gokennergo.com

Well, everyone, here we go! In just over two hours the gun will sound. I'm nervous, hoping I'm ready, going through all of my routines and rituals, but ultimately it just comes down to starting and, after 26.2 miles, stopping. I will let you know how it goes.....

p.s. If you are interested in tracking my progress online this morning, CLICK HERE. You'll need to have my bib number, and here it is:

posted by Kenner Estes at 5:56 AM

Okay, seriously, I think that everyone actually expects me to run the marathon this Sunday.

So I guess I will. I am getting kind of nervous. I have been getting a lot of encouraging words from people around me, though, and that is making a big difference.

This morning was just a 20-minute run, which is actually a lot easier than a 20-mile run, for anyone who is confused. I am out of the tape for my knees but am swinging by my PT's office at lunch today to pick up some more.

Well, folks, I guess that's it. I'm psyched up and ready to go. I'm looking forward to getting on with it! I will post here afterwards to let you all know how it went. Until then.... wish me luck!

Thanks,
Kenner
posted by Kenner Estes at 11:31 AM

So okay, we're getting really close now. 1 week and 2 days before the marathon! Here's what I have to report:

We are into the tapering phase now, so I ran 50 minutes earlier in the week but this morning was only 40 minutes. Friday is just a 6-mile jogfest. Then, next week, it's just smaller and smaller until..... there's this one 26.2 mile run on that Sunday.

Man, I feel so out of shape, I'm sort of irrationally worried. They told us that we should feel almost out of shape by the time the marathon gets here, but I think that maybe I'm jumping the gun a little bit on that. The 10-miler last Saturday turned out to be no problem, the only thing was that I did have a recurrence of IT pain -- in my left leg. For those who are just joining us, my left IT band hurt, like, MONTHS ago, but has since been fine while my right IT band has become the real problem. Anyway, it felt like old times on Saturday, as I had no pain in my right IT band and only the pain in my left. I didn't feel any pain in my left hamstring but in subsequent days it did seem to twinge a little bit. I have decided to tape both of my legs from now on to see if that helps the left IT pain the way that it has helped the right. So far, so good. I taped both for the 40 minute (just over 4 miles, yay to running less than a 10-minute mile!) run this morning and didn't have any pain. Now it's just this pesky cough. Ah well, how much fun would it be if it were all just really easy? I guess I'll never know.

One thing that is fun to report is that for the 10-miler I ended up speeding up a bit at the end to stay with a couple of members in my group who also decided to finish a little more strongly. We normally try to run a 10:15 mile the whole time, but our last two miles were 9:40 and 8:45, respectively. I felt like I had plenty left at the end, so maybe I'm not as bad off as I think.

Anyway, further up and further in! Not long now....

-K
posted by Kenner Estes at 11:26 AM

Hey there everyone. Well, a physician friend of mine who checks this log actually sent me a really great e-mail offering information and support. I think maybe he's hit on the cause of my coughing here:

"My personal favorite possible explanation is that you have H.A.P.E.,
also known as High Altitude Pulmonary Edema. This, however, is only
possible if you live on the 1400th floor. Treatment: go down."

So, now I'm well on the road to recovery. Actually, I did end up going for a 5-mile run on the 25th, and it went okay. I did cough some at the end and definitely more throughout the morning, but all in all it wasn't as bad as I had imagined that it would be. My friend actually sent me some more information today that actually suggests that this sort of problem (i.e. a possible upper respiratory infection) is not that uncommon with extreme athletic training. And, incidentally, my cough has not been as bad today, as it has been in the last week and a half, so I'm hopefully on the upswing.

Anyway, we have a 10-mile run tomorrow, so I'll let you know how that goes. Take care all, and have a great weekend.

-K
posted by Kenner Estes at 5:36 PM

STILL coughing, would you believe it.

I'm actually kind of nervous now, because it has totally hamstrung (hamstringed?) my training effort. I got some antibiotics from my doctor and have taken them all -- it's a five-day treatment that is supposed to stay in your system and keep working for 10 days. All I know is that I'm still coughing. It's not all the time, and sometimes I even forget about it, but then, out of nowhere, *COUGH*. It's in my chest.

Last night I walked up the 12 flights of stairs to my Discrete Math Class, and I coughed about once per minute throughout the entire class.

I just don't know what to do. I missed the 20-miler, as I knew that I would, but now I haven't been running for over a week!

My girlfriend suggested asthma (she developed asthma in her mid-twenties), but I'm not having any difficulty getting oxygen, and I can take deep, full breaths with no problem. Of course, I'm not a doctor, but that seems like maybe it's not asthma then...?

Anyway, I'll keep you all posted.

K
posted by Kenner Estes at 1:49 PM

So I'm just not content with the physical pains associated with running. I was beginning to feel that I had exhausted my options when it comes to whining about my different leg problems. I needed something new. Well, friends, I have found what I was looking for: a cough. Yes, something as simple as a cough is my new whiny focal point.

I have had a cough for the last 5-6 days, that feeling like I have a lump in my chest, sort of moving into the base of my throat, and a recurring need to cough. The cough is not very productive. It has made it impossible for me to run, which means that I am really sweating now that we are getting so close to the marathon. I called my doctor today and am waiting to hear back about making an appointment. I only waited this long because I just kept thinking that I would kick it on my own, but that's clearly not happening.

Anyway, I'm nervous that it's going to be bronchitis or something like that. I'll let you know when I know more.

-K
posted by Kenner Estes at 10:02 AM

What?? A log update!!? Can it be?

Yes, indeedy.

My apologies to those of you who diligently check, only to be disappointed time and time again when you find that I STILL have not updated this log. I'm sure that your numbers are legion. Things have just been so crazy.

I have my first class tonight in my Master's program. Actually, I can only claim conditional status right now because the classes I'm taking are all pre-requisites. I won't technically be "degree-seeking" until halfway through next year. Tonight's class is "Java for Programmers", which I will have every Thursday until Thanksgiving. This coming Monday is my other class, which is called "Foundations of Computer Science I" but is really just a Discrete Math class.

Hey, hey -- this is a training log, not a life log. So back to the training. Sorry for the digression.

So everything has been going okay, I didn't register for and run the half last weekend. Instead I just ran about 13.2 miles on my own. It was pretty freaking hard, I don't recommend trying to do it by yourself. It's much easier with a group. I got one of those triathlon fuel belts, and that worked out pretty well. I had gatorade on one side and water on the other. I also got some of those "buffet" shorts, the ones that have pouches all the way around for gels, etc. I did my regular path running from my apt. to North Avenue, then on North from North Park to Sedgwick, then on Sedgwick from North to Clark, then I stayed on Clark all the way up to Thome, which is just a block or two north of Granville. Then I turned around and retraced my steps, and voila! 13.2 miles. I believe that I completed it in about 2:40. I taped my knee and my IT band did not hurt at all. Interesting, though, is that I am feeling some discomfort in my leg, but it's actually below my IT band, like down on the side of my calf. I pointed it out to my PT on Tuesday, and she said that it seems to be some calf + tendon. She worked it a little bit and slapped an iontophoresis patch on it.

Today for my run I decided not to tape, just to see how it went. I was only doing about 5 miles, so I figured that it wouldn't be a big deal. SO.... did my left hamstring hurt? No! Did my right IT band hurt? No!! BUT. Yes, friends, "BUT". There is always a "BUT". I have given up hope of ever just feeling good about running. My normal pains were mercifully absent, but that new discomfort, the one in my calf/tendon/whatever, that was much more intense today. It feels okay now, as I'm sitting here typing, but it was a definite factor during my run. I was really sort of just hobbling along. So, this is the last time that I am going to run without taping. Hopefully that same taping job will help keep this problem (whatever it is) in check.

I also recently realized that I am actually going to be out of town for the group 20-miler, which is pretty majorly crappy. I will definitely try to get some people to do a 20-miler with me some other time around then because I really don't think that I can do it by myself.

Anyway, not long now........

Until next time,
-K
posted by Kenner Estes at 10:23 AM