April 30, 2006
An Injury Scare
Less than a week into training and already I had a major concern. I woke up Friday morning and my left arch/heel was killing me. After limping for a few minutes, it loosened up. Some quick research told me I have a mild case of Plantar Fasciitis. Don’t know what Plantar’s is?
Well, in laymen’s terms, there’s a ligament in the bottom of the foot, and when it doesn’t stretch properly, it tears. Mine, I surmised from tests and talking to others who had or have it, is a micro tear that I should be able to train through, as long as I care for it properly.
It means icing at night, stretching during the day, a few massages (my wife thinks I’m asking her to do it just because it feels good, but what husband would ever do that?) and, for the first time, I am wearing inserts when I run to help offset my high arches.
How I got the Plantar’s is another matter, and one I’m not sure of. I trained for four marathons in the past, and never had trouble with it. So all I can do is guess, and I have three of them.
First, I’m 20 pounds heavier than I was when I trained for Anchorage a year ago. Second, perhaps I started running too much, too quickly, but I really doubt it because I was running a few times a week for two or three weeks before training officially started.
Third, and this is the one I believe is the reason, is I’ve changed shoes for this race. I wasn’t getting much longevity from my previous shoes, so I went with a different brand. After talking to some of the marathoners at a running specialty store I frequent in Pasadena, they also believe this is the most likely reason for my Plantar’s.
But live and learn is what I say, and thankfully my first week of training is over, and my foot felt fine in running 8 miles Sunday. I am running five times a week, with my long run coming on Sundays, since that is the day of the Quebec City marathon. I found the schedule thanks to a quick google. I’ve used it before, and it worked. Yes, five days a week is a lot, as my thighs reminded me as I climbed and descended the hills at the L.A. Zoo on Sunday afternoon. The beginner schedules I used for three marathons calls for running four days a week.
Anyway, the highlight of my first week of training was running a 10k at Cal State Northridge on Saturday. I finished it in 59:38, which I was happy about. My wife and her sister, Holly Reilly (she asked for a shout out by name), walked the 10k, and claimed to be the winners. Their rationale was they were the only ones to walk the 10k (there was also a 5k), so they were the top finishers among the walkers.
Thanks for the responses to the blog, and the emails I received. I think it helps everyone when folks post.
This week’s schedule is 3 miles (Tuesday), 5 miles (Wednesday), 3 miles (Thursday), 5 miles (Saturday) and 9 miles (Sunday).
Look for my next blog entry May 8.
Posted by Brian Dohn at 9:28 PM | Comments (3)
April 24, 2006
The Eve of Training
It is the eve of my training, a journey that will take me through 570 miles of running. And how did I spend the day? Well, knowing I will have to eat well and stay away from junk food, I opted for KFC for lunch (extra crispy, of course) and chased it with a double-double and fries from In N Out for dinner. But don’t think training wasn’t on my mind. My wife, my niece and myself toasted to a successful training program. My beverage of choice? A large strawberry shake. Training, here I come.
Posted by Brian Dohn at 8:55 PM | Comments (2)
April 20, 2006
Brian Dohn's marathon blog
Three weeks after running my fourth marathon, and in a personal-best time, I took an ambulance ride to the hospital for shortness of breath after being unable to finish a two-mile jog. For the next five weeks I left my house only to visit the doctor, or to return to the emergency room.
It took months for me to recover, and longer for me to gain the confidence to know I could run again.
Over the next four months of training, I will share my experiences. It all leads up to my return to marathon running Aug. 27 in the Marathon des Deux Rives in Quebec City.
In this time I will share with you what sent me to the hospital, how my father’s death inspired me to run in Quebec City, why you shouldn’t eat a taco salad before a training run, how I picked out my running shoes, the importance of body glide and a bunch of other tidbits I learned in my short time as a runner.
Why tell you all this? Because I am back in training for another marathon, and I hope to inspire some of you to begin running, others to start up again, and for those who already run, to tell their stories.
After all, I didn’t start running until four years ago, and when I started finishing ONE mile was a chore. I progressed to run in 5Ks, 10Ks, a half-marathon and then the 2004 Los Angeles marathon. Once I received my medal at the finish line, I was hooked.
Marathon training is tough, time-consuming and often tiring.
There may be times you drive right past me as I do my training runs on the streets of the San Fernando Valley, or even run right past me as I push my newborn son, Kyan, in one of the jogging strollers (which I previously thought were hideous). I hope you join me, at least in spirit, in my quest.
I know I’m recovered from last summer -- when my euphoria from finishing the Mayor’s Midnight Sun marathon in Anchorage, Alaska, in 4 hours, 20 minutes, 43 seconds was quickly shut off – but in my mind I won’t reach 100 percent recovery until I cross that finish line in Quebec City.
Training begins Tuesday, April 25, and I hope to have you along for the run. Look for my blog updates every Monday.
Posted by Brian Dohn at 6:45 PM | Comments (5)