A Break from Running

I saw the orthopedist the first week of May and got the bad news: The problem in my left knee is arthritis. He could show it to me on the X-Ray, although you have to look pretty hard to see it. I've known there was some in there since getting my first knee operation 10 years ago, but until recently it hasn't been a problem. Apparently it became a problem last October when I started to feel it in that knee. I knew at the time that what I was feeling in there wasn't the same as the problems I'd had before (meniscus problems).

There was some good news though: When I got home I stepped on the scale for the first time in many months: 205 pounds! That was a bit of a shock as I would have guessed I was about 195. But that's probably how it always goes when the scale has been avoided for a while. Wishful thinking sets in.

How is being heavy good news? It means I might be able to mitigate the arthritis with weight loss. Even at 205 pounds I could run several miles without the knee becoming much of a problem. At the Star Wars Half it was only at mile 4 to 5 that I really started to feel it.

My weight when in prime marathon running shape is 180 or below. I've been as low as 172 in the past few years. So that gives me a good 30 lbs I could lose, which translates to much less pressure on that left knee. There would be nothing to do if I came home from the doctor and the scale said 180.

The plan for now is to leave off the running until I drop some weight (10 lbs or more), and hit the elliptical and the recumbent bike in the meantime, which feel fine on the knee. Then, assuming that helps, I will mix in a lot more cross-training with the running than I have in the past.

Running Plans 2018

After two cancelled flights, and driving to Manchester NH at 3:00 AM for one of them, our Disney Marathon Weekend trip never came off.  Ethan managed to get a single seat on a flight Friday night from Boston (and ran the half marathon a few hours after landing), staying and doing the parks with a friend of his.

Fortunately I received refunds for the air fare from Delta, and refunds for the Polynesian stay and the park tickets from the travel agent (I highly recommend MEI-travel. They have been excellent). So we lost very little money on the trip cancellation.

Not having had our Disney fix, we looked at possible alternatives, and the Star Wars Darkside Half Marathon in April caught our attention. It works out with Ellen's college schedule since she has classes only Tuesday thru Thursday, so we could fly down on Friday and come back on Monday. I checked the Disney site and they had a "sun and fun" special at Animal Kingdom Lodge, which I grabbed as I can cancel it and the special rates are gobbled up quickly. We've been wanting to stay at AKL for sometime, but it doesn't sleep 5 so it hasn't been an option with the whole family on the trip. This trip will only be myself, Ellen and Tricia so this is our chance for a stay at AKL.

I'll be running the "First Order Challenge", the 10k on Saturday morning and the half on Sunday morning. Ellen will be running the half only.

I'm also signed up for the Hampton Half Marathon in early March and the Fool's Dual Half Marathon in early April (Ellen is running that one as well).

A silver lining of the Marathon Weekend cancellation is that I've had the time to rehab my knee. I rested the two weeks before Marathon Weekend and the knee, while not perfect, felt OK going in to that weekend. I'm sure the knee would not have felt good after 39.3 miles at Disney had I run them.

Since then I've done PT on the knee and rode the bike at Planet Fitness and it is feeling strong. I'll probably give it another week before I start running again. No need to hurry things.

This year I'm going to concentrate on the shorter races and curtail the marathon running for now. Maybe I'll go back to marathon running in future years, maybe not. It's after really running hard at marathons that I've had injuries. Also, I miss a lot of the shorter races because they don't always fit in with the marathon training schedule. This year I'd like to run more of those races, and also attempt to
break 1:40 for the half marathon.

Revised Running Plans

The rest of the year looks like this:

Ongoing - Danvers 5k, Danvers MA. Weekly run on Wednesday evening, followed by beer at Osborn Tavern

June 21 - New England Running Company 10 Mile Classic, Beverly, MA

July 4 - North Andover 10k, North Andover, MA with Aaron and Ellen (at least)

Aug 2 - Triple Threat Half Marathon, Rockport, MA

Sept 27 - Clarence DeMar Marathon, Keene, NH

November ?? - Air Force Association 10k, Bedford, MA

Jan 9,10 2016 - Goofy Challenge, WDW Orlando FL. I'll be running the half marathon on Saturday with Aaron and Ellen followed by the full marathon on Sunday.

Running Plans 2015

So far what I've got scheduled for this year is:

March 15: Hampton Half Marathon (Hampton, NH). Rescheduled from Feb. 22 because of the weather.

March 29: Run for the Border Half Marathon (Kittery, Maine)

May 3: Greater Binghamton Bridge Run Half Marathon (Binghamton, NY)

June 21 Rockport Father's Day Road Race 10K (Rockport, MA)

July 4 North Andover Fourth of July 10K. Not sure yet I will do this one, and the registration isn't open. Not sure they are holding it this year.

Aug 2 Triple Threat Half Marathon (Rockport, MA). This was my first half marathon. A nice but hilly course along the Cape Ann coast.

Sept 27 Clarence DeMar Marathon (Keene, NH). I'd like to PR this one, especially because I plan on running the Goofy Challenge (half marathon plus full) at Disney in January, and so will have to be careful about my pacing.