JohnK

5 miles easy. Felt good. Weather outlook for Chicago Marathon this coming Sunday isn't the best but who knows, maybe things will improve. And I sure can't change the weather myself!

5 miles easy. Felt okay, not exactly great but no problems.

8 miles, first 3 easy to warm up followed by 4800 on UGA track in 19:59 with 1600s in 6:44, 6:40, 6:35 (i.e., a bit faster than marathon goal pace) and 2 miles easy. Felt pretty good.

The weather outlook for Chicago Marathon this Sunday morning is looking worse and worse, with the forecast now calling for a low Sat. night of 70 with pretty high humidity, so it could be 80 by the time I finish. That's 20-30 degrees above what I'd like! So I'm disappointed but will just deal with the conditions the best I can, not sure whether I'll re-evaluate my 2:59 goal but I'll wait and see what it's actually like on race day.

4 miles easy. Feeling only so-so at best this week, not too surprising with the marathon coming up Sunday. It's all in the head, right? Plus I'm concerned about the warm, humid weather forecast for race morning. I need to do some positive visualization to get me out of this funk.

3 miles easy before flying up to Chicago. Felt quite good.

No running, but I walked a few miles in the morning, stretched, drank alarming amounts of fluids, and naturally worried about the unusually warm -- make that HOT -- weather here in Chicago. It's sunny and humid too, and tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer. All thoughts about time are out the window and blown far away; I'm now just aiming to survive. So in a way the pressure is off, and perhaps if I really do take it out conservatively I'll actually have a positive experience. I still feel fortunate to be here and have made it healthy and fit but I'm bummed about the weather.

Sure hope everyone running St. George this morning did well.

After all the great, positive reports from St. George (congrats to everyone), here's a dud of a report from the La Salle Bank Flaming Chicago Marathon of 2007.

I did manage to finish, but averaged almost a full minute per mile slower than my initial goal. I say initial because I knew a few days prior that the conditions wouldn't be good enough for a sub-3:00. But I decided to test myself over the first half and be in position to possibly run a respectable 3:05-3:08 should I not be suffering too terribly by 13.1 miles. I actually felt quite good during the early miles, though it was warm and rather humid. Thankfully we had lots of shade the first 12 or so. I was 1:31.56 at the half but was already slowing as temps rose and shade became rare. Right after 25K it got ugly. So I switched modes and put all thoughts of time out of mind. I began walking through aid stations and drinking lots and lots of fluids. (I had been drinking earlier, just not so much.) The final 10K proved brutal and I had cramping in both calves -- guess that explains why it took all of 58:39! There's a bit of an incline with about 600m to go and that seemed to push my deteriorating physical condition over the top as my right calf completely knotted up and then as I turned onto the homestretch, in front of hundreds (thousands?) of spectators my stomach decided to get into the act. I stopped three times during the final 400m and had to double over once in an attempt to minimize the stomach cramp so I could at least jog the final 100 meters. I got a big cheer each time I started running again (really embarrassing, but I suppose the crowd loved it) and I crossed the line in 3:24.41, by far my slowest marathon. But I actually felt really satisfied with my effort, and this was certainly one of the more memorable races I've run. I'm glad I didn't bag it at 30K or something, that would have made the thing a complete downer. And I'm less sore today than after St. George last fall.

Am giving throught to another marathon next month, in hopes I'll get more reasonable weather and an opportunity to run a time more representative of my current fitness.

No running today but a good 4 mile walk in the morning before departing Chicago and than additional walking at O'Hare and Hartsfield-Jackon and a brief walk in the evening at home. Feeling okay, muscle soreness not bad and overall fatigue fairly minimal given the struggle yesterday. A bad blister on the bottom of my right foot that fortunately did not burst during the marathon is somewhat bothersome today. So I'll probably just walk tomorrow and resume running on Wednesday. 

No running but several brief walks. My left quad is still sore and the blister on the bottom of my right foot is also but both are improving rapidly.

Easy 4 mile run. It felt really good to do some actual running although my left quad is still pretty sore (especially noticeable on downhills). I feel fine otherwise and am anxious to return to more substantial training. Still thinking about finding another marathon to run next month after the Chicago fiasco.

7 miles mostly easy. Felt really good, and had I not still been feeling some soreness in the left quad I'd have probably stretched it out to 10-12 miles (tempting on such a nice, cool morning). But I decided to play it safe, and my right knee was briefly just a bit painful (not one spot but general stiffness so I'm not concerned). I feel I'll be fully recovered from Chicago very soon so I continue to think seriously about another try at the marathon in November or December.

Easy 8 mile run picking up the pace now and then. Feeling fine, quad pain about gone.

8 miles easy (60 min.). Felt really good but noticed minor pain in my right knee (as yesterday, only a bit worse today). It's not noticeable standing or walking so I'm not really worried, but I know I must hold back until it's completely gone.

Rested today because of the knee pain, which is centered at the outside of the right knee. I am wondering whether this could be an IT band issue? I've never had knee trouble, except once way back in the late 80s.

4 miles easy on grass. Felt okay, the knee was better than expected although definitely not 100%. I've been doing some IT band stretches and foam roller work today -- my right side does seem tighter than my left and maybe I got on this in time to prevent something major.

A.M.:  4 miles easy. Knee pretty good although somewhat noticeable (moreso when running downhill). I might go out for another 30 minute run this evening -- am thinking it will be easier on the knee to do two short runs each of the next several days rather than a single 60-75 minute run each day. This will just be maintenance running, trying to retain fitness while the knee problem gradually GOES AWAY. Obviously I won't run twice if the knee is painful in the morning and/or worsens during the day.

P.M.:  No run after all, but I did walk about 45 minutes. The knee seems okay, no significant pain, but I can feel it a bit when going downstairs.

8 miles mostly easy except for one mile on the track at about 6:50 pace. I avoided hills as best I could and ran about 3 miles total on the track. Felt good, very pleased that the knee was fine for most of the run. It became somewhat noticeable after about 4 miles but did not worsen and seems better afterwards so I am encouraged. Still, I must be careful and am certainly not ready to jump up to longer, harder runs just yet!

8 miles easy, staying away from hills and including about 2 miles on the track. Knee wasn't too bad but more noticeable than yesterday.

6 miles easy in the rain. My right knee started out feeling good but eventually was quite sore so this is not good! Obviously I'm wanting to keep running to maintain fitness but I must get over this injury rather than prolonging it by not resting, if indeed that's what I need this point.

P.M.:  I've definitely got IT band syndrome. Plan to take an aggressive approach to treatment with stretching, strengthening, ice, etc.

Day off. Started some strengthening work for the IT band problem, also stretching, foam roller and ice. I'm pretty much giving up home for a marathon on Nov. 10th and am starting to think about a March 1st marathon in Albany, GA. Flat, fast course from what I understand. And I train best during the winter months so once this ITBS is gone I'll start re-establishing my base and building up for that one.

Day off. Much stretching and strength work and icing for the ITBS.

Day off. When was the last times I missed 3 straight days? Not at any point this year; possibly 2006 but perhaps I'd have to go back to summer of '05. Anyway, I don't like it but there's no option as I must get over the IT band problem before I can run consistently.

Day off. Continued knee/IT band rehab.

Day off. Continued knee/IT band rehab.

2 miles easy, knee felt pretty good but this was hardly a good test. Continued knee/IT band rehab. I'm determined to wait until next week to try any substantial running.

2 miles easy, plus all sorts of stretching and so on for the IT band problem. I sure can tell my right hip area is tight compared to the left. And I'm working on both hamstrings quite a bit as well.

4 miles easy. Felt great as I got started and for about 2 miles all was well, but I began to notice very slight knee pain shortly thereafter. It wasn't bad until about 3.5 and I carefully jogged it in. I'm going to have to be patient and not rush getting back to more substantial running. I think I can safely jog a few miles a day at this point but if the knee starts hurting I'm only prolonging the issue by continuing to run. I just need to focus on stretching and strengthening and convince myself daily that the more of that stuff I do the sooner I'll be back running the way I'd like to be. It's frustrating though, because I was in super shape prior to Chicago (defintely sub-3:00 on a good day) and now it's slipping away!

3 miles, mostly easy but I threw in several long strides fairly hard. I'd heard that doing strides while suffering from IT band problems can actually be beneficial so thought what the heck, I'll see what happens. I actually felt good and it was great to do a bit of faster running. The knee was noticeable by the time I stopped after 3, however. Tomorrow I might drive over to the track and do my entire brief run there, to be on a completely level surface. Still doing all the stretching and strengthening stuff.

6 miles, easy except 8 x 100m strides on UGA track. Actually I ran about 3 miles total on the track which was good as it seems helpful to the IT band to stick to flat surfaces. And the strides were also good -- seems what Vin Lananna says about faster running being less aggravating to this injury is correct.

5 miles, easy except several ~100m strides thrown in at random. Knee felt pretty good although was noticeable at times. Usual stretching and strength work.

5 miles, easy except several strides at random intervals. Knee pretty good but noticeable throughout the run. Still need to keep the mileage low but I think there's some progress.