October Update

Its been a long time since I've written here.

So here is an update on my progress.

I ran 21 miles about 4 weeks ago - the first long run without any leg pain! And we ran 23 miles last Saturday ... same deal! I think I've dealt with my leg pain through a combination of chiropractic care, magnesium and potassium supplements and proper stretching techniques.

The 23 mile run was still very difficult. I hadn't ran since the 21 mile run, missing 3 10-mile runs. This was mostly because I took a couple weekends off to get my dive certification and then I got sick. I tried very hard to get at least one of the training runs in - but the timing just didn't work. I can't let that happen again.

We're doing our 26 mile celebration run on November 10 and then 4 weeks later we'll be running the marathon. It has been so inspiring to run with this group of people and see individuals with even more serious medical issues persevere.

I also reached my fundraising goal a few weeks ago and once again want to thank everyone who supported me!! Of course, I'm trying to get as far past the goal as I can and am happily accepting more donations.

Randy

p.s. Here are pics from my diving certification trip to Catalina a couple weekends ago:

http://gallery.mac.com/randymatthews#100561

No More Nike Plus :(

I've had so many problems with technology this year I don't know what to do with myself.

I was running 3 or 4 weeks ago when my energy gel (this gooey stuff that we use for calories while running) leaked in my workout pants and shorted out my Nike plus sensor. As a result, I haven't been tracking my runs electronically and have removed my Nike widgets from the right navigation of my blog. :(

So I'm still running regularly, I just can't show statistics from my recent activity.

Fundraising Update

If you're reading this, you are probably aware that my roommate Shoichi and I had a fundraising party a couple weeks ago. We had a really great time and it was a success.

My own fundraising is going really well. I'm confident at this point that I'm going to reach my goal. I am SO grateful to everyone who has sponsored me! Now I must concentrate steadily on my training.

Running Update (Long Overdue)

I know I said I'd get back to this blog. So here is a "catch up" post.

I've experienced some problems this summer with my training, but I'm confident I will get through this.

I wrote about my 10 mile run a few weeks ago. That was a difficult run and I experienced a tremendous amount of calf pain afterwards. I attributed that to a lack of stretching and continued to stretch my legs out and let them heal - and I skipped the 12 mile run.

I then ran my 14 mile run, which was the last "on my own" training run I set myself up for, which was about 4 weeks ago. The first half went well, but the second half was the most difficult experience I've had so far. I'm not entirely sure, but I believe I pulled a muscle and getting home from that run was extremely difficult (and took a long time). I also suffered from a lack of rest and a lack of supplements. And I was mentally challenged on that run as well.

The 16 mile run was about 2 weeks ago. It went much better than the 14 mile run, but I still experienced calf pain (as well as foot pain) in the last 5 miles of the run. I was running on a new pair of shoes, which are much better (and I broke them in properly). I was so grateful to be back with my running group.

Each of these long runs resulted in pain in different areas. I decided to seek professional help. I asked several friends and fellow runners and determined that a chiropractor might be able to help me. Spencer also thinks that there is something out of balance in my body and that a chiropractor might be able to help. And I have full chiropractic benefits through my employer, with only a $5 co-pay per visit.

I skipped out on our 18 mile run last weekend because I was attending a wedding in South Dakota. I'm optimistic and confident that things will improve through a series of chiropractic adjustments and shorter, but progressively longer runs, prior to my next long run, which is the 20 mile on September 15th. I'm going to do whatever it takes to push through this.

back to posting (i promise)

I know I haven't written anything here for a while, so I'm going to get caught up this week.

A lot has happened and training continues to go well. More to come soon...

Difficult Run

I experienced the most difficult training run I've had so far on Friday.

Everything seemed OK for the first 8 or so miles, when I suddenly started encountering problems. My energy level completely gave out and I was suddenly unable to run more than 3 or 4 minutes at a time, feeling like I was going to collapse. I got a blister on my right foot. And then I pulled a muscle in my left leg, near where my calf muscle meets my knee.

I also encountered a complete psychological meltdown and I realized just how much I miss running with my group.

I gave myself an extra 30 minutes than I thought I would need, yet it was barely enough time, as I had friends scheduled to meet me at my home about 45 minutes after I was scheduled to complete my run.

I ended up hobbling home for the last 3 or 4 miles (through Beverly Hills and West Hollywood).

Many factors contributed to this experience:

• I slept a combined total of 11 hours the previous two nights.
• I didn't eat enough food before or during my run.
• I wore the wrong type of socks (which caused the blister).
• I didn't allow myself enough time to finish the run, which caused me stress, as I thought I wouldn't make it home in time to meet my friends for a road trip.
• I thought stretching my leg in the middle of the run would help with my other injury. Spencer suspects that this is what caused me to pull a muscle.

So I've learned a few lessons here. I won't let this affect my confidence any longer. It certainly rattled it on Friday morning.

And I learned just how important it is to have the right prep time, equipment and supplements for these long training runs.

I've gone the greatest distance I've ever ran. And I learned just how far 7 miles is from my home (it took me well into the Santa Monica city limits).

I'm happy to get back with my group this weekend.

Recovered

The AIDS Marathon staff explained to me that if I miss a training run (as I did the previous weekend), that I should move forward with the next run and not try to make up for the prior week's run.

So I moved forward with a 6-mile training run last Friday morning, which went really well. I had to do this on Friday because of another weekend excursion - this time to San Diego.

I didn't experience any pain in my calf muscle. I made sure to stretch before and after the run. Per Spencer's recommendation, I've made sure to stretch several times, each and every day, whether I'm running or not.

Back to It

I ran my first run in over a week yesterday evening. My leg has healed - I experienced what I can only describe as some "tightness" while running.

It looks like the rest and stretching that Spencer recommended has paid off. I'm going to gradually increase my mileage this week, and then determine how far to run for my training run, knowing that I missed my 12-mile last Saturday and am supposed to do a 6-mile this weekend, followed by a 14-mile the following weekend.

No Run For Me! (This Week)

I'm back in Eugene this week, and was really looking forward to getting back on the running trails here.

But I'm still experiencing moderate pain with my leg from last week's run. Its much better than it has been all week, but after discussing it with Spencer this morning, I've made the difficult decision to abstain from this week's training run. We both agree that its not a good idea to run until the pain has completely subsided. I would say that it is feels about 90% normal, but I don't want to take any chances.

Spencer has spent a lot of time treating people with sports injuries. I can verify from last week's experience and his advice that stretching is really important. Both before and after a run, but also as a daily routine for someone like me, who is suffering from chronic pain from a specific muscle.

I'm going to continue to swim over the next few days and then I will take up maintenance runs before resuming my training run the following weekend.

Home Town Training

I was in my home town last week (Roseburg, OR). It was strange being there, especially during the summer.

I did two maintenance runs and one training run. I ran by both of my grade schools, my junior high, and my high school (which is one of the biggest in the state). I also ran by my first apartment and all subsequent places I lived there, while I was attending the local community college.

My ten-mile training run was a little difficult. My iPod reset itself in the third mile of my run, so I had to record two runs (see "Training Runs" in the right navigation of this blog). I also ran into a problem with my lower left calf muscle, somewhere towards the last third of the run. I've been experiencing moderate pain and tightness where the muscle meets my foot ever since.

My boyfriend Spencer is a certified massage therapist and has helped me with recovery (including proper stretching, hot and cold packs, etc.). I don't want to take any chances, so I'm taking it easy and not running (including maintenance runs) until the pain subsides (which I'm feeling just walking on it). Of course, if it doesn't get any better, I'll need to see a physician.

I also got more swimming exercise while I was there. I floated down the river on inner tubes last Saturday with my cousin and his wife. We were on the river for 5 hours and it was a lot of fun, but also exhilarating.

Fundraising Update

A big thank you to everyone who has sponsored me so far! I'm sitting at $355.00, which is a little over 10% towards my goal of $3500.00.

Track Town, USA

I'll be training on my own for the next four weekends.

I'm up visiting family and friends in Oregon for three of those weekends and couldn't be in a more ideal place for marathon training. Eugene, OR is also known as Track Town, USA. I'll be here for two of those three weekends.

Eugene bears this nickname because it is a popular place for track and field training. It was also the home of Steve Prefontaine and is the city where Nike was founded.

I ran 9 miles on Friday morning. I circled behind the University of Oregon's Autzen Stadium, followed the river for a bit and then over to the UO campus. I ran by UO's Hayward Field, which is being rebuilt in preparation for next year's US Olympic track and field trials. The first mile of my run was through a rainstorm, which was a welcome change from Southern California weather.

Training without my pace group was not easy, but I think I'll get through it with enough discipline.

Week 3

We're up to 8 miles this week. Once again, lack of sleep was my only problem.

It was good to see some familiar faces in my pace group this morning. Everyone is so committed and I was impressed that some people got up early to drive from places as far away as Long Beach (we train in Griffith Park).

We added some incline to our run this morning, taking us through Glendale up a minor grade.

Its amazing how much better my day is after a morning run.

Swim

We're not supposed to run the day before our Saturday training so I decided to mix it up a little and get back to swimming this afternoon, which I intend to do once per week.

The West Hollywood pool is really nice and is a convenient 5-10 minute drive from my house. Its $3.00 a swim for a non-resident.

Today was the last day of the afternoon swim sessions, so it looks like I'll be going for a 6.30 AM swim on Tuesday or Thursday mornings going forward.

I spend most of the time doing the breast stroke, as I'm hoping it will tone my arms and chest, the same way running has toned my legs a bit.

Nike Plus

I've been wanting to to try the "Nike Plus" iPod accessory for some time, but was ambivalent because I thought it only worked with Nike shoes, which have a special compartment that houses a removable sensor. The sensor links to my iPod Nano and tracks my steps, which includes distance traveled, time, calories burned, etc..

Then I went to the running store. The salesperson showed me a velcro pouch that was only $5.00, which I can affix to the laces on my existing shoes (which are only a couple months old). That sealed the deal. The Nike Plus kit is a great value at only $30.00 and is really cool.

Once you link it to your iPod, you can press the center button on the Nano to get audio feedback of your running progress (over your music), including distance traveled, pace and elapsed time. This prevents me from having to continually look at a display while I run.

It also automatically uploads all running data through iTunes to the nikeplus.com site, where it keeps tracks of all runs, allows you to assign them to mappable routes and charts progress, including "fastest mile," "farthest distance," etc..

I'm going to include progress widgets on the right-side navigation of this blog so I can see an up-to-date graphic of my running activity.

Week 2

We had almost twice as many people in my group during my second week. It is really great to see such a high-level of participation and people from all fitness levels and experience. Over half of our group are first-time marathoners.

Our 7-mile run this morning was a piece of cake. It probably felt this way because I'm used to running this distance at a much faster pace (about 6 or 7 minutes per mile, instead of the 10-minute mile we've been averaging). Training for a marathon is much different than short-distance running and I've had to adapt to slowing down. I'm sure I'll appreciate this much more as we get into the low 'teens of our mileage goals in the coming weeks.

Start of Training

I officially started training for the AIDS marathon this morning.

Getting up was difficult. Mostly because I had a hard time going to sleep at 11 PM last night. I can already tell that this will probably be the most difficult thing for me during the program.

The training this morning was really amazing. I missed the "time trial" runs from the previous couple weekends, so I had to estimate what pace group I belong in. I chose the 11 minute mile group, as I felt confident that I could handle that pace, knowing that I typically run about 6 or 7 miles in an hour.

The members of my group were very encouraging and helpful and answered a lot of my questions. Apparently, the pace you run at during a marathon is supposed to allow you to hold a conversation. If you are running any faster than that, 26.2 miles might be difficult.