am leaning to Option 1. Still undecided. I'm not ready to give up marathons just yet. I have run 6 qualifying times for the Boston Marathon. I still feel I have a few more in me.

Running and Sir Isaac Newton running shoes

If you asked me 3 months ago what I would be doing right now, on a Saturday at quarter to 8 in the morning, I probably would have told you I was getting ready to head out on a 16 mile run. Well, I am sitting in bed writing about how I AM NOT doing that and how I still am not ready to do any sort of long-ish runs. I haven't done above 8 miles in months. My hamstrings continue to give me problems. At least my lower back aches are gone now. I have seriously been evaluating if I should continue with long distance running. I yearn to play tennis competitively again and have contemplated joining a few tennis clubs and leagues.

I still don't want to give up and just last night had a dream about the Boston Marathon.  In the dream I was at the finish line waiting for myself to finish. It was as if I was in two bodies at once, as a spectator and as a runner. It kept switching back and forth. Then I saw the time on the clock (3:45:00) and it was well past when I should have finished. I woke up not feeling to great.

I think my continued issues may have to do with the shoe I am using. I decided to splurge and try the experimental technology of the Sir Isaac Newton running shoes. Basically these shoes were designed to force you to run more on your forefoot and less on your heels. They attempt to mimic barefoot running, which is all the craze now in preventing injury. Newtons were built exclusively to allow a natural running gait. Here is a more technical explanation from their web site regarding their Action/Reaction Technology™:

When your midfoot/forefoot LANDS on the ground, the technology's four external actuator lugs are pressed into hollow chambers inside the shoe's midsole via an elastic membrane (ACTION). This movement absorbs shock.

As you LEVER inside the shoe, the lugs release their stored energy and propel you forward through a burst of energetic return (REACTION) from the Action/Reaction Technology™. You then LIFT your knee and begin a new stride.





Well I am still not sure spending the $148 every 3 months for this shoe is worth it just yet. I have been using them for over 6 months now. I have noticed slight changes, but not always positive. I actually have noticed I have more pain in my metatarsals in my right foot. Maybe because I land more heavily on my right side. That would explain why I have hamstring issues on my right leg. Do right handed people land more heavily on their right side? I wonder if studies have been done on this. Anyway, I will give them another chance. I do like that they are much lighter and I feel myself propelling forward while I run.

My Marathoning Future

So with my discovery about the better back support in my new work chair, I have renewed hope to be able to run another marathon soon.  My hamstrings are really sore lately, but I have been hitting decent paces. I feel optimistic about my training.

I was hoping to use the Carlsbad Marathon on Jan 23, 2011 to re-qualify for Boston Marathon, but I won't be doing that now as it sold out in 8 hours on Oct 18. It's the first time this has happened. Usually they open registration in early Sept and usually it takes until Jan or Feb to sell out. Well, things are different now. More and more people are running marathons and qualifying for the race. Also, since they opened registration in the middle of October, one of the most popular months for marathons, there was a sense of urgency to register quickly.

I did 8 miles on Saturday at 7:00 pace and I'll have to admit it was a bit of a struggle. I didn't do it early enough in the AM, so temps were around 70 degrees or so. I also ran 5 miles the night before. Mistake. I have to just take a rest day if I am going to have a successful longer run. I had to stop 3 times to stretch for about 30 seconds each time and I was so fatigued throughout this run. The tired feeling was probably due to not eating enough before the run and waiting too long to run after eating. Ideally I should run 60-90 min after eating. I think the key is stretching A LOT more before my runs, especially my runs that go over and hour. I also am going to try to work in some spin classes on my non-running days.

Finishing Touches and Back to the Marathon

Ok I REALLY need to update this more than every 4-5 weeks. I used to be so good about it. I will make more of a concerted effort in Oct. I promise. This month is flying by. I can't believe it's already Oct 12 today.

The condo is really coming together. I have ALL of the inside furniture I need now that includes a coffee table, TV stand and couch. I also got FLOR carpet tiles (see photo on the left) to put over the bamboo floors in a small section in front of the couch to add some pop!  I moved the coffee table in the photo to display all 8 tiles I bought.

I actually can't believe I am buying original art to put on the walls! It's so HEG! I am buying a painting from my friend and ex-roommate Mike Quernemoen. He is a graphic designer by trade, but also paints on the side. When I lived with him in 2000-2002 in Boston he really got into it, but had been doing it all his life. I love abstract images so I was thrilled that I was able to buy one of his existing paintings. He painted it again for me since someone just purchased the one I wanted. You can see his painting portfolio here. The one I am buying is titled "Midnight Harbor" and is on the right side. I will post a photo once it is up in my condo.

As for work things have been busy until this week. My health care client had a ton of mailings going out for the Annual Election Period (AEP), which began Oct 1. So now I will work on another account in addition to the health care account. I am doing competitive research for another division of the health care account we carry. It's very interesting work. I can tell I am VALUED there. It's a completely different feeling than I had at my last job.

The other night I saw "The Spirit of the Marathon" on Hulu and got all emotional. I haven't run a full marathon since June of 2007 so I am itching to do one again. I just want to do a few more and then I will officially retire from marathon running. I'll always run but I won't train so hard for long-distance stuff anymore. My hamstrings have been giving me problems since late 2007. I think it's something I will just have to live with. Now that I am turning 35 in December, in order to qualify for Boston Marathon I just need to run a 3:15:59 qualifying time at another marathon. Six of the 10 marathons I have completed have been under 3:10:00. I know myself and I know I could easily re-qualify. Since I am perfectionist I would want to do a lot better than 3:15 though, but to know that I have that extra 5 minutes is huge. If you are male and between the ages of 18-34 you need to run 3:10:59 in order to qualify for the Boston Marathon. So that extra five minutes is great.

My goal would be to run the Carlsbad Marathon on Jan 23. That roughly gives me a little over 3 months to train. I can pull out another qualifying time. If I re-qualify I would qualify for both the 2011 and 2012 Boston Marathon. I would probably wait until 2012 though. Running Boston in April seems too soon, especially after running Carlsbad. I would have to continue to train straight through the winter and into spring. Would my body be able to handle it? I have no clue. I have to take it one day at a time and see how these long runs go. Tonight I did 8.62 miles at a 6:58 pace. That isn't too bad. All I need is like a 7:22 pace for the marathon. That pace feels very easy for me.

I miss marathons/running totals

It's been over 2 years since my last marathon on June 3, 2007 at the San Diego Rock n Roll Marathon. I really miss it now and it's very difficult to watch everyone around me run their fall marathons while I sit on the sidelines. I have struggled with injuries since December 2007 when I tore my hamstring while playing tennis. At the time I didn't think it was a major injury. I took a few days off and kept up with my running. The pain never left me.

Almost 2 years later, I am still not completely healed. The slight pain has stayed with me even after months of physical therapy. It just won't shake no matter how much stretching I do. I have a feeling that my hamstring will never be the same. The good news is that it's a lot better than it once was. I'm not in excruciating pain while running. It's just ever so slight and bothersome. It can get worse as time goes on. I will see if it gives me major problems on longer runs. I'll just have to focus on other things. It's going to be a game of tricking my mind. If I don't focus on it, maybe I won't notice the pain. I've done that before with success.

My plan is to run the Surf City Marathon on February 7, 2010 in Huntington Beach. I believe this is a realistic goal. At that race I will hopefully re-qualify for the Boston Marathon that takes place on April 19, 2010. After that, I plan to retire from marathon running once and for all. My body just doesn't seem cut out for it. I may still do half marathons. Speaking of the half, I was planning to do the Silver Strand Half Marathon, but it is sold out. I want to do some kind of race before Surf City as a warm up. I will have to search for another half sometimes in December.

Below is what I did for the past month or so. I haven't run a ton, clearly, but I am slowly getting back into it. This past week was a successful running week even while I traveled to Toronto and Indianapolis.

Date	Time	Mileage	Min/ Mile	Notes	HR Max	HR Ave
Sept 16, 2009	14:13	2.12	6:41	I ran on the treadmill at the gym. Didn't have a lot of time. I also did ellipitcal.	---	---
Sept 19, 2009	54:05	7.59	7:07	I ran up to Corona Del Mar from Balboa Island. It was sunny and not too hot, but it made me run slower. My HR was way up, too high.	181 (97%)	162 (87%)
week ending Sept 20, 2009	---	9.71	---	What a pathetic week. I just didn't have a lot of time to run due to traveling to DC for a conference. The time change really affected me.	---	---
Sept 22, 2009	21:16	3.03	7:00	I am in Chicago so I ran on the treadmill in the gym. I didn't have much time.	163 (87%)	154 (82%)
Sept 25, 2009	33:32	4.54	7:23	I ran slow and my legs felt like bricks. Not a good run. I didn't try to push myself simply b/c I had no energy.	160 (86%)	148 (79%)
Sept 26, 2009	41:02	5.65	7:15	I ran along Back Bay. It was ok, but I struggled and didn't feel fresh. I wanted to see how running on consecutive days would work out.	173 (93%)	155 (83%)
week ending Sept 27, 2009	---	13.22	---	I'm actually embarrassed that my weekly totals are so low. I just need to step it up. My body is not cooperating.	165 (88%)	152 (81%)
Sept 28, 2009	45:47	6.55	6:59	Back Bay. I felt good the first half but struggled the second. I know the HR monitor was off as it was not functioning for most of the run.	171 (91%)	149 (80%)
Sept 30, 2009	30:21	4.39	6:54	One last run off Balboa Island before I move.	169 (90%)	151 (81%)
Oct 1, 2009	30:13	4.36	6:54	I did this run on the treadmill at the gym.	166 (89%)	152 (81%)
Oct 2, 2009	27:20	3.87	7:03	I squeezed this run in since I have to leave for Toronto in the early morning tomorrow. I started this run at 8:30pm! I was not in the mood but wanted to run around my new neighbourhood.	167 (89%)	150 (80%)
Oct 4, 2009	28:54	4.33	6:39	I ran on the treadmill at the gym here in Toronto. It was raining outside so didn't want to get soaked. It is cold here, only in the lower 50s! Yikes!	174 (93%)	158 (84%)
week ending Oct 4, 2009	---	23.5	---	I'm a lot happier with my tally this week. I just tried to run more even if it was only a few miles. It's better than nothing. I need to get a double-digit run in next week. That's my goal.	169 (90%)	152 (81%)
Oct 5, 2009	43:40	6.33	6:53	I ran in Toronto along Lake Ontario. It was chilly, in the low 50s. On the way up I was running directly into a headwind. I was so tired and it took a lot out of me. On the way back I must have run a lot faster. I thought for sure my average was going to be slow.	162 (87%)	154 (82%)
Oct 6, 2009	27:53	4.06	6:51	I ran on the treadmill at the gym here in Indianapolis. I struggled	166 (89%)	152 (81%)
Oct 8, 2009	28:17	4.15	6:48	I ran on the treadmill at the gym here in Indianapolis. I ran faster than I thought I would.	164 (88%)	153 (82%)
Oct 10, 2009	29:47	4.18	7:06	Finally back in OC. I went from my place down Superior Ave onto the Balboa Peninsula and then back up the hill on Superior Ave. I wanted to run longer but it was too late and dark. I forgot my reflective vest.	167 (89%)	154 (812%)
Oct 11, 2009	1:14:53	10.55	7:05	I was so happy that I was able to run over an hour and at least 10 miles. I haven't run this long in over 6 months or so. I felt ok throughout. I ran down Superior onto Balboa peninsula and then ran from the Newport Pier all the way down past the Balboa Pier and reversed direction. It was nice to run along the boardwalk next to the beach. It was sunny but not too hot (around 70) with nice breezes. I struggled at the end since you have to run up Superior, which is like almost a 0.5 mile hill. My calf did not give me issues and my hamstring felt ok for the most part. I stretched a lot before and after.	171 (91%)	155 (83%)
week ending Oct 11, 2009	---	29.29	---	Not bad, considering I was traveling this week. I just barely missed 30 miles. Actually I did make 30 but didn't document a 1 mile run I did on the treadmill one night I decided to just do elliptical. Let's see if I can sustain this momentum.	166 (89%)	153.6 (82%)

Car accident and changing my marathon plans

Today I got into a car accident on Balboa Island just a few blocks down from my apt. The island is made up of very narrow streets and alleys (kind of like some European streets). I was driving around 8:15am on the main street Park Ave. I was only going about 20 mph and an older gentleman in an SUV came barreling out of a side alley on my right-hand side. He clearly didn't look to his left as he would have seen me. It's hard to see though if you don't inch your way out enough to see past the cars parked on Park.

After he sped out of the alley I immediately saw him and I reacted quickly, swerving to my left and over the median. I definitely prevented a much larger accident as I only braised his left front bumper. If I had tried to stop I would have gone right into the driver's side of the car, potentially hurting him or even worse. I was lucky since there were no palm trees on that particular stretch of the median strip. My front left tire didn't fare as well. The wheel was bent from driving over the curb and the tire was ripped to shreds in certain spots. I called AAA since I have the AAA Premier membership. I get free towing up to 200 miles per incident and a free rental for 24 hours! It only cost $102 a year and IT IS WORTH EVERY DIME!

They came out within 30 min and changed my tire to my spare instead of towing it. Then I drove to the Firestone in Costa Mesa. I got picked up and brought to the Enterprise and selected my car and drove to work by 10:30am. What a morning! I pick up my car tomorrow at Firestone. The repairs came to over $400 since I had to replace both front tires, the wheel, get an alignment and a new hubcap. He said he would pay for everything. I am lucky as I needed new front tires anyway. Sometimes these situations work out.

Running Update

In my previous post I said I would try to do the Carlsbad Marathon on Jan 24, 2010 in order to re-qualify for Boston Marathon, which is on April 19, 2010.

I found out about the Surf City Marathon in Huntington Beach only a few weeks later on Feb 7, 2010 (SuperBowl Sunday). That is only 15 min north and much more convenient. I was at physical therapy last night and was chatting with my therapist about my plans to do Carlsbad. Then this other patient there said the Surf City Marathon was a lot faster and flatter than Carlsbad. I definitely agree.

I must re-qualify for Boston Marathon at this race by running a 3:10:59 or faster. If I am healthy it shouldn't be a problem considering I have run under 3:10 at 6 of the 10 marathons I have run so far, with two of them under 3:00. I just need to stay healthy and LISTEN TO MY BODY!

I feel confident that my PT sessions are helping me. I am doing all the right things by running every other day. I am stretching and I am icing. Everything I should be doing. In a few more weeks I may be able to add another day to my training so I will be up to 4 days of running per week... hopefully.

Physical Therapy and running tally ending Aug 16, 2009

Last Tuesday (Aug 11) I had my first physical therapy session for my injured lower calf. You can read more details here about my doctor's visit on July 31. It was hard to pinpoint exactly where the pain source was since I hadn't run in a few days. We eventually found it. My physical therapist did a deep tissue massage on that leg for about 15 min. It hurt like hell. She said my calf is extremely tight and as it gets looser the pain will not be as bad. Also, I will need to do sets of stretching exercises for my calf before I run. Each stretch I have to hold for 30 seconds and do it at least 2-3 times. I will have to really focus on stretching BEFORE and AFTER each run. I have to admit that previously I would stretch, but not to the extent that she wants me to do now.

Here is my run tally but I will not total it until I am consistently running. This is what I have not posted since the last chart that was posted on my July, 20, 2009 entry.

Date	Time	Mileage	Min/ Mile	Notes	HR Max	HR Ave
July 25, 2009	32:08	4.87	6:35	Not sure my pace was accurate as I have had calibration issues with my Nike +. I have to re-calibrate I think. Also the HR watch was off. I don't think I was at 177 bpm!	177 (95%)	164 (88%)
July 29, 2009	29:03	4.07	7:07	I ran slower today. I wasn't feeling it.	159 (85%)	149 (80%)
Aug 1, 2009	31:17	4.57	6:50	Doctor said to run slower so I did slow down a little. I ran mostly on grass.	174 (93%)	162 (87%)
Aug 4, 2009	30:28	4.35	7:00	I fixed the calibration issue and re-calibrated. I think this was more accurate now.	165 (86%)	156 (83%)
Aug 6, 2009	31:19	4.39	7:08	On doctor's orders he told me to run slower. So I did. It felt ok. Ran mostly on grass.	162 (87%)	151 (81%)
Aug 8, 2009	33:05	5.0	6:36	Ran too fast. I think the watch was off still.	177 (95%)	159 (85%)
Aug 9, 2009	26:46	3.87	6:55	Ran slower but wanted to be around 7:00 pace, a tad fast. HR was not working on watch so I estimated. It was reading 213 bpm, which is an error or I would not be typing this right now. I would be dead.	170 (91%)	160 (85%)
Aug 12, 2009	45:27	6.60	6:52	After stretching extensively for 3 min each calf (per my PT) and also doing my hamstrings I ran along the Back Bay in Newport up through UC Irvine and back along the river/back bay. It was mostly on dirt. My leg felt better after a mile. It was a rough run as I have not done over 5 in a while so I was fatigued. I iced the calf after and felt ok. I thought I would be slower. I need to consciously slow down for now on.	174 (94%)	161 (86%)
Aug 15, 2009	41:36	6.09	6:49	After 2 days off from running and one day from complete exercise I felt ok on this run. I was in San Diego so I ran down through Balboa Park and back up to Hillcrest. I felt ok and stretched a lot before and after. My HR got too high but it was a bit warm and I ran at 11AM instead of a lot earlier as I had planned.	176 (94%)	160 (86%)

I have determined I won't be able to get my mileage up to complete the full marathon at Long Beach Marathon, so I will most likely do the half (13.1 miles). Then I will train to do Carlsbad Marathon on January 24, 2010. Then hopefully I can run a time to get me into Boston Marathon for April 2010 since my qualification expired this year since I didn't use it. That's the plan. I hope my body can cooperate.

Weekly Running Tally - ending June 28, 2009

Each Sunday I will do an entry that will add up all my runs for the previous week and post my thoughts on my progress. My goal is to be in marathon shape by mid-October. I am contemplating doing the Long Beach Marathon on Oct 11 this year. Click here to see my training log from when I did the 2005 Long Beach Marathon. I believe I can do it if not other injuries surface between now and then. My current injuries seem to have subsided. I don't have a pain in my Achilles anymore and I don't have that stubborn pain in my hamstring that has haunted me since Dec 2007 and caused me to not run a marathon in all of 2008 and so far this year (missed Rock n Roll San Diego Marathon and Boston Marathon this year. I have my fingers crossed for a healthy recovery.

Date	Time	Mileage	Min per Mile	Observations
June 22, 2009	31:25	4.2	7:20	First Run post-appendectomy. It felt like my insides were gong to fall out of me. It was painful but I made it through. HR max=172 BPM (91% of max), HR ave=151 (81% of max).
June 22, 2009	32:44	4.8	6:47	What a difference a day makes. I was 30 seconds faster per mile on this run and I felt a lot better. Not much abdominal pain. My heart rate reached a very high level. Probably due to running so much faster just a day later. Maybe the watch was off too. HR max=179 BPM (96% of max), HR ave=159 (85% of max)
June 25, 2009	28:08	4.0	7:02	I ran in the morning today since I had something to go to after work. I had a pain in my right leg that felt like radiating nerve pain. It went away after about 8 minutes. HR max=175 BPM (94% of max), HR ave=158 (84% of max).
June 26, 2009	33:47	4.83	6:58	Longest run yet. I still had the pain in my right leg but it went away after about 6-7 min of running. I ran along Bayside and into some private seaside neighborhoods. HR max=187 BPM (100% of max), HR ave=149 (80% of max).
June 27, 2009	31:09	4.56	6:49	I ran in the mid-morning since it was Saturday. I got the nerve pain slightly, not as bad but it was still there. It went away after 5 min of running. HR max=178 BPM (95% of max), HR ave=159 (85% of max).
June 28, 2009	29:04	4.35	6:40	Fastest run yet. I felt good. I ran on a sunny, Sunday afternoon. I added a hill that was about .3 miles long. I felt strong. No abdominal pain and not much nerve pain. I stretched a lot before, that probably helped. HR max=171 BPM (91% of max), HR ave=158 (84% of max).
Week Ending June 28, 2009	---	26.74	---	Not bad for considering I had my appendix taken out on June 9!

In other non-running news, yesterday I had a great time hanging out with my friend Newell. We took the Balboa Island Ferry over to the peninsula and boggie boarded. The waves crash very close to shore so basically you drop 2-3 feet each time you catch a wave. The positive is that you can ride many waves. The negative is that you can get hurt and it's very voilent if you catch a wave the wrong way.

I got thrown down by a wave that crashed directly behind me (I was trying to avoid the wave) and bruised my arm and slammed by butt on the sand underwater. Water went up my nose and in my ear. It was ok though. I stopped boarding at that point. I noticed you have to use your abs a lot for paddling to catch waves so since I am still sore and my doctor said I cannot do any type of ab exercises I called it a day and laid out on the beach. I hope to board some more when J**** comes into town on Thursday for the holiday weekend.

Update on injuries

I started training for Boston Marathon in early Dec. My hamstring is better but not 100% yet. After a few longer runs (13.6 & 13.8) I developed a gradual pain in my lower back. It seems it comes in after about an hour of running. I think this is biomechanical. I have taken the last week off from running due to another injury to my left foot. My toe next to my big toe is sore. It may be a stress fracture so tomorrow I have a physical and I will ask for an X-ray. It feels better since I have not run since Dec 31.

Rock n Roll San Diego finish

Here is a photo of me crossing the finish line at the Rock n Roll San Diego Marathon on June 3, 2007. It was a such a thrill to be able to break 3 hours in a marathon again. After my 2:59:07 finish at Boston Marathon last year I didn't think another one was possible since I had a some injuries this year. You can read my Boston/Rock n Roll Marathon Log for all the details.