My Father’s Marathon

This Saturday my wife, two boys and I will be joining my father to participate in the Le Sueur Giant Days 5k run/walk. A couple of years ago my father had a severe stroke which completely removed all sensitivity on his right side. Weeks after his stroke we didn’t know if he would have much mobility, but because of his determination he made rapid progress through rehabilitation. However, with no sensitivity on one side, walking is still a challenge for him. Last year when my wife and I ran in the Giant Days run my father said adamantly that he would do it next year. We responded with encouragement, but I silently thought he was taking on a nearly impossible endeavor. The 3.1 miles would be like a marathon to him.

A year later my father is doing well and his walking has greatly improved. He routinely walks from his home to a coffee shop in downtown Le Sueur, which is a little more than a mile each way and has a pretty steep climb up the valley slope that Le Sueur resides. (You may remember hearing the jingle, “from the valley of the jolly, ho ho ho, green giant”. That valley is the Minnesota River valley at Le Sueur, my home town). Nobody knows if he can walk an entire 5k. But isn’t that a true challenge - something we set out to do not knowing if we can? It really doesn’t matter if he crosses the finish line; he is a winner just trying.

So Far So Good

I’ve been back to running for about 3 weeks now and so far my challenge with Plantar Fasciitis is going well. I run every other day, usually 10k (6.2 miles) and yesterday I ran 8 miles. Last night I had some pain in my foot and I was worried that maybe I was pushing it too hard, but then this morning I had no problems, even just after rising from bed. Usually the pain is the worse just after getting out of bed. So I figure if I can run 8 miles and the next morning have no problems, I must be doing well.

I have been doing stretching exercises that’s recommended for Plantar Fasciitis, but what I have found that works the best for me is the ice bottle treatment. At least three times a day I roll my foot on a frozen water bottle. The hard circular shape of the frozen water bottle helps stretch my fascia while the ice provides anti-inflammatory treatment.

I’ve entered the lottery for the Twin City 10 mile race, which runs on October 3rd and want to do as much as possible to run that race injury free. By then I would like to be near marathon shape. I’ve got an itch to run a marathon in the near future.

My Wife the Runner

I’m back to running after about a 2 ½ month hiatus. During my down time I kept into shape by riding my mountain bike on 20 mile brisk rides. Then a couple of weeks ago I started to ease back into running. I now run 10k (6.2 miles) about every other day and at a very slow pace so not to apply too much stress on my foot with Plantar Fasciitis. My foot is responding very well to my adjusted training program so I’ve started to enter 5k and 10k races. It feels wonderful to be back running, but the better story is about my wife Renee.

A couple of years ago Renee would have never considered herself as a runner. Her knees give her problems and her asthma robs her breath when doing strenuous exercise. So for aerobic exercise she started out fast walking a couple of miles. The couple of miles grew to 4 to 5 miles. But as she got into better and better physical condition she needed more to get her heart rate up for a good aerobic workout, so she started running for short spurts during her fast walks. Then the short spurts became long spurts, and the long spurts blended into an entire run. Then length of her runs stretched from 4 miles to 10k.

Yesterday on the 4th of July Renee and I ran the Excelsior Firecracker 10k. This is Renee’s first 10k race. Last year at the same event I ran the 10k and Renee ran the 2 mile, which was a big deal for her at the time. This year we ran the 10k together. Rather than running at my own pace I ran alongside Renee. There was no way I was going to miss her first 10k and not be by her side all the way to the finish line. She had a tough start; her asthma was particularly strong at the begging, but she finished with probably her best time/pace for that distance.

Renee’s running is a good example of what can be accomplished if one takes their time and slowly but steadily works their way to improvement. To become a runner you don’t have to start out running many miles and beating yourself up in the process. In fact, you don’t even have to start out running; you just have to get your feet moving and challenge yourself a little bit each day.