Had a 4 mile run today and other than a slight twinge of shin pain that last 10-20 seconds, I felt good. I felt strong throughout the run. The pace wasn't where I want it to be come marathon time, but averaging 11 minutes per mile at this point is okay. My goal would be to at the marathon averaging 9 minutes per mile or less, which I think would put me at under 4 hours.
Tomorrow will be a big day for me as we are due to run another 4 miles. In the couple of weeks so far I've had a noticeable fall off on the second consecutive run-day; that is, when running back-to-back days I've felt strong on day one, weak on day two. That could have been because of the wrong shoes I was wearing, the shin-splints, or any number of other reasons (conditioning, strengthening, etc.).
It has now been three runs since my last blog. Shame on me. So to catch all of my (all one of you if I'm that lucky) readers up on my runs:
* Thursday, 8/23 I ran on the treadmill. We were supposed to do 3 miles. Emily and I did our anerobic weightlifting before running, so I was warmed up from that. We also took the time to stretch and when Emily left to go run outside, I walked on the treadmill for about 0.25 miles before attempting to jog. I made it about a quarter mile when I felt the shin splints hurting. I ended up alternating behind running and walking for the next mile or so. I tried to concentrate on technique and found that when I was walking I had no pain, but running I did. The only difference was in how my foot would land. So, when I got to my next run segment I made a point of trying to land more on the inside/middle of my foot and was able to finish off the rest of the run without succumbing to shin pain.
* Thursday 8/23, part 2: we went to Marathon Sports in Boston today and I got fitted for a shoe that should help alleviate my shin spints based on my gate and arch. Essentially, I was wearing the completely wrong type of shoe. I was fitted in a very flexible shoe with a good amount of padding, compared to the inflexible trail-type of shoe. I'm hopefully my next run will be pain-free now. I hope so b/c our next run is with the Team In Training group.
* Saturday, 8/25: I'm wearing the shoes for the first time. This is our first team meeting and run. We warm up and I feel good. We're told the route that we'll be running is a bit more than a 3 mile loop. I run, nearly pain free and when we return the coach tells us the route is 3.75 miles. This is the most I've run in a while, and definitely the most I've run without any pain. I am happy.
* Monday, 8/27: We run about 3.5 miles today and for all but maybe 1/10 of a mile I feel pain-free. I need to keep icing the shin and do a bit more stretching and warm-ups before the run. But all in all, I am encouraged.
So, today was the second day of training and the second day in a row in which we were to run 2 miles as part of our weekly training. Our next run, on Thursday, is 3 miles and I think we are to run 3 miles on Saturday as well. That would put us at 10 total miles for week one.
I decided to run this morning on the treadmill. My thinking was that the treadmill would be easier on the shin and I could set the speed and be sure that I kept a consisent pace throughout the run. My results:
* I set the speed at 6.0 which is a 10 minute per mile pace.
* The first half mile was fine, but my shin started throbbing so I slowed the pace down to a walk for 0.02 miles.
* I then ran the next 0.25 mile but the shin started to throb again so I slowed the pace down for another short, 0.02 mile walk.
* I ran the final 1.25 miles without any pain at the 10 minute per mile pace and felt good. I may have been a bit above the comfortable, able-to-talk-while-running pace, but I wasn't winded for more than maybe 30 seconds after I finished mile 2.
So, my conclusions from today's run:
* I need to stretch before I run.
* I need to warm up before I run. I think this is why I felt fine after the 0.75 mile mark.
* I need to concentrate more on the distance than speed for now.
We had our kickoff meeting this past Saturday (August 18). Besides getting some training material (a runner's log, trianing schedule) and some other riff-raff stuff (a Team In Training Hat, a banner we can use at fundraisers, a Power Bar, etc.) we met our coach and the other people in our area (south shore Massachusetts) who will be training for their respective event.
According to the training schedule we were to run 2 miles today. So, yesterday Emily and I took the car and mapped out a mile distance (so, two miles roundtrip). I made it to the one mile point when my shin started hurting so I walked about 30 feet or so and then started running back. Other than that one point I made it the two miles relatively pain free. The pace was ridiculously slow, (12 minute mile) and it was only 2 miles (down from a high of about 5 miles at a 10 minute pace). So, it's obvious I have tons of work to do. Good thing the marathon isn't for over 4 months.
Looking back, I think I started out too strong. My shin was feeling fine, the weather was cool and I was excited to be officially starting on the training. I need to get in to a better, more comfortable pace until my shin spint pain is behind me.
Tomorrow we have our kickoff meeting. Besides receiving our training materials I'm not sure what else will be covered. I'm getting excited now that the business at hand is just about here - training for the marathon.
Questions:
1. Did you ever run a marathon? If so, did you train on your own or in a group?
2. Have you ever had to raise money? If so, how much did you raise? Any tips?
Shin splint update: today, pain free. I did a very short sprint today to see how the leg would feel and all was well. Very encouraged.
Anyone remember that Nike commercial featuring Michael Jordan and Mars Blockman (Spike Lee)? Mars asks Jordan what makes him so good and he continually comes back to "It's gotta be the shoes" despite Jordan's denial. Well, I'm not Jordan and no one is asking me what makes me so good, but I know that he was right - It's the shoes! YouTube has the commercial:
Anyway, I have two pairs of sneakers, a medium-top height Nike cross trainer and a pair of athletic (pseudo-running) shoes from New Balance. I had been running in the New Balance but given some of the comments I've read to my blog and from research I've done, I decided to stop wearing the New Balance's until I get properly fitted. So, last night I had to run (no pun) a couple of errands so I put on the cross trainers and Voila! No pain. I even tried a short jog to check and felt no pain at all. So, I feel much relief - I believe now that it's gotta be the shoes! I'm going to continue my icing/heating, pain reliever (aleve/advil) and stretching/strengthening regimen for the foreseeable future, but knowing that I felt no pain with a different pair of shoes has invigorated me.
Today was the first time I attempted to run in some time. The plan was a 30 minute run - drive to the gym, park, and run, returning back to the gym for weightlifting.
I was running quite often a few months ago with Emily but I began to feel some pain so I stopped to lick my wounds. During that period I took to riding the stationary bike and had no pain doing that so I took to riding. Today I tried running again and got about 1.5 miles out before feeling pain, so I took it down a noch by alternating between walking and running. I will say that knowing that in a handful of months I'll have to bump up my total distance run today by about 1700% gave me some motivation to keep trying. So, instead of giving up and walking the entire way back to the gym, I took little breaks and did a half way decent job of running when I could.
After talking about the pain I was feeling with Emily my fears have been relieved - I thought I was having knee pain ("runner's knee") but I think now it's shin splints which are much easier to treat. Emily used to have shin splints but after stretching and strenghtening, icing and heating her's are pretty much behind her and I know mine will be, too. I know I'll be fine.
So, Emily and I sent out our first batch of emails letting our friends, family and colleagues know of our plans to participate in the Walt Disney World Marathon and our need to raise a total of $7,000. We have had a few donors so far, but not nearly as many as I hoped. I guess in thinking about it, I'd rather see us build some momentum and get a few donors everyday then a ton in one day and then crickets from there on. Newton made an observation about a body in motion. I hope it applies here, too.
Before our training starts, I suppose I won't have much to write about other than fundraising, so another plug to our fundraising websites:
Emily's: http://www.active.com/donate/tntma/elieberman
and mine: http://www.active.com/donate/tntma/slieberman
Until I can think about what else to write, that's it for now.
Today is the day we ask for help - financial help. Emily and I are planning on sending out our emails to friends, family, colleagues and anyone else we can think of to ask for fundraising support. If we get off to a good start, we'll both feel a big weight begin to get removed from us. If we ask and hear crickets in response - well, no good. We can afford to make up some of the combined $7,000 we need to raise, but we can't do it alone. I told her we'll be fine. I hope I don't eat crow. Crow tastes bad.
I don't run. Not to catch the bus, nor the train, nor to get to work on time. I'm fortunate enough to never have had my house catch fire - but I imagine I might run then, maybe.
That was then - this is now. Now, I will be training to run. A lot. The goal is 26.2 miles - a full marathon in five months and one day from the writing of this entry. On January 13, 2008, my wife and I and plenty of other people will be running through Walt Disney World for the Walt Disney World Marathon (for race information, course map and other related stuff check out: http://tinyurl.com/38r372) .
No doubt the other runners have their reasons. We have ours. On Wednesday, August 8, we attended an informational meeting run by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society called "Team In Training" (http://www.teamintraining.org/). After the meeting we agreed to do something. We had choices - walking a half or a full marathon or run a half or full marathon. We decide if we were going to do something we would go for broke - the full monty,errr, marathon. Of the three choices we decided upon the Walt Disney Marathon.
We received a mailing about the Team In Training information meeting a week or two before a colleague of mine who I worked with for four years was diagnosed with leukemia. Having helped the Leukemia Society in the past (as a member of the Tau Epsilon Phi Nation Fraternity) and after learning of my colleague's diagnosis, I wanted to do something for the Society. So - this marathon is my something. My wife has her reasons, but I believe they are similar to mine - simply wanting to do something regardless of the physical and financial implications.
Please visit my and Emily's fundraising page (click the link on the left) and help us meet our fundraising goal!
