Great 12 miler...

Too bad the training run was a 30K. One of the thoughts that I picked up from training for an Ironman is that once you are "done" - you aren't necessarily finished. Yesterday, my run lost some effectiveness because my hip muscles were not strong enough to sustain my gait. So I walked, and walked, and got grumpy. Then I thought, "Well, let's see what I can do because I'm still four miles out."

So I ate  [I didn't finish this post and found it in my drafts and found it much, much later.  In retrospect, I think it's pretty darn funny so I'm posting it.]  

Houston Marathon in 5:45:09

So good to finish one inside the time limit.  Had a similar training year to last year.  Last year, the weather was perfect.  This year, not so much.  The first two or three miles was a cold downpour.  I'm so glad that the new fabrics they have dry out.  After about mile 10, I was running pretty dry.

The miles clipped by pretty well.  I did a run/walk combo similar to my training efforts and was able to sustain the last half that way.

Many years, the sense of accomplishment doesn't really sink in at the finish line for me.  The feelings I have are more around relief from the pain or satisfaction.  This year was very different.  I think that last year taught me that one of the reasons I do marathons is that they are hard and that your race in some degree does depend on the events of the day and your God-given gifts.  Last year - perfect weather, lousy finish.  This year, lousy (start) weather and good finish.  I was very thankful to have this one.

I finished this year in much better spirits than last year and signed up for some online training.

Houston Marathon in 6:07

Houston Marathon in 6:07

What a humbling race.  Nerve pain from my knee is healing, but it caused intense nausea for over half the race.  At least I tried (I'm on the finish video, at least).  Don't think this one will count for the streak, though.

Swim season over, back to workouts

I'm looking forward to having some time to work out. The knee is feeling better, so I'm going to do a track workout tomorrow. Did a bike workout tonight (inside) and put out 144 watts over 40 minutes. Now if I can just find out what I used to do...

Houston Marathon in 5:29:05

I haven't blogged in a while for a couple of reasons. First - I've been busy at a new job. Second - I really didn't feel like there was anything overly exciting to report. Third - (and I think this is the real reason) I just didn't feel as if my training and my times represented anything anyone would want to read about.

One of the reasons I run the Houston Marathon every year is that I have a streak of consecutive finishes. Ever since my ACL tear and subsequent replacement last year, it's been doubtful I would keep the streak alive. I didn't really feel like I wanted the world to have a front seat to a long rehab followed by a huge disappointment (well - a huge disappointment for me).

Over the season as I built my workout time up and my pace per mile down, my stride changed every week, sometimes twice a week or even run to run. Sometimes I could feel the knee shift, or my hip or my quad. I had hope, but every workout was its own challenge. This year I emptied the buckets of injury-avoidance knowledge and put it all into practice, because one (more) injury would mean the end of the marathon hopes this year.

Although continually improving over the training season, my times were awful. Some days were really awful - the kind that just suck the life out of you. Two examples happened in the last month alone. I went out to run and I did not make it past my neighbor's driveway. The cold and stride mechanics combined to make it painfully clear I was not going to run that night. I also had a marathon barometer run - a 21 miler. I had a great 12 mile run that day followed by nine miles of misery, walking and self doubt. That "run" came in at 5:30 - and Houston has a six hour cutoff. I knew that wasn't my best possible effort, but what knee and stride were going to show up on race day?

About two weeks before race day I had a true answer to prayer. My ten mile run came in at two hours flat. "Marathon math" is not an exact science, but the pace calculators put me finishing the marathon in 5:36. It was the first endurance run since February of last year that had me projecting a finish faster than six hours.

All that work, effort and massage led me to the start line - where it was a balmy 68 degrees with rain. Of course, this was unlike nearly all the distance runs I had done this year for training. I stuck to a plan of running comfortably for as long as possible and then just finishing - similar to my "fly and die" strategies of previous years. I didn't wear a watch because I didn't want to drive myself crazy analyzing my times. I was very evenly paced to a 2:30 half marathon when it occurred to me that I needed a salt tab. These can be rough on me - in the worst case I need about an hour of slowing down to make them work for me. I decided that with 3:30 to go I had enough of a cushion and would be thankful later. Sure enough, miles 14 through 18 were pretty rough and dark. I concentrated on walking fast and running for short stretches. All those training "run/walks" really came in handy as my body was used to cycling back and forth between running and walking. Starting about mile 20, I started passing people back as I felt better.

The last 5 miles of the Houston marathon are slightly downhill. One of the crazy things I found out about my stride is that I can really let it fly downhill, so I used that every time there was a downhill grade. More passing... At that point, I was still being pretty conservative because I know that cramps can come for you any time. I was pretty happy because I was pretty sure I was going to finish. I saw a runner bundled up in mylar on the roadside - she looked done and was just over a mile and half from the finish.

With a half mile to go, I felt like I could relax. One of my concerns throughout the race was that the race officials would detect lightning and close the course. With most of the faster runners in, they could close the course and not reopen it. My thinking at that point was that they would probably have all runners proceed to the shelter of the convention center, which would mean an official finish for me. I saw a friend who finished a couple of hours earlier.

As I rounded the last corner with about 200 yards to go, I saw the race clock reading 5:31. Throwing my conservatism and concern about cramps to the wind, I finished as fast as I could. Sure enough, my chip time was 5:29:05.

The only food items that were 100% certain gluten free at the post race party were the bananas and the chocolate milk. I might want to do something about that next year...

Knee improving - wish it were faster

Tried to run today for the first time in a while and just didn't have it. Maybe tomorrow. It feels like my stride is shifting again as my leg muscles up.

Celiac Race had 130 entrants

This year's Celiac Awareness 5k Run/Walk in Houston had 130 entrants. The numbers keep improving. See you all next year!

Training going fine. Celiac Run soon...

This morning I was up early and went for a 55 minute walk/run. My knee walks fine now, and I can run on it a bit. I still have a 'hitch in my giddy-yup' as they say, but it irons out more and more as I work on it.

A week ago I was in Wisconsin for a family reunion. I was able to hold the bronze medal one of my relatives won in Beijing. That was inspiring, and it helped me through my 2 1/2 hour workout (mostly walking) there. The cooler weather didn't hurt either.

The Celiac Awareness Run/Walk is coming up soon, soon, soon. I'm looking forward to spreading the word.

UFC athlete benefits from Celiac diagnosis

I never, ever tire of seeing stories where an athlete is diagnosed with Celiac, and their training program immediately improves.

Here's a story of an athlete from the UFC. (There are some inaccuracies about Celiac in the article). I wish Dennis Hallman the best of luck. (And get your kids tested, Dennis!)

Three Sport Day

The doctor cleared me to run (just on the treadmill) yesterday! I made it a goal to run today. Pretty funny. Day started at the pool, because my son wanted to go swimming. After we came back and had lunch, I cleared out the garage, dug out the treadmill, and plugged it in.

I honestly didn't know how it was going to go. I "ran" one mile in 19:10. I thought my knee was pretty tired at that point, so I stopped. Long way to go.

Then I realized I could make it a three sport day, so I went upstairs and rode a bit.

It feels so good to be back in the swing of things. It's been so long.

Lows and Highs - Independence Day for Celiacs...

With marathon training season upon us in Houston, this Celiac was feeling a little down as I tried to schedule my July 20 appointment for post operation review. Every time I had, the scheduling screen did not show up, leading to delays while the clinic staff consulted with the tech support, etc. I told them that not running was absolutely killing me (see my post on the Ironman).

Finally, the answer was that the doctor was going on vacation, until the 29th. Three hours of "Oh no..." and then - "If you can come in tommorrow, he'll see you." Sweet - please pray I get cleared for at least jogging.

In other big developments - The rumor is that Jason's Deli will roll out gluten free bread system wide! This weekend! I'm so excited - the only thing is that you have to ask for the special prep area. Happy July 4th.

Not signing up for Ironman, Texas (yet)

It's absolutely killing me to not sign up for this race. I was actually on the registration page with credit card in hand, when my brain kicked in and said, "It's less than a year away and you haven't run step one since February, and your doc won't let you run for another three weeks." I just couldn't do it.

Maybe the race won't close (ha ha).

Knee exercises for physical therapy

This list is what I have been doing 3 times a week (not everything every time). If you have knee issues, there's probably an exercise in here for you.

All of these exercises should be done fluidly and reasonably slowly, in control.

• Prone TKE
• T-Band Stand TKE
• Standing Hamstring Curl
• Leg Press
• Heel-Toe walk
• Single leg balance
• LAQ
• Ball bridge
• Ball hamstring curl
• NMES SAQ (isometrically sqeeze quad)
• NMES SLR (isometrically squeeze quad while raising leg straight)
• NMES Quad Set (put something under knee and isometrically squeeze quad while raising leg straight)
• Stool scoots
• Sideways-hip abduct
• Mini Squats
• Step up – forward and lateral
• Standing calf – raise single leg
• Lunges
• Elliptical machine forward and back
• Bike machine

…and don’t hold your breath while you do them…

Other things I have found helpful:

• Epsom salt bath at night
• Ice, ice and more ice
• Anti-inflammatories
• Carbonated apple juice to combat nausea
• Early bedtime and lots of sleep
  

I found a lot of these exercises (but not all) explained at

http://www.athensorthopedicclinic.com/docs/Basic_Knee_Exercises.pdf

Progress and measurement

Well, yesterday was good news and new news for my recovery. I actually spiked out a 140 rpm on the recumbent bicycle they have at the PT place. That's faster than I have ever spun a crankshaft. The new news was that they measured my quads and calves. I've lost an inch and a half of muscle around my right quad, which they say extrapolates to about 25 weeks before my legs 'even out' -- almost 6 months.

It is a very humbling experience.

I think I'm wired to always be looking at the area that needs improvement. Friends who see me occasionally say that I'm doing much better, that I'm moving around better and that I look "normal." Those are nice comments to have, because they remind me of the progress I am making.

Probiotics good for Celiac

Back in March 2009, I posted about probiotics being a good idea for traveling Celiacs. Now comes Science Daily reporting a study in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology explained in more common terms by Dr. Michelle Sullivan. She recommends a daily probiotic. There doesn't seem to be much downside except the expense, and the upside could be pretty dramatic.

Almost Straight...

It's been exactly a month since the surgery and my knee is almost back to being able to be straight. That's important, because if my knee can be straight, it can lock and support my weight through the skeleton instead of using my weak muscles.

The trend is generally very good. Tiredness is no longer a general concept. There's upper body (rare), lower body (more frequent), hurt leg (pretty frequent) and supporting muscles (very frequent). Bicycling seems to help a lot

The surgeon cleared me Friday to be in the pool (yay) and do aquajogging (yay, but he did give me a funny look on that question). I have just six little cuts/holes around my knee, and all the steri-strips are off now. The worst thing on Friday was that he reiterated the four months to jogging on the street/trails. That would have me waiting to be on the road until July 25.

I've really eased off the Tylenol - none so far today in fact.

My body has put on a few pounds, which I anticipated because of my solution to the nausea, but now would like to see melt away. Of course, nothing "melts away" - so it's diet and exercise for me. I really miss exercising outdoors. I was built to move, and this approach lacks camaraderie and actual moving through space. Maybe that yearning will ease up when I start swimming again.

Mass Celiac Screening Cost Effective

Screening young adults for Celiac is cost effective, says an Israeli study. It would be an excellent use of CDC money to do the same analysis for the US, especially since it appears it takes longer here to get a diagnosis (11 years?) than in Israel (6 years).

M Resort doing great job with Celiac diet

The Celiac diet is always a concern when traveling. I've been at the M Resort in Las Vegas for a conference, and they are doing a great job taking care of my meal needs. Usually, I give a report on the athletic facilities and so on. I can say that the ice machine always seems to be full enough for me to take the provided shoe bag and make really big ice packs for my knee. Usually, I don't like to be close to the ice machine or elevators, but this trip I made an exception. It's worked out pretty well.

Still moving slow

It's been about 10 days, and my knee is doing very well, in my opinion. Most of the swelling has gone, and I have been walking on it for nearly a week now and I've been off prescription painkillers for a week. It is not back to "pre-operation" mobility or strength yet.

It can turn revolutions on the bicycle stand now, but the right toe needs to be pointed down for it to work.

I have ups and downs. Usually lying down for a half hour will revive me. I'm sleeping about an hour past the tail end of my meds. When I'm awake, I started "feeling it" about two hours before the end, but now it's closer to an hour/forty-five minutes.

Still having issues with nausea. Coke and peanut M&Ms help, but those are not long-term solutions.

I have a business trip and have ordered a wheelchair. I just can't see myself walking through an airport yet.