RunThe5 - New York Marathon 2008 Training Guide

Patella tracking disorder - the long road ahead starts at 4 miles

admin — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:21:00 +0000

So, after a long four month period on the side lines I finally made my way back onto the tread mill. It is hard to believe I had my MRI back in April, but as they say “time flies”. What is apparent a day after the event is any muscle memory that I built up in my legs has been long forgotten. At the gym, I focused on stablizing the patella, specifically working the quadriceps to build up a bit of strenth around the kneecap, but for now results are TBD!

The other area that I need to focus on in the up and coming months is stretching. Not sure about the rest of you, but I have struggled my entire life with flexibility. Something I will focus on in the next few months is creating a stretching routine that will hopefully take some further strain off the kneecaps.

At this point 10 weeks to train for the marathon would be madness, so the aim at this point is to make the NYRR Half-Marathon Grand Prix in Queens. Fingers crossed

New York Marathon - Entry Confirmation!

admin — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:03:04 +0000

It is official! I got my guaranteed spot in the 2008 NY Marathon! Problem is, I probably won’t recover from my knee injury in time to run it. I don’t know, it is touch and go. I can barely do a mile right now without suffering pain in the right knee. It is so frustrating, because I want to start training so badly, but it is impossible right now.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that the leg strengthening work I am doing, glutens and quads, will at least give me the strength to carry the distance. Whether or not I can actually start running in time is a different matter. I ought to be covering at least 20 miles a week at this point and I am nowhere near it. Still, gotta keep plugging away.

Mind over matter and all that…

MRI Feedback

admin — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 13:30:56 +0000

Alright, so I went for the MRI scan and here is the feedback.

Articular cartilage is well-preserved at all 3 compartments.
Axial images 9-12 demonstrate apparent laxity of the medial patellar retinaculum, which appears relatively thinned medially and slightly thickened laterally. The appearance may be related to previous injury with stretching of the retinaculum.

1. No meniscal tear
2. Mild lateral patellar subluxation, unlikely related to minimal fluid signal distention of the lateral pouch of the suprapatellar bursa.
3. Apparent laxity of the medial patellar retinalculum may represent sequela of previous capsular strain.

To be honest, I am not quite sure what any of this means. I know that I need 6 weeks of physio, but I can probably manage that myself down at the gym. Apparently, strengthening the quads and glutes is a large part of it, but we’ll see…

Knee problems

admin — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:35:05 +0000

Unfortunately, there isn’t much to report at the moment. A persistent knee problem has made it difficult to complete anything more than a mile so far. Not sure what is going on. I would like to think it is only a bit of “runner’s knee”, but I could barely make it up the stairs on Sunday! Well, fingers crossed. Back to the gym tonight and we’ll see how it holds up after another mile or two on the treadmill.

Training for the 2008 New York City marathon - So it begins…

admin — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:32:43 +0000

Training for the New York City Marathon 2008. It has already been a bit of a journey to make it this far and now the hard work begins. 8 months to train and prepare myself for the 26.2 mile onslaught. The past few years have certainly taken their toll; breaking a sesamoid bone kicking an airport trolly was probably one of the daftest things I have done along the way. That is all in the past and with a few more lessons learned, the focus is now on getting in peak shape for November.

I have always dreamed of running the NY marathon and I created this site to provide a bit of feedback for the ‘average’ runner. I will be updating my progress on a daily basis, throwing in any tips I pick up along the way. Currently pushing the 195lb barrier, my aim is to drop to 180lb for the race, which pretty much means no more beers and English breakfasts until November.

So, tune in, spread the word and if anything, I hope this site provides you with a bit of inspiration (trust me, if I can do this, anybody can).

New York City

admin — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 21:28:43 +0000

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