Here’s what’s been happening as 2025 as I prep for a good year of run performances.
A1A Marathon is 10 days away. It will be my 70th marathon, plus the 20th consecutive in the run streak for this event. I have mixed myself into the workouts and runs of anyone training for a half or marathon since November. I ran the Palm Beach Marathon as a pacer, gliding home in just under 4:10 for a 9:33 pace. Training and conditioning has gone well, I dip into long runs, tempo runs and speed runs to keep my fitness level up.
If I want to compete in the 2026 Boston Marathon, I’ll need to get a BQ eligible time at this race.I’ve advanced into the age group that asks for a 3 hour & 50 minute time, something I should be able to do easily.
If I’m healthy…
Last week I ran an 8 mile tempo run. I origianlly wanted to follow up the previous 6 mile tempo run at 7 min/mile pace with the same for 8 miles. This made me think – I am NOT trying to run A1A Marathon in under 3:10, I should back off the pace for this next one. I also wanted to use older carbon shoes to use them and reacquaint myself with that feeling. I ran with Nike Vaporfly 4% from 2018-19. These are light, narrow and have an upper that fit like a sock. The lacing across the top of my foot leaves a gap where I have developed a ganglionic cyst when too much pressure gets applied to the top of my foot. With this shoe it isn’t pressure on top of my foot that contributes to the problem, this shoe has laces that almost surround the area on my foot that swells up. When I tie into the Vaporfly, it’s as if you’re surrounding a pimple with your fingers and squeezing. It builds pressure as I run and when I finish, the cyst has grown.
So those shoes can only be used for very short distances, like under 5 miles.
Work it!
I was at work this week as we looked to move some of our office space to larger quarters. I know not to overdo lifting, things here are easy enough to slide around on a carpeted floor. I brought a warehouse dolly cart that I own plus a four-wheeled moving roller to the office to make the job easier.
One of the things we had to do was get boxes and supplies from our new Public Storage unit sent to a trade show one of our partner vendors will be attending on our behalf. The one-time use tests we sell have been stored in a large box. The directive was the show would require approximately 500 of these to be sent to Tennessee. I went to the storage unit, picked up the box to put it on the roller, rolled it to my car, drove to the office, removed box to roller again and wheeled it up to the office. Minimal lifting, right?
Something didn’t go well even with this strategy, which I thought was cautious. When I went to bed Tuesday night, my back was very sore, 7 out of 10 pain level. It wasn’t sore at any other part of the day, however, just when I tipped horizontal to get in bed, gotcha! My right knee also experienced soreness, but only 3 out of 10. Thinking, thinking, how did this happen? I ran fast with Hannah on Tuesday morning, no hints or pressure there on legs or back. What was this about?
Waking up Wednesday morning had me feeling better about the back pain, which had slipped to a mild 2-3 out of 10. My knee was worse, even after having been horizontal and still all night in bed. Good thing this was an off day from running! I worked all day, stayed away from anything “knee strenuous,” and met friends at a restaurant.
The sitting still in the car for the 30 minute drive then 2 hours of sitting at dinner unraveled my knee situation. I was so stiff and in pain just straightening my leg to walk to my car! Then a 30 min drive home, obviously sitting, and I was even worse. I had to think about each step walking up to my 2nd floor bedroom. As I got prepped to sleep, getting clothes off and up into the bed was really a bell ringer, my right knee did not like any side to side or bending at the knee 90 degree motions! I was in bed for an hour with pain, then I remembered I had a prescription level ibuprofen that I didn’t use with my ear melanoma issue. I took one of those, 600mg, which is only 3 regular Advils. It took over an hour of lying still, watching TV, and searching and experimenting for the least painful position of that leg. I woke again a few hours later and much of the pain was off, so I did get to sleep. Waking up in the morning, I noticed that the movement of bending the knee makes it worse. That turns on the pain. It’s stiff, so there is swelling. Time to figure out what’s happening. Today at work I’ll stand as much as possible & see what my knee at end of day feels like.
The build up irony
My training and fitness have gone well. My heart rate has come down during runs to a better level. It has been many months of slow and easy running to yield this outcome. I keep thinking, “The heart is a muscle, it can be strengthened!” Sometimes, I see high heart rates but not for easy runs. Pacing the Vero Beach Half Marathon at 9:33 pace had me below 140 the whole morning. These are positive signs.
The irony becomes evident when I think that now I’m spending my runs with the group of ladies that were beginning their marathon running journey several years ago. I’ve worked to help them understand the “do’s & don’ts” and helped create training plans for their races.
Now they are helping me.
I run at their paces to test where my fitness and heart rate lies. I keep an open schedule, helping whomever I can as a good companion in the early am hours. It works for them and it works for me, too. I am at their level now, hopefully on the rebound. Three plus years with a high heart rate that I attribute to the Covid booster shots and I have positive metrics again. I am on the rise.
Our group has talented runners. Many of them are improving and “climbing the ladder” of better race times and results. I see our best leaps forward coming from our female runners, easily 3 to 1. It’s great to see our PBRR group vaulting forward. I’d like to contribute to the improvements and great finishing times this year. I have what it takes, some sharpening and specifics are due more attention.
- dm
drun4fun 