Training Errors

Now that we are finally on the road to recovery, it has occurred to me that many of our friends may think that Gene's broken hip is a result of running a marathon and they will miss out on the satisfaction of undertaking such a challenge.

Gene's broken hip is a result of training rules we did not follow.

Rule #1: Do not increase mileage more than 10% per week. We really did not do this until August, when we doubled mileage from one weekend to the next.

Rule #2: Listen to your body and stop if it becomes painful. This one is more difficult, and I cannot fault Gene for this. He broke that same hip when he was 11 years old, hitting a tree at about 45 mph while on a toboggan. The resulting arthritis in that hip makes it more difficult to determine if the pain is from overuse or "Uncle Arthur" as Grandma used to call it.

Rule #3: Always keep good form and do not modify your gait in response to pain. In Vail, Colorado the month before, Gene was running five miles (another violation of Rule #1, as we had been walking 2/3 of the time and running 1/3), he slipped on an icy bridge and hurt his knee. In response to that, he began to run a different way to keep the pressure off his knee, which then puts additional pressure elsewhere.

Rule #4: Crosstrain. How can a recumbent bike or eliptical machine compare to being out in the early morning air? But crosstraining allows one to use muscles in different ways and gives overworked muscles a rest.

Rule #5: Not taking rest days. The strengthening of muscles does not occur when exerting them. It occurs during the rest days, when they are rebuilding stronger, in response to the additional stresses that were placed upon them. Bones also become stronger, if given adequate rest days.

Rule #6: Not doing enough strenth training. Muscles must be strong to endure a marathon. They act as shock absorbers when one is running, keeping much of the force of each step from impacting the bones. When they become fatigued, they are no longer able to absorb that impact, and stress fractures can result.

Rule #7: Follow your marathon plan. Our plan up until about two weeks before the marathon was to run 1/10th of every mile and walk the rest of the time. A couple weeks before, we decided we would run 2/10 of each mile. Race day arrived and we stood with a crowd of thousands. The race began and we started a slow jog, along with the rest of the crowd. We ran past thousands of cheering spectators. We ran past high school bands, drum bands, a bell choir, cheerleaders, Christian bands, Rock bands, a harpist, and we ran especially fast past the country music band (torture for the ears and the thighs). A few times, I worried that we were doing this completely different that we had trained and we forced ourselves to walk, but we felt so good and the adrenaline high caused us to just keep running.

We have learned (and I have read, so I cannot take credit for the idea) - The key to a successful marathon is not crossing the finish line; it is arriving at the starting line well trained, with no niggling injuries.

We had the best summer of our lives. Yes we have had some injuries, but so have most athletes - I love referring to ourselves as athletes, because I have never been one before. I was always selected near the end when choosing up sides in school. Gene's back has not felt this good in years. He told me this summer, "I feel great, and I am not ever going back"!