Race Morning.

4:30am.

27 degrees (feels like 20,) according to weather.com

tried to get to sleep before 11 pm, but it was a restless night.  woke up before the alarm and now i'm about to eat and get ready.

race start is 7:04 am.

here we go.

What I Want For Christmas...

Race Weekend Coming Up!

It's been a tough week.  

Hell... it's been a tough few weeks.

I still haven't run due to the fear that the pain will flare up and any chance of me running the marathon this weekend will be shot.  Great way to go day to day huh?

On top of that, due to chlorination problems at the pool, I haven't been able to get my swim workout in since last Friday.  ALSO, since we have snow on the ground and the weather has been crap, I've had to settle for cycling sessions at the gym... which make me want to rip my hair out and stick bamboo chutes under my finger nails.  Ugh.

I really really really REALLY hope my foot holds up this weekend, to the point where I feel like I can continue running from there on out.  If this 3 weeks off has made me antsy and insane, I cant imagine being laid up even longer, waiting for this ailment to "heal."

So fingers crossed.

Off to Philadelphia early on Saturday morning, to the race expo that afternoon, then up at 4:30 am on Sunday in prep for the 7 am race start.

Hopefully i'll beat my time from Baltimore, despite the injury and nearly month off from training.  

A 3:30 finish?  We'll see...

Not Happy. Not Even A Little Bit.

So nearly through the 2nd full week of not being able to run.

My guess is that how i'm feeling now is how McCain felt as a POW.  Ok, well not to that degree, but helpless, miserable, alone, TORTURED... 

Inappropriate Nate.  Inappropriate. 

I've been taking the medication prescribed to me, and overall, i feel like the foot is feeling better.  But it always seems that when i start to get excited or my confidence comes back, the injury insists on being a bastard and rearing its ugly head.  

Ugh.

So next weekend is the Philadelphia marathon, and naturally, I'm going to do it despite my physical condition.  The goal originally was to qualify for Boston, but now, it's to beat my time at Baltimore / finish.  Essentially, its a half and hour difference in goal time.

Need that finishers medal!

It's remarkable how much running became a part of my life, and now that i'm not able to, theres a noticeable void.  On top of it all, i can't eat as much since i'm not burning the same calories (i.e. no more 8,000 - 10,000 calorie consumption days) and i'm lethargic as hell.  The weather has been crap which rules out cycling outdoors.  Swimming is, well, swimming, and only takes up about 8 hours a week.  And i'm afraid that without the running and cycling to lean me out, my lifting routine is going to bulk me up to a point that will harm my performance instead of help it.  

So yeah.  Thats where i'm at in my life right now.  

I haven't been this frustrated in a long time.  

Maybe with Obama in office, stem cell research can finally manufacture new parts for me so that my body can keep up with my desire to compete and succeed.

Something New!!!

So our story begins last Monday.

It was a pleasant early November day.  Unseasonably warm, in the mid 60's.  Obviously, i would have never forgiven myself if i had passed up this opportunity to run in stellar weather.  So, run i did.

Now, i wish i hadn't.  Oh how things would be different.

About a mile into my short 4 mile run, i felt a pop in my right foot and shooting pain that lasted only a second, and then settled into an intense ache.  I'll let you guess what i did after experiencing this...

... did you guess yet??

Yes, that is correct.  I opted to finish my run.  

The pain kept getting worse the further i went, surprise surprise... but i still managed to finish the 4 miles in 27 minutes flat.  

Swam that night and afterwards, while in the shower, nearly collapsed from the shooting pain.  I'm the type of person who avoids doctors at all costs, because more likely than not, i'll just ignore what they have to say and do what i want anyways.  But this time around, something was different.  Luckily, a good friend of mine who is on the Masters swim team happens to be a Podiatrist.  He checked out my foot on Tuesday night and said it was most likely a strain / partial tear of the peroneus longus tendon, or a possible stress fracture of the 5th metatarsal. 

Awesome.

Essentially, he said "you should probably rest between 1-2 months to allow it to heal, but knowing you, ice it, take some anti-inflammatories, and try and get through the Philadelphia marathon in 3 weeks.  Take some time of afterwards."

Finally, advice i can take!

I went to my orthopedic surgeon the following morning and he told me i have tendon damage and a possible stress fracture as well.  However, his advice was to go to physical therapy, do absolutely NO running until cleared, and rest as much as possible.  Oh, i'll get right on that!

So, since the diagnosis, I've behaved and refrained from running.  It sucks.  A lot.  My twice a day cocktail of prescribed anti inflammatories and pain pills help a bit.  

I actually just got back from an interview trip to Pittsburgh, so that took my mind off things for a bit.  Now, back in New York, all I want to do is train.  

For now, i think i can control myself and behave... but i don't know how much longer this can last.

Cortisone shot anyone??

First Swim Meet!!!

I'll make this short and sweet.

So today was the first swim meet of the year.  I was penciled in to swim the 50 & 100 yard freestyle, the 50 yard breaststroke, and the 200 free and medley relays (if we could manage a team.)

Unfortunately, we were unable to get together a team for the 200 freestyle relay.  Oh well.

Since practice on Friday, I've been having back problems.  I pulled something and now, every time I breathe, there's a sharp pain on my left side in the middle of my back.  Probably not good.  I'm hoping that in a couple days it will go away.  ::fingers crossed::

First event was the 50 free.  My seed time was 25 seconds (my best time in high school was 23, 22 high on a relay pickup,) so I was hoping to get under that.  The time was good enough to be seeded 2nd, which i was pretty surprised about.

Long story short, i was in lane 5 and out touched the guy in lane 7 to take 1st overall with a time of 24.93.  

More than a second off my best.  

Second event was the 100 freestyle.  I put in my seed time at 1:00 but my previous personal best was just over 1:01 back in high school. 

Like always, I'm always ahead off the start but my turn is mediocre at best (although the first turn in this race is probably the best i've ever done!) and i lose ground there.

Ended up coming in at 1:00.14 which was good enough to win my age group and place 4th overall.

The 50 breast is not exactly a strong event for me.  Anything other than freestyle is rather awkward.  I put in my time as 35 seconds, not knowing what a "good" and "bad" time was for this race.  I touched the wall in 35.8 seconds which again, was good enough for a win in my age group and 4th overall.

The last event was the 200 medley relay which a few random people threw together at the very last second.  We had to play catch up from the very start and I was able to hold off the other team on the last leg to keep the 1st place in our hands (although my relay split was 25.17 ... nearly 3 seconds slower than in high school.)

Overall, I was disappointed with the way i swam.  I know i can swim faster in the 50 and 100 free, and when i get my technique better for the breast and in the turns, i'll be a force to reckon with.  Not to mention, when i shave down.

Other than the swim news, I've been running a lot.  10 - 11 mile runs have gotten very easy and prep for the Philadelphia marathon is going well.  Still hitting the weight room, but unfortunately cycling has taken a back seat because of the weather and priority.  

I need an indoor trainer for my bike.

Blah.

So first of all... it is freakin' cold outside. 

During my run today, i went by a thermometer board that had the temperature at 34 degrees.  With the wind chill, it's safe to say that it was well into the 20's.  Blast my body's inability to handle running on a treadmill, where it's nice and warm!

Anyways... two days ago i set out for a 10 miler, the first one since the marathon.  At about the first mile marker i was crossing a main intersection and accidentally stepped in a pothole and rolled my right ankle (yes, that is my reconstructed one.)  I managed to "run off" some of the pain for about 5 miles, but had to call it quits at mile 6 since it just hurt too much.  

I was scheduled to run 10-15 miles yesterday morning with my good friend Mary Hankin, but i nearly collapsed when i put weight on my ankle getting out of bed at 8am.  Ah yes, it was like deja vu, back to my old soccer days when this was a daily occurrence.  It didn't seem to bother me so much back then, maybe this "being physically healthy" thing is making me soft.  

::shrug::

Decided against running yesterday and lifted hard at the gym instead.  Rounded up the night with an hour and a half swim training session.  I'm pretty stoked that on November 2nd, the team i'm swimming with actually has a meet up in Rochester at RIT.  Should be a great time... just like the ole' high school days, only swimming, not diving, and against really really old people.  Errr...

Much to my delight (horror,) we emerged from the pool area to a winter wonderland.  First snow of the season.  I immediately popped the trunk and rummaged around for the snow brush / scraper and did the neighbourly thing and brushed off my fellow relay members cars.

So today i decided to head out for a long run again.  Mind you, it wasn't high miles today, but 6.7 miles is something considering how cold and windy it was and how "old school" my ankle was feeling.  It's just horrible that after a serious athletic career altering injury, any little thing that happens to that body part afterwards is amplified 10 fold.  Both physically and mentally.  

It's hard to get that confidence back.

Went out (way too fast) and rounded the first mile in just under 6 minutes.  Whoa there Nate... slow down buddy.  Settled in and just started cruising.  It was FREEZING but the pace was comfortable overall.  Towards the end my ankle began to stiffen up and the pain migrated back to my right achilles tendon area (which i have also had problems with in the past.)  At the end of the 6.7 miles, the inside of my right knee had also joined in the pain game (where i have a partially torn mcl,) but to my delight, my left leg felt wonderful.

I'll take pleasure where i can get it! (thats what she said.)

Finished in just under 48 minutes averaging 6:58 per mile.

Hopefully my ankle and knee wont be too sore tomorrow and i can get out for a longer run.

Run / Lift / Swim tomorrow.

Pitt Homecoming this weekend.

Woo!!!