"So...how's your training going?"

I get this question at every social event I attend lately - mostly because the only social events I attend are my honey's work social events and everyone at his work knows we are registered to run the Air Force Marathon on Sep 21, 2013. We are also registered to run the Virginia Beach Rock n Roll Half Marathon on Sep 1, less than a week away.

So... how's my training going?

Not well.

On Sunday, Aug 4, my honey and I set out for our 18 mile scheduled training run. Up until that point, we had been following our marathon training running schedule fairly religiously. My honey wasn't catching all the weekday runs, but we were right on schedule with our long runs. So, somewhere during the second half of mile 14 on this previously mentioned 18 mile run, I felt a very distinct and sharp pain on the lower inside front of my left shin. It brought me to a complete stop. I walked (or more accurately, hobbled) for a few minutes, and then gutted out the last 3 miles (walking a few more times) to complete the 18 mile run. When I got home, I iced, took some anti-inflammatory meds, and didn't think too much about it. Two days later, I set out for my scheduled 6 mile weekday run. My leg hurt. I was slower than usual. I didn't feel like my gait was really affected by the pain until the last mile or two. Again - ice, anti-inflammatory meds, crossed my fingers, and hoped it would magically feel better. And two days later (Thursday, if you're really paying attention), I headed out again. What was supposed to be a 5 mile run, turned into 2 miles of walking, jogging, crying, limping, and more crying. My shin was now bruised, swollen, and painful to the touch.

My daughter, aka Coach to her cross country team, said: no more running, at least not on land, for a few weeks. So I am trying to limit all impact and doing the elliptical trainer a couple of times a week. She also suggested deep water running. The idea is to mimic the mechanics of running but in deep water, with no impact. This gives your body a chance to heal yet, thanks to the resistance of water, keep your cardiovascular and muscle fitness.

 So I ordered a waterproof mp3 player.

And some Aquajogger equipment.

And found a pool at least 8 feet deep (at $6 a pop). Sidenote: rehab ain't cheap. 

Deep water running isn't easy. Besides just feeling a little weird, it takes a bit of time to figure out the mechanics and the correct pace of movement. I try to follow the tips in the official workout guide.

The belt has to be pretty tight, like uncomfortably so, to stay in place. I made the "hand weights" out of an old pool noodle and scrap pieces of PVC pipe to try to save a few bucks after quickly realizing I didn't know what to do with my hands. The water "running shoes" gave me killer blisters but they do help control the movement and provide some extra resistance. 

So, there I am - neck deep in the water, with a long sleeve shirt over my bathing suit and under my blue buoyancy belt, which is so tight I can barely breath, music blaring in my ears, hat and sunglasses on to protect from the glare, funny looking purple floating shoes, janky homemade water weights, all limbs churning away, barely visibly moving along the length of the deep end, trying desperately to log 60-120 minutes of deep water running while avoiding kids, ages 4-16 who insist on playing sharks and minnows in the only part of the pool deep enough for me to use and/or diving over, swimming under, and throwing underwater toy torpedoes directly at me. Is it fun? No.

But I've been 4 times now. My water running log looks like this:

Sat  60 min

Mon  90 min

Wed  110 min

Fri  60 min

Unlike swimming laps, deep water running is the definition of getting nowhere fast, so I am training for time, not distance. The hope is, churning my legs and arms as if running for 9-10 minutes in deep water might be equivalent to running on land for a mile. I get tired and I get breathless and I am definitely glad when my self-imposed training time is up. But it's not the same. And I worry that all this time in the pool won't translate to the road. On Sep 1, I will tape up my leg, pull on my compression socks, and hope to complete the VA Beach Half. 

Wish me luck.