A SAD DAY

HONOLULU MARATHON

2014

Yes, it is a very sad day.  With the on-going input of the doc I'm seeing, I've officially called the IT band injury I suffered October 5 fatal to my running the Honolulu Marathon December 14.

I decided I wanted to run one marathon in my life and chose 2014 to be the year to accomplish the goal.  In making the decision, I made a list of all potentialities.  That included injuring during training.  I then put that list away.  Far away.  As I progressed successfully through the training, the goal became more real.  It also became clear to me that this would certainly be my only marathon.  The training is difficult and requires a long-term and continual commitment.  My training schedule was 30 weeks.  Part of my motivation became knowing this was the only time I'd be making this type of commitment, and that it would be done December 14.  Until.....

The IT band injury occurred in week 20 of training.  For several weeks, the doc I'm working with gave me hope that with a reasonable recovery time, I could retain enough conditioning to jump back in to my training schedule and still run the marathon.  6 weeks have passed without recovery, and I've made the necessary decision. 

The angst of the past 6 weeks relative to this goal has been considerable.  The certainty of this being my only marathon was based on actually doing it.  Now faced with the immutability of not meeting the goal this year,  the question arose whether this was in fact the 2014 goal it had become in my mind, or a Life Goal of running a marathon.  If so, that now means another significant commitment to training. Do I want to do that?   Does the goal need to become "attempt" a marathon?  If so, where do I draw the line for attempts?  This one was it and be done with it?  One more?  Two more? Until I succeed?  Oh, my.

The physical weaknesses I have that caused the injury are the same as anyone who suffers the injury:  weak hips, pelvic instability, weak gluteus medius.  These weaknesses have been chronic for my lifetime, causing a habitual case of moderate knock-kneed-ness, which further exacerbates the stress on the IT band.  The doc's visual for this was as if he was wringing out a wash cloth.  He has assured me that if I don't make the weaknesses strong, a repeat of injury in further marathon attempts is inevitable.

When I made the decision to forego this year's Honolulu Marathon, I also decided to let the whole marathon idea rest for awhile.  I'm committed to continuing the strengthening program under the direction of the doc.   At the point my weakness is deemed strength, I'll revisit "Run One Marathon" as a Life Goal.  Now that the marathon focus is relieved, the doc has offered a more holistic reason for this type of strengthening.  At our last appointment, he made the point that strong hips are vital to help prevent falling, a consideration that looms larger with age. Much as I hate to admit my inexorable progress in that direction!

On a happier note, Ron and I don't think we'll have any problem finding something to do for the extra day we now have on Oahu....

"Acceptance doesn't mean resignation; it means understanding that something is what it is and that there's got to be a way through it."

         ---Michael J. Fox