Decided to heed Dale's advice and ran 3 easy relaxing miles with Kimi in the morning rather than take the day off. Pretty mild for an October morning but it looks like we're in for a big change over the weekend. I'm really liking the latest forecasts for Dixie, looks like we could have some nice cool temps for the race, however the wind could be an issue. Someone help me get this straight......when they say in weather forecasts something like.."Wind S to SW at 20 mph"....does that mean the wind is blowing FROM the South/SouthWest or does it mean the wind is blowing from NorthNE TOWARD the SouthSW? If it's the latter then I'm happy as it means we may have a tailwind for the race, but otherwise it means a crummy headwind.

Got a massage last night to work over the legs one more time before the race. Hopefully it will help loosen me up. I had hoped by this point of the taper some of my lingering aches/pains would be gone, but unfortunately I can still feel the familiar lower abs, groin, and hamstring stuff, although the pains are mild and don't bother me much during the run. I suspect it may take many weeks or even months of cross-training and/or very slow running to fully recover from my many weeks/months of overtraining and leg-abuse over the summer and not always listening to my body.

But hey we live and we learn, I'm still very excited for the race and can't wait to see what happens, not only for me but for everyone else - especially Kim. All of us who can run and have are health are just so lucky to even be able to be a part of the marathon experience. What a glorious thing to be fit and healthy and be able to enjoy life to the fullest. There are so many around us who don't ever get the opportunity to experience all the joys of life, some due to their own choices, but many others (like my sister-in-law) who through no fault of their own have to watch from the sidelines.

So now we're to Wednesday and 3 days out it means we can start officially start fueling for the race, right? HAPPY CARBO-LOADING EVERYONE!!

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIA!!! OUR BABY IS 8 YEARS OLD!

 Decided to not run either today or tomorrow. Looking back on the training year I noticed I've only had one other occurence of 2 consecutive non-running days in 2008 clear back in March. A little reward to my body after all the abuse the last 18 months since I last ran a marathon. If I was smarter I probably would have taken a few days off in the Spring when the minor injuries that have plagued me all Summer first reared their ugly face.

I'm actually starting to feel really good yesterday and today and the legs are starting to feel pretty juiced. I've also been able to sleep pretty well all week compared to other pre-marathon weeks. And I'm loving the latest weather forecasts except for the headwind potential, but with our good-size sub-3 group if we help each other and run as a pack, at least for a while like Andy has suggested, we should be able to do pretty well against ol' Mr. Headwind.

On a side note we were so glad my sister-in-law was able to be released from the hospital yesterday. They'll make the trip back home to SoCal today so hopefully all goes well.

Folks the time is almost here. It's time to have us a jolly old time while we all do our very best that we can do for that day. I think I'm feeling some YEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAWWWWWWWW!!!!

Hurricane Headwind Hoedown!!

Originally I wanted to use a different word for the last word of the title that starts with 'H' and is 4 letters but in keeping with the family-friendly spirit of the blog and because I want to focus on the POSITIVES of the race I decided to go with the "Hoedown" headline.

Like every else has already mentioned we had a lovely time today running in a driving rain and headwind for the ENTIRE RACE! It was FUN FUN FUN!!! Actually in a weird way it was kind of fun and I'm not really all that disappointed I didn't get the sub-3.

So far looking at the race reports of everyone in our sub-3 group who has posted it doesn't look like anyone was successful at finishing with a time starting with a '2'. Looks like Riverton Paul was close, and I haven't seen Andy's report yet so maybe he or someone else in the group was able to pull it off.

Kinda tired right now so this may not be the full report.....here are the splits:

Mile 1 - 7:07 (a bit slow but nearly impossible to go much faster with slower runners in front, running with Terry oldBean and running into other sub-3 group bloggers here and there)

Mile 2 - 7:00

Mile 3 - 6:40 feeling pretty good for the next 4 miles or so, Terry is pulling me along)

Mile 4 - 6:33

Mile 5 - 6:48

Mile 6 - 6:24

Mile 7 - 6:24

Mile 8 - 7:54

Mile 9 - 7:43

Mile 10 - 7:24 (starting to not quite be able to hit our splits, off by 5-10 seconds due to the dang headwind)

Mile 11 - 7:35

Mile 12 - 7:13

Mile 13 - 6:57 (splits starting to be off by more like 10-20 seconds but still 1:33 at 1/2, not quite the 1:31-1:32 as planned but sub-3 still doable if we can nail the 2nd half and negative split)

Mile 14 - 7:02

Mile 15 - 6:33 (liking the downhill, but calves are starting to complain)

Mile 16 - 6:26

Mile 17 - 7:01 (Terry's legs are shot so he drops back, my wheels are starting to wobble as well)

Mile 18 - 7:26 (Wheels wobbling badly, calves starting to cramp up and I can't hold pace. Not breathing very hard but nothing I can do)

Mile 19 - 8:22 (Realize the sub-3 isn't going to happen, just going to try for PR at this point - anything under 3:17

Mile 20 - 7:49 (Calves are totally shot and in major pain, not fun at all and can't make any use of the downhill)

Mile 21 - 7:16

Mile 22 - 7:54

Mile 23 - 8:02

Mile 24 - 7:44 (Somewhere around here Marcie J catches up to me and gives me a bit of motivation to pick up the pace. Ran with her for a bit until her shoelace unties for I think what she said was the 3rd time. She has to recruit a volunteer to do the tying as it looks like her legs are as shot as mine and bending down is major pain and maybe won't be able to start up again. I can totally relate)

Mile 25 - 7:59

Mile 26 - 7:42 (Marcie J catches up again and give me some motivation. Then dang Terry old Bean who I thought for sure I would BEAT for the VERY FIRST TIME EVER shows up out of nowhere and blows by me. I accept defeat momentarily then get really, really mad and actually yell at the top of my lungs "NO - YOU AREN'T GOING TO BEAT ME" and I speed up to about 7 min pace for about 50 yards until the calves do some major cramping and I just can't hold the pace. I have to let Terry go and hope that my day to defeat my high school buddy and running mentor will come on another, better day. Also see James W walking about 2-3 blocks from the finish. I yell at him to run in with me and appear to awake him from his momentary funk and he takes off like a wild man and leaves me in the dust. I'm happy I was able to provide him a little boost).

Mile 26.2 - 1:58 (7:57 pace).

Nice to meet and talk to lots of bloggers. Looks like many folks are off by 10-20 minutes so I don't feel quite as bad being well off the sub-3. Congrats to those few who were able to find a way to overcome the headwind and reach their goal times.

Highlight of the race was finding Kim for a big hug and kiss after she finished her very first marathon in just over 4 hours despite some hairy knee problems.  Great job Babe!

UPDATE: One other "positive" I just noticed. I finally beat the guy from Payson who beat me at Speedy Spaniard by 3 seconds and at Provo River 1/2 by 4 seconds. This time I beat HIM by 4 minutes!

Terry - you're day is coming...... :-)

OUCH!!! I can't believe how dang sore I am today. At least as bad as the first time I ever ran St. George when I hadn't really done any downhill training. But this year my training was about as good as ever so I can't figure out why I should be so sore! But the weird things is I'm not really that sore in the traditional SG muscle areas (quads/shins) but rather in the hammies and REALLY SUPER BAD in the calves. I guess maybe something about the cold weather and running with almost constant calf cramping the last 9 miles or so just did me in. I also ran in the lighter Banditos rather than the medium-weight DS Trainers so maybe that made things worse. We live and we learn.

This might be my last blog entry for a while as I'm in big need of some non-running downtime to get properly healed up. I will be doing some cross-training as I try to not get too bad out of shape, but I'm not sure, is just depends on how my body reacts. I'm commited to not doing any running this week and then either no running or just very slow, recovery type running until the all the lingering lower-ab/glute/groin/hamstring stuff is gone.

I guess I could still blog the cross-training but I just kind of feel like I need a break from the blog as well,  and take the time I've been spending most days blogging and reading other blogs, and put that time to use elsewhere. Now I hope nobody thinks I'm just being mopey after the race yesterday and over-reacting, I've actually been planning on this for quite a while and I feel pretty good about yesterday and the last year in general. (Just remembered a humorous unrelated tidbit related to the term "over-reaction"....Kim and I were discussing (debating?) the effects of PMS on a women and we got laughing way hard as we wondered how much "ovary-action" had to do with the uh-hum occasional "over-reaction" that possibly occurs during PMS time. Our little inside funny pun/joke now :)).

Good luck to everyone in your running and hope life treats you well. I've loved all the support and encouraging words everyone has given me the last year or so. See you down the road a bit and at the races! 2008 has been a great year as I noticed now with getting SGM out of the way Kim and I have both PR'd at every distance. Doesn't get much better than that! I'm looking forward to seeing what 2009 brings!

35 minutes on elliptical. Ave/Max HR 135/162.

10 minutes bike, 35 minutes elliptical. Ave/Max HR 133/149

45 minutes on elliptical. Ave/Max HR: 133/158

50 minutes on elliptical. Ave/Max HR 147/167.

5 mile test run at noon with Nate, Lakeview route. Felt pretty crappy.

Ave pace 8:54. Ave/Max HR 153/174

55 minutes on elliptical. Did simulated 3-mile tempo run in the middle and really pushed it at the end to see how high I could get my HR.

Elliptical is very boring but legs feel really good, no aches and pains even when going all-out. Running is not boring but painful and feels worse as the run progresses, even at slow speeds. Probably should stick with elliptical.

Ave/Max HR: 162/193

Very slow "test" run. Felt slightly better than Monday but not by much. 

Ave pace 9:54. Ave/Max HR 133/145.

50 minutes on elliptical with simulated 1/2 mile intervals (6 of them) every 4 minutes just to keep things from being too boring. Felt really good at the end.

Ave/Max HR 164/192

2 miles on treadmill, 65 minutes on elliptical. Elliptical feels good, running just fair.

3 miles very slowly on JR parkway with Kim. IT band gave Kim trouble after about a mile, I can feel the ab/groin/glute pains but each run I do seems to feel a little better than the last.

2 miles on treadmill, felt pretty good. Then 5.1 miles with Paul, Nate, Will, and Bill. Felt good for about 3 miles but last 2 miles felt crappy. Finished with equivalent 1 mile on elliptical just to see if that helped lessen the ab/groin/glute pains that hit after running. It did seem to help a bit.

Ave pace: 8:56. Ave/Max HR: 158/176

Just thought I'd give a quick update on how things are going as far as my efforts to get healed up and recover after SGM and all the high mileage and hard training over this last "year of running dangerously".

The heavy duty soreness after SGM, particularly in the calves is pretty much gone. I've didn't do much the week right after SGM, just a little xtraining on the elliptical. I've tried a couple of test runs last week and one this week that didn't go all that great. The lower abdominal, groin and glute pains are still there in all there glory. Pretty much exactly what Cal is dealing with except I haven't had the back troubles that he seen.

Finally broke down and went to a Sports Doc - Dr. Brent Rich over at the IHC Sports Clinic in Provo. He seems like a great doctor and a great guy, very personable and easy to work with. We talked for a while, he did some simple tests, took an x-ray of my pelvis. I had already suspected what Cal also suspects, that what we are dealing with is what is commonly referred to as as "Sports hernia" or "Sportsmans hernia", or sometimes called "Gilmore's Groin". This injury is not well understand and there is plenty of debate in the medical community currently how best to deal with it.

Turns out it isn't really a hernia in the traditional sense as there is not a "bulge" and it isn't always necessary or even helpful to operate. The latest "official" name that all the cool sports doctors are using to describe the problem is "Athletes Pubalgia". How's THAT for a fancy sounding injury!

These type lower-ab/groin problems can be really tough to treat without an MRI so my next step is to go in Thursday and get the MRI done. Dr. Rich seemed pretty excited about dealing with this particular injury, he said some Doc from Pennsylvania who is considered the guru on Athletes pubalgia had recently come out to Utah to educate the local sports docs on dealing with this exact thing. Sounds like the Penn dude might be available for some consultation so I guess that's good. I said I would happy to play the guinea pig role.

In the mean time Dr. Rich said I could keep doing what I've been doing as far as exercise. The crosstraining should be fine and he doesn't think I'll make anything worse by running.  I'll try and update my blog occasionally with any updates that I think might be helpful to Cal and others out there who have been dealing with the lower-ab and groin issues.

Late afternoon: Did elliptical workout - about 60 minutes with a simulated 5-mile tempo run in the middle. Legs always feel super during/after elliptical workouts, no aches and pains even with pushing it to the max toward the end where I was able to get my HR up to what it probably about the max at 195.

Ave/max HR: 165/195

Warmed up on elliptical 18 minutes then 6 miles slow running up/down the hills out Eagleview way. The running felt about the same as Monday.

Now I know with all the complaining I do about how running feels unpleasant and elliptical feels good to legs, there may be some who wonder WHY AM I STILL DOING ANY RUNNING IF IT HURTS! This is certainly a very good question and I actually would have preferred the elliptical today, HOWEVER I was actually following doctors orders to run slow today and do just enough to keep my ache/pain areas all riled up and festered. I guess maybe it will make the MRI a bit more interesting to look at if I've got lots of good inflammation going on.

Ave pace 9:27. Ave/Max HR: 140/165

OK so I went and got an MRI done this morning. Nothing too exciting and I haven't heard anything yet. I know a few people who kind of freak out about getting an MRI and have to take Valium beforehand, but I went drug-free and didn't think it was too bad. I would even say it was relaxing as I laid there with the headphones listening to the smooth-and-silky vocals of Norah Jones, if not for the incessant loud and annoying jack-hammer and spaceship sounds coming from the MRI machine. Hopefully the doc will get back to me pretty quick on the results and we can officially begin the injury treatment/recovery program.

In the afternoon I got 65 minutes in on the elliptical. Wahoo. Ave/Max HR 157/175.

Crosstraining overload. Mental toughness workout or just shows I'm mentally whacked. Tried doing equivalent of a long run with no actual running starting with 30 minutes easy on the bike, 30 minutes easy on stairstepper, and finishing with 65 minutes on the elliptical, mostly at simulated MP effort and all-out at the end. Ugh. All I can say is thank goodness for the MP3 player and my mostly classic rock mix. The Cars, Van Halen, Queen, Foreigner, Supertramp, Beatles and a little known band from NYC called GrooveLily. My favorite workout tune is a GrooveLily song titled "Live Through This" that has a tempo right at 180 so perfect running beat and the lyrics are also great. Had to listen to that one a few times. Plus you gotta love a band that uses a distorted electric violin instead of guitar.

Ave/Max HR: 152/190.

AM run with the SF group. Quite a few runners out today. Still running very slow but today was the best my legs have felt since SGM. But still a long ways to go. Next week I'll find out the results of the MRI I had on Thursday. Kim might be worse off than I am with a possible stress fracture on her foot. Hopefully it's something less serious and she won't have to wait 8 weeks to run again. I feel a tad guilty enjoying any running when she can't do any. 

Ave pace 9:23. Ave/Max HR: 142/171.

Ran today out to Seven Peaks and back 8.6 miles, mostly hills. A wiser man probably would have avoided running and crosstrained or just taken the day off, but it was such an absolutely beautiful day and I could not resist. I did keep the pace very slow and easy. I thought of going with the guys but I knew my 9-10 min pace would be a bit slow and I didn't want to hold everyone up.

Ave pace: 9:15. Ave/max HR: 145/165

So I went to the doc today to hear what the MRI said about my "condition". The official report had all kinds of medical mumbo-jumbo and jargon that was meaningless to me but the basic gist just confirms my suspicions. I do have Athletic Pubalgia or runner's hernia. Pretty much my gut muscles are "frayed" toward the bottom of my abdomen with tears around the area where the ab muscles connect to the pubic bone. I also have minor tears in the groin area near the same area.

My options are pretty much 1) A dose of steroidal anti-inflammatories, rest (i.e no running or jarring activities for 4 weeks,  biking/elliptical is ok), ice, physical therapy focusing on core strengthening exercises, 2) More of 1 but also with steroid/cortisone shots in the gut, 3) surgery.

Doctor Rich suggested we try 1 first and I agreed. So pretty much no more running for me for at least 4 weeks. I would like to put in the same amount of time and effort into crosstraining but that will be tough. We'll try it the next week and see how it goes. Guess it will be time to try to build some mental toughness in the gym. At least for the time being Kim is in a similar situation so we can support each other and help each other keep from going bonkers. I plan on still blogging the crosstraining but probably not every day, maybe every week or so.

But I can say a part of me is thankful and looking forward to a rest from all the pounding of running and getting rid of (hopefully) these dang lingering aches and pains. November might just be the ideal time of year for both of us to get away from running for a bit.

Non-running day 1: Warmed up with 10 minutes bike, 20 minutes on stairstepper. Then did a timed interval workout on the elliptical machine. Alternating 10 minutes hard, 5 minutes easy, 3 sets  worth then some cooldown. Tried to keep effort around 10K-HMP level but hard to gauge the effort, wearing the HR monitor helps. Kept HR mostly in the 170-190 range during the interval.

Ave/Max HR 147/194.

Non-running day 2: Easy effort workout. 20 minutes on bike, 10 minutes on stair-stepper, 50 minutes on elliptical doing one of the selectable workouts that varies the incline. Boring. Forgot the MP3 player and the movie that was playing (Hulk 2?) wasn't doing it for me.

Ave/Max HR: 135/158

Non-running day 3: Another easy effort workout. I almost talked myself into bagging the whole thing after the boring gym workout yesterday. But then I remembered the miserable conditions in the non-AC gym in India last year and I was able to get a little happier about the idea of the non-run workout.

I'm glad I did it, I actually ended up having a pretty enjoyable workout. I remembered my MP3 player this time and realized that by varying the incline and resistance levels I could get into a good cadence that matched the beat of whatever song but still keep my HR in the desired zone (140-160), even for songs that would never work for running where I pretty much stick with a turnover cadence of 170-185.

Today it was the Beatles and Cake that did the trick. Kind of a weird combination but who says you can't have your Cake and Beatles too?

Ave/Max HR: 148/162

Crosstraining madness. About 30 minutes worth between the bike and stairstepper and then nearly 2 hours on the elliptical with trying to do the last hour at something that felt like marathon pace effort. HR mostly in the 165-180 range for the MP, the last 10 minutes between 180-190.

Ave/Max HR: 150/187