Artichoke's Running Blog (Ken Spence)

4 miles in a very slow 39:00.  3 with Roger and Elaine.  Up to the cemetery with 2 loops, plus one more after leaving them.  Still hip pain, but actually felt a little better the last mile by myself and a bit quicker pace.  Rest until Wednesday.  Bike tomorrow morning.

5 miles tonight very easy.  3 with Roger, Elaine, and their son Ryan.  He's the one that looks exactly like our son Scott did at his age.  It's way weird.  No more running until Ogden Marathon.  MRI results tomorrow.  If good to go I plan on running at least the first leg of the marathon for 7 miler.  I might as well, I paid the money.  So I'll get a DNF, but at least I'm back running, but still having some issues with my back and hip.  See what the orthopedic tells me.  Biked 9 miles yesterday morning, will do the same tomorrow morning and take Friday off.  Plan on going up to the expo right after work on Friday.  Good luck to all those running.

I may have either done the stupidest thing in my running career or ran the 2nd gutsiest marathon second only to Boston '07 in the Nor'easter. I was registered to run Ogden, but due to my Sacral Stress Fracture, I thought I would just run the first leg or two, 7 or 13 miles. Just like my last two 5 mile training runs, my back/hip was hurting by mile 2, but by mile 5 it all but went away. I have been able to run every other day for the last two weeks, 3 to 5 miles, with some pain still. It was unbelievable! I decided to start out at about 9 minute pace and see what I could do. My longest training run was 16 miles, the week after Moab and then I didn't run for 4 weeks, just biking on the stationary. The last two weeks I've had improvement, an MRI, diagnosing the stress fracture and I'm scheduled for a CT scan on Monday to confirm, stress fracture or an outside possibility of a tumor, which they doctor doesn't think is the case since this clearly came on as a typical overuse injury. I didn't know if 7 weeks since my last long run could carry me through, but with the slower pace, (9:15 first half and 10:15 second half after hitting the wall big time at about 18 miles. I wanted to walk so bad, but thought that I would never get going again and held on through the finish. We'll see how I feel tomorrow, but I was encouraged. 4:15 is well off my 3:23 at SGM, but all take it under these circumstances.  Now another week off to recuperate.