Wednesday, June 24, 2009

New York State of Mind

I entered the lottery and did not think I would be chosen for the New York City Marathon. I think my lack of speed and location probably helped me get in. I really don't care. New York is such an amazing looking marathon, that I am just thrilled that I lucked out. Since I started thinking marathons last year, it was always on the top of the wish-list. I will be going to New York on the 29th of October to run in the Marathon on the 1st of November. So it is time for a new marathon blog. I think most people probably know what I have been up to since Colorado, but I will give a recap.

It took a week for my feet to feel almost normal after the marathon. I blackened the big toe on my right feet and was pretty miserable for a couple of weeks. I also had the knee pain get gradually worse and worse so I went to the doctor and found out that it is my Iliotibial Band. It is a somewhat common ailment for runners. Basically the muscle runs down each leg. When you push the knee down well taking steps, it can cause the muscle to constrict in the area around the patella. This cause the pain in the knee. I can tell you from 1st hand experience, that the pain can drop you to your knees. I have been working on things since May to try and get healed up with very mixed results. I have had to flat out stop a couple of runs and that scares me. I decided to do a lower mileage training program this time, in hopes of getting this under control.

I am just finishing the second week of the Higdon Novice I plan and it has been ok. My two long runs (a paltry 6 and 7 miles respectively) have gone well. The first two runs of each week have also gone well. The run that has dogged me both weeks is the third run. I am not sure why that day, but it has been really rough. I have added yoga and strength training, yoga, special stretching, prescription ointment, new shoes, cross-training, and a lot of ice and cold-water baths to try to help myself.

On the plus side, I bought a Garmin 405 GPS watch. I have had it for 3 weeks now and absolutely love it. It really helps keep me on track with my pace and distance. I set a personal record (PR) at a 5K down in Fort Collins a couple of weeks ago of 25 minutes and 26 seconds. I really want to get it under 25 before the end of the summer, so I am hoping to squeeze that in as well.

Well, I will get back in the habit of putting things up on the blog starting this week. Thank you again for all the help and support those of you that read this thing.

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