For reference, here’s last week’s data. Curious what this post is about? I’m tracking my training progress for the New York Marathon. Click here for why.

Summary

And just like that, I go from a “long shot” to a likely “no shot” on the NYC Marathon. Read on for why.

Subjective Data

I took longer than expected to recover from last Sunday’s run – the bottom and sides of my foot continues to be sore from the tendonitis. I decided not to run all week except for my long-run (target of 15-18 miles) on Saturday. I substituted some swimming and spinning instead, coupled with rest for my right foot. My weight training was good but also relaxed. I thought I was actually doing a good job of trying to recover.

Alas, on Saturday’s run, the pain started on mile 2, and by mile 7, with sharp pain shooting through my entire right leg every time I stepped, it was apparent I was seriously hurting myself by running further. I spent the rest of Saturday with my leg getting progressively sorer and even had to wear crutches on Saturday and Sunday before my leg could bear weight again. As I write this, I’m back to wearing a restraining boot on my foot and being on an ibuprofen diet. I’m not sure, but I think that’s a bad sign.

Objective Data

Click here for a PDF version of my dashboard.

Assessment

Time to be honest with myself: The marathon has gone from a long-shot to a “likely” no-shot.

Why do I use the word “likely”? Well…

Plan

Thanks to all of you and Team Continuum, I have the option of declaring my intention to withdraw and get a guaranteed spot in next year’s marathon. If I do elect that option, I will train for and attempt this again next year (without the fundraising again).

The deal is (a) if I meet my minimum funding commitment (which thanks to y’all we blew that target out of the water), and (b) I declare my intention to withdraw by either October 19^th or October 24^th (I’m still in discussions on this), then I get a spot next year. In the interest of laziness, specifically not making a decision before I need to, I’m not going to withdraw until the latest moment I can.

So between now and then I’m not going to run at all in the hope that 4 weeks of rest will work wonders. I’m not hopeful, and I’d love your thoughts on what to do. Please add comments or e-mail me between now and October 19^th, and I’ll make my decision then.

So, complete change in plan, while I await the October 19^th (or 24^th) deadline:

1. Stop running. Period. End of sentence.
2. Re-start swimming this week assuming my leg has trouble bearing weight. If my leg feels 100% better, I’ll consider spinning at the end of the week (I know that biking doesn’t aggravate the injury given that I was able to do 180 miles on my leg with no pain).
3. Keep weight training on the same plan for now, but I’ll be mixing that up soon (I’ll figure that out next week).
4. My weight gain plans were successful, almost too successful, so I’m cutting back now. I went from 152 (my low) to 163-165 (relative high today), so I plan to cut back down to around 156-157 pounds, and then add weight again. I’m starting to track calories closely again, and hope to get back to around 156 within 5 weeks, which happens to be the week of the 6-Pack Charity Challenge
   J
5. Keep smiling because, well, what else can I do.

Presentation Notes

No changes to data presentation this week. As with last week, data is presented in SOAP Note format.

– Art

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