First run of Autumn

It was a weekend full of activity, a perfect way to Fall Back.  It started with a mountain bike ride down in Wompatuck State Park with Jeff on a somewhat drizzly Saturday morning.  Unknown to us there was a road cycling fundraising ride being run out of the park so we had to park at some random side area but it was a small detour.  We road a good chunk of the course Monica and I road a few weeks ago, and explored a few new areas as well.  Both of us had our share of falls; I managed to pull a muscle in my chest and get scrapes all up my left arm, but it was worth it.  After watching Jeff trying to handle some of the rockier sections on his hardtail, I'm happier than ever with my full suspension 29'er.

Sunday we met a few friends for Dim Sum in the morning, then did a bunch of housework before heading to the Fells to take advantage of this great Fall weather.  This was the first run in my Brooks Cascadia 6 trail shoes and they worked great.  No foot pain, great traction, and they go really well with my Lime Gatorade Hurl Dirty Girl gaiters.  It was Monica's first real trail run.  We had done running as part of some long hikes along the Wilderness Trail but this was the first time we set out for the purpose of running.  She used her Camelback pack with mixed success; I used my Nathan belt.

Fortunately, my sore ribs really didn't bother me much.  I felt pain when I needed to take a jarring step or twisting motion, and when I tripped and went down it wasn't an entirely pleasurable experience, but for the most part I was fine.  On the easy footing flats especially things felt pretty close to normal so that bodes well for some runs this week.  We did a modified Reservoir Loop of about 5.75 miles, which is a great way to end the weekend and start the Fall.

Garmin Track of the run - Ignore the elevation numbers, at one point it had us at 184 feet below sea level

Runners are stupid

Especially injured runners. This isn't a groundbreaking revelation, but I'm pretty lousy at being injured.  For the past two weeks I've been fighting a nagging pain in my left hip/leg/thigh that doesn't respond to ice, stretching, or Ibuprofen.  The only option remaining seems to be a pretty drastic one; and I'm not sure I'm ready for it but it may be time: rest.  All athletes hate being on the sidelines, and I'm no different.

The worst part is that we are finally getting some good weather after a week of rain and some killer thunderstorms.  I'm stuck in the house with an ice pack on my leg while outside everyone and their sister is running, biking, hiking, and generally having a heck of a time out there.  Rest sucks: it's the absence of fun. I even forced myself to run last week while I was having trouble walking up stairs.  I would hold onto the railing and pull myself up each flight and somehow I felt it was a good idea to run 5 miles.

Monica and I went for a hike in the Blue Hills on Saturday and I was hoping that my leg would loosen up after a bit.  No such luck; about 15 minutes into the hike I knew we couldn't do our planned route, and it probably would be best to just turn around.  So naturally I insisted we go another 10 minutes to the viewpoint, limping up the climb and stumbling back down.  Back at the car we ran into friends from the AMC who were halfway through a double Skyline traverse and I felt even worse about the whole thing.  So instead, we went shopping.

I've got a race on Sunday, so I'm going to rest all week.  Assuming I can survive the rest I should be able to struggle through 5 miles since I really don't care about the time.  I have to run it since the race comes with a t-shirt and I won't be able to wear it if I don't finish the race.  And of course there's BBQ at the end.  That's good for recovery, right?

Finding my Way

Last night I went back to the Fells in an attempt to regain my trail running stripes.  I took a few precautions this time to avoid the fiasco that happened last time; getting lost, coming out after dark without a light, no food or water.  This time I made a few changes:

• Started and ended at Sheepfold, which cut about 2 miles total from the loop
• Carrying my running belt with a map, flashlight, phone, and water
• Planned out my route before starting and stuck to it

The run went pretty well, about 5.5 miles averaging around 11:30 miles on some fairly rough trails, but I did end up with the same pain in my left foot that I need to address.  Right now I'm resting and icing it, but some stretches and exercises are probably in order.  This run was on the new Asolo trail running shoes, but I'm not sure they're ideal.  They offer more cushioning than the Innov-8s but I don't think they fit as well.  More tinkering is in order.

The weekly trail run is a nice addition to my cross training.  I now have a 5.5 mile and a 7.5 mile loop so I can tune it to how much time I have or how I'm feeling. One thing I am not using for the trail running is my MP3 player.  It's nice to listen to the sounds of nature, and it's good to be able to hear the mountain bikers coming up behind me.

Losing my way

When hiking in the Whites I rarely take a map with me.  I know the trails quite well and most of the major intersections have good signs so getting lost isn't really an issue.  Above treeline in the fog or snow I can use a compass and know enough to not head blindly in a direction without cairns, blazes, or a trailbed to keep me on track.  I always carry two light sources, even on a simple day hike, along with extra food and water.  But for some reason I abandoned all that knowledge and preparation for a trail run within earshot of a major highway and it led to a pretty hairy adventure.

I was meeting Robyn at on the Belleview Pond parking area on South Border Road in the Fells for a 7 mile trail run, basically following the mountain bike loop which I have run several times.  We started on the trail at around 5:45 which would have been enough time for the loop.  I was dressing in shorts, a long sleeve top, and carried only my car key.  Just before starting I drank water and had some food. We ran the first 1.75 miles before Robyn said that her knee was bothering her (she'd been having some problems with it, so we knew this was a possibility) and she turned around and headed back to the car.  I continued over to Sheepfold on familiar trails and ran the first 2/3 of the loop without problems.

Ignoring the choice to run without my pack (food, water, light) this is where I made my first poor decision.  I elected to follow the Reservoir trail instead of my usual Mountain Bike loop, thinking that they essentially parallel each other. This was probably less than two miles from the car, so close.  The Reservoir trail was a little rougher than I expected, and didn't seem to be crossing familiar terrain.  As it happens, the trail keeps turning left (east) instead of going straight (south) so I was headed in the wrong direction.  At mile 7 I started getting some pain in my left foot, probably just a bruise but it made me stop running and I had to walk and jog slowly the rest of the run.  I was at a dirt road here, but decided to continue following the Reservoir trail, probably not a great decision either.

So, on I went.  It was getting darker now, and I had the first glimmer of doubt creeping into my mind.  Still no familiar terrain and I-93 seemed closer than it should be.  I came across a trail junction but it gave me no additional information.  There had been no other hikers or bikers for about 30 minutes now, and because I was walking now the chill began to sink in. I stopped at one point and made a decision to navigate by I-93, which I knew was east of me and I could reliably head south which is where I wanted to go.  This was a good decision, and it was accurate.  However, since I was a bit turned around it meant that I ended up back on the Reservoir trail, headed in the other direction!  This freaked me out a bit and I admit that I had a little bit of panic.  I couldn't understand how I ended up back on the trail, even though I thought I was headed in the right direction.  (I was.)

I regrouped a bit and headed out at a jog in the right direction on a dirt road for easier footing in the dark.  I did start seeing familiar sights again including a section of the Skyline trail I ran at around mile 3, so I knew pretty much where I was.  Finally I came across a trail sign that pointed to South Border Road, my destination!  A bit later there was a sign for Belleview Pond, even better!  After another 10 minutes (which seemed like an hour) I came to another dirt road that led to a gate on South Border Road and since I was having trouble seeing the ground on the Skyline Trail I elected to take that.  In two minutes I saw the cars on South Border, then the gate, turned left and soon came to my car parked alone and inviting.  It was now 8:10 PM, dark, and about 49 degrees.

It's a very unusual experience being truly lost, confused, and worried in the woods at night.  During the last hour of my run I could feel panic rising, could observe myself making snap decisions without stopping to reason, rushing around in the dark risking injury when I should have slowed down.  Even at the time part of me knew what I was doing and how I should calm down I really didn't act on those feelings. Headed down a trail I wondered if I had really read the last sign correctly, without heeding the desire to double check the signs and the intersection.  In retrospect I ended up making good decisions, but I could easily have made bad ones; a sobering thought.

Was I in danger of spending a night in the woods?  Possibly, but not likely unless I had gotten hurt.  You're never far from civilization in the Fells and there's always the sound of cars nearby.  My bigger concern was getting hurt by falling or twisting an ankle in the dark which could have led to an unpleasant night for sure. But seeing the cars on South Border road was still a huge relief; I could feel the built up tension release when I stepped out past the gate.  Even with the pain in my foot I was walking easier.

Lessons learned:

1. Never underestimate the woods
2. If you start out within 3 hours of sunset, bring a light source
3. Don't assume you know where trails go, check the maps
4. Don't panic - you have good woods skills so use them
5. Explore new terrain earlier in the day

 Here's the GPS track for the run. Replaying it I can feel the anxiety when I realized that I was looping on the same trail and back tracked.

New Years Resolutions

A new day and a new lease on life!  Time to reflect on 2011 and plan for 2012.

2011 was a pretty big year for Runner Dave. The highlight was certainly running the Boston Marathon, my first.  My friend Robyn ran every step with me and I'm eternally grateful to her for that.  The race itself was a mixed bag; I had calf cramps for the last 10 miles that caused me to walk a bit each mile but I finished and I was very proud of my accomplishment.  There was also my first real bout of disappointment related to injury.  I had registered for the Bay State Marathon in October but leg problems caused me to scale it back to the half.  It was a big disappointment and felt like a failure, but completing the half even though my training had been so poor and interrupted was a boost. I even got a chance to pay forward Robyn's gift to me by running with Brenda on the Somerville Jingle Bell Run, which was my first race ever 4 years ago. I ended the year healthy and excited about running.


So, I'm looking forward to 2012 and planning out some races and goals for the year. Here they are:

1. Stay Healthy - I had several problems in 2011 with injury, from ITB tendinitis during my Boston training to a persistent cramping problem in my calves. They seem to be related to overtraining issues and technique.  To address this I am going to do a lot more cross training; adding road and mountain biking to the weekly schedule and creating a weight lifting program that strengthens my knees. I'm looking into Yoga to help my flexibility and I want to keep to a sports massage once a month because I like pain, apparently.
2. Eat better - In 2009 I lost 60+ pounds and felt great.  It made running much more enjoyable and made me feel better during and after.  After Boston and the inactivity that came with injuries I've gained back some of that weight so I want to get back to the diet that helped me lose and maintain my weight.While exercise is part of it, getting back to the eating techniques that worked is the key.
3. Create a routine - I've got a group run on Monday with some co-workers that has become part of my weekly tradition.  A weekly schedule that mixes running (indoors and out), biking, and weights in a coherent training schedule will help me focus and motivate to get in the full number of workouts per week. Weekend backcountry skiing this winter will replace the long runs, assuming we ever get any snow.
4. Add some new race challenges - A second marathon is in my future at some point, not sure when or where.  For some reason I want to run a 50K trail race before my 50th birthday, and Pinelands on Memorial Day weekend could be the right fit.  It's daunting but so was the marathon.  We'll see how the long runs in the spring go.  One last piece of the puzzle is a triathlon.  Before I started running I was a biker and growing up I was a competitive swimmer, so a tri seems logical, right?
5. Have fun - I think this one is pretty straight forward.  Why do it if it isn't fun?

Bay State Half Marathon - 10/16/2011

 So, race day came along and it was time to run.  My sister came up for the weekend, and Monica was in her usual race photographer mode. A bunch of friends who signed up weren't able to run due to injuries, and I was almost in the same boat with constant leg cramps that left me unable to do any long training runs in the past six weeks.  I felt somewhat unprepared, and was worried about how my legs were feeling in the hours before the race.  My goals were:

1. Don't get hurt
2. Try to maintain a 10:00 pace
3. No walking
4. Enjoy myself

 The alarm went off at 5:00 and I assembled my gear for the day.  I had my belt with two Gu packets and a Clif bar, one small bottle of Gatorade, plus my phone in case I dropped during the race and needed to connect with Sue and Monica. It was a shorts and t-shirt day, perfect running weather. I had my oatmeal for breakfast and ate a banana, and grabbed water and a bagel for the drive up. We headed north right on schedule at 5:45, arriving at the parking garage in Lowell at 6:30.  By 6:45 I was in the Tsongas Arena stretching and keeping an eye on the bathroom line. Sue and Monica headed out to find a Dunkin' Donuts, which, being Massachusetts, wasn't hard.




 While stretching I spotted Adam, who unfortunately wasn't feeling well. His friend was recovering from being hit by a car one week before this, his first marathon. And Miriam wasn't able to train due to injuries for this race so the whole world was suffering along with me.  I continued by stretching, started warming up a bit, and got in line for the bathroom again.  Monica and Sue came back with their bagels and tea, much happier.  At 7:45 the masses started out to the start line, which was right in front of the arena.  I wandered into the corral and started getting my brain around the task at hand.  I was relaxed, and spent some time observing all the runners around me.  It was pretty easy to spot the first time runners, the old hands, and folks like me who were wondering if they could complete the distance. The weather was perfect for the race; cool but sunny and little wind.

 We all stood silently for the national anthem and then moved forward for the starting count down. 3, 2, 1, and we were off, although it took a good solid minute to reach the start line.  I had a plan and tried to keep to it, slow and steady pace.  Compared to last year I was much further back in the corral so I wasn't passed by as many people in the first mile. Monica was easy to spot in her bright orange jacked at the first bridge so I made sure I was on the correct side of the road and clear of other runners so they would have an unobstructed shot.  I'll do anything for a good photo.  The course is a double loop, and the first part is for both the half and full marathoners so there are lots of runners.  I grabbed some water at the first aid station and took in the hill at the first major bridge crossing.  After that we said goodbye to the marathoners (showoffs) and reached the far end of the loop where we cross the river and start back towards home.

 I was feeling OK, not perfect but OK.  At one point I felt a little tightening up in my right calf so I slowed the pace a bit and shifted my stride, and it seemed to go away.  You can run on the dirt path along side  the road here and I did, taking advantage of the softer surface.  I walked briefly at the next two water stops, mainly so I wouldn't spill Gatorade all over myself.  I saw Sue and Monica again on the opposite side of the bridge around mile 5 and hit the downhill back to the end of the first loop.  Unlike last year, we weren't finishing at the baseball stadium so there weren't any crowds there.  Back past the starting line and on to loop #2 and I ate my first Gu.  I began feeling a bit more comfortable here, just 6 miles to go.  Monica and Sue were there again at the bridge and I knew that the next time I saw them I'd be almost done.  Miles 8-11 were fine; no pain and some nice conversations with other runners about donuts and the weather.  My pace had slowed a bit, I was running 10:15 but this is where my cramping occurred in the past and I was very leery of pushing the pace.  After seeing my cheering squad at the last bridge pass I decided it was time to eat my second Gu and pick up the pace a bit.

 But, there really wasn't anything in the tank.  I went a little faster, but not much. This is where I could definitely feel the lack of training; my legs were on cruise control and nothing was going to make them feel good.  Past the stadium and now I was smelling the finish line.  Unfortunately with the new layout of the course you can't see the finish line until the last 100 yards. I like seeing the finish line.  Not much of a sprint for me and I got passed by a few people who still had something in the tank, but I didn't really care. Monica and Sue were at the finish line too (how did they get there ahead of me?) but this time Monica didn't run onto the course. I must have looked great in my mylar blanket because a volunteer walked with me from the finish line until she handed me off to Monica.  I felt fine, but needed food and drink.  Ah, chicken noodle soup and salty chips tasted great and we sat for a bit while I ate and stretched.  Then I checked my time (2:11:03, my slowest half marathon of the three I've run) and we headed for the car.

 It was an interesting race for me.  I've been injured for a while, unable to make any long runs and always suspicious of my own body to fail.  It was in my thoughts the entire run this day, constantly checking on my legs and seeing if they were going to turn on me.  But the stretching, the pace, and the hydration all worked well for me. As I head into winter I will cut back on some of the running and try for a more balanced routine with cross training to give my legs a break.  The 1/2 marathon distance is a good one for me, and one that I can do better at with some more targeted training.  Perhaps in the spring, it'll be time again.  In the meantime it's working out my winter training routine and skiing.

You put your left calf in, you pull your left calf out

You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around...

So I changed my registration from the full Bay State Marathon on Oct 16th to the half marathon.  Three weeks ago during my long run I had more intense pain in my left calf at around mile 9 of a planned 14-miler.  I felt it coming on, I knew what was about to hit, and it happened anyway.  The three mile walk home gave me plenty of time to mull over what my future held.  The decision to drop out of the marathon was an easy one; six weeks was not enough time to recover from this and I hadn't done any runs longer than 13 miles.  I elected to change my registration to the half since I figured with some rest, stretching, and massage I could get through 13 miles even if I had to walk.

The more interesting questions centered around my relationship with distance running.  This has been a nagging injury that first showed up in the final training for Boston.  Perhaps I did something to myself that hasn't yet healed, or is my body simply not build for this type of punishment? I really don't know the answers to these questions, and they have a big impact on my training and race plans for next year.  This winter is going to be devoted to skiing, but I would like to plan for at least one big race next year. I'm actually thinking about a 50K trail run which I think would be easier on my legs, and I like the idea of walking up steep hills.  I haven't had a successful long run in a few months which makes it hard to put a lot of confidence in my planning.

I like running.  I like feeling of getting in a good workout on a summer day.  I like getting into a solid rhythm and watching the miles fly by.  I like the community, the camaraderie, the comisery.  I want to be part of it but I'm coming to grips with the pain and suffering that goes along with it. When I'm training fairly hard I can feel my legs going up every flight of stairs.  Is this normal?  And is it what I want?

One thing that is clear to me is that I'm more comfortable and get more enjoyment when I do more cross training.  Biking, swimming (triathlons?), rowing, hiking; these all need to be part of my regular routine.  If I can add biking to work some days in the summer, or an after work headlamp fueled ski tour mid-winter I think my week will have more balance.

And that's what it's all about.

Working through injury

Again.

Three weeks ago during a morning run I felt some pain in my right calf but it wasn't bad enough to make me stop.  The next morning I called off my run a short way into it and decided that it wasn't worth getting hurt right before my week long hiking vacation (NH, Baxter, Acadia) so I decided to rest for a few days. I figured it was the heat.  For the hiking I wore my compression sleeve on my calves which seemed to do the trick.  We had a bunch of great hikes including a nice long loop over the Knife Edge to Baxter and Hamlin Peaks.  We were tired at the end of the day, but my legs were OK.

Skip ahead to the Tuesday after the vacation when I went out for my first run in two weeks.  About one half mile into an easy run at my sister's house in NY I felt a familiar pain in my right calf and pulled up to a stop. I can't tell you how frustrating that was.  My plan was to go into the long run part of my marathon training right after the vacation but this was putting my race in October in jeopardy.  Even a full, quick recovery might not be enough to get the miles down in time.

So, the first thing I did (after moping) was to schedule a massage with my guy, but that wouldn't happen until the following Monday.  After I got back from NY I went for a bike ride after work to make sure that I could still exercise at all.  That ride was difficult because of the all runners I was passing and wishing I were with them.  Still, it was good to be out and active.  I ran into Jackie who was doing the regular Thursday night Charles River run and we chatted a bit and I felt a little better about my recovery plan.  On Saturday Monica and I went for a ride on the Mountain Bike Loop in the Fells which went really well.  I need a better mountain bike. :)  That will have to wait.

Monday comes and after work I have my massage with Nolan.  Boy, that hurt a lot but I think it really did a good job.  He worked on my calves for nearly 30 minutes with painful instruments of destruction and I had a bit of a hard time walking right after but I could tell it was good for me. We talked about the injury and he suggested I get something to stretch our my calves and use it many times a day. After false starts at two stores I found what I was looking for at City Sports. I'm now using it 5-10 times a day, every time I get up from my desk I try to stretch for a minute.

This morning (Wed) I went for my first real run in 3 weeks.  I stretched a bit before heading out and ran at a slow steady pace.  There was no pain, but when I got hurt there wasn't any pain until all of a sudden there was.  I crossed the Charles, taking the steps on the footbridge gingerly to avoid any unnecessary strain. At two miles I stopped and stretched again, no point being silly about this.  The final mile back to the house I could feel a little tightness so I slowed the pace (how could I go any slower?) and finished pain free.

Now it's a routine of ice, stretching, compression, and rest.  I'll try a run again on Friday, then a longer one on Sunday.  Perhaps the marathon isn't a lost cause yet.  If I can run a 12-14 miler in the next few weeks then I'll feel much better about mid-October.  Until then I'll just take it one day at a time, and try to work against my normal instincts and not overdo things.

Light at the End of the Tunnel?

I'm basking in the glow of an 18.5 mile run yesterday. I'm also sitting with an ice pack on my left knee as a preventive measure, but otherwise feeling pretty good.  I took a full week off after the last long run, skied up to Tuckerman Ravine the following Saturday, then did a few easy runs last week.  They were treadmill sessions, 3.1 and 4.3 miles, and my knee felt pretty good.  I've started using an ITB compression wrap that seems to help alleviate the pain and inflammation.

This past weekend was the NATO Telefest at Mad River Glen, an event I've attended for the past 10 years or so that I wasn't prepared to miss.  We skied all day on Saturday and I drove home Sunday morning, getting home by noon and starting my run at 1:00 PM. It was pretty warm, but there were some cold breezes so I ended up with more clothing than I needed.  I chose to run along the Charles River on the bike path, parking the car on the Cambridge side and looping up around the Beacon St bridge.  That would be close to 15 miles, and depending on how I felt I would add another loop.  At around 2 miles I felt a little discomfort, not quite pain, from my left knee and I was worried that this would be another disappointing run.

But nothing else happened. Headwinds along the Boston side of the river were a pain, but I made it through to the Harvard bridges, then Elliot St, then Arsenal St, still feeling pretty good.  As I crossed the river at Beacon I was feeling pretty positive, thinking that 20 miles wasn't out of the question.  The next stretch was a bit taxing, as it seemed to take forever to hit 10 miles according to my watch, then the rest of the mileage ticked by slowly.  I was keeping a steady pace, just over 10 minute miles, and my MP3 player was helping me ignore the time.  Running on dirt was also a big help, and I'm sure my knees are thanking me for that today.

At the Elliot St bridge I did some quick calculations and figured I'd be around 14 when I got back to my car.  Since I wanted to run further than that I had a few options but decided to just continue the loop and then run a second, smaller loop to add mileage as needed.  I could feel that I needed more fluids at this point and was cursing the fact that my belt only carries two bottles, not four.  Food wasn't a problem but liquid certain was beginning to affect me.  At the car I decided to keep running rather than stop for the Gatorade I had stashed in there, reasoning that the last two times I had problems with my ITB it was after a stop.  Up til now I hadn't stopped at all on the run, just a few jogging in place moments at traffic lights.

So, the second loop started and I passed by the Science Museum again, then along the windy Boston side of the Esplanade.  There were times I just put my head down and watched the path in front of my feet just rolling by.  Slowly.  I knew the pace had slowed down but it really didn't matter to me; I was still running 10:35s and that was fine.  Across the Mass Ave bridge (go Smoots!) and looping back towards my car as my watch ticked to 18 miles!  Woo hoo!  I had broken yet another barrier that I'd placed in front of myself. At this point I was out of water and I felt my calves beginning to cramp up a little.  Rather than push on to 20 miles I decided to loop across Memorial Drive and shoot for 18.5 to finish.  That would be a success for me.

At the car I stopped for the first time in 3 hours, waiting for my knee to lock up in pain.  But nothing happened, it still was a bit tender but no real pain.  A very positive sign.  I got the Gatorade from the car and spent a little time stretching, then drove home.  Getting out of my car at home I experienced some real cramping of my thigh, to the point where I couldn't walk or even shuffle, I just had to stand and stretch in place until the pain subsided.  At home I drank lots more, ate some, and stretched for 20 minutes.  Then I sat in an ice bath for 5 of the most painful minutes I've ever experienced.

Today I'm feeling pretty good, muscles and joints mostly fine, with a little tenderness in the ITB. I've been applying ice and taking some Ibuprofen to keep the pain and any swelling down, so far so good.  Not sure when the next run is coming up, tomorrow or the next day, but I'm actually looking forward to the 20 miler in two weeks.  If that's not success, I don't know what is.

Working through injury

It's been a while since I wrote here, mainly because I was forced to take off two weeks from running due to a painful bit of ITB tendinitis.  After a 10 mile run on 12/24 I felt some serious pain on the side of my right knee.  I'd experienced this before and knew what it was, my Iliotibial Band, a tendon that runs from the hip to the knee, was inflamed. The best thing to do is rest, and that meant no skiing or running for a few weeks.  At first, I could barely walk without pain, and going down stairs was agony.  I alternated ice for the pain and heat to promote healing, but rest time is the best cure.

Almost exactly two weeks after the pain started I was scheduled to run the Disney half marathon in Orlando.  I really wanted to run this race, going through the parks would be great and the finisher's medal was really nice (Donald Duck). I tried a brief run the day before I was going to fly down to Orlando but it was clear that I would be in a lot of pain if I ran, probably setting back the rest of my training by several weeks. It just wasn't worth it.

We went to Orlando anyway, my brother was running the marathon on Sunday and I wanted to be there to support him.  It was great seeing the whole family, but walking around the park and seeing all the runners still wearing their medals was almost as painful as the knee. I couldn't even wear the shirt and try to blend in because it would be misrepresentation or bearing false witness or something.  That was the low point of the weekend, but I cheered myself up by thinking bad thoughts about all those who ran.

While at the Expo, Monica bought me The Stick to speed my recovery and help prevent a recurrence.  All I know so far is that it's painful, so that's got to be good, right?  Actually, it does seem to help a lot, and combined with ice, stretching, the foam roller, and ibuprofen I've been able to run this past week, even a 12 miler on the marathon course this Saturday.  I'm still working on a full recovery, but I'm back running again and that makes all the difference in the world.