Dec 13, 1999

I read the letters on post-marathon depression with great interest. I have one miserable tale to tell.

While training for Atlantic City Marathon in 1998, I came down with a very bad case of illiotibial band syndrome. I decided to continue training for the marathon anyway. I figured I had been running pain free for 21 years, so I should have been able to tough it out.

It wasn't pretty. I had to take frequent walking breaks and wound up with my slowest time ever.

After the marathon I did an easy month of running in the hope that the ITB syndrome would go away. It did not.

Then like some kind of lunatic I decided to start training for a 5-K race! Pride and stupidity had overcome common sense.

Needless to say, the pain got only worse. By March of 1999, the pain had spread to my back and I was barely able to run at all. Finally, my orthopedist ordered me to stop running, and I did not jog even one inch for almost two months.

I'm running again, but it has been terrible ever since. I feel flat and uninspired when I am on the roads. Recently, I cut my running down to only three days per week to help me rest and get some of the spark back. So far nothing good has happened, but I am sure I will eventually come out of this bleak streak.

You can bet that I have learned a good lesson from all this. No runner is invulnerable.

If you are injured, be smart and let your body heal. If you are in the dumps, give your mind and your spirit a chance to recover. (Al Salerno)

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