Hallelujah, What a day!!!

I had hoped for cool weather, and that's exactly what we had - in the forties all day; cold and windy at the end but just about perfect.

It is one tough run!  I took 6 Ibuprophins at the start (and 4 more after 3 1/2 hours), concerned about the pain of my knee.  A friend, Jim, said he would join me at the halfway point, and he jumped in right on schedule.  Up till that point I was doing well, but a little slower than I had expected.  Two miles after he joined me, I was already as far as I had ever run - 15 miles.  By the time I hit Heartbreak Hill, I had to walk every once in a while.  There simply was no option.  At first walking was hard on me emotionally - particularly since I was running with fresh Jim; but after a bit, I got used to interspersing some walking - and Jim was a great partner.  

(These two pictures are from the beginning of the Heartbreak Hill series of hills.)

  

 They say that the real halfway mark is not at mile 13, but rather not untill you  are done with Heartbreak Hill.  It sounds crazy, but I can say

 it's true.  The last 6 miles of the race feel eternally long.  The last 3 miles feel like 10 miles, and the last few hundres yards seemed like running the wrong way on one of those moving airport sidewalks.  Every time I looked up the finish line looked the exact same distance away.

I am so thankful - and honestly surprised - that God afforded me the opportunity to run.  It seemed so clear that my body was too injured during my preparations.  The weather cooperated wonderfully; it began to rain a few hours later, and poured cold rain all evening - wow, that would have been impossible - 30 mile winds and pouring rain.

After the "race" I hobbled with my wife and youngest son to the Orange Line "T" and headed home.  I am more sore "the morning after" than I've ever been, yet I have accomplished one of my most difficult goals.  I raised over $3,000 for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and I completed the Boston Marathon (29 years after my last - 3 mile race) at 50 years old!

I am very thankful to many people who supported MSPCC and encouraged and prayed for me.  THANK YOU!

Tommy G

Get Read, Get Set ....

After my run on Monday my knee was hurting enough to cause me serious concern.  On Tuesday I was really questioning whether running might be a serious mistake.  (I'm willing to pay some short-term prices to complete the Marathon, but I don't want to do long-term damage.)  So, I contacted a Boston Sports medicine clinic and set up an appointment for Wednesday.  This was a big step for me because I hate to take the time and spend the money to go to doctors.

I was pretty confident that the prognosis would not be good.  I was preparing myself to the eventuality of considering whether I might want to try next year.  I had even received assurance that my fund raising could probably be applied to next year - and that I could postpone the run if medically necessary.  To my surprise, however, I received confirmation that my own general diagnosis over the past month had been correct, that the pain I have been experiencing is most probably Patellofemoral Syndrome - soreness under or around the knee cap.  

The prognosis: I will experience a good amount of pain, but should not cause myself long-term damage.

The good news:  I get to run in the Boston Marathon in 3 days!

The bad news:  I have to run the Boston Marathon in 3 days.

I am planning to go to Hynes auditorium later today to pick up my official bib number and starters pack.  

If you would like to track my progress on race day, you can go to   http://www.bostonmarathon.org/BostonMarathon/113thMarathon.asp  and find the appropriate place to enter my bib number: 22652, and I believe you will be able to see where I am in the process.  Please pray for me if you can!!!

One Week to go and still Weak

7 Days till the Boston Marathon.  Wow, I would like 3 more months to prepare.

I've glanced back through some of my blogs, and I see I have really been facing a number of injuries and questions along the way.  It seems the mental battle has been the most challenging part of the training.  I didn't imagine this blog would be a whine-fest, but it has recounted a fair amount of difficulties.

Unfortunately this entry isn't any different.  My left knee has continued to irritate me.  I am sore on the inside of my knee cap.  It seems to me to be "Patellofemoral Syndrome."  Last week I only ran three miles - and my knee was significantly hurting.  So, I cross-trained with the elliptical machine 60-90 minutes a pop - including some pretty good hills, but not actual street pounding for the rest of the week.  I also started to ice my knee twice a day, and take Ibuprofen.  Today, I ran another 3 miles - and again felt some pain - not unbearable, but real nonetheless.  

My plan was to decide today whether I thought I could go for it or it not.  If I don't think I can complete the race, I think I would rather not run.  So, my hope was the decision would be clear and easy - I would either be pretty well healed up and go for it, or not and not.  However, as is often the case in life, the decision isn't so clear.  I am not all healed up, but I "feel" like I might be able to make it.

So ... I think I am going to go for it.  I will not run again between now and then (a very scary idea), and I will only do some very light elliptical training this week - no hills.  I will continue to ice my knees and take Ibuprofen.  I don't think I will use any kind of knee brace - as I have not seen any indication that they would be helpful.  I am possibly going to use some soul inserts, though.  It seems that part of the problem might be caused by over-pronation.  This is most commonly a problem for flat footed people, yet I have fairly high arches.  So, inserts may help to spread out the pressure of the continued pounding of 26.2 miles.

I don't know if I will be able to make - it doesn't look real good.  But, at this point things to don't seem clear enough for me to bag it.  If you've read this far, and it's not April 20th yet, please pray for me:  

1.  That I would be wise in the management of my body in this thing, and 

2. that God would allow me to accomplish this challenge