Injury

If I've learned anything in my 30's as an athlete, it is to take injuries seriously. If you push through an injury now, it'll only make the recovery and time off from running longer.

A couple of weeks ago at my track workout, I tripped on a shoelace and fell flat on my face. I brushed myself off, tried not to look completely embarrassed, and kept running. My hands were a bit raw from scraping the track, but otherwise I felt great.

When I got home, my left adductor thigh muscles were sore. I iced them, and the soreness went away.

Four days later, I ran my marathon. Around mile six, I started feeling that soreness again. It was a mild nagging pain that went away by mile 10, and caused me no trouble thereafter.

Then, with each successive run, it's nagging me even more. I ran 8 miles on Sunday with it sore most of the run, then took three days off and on Wednesday it was back again with a vengeance.

Now I am taking a week off. I'll be doing lots of biking and swimming, and maybe a couple of power hill walks (though I'll be tempted to run... but I won't). I'll also be icing twice a day and taking my ibuprofen.

Image from marathonracerunning.com

Comeback Marathon

It probably wasn't the most sane idea to sign up to run another marathon two weeks after dropping out of a marathon. But, I wanted to see how my training would stack up and I hoped my nerves wouldn't get the best of me.

I ran the IMS Arizona Marathon this weekend. This time I finished, though I still landed at the port-o-potties three times and had stomach cramps that caused me to walk intermittently, especially at the end.

It was a somewhat tough, point-to-point, mostly uphill course with a net elevation gain of just under 400 feet. And it was the smallest race that I've ever run, with only 99 marathon finishers.

I am so grateful for my friend who ran with me. He hadn't run in over a month, yet braved the race with me. For the 15 miles that we ran together, he kept me entertained and motivated, though I wasn't the greatest most friendly running partner that day.

My time was 4:34:09. That's third place in my age group (out of five -- yes that's intentionally in small print). That's a personal record by over 23 minutes. Minus the gastrointestinal issues, I could have easily taken ten minutes off that time.

Now I just need to figure out what to eat and what not to eat. Pre-race dinner was pasta with marinara and some faux burger crumbles. Perhaps it was the soy? Or maybe I'll just pop some Immodium before my longer runs??

Losing Weight

Obesity contributes greatly to heart disease. When people don't exercise and carry too much weight, they put themselves at risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol.

I tell a lot of people to lose weight in order to reduce their risk. Here are some weight loss tips that I've seen work:

- Use a nutritionist. That's someone who can tell you exactly how many calories your body needs and what foods you should and should not be eating with any particular medical problem.

- Write down everything you eat and the approximate number of calories. Share that diet diary with someone, such as a nutritionist, your doctor, or a personal trainer. It keeps you accountable. If you have to write down that handful of M&M's that you're thinking of eating, are you really going to eat them?

- Weigh yourself daily. That way you see trends of weight gain before your weight gets out of control.

- Follow a vegan diet, or at the very least, cut back on the quantity of animal products that you consume. Vegan diets have been shown to aid in weight loss, help control blood sugar in diabetics, and lower cholesterol.

- Do some form of exercise most days of the week. Long-term registries of people who have lost weight and kept it off for several years show that the vast majority of successful "losers" excercise almost every day.

- Remember that weight loss and weight maintenance is about lifestyle change. These are not changes that you are to make for a couple of weeks and then revert to previous poor habits.

Getting Ready for a Comeback

It's been a tough week emotionally. I keep thinking back to my marathon mishap from last Sunday, and I think it all comes down to my chronic stomach issues.

I do fine on any workout under two hours. However, anything longer than that, and I've had stomach issues. First I chalked it up to the protein in the Clif Bars that I would consume during a race. Then, one particularly bad day occurred the day after chewing four pieces of sugarless gum (sorbitol increases intestinal motility). I think I just have a sensitive stomach and need to stick to basic pasta and marinara the night before a long workout.

I felt sick all day on Sunday and much of Monday. But, I forced myself to drink water and juice to rehydrate. And, I wasn't sore, at all! I think that's because while I dropped out around mile 21, I had been essentially walking from mile 15. On Tuesday, I did a relatively easy workout at the gym, and on Wednesday I was back to my usual workout with my personal trainer in the morning and a track workout in the evening.

Since I can't have a DNF hanging over my head, I've decided to race the Arizona Marathon on Sunday, February 15. My coach had me ramp up this week, run 9 miles today, and then next week I'll taper my exercise in preparation for the marathon.

Having to drop out of the marathon last weekend was a tough blow, but I'm learning from the experience and moving on.

DNF

DNF stands for "Did Not Finish". Today is my first DNF, at the Surf City Marathon. Marathoners like Paula Radcliffe and Deena Kastor, and triathletes Chris "Macca"McCormack and Norman Stadtler have DNF'ed at big races. So I suppose that middle-of-the-pack athlete me can have a bad day too.

I've done marathons and half-ironman distance races. I trained harder for this marathon than for any other marathon that I've done. I did a 22-miler with solid 10-minute splits. I ran an 18-miler in negative splits just three weeks ago. And, two weeks ago, I finished a half marathon in 2:03. I was hoping to not only do well, but to have a personal record by several minutes. So what happened today? I'm not sure.

Dinner last night was at a Mexican restaurant, with pinto beans, rice, and some veggies and fried bananas. It wasn't anything too unusual, other than that I probably ate more than I usually do. But my stomach was fine in the morning. My pre-race fuel was my usual raisin bran with soy milk, yogurt, and a piece of fruit. I felt strong at the start. My strategy was 9:45/mile splits. I was hitting those consistently, maybe a little faster on a couple miles with a downhill. I was fueling with Gu, and with the Sharkies on the course which I specifically tried out on my own last weekend because I knew they'd be at the race and wanted to make sure I'd digest them okay. And I felt great -- that is, until about mile 13, when I slowed down a bit. I had a little bit of stomach cramping. Maybe I was dehydrated, I thought, so at the mile 14 water station, I walked through, drinking a cup of electrolyte drink plus two cups of water. I felt better for a little bit.

Then came worse stomach cramping and the urgent need to stop at a port-o-potty. And again, I felt a little better after that. I passed another water stop, but took nothing because I just felt I couldn't keep it down. At the next water stop I grabbed a Larabar, which I knew from past experience that I could digest while working out. But again the Larabar sat in my stomach like a rock. I had to walk a lot because running would induce cramping. Then I became lightheaded. I walked through several water stops without taking any drink or food because I couldn't keep them down. I passed the first aid tent at mile 18, thinking about stopping, but still, I wanted to see if I could feel better. I knew my goal time of 4:15 was in the toilet, but maybe 4:30? 4:40?

No such luck. I just felt worse and worse. A lot of people that I knew passed me, asked if I was okay. I appreciated their enthusiasm, but I was so embarrassed. Here I am, having trained so hard for this race, and I'm walking the last half of a marathon.

By mile 19, I resigned myself to the fact that I would not be finishing. Running just wasn't a possibility at this point, because I was even more lightheaded. I hadn't had any fluid since mile 14, which was well over an hour ago and I had no way of keeping any fluid or nutrition down. I had yet another emergent port-o-potty stop at mile 20. I couldn't feel my radial pulse, which is an indication of hypotension or low blood pressure. And finally I saw the first aid tent at mile 21.

I stumbled over and as tears streamed down my face, I stammered out.... "lightheaded.... cramps...." Next thing I knew I was lying down in the first aid tent, in tears, covered in blankets. I'm not one to cry at the drop of a hat, but I felt sick, but worse yet I was ashamed of myself having worked so hard for months for this marathon to land on a cot in a first aid tent. There, I was able to sip a bit of water, about an ounce, but not more than that. After resting for what felt like an eternity, shivering under countless blankets, I could sit up and not feel like I was going to fall over. I rode back to the start in the "sag wagon". I could have stopped at the first aid tent to get some IV fluids, but I didn't want to be in the happy race environment any more, so again stopping at a port-o-potty twice on the way, I stumbled to my car and drove home.

On the way home, I was able to keep a fruit smoothie down, though that wasn't pleasant. I weighed myself at home and found that I'm six pounds less than when I started this morning -- clearly dehydrated. And even now, hours later, I'm not feeling that great, though I'm sitting here sipping orange juice and oatmeal.

I'm mad, but it happens. Now, I need to move on. I want to prove I can run a marathon in 4:15-4:20. Based on my previous times I can do it. I'm going to find a marathon in the next couple of months and I will do it.

The Perfect Banana Mango Smoothie

I had an awesome banana mango smoothie at a restaurant recently, and asked for the secret to how it was made. They said that the secret was frozen bananas, a little orange juice, and a little soy milk.

Here's what I came up with: 1/2 cup frozen banana, softened in the microwave, 1/2 cup frozen mango, 2 oz soy milk and 2 oz orange juice. Throw it all in the blender, and yum! 160 calories.

Rock N Roll Half Marathon

I've been working hard with my running and nutrition, and it's definitely paying off.

I traveled to Arizona this weekend for PF Chang's Rock N Roll Half Marathon. My goal was to finish in under two hours. After all, I ran the City of Angels Half Marathon in 2:06:42, and a few weeks ago, I did an 11-mile run at a 9:30 per mile pace.

Then again, things don't always go perfectly as planned on race day.

I was wearing a race bib on my back with "2:00" on it. I planned to run with the 2-hour pace group. Unfortunately, we couldn't find the start, and when we finally found it, there were just thousands upon thousands of people there. I got into the start corral, but could get nowhere near the 2-hour pace group. However, I could see their wooden stick with "2:00" on it and planned to keep it in sight and catch up in a couple of miles.

Finally, our corral is allowed through the start line. It's a mass of people, and fortunately, I was in a corral with people who run about my pace, so I didn't have to dodge around walkers or get knocked over by misplaced Kenyans aiming for a world record.

The first mile went well. I knew I had to keep a 9:10 per mile pace to finish in under 2 hours. The second went well. Right on pace. The bands were entertaining, and every so often there was a crowd cheering us on. Then during the third mile, I felt something under my feet, particularly my left foot. It was annoying, kind of burning, like a part of my sock that was bunched up. I ran through the pain. But it got worse. I gritted my teeth and kept on running.

Finally, at mile seven, I thought to myself, I need to do something about this sock! I stopped at the side of the road, pulled off my shoe, and to my dismay, my sock was perfectly stretched out over my foot. I stretched out my toes and discovered the issue: My plantar fasciitis was acting up at an inopportune moment. Was it the relatively new shoes? I had worn them for three runs, though they were all relatively short. Or could it be my forgetting to take my usual ibuprofen in the chaos of race morning?

I quickly laced up my shoe, stood up, muttered under my breath, "Go girl go!" and took off. The pain got worse as I went, and by mile eight I could feel absolute agony in the bottom of both feet. I found that by flexing my toes with each step that the pain would subside slightly.

Unfortunately, the discomfort of my feet slowed my pace to 9:30-9:40 per mile. By now I lost sight of the pink "2:00" sign. I pushed on, occasionally gritting my teeth. If this happened on marathon day (which is in two weeks), I'd have to drop out. But this is only a half marathon. And I have to push on.

Adding to the annoyance of the pain in my feet, I had the "2:00" bib on my back. Random people would ask me if I was the pace group leader (obviously not!) and if I was on pace. Finally, one girl at mile 11 inquired, and I knew that 2 hours was a lost cause. As she ran by me, I reached to my back, pulled off the safety pins, and at the next water stop wadded up the pink "2:00" bib and threw it in the trash.

This is one of those races that just wasn't fun for me because of the pain. I had to keep reminding myself, only three more miles, only two miles, only 2 kilometers, only a quarter of a mile, and so forth. As some put it, it's one of those races where we "dig deep", to find the emotional energy to just get through. I remind myself of the things I've accomplished -- and know that if I could get through those things, I can sure trudge through one more painful mile of a race.

My finishing time was 2:03:24. I didn't meet my goal, but it's a personal record for me for a half marathon. And I'm still proud of that performance, knowing that under better conditions, I can go even faster.

Crock Pot Magic

I have a new toy: a Crock Pot.

They're amazing! Basically, you add a bunch of ingredients, turn it on, go to work, and magically hours later you have a healthy, tasty meal!

I made chili by mixing tomato sauce, black beans, chick peas, and vegan burger crumbles, and setting the Crock Pot at low for eight hours. Another day, I added some frozen vegetables to a bottle of pasta sauce and cooked for four hours. The veggies added great flavor to the sauce.

This is my most recent creation. Two cans of chick peas, one pound of baby carrots, onion, veggie broth, salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, and oregano, mixed up in the crock pot, cooked on low for seven hours. Then the mixture was poured into the food processor and voila! A healthy side dish with veggies (carrot) and protein (chick peas).

Bike Ride Calamity

Today I have decided that I need a RoadID for my bike shoes. Here is why.

My tri club had a New Years Day fun ride today. About twenty or so riders met up, including a woman who had just moved to the area and was new to the club. I introduced myself, welcomed her to the club, and we chatted for a few minutes before we headed out onto the ride.

She was about 50 feet ahead of me. About a half a mile into the ride, I saw her fly over her handlebars, flip in the air, and hit her head on the ground.

I dropped my bike and ran toward her. She was unconscious, and gasping for air. I prevented anyone from moving her, checked to make sure she had a pulse, and then very gently lifted her jaw to open her airway. There was another physician riding separately who also stopped to help. Another rider called 911.

While she lay unconscious, other people in our group searched her bike for some identification, as we had all just met her for the first time today and all we knew was her first name. Unfortunately, we could not find any ID.

It seemed like a long span of 2 or 3 minutes before she opened her eyes, and even then, all she could tell us was her name. Shortly after, she could tell us her parents' phone number, and we contacted them. The paramedics arrived and took her to the County Hospital.

She was pretty banged up, with some scrapes and bruising to her face, left shoulder and elbow. Fortunately, she was wearing a helmet -- I believe it is our club's policy that to come on a club ride that you need a helmet, but I see so many people riding without one -- and she sustained only a minor concussion. She does not remember the accident.

The lessons I've learned today are:
Carry ID when you ride.
Always wear a helmet when riding.

Image from torontoist.com

Time really flies!

I have no idea where the month of December went. But I certainly didn't spend much of it blogging!

The holidays are of course a busy time. For me, they are also a big time of transition since I will be joining a new cardiology practice in January. It's a good decision for what I want in my career, but I will miss my patients and the staff at my hospital and my office. I have posted my new office phone number in the right hand column.

I am still running and doing my best to eat healthfully at this time of the year when yummy high-calorie treats abound. This month, I ran my fastest half marathon ever in 2:06:41 and my fastest 5K ever in 25:51. To get to my goal of running faster and qualifying for the 2010 Boston Marathon, I'm running about 35-40 miles per week. That means some very early mornings sometimes -- as early as 4:30 am. To motivate myself, I think forward -- all this hard work will be well worth it when I achieve my goal of running Boston.

Have a great holiday season, and more sometime soon....

Chicken Free Chicken Stir Fry

This is tonight's stir fry: Follow Your Heart's Chicken-Free Chicken with Annie Chun's Chinese Stir Fry sauce and a bunch of frozen veggies -- carrots, okra, spinach, broccoli, and cauliflower.

I recently discovered Chicken-Free Chicken. It has great flavor and texture, has 80 calories, 2 grams of fat, and 11 grams of protein for a two-ounce serving. It is made by Follow Your Heart and is sold at their store in Canoga Park, but can also be purchased at Whole Foods Market.

Buy These Shoes!

Choosing leather-free shoes is an ethical choice for both the environment and for animals.

Do-Ni footwear is not only beautiful and vegan, but they donate all of their profits to non-profit organizations.

I just bought a pair of their shoes online and can't wait to try them out.

Smoothies

In my quest to eat better, I've discovered smoothies.

Since moving to LA, I've loved Jamba Juice smoothies. My favorite is the Mega Mango. I always felt somehow guilty, that they taste so good, and even if there is fruit in them, it can't be good for me! Surprisingly, the 16-ounce all-fruit and juice smoothies at Jamba Juice are 220 calories. And, if you add a scoop of vegan soy protein powder, it brings the grand total to 250 calories! Not bad?

I've started making my own smoothies at home. My recipe is 4 oz soy milk, 3 oz siklen tofu, 1 cup of berries or mangoes or any other fruit, and 1 tablespoon of crushed flax seeds which are full of omega-3's. I use frozen fruit for the smoothies, and put it in the microwave for about 45 seconds. Then I pour all the ingredients into my blender and set to "Puree". The total calorie count on this creation is 200 calories, and provides me lots of energy for an early morning run.

In my three weeks of eating better, I've lost 6 pounds. This puts me at a healthy body mass index of 22.4. My running has also gotten faster. I would have never thought I could run 6 miles in under an hour, let alon the 56:14 time that I posted on the treadmill on Thursday.

One Week of Eating Healthier

This is tonight's dinner: Two vegan chicken cutlets, brown rice, spinach sauteed with cannelini beans (and no oil... who needs oil when you have good spices?), and some sweet potato.

Working with a nutritionist has been an eye-opening experience. I've been on this meal plan for one week. I have eaten more veggies, more protein, less carbs, learned to not eat and eat and eat when sitting at home at night, and to just walk away from a tub of Laffy Taffy, one of my favorite candies in this whole world.

I've learned that I need to eat frequent meals, but not TOO frequent. My habit is to eat, and then nosh something an hour later, then something a half hour later... I need to limit my eating to about six times a day.

After one week, I have lost two pounds.

More meals to come....

Diet Overhaul

I'm in the best shape of my life and the slimmest I've been as an adult. I'd consider myself a healthy weight.

But, my diet hasn't been great. I've just about given up cooking, so I've relied a lot on processed foods to microwave, along with the occasional big bowl of cereal for dinner with a pound of frozen mango.

To achieve my big goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon, I not only need to fuel myself better, but need to slim down a bit to run faster. I don't need to lose a lot of weight, perhaps ten pounds. I would still be within a normal weight range for my height, just as I am now.

I have consulted with a nutritionist. She is the wife of a physician that I work with, is a PA and also has several fitness certifications, so she knows what she's talking about. Also, from talking to her previously, I knew that she would not be critical of a vegan diet.

I met with her, bringing along my food diary. She cringed at my "4 oz of coke", "6 french fries", "gyoza dumplings", "bag of mangoes", the high amount of carbs that I consume, and the lack of vegetables. She came up with a food plan that is higher in protein and lower in carbs.

Two days into the new eating plan, and things are going well. Here is tonight's dinner: 1 cup of whole-wheat pasta, 1/4 cup marinara sauce, and a tofu scramble with 4 oz tofu, 1 cup of carrots, and 1 cup of spinach, sauteed in olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and turmeric.


What surprises me is that I'm not ridiculously hungry! During the day, I feel more full than I used to before this eating plan.

So far, I feel great, and I hope this eating plan helps get me to my goals.

Racing for Something More Important

Most races have some sort of cause that it benefits, and often I don't think much about that when I race.

Today's Eco-Fest 5K Run had a more important meaning.

Lawrence Fong is the LA Tri Club's membership director. Not only that, but he's a great friend and athlete, and one of the first friendly faces I encountered as a newcomer to Los Angeles and to the LA Tri Club.

On Wednesday evening, he had a brain bleed, and was found on the ground. He was immediately taken to the hospital, where he underwent emergent surgery to his brain to relieve the pressure. Since then, he is starting to recover and respond to commands, but he has a long recovery ahead of him.

One of Lawrence's passions is racing. He was planning to work as staff for the Eco-Fest 5K. All proceeds raised from this race go to Lawrence and his family.

It was a terrific race. Many club members, including Wayne Fong, Lawrence's 76 year-old father, raced. It was a cross-country course, up and down and zigzagging across a hill, and was pretty challenging.

I had a great race too -- I placed second in my age group and won a cowbell, some socks, sunscreen, a water bottle, and Clif Shot Blox.

For more information about Lawrence Fong and how you can help, click here.

Soma Half Ironman -- last race of the season

I really don't understand what would possess anyone to live in a desert like Arizona. Or somewhere with snow. Or rain all the time. Perhaps I've simply become a weather brat now that I've lived in Southern California for a year and a half.

Nonetheless, this past weekend I raced Soma Half Ironman, in Tempe, Arizona. My goal was to beat 6 hours and 30 minutes. My previous half ironman time, Vineman 70.3, was 6:48, and with my new fabulous Cervelo P2C bike and a flat course, I thought I had that in the bag. The swim wouldn't have to be spectacular, and the run, since I found out it would be a high of 93 degrees, would be something that I would simply trudge through at a consistent pace so that I wouldn't become a wilted prune.

The swim was in Tempe Town Lake. It's pretty nasty. Other than for triathlon races, they do not allow people to swim here. It was chlorinated and shocked for our benefit. Fortunately I didn't know about the dead bird that was seen in the lake on race day until I'd finished the race.

The swim start was a crowded mess as usual. Lots of limbs. Someone behind me trying unsuccessfully and annoyingly trying to swim up my back. A girl next to me who even as I moved away from her kept following way too closely to my right hand side. It was all a bit too much, and I hyperventilated after just a minute into the course. But I switched to breaststroke for about thirty seconds, got the breathing under control, and trudged on through the zero-visibility water.

I was completely baffled by a woman whom I shall refer to as Backstroke Girl. I kept seeing her to my left. She was doing the entire swim with the backstroke. She'd zigzag with her bizarre backstroke, going way off course, bumping into me a few times, and then would stop dead in her tracks, vertical in the water, look up, look two ways, and go back to her silly backstroke. And what really made me mad -- I couldn't pass her! How could this woman, swimming backstroke, be at the same pace or faster than me doing my race day freestyle stroke? I was hoping to figure out who Backstroke Girl was, and why anyone in their right mind would backstroke through an entire 1.2 mile leg of a half ironman.

Finally, we get to the end of the swim, which is good because I hate swimming. Especially at the end of the season. There were stairs out of the lake and people lifting us out of the water and onto the stairs. And, for the first time, I encountered the concept of the "Wetsuit Stripper".

A wetsuit stripper pulls your wetsuit off of you. It's pretty cool. I watched the pros do it -- you unzip the wetsuit, pull it to your waist, then drop to the ground and lie down while two or three people pull the wetsuit off. I decided to try it, hoping that I wouldn't be the aberrant person whose tri shorts would be pulled off with the wetsuit. It was very efficient, and afterward I got off the ground, wetsuit in hand, still fortunately wearing my tri shorts, and dashed to the transition area.

Bike shoes on (fortunately the wetsuit was off, because I have this bad habit of trying to put the bike shoes on before the wetsuit comes off), helmet on, glasses on, race belt on, bike off rack and .... oh wait am I forgetting anything? No really, am I? After a brief hesitation, off I go.

The bike course was relatively flat, but had this bizarre configuration of multiple 180-degree turns, with a lot of speed up and then suddenly slow down to make a sudden turn. On one of those turns I had a very close call where I nearly launched myself off my bike. We had to do three loops on this course. Nonetheless, this was my chance to see how fast my sexy new Cervelo P2C would move. Apparently it moves significantly faster than my previous bike did, but some of your grandmothers can still probably whoop my arse on the bike.

I amuse myself in my own way along the bike course. I met a terrific club member named Teresa (I hope that is your name... hard to hear on the bike sometimes!). We kept passing each other and I think she overtook me once and for all in the second lap. We both have coaches with Triathletix, and I suggested that once we get back to LA that we ride together since after all we're about the same pace. When passing people who had their bibs on with their names, I'd say "Way to go, Jared!" or whatever their names were. It got me some strange looks and some laughs. In the stagnant traffic next to the course, I found a guy in a really neat looking convertible. I complimented his car, then he suggested that we race, but clearly as he was stuck in traffic I won. At the next (argh!) 180 degree turnaround, I saw him again and waved as he waved back.

And finally, I encountered the Sportswoman of the Year. She approached me to pass, as most cyclists with any speed do, and yelled, "On your left, ON YOUR LEFT ON YOUR LEFT!" It was all quite obnoxious since I had gotten over quite far enough for her to pass. I looked at her as she passed and said, "I heard you!" to which she replied, "You're lying!" As some choice words were about to fly out my mouth I reminded myself that I'm here to have a good time and not to worry myself with such nastiness.

Throughout the bike ride, I drank. A lot. Even Gatorade, which I think tastes nasty, because I knew I would need all the electrolytes for the run.

So with the bike behind me, and leaving my beautiful Cervelo behind in transition, I headed out to run. I knew there would be no heroes today on this run course, and as a Californian not accustomed to the desert that I was at a distinct disadvantage. While it is a flat two lap course around Tempe Town Lake, it is also above ninety degrees, and I knew that I would have to keep a consistent, even slow, pace. I knew that if I could finish the run in under 2:30 that I would beat my goal time of 6:30. Coach Jamie's advice was to at each aid station drink one cup of water and dump another over my head. This served me well. I shuffled/ran the course conservatively, walking about 30 seconds at each aid station.

The run was interesting. I found a woman who I went to med school with... in Albany, New York. Go figure?! I cheered on some LA Tri Clubbers. I high-fived my buddy from Arizona, who looked a little too comfortable running through the desert. I high-fived two LA Tri Clubbers on the side of the course and nearly entered the finish chute one lap too early. As I started the second lap, some woman yelled, "Great job! You're almost done!" I laughed at her. I had six more miles of hell to run through. But, I stayed consistent, keeping my heart rate of 160-170 and a pace of about 11:30 per mile.

The race advertises that it is the only course with a Slip-n-Slide at the finish. You can simply run through the finish line, or you can jump on the Slip-n-Slide and finish in style. I chose the Slip-n-Slide and jumped right on. Given my mid-to-back-of-the-pack status, the thing was half-deflated by now, and I landed square on my rear end and moved nowhere. The water pool at the end of the slide looked even nastier than Tempe Town Lake, so I chose to scoot to the end of the slide, and with my very small remaining amount of energy, climb off that slide and avoid the nasty liquid at the end.

All in all, a great, fun race that was very well organized. I finished in 6 hours and 26 minutes, achieving my goal of beating 6:30. A great way to end the season.

Food is Love

When our loved ones are ill, we want to comfort them. Food is often the way we try to heal others.

But, it is often this food that is killing them.

I find congestive heart failure patients whose families bring them soup. Soup is loaded with sodium and as a result worsens heart failure. Diabetics have sugary fruit juices on their bedside tables. And patients who just had heart attacks have fattening pastries.

One of the worst foods that I've found in patients' rooms is a Middle Eastern yogurt drink. I forget the brand name. A small twelve-ounce bottle contains 220 calories, 20 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, and 1200 mg of sodium. In one of those patients' rooms, I left a note for the family: "Please bring this drink home. It is bad for his heart and he should not drink it. Yours Truly, Dr. Shenkman"

I talk to my patients about nutrition. When they are in the hospital, I will often request a dietitian consultation. But it is often very difficult to overcome the cultural belief that comfort foods will heal when in fact they can harm the patient.
Image from www.isrealli.org

Running Progress

On Sunday, I ran the GLA-ALA Justice Jog 5K in 26:03. This is a personal best by over two minutes for a 5K distance and I placed first in my age division.

I'm getting faster!

Destination: Boston 2010

I want to run the Boston Marathon. And I don't just want to run it -- I could get a charity spot to raise funds and go that way. I want to qualify for the 2010 Boston Marathon.

I've got a long way to go. My fastest marathon time is 4:57 one year ago, but I have gotten significantly faster as a runner since then. I have to be able to run a marathon in 3:40 in order to qualify.

I talked this over with my coach. Given that it's a year and a half away, I have time. It's going to be a lot of training, speed work, and tempo runs. But I'm also going to have to drop a couple of pounds, maybe ten or so. It's not that I have some sort of body image problem, but in order to be able to run the speed that I would need to run, I need to weigh less.

I lived in Boston for a year. It was an amazing year, a transition time in my life. I absolutely love the city. I miss running on the Charles and living just blocks from the Boston Common, the Theater District, great restaurants and nightlife, and many different T stations that would take me just about anywhere I want to go in the city in just minutes.

I had a charity spot to run the marathon back in 2007, when I lived in Boston. Unfortunately, due to a nagging iliotibial band injury, I had to give up the spot. On that Marathon Monday, though, I went out to Coolidge Corner in Brookline, about Mile 22, and I cheered on lots of runners, runners who were struggling toward the finish line but still going strong. It was such a great atmosphere.

So this is my big goal. With a coach to guide me, and with a lot of hard work, I think I can do it.

Photos from flickr.com and hulbei.net