Hobbled But Not Out: My Extended Recovery

An Unexpected Injury:

Dangerous work climbing buildings -
things happens when you least expect it. 

I write in this blog hobbled at the moment, after sustaining muscle injuries in my rib cage area. A consequence of falling through an unfinished stair on one of my construction sites. I was able to minimize bodily damage by quickly extending my arms and catching the edge of a step so to reduce gravity's impact on my legs (oh those precious marathon legs). The blow to the rib cage was a sharp, stinging pain that sucked the wind out of me for a couple of minutes. After my breathing came back, it just felt like a side stitch cramp that would eventually go away like in some of my runs. But into the evening and the next day, the pain got worse. My first thoughts as I relented and headed to the emergency room was, "there goes my summer speed workouts!"

How did I get to this point? Was I being reckless these last couple of months? Of course not. After a measured Winter and Spring season where I paid particular attention to my recovery after two back-to-back Fall marathons, I was ready to go all out and set myself up for what I dubbed, "an Autumn for the Ages". It was this year, the year I turned 40, I would give the TCS New York City Marathon the training it deserved. No two marathon Falls like in the last 3 years, no scrambling to the physical therapist to treat my chronically injured hamstring, and no overtraining. I've learned many lessons after 12 marathons and developed a knowledge of my own physical capabilities that would have me confidently taking on my 4th New York City marathon in spectacular fashion. Now all of this is at risk. 

I need to recover. And in an area that is unfamiliar with injury. The muscles underneath my rib cage. Or as the ER doctor labeled it, "Rib contusion". But I can do this. I've learned the art of balancing endurance training and recovery leading up to this years Virgin Money London Marathon. That marathon came with a few unexpected hiccups, but I got it done to complete my 3rd World Major in the Abbott World Majors Marathon Series. Next stop, the Boston Marathon in 2018. But first, this Fall - The TCS New York City Marathon.

Training for the Virgin Money London Marathon and AirBnB Brooklyn Half 

Again, I ask: Can I get it done? What new workouts will I need to introduce to my regimen, and what will I need to throw away. Leading up to London, I was able to squeak out my 2nd fastest marathon at 3:14:54. I applied the same training principles I applied in Chicago: 

1. Less running: instead of running 80 to 100 miles during peak week (about a month before race day), I topped at 50 miles. As mentioned in previous blog posts.
2. Focused more on intensity of workouts: Paid closer attention to heart rate and made sure to get my interval track workouts in every week.
3. Recovery: made sure I did recovery runs after intense workouts and gave myself an extra day of rest on both sides of the Al Gordon 4 mile and the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon.
4. Slower long runs: most of my long runs were about a minute to and minute and a half slower than marathon goal pace for Half to two thirds of the run. 
5. Time rather than distance: the majority of the workouts outside of my interval track and long runs were based on time. Whatever I could do in 30 minutes, 40 minutes, an hour, that was what was to be done. I made sure my heart rate stayed within steady, aerobic and anaerobic zones depending upon what the training plan called for. 
6. Cross-training: still getting used to triathlon training. Using my swims to strengthen my core and skipped a couple long runs in favor of some long bike rides. 

Now is this my regimen moving forward. Probably not. It's a good regimen to run a strong marathon while keeping up with your other life demands. And towards the last month after the NYC it became extremely difficult to stay disciplined with the consistency of my workout, thus abandoning my training plan and "feeling" out the rest of the workouts. And it all allowed me to get through the London race injury-free. 

 

Targeting Brooklyn, But Left So Much in London

London marathon buddy, inspirational CPTC
 teammate, Nobu, crushing a 2:34 in London

It was only the 2nd time since my hamstring injury that I didn't cramp up during a marathon. Just like Chicago, I ran with rhythmic motion. However, this time there were rolling hills, narrow roadway, and more loops and turns for my liking. Other than that, the Virgin Money London Marathon wasn't any different than previous marathons. I did have to dig deeper than usual for the final 3 miles to eek out a Boston Marathon qualifying time. This late effort did leave higher than normal to burning levels of soreness in my legs as I continued to vacation in Europe in the week that followed. 

Teammate, David Greenburg, welcoming me to
the ranks of CPTC Masters

This took away from my recovery / training balance that I wanted for my target race: the AirBnB Brooklyn Half. There I missed my half marathon PR by only 21 seconds and ran it 9 seconds slower than last year. And the same story as last year, too much energy spent in Prospect Park on legs not fully recovered from London. 

Omar and I meet again at the AirBnB Brooklyn Half

Action shot coming out of Prospect Park.
Feels great to be able to perform a strong half marathon.

Down But Not Out - More Unexpected Recovery for my Fall Comeback 

Cross Training: Always learning - Friends at BTC Open Water Clinic
advise me to get a wetsuit with more rubber (too much neoprene)

If I had only did more tempo workouts in Central Park over the Winter, my legs would have been ready. That would have been the best way to prepare for those rolling hills. And you can swim and bike for endurance all you want, as it does help you strengthen your stamina. But you still have to run to get faster. And boy was I ready to run this summer. Yes I had several races on deck, but they were to set me up for the Fall, so to answer a previous question, no I was not being reckless. Instead, I'm forced to continue recovery mode and hit the dreaded cancel button on some of these races. With help from my pain meds, I can hopefully be 100% for New York City this Fall. 

Cross Training: 2017 TD Bike Tour - skipped the AirBnB Brooklyn
 Half training long run in favor of this 36 mile bike tour across the 5 boroughs.

Some Europe photos: 

Updated 2017 pic with Rosetta Stone - British Museum

Monsieur Laurent Normand catch up over a great meal
 as he welcome me to Paris. #mba #globalcitizens

Updated pic with the original Mona Lisa at the L'Ouvre Museum 2017

It's an all-day party here in the streets of Amsterdam for the King's Birthday

Early carb loading for the Brooklyn Half at the
Heineken Experience in Amsterdam

Great to see childhood friend, Marin, from my navy brat days in Connecticut. 

First CPTC friend, Christiaan I made when joining the running club
welcomes me to his hometown, Amsterdam.

Staying in Rhythm: A BQ at the Chicago Marathon

Another chapter closes! No words can describe the emotions that rushed through me as I approached that finish line. As I write this, I am still in disbelief. Years of training, this was something that I knew was totally impossible for me. I was convinced it was impossible when I took on my first steps into the running world back in the winter of 2009.  If you had told me then that I would one day qualify for the Boston Marathon I would have laughed in your face.  “Impossible! Those people are freaks,“ would have been and was my response. And here I am, almost 8 years later, one of those freaks.

But am I a freak? It’s not really freakish. Some have made it much quicker than I have. And some have started before me and still pursue it. I didn’t set it as a goal for myself until the day of the bombings back in April 2013. And from there progress was slow. I needed help. I joined the North Brooklyn Runners: Learned proper form with this group. Later joined the Central Park Track Club: learned to balance intense speed workouts with focused recovery for important races. Throw in some physical therapy for injury recovery and massages for injury prevention, and the puzzle was solved. Ten tries that took me through New Jersey, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Lehigh, Long Island, Rockland State Park, twice through the 5 boroughs of New York City, and finally Chicago.

Ah Chicago! The great streets of Chicago! If you watch the news enough, you would think it was worse than a Middle East War Zone. But it is the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen within the United States. Clean streets, beautifully tall buildings, pristine waters with river walk, and a marathon that uniquely allows the runner to be in full control of his or her own effort. No surprises, no significant hills! Just you, the flat road, and the training regimen you put in prior to reaching the starting line.

The starting line! It was all business! I was on that Michael Phelps game face ish! Central Park Track Club singlet: CHECK! Central Park Half Tights for newfound easier running: CHECK! Bibs, name bibs, back bibs, safety pins: CHECK! Shit – I forgot my SPI-Belt back in New York! Thanks to my friend, the great Daphnie Sicre, for coming through in the clutch and letting me borrow her extra FlipBelt (that actually worked better for me than SpI-Belts). My only means of storing GU’s and salt tablets. Oh yes… I forgot salt tablets in New York too. So flashback to Saturday as I scurry around town looking for a GNC Wellness store that carried Endurolytes.

“Are you sure you want to take that for a marathon, man? It’s known to dehydrate people,” says the clerk.

“I’ve taken it in my previous marathons and plenty of runners have recommended it to me,” I replied.

“Well we don’t carry it. Sorry. Here’s some GU’s instead.”

Ok it’s not the end of the world. I’ve trained all summer without them. Not good to do anything new for the marathon, right? It was about 10 minutes later, as I left the store, I thought to myself, “Wait a minute, did he say dehydrate?” It was that moment the light bulb went off in my head. “I don’t need salt tablets!” I confidently thought out loud to myself.

Daphnie happy about her marathon PR

So I’m back at the starting line with 4 GU’s in Daphnie’s Flipbelt and zero salt tablets. Every previous marathon that my hamstring failed on me, I had taken salt tablets. Why didn’t anyone tell me this? This had to be the reason for my chronic hamstring issues. Let’s see how this race goes without them. With no time to use the bathroom, I made the 7:20 A.M. cut-off for corral B start. Let’s do this! Time to get busy! And from the start I got into rhythm.

There’s not really much I can say about my race. I was extremely focused. I stayed in rhythm. All I kept thinking was what a fellow CPTC friend once told me: “Don’t do anything stupid!” Thank you Felipe for the great advice. But of course I did something stupid… started too fast. I was super focused and the adrenaline was high. The plan was to start off at 7:20 minute per mile pace, then hit 7:10 about a third of the way into the race, then throw some kick and hit and hold 7 after mile 20. My anxiety had me at a comfortable 7:00 from the very beginning. Plus I still had to go to the bathroom, which I eventually did when I saw the port-a-potties at mile 4.5. I may have lost a minute but it was well worth it to relieve myself. And it wasn’t hard for me to get back into rhythm.

And that’s basically it folks, I held 7:00 minutes per mile ish (give or take) for about 20 miles in rhythmic fashion. I hit every water stop in rhythmic fashion. One cup of Gatorade (maybe 2 in later miles) 5 cups of water splashed on my body (take a sip from one of those cups to further dilute the salt from the Gatorade). Moisture maintained in my muscles, no hamstring strains until mile 20, plenty of electrolyte replenishment and staying in solid, disciplined rhythm.

Staying in rhythm. Chicago 2016

I knew I had a cushion at mile 20. I could slow down and run 8 minute pace and still hit a Boston qualifier. So I did just that.  The 3:05 pace group that caught me at mile 16 slowly ran further and further away. The 3:10 pace group finally caught me at mile 24, yet it didn’t phase me. I stayed in rhythm, see-sawing back and forth between 7:30 and 8:00 minutes per mile. Nothing else going through my mind, only hoping for enough energy for that late race kick I knew I was capable of.  The conscious decision to run at a slower pace in later miles provided relief and prevented my strained hamstring from pulling and failing into that gunshot pain I was accustomed to in previous marathons. All the pain went into my stronger hips courtesy of the 8 physical therapy sessions I underwent in the weeks leading up to Chicago. I could feel the burn along my sides as my hamstrings were thanking me. With each passing mile, I knew I was still at Boston Qualifying Performance. It would have been ideal if I executed a negative split but I listened to my body and made the proper adjustments in the right timing. But that would have been stupid to kick after mile 20 and risk re-injuring my hamstring.

Mile 25 and the struggle became real. I locked into form and used every ounce of energy I could to maintain that 8.  The signs were coming at me to my right: 1 mile to go, 800 m, 400m, 300m, the hill at 200m and the home stretch straightaway to the finish. The same emotion that overwhelmed me when I first broke 4 hours in Los Angeles almost produced tears of joy as I approached the Chicago Finish Line. Yet no tears since my body had used every last bit of fluid to keep my muscles lubricated. No strains, no pulls, no injuries! And it was a Boston Qualifying Performance. FINALLY!! I receive my medal and the first person to randomly congratulate me is Danie Matusik from Michigan who has been a Facebook friend and active participant in the runners’ blogs these past couple of years. Her running adventures are an inspiration and I’m glad to have finally met her in person.

So what was the magic formula that got me into Boston? It’s different for everyone. You have to find your own rhythm. Not just on the course but the training before the marathon. For me it was less running mileage, more speed work, and staying consistent and disciplined. Regular massages and more physical therapy allowed me to be fully recovered for race day! Most of all: don’t do anything stupid! Only YOU can define what is stupid and what isn’t. It’s an interesting puzzle to solve. And it is just that: a puzzle! But once you find your rhythm and solve this puzzle, it’s certainly a tremendous weight lifted off of your shoulders. 

The lovely Lisneida and I both celebrating marathon PR's after the race! 

Thank you to the American Cancer Society's Illinois Chapter for Team Determination for allowing me to raise funds for their cause and provide guaranteed entry into the 2016 Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

http://main.acsevents.org/goto/chicago2016dfanfan

2015 miles in 2015 blog: The Best Is Yet to Come!

Here we are, almost 2 months into 2016 and I am still buzzing off of this 2015 miles in 2015. It took a tremendous toll on my legs as I am still in recovery as I update this blog. Despite all this, the show must go on. More New York Road Runner's (NYRR) 9+1's, more marathons and run-cations, more connecting with other runners, and more recovery and stretching. So let's break down how I reached 2015 miles in 2015 and what I plan to do to make 2016 another amazing run year. 

With New Year 2015 fast approaching, I made some necessary changes to keep this running habit consistent, putting myself in a position to meet new people that would accommodate my growth as a runner. In my constant connections with runners all over social media, I stumble upon a challenge to run 2015 miles in 2015 through  Run The Edge (a group that included professional marathoner Kara Goucher) that promoted a healthy, goal oriented  runner's lifestyle. Since I had accidentally run 1750 miles in 2014, including 3 marathons, NYRR 9+1, and weekly training miles in preparation for all my races, I figured I can get the extra 265 miles I needed in 2015 to hit the goal. This would take consistency, a relentless approach to running, and discipline.

Logging all my miles with mostly my Garmin 620, and a few on the Nike + app on my phone, here is a breakdown of my mileage for each month: 

• January - 100 miles (Joe Kleinerman 10K, Fred Lebow Half)
• February - 107 miles (Al Gordon 4 mile, NYCRuns Central Park Half)
• March - 193 miles (Rock n Roll DC Half)
• April - 177.1 miles (NYCRuns Queens Half)
• May - 124.65 miles (Long Island Marathon, Airbnb BK Half, UAE Healthy Kidney 10K)
• June - 138.66 miles (Queens 10K)
• July - 270.51 miles (Run Selfie Challenge)
• August - 145.21 miles (Self Transcendence Marathon)
• September - 191.68 miles (Rock n Roll Virginia Beach Half, Bronx 10 mile)
• October - 155.38 miles (Back to back - Rock n Roll Brooklyn Half and Staten Island Half)
• November - 162.05 miles (TCS NYC Marathon, Berkeley Half)
• December - 249.78 miles (Ted Corbitt 15K)

Grand Total = 2015.02 miles. I completed the challenge with a 17 mile on New Years Eve in Central Park as New York Road Runners were setting up for their Midnight Run. Running all these miles didn't exactly help my previous injuries. It did teach me to be more careful with my body and finding the delicate balance between pushing my limits and proper recovery time. Although I did achieve PR's in my 10K, Half marathon, and twice in the marathon, my goal of reaching Boston didn't happen, thus delaying m ultimate goal of running all 6 of the marathon majors.

So what will I do to make 2016 even better! My New Years resolution was to stretch more and run smarter. All throughout the year I've had to defend my high mileage running to fellow runners by making note of the challenge I was undergoing. This gave me an excuse not to go all out on most of my runs. This allowed for better pain management from my hamstring injuries and my newly discovered hip pains. (That's a whole other story worthy of another blog post). 

With a nice healthy running break in the first month and a half of the year, I've been taking it easy on my races. The smart runner in me has decided to go easy on my 9+1 requirements and not go for PR's. Less running in the winter and more active stretching with the foam roller. Eventually when training for my Fall marathons get into high gear, I'll be doing more yoga for runners through the DVD I bought.

And finally, to bypass the whole lottery system (I never gain race entry through lotteries anyway), I decided to run the Chicago marathon as a fundraiser for the DetermiNation of the American Cancer Society.

So there you have it! After a slow start for recovery, 2016 is going to be my best year yet! No doubt about it. 

The Lehigh Via Marathon: The Hamstring Strikes Back

When I arrived at the ArtQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem, PA, the heat and humidity was first and foremost on my mind. My last marathon in Miami was not so great because of heat and it felt like another marathon disaster was on its way. Lucky for me, a large thunderstorm rolled in that night and cooled the area down by morning. Conditions at the Lehigh Valley Hospital in Bethlehem, PA could not be any better. Cool, brisk 60 degree morning with clear skies for a downhill course. Downhill course: that is where the deception is. Rather they advertised a net downhill course that was also a fast course. Indeed it was fast, but had plenty of bumps and trails in between. So let’s start from the beginning.

The stars were aligning for what was meant to be a great running day. I made sure I was well nourished and empty prior to the race so that I would not have any bowel issues as in previous marathons. The timing of all that I needed to complete, including travel, parking, and baggage check was spot on. My body was feeling great. KT Tape applied the night before to areas that gave me problems in the past: calves and knees. I did think about my hamstring but I figured, salts would do the trick, so this time I was packing the tablets in some tissues.

Race began at 7:10 A.M. and I was hitting my 7:10 mile per minute pace right away. My philosophy is that I just had to maintain that through the whole race, no need to go any faster, and in areas where I went slower, I would make up for it later on with faster paces. First 5 miles saw some steep hills, both incline and decline, so the paces did vary, but once we hit the wooded trails it was a smooth straight shot, slight decline that had me running at 6:45 minutes per mile. It was an effortless run that gave me a cushion for my qualifying ambitions.

Mile 13 is where things became sketchy. I lost my balance for a couple of seconds looking back at the runners behind me. “Always look forward,” an experienced marathoner once told me. That was the beginning of the end for me. Recovering my under 7 pace became extremely difficult and the salts I had in my pockets turned to dust. I had to rely on my gels for salts now, which was less effective. Mile 14 through 20 was a slight incline through another straightaway wooded trail. The salt tablets would have enabled me to regain my under 7 pace for sure. Instead my feet felt like they were dragging as my pace fluctuated between 7 and 7:30.

Then came mile 20. A steep hill that caught all of us off guard showed up as we left the trails. My legs started to severely decline climbing that thing. For me, mile 20 is always the moment of truth: do I run harder or do I take it easy forgetting about any time goals I have. I chose the former. I still had a nice cushion reaching that point at 2:23. A 47 minute 10K was certainly in the cards for my lungs. I would soon learn my legs had a different plan.

Now throughout the course, I was greeted by cheers from various spectators and special ones from North Brooklyn Runners (NBR), who drove up to cheer for teammates that were running. It was a great motivator indeed. Mile 5, 12, 20, and 23 was greeted with encouraging words from these selfless teammates. After the hill at mile 20, I was caught by one of the faster runners in NBR and there he proceeded to pitch the Monday Night Owls run to me. He encouraged me to push hard and work on using the training taught during that run. I admitted I never been to one. (It starts at 9 PM, and I get up at 4:30 AM in the next morning to make it to work). Anyway, he ran with me for about half a mile and I told him to go because my pace was starting to fall off. He actually argued against and tried to stay a little longer. When I started fading to 8 minutes per mile, he had to do what he had to do. I still appreciate his willingness to tough it out with me.

Random shot of SteelStacks that have nothing to do with this story.

As he left I thought, “ all I need is to pause a little at the next water station since I still had a nice cushion. The water station didn’t come until mile 23, and just before I hit the water station, the left hamstring forced me to stop completely in my tracks. I limped to the station and loaded up on Gatorade and bathed in water. The pain started to subside but I knew then my Boston ambitions were over. I was not going to risk permanently damaging anything so I was just going to walk the rest of the way. Some of the runners passing me yelled, “C’mon Brooklyn, a 5K is all that’s left… a 5K is meant to hurt so you got this.” I did have it. 25 minutes stood between my qualifying finish and me at that point.  But the hamstring pain was too great. So I continued to walk. Not long after more NBR cheer squad yelled at me to push. I yelled back, “My hamstring, my hamstring.” It was excruciating pain but their cheers motivated me to push. They came all this way, I didn’t want to let them down by not leaving it all out there on the course.

An 8:30 minute per mile resulted and I still had a shot if the pain would just stay away. But steep hills at mile 24 had an effect on my psyche and I said, “No way!”  Walk up the hills I did. It wasn’t just 1 or 2 hills. But a collection of rolling steep hills, maybe about 5 or 6 with twists and turns, designed to throw people off their pace as they approached the finish. So those last 2 miles resulted in a 10:30 average pace.

The last hill at mile 26, I could see the crowd in sight. I figured I would put one final effort for the cameras. But my hamstring disagreed. People yelled, “David” (reading my bib) and “Brooklyn” (reading my back) as I struggled to the finish. Disillusioned, I came to a screeching halt about 200 feet from the finish as my left hamstring gave out again. It was that point the crowd cheered louder. The announcer shouted my name and where I was from, so I limped forward and crossed the finish line. The energy of the crowd carried me through. My leg stiffened and I couldn’t walk. A nurse met me after someone put a medal around my neck and took me straight into the medical tent. All it took was a 5-minute massage on the hamstring to have me walking again.

So what were my takeaways from this, my greatest marathon experience: an experience that was a combination of success and failure, readiness and surprises, self-determination and reliance on others.

11. My hamstring has become a serious problem. My training regimen now must incorporate proper strength and recovery training that includes regular massage therapy.

22. Marathon running may be based on a runner’s individual effort, but it takes a team to keep you motivated and consistent with your progress. I have to thank the energy from the crowds and the North Brooklyn Runners for giving me that added push and motivation at various points during the race.

33. It’s clear to me that the process of improving and running those miles is more important to me than reaching the goals.

A couple of days prior to the race, my thoughts were on what would happen if I did qualify for Boston. It felt like the joy came from the pursuit as I put in all those miles during training and races. However, today’s race gave the clarity I needed to know that this wasn’t the case. The joy comes from the journey itself. As you run those 26.2 miles, you can encounter anything: Long straightaways, trails, puddles, rain, heat, and humidity. How do you respond? What are your body’s limitations? Are they limitations or are they areas where you can work to improve next time? What adjustments can you make?

3:22:23 was a marathon personal best for me. It certainly didn’t feel like a great success when I crossed the finish, but it’s a testament to the progress I’ve made throughout this journey. Now is not the time to end it.