Hope

I got out and ran 6 miles yesterday (ran 5, walked 1). I still am not sure how I'm going to get up to 26 in 6 weeks, but I am going to try.

My knee gave me very little trouble during the run, but is very sore today. That seems to be the pattern. Run...sore knee...rest 3 days...run again.

right now, though, the trend is up. The knee seems to be getting better. I am guessing that losing 75 pounds wouldn't hurt it much.

I HAVE A QUESTION: If anyone reads this who is more modern on these things, please respond.

Years ago, when I was a slightly more competitive runner, Runner's World magazine had an article about running with injuries. Here was their rule of thumb: If the injury gets better or goes away when you run, after a mile or so, it is safe to run on it. If it gets worse when you run, you need to quit and rest it. If you limp at all when you run, rest. I have used this rule over the years, to pretty good effect.

But I am wondering if this rule is still advocated among trainers and others. Anyone know?

A Mother's Prayer

Evidently my mom is going to pray that my knee will go out so I can't run (walk?) the Death March. It seems to be working. I went 2 miles last night, then had to quit because of my knee. But, surprisingly, it feels much better today. Maybe she hasn't had her quiet time yet.

I hope to get in a run tonight. But, my son Ben won a state championship (Critic's Banner they call it) in musical theatre last Saturday and they are performing it at the high school music concert tonight. So, I don't know if I will get the time. We will see.

A Good Week

I am back to running and training. I ran 2 miles Monday, 2 more Tuesday, and 4.5 miles Friday. My knee doesn't hurt much while I run, but the day after - aaarrrggghhh!!! Today, I am not walking well.

It was good to get back to running.

So, here's the deal. No one tell my Mom. Tommy Duncan is bugging me to go back to the death march, which will be March 30, in El Paso, TX. It is the most inspirational (and difficult) thing I have ever done. I would like to go, but I am going to have to train hard and faithfully.

I have found that when I train faithfully, my marathon conditioning comes back pretty quickly. I am heavier and slower this year.

Here's the plan.

I need to get an 8-10 miler in by the end of February.
I need to get a 15-18 miler in by March 15.
I need to run 3-4 times a week every week up until Easter.

I cannot get another injury that requires rest.
I cannot get sick again.
I cannot get lazy again.
If it all goes well, I will give the Death March a try.

Again, just don't tell Mom!

I think I am going to die fat

I am very discouraged. It has been one thing after the other. Back problems, headaches, medicinal reactions, a knee problem, then the flu (actually a different virus, but felt the same). Since I started the blog I have gained 10 pounds.

I still want to do this, but my body just will not cooperate. I think I am going to die obese - and probably young.

Dreams Dashed

I am afraid I may have blown a knee. I have played sports all my life and run in 6 marathons and done countless miles of jogging (as a bigger man). In all this, I have had almost no knee problems.

Then, last week, I was standing still when I felt my knee pop. I was JUST STANDING THERE! It has gotten consistently worse. Today, I can barely stand.

I have been hoping it would go away, but it seems to be getting worse.

This is going to force me to do what I have never been good at doing. I will need to lose weight by changing my eating habits, not by adding exercise.

Gross!

Living with Migraines

I guess I am just going to have to learn to live with migraine headaches. For the second time, my doctor put me on a medicine that was supposed to prevent migraines. It worked, but it made me a drooling vegetable.

I would take the medicine at night, before bed. I couldn't wake up in the morning, then wandered through the day in a total fog. Finally, then , I would sober up by about supper time. When I preached, I would get so dizzy, I could barely stand up.

So, today I took myself off the medicine. I may just have to live with migraines, but at least I can live!

A Bright Spot

I don't want to talk about my diet. I have been traveling and eating out every meal. But, today, I did run for 45 minutes (on a treadmill). I was encouraged to be able to run that long.

I am on a new migraine medicine which makes me feel loopy all day. I take it at night, and it doesn't really wear off till supper. So, I have about 4 or 5 lucid hours in a day. I finally ran at about 6:30 pm, when the medicine wore off.

I hate running on a treadmill, but with the winter we are having, there are no alternatives.