Marathon Training Without Running



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 I was searching for articles or posts on people who successfully trained for a marathon after taking a significant break from running. I came upon this hilarious cartoon in the 2008 New York Times article, Coping (or Not) With Injuries in Training for Marathon.

After seeing my physical therapist after the Westchester Triathlon she gave me more exercise to work on to stabilize my hips and strengthen my glute muscles. At the end of the appointment I asked tentatively, "And what should I do about cardio... er running?" Her response? No running this week - stick to the elliptical and the bike. I've been avoiding non-running cardio with the excuse that I don't want to aggravate my injury any further. However, if I still want to do this marathon, and I really do want to do it, I need to maintain my current level of fitness and that is going to mean lots of time on the elliptical, in the pool and on the bike.

I took off Thursday (it was raining and Sam was sick) and Friday (because it was Friday). Then on Saturday I went to Central Park and cheered for Sam and my sister-in-law as they ran in Grete's Great Gallop. It was my sister-in-law's first half marathon and she did great! 

After we got home they took naps and I headed for the gym. Getting the motivation to go to the gym alone at 2 in the afternoon is HARD. I motivated myself by renting a move on my iPhone - Killers :) It helped the 60 minutes on the arc trainer and 40 minutes on the stationary bike go by faster. I wore my heart rate monitor and I was able to keep my heart rate in zone 3 while on the arc trainer.

  

On Sunday we worked the Central Park Biathlon. I had a chance to meet Amy (Tri Tri Again). We didn't get a chance to talk long though since it was such a busy morning. She did great though and more than exceeded her goal time! I had hoped to go back to the gym on Sunday but it never happened. Getting up to volunteer at 4:15am really messes with your mojo. Plus I had been on my feet for six hours straight and my feet were throbbing. So, I ate some malt-o-meal and took a nap instead :)

In addition to my daily icing, stretching, rolling and hip exercises my goal this week is to get at least one hour of cardio a day:
Monday: weights/abs (AM) + 1 hour swim or arc trainer (PM)
Tuesday: weights/abs + 1 hour stationary bike, arc trainer and/or row machine (AM)
Wednesday: 1 hour stationary bike or arc trainer (AM) & 1.5 hour swim (PM)
Thursday: weights/abs + 1 hour stationary bike, arc trainer and/or row machine (AM)

On Thursday I go back to the physical therapist - hopefully I can start running again soon!