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PM - Did 150 situps, 200 crunches, 50 pushups and 3 x 15 @ 12 lbs.

Anticipating the Dr.'s appointment on Wednesday afternoon.  I have tried my best to stay off my feet, and I make sure to wear the heel lift when I'm up and about.  I really like to think that it is getting better, but I will have to leave that up to the specialist to determine.  Still looking forward to some kind of running this spring, and hopefully a slow, steady buildup for the marathon.  Crossing my fingers!!

I got to hold my soon-to-be niece, Jane this weekend.  It is such an awesome feeling to hold a baby.  You truly take that miracle for granted until an opportunity like that just fills you with wonder and amazement.  She is so beautiful and absolutely adorable, and it was so nice to see the family come together at Emma's house to share in this awesome experience.  It's hard to believe she's only a month old.  I can't wait to spoil her when she grows up :-D!  It will definitely be cool to be, Uncle Benn!

Above: A picture of "the bean" [Jane  - 1 mos. old] and me! She's so adorable and I can tell she has runner's legs and feet already! I'm going to have to teach her the art of the long distance runner! :) Perhaps a future Olympian!

AM - Did 200 situps, 250 crunches, 80 pushups and 3 x 15 @ 12 lbs; Gorgeous day out. Mid 30s; Hasn't been this warm since the injury like 6 weeks ago. Really trying to stay positive but finding it increasingly hard to do. Don't want to try anything until I see the specialist though. Praying that I can run again. I would take 10 minute miles even, just don't want to hear the dreaded words "Your running career is over". gag.

PM - 150 situps, 200 crunches, 50 pushups, 3 x 15 @ 12 lbs.  Exhausted, though on a positive, I haven't had any pain on my achilles in a while; kind of anxious to see what the story is with it.  I really just want to start running again.  I don't wish a forced hiatus from our sport on any one of you. Phew it's exhausting in itself. 

AM - 200 crunches, 100 situps, 3 x 15 @12 lbs;

Getting nervous about the specialist tomorrow.  My achilles is feeling better - the heel lift definitely helps! But I don't want to hear that it is torn or whatever.  I just really want to be able to start doing a couple miles here!  I tried to take a picture to show how I am overpronating, which you all say is probably the cause for my problems, but I already have had orthotics that I have used for 3 years, so they are supposed to correct them. Praying that tomorrow brings good news.

2:00 PM - Went for a walk at moderate pace.  Ended up doing 20:00 pain free minutes and 1.07 miles.  I feel that progress is in order and am anxiously awaiting tomorrow afternoon's appointment.

TODAY = DOCTOR DAY!! Appointment Time: 3:00pm - So I nervously parked the car about quarter to in the parking lot and made my way inside.  Filled out some paperwork, and sat there looking through the adventure and skiing magazines until they called my name.  The guy that called my name was pretty cool and laid back and brought me to a room and went "So you think you have achilles tendinitis?" And I gave my whole shpeel about January 21st running on the treadmill, soreness afterwards, red, puffy, iced 20 on, 20 off for a couple hours, then four to five times a day after that.  Practice R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression, elevation) for a few weeks, then after reading a couple of articles and books about the matter, decided on implementing a heel lift, and experimented with slight stretching and eccentric exercises, then thought better of the latter once it seemed to be doing more harm than good.  Meanwhile I forgot to pause and when I finally did the guy looks at me dumbfounded and goes "Right, the doctor will be in to see you in a minute". Oops!  So then the doc comes in, a nice guy tall, late 30s or so; Turns out he is a runner as well, a pronator like me, and has successfully completed 15 marathons.  So I lapsed into my story again, explaining how I came up with a heel lift and everything, step by step how I've been monitoring my progress, and trying to take it easy.  He agrees with everything I've been doing.  He checked out the achilles and since I was pretty pain free, he explained that if I had come to the office earlier he probably would not have done much differently.  Achilles tendinitis is different for each runner, he said and, that I show a lot of dedication and self control being able to stay away from running.  At this point I couldn't hold back and explained that actually I'm a member of a really cool running blog, and thankfully there are a lot of friends here who have offered insight, suggestions, and some of the best motivation and encouragement that I've ever received.  To make a long story short, it felt good to hear from him when talking to the nurse, "You know, it is nice to have a patient that treats himself the correct way; this is a sharp young man.  Wish we had more people like him." I also told him how I managed 20 pain free minutes of walking yesterday, and he told me to start back slowly, progressing to 3 miles of painfree walking and then slowly incorporating say a half mile of light (10-12 minute pace) jogging when I felt ready, using walking as a warm up and cool down.  While at work on my break, I was perusing Noake's Lore of Running, and looking at his suggestion for beginner marathoners.  He had a table of using minutes, rather than miles to record progress, much like Gordon Bloch in his book How to Train for and Run Your Best Marathon; Now I'm not even considering a marathon at all and am promptly sending a cancellation for my entry for the 6/1 race (I feel it's the right thing to do; rather than risk reinjury) - But I think I can tailor their plans my needs. Noakes' suggests 5 days of 25-30 minutes of walking/running for the first 3 weeks of the beginner plan, I will modify this slightly, go by feel, and hopefully by the end of march progress to light runs. Perhaps uplifting, was reading about the early 1900s runners that used walking for recovery and actual training, advocating this activity for its easing of the pressure and impact on the joints.  So, in short slow and steady is the suggestion and my decision. I am going to go check out some new shoes tomorrow, as per the doctor's suggestion, he recommended Brooks' Addictions (aptly named, don't you think?) and gave me a running store about an hour away that is great for helping you try out new running stuff.  I might go there tomorrow after I finish my work.

Another thing I took away from Noakes' that resonates in all the blogs here at FRB is that a run (or walk) is what you make of it.  There is a positive to every day, and something to learn from every run. Every step is helping us to become more aware of our bodies and our place in the world.  I think that it will be important to continue to draw on the support of others that have gone through such problems and continue to blog.  Finding something positive, or something learned about each and every day will aid the healing progress.  The doc said I'm well on my way to healing and getting back out on the roads.

Thanks for all of your concerns, suggestions, and unwavering support. You guys and gals make each and every day a great one. As Jody would say, "Happy Running!", and thanks a million.  You truly are amazing people, and have changed my outlook on not only training, but my life and my impact on others'.

>>Benn<<

2:00 PM - Made the drive down to Albany to find the Fit Feet Running speciality store that the doctor mentioned, and found it with ease.  Really loved the guy that was working there; he actually knew stuff, as opposed to every other store I've gone to.  And the shoe fit! Tried on the Brooks Addiction 7 and found it to be roomy and comfortable. He had me hop on a treadmill to test it out. It's nice. They have a treadmill and a camera set up  behind it to video your running gait if needed. After only about 2 minutes I knew this shoe was a winner. A little pricey, but I think well worth the investment.  I still love my Asics 2110s and 2120s, but they just don't have the necessary support that I need right now.

This afternoon I walked a gentle 30 minutes.  It feels like spring outside, just about 40 degrees and sunny with crystal clear blue skies.  Gorgeous.

Total Time: 30:00   Total Mileage: 1.65    Average Pace: 18:10/ mile

Thanks for all of your support everyone! Think Spring!

7:00 PM - 50 pushups, 100 situps, 200 crunches, 3 x 15 @ 12 lbs arms

9:00 AM - Went for a walk in my new Brooks' Addictions. Felt calm and pain free the entire time.  Made sure to ease into it and 10 mins of light stretching before hand, followed by 15 minutes of stretching after the walk.  We have lucked out the last two days for weather - I hear we have a nasty storm ready to pound us once again this weekend.  Read some of latest issue of Running Times, and really enjoyed the article about 5 best races of all time, though I think there are a hundred more that could have made the list. Also the article on Kara Goucher was motivating.  Looking forward to the weekend, and then easing into perhaps 4 or 5 walks next week.

Total Time: 37:00   Total Mileage: 2.07 miles    Average Pace: 17:52 / mile

Mile 1: 18:13

Mile 2: 17:39

11:00 PM - After work, did 225 easy crunches just for fun. :) Felt good this week to actually have some (+) mileage on the board! Tomorrow will most likely be a rest day, and then an easy day on Sunday.  We're making progress towards spring!

2:00 PM  - 200 crunches and 50 pushups, followed by a nice 2.1 mile stroll on the treadmill.  Felt nice and easy.  Feeling pretty good today. 

Total Mileage: 2.1 miles   Total Time:  37:30  Average Pace:  17:51 / mile