12 Weeks and Counting

Five (5) weeks into my normal training cycle and I finally hit my mileage goal for a week! It wasn’t by much - but at least my streak of below goal was over. I even got a long run of seven (7) miles in – longest run since surgery. OK, so I rounded up to seven (7) – it was still my longest.

I’m following a modified Hanson plan this go round. Actually I have a couple of plans that I overlaid – a Hanson “beginner” plan and a traditional Hal Higdon plan. Not knowing if I will be able to train with the “fatigue factor” that Hanson is based on, I plan to monitor my long runs to at least meet the Higdon requirements. According to Higdon I should be up to eight (8) miles now so with seven (7) in the books I am in the range.

Without violating the #1 rule of any marathon - “respect the distance” - I am confident if I get to the starting line I will finish. I’m also confident that if I get one (1) 20-miler in then I will get to the starting line. Sure, I would love to hammer out five (5) 20-milers like years of past but…..that ain’t happening this time!

On another positive note, I wasn’t supposed to do this but I also ran three (3) consecutive days last week! My plan only has me doing “back to backs” on weekends and running only on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the week to allow my knee plenty of time to recover. The previous weekend was the Martin Luther King Holiday though and after running Saturday and Sunday I was feeling OK and since I didn’t have to work on Monday and I had an opportunity to run in daylight….. I couldn’t pass it up. Also, I was starting my knee injections on Wednesday, forcing me to miss two (2) days and rest, so I figured I could take a chance.

More encouraging then running three (3) consecutive days without a major issue though was the fact that I felt like that 3rd run was a “workout”! After warming up for a mile I did four (4) miles at tempo and then I finished up with what I call “driveway intervals” – a mile stretch where I run hard from one driveway to the next, then jog to the next and then keep repeating until I’m home. It’s a great way to push myself that little bit extra when you think you’ve already given 100%.

I don’t know or care what my splits were – it was just a good feeling to be pushing myself again – first time since last October!

And then I had a nice surprise when I woke up the next morning and got on the scale – I was down a couple pounds!! I still have a long way to go on this front but I am confident that if I can “workout” consistently moving forward that many of the extra pounds will just drop off. Eventually I will also have to give up the ice cream but I'm hoping to avoid resorting to such drastic measures too early in my training!

So with all that good news motivating me, I got up early on Wednesday and drove an hour to my surgeon’s to begin my hyaluronic acid or viscosupplement injections. In total I will be getting three (3) injections, one (1) per week for the next three (3) weeks. As I understand it, this is a natural supplement that will add viscosity to my joint which should also help with the cushioning and might prolong the further progression of the arthritis. Trust me, I am not going through this so that I can keep running marathons – yes, I hope it helps with this upcoming Boston, which is my immediate goal, but after that my goals will be focused on shorter distances and I’m hoping this just keeps me going a little longer. I won’t push my luck.

The procedure itself was relatively pain free – they numb you up and there’s a little burn when they inject it but nothing I couldn’t handle. I can’t tell you how big or small the needle was though – that I can’t handle!! Seriously – I hate needles – so I just don’t look – easier that way!

So now I rest it for 48 hours and then I have more workouts to look forward to!