A bump in the road to marathon

I hate to admit this, but I’m not always good at following my own advice.

Listen to your body, I’ve told you before. It will tell you how hard you should push.

Well, I didn’t listen.

A week ago I pushed through some tightness in my quadriceps muscle, and pushed too hard.

I won’t say I’m injured, but for a few days there, I was hurting.

As I head into the more serious time of training for the Surgical Artistry Modesto Marathon on March 29, the pain I was suffering was a reminder of two things: 1) I turn 45 in just a few days; and 2) I need to listen to my body.

Whether you’re just starting an exercise routine or are a seasoned veteran, you need to know how far you can push yourself.

Part of exercise is fighting through the times when you’re sore or tired, convincing yourself it doesn’t hurt. But just as important is knowing when to back off and rest. So that’s what I chose to do. Instead of pushing further through the pain in my quad, I backed off a bit. I slowed down my training runs and lessened my mileage.

The pain has gone away and I’m feeling good again. I will get back on track with my plan, but am aware again that when training for a marathon, there is always potential for injury.

Remember, you have to take care of your body. Listen to it. And I’ll try do to do a better job of following my own advice.

New foods

Part of my New Year’s resolution was trying to integrate different foods into my diet. So far my favorite new food is quinoa, a grain that is often called a “superfood.” Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is high in protein and fiber, and it tastes pretty good, too. I cooked it in my rice cooker, the same way I do rice, and it turned out well.

I try to eat a lot of the so-called superfoods – blueberries, walnuts, yogurt, sweet potatoes and salmon – so substituting quinoa for rice in my diet is a great addition.

Good stuff in Modesto

If you want to join me in running the Modesto Marathon – come on, you know you want to! – then you should sign up soon. The first 3,500 runners to register for the marathon, half-marathon or relay will receive a commemorative custom bottle of wine made exclusively for the event.

Also, according to the race website, participants also will receive a tech shirt, a pair of custom arm sleeves, a custom recovery jacket, a finisher medal and a goody bag. Also new this year is that 5K participants will receive a tech shirt and a finisher medal. You don’t get that at most 5K events.

Another great feature of the race is the recently announced pacing team, featuring some of the best runners in our area (including world champion ultramarathoner Jon Olsen). This volunteer group helps other runners keep a steady pace in order to finish the marathon or half-marathon in a specific time. So if you’re looking to run a certain time on March 29, you’ll have some expert help.

Hitting the trails

Where do you love to run? I’m looking for your help to find the best running trails in our area – think within an hour’s drive of Modesto – for a future feature story in The Bee. Things to consider for your favorite trail: safety, scenery, elevation, convenience of location, facilities, etc. The trails can be paved or not. To submit your favorite trail, email me the location and a few sentences about why you like it so much.

This story was originally published January 15, 2015 at 3:18 PM with the headline "A bump in the road to marathon."