Elliptical Limbo

Today was a 15 mile workout on the elliptical trainer. How does that feel, you ask? Well, here's what the bottom of my feet FELT like after 30 minutes:

Okay, slight exaggeration, but has anyone else experienced this? The bottoms of the feet start turning numb- I wished I could flip it out and numb up my brain instead so that I didn't have to watch the time go crawling slowly by like an inebriated slug. Which went on for hours, or at least more than 2 hours- seemed like 4! I did feel like I was going through a major mental challenge and that maybe I gained something (?) by figuring out how to cope.

Besides watching other people sweat, changing machines when someone who seemed like they had a raging flu ran facing me and coughing non-stop, entertainment choices indoors were slim. There's always music or TV if you prefer, which I don't, at least not while 'running'. :) But I did try to read the New Yorker, which was an interesting if not fruitful challenge.

I'm still waiting for the results of my foot MRI, hoping I don't have a stress fracture. The plan is to try running on real outdoors ground for a short trek tomorrow and if all goes well and the scan comes back clean, to attempt my 20 miler this weekend. Let's see what happens!

I've plugged most of my website items, but read this article from the New York Times talking about the decline of North American songbirds and its correlation with agricultural pesticide use. The article discusses ways for consumers to avoid foods that are bad for the environment and in many cases, bad for us and our families.

One of the top grocery list items mentioned is ORGANIC COFFEE. Most coffees we see in the grocery stores are grown in fields that are heavily treated with all types of chemicals, from herbicides to insectides and more. To buy organic coffee is to support traditional coffee farming grown under leaf canopy and in most cases, to support the sustainability of these farming methods and the communities who use them. Interested in putting a better coffee in your body and in your cupboard? Check out my Dean's Beans coffee fundraising page. Dean's Beans makes a mean cup of Joe, is organic, fair trade and shade grown, which is why I have about 10 lbs of Ring of Fire beans in my freezer at any given time. And did I mention- all profits go to support The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and that each purchase enters you in a drawing for 50.00 worth of Dean's Beans coffee or organic cocoa? Happy Java drinking, everyone!

Challenges to the Finish

Oh my, how to write? I unfortunately had to bag my 15 miler this Saturday, due to my bruised right foot. We had a nice course planned out, heading to Wellesley College, then looping back towards the Newton Hills, saying hello to the John Kelly statue and coming back to the community center in Wellesley. Two miles in, I felt no improvement in the foot despite my coaches' help to lace around the issue. See this interesting article from Runner's World, UK, which illustrates creative ways to lace shoes for individual fit.

There was a water stop up at the 3 mile mark, and I had decided by then to head back and stop at the community center rather than pressing on to Newton. I sent Tim on the way with deep regret and a pinch of jealousy, but had excellent support from Lori, the coach, who was running, as well as one of my Team members, Greg, who was sitting out the run and working at the water stop. He is an amazingly fast runner who I think will beat a 3:30 time, maybe even qualify, and having his company made it easier to accept a car ride back rather than risk more running, even as I watched my team running by.



I ended up heading to the gym later with a dreaded appointment with the elliptical trainer. I've found that I don't like these workouts, especially the long ones, one bit- my feet fall asleep and hurt, and time goes by at an insanely molasses-like pace. For anyone replacing running with the elliptical, I've learned that you do NOT replace mile-to-mile,- you replace time with equal time, checking on your heartrate to be sure you are approximating effort, and working on maintaining a good rpm.



I continue to ice and here is the plan:

• Cross train- all week if I have to, continuing to ice and alternate ice and heat to move in new blood to the area. Yes, I hate the bike and the elliptical equally, but I vow to make peace with them this week and see that they are my new friends! Yes, I'd rather be running, but I am not going to kick my brick building like the last time I was sidelined and end up breaking a toe.


• Get checked by my doctor if recommended- only because I have osteopenia and want to be sure I am not running into another stress fracture. Having had a running stress fracture on my hip, I know the length of rehabilitation time, and it is NO FUN!!!!


• Act and prepare 'as if'. I am getting ready for a 20 miler this weekend in my spirit and need to prepare my body for the same.

Yes, this is hard. I checked with my coaches and it seems that runners who become injured cannot pass their numbers on to other entrants at this stage. And I want to complete this run, not only to finish, but to reflect the great results I've been having in training this season, having worked so hard on my thyroid levels, my asthma, my concentration and my form. But, we will have to see what happens! Hopefully I will be all okay by Saturday, and if not, I will be able to accept it!

Some friends have offered to work the water stops and I am looking forward to seeing them on the course. There are only a few more practices left and less than 30 days till Boston! Hang in there, everyone!

Messing up

Well, yesterday I messed up. Reviewing my long run times, it struck me like a lightning bolt that according to McMillan's Running Calculator, a qualifying Boston time is currently in reach. I couldn't believe it! Although I reviewed the run before heading out, stressing that it was to be a recovery run with the speed saved for Tuesday, I ended up going out too fast and pulled my ankle halfway through my 7 miler. A limping gait home has me wrapped up today.

I think part of the problem was our Garmin 350- Tim had it set to give out warning beeps when pacing was fast/slow, and the window was very small! Each time it beeped, he adjusted pace, although the course was hilly. It goes without saying that we were too fast on the warmup, fast on the downs, and too slow on the ups!

Lesson?: Don't get carried away! I am irritated, as I should know better by now and still allowed my desire to catch up to my running partner to affect my training. Since I have my chiro appointment tomorrow and I am willing to take the day off, I think my chances of recovery by Saturday for the 18 miler are still pretty good. But it's not worth it to get injured at this stage of the game.

Having said that, I've been ill and been injured before, and I know that there is plenty of time to heal up before the big day AND to do well.

Saturday, another sloshy seventeen?

Well, it's Friday, and I feel good. I took a cue from the sane part of my brain and ran a fun run 5 miler yesterday, intentionally going slow and enjoying the ride. At this point, it's easy to be persuaded that if the effort isn't hard, that you aren't training well. But this can lead to overtraining, burn-out, even injury, and at the last few weeks of build-up, this is not a risk to want to take.

It was nice to go out with no pressure, and enjoy the fact that we were outdoors and able to run. As our Team points out regularly during meetings, training for a marathon is nothing compared to going through chemotherapy or dealing with the challenge of a blood related cancer. And the fact that we GET to run and are ABLE to run is something we should appreciate every single day.

It was nice to see the sunset, and to hear the sound of birds- could spring actually be around the corner????

Having said that, we are scheduled for another severe storm tomorrow, with a variation- it will be in the upper 30's and low 40's, which means RAIN instead of snow. In fact, the forecast shows steady rain from 9 this evening to 5 p.m. Saturday, with thunder and potential for localized flooding. On the PLUS side, current predictions list 'showers' until 11 a.m., and 'rain' from 12 p.m. onwards. I am hoping this is right!

Our coach says today: "running in the rain has a unique way of returning you to your youth and connecting you to the earth." Let's get ready to get connected! He also says "Embrace the reality that tomorrow may be the hardest training run of the season and realize that the benefits of completing it are limitless".

If this is happening to you where you are and you are training too, remember that the Boston Marathon is never predictable, weather-wise. Running and learning to run in adverse conditions gives us the tools we need to be better prepared. Here's to Saturday!

• Tips:
• Wet shoes? To dry them out, remove inserts and stuff with newspaper. The paper will absorb the water overnight and pulling out the paper the next day will give you a dry pair of shoes in about 24 hours.
• When nearing the last section of training, start thinking about your race day shoes. If you've been rotating a couple of pairs and ESPECIALLY if you are running in a model released a year or more ago, start scoping out places to buy your race day shoes. Buy your shoes and break them in ahead of race day. I like to wear them on at least one short run and one or two longish runs, then put them away for the big day.

Breathing Lessons

Well, yesterday was a 15 mile Team run! We were given a modified run due to a number of injured runners, and ran 4 miles out and back towards Natick, then up to the Newton Hills to Chestnut Street and back. We still had some hills, but not the large menu we had been expecting.

We used Tim's Garmin 305 watch, which I gave him for Valentine's Day and had a nice experience looking at our splits afterwards.

The difficulty in the run was the asthma. Shortly after the 4 mile mark, I developed some pretty bad symptoms and had to pull over with some bad gasping until I could use my inhaler properly. Team members who ran past us asked if I needed help. It was definitely disappointing to have had to stop, but I think the chilly temperatures and wind created the perfect opportunity for an attack. I thought briefly about bagging the remainder of the run, but a combination of factors made me opt to 'wait and see'. Once I regained control of my breathing, I continued at a relaxed pace to the next few water stops.

Exercise induced asthma is frustrating- it can happen when you push your pace past the comfort zone, if the air is smoggy, dry, or cold, or if you have strong winds in the face. Some days you have it, some days you don't. I am happy that I managed to accept my condition without getting too upset or frustrated, decided my plan of action, and that Tim was there to support it. It could have been frustrating for him to not be able to run all out, but I was very lucky to have someone with me through the run!

At Wellesley, I decided to continue through the run, as the albuterol seemed to be doing its job and I felt confident that I could always stop and walk if things degraded. We did end up slower than desired, but the Garmin showed our splits as being all under 9 minute miles, with some of them under 8s and the majority under 8.5s.

The best part of that difficult day was that I realized what a fantastic team I had. People came up afterwards to see if I was okay, and while I was having the attack, they all offered support and concern. It took me (and might still be taking me) awhile to get over some disappointment in having to deal with a problem like this, but I am also happy that I was able to make an alternate plan and execute it rather than abandon all hope. I believe this will be to my mental advantage as our runs and training gets tougher. :)

Now, having had a few setbacks with the breathing, I will revisit my asthma meds to see if there is something I can do to alleviate the problems!

Lesson of the day: When you have a problem, you can decide to either quit or keep going. You should always make a decision you feel confident you will be safe with and not one that will risk your long term health or training. You can learn from your difficulty and gain inner strength, even if the 'outcome' is not all you had hoped it to be! Focusing on the modified task at hand rather than the goal you had hoped to meet will help you to follow through and perhaps even surprise you at the end!

ALMOST THERE:
Today was a great 12 miler- very good to run away from the Wellesley Hills, and also to get another run through Natick. Things will taper down greatly from here, and we'll be working on taking it easy and resting up for the final day. We went out easy and it paid big dividends in pacing- now to remember this on the 17th! We registered for bone marrow donations after practice- they take a swab of your cells and analyze them for compatibility for cancer patients who need stem cell transplants. One of those things that makes sense but we never thought about. Check out www.crir.org.

I will not be making many more posts to this blog! Almost there.
While I'm at it, I will list the
THINGS I WILL NOT MISS:

-Waking up @ 5:30 a.m. Saturday mornings and 5 a.m. on chiro appointment days! And the going to bed early!!!!!!!
-Catching up with friends on the PHONE.
-Not drinking that second glass of vino.
-The obsessive self-centeredness of marathoning- 'am I in good shape or am I getting an injury/cold? should I beg off my plans with my friend in order to rest more tonight?' While running: 'how am I pacing myself? how is my form? how well am I focusing? How well am I breathing?'After running: 'do I need to make another acupuncture appointment? do I need to make another chiro appointment? do I need to spend time stretching tonight?' Truly tedious and yawningly boring.

THINGS I WILL MISS:

-The camaraderie of our teammates- they have inspired, supported and been there through the trenches.
-Finishing a 12 mile run and thinking 'wow, how good to ONLY run 12 today!'
-Carbo loads- sans guilt.
-The momentary success of managing left and right brain activity to optimize in-the-moment performance instead of having them duke it out to its detriment . Now to apply this in other venues!

Best,-M