Training for my 2nd Boston marathon (and my 7th full marathon to date), has officially come to an end. Ive trained and prepared the best I can what with little time Ive had. In total, I trained for 10 and half weeks in the rain and sun, racking up appx 250 miles in the process. This is about hundred miles less than I put into last years training for the same race. I hope it’s enough.

Every time I train for one of these things, I always seem to be hit by at least one over-use type of injury. Last year it was a plantar facsciitis , the year before that, it was persistent calf cramps and hamstring issues. This year it’s metatarsalgia ( ball of the foot pain). Probably brought on by old age ( arthritis) and over-pronation. How much this will impact me at Boston remains to be seen, but if yesterday’s 10 mile walk is any indication, I’m not feeling very confident. I can tolerate a lot of physical pain, but I don’t feel like limping my way through a marathon. I’m going to try to stay off my feet as much as possible between now and next week. Hopefully this will make a difference.

As far as my lungs go, they’ve held out surprisingly well during the actual workouts, but not so good afterwords. Even after some of the shorter walks (5-8 miles) I find myself getting tighter and more short of breath than in previous years. And after the really long walks ( 10+ miles), I’m experiencing more and more full blown flares (the whole delayed symptom onset pnenomina thingy). Fortunately, these mini exacerbations resolved on their own which allowed me to complete my training.

The big concern now is, how bad will I flare up after the race? That’s assuming of course, that I’m luck enough to actually finish the race given my foot problems. To try and stave off a potentially serious flare-up following the race, I’m going to prophylactically bolus myself with a one time dose of 40mg prednisone the morning of the race. Timing is going to be critical here, because if I take the drug too early in the morning, it could make me really nauseated, if I take it too late, it won’t have time to kick in. This is the first time Ive ever increased my pred during a race, so I have no idea what the effects will be. Hopefully it will keep me out of the slammer.

Last Thursday I attempted the dreaded 21 miler, (aka, the marathon before the marathon). The walk did not go as well as planned. My legs were starting to ache from mile 1 and only got worse as I went on. Due to ill fitting shoes (the new Saucony’s) and that nagging foot injury, I was only able to complete 19.2 miles. Talk about pain, and this on top of an already arthritic body. The walk left me totally trashed and as expected, threw me into my yellow breathing zone for a couple of days after. I would have stopped at mile 10 and re-attempted the walk the following week, but there simply isn’t enough time.

With less than 3 weeks of training left , I can’t take the risk of anymore injuries, so Ive decided to start tapering off my mileage right now and just hope for the best. For the remainder of my training walks, which consists of 2 more long distance walks ( a 14 mile and a 10 mile) and 8 more medium distance walks ( 4-6 miles each), I will be back to wearing my Asics Hyperspeed IIs . They might not be the best shoes for me, but my feet are used them and they haven’t caused me any injuries. The Sauconies are OK for short sprints, but not for long slow walks.

Getting back to that foot problem, Ive developed what they call a metatarsalgia in the ball of my left foot. It’s a fairly common injury in older marathoner runners, and normally it wouldn’t be a big deal, but because I’m supposed to be walking a marathon in just 3 weeks, it’s a potentially huge problem. What happens, is that because I’ve trying to avoid landing on that part of my foot when I walk, I end up landing instead on the outer edge of my foot which is causing the rest of my leg to get sore. Add to that the pain of an already arthritic body, and it can make walking long distances pure torture. If it flared up during the marathon, it could prevent me from finishing the race. I’m hoping now, that because I’m finished with the majority of my long walks, that my foot will have more time to heal…albeit 3 weeks isn’t much time.

(See the redness circled under my big toe?)

On a more positive note, Ive had fewer problems this year with calf cramps, which I attribute to better stretching and better hydration.

As far as my asthma goes, my lung function has been been fairly stable. This time of year tends to be when I have my best breathing, which is a good thing. I do however, get short of breath much easier these days, especially when I exert myself. Even my shorter walks are taking a lot more out of me than they used to.

Assuming that I have the good fortune of crossing the finish line at this marathon, this will definitely be my last full marathon. As much as I love doing these races, my body just can’t tolerate 26.2 mile distances anymore and/or the training it takes to prepare for them. Ive now done 6 full marathons in just 5 years and I think that’s a respectable number to retire at. Half marathons are challenging enough, and I think I still have a few of those left in me.

for this many miles
⇩

in the blazing California

and I used this

6-8 times

After I finished the walk, I did this……..

AND THEN THIS
⇩

Intense exercise actually causes microtrauma, or tiny tears in muscle fibers. This muscle damage not only stimulates muscle cell activity and helps repair the damage and strengthen the muscles ( muscle hypertrophy), but it is also linked with delayed onset muscle pain and soreness (DOMS) , which occurs between 24 and 72 hours after exercise.

By taking an ice bath after a long walk or run, it’s believed that you slow down this metabolic process, which in turn, reduces swelling and tissue breakdown. It helps release lactic acid and soothes aching muscles.

Then, with rewarming, the increased blood flow speeds circulation, and in turn, improves the healing process. Although there is no current protocol regarding the ideal time and temperature for cold immersion routines, most athletes or trainers who use them recommend a water temperature between 12 to 15 degrees Celsius and immersion times of 5 to 10 and sometimes up to 20 minutes.

Ice baths are not for the feint hearted. It helps to be a gluten for punishment like I am. If you do try this, make sure you ease in to the water gradually. After the initial shock it actually feels good!

Well, weeks 1 and 2, (January 1st-8th) I was in the hospital(on a ventilator). Week 3, I was too wiped out from said hospitalization to do any exercise. Week 4, I actually managed to pull off a 10 mile walk. Weeks 5&6 , (January 27th- February 4th) I was in the hospital again. Week 7, I was still recovering that hospitalization. Which brings us to week #8.

Week #8 ( Feb 13th) I did a 17.7 km ( appx 11 miles) training walk. This is the longest walk Ive done since my half marathon race back in October. I was able to get a couple shorter walks in earlier in the week, but it’s a huge leap going from 4 miles to 11 miles! Considering I’d only been out of the hospital for 9 days, I think this first long walk was a success. I did experience some pretty nasty abdominal cramps, but that was totally my fault. The combination of prednisone, energy gels, too much sweating and not hydrating properly, was just too much for my system and well……let’s just say, thank god there was an open restroom out there in the middle of nowhere.
I completed the walk in 2:55 min ( 16min/mile pace), which is just about right for an LSD walk. My lungs fared much better than I thought they would. During that walk I only used my inhaler about 6 times. I started wheezing a little at the end, but it quickly reversed after a couple of neb treatments. I kept the racewalking to a minimum, not so much because of my breathing, but most because my legs were sore from being bed bound a week earlier and I just couldn’t get a good rhythm going .

This was the same day the Maverick Surfing competition was going on (about 25 miles south), but even here in San Francisco, the waves were crashing pretty high near Golden Gate.

Week #9Trying to play catch up with my training, while also trying to dodge the bad weather has been a real challenge. So, on Feb 17th, just 5 days after doing the 11 mile walk, I did a 23km (14.5 mile) walk. I know it’s crazy to do two long walks back to back like that, but I really needed to get another long walk in before the next rain storm hit the region. In just a 7 day period, I clocked something like 38 miles. Way too much, but I had to take advantage of the dry days when they came. Needless to say, I’m pretty sore from last weeks walks. My lung are paying for it too, as I haven’t quite healed after spending half a month in the slammer. I pre and post medicated with neb treatments and used the inhaler about 8 times during this walk. At the time , I was only on 15mg of pred, vs 30 mg during the previous walk.

Week#10 Starts this Saturday with a series of really long walks LSD walks, which I refer to as my “REALLY LONG WALKS”. They are the 16, 18 and 20 mile( 32km) walks, and are the most important training walks in building the endurance and fortitude required to complete a full marathon. These long walks are basically mini-marathons in themselves, complete with all the not-so-pleasant after effects you can expect when doing a real marathon i.e. muscle cramps, blisters on blisters, joint and body aches, dehydration side effects and in my case, potentially severe respiratory problems.

In addition to the long endurance walks, Ive also been doing three 5 mile tempo walks per week. With most of those I try to incorporate at least a little racewalking.

Ah…. the crazy things we put our bodies through in the name of fun!

In an earlier post, Kerri had mentioned how she liked the look of my green shoes ( Asics Hyperspeed 2s), better than my orange shoes ( the new and supposedly improved Asics Hyperspeed 3s). Well… so do I (though for slightly different reasons).

I reason I bought the “orange ones” in the first place, was because I couldn’t find any of the “green ones” (they discontinued the Hyperspeed 2 model last year). Well, after scouring the Internet for months, I finally found some more of the green ones, and have decided to train in both to see which ones I like better. No, not at the same time, though that would look kinda cool:-)

When you walk and /or racewalk as many miles as I do, your feet become extremely picky as to what they will allow you to put on them. Actually, I could care less about the color of the shoes(unless it’s something like neon pink ). When I’m shopping for walking shoes, I go through a pain staking trial & error search. There are several things that I look for in a distance walking shoe , but many times can’t tell for sure if the features are there unless I actually try on the shoe. The problem is, most shoes that are suitable for racewalking and/or long distance walking are only available online, which makes trying them on a costly proposition. (you usually have to pay for the return shipping if the shoes don’t fit).

I look for shoes that have a low profile heel and lots of toe room. Cushioning isn’t a big deal for me ,as I use my own custom orthotic insoles in all my shoes. Racing flats tend to work best for me, but because they are so thin and so light- weight, they’re not very comfortable for longer distances and they tend to wear out very quickly ( about 250 miles of wear is all I get out of them). These ones only weigh 5.8 oz ( a normal running shoe weighs twice as much).

So, all things being equal, which shoes do you think I should wear for the Boston marathon? The older Green ones? or the new and improved Orange ones? Oh… and in case you’re wondering, both colors will go with the rest of my race apparel.

OK, I never actually said I wasn’t going to do Boston. What I said, is that a victory seemed unlikely. By victory of course, I meant finishing the race in the allotted time. Well, I may not finish the race, but that doesn’t mean I can’t start it. So ready or not, on April 19th, I’ll be taking my place at the starting line in Hopkinton Massachusetts for the 114 th running ( or in my case, walking) of the Boston Marathon. Heck, I get psyched just seeing my name on the entry list ( Stephen Gaudet)

Because Ive had so many lung delays and hospital stays (oh..that rhymes) in the last 3 months, I now have less than 8 weeks in total to train and prepare for this race, making this the most ambitious fitness goal Ive ever set for myself. I’m just hoping that the severe asthma flare-ups will leave me alone long enough so I can get some serious training in.

I may be crazy, but I’m not stupid. I know that due to my declining lung function over the last year, that my chances of finishing this race are slim, but this is something I really need to do , while I’m at least still partially able to. I’m not going to push myself to the brink of death like I did last year. I will walk hard, long and give it my best, but if the work of breathing gets to be too much, I’ll withdraw from the race. If I don’t finish the race it won’t be the end of the world (because Ive already done it once), but if I don’t at least attempt it, I think I would regret it for the rest for my life. So,with health permitting, from now until April 10th, I will be in full time training mode for the Boston marathon.

For some self inspiration, here I am ( in the blue shirt) at the 21 mile mark( 33.7 km) at last years race. Ive mastered the art of being in severe pain, but looking good nevertheless.The crowds on the course have thinned out dramatically (and not only because we were at the back of the pack). What a lot of people forget, is that out of 25,000 people who started the race, more that 3000 people didn’t finish it ! (and 99.9% of those people were healthy I’m sure). Many of them became causalities of Heartbreak hill 3 miles behind me. Remember, it aint over, til the fat asthmatic lady says it is

Now, I’m not going to say it was easy, cuz it wasn’t. In fact, it was one of the most difficult training walks Ive done in a long time. My lungs got tight right off that bat, and by the time I got to the 6 mile mark, I was hitting on my inhaler every 5 to 10 minutes (12 puffs in all). Did I mention that a bunch of thunderstorms erupted and it poured down freezing rain almost the entire 2 hours and 43 minutes that it took me to finish the walk? ( shame on you weather man) Yup, I was soaked to the bone and wheezing like a punctured set of bagpipes, but I pushed on, and man… did I feel alive!

Note to myself: I will definitely need to take a couple neb treatments during Boston and also during my longer training walks, because the inhalers just don’t cut it when I’m over exerting myself.

If all goes well, I’ll be kicking off my Boston marathon training this Saturday with a 10 mile bridge to bridge walk in San Francisco. For the next 12 weeks (lungs permitting), I will be walking my ass off, and in the process will rack up close to 300 miles. From this point on, I will need to focus a 100% of my attention on my training , so I’ll probably be blogging less frequently. I will however, post a weekly update of my progress.

I’ll be following the training template below. Because I’m already a month behind, I’ll be entering at the 3rd week of the schedule and finishing on the 16th. To cram this much this training into such a short period, will definitely be a challenge.

(click to enlarge)

As with previous training sessions, I’ll be doing most of my lsds (long slow distance) walks, in San Francisco along the waterfront and Golden Gate Bridge, and my shorter 3-5 mile tempo walks, in Crockett, California on the Al Zampa Bridge.

So you might be asking , why is all this training and preparation so important for someone who is only walking a marathon vs running one? Well, 26 miles…. is 26 miles, whether you run it, walk it, or crawl it. It’s not like you’re given a week to complete the race. If that were the case, anyone could do a marathon. I have 7 hours to cross the finish line at the Boston marathon, which equals a pace of about 16 min/mile. If you’re not quite sure how fast that this, just imagine walking at a brisk pace, non-stop, for 7 + hours. I assure you it’s not easy, even for people who prepare for it. The average body is not build to withstand the stress of trekking 42 thousand meters without a break. No matter how healthy you are, you need to train for these kinds of races.
Then there’s this little problem I have with my lungs. My lung function is less than 50% to begin with, and on top of that, I have very severe asthma. Put all these things together and you can see why training for a marathon is such a big deal for me.

Ive only been out of the hospital for 2 weeks now, and because my shortness of breath and exercise tolerance have worsened this past year, until I know how my body is going to react to some of these upcoming training walks, I can’t really say with certainty, if I’ll be up to the task of completing, what would be my 7th marathon and last marathon.

Preparing for an event like the Boston marathon also requires a huge commitment of time, money and sweat. For this reason, I’m not going to make a final decision about my participation in the race until Jan 30th. Here’s hoping for a green light.

Overall, my basic walking routine really hasn’t changed that much, I’m still out there walking at least 3 days a week when my lungs are behaving, and I try to hit the gym up at least once a week. I think the reason I was lagging behind in 2009, was that I was incarcerated 3 times (exacerbations and hospitalizations can really put a damper on things). That, plus I only completed 3 training cycles for the year, instead of the usual 4. One was for a full marathon ( Boston) and the other two for half marathons (ET midnight and San Rock&Roll). Those training cycles can really pile on the extra miles. Training for a full marathon for example, can easily add an additional 300 miles to the count.

I hate to admit it, but my lungs are finally starting to impact my ability to exercise and to walk long distances. It used to be that I would get 10-15 days of decent breathing in between flare-ups, even when I was training for marathons. Now it seems that every walk or gym workout that I do leaves me severely short of breath… sometimes for days. I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to keep this up.

Having said that, my goal for 2010 remains unchanged. I want to complete one more full marathon ( hopefully Boston) and Id also like to pass the 5,000 mile mark with my walking. After that, I’m definitely going to slow down.

And speaking of mileage; My legs, feet and lungs aren’t the only things that are suffering from wear and tear…. Check out my shoes!

In 2009, I went through 3 pairs of these Asics Hyperspeed 2s racing flats. Weighing only 158 grams (without the insoles) and with a low profile heel, they make excellent racewalking shoes. Unfortunately, since they’re made for speed and not distance, they wear out really fast. It’s also hard to find them now, since they’re not making them anymore.

[The Asics Hyperspeed 3 racing flat]

For 2010 I’m going to try out the replacement model (the Hyperspeed 3) They’re pretty much the same shoe, though the new ones don’t seem to cup my heel as well.

I can’t tell you how long Ive searched for a sleeveless jersey or jacket with pockets, that I could wear on cold days or long training walks and races without over-heating. As a marathon walker with major health issues, I also have to carry tons of stuff with me, but I hate wearing those bulky packs around my waste.

Well, I think I finally found the perfect solution. It’s called the “Thermal Velocity Vest” made by Specialized (the Bike people). This vest/jacket has pretty much everything I want in a cold weather training top. It has a large zippered pocket on the rear, and a sleek breast pocket on the front. But, what makes this vest special, is that it’s made of a breathable material to keep you cool, and at the same time , fits like a wet suit to keep your core body temp warm. And because it’s a vest, your arms can move freely, which is really important when you’re fitness walking or racewalking . I think it will work out nicely for training on those cold days or for walking a course like the Boston marathon, where the temperatures and winds can fluctuate so dramatically .

A little pricey as far as vests go, but I think worth it. If I’m breathing OK this morning, I’m gonna try it out.

For the past few months Ive been timing some my longer tempo walks (walking at race pace) and the results are pretty much what I feared…..I’m getting slower! In just 3 years Ive slowed almost 40 minutes in the half marathon distance. In 2006 for example, I PRd (personal record) the SF half marathon with a finish time of 2:52. Earlier this year in Rome, Italy it took me 3 hrs 28 minutes to cover the same exact distance. In both of these races, I was breathing well and felt that I was walking as fast as I could. So whats going on here?

Is it because I’m getting older? Am I not as physically fit? Is my lung function having an impact on my speed? Is it because I’m unable to racewalk as much?. Could it be the shoes Ive been wearing?
It’s probably all of the above, but it’s very discouraging because I’m training harder, but getting slower.

And if slowing down isn’t bad enough, my weight is way up. Ive gained 5 lbs in just 3 months. Today I weighed in at 151 lbs! That’s the most Ive weighed in 2 years. My normal weight is about 144lbs , so Ive really ballooned up. Gaining 5 or 6 pounds may not sound like a big deal, but for every pound I gain, it makes it that much harder for me to breath.

Unlike my slower walking speeds, I take full responsibility for the weight gain. Some of it is probably due to all the steroids, but the bulk of it is from all the sugar and fat Ive been eating lately. I’m definitely giving up the Hot Tamales and the Jelly Bellies!

The slow walking thing on the other hand, is going to be a tougher nut to crack. I think one of the things that’s contributing to my slowness , is that Ive lost the “race” mentality that I had when I first took up this sport. Ive become lazy on the course…. a casual leisure type walker if you will. After all, I’m not a runner and will never be fast enough to win a prize or take home a trophy, so there’s really no incentive for me to push myself hard…right? In fact the opposite is true. I do marathons because I love the challenge. I deliberately walk a little slower than I’m capable of, because subconsciously there’s always that fear ( and justifiably so), that if I push too hard, that I will burn my lungs out and not be able to finish the race at all. There’s a delicate balance I have to maintain of walking fast enough where I don’t bore myself to death, and not walking so fast that I throw myself into respiratory failure. It’s much more difficult than one would think. Let’s face it, walking or running 13 or 26 miles is difficult for everyone, even if you’re totally healthy. Ive just got to get a little bit of that competitive spirit back and not be so concerned about my breathing, but at the same time, not go crazy either. Just a little extra umphh on my part would probably make a heck of a difference in my finish times.

In addition to a mental tune -up, I’m also gonna start using my Garmin Forerunner again during my longer training walks. I think the instant feedback you get from these devices, forces you to keep your speed up.

It will be interesting to see how the slower and fatter me , does next weekend at the Rock&Roll half marathon.

In training for this race, I did (22) 5-mile tempo walks, (1) 8-mile LSD, (3) 10 milers ( two LSDs and one at race pace) and (1) 12 mile LSD. In total, I only spent 7 weeks preparing for this one (which is a record for me), and I didn’t do any gym workouts or cross training of any kind. All I did was walk. I hope it’s enough.

This is both an exciting and important race for me for several reasons. Firstly , because this will be the first half marathon Ive attempted in two years (excluding the 2008 ET midnight marathon which I never count) and I have no idea on how well I’m going to perform. Generally I can push myself a little harder during a half marathon, because I don’t have to worry about stretching my lung power out for 7 or 8 hours, like I would in a full marathon.

Secondly, though Ive heard a lot of good things about this race promoter, I’ve never actually done any of the Rock &Roll marathons. They’re supposed to have tons of live bands performing along the course. How cool is that?

Last but not least, a lot of my friends, from all over the country, including Ms Lizzy, will be doing this race. It’s always nice to have the support of your friends and fellow walker/runners at a fun event like this.

My goal for this race, as with every race I do, is simply to finish it… AND… without making myself sick. Because of my declining lung function I’m not going to able to racewalk very much, so I’m thinking that I’ll probably finish in the 3:15-3:30 range. Pretty slow I know, but considering everything, I think it’s respectable. Of course, if I finish faster, I’ll be bragging out it for sure.

So, everyone cross your fingers for me…..that my lungs behave for the next 13 days.

My motto for this race…

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By Blogsdna

]]> http://breathinstephen.com/rock-roll-training-complete/feed/ 14 http://breathinstephen.com/asthma-and-marathon-training-updates/ http://breathinstephen.com/asthma-and-marathon-training-updates/#comments Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:40:24 +0000 Stephen http://breathinstephen.com/?p=7507 It’s generally been a rough couple of months on the asthma front. This disease has been kicking my butt. Seems like Ive been sick more often than not. A couple weeks ago I started flaring again pretty severely, and as a result, had to up my prednisone to 50mg for a few days. The prednisone did it’s job this time and kept me out of the hospital, but weaning back down was really tough. I always have a difficult time tapering down below 25mg…. my peak flows bottom out and my symptoms come back with a vengeance. I probably wean too fast, but I know my body, and I would rather risk rebounding and breath crumby for a few days, then to stay on the higher doses and suffer the side effect of the prednisone itself.

A few weeks back I had a sleep study and echo-cardiogram done to see if they might shed some light on why I’ve been having such a difficult time with my breathing at night. I’m short of breath pretty much 24/7, but more recently , especially in the evenings and the middle of the night, I sometimes get these really bad bouts of breathlessness that leave me gasping. My lung docs thought that maybe my oxygen saturation was dropping at night or that I was having sleep apneas or maybe even congestive heart failure.
Anyways, I got the results of the sleep study back, and they were totally normal. The results of the echo came back abnormal, indicating some mild to moderate pulmonary hypertension. The other parameters on the echo were normal. Whether the elevated pulmonary artery pressures could be causing my nocturnal dyspnea is still unclear. I have a follow pulmonary visit at the end of the month to see what we’re going to do next. Meanwhile, Ive propped up the head of my bed a few inches, and it seems to have helped a little.

As far as my walking goes, it’s been a challenging and somewhat abbreviated training cycle. I normally like to spend 10-12 weeks training for a half marathon , but it’s been difficult this time because of the all these mini flare-ups Ive been having. It’s just plain difficult to exercise and get motivated when you’re feeling crumby and can’t breath. So far, Ive only spent about one month training for this upcoming race, and as of today I only have 3 weeks left to get prepared. This weekend I’m doing a 12 mile LSD walk, ( the longest walk Ive done since Boston) followed by a 10 mile taper walk the following week. Doing these long slow walks are a critical part of my marathon training ,because they help build and increase my endurance levels. Without them, there’s no way Id be able complete a race greater than 5 miles. The problem of course, is that these longer walks can sometimes aggravate my breathing. The classic asthma catch 22.

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• 
  Sleep Study
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By Blogsdna

]]> http://breathinstephen.com/asthma-and-marathon-training-updates/feed/ 5 http://breathinstephen.com/happy-to-be-training-again/ http://breathinstephen.com/happy-to-be-training-again/#comments Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:18:29 +0000 Stephen http://breathinstephen.com/?p=6809 I’M TRAINING FOR A MARATHON ….well actually a half marathon, but it’s so nice to hear those words again. Hard to believe it’s been almost 5 months since Ive done any serious distance walking . To be honest with you, since the Boston marathon back in April, I’ve been in such a rut with all my breathing problems, I wasn’t really sure if Id ever be able to do another race. The fact is, my lung function has declined to an all time low and my endurance level totally sucks . But setting aside my physical limitations and the training obstacles I’ll probably face, mentally, I feel more than ready to take on the challenge of a half marathon again.

For the next 5 weekends , if breathing well enough, I’ll be doing a series of long slow training walks beginning with an 8 miler this Saturday and culminating with a 12 miler sometime towards the end of Sept. In between the LSDs, I’m gonna try to increase the number of 5- mile baseline walks I do to 4 times a week. I hope to also do at least one 10 mile tempo walk sometime before the race. The race itself, happens on Oct 4th at the San Jose Rock&Roll half marathon

Theres no doubt that my disease is catching up with me, as I’m finding it harder and harder to maintain a non-racewalking pace any faster than 15 min/mile over the longer distances, but as long as there are walker friendly events out there that have at least a 3.5 hour time limit for the half marathon and 7.5 for the full marathon, you can pretty much bet I’ll be there doing what I do.

(This is what walking 4,000 miles will do to your leg muscles!)

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]]> http://breathinstephen.com/happy-to-be-training-again/feed/ 2 http://breathinstephen.com/the-make-or-break-walk-happens-today/ http://breathinstephen.com/the-make-or-break-walk-happens-today/#comments Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:02:40 +0000 Stephen http://breathinstephen.com/?p=3121 I’m referring of course to the most dreaded of all training walks( or runs)…The dreaded 20 Miler! Basically the marathon before the marathon. You marathon walkers and runners know what Im talking about. It’s all about conditioning yourself for the long haul. A one last practice run before the big event if you will.

This is usually a pretty brutal walk for me, even when I’m breathing well . And with less than 3 weeks until the marathon, I’m kinda pushing my luck ( and my lungs), but it has to be done or I don’t stand a chance of finishing the most important race of my life. The fact is, if I don’t put in these 20 miles today , there’s absolutely no way I’ll be able to put in 26.2 miles 20 days from now at the Boston marathon.

The biggest trick of course, will be to pull this training walk off without getting really sick afterward. For sure I’ll be flaring up like crazy tonight. That’s a given and I’m prepared for it. I even have a follow up appt with my Pulmonologist tomorrow just in case things get ugly. Hopefully it wont be a big deal and I’ll be able to do the rest of my taper, which includes a 10 miler next week , followed by an eight miler a week before the race. Worse case scenario, if I get sick from todays walk, I’ll still have a 2 week cushion to recover, and if I do get sick , at least I will have completed 90% of my training.

As strange as it sounds, I take comfort from the experience I had with my first Portland marathon in 2006. Back then, I had just completed the bulk of my long training walks ( which took 9 full months) , when just 3 weeks from the marathon, I ended up in the hospital for a week! Nevertheless, I still managed to recover enough to do the marathon. Albeit, a very slow and painful marathon ( 8:50 ) … but I finished.
Now I would hate to do another marathon under those circumstances, but the experience does afford me the confidence to go on with todays walk. God I hate this freakin disease..

I’ll let you know how it goes.

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  Taper time
• 
  Bouncing Back from Hell
• 
  A sweet 12 miler

By Blogsdna

]]> http://breathinstephen.com/the-make-or-break-walk-happens-today/feed/ 1 http://breathinstephen.com/getting-down-to-the-wire/ http://breathinstephen.com/getting-down-to-the-wire/#comments Mon, 09 Mar 2009 01:51:01 +0000 Stephen http://breathinstephen.com/?p=2979 One week from tomorrow, I’m supposed to be on a plane heading to Italy, but as luck would have it, looks like my lungs might have the final say as to whether that actually happens. As is usually the case when it comes to me and marathons or travel…. it’s gonna get down to the wire.

I started flaring- up about 2 weeks ago and haven’t really recovered since…at least not to my baseline. That, plus the inability to train the way I should be for this marathon , has put somewhat of a damper on my enthusiasm for this long awaited trip. Hopefully, I’ll turn the corner in the next few days and everything will seem exciting again. I would hate to have to cancel the reservations with my Italian hosts on such short notice.

In the meantime, I’m just gonna start packing and get things in order for the trip as if everything was normal. Man, you wouldn’t believe the planning that goes into a trip like this when you have serious health issues… especially when you travel alone. With just one suit case and one carry on to work with , I have to transport two separate stashes of medications, plus two separate nebulizer machines ( in case get my luggage gets lost, like it did last time). I also have to have multiple contingency plans in place, in case I get sick over there and need hospital care. I basically have to have a back up plan for everything I do when I travel. Not only costly, but a huge pain in the ass.

We’ll see how this all plays out by next weekend.

Oh..Almost forgot….as you can see , the old blog is getting a make-over. Should be finished in a couple days.

You might like these posts as well:

• 
  Off to the Eternal city
• 
  The Make or Break walk happens today.
• 
  Half way back

By Blogsdna

]]> http://breathinstephen.com/getting-down-to-the-wire/feed/ 2 http://breathinstephen.com/training-schedule/ http://breathinstephen.com/training-schedule/#comments Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:22:15 +0000 Stephen http://breathinstephen.com/?p=2792 To give folks an idea of just how much walking I do to prepare for a single 26.2 mile event, I thought I’d post the actual training schedule I’m following for the upcoming Boston marathon.

Because I’m semi- training pretty much continuously throughout the year, I usually stop at the 14th week mark on this schedule (and also because my lungs can’t handle multiple 20 mile walks.) Currently , I’m at week 12 and will do weeks #11 and #12 when I return from Italy. As you can see, the key to building endurance , is by gradually increasing the distance walked every week and then maintaining it with alternating shorter distances. If you were to complete this 18 week training schedule as written, you will have walked 415 miles!

This particular example is probably more suitable for advanced walkers who have a lot of time on their hands and a couple races under their belts, but there are beginner and intermittent level training schedules out there as well…. for both full and half marathons.
There are also organizations that will train you to walk or run a marathon in exchange for fund raising…“Team in Training” comes to mind (what I call the purple people)!

Happy Training !

You might like these posts as well:

• 
  Gotta whole lot a walking to do
• 
  First 14 of '08
• 
  New Goals --- New Training Schedule

By Blogsdna

]]> http://breathinstephen.com/training-schedule/feed/ 0 http://breathinstephen.com/mike-mc-bride/ http://breathinstephen.com/mike-mc-bride/#comments Sun, 22 Feb 2009 23:05:17 +0000 Stephen http://breathinstephen.com/?p=2628 Think I have it bad? Meet my friend and fellow lung challenged athlete….Mike McBride.

Michael has really bad emphysema and has to be connected to supplemental oxygen 24 hours a day just to stay alive. He actually has a tiny hole in his neck , which allows the oxygen to be delivered directly to his lungs (what they call ” Transtracheal Oxygen ).

Well, despite the bad hand he was dealt in life, Michael competes in marathons and climbs Skyscrapers for fun ! (and for charity). What’s even more amazing, is that he has to to pull a 100lb cart behind him which holds his oxygen tanks. When he does a race he goes through so much oxygen (17 lpm), that he has to have people positioned along the course to help change out all the empty tanks …. A logistical marvel in itself.

On April 20th, 2009, Mike will be the very first person with severe emphysema ever granted a disability slot to compete in the Boston marathon, and I will be the first severe asthmatic to do the same.

Mike’s been a tremendous inspiration for me and many many others, sick or healthy. If it wasn’t for Mike, I don’t think I would have pursued Boston the way I did. When I first applied I didn’t think I stood a chance of getting in. It wasn’t until Mike broke the news about his own success in being accepted, that I suddenly felt a new sense of enthusiasm for what seemed so out of reach before.

Wouldn’t it be something if we pull this off !

PS……Mike did a stair climb today. 54 stories in 28 minutes! Hauling his oxygen and all. Absolutely amazing.

You might like these posts as well:

• 
  I am humbled ..........again
• 
  Mikes Story
• 
  In good company

By Blogsdna

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