Saturday, October 06, 2007

The Marathon

The Chicago marathon is on schedule for tomorrow (Sunday, Oct 7) and if today (Saturday, Oct 6) is any indication and the forecasts prove true for tomorrow, it's probably a good thing I'm not running that thing.

It's hot and humid this first full weekend of October and while I at times welcomed the heat and humidity on my training runs as "character building" and an aid to physical and overall mental toughness, I can't think of a more difficult 26.2 mile race than one in hot weather. Last year the marathon was held on a blustery chilly Sunday with highs around the mid-30s and, while it was a bit tough on spectators, I felt fine on the course and finished without a hitch. I'll watch this year, and considering my setback in early August, it's truly a gift to be able to walk and watch the other runners.

I finished my first full week of work this past week and it went fine. My peers and I even managed to squeak out a news scoop on Friday, so the boss and we were happy and we ended the week in an upbeat mood. It's great to get my mind on something other than my poor little bumps and bruises.

Also, I finished my second full week of cardio rehab and that's going good too. My favorite cardio girl, she's my favorite because she told me early on that she'd have me running soon, got me off the treadmill "you walk all the time anyway" and put me on an elipitical trainer. I was feeling good so I kept upping the resistance level but she hollered at me to back it down so I guess that means my heart rate was getting up a little higher than she liked.

I managed to get in a light sweat in my 40 minute session and although I know my mind is geared to harder effort, I also know I need to ease back into the training world...so I'm trying to be patient. A major concern of hers is my nine inch incision through my breast bone. The sternum needs to completely fuse or heal and I'm looking at early November as roughly the time frame that I might be able to get into a little light running, weights, yoga and pilates.

I miss the running and gym atmosphere and the people that I'm around when I'm working out.

It's lonely being a couch potato with no one around to bitch too. I keep reminding myself how lucky I am to be alive and that helps me get through each day. I also know that a lot of other people have some really tough serious problems to overcome and my healing heart goes out to them.

2 comments:

WendyCity Productions said...

I'll look for you at the CES tent tomorrow! Let's run this together next year, okay?

Soapin' Cindy said...

Hey Sam! I've missed you! Boy--I'm glad our marathon was last weekend! YIKES. It was a steamy one today. I missed my goal at Akron, due to a weakness for Mexican, but I'll get my Road Runner bird next time. Glad to hear that the cario rehab is coming along. Keep truckin.