Wait a minute…….. what the heck happened to weeks 1-7?

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!

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5 thoughts on “Training update– weeks 8 & 9

  1. Kerri says:

    Thanks for the training update, I was wondering how things were progressing!

    Also, your city is flipping gorgeous and I can't wait to see it for myself next year :).

    Love and hugs, Epic Steve! 🙂

  2. Tracy says:

    "Easy Does It" (as they say in AA). "Slow but sure wins the race" (A lesson from the tortoise and the hare). "If it works – Don't fix it !" (I've got a million of these "Slogan's" that I could Espouse). Just be careful with the intensive training fella – Don't get yourself put back in the "Pokie". This year you've already seen enough hospitalization to last you through till your birthday (in September if I recall correctly). So Take care. Use your head, stick with the LSD concept (it sounds like the right program for you) and most of all – take some time to relax in between walks – Pet the Kitty – Sit in your Cozy chair and tell yourself "Breathe Easy" The power of positive thinking and all that Rubbish…Cheerio Mate

  3. Cris says:

    You're amazing stephin. Crazy, but always amazing.

  4. Susannah says:

    Hmmm, somebody is making me feel really guilty for not having swum for like, two days!

  5. Danielle says:

    Fun, you say?! Keep up the great work, I can't believe you're doing it but I love it! There will be a similar post coming up on my blog, perhaps after I successfully complete my 10 km.

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