It Started as Stress Relief – Verna

I am a medical technologist and have been working in the Chemistry Lab at Newton-Wellesley Hospital since 1984. Why I started running is a bit of an unusual story. In 1994 and 1995, I was unsuccessfully treated for numbness in my right hand through physical therapy. My fingers, my hand and right forearm would be numb and full of pins and needles when I awoke after a night’s sleep. It would also happen during work and when I was eating or any activity that required bending my elbow. I was discouraged and began to think that I would never get better.

My primary care physician referred me to Dr. Joanne Borg-Stein, MD, sports physician at Newton-Wellesley. I remember clearly what she said to me that day in May 1996 after she examined me, “For God’s sake will you get yourself to a gym!" Now one might be puzzled at this but she was right on. My pinched Ulna -radius nerve was caused by a posture position I would assume when I was too busy or in other terms stressed out. I needed exercise to relieve the stress of everyday living to prevent the posture I assumed when life was hectic (which was pretty much all the time).

I wanted to be a compliant patient but loathed exercising indoors and didn't want to fit the time constraints of gym hours or pay the gym fees. I had two small children, my job at Newton-Wellesley, a home and a husband to care for. Running became the answer because it could be done in my neighborhood, in short time periods and when I could fit it in (5:30 am). I started alternating running and walking between telephone poles. I began to look forward to the meditative state running afforded. My distances lengthened and after a couple of months the numbness in my fingers and forearm went away! (I also had weekly physical therapy sessions and Terri was tremendous in helping me realize it was indeed poor posture that caused the pinch nerve). I was hooked on running both for my mental and physical well-being.

My first race was the 1998 Newton Heartbreak Hill International Youth race. It was one mile long up and down Heartbreak Hill. It was a hot April day and I thought I would faint, but my pride and sense of accomplishment was so satisfying. I am so excited to have this opportunity to train for the 112th Boston Marathon, which will take place five days before my 51st birthday and eight years after I began running for stress relief.

Coming Back – Heidi

It is the end of school vacation week and my family is back in Massachusetts after a few warm and humid days in Southern Florida. We are all feeling better from the winter cold bug(s) that were aggravating us before we left and I’m starting to log some miles after a week without running.

It is tempting to try to catch up in my training as quickly as possible, but that is probably not the wisest choice. After running no more than four plus miles for a week, I was tempted to do an 18-mile long run that I had missed last weekend. It is in situations like these that I am thankful for the advice and sanity that my husband provides. He was quick to point out that 18 miles was almost a marathon and I’d just be apt to hurt myself. I did survive a 13-mile long run this weekend while my son was enjoying an outing with his grandfather. It was encouraging to be able to complete that distance but I was certainly pleased that I didn’t have to go any further!

We celebrated my father’s 74th birthday with a dinner out last night and my mom wanted to know how my training was going. I told her about taking time off and not really knowing how the disruption of the schedule would affect me in the end. Always the optimist, she reminded me that I had run consistently for years now and that had to be in my favor. I hope that she is right!

It has been interesting that my experience this year has seemed quite a bit different from last year. I think as a “first timer” I had a little more energy for the training and was more willing to arrange the few flexible parts of my day around my training needs. The novelty has worn off a bit for my family and me so this year the training seems to be taking a back seat to the rest of life. If only there were more hours in the day! At the same time, it feels great to have my energy back and I continue to enjoy having those times on the road to clear my head and unwind as I pound out a few miles on the pavement

A 30+ Mile Week is Good, Right? – John

So I end this week up over 30 miles. I was a little annoyed and feeling sorry for myself for a few reasons. First, for this week’s long run, Jimmy decided to run with our friends Mike and Paul. Both of them are too fast for me, and beyond five miles or so, for Jimmy also. I’m not sure what he was thinking. Secondly, I was disappointed with my level of fitness and my speed.

Despite that, I had a great run today. The weather was nice and I was by myself. With three kids and a job in a sales organization, three hours of “alone time” can be golden. I enjoyed the run and the ability to be alone with my thoughts. It reminded me that not too long ago, at the end of last year, I almost thought I would be hanging up my marathon shoes for good. The serenity of running by myself came to me. I was pretty tired for the rest of the day since I have not run this long since last year’s Boston Marathon. I did not clock the mileage, but went by time and estimate about 15 miles.

After running, I did have enough “gas in the tank” to watch my three kids while the older two had friends over. My wife went out for the afternoon (mommies who don’t run need alone time too). My daughter and I baked a cake together, and she and my younger son’s friend (they also play together) decorated it after I iced it. I realized that before my gastric bypass, I would have been this (or more tired) just from hanging around. I would not have even been able to bend over to put the cake in the oven.

So writing this blog helped me come to a few conclusions tonight. Maybe I won’t run my PR this year at Boston. Maybe I won’t even finish. Just being able to line up in that corral this April is more than I would have imagined seven or so years ago. However, being able to live, laugh and bake a cake with your five-year-old daughter is a better thing than a 30+ mile week. I think I’ll take both and smile.

No Beginner’s Luck this Year – Heidi

This past week was certainly not the week I had hoped for and the running schedule on my calendar is not at all what occurred. Last year I commented numerous times on how lucky Martha and I were in many aspects of our first marathon experience. For example: neither of us got injured; last year’s winter was relatively mild for our training; no one was put out of commission by a flu bug right before the marathon. I think this week is trying to tell me that my luck may have run out a bit!

After writing last week’s blog, I went to bed early Sunday night in hopes of being back to normal for work on Monday morning. My husband and I had theatre tickets that evening but fortunately my in-laws were able to use them. I may have already been asleep by the time the show actually began. I got up Monday morning and made it in to work but quickly realized I was not going to make it through a typical busy day in the office. My great staff moved my patients to other days and I went back home to bed. I survived the rest of the work week including staying at the Hospital for call on Tuesday night, but any down time was spent with family activities and resting – not running. Instead of logging more miles than ever, I spent more time in my bed than I have in many years. Instead of interesting flavors of Gatorade bottles in my recycling bin this week, the plastic bottle that had held an unnatural colored liquid was for Nyquil.

I felt a lot better on Friday and the afternoon was sunny with a feel of spring in the air. I had half an hour to kill while my son was at his weekly evening piano lesson so I figured I would see how it felt to run. I felt like a little old lady for the first few minutes but then got a second wind and actually felt really strong running up some hills. I was slowing down again towards the end of the three plus mile route near the All Newton Music School. I think the running brought on a new round of coughing that night and I awoke on Saturday feeling not so great again. We had a busy day of activities with my son so it was easy to pass on any running for me despite the planned 18-mile training run on the calendar.

My husband has had a grueling spell at work recently but found out he wouldn’t have to travel for work over school vacation. With this news, he was able to find some affordable flights to and from Miami during part of February school vacation week. I was still coughing up a storm on our way to the airport Sunday morning but was so excited to be departing for somewhere warm and sunny and had a relaxing quick trip to D.C. where I enjoyed resting with a good book. Unfortunately, when we went to take our connecting flight to Miami we found that the plane hadn’t even left the airport. After an over three and a half hour delay, we finally got on our flight and arrived in Florida to be greeted with a torrential downpour of rain. At least the humid air felt soothing to my sore throat and dry cough.

The Best Laid Plans of Rodents or Runners - John

This week, the classic poem from ninth grade “To a Mouse” comes to mind: “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men Gang aft agley”.

I was intending to run three to four days this week plus a long run over the weekend with my friend Jimmy. However, I woke up Monday morning quite sore and tired from the half marathon of the weekend. I was quite discouraged until I recalled that I sometimes needed two days off after long runs when the distance spanned into the teens.

So, Monday and Tuesday were a wash. I woke up Wednesday ready to go. However, the weather was quite difficult. I have found after my gastric bypass the worst weather for me is cold rain (around 30ish degrees). My discouragement mounted, as I recalled how the cold rain really wrecked me last year at the Boston Marathon, and it really took close to 12 weeks to recover fully from that ordeal. As the weather worsened all day, my mood soured and was topped off with needing to attend the wake of my friend and occasional running partner, Jimmy’s father-in-law. I just crossed Wednesday off.

I woke up Thursday quite fresh and with a better attitude. The weather was excellent, and I decided to give myself a Valentine present. I laced up my shoes, gathered my iPod, and headed out for a relaxed 10-mile run. Friday ended up nice as well, so I took Molly out on our regular route.

Jimmy called me and was ready to take a longer run. I was hoping I could talk him into 14 on Sunday, but we settled for 10 on Saturday. On Sunday, he was using his car to pace our friend Mike for his 13-mile run. Mike is also running Boston; however, our training plans and speed are too diverse to train together.

Although I did not stick to the plan, I was able to get a decent amount of mileage “in the bank.” This week’s experience is making me consider the possibility of adding a mid -week 10 miler every other week for the rest of this month.

Medical Advice - Sheila Partridge, MD, Medical Director, Center for Weight Loss Surgery

I think John Tiso's advice is excellent. One should experiment with products and find out what works well during the training process. "Carbo loading" will only lead to dumping for a gastric bypass patient or fatigue shortly thereafter. The real focus should be on remaining hydrated with electrolyte replacement and paying attention to the post-race recovery meal to replete energy stores. At the Newton-Wellesley Hospital Center for Weight Loss Surgery, we have a registered dietitian, Sue Miller, who is both a runner herself and a dietitian for gastric bypass surgery patients. She can provide helpful advice for gastric bypass patients training for marathons.

Half at the Hamptons - John

Yesterday, I ran the inaugural running of the “Half at the Hamptons” half marathon in Hampton Beach, NH. I was using it as a training run. This was the longest distance I have run since last year’s Boston Marathon. I ran it slightly slower than MP (marathon pace), but I ran it at a regular and even pace. I ran a few of the miles with a lady who lives around the block from me who I met through the Tuesday Night Good Times series (www.goodtimesrun.com). She asked me how Molly was, since she sees me running with her all the time. It was her brother’s first half.

Other than that, I was able to get four days of running in last week. In my last post, I mentioned that my wife had school so I took my long run on Saturday instead of Sunday. On Sunday, I woke up feeling fresh, so I did a little speed work in my driveway while the kids played outside. We then went over to volunteer at a race (www.super5k.com) and we did finish line water.

I’m looking forward to a good week this week and getting out running at least three days, aside from a long one. I am a little sore from yesterday, but I feel like I am heading in the right direction.