Friday, October 9, 2009

Folly?

I've always heard of people that have gotten hurt while training. I've known some personally and I've even seen some get hurt. A few of these folks have recovered quickly, some have had long drawn out recoveries and others, with drastic injuries, are still on recovery road. I never really thought it would be my turn.

I'm not a very patient being generally and waiting for my body to heal isn't something that I am good at. I'm also very goal oriented and I believe that finding out "what you can do" involved reaching a bit. Of course, this is very individual based on one's injuries. The ER doctor told me that I could try to workout but be prepared for a lot of pain. When the pain gets too much, he recommended to shut it down.

So I've started training.

I've gotten a lot of advice from people I consider "real" athletes who have had injuries similar to mine. Most have commented that the ability to bike (especially on the trainer) would come first and that running would come last. The jury was out on swimming.

Biking on the trainer hasn't been bad. I've been stretching out the time to the point where I can ride an hour. I can't push the pace since breathing deeply still sucks. I've wanted to ride outside but the weather hasn't cooperated. Sunday looks promising for a ride and there is a group of TNTers with 46 miles on the cue sheet at a relatively slow pace. This is a little longer than I wanted to do but I'm sure there will opportunities to turn around and shorten the ride.

Swimming, in contrast, has been hell. My first try at swimming lasted a little over 90 seconds before I had to shut it down. My second try was last Sunday and I was happy to be able to swim for 15 minutes. But then, and there always seems to be a then, within an hour I was in agony. I curled up in bed and stayed there for 2 hours. The pain continued until today, 5 days later, when I almost feel the way I felt before I tried my 15 minute swim. Needless to say, I'm not going to try to swim for a few more weeks.

Running has been better than I expected. Last Saturday I was able to run 3 miles on the flattest course in existence (a boardwalk at the beach). Tuesday I ran 4 miles just running laps around the block. Last night, 4.5 miles on a track. All of this running was slow, even for me, but it was running and I found that running hasn't made my pain worse.

So, never one to let reality get in the way, I've decided to race the Disney Marathon on January 10, 2010. I've booked a hotel, reserved a rental car and have decided to do this race while raising funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society and Team in Training.

I know what you are thinking. "Isn't this a bit of a reach?"

I looked online and saw a bunch of 20 week beginner plans typically have a long run in the 12 miles range for this weekend. This weekend I hope to run a little longer than the 4.5m the other night and if I continue to improve, I feel I should be able to do it. BikeMike, my coach, seems to feel that based on my fitness level I would need 12 weeks to be ready. Losing weight will help most but the calendar works.

I'll be racing and training with friends.

MrsRockstar keeps hinting that the Disney half marathon might be a more attainable goal than the full. She is probably, as usual, right but I've never let "can't" get in my way.

Is this a folly? Maybe yes but then again, maybe no. Let's find out.

4 comments:

Al's CL Reviews said...

It sounds like you know when to shut it down. So if you think its attainable then go for it!

You are certainly an inspiration.

FYI- I have been using your head is a cantaloupe analogy to people about wearing a helmet. I got one person to put theirs on. Thanks!

Diane said...

Thanks for the update! Sounds like you are getting a little bit better and stronger each and everyday. And a full marathon in January? I'm in agreement with MrsRockstar - maybe the half sounds a little more reasonable. Then again, we all like a challenge, to take a chance, roll the dice and see what we are made of. Good luck in your training. I'll be cheering for you all the way. And thanks for continuing to be a source of inspiration to lots of folks out there.

Georgia Snail said...

I hear disney is an awesome marathon! Just keep putting one foot in front of the other, you'll get there.

Missy said...

It sounds like you're listening to your body, especially on the swim portion. Sounds like a bitch, though. I'm so sorry. I can't imagine how frustrating. Just keep listening and shut it down when you need to, no apologies.