By Rachel Luna, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/21/2012 06:13:54 AM PST

I wasn’t thrilled with the fact that I pretty much got brushed off by my insurance company when I wanted an MRI to diagnosis my knee.

The alternative (and by alternative, I mean cheapskate) plan was to throw me into physical therapy for a few weeks before reevaluating my injury to decide whether it was worth putting out the money for the MRI test.

If I were a professional athlete, the scenario would be a different story.

For one, I would have gotten an MRI on the same day I tweaked my knee – more than a month ago.

And who knows, maybe the scenario might have come along with some new groundbreaking medical treatment I could have been the first to try successfully.

But I’m obviously not a pro athlete, just a regular person.

And the last time I checked I didn’t see a medical express lane, so I’ve taken a service number and I’m waiting to be called.

Despite the runaround, I’ve managed to stay positive about my situation, and I’m definitely not out of the Honda L.A. Marathon yet.

I’m not a quitter – I’ve never been. I never will be.

And with my determination to remain optimistic, I’ve traded my training schedule for physical therapy sessions.

For nearly three weeks I’ve been going to therapy sessions twice a week. The hour treatment starts off with muscle stimulation therapy on my knee for 20 minutes, followed by ultrasound heat therapy and ending with several stretching and muscle strengthening exercises.

The therapy sessions are working so far. I have my good days and bad days with my left knee, but overall the recovery process is moving along steadily.

And finally, Jan. 18, I got an accurate diagnosis – without an MRI. According to my physical therapist, Patellar Tendonitis is the likely problem.

The discovery came after he examined my knee and realized I have a stiff knee.

Apparently, if you shift your knee cap towards the outside of your leg, it should be able to be flexible enough to move it over. Turns out that isn’t the case with my knee. My tendons are tight around the outside of my left knee, and they aren’t allowing it to budge much at all in that direction.

The discovery makes sense to me since I was twisting to my left when I got injured.

So now the specialized treatment begins. And oh man does it hurt!

I’ve really had to resist my natural instinct to slug my physical therapist – in a good way – as he’s doing treatment to loosen those stubborn tendons.

During last Friday’s treatment, I experienced the worst therapy pain I’ve had since I started going to physical therapy, but it’s been the most relief I’ve felt in my knee to date.

I appreciate all the treatment my physical therapist is doing since it’s now getting me closer to lacing up my running shoes again.

Another six to eight treatment sessions should do the trick, hopefully.

So I’ll be tough and endure all the pain.

I’m finally going to do it. I’ve registered to run my first ever marathon in Los Angeles this coming March 18. Of course, I needed to discuss this with my wife first.

To begin, this trip is going to cost about a thousand bucks, and I never spend more than a hundred without talking to my wife about it first. (Good thing that for me the whole trip is tax deductible.) But there is also the time issue.

When it comes to physical activity coupled with family life, tag-team parenting is essential. Two years ago, the six months leading up to my wife getting her black belt in karate were brutal for her. She was going hardcore all the time and it ate up a lot of her free time. She had this whole eye of the tiger thing going on where she was intensely focused on achieving her goal. She also had bruises over the rippling muscles. It was…kind of sexy.

I was a workout widow during this time. A lot of extra family duties fell on me because she was doing so much training. It also cost quite a bit of money to pay for the extra training. I didn’t mind at all because I knew this was something really important to her.

I’m not saying it’s payback time. Good marriages are about give and take, it just happens to be my turn to take, and for the next couple of months I’ll be dedicating extra time to longer runs and my wife is going to have to pick up the family slack. She’ll also be single parenting for the three days I’m down in LA for the race.

She’s okay with this because she knows how important it is for me, and because we talked about it beforehand. I didn’t just make the decision to do this on my own. She was a part of the whole decision-making process like I was for her when she was working so hard for her black belt.

So, the simple message is: when you’re married running a marathon is a team effort. There is someone who is going to need to pick up your slack, so make sure they’re on board. You need to communicate desires clearly and make sure your significant other has your back.

There is a limit, however.

I’ve got quite a few items on my exercise bucket list and running a marathon is only one of them. In the next few years I want to finish an Ironman triathlon, which is a 3.86K swim, followed by a 180K cycle, THEN followed by running a marathon. It makes marathon training seem like 5K training. Also, I’m going to need to spend a couple thousand on a new bike and I’ll need swimming lessons. Right now I suck at swimming.

I know this is going to be a major imposition on my wife, which is why I’ll only ever do it once (so long as I finish the race within the required 17 hours). I was talking to someone whose best friend’s husband was training for his eighth Ironman, and her friend was getting mighty sick of it. She felt like she was barely married to this guy anymore because he was always out training.

Yes, for six months when I do that Ironman training my wife is going to have to do a lot of extra work to cover for me. But I will make her this promise: As long as I finish in 16:59:59 or better, I’ll never do another.

And I’ll pay you back when you go for that second-degree black belt.

Three weeks ago I injured my knee, which consequently brought my marathon training to a halt. A simple twisting movement temporarily landed me on the disabled list.

I thought the most frustrating part about the mishap was the fact it occurred while doing an every-day thing and not while running.

But the frustration of the injury is small potatoes – and something I’m OK with now – compared to dealing with the annoyance of trying to get an MRI and medical answers about what the heck I did to my knee.

It’s killin’ me.

I went to see a doctor four days after I hurt my knee on Dec. 10, and it wasn’t until this past Thursday when I saw a physical therapist.

Phone calls and visits to the medical office didn’t seem to speed up the paperwork. And neither did letting them know I’m in the middle of training for a marathon.

I guess I’ll have to deal with the system until I’ve jumped through enough hoops.

And I’m still currently waiting to get an MRI so I can get the actual results of my injury.

An initial examination during my first visit led the doctor to suspect a torn meniscus or torn ligament. I got some Ace bandage and crutches out of that visit. The crutches didn’t last more than a week before they got tossed aside. I didn’t expect much out of my first appointment other than to get the process going for an MRI. What a disappointment.

But after getting evaluated by a physical therapist, the extent of my injury got downgraded to possible ligament or meniscus strain.

That was good news and I thought, “Good, I got the evaluation out of the way. Now I can get scheduled for an MRI.”

Nope.

Even after all the wait, there’s still more hoops ahead in the form of six pre-prescribed physical therapy treatments that came along with the visit to the specialist.

Gee. I should at least get a sticker or, better yet, a lollipop for all of the hoop hoppin’ I’m doing … with one good leg, might I add.

It’s been a letdown, but I really appreciate my physical therapist’s attempt to improve the situation, starting with having me do only three therapy sessions before putting in an urgent request for an MRI instead of waiting to see how my knee reacts after all six treatments.

I got one treatment out of the way during my physical therapy evaluation and I have two treatment appointments scheduled for this week.

At that point, I’ll have to rely on the paperwork processing. Again. Hopefully I won’t have too many more obstacles to face.

I might have to buy some Air Jordans just in case ’cause Lord knows I’ll need all the height I can get if I gotta jump through anymore hoops.

If you’re looking for the longest shot in the field at this year’s Los Angeles L.A. Marathon in March you’ll find it working out three days a week at the track in Beeman Park in Studio City.

Team ARC, it’s called. The team with the slowest times, longest odds and biggest hearts.

The team that won’t quit no matter how tough and painful it gets out there running and walking 26.2 miles.

Team ARC’s carrying the reputations and dreams of too many kids and adults like them on their shoulders to fail.

Kids born with severe mental and physical disabilities who have been told their entire lives to go play with your own, you’re not good enough to play – to compete – with us.

Yeah? Sez who?

“C’mon, old men, let’s go,” 25-year-old Angela Armenta yells, jogging onto the track at Beeman Park late Thursday afternoon for a team workout.

The young woman born with Down syndrome is laughing and rubbing it in a little because her teammates – the old men – have two L.A. Marathons already under their belts and she’s the rookie.

When Jennifer Davis, activities director for ARC – Activities for Retarded Children – asked Ralph Adame, 48, and his buddy Tim Sathre, 42, what they thought of a girl joining them for the marathon this year they said sure, why not?

“The guys have been so encouraging to her,” Davis says. “They’ve been pushing and inspiring each other. People don’t realize how important health and wellness is for the disabled community, too.”

We realize it. We just don’t pay much attention to it. That’s why national organizations like Special Olympics are so important to remind us what the physically challenged community is capable of.

Anything, if you give them a chance.

ARC’s always been one of my favorite nonprofits in the Valley because it has one of those back stories that make you want to stand up and cheer for them.

It was started in the late 1960s by a small group of local mothers whose children were retarded. Harsh term, but that’s what it was called back then.

They’d meet in a little park every Saturday to let their kids play together because nobody else’s kids seemed to want to play with them.

The mothers made a pact to watch over and protect each other’s “retarded” kids, and they have. Most of the original mothers have passed on, but their kids have stayed together – keeping the old ARC name because if it was good enough for their mothers, it’s good enough for them.

Ralph was born with brain damage. Tim was diagnosed as having mild retardation with autistic and Asperger’s tendencies.

Angela, born with Down syndrome, has two older brothers, a younger sister and two great parents who love her deeply and include her in all the social activities and sports the family enjoys.

Last September they asked Angela if she’d like to join Team ARC and start training for the L.A. Marathon? Angela gave it a couple of seconds’ thought before making up her mind.

“I do it,” she said, smiling. “I do it.”

So here she is on a late Thursday afternoon in early January with a couple of 5K’s and one 10K already under her belt – pushing her older, male teammates and one new member, Antoinette Mendoza, 42, to pick up the pace.

The Los Angeles Marathon is coming up in a couple of months and Team ARC – the longest shot with the biggest heart in the field – has to be ready.

They’re representing a couple of thousand kids and young adults in the Valley just like them – labeled since birth.

No way Team ARC is going to let them down.

If you want to support Angela and Team ARC, more information is available online at www.crowdrise.com/teamangela.

By C.J. Lin, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/01/2012 01:00:00 AM PST

Part of an occasional series about a novice runner training for the 2012 L.A. Marathon.

A year ago, Zia Hotaki was smoking a pack a week. The farthest he had ever run was a mile, and that was in high school.

A year ago, Danielle Hummel ran a 5K on New Year’s Eve and hated every minute of it. She just couldn’t understand why people liked running. She had signed up for several races and always quit.

Fast forward to today, the first of the new year, and Hotaki has quit smoking and is on his way toward becoming a world-class runner and a triathlete. Hummel already has three races – that she actually enjoyed – under her belt just since October.

The two are training for the L.A. Marathon, and on top of that, are about to tackle pretty serious undertakings: their 2012 New Year’s resolutions.

Starting today, Hummel, 27, is going to work on becoming a United States Running Streak Association member. Which means that for every single day of 2012 she’ll have to run at least one mile, even if she’s sick, injured or feeling lazy. Otherwise, she’ll have to start the streak all over again, and make sure she keeps it up for 365 consecutive days. (She can actually stop on Dec. 30, because it’s a leap year.)

Becoming a member is based on the honor system. Runners don’t get anything but bragging rights upon becoming a member. But even so, Hummel is pretty determined not to cheat.

“I feel like if you cheat, you’re only cheating yourself,” said Hummel, 27, of Burbank. “So I plan to stick with it.”

And then there’s her other resolution – doing a race every single month, including the L.A. Marathon in March.

I’m getting tired just thinking about it.

But Hummel, an art director for an automotive design firm, has been pretty tireless in keeping her 2011 resolution, which was to live the healthiest year of her life.

She did, and this year’s resolution is an expansion of that.

And like Hummel, Hotaki is the healthiest he’s ever been.

The 27-year-old computer security engineer had been weightlifting and felt like he had peaked. At the same time, he quit smoking after about four years for his wife, and needed another stress reliever.

So he began running, and for the first three months, it was hell.

But he kept pushing, and something clicked. And now he’s in the fastest pace group with the L.A. Roadrunners training group in Westlake Village, hoping to finish the L.A. Marathon in less than 3 hours and 30 minutes.

His resolution?

To run the Boston Marathon in April 2013.

It’s not as easy as it sounds. It’s not something that anyone can sign up for, like here in L.A. Boston is the world’s oldest marathon, one of the best-known racing events and a hallowed course for serious runners, who must first qualify at other marathons before being allowed to sign up.

“It’s pretty much like if there was a world championship of running, Boston would be it,” said Hotaki of Woodland Hills.

For Hotaki, he’ll have to run a marathon in less than 3 hours and 5 minutes, which means finishing each mile at a 7:05 minute pace or better. And so he’s going to train for and then hope to beat that time during the Long Beach Marathon in October.

“It’s a good motivating factor to keep on not smoking,” Hotaki said. “It would make all my efforts right now all for naught if I started smoking again. Running is definitely a much bigger passion in my life now rather than smoking.”

And he’s also hoping to get into good enough shape to compete in the Ironman World Championship triathlon in Hawaii in 2013, where he’ll have to first qualify. If he does, he’ll have to swim 2.4 miles in the ocean, bike 115 miles and run 26 miles.

In comparison, my resolution seems measly. But I’m OK with that.

With the injury, the holidays, working overtime and it being colder and getting dark earlier, I had all but given up on training for the last of 2011.

So starting today, I’m going to get serious about training and wake up early if I have to. I just want to finish the L.A. Marathon, even if I’m whining and crawling to the finish line.

I should run with Morgan Lieberman, a 16-year-old soccer player from Calabasas High School also training for the marathon.

“My New Year’s resolution is to be able to find strength and motivation with the people around me,” Morgan said. “When I run, I feel invincible being part of a pack, and hopefully when I run the marathon I can give off positive energy to other people, and they can help me along the way, too.”

I’ll need all the help I can get with my resolution.

But I’m looking on the bright side – this is one resolution that I’ll only have to keep for another 78 days.

The Honda LA Marathon is one of the four largest marathons in the U.S. and one of the ten largest worldwide. The “Stadium to the Sea” course runs through four cities – Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica – and the federal VA property, taking runners past a highlight reel of sites starting at Dodger Stadium and including landmarks such as Grauman’s Chinese Theater (mile 11.5), Sunset Strip (mile 14), Rodeo Drive (mile 17) and finishing at the Santa Monica Pier.

“We are extremely proud that ASICS has added the Honda LA Marathon to its world-class stable of races around the globe, including Tokyo, Paris and New York,” says Nick Curl, Chief Operating Officer of the LA MARATHON LLC. “ASICS is a premier company with a tremendous track record in the running community. We look forward to working in partnership with ASICS in the coming years to take the Honda LA Marathon to even greater heights.”

As the official apparel and footwear sponsor, ASICS has the opportunity to promote the partnership nationally and locally with media, as well as manufacture and sell co-branded licensed marathon merchandise. In addition, ASICS will integrate its activation marketing campaign into race week festivities.

“We are excited to be part of this growing race,” says ASICS Vice President of Marketing, Erik Forsell. “The landscape of a city like Los Angeles will allow us to expand and demonstrate our marketing efforts like we do in New York and enable us to partner with the biggest marathons on the east and west coasts.”

The “Stadium to the Sea” course debuted in 2010 with a record total of more than 26,000 participants. In 2011, Ethiopia’s Markos Geneti shattered the course record by nearly two minutes, with a worldclass time of 2:06:35.

For more information on the Honda LA Marathon visit www.lamarathon.com.

ABOUT LA MARATHON LLC
We inspire athletes and connect communities. With thousands of volunteers, tens of thousands of participants, and hundreds of thousands of spectators, the Honda LA Marathon is one of the largest organized road races in the country. www.lamarathon.com

By Rachel Luna, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/17/2011 06:15:29 AM PST

I’m running the distance, 14 miles and counting now. But the distance will have to be put on hold.

I hit a speed bump in my marathon journey and it’s slowing me down – at least for the moment.

I tweaked my knee. Here’s the inside scoop: it wasn’t while running. In fact, it had nothing to do with running. I got injured doing nothing out of the ordinary.

Last Saturday I was clearing out my bookshelf. As I had a few books in my hands, I twisted to my left to set the books down, and bam! Pain hit my left knee instantly. The pain put me down for the count by the time the evening rolled around. I hobbled around for the rest of the weekend and unfortunately had to miss my first half-marathon race.

I was tempted to still try to make it to the race, figured that wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do.

A few days passed, I gave in and finally went to the doctor to get my knee examined. The doctor suspects I may have torn a ligament or the meniscus in my knee after an initial examination.

I’ll have to see a specialist and get an MRI to know the actual results of the injury.

So for now, crutches are my ticket to getting around until I see the doctor again this week. I can’t stand the crutches. Thanks to them, now I have to deal with pain in my palms, arms and shoulders… and my original knee pain.

It’s not all bad though. I’ve turned my work chair into my daily wheelchair while I’m in the newsroom. It’s way better than the crutches, and a lot more fun. I’m just this little blur rolling by.

Also, I’ve always wanted to ride around in one of those motorized scooters at the store. Now I have a legitimate excuse.

Despite the injury, I’m hoping it won’t keep me out of my training for too long.

No running is allowed, but I hope to eventually get some training done in a swimming pool just to get me going.

But before I do that, I gotta go out and buy a wetsuit. I have a pool at my house, but there’s no way I’m going to train at 6 a.m. in a freezing pool without being bundled up.

Until I find out more about my knee, I’m going keep a positive attitude. There’s still plenty of time before the Honda L.A. Marathon – 91 days to be exact.

After all I have to remember: Life’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.

By C.J. Lin, Daily News Staff Writer
Posted: 12/11/2011 01:00:00 AM PST

One step forward, two steps back.

Unfortunately, that’s not very helpful when you’re trying to run a marathon.

For the last few weeks, my training has been at a literal standstill.

I did eight miles one freezing morning about a month after I started running, and I guess I pushed too much too soon. What I thought was a lingering soreness in the arches of my feet was actually plantar fasciitis, where the tissue connecting the heel to toes becomes inflamed.

Oh, and somehow I blew out my knees, too.

Unfortunately, (again) these types of injuries are inevitable for runners, whether they be newbies or veterans, said Rayna Drago, coach of the L.A. Roadrunners marathon training group in Westlake Village.

“Marathon running is a real shock to your body,” Drago said. “Even if you’ve been athletic, it’s just something different for your body to take in all those miles. Your body is just waking up and saying, `Hello, what are we doing here?”‘

The most common injuries are shin splints, runner’s knee, plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, and some type of foot fracture, according to Dr. John Pagliano, a Long Beach sports medicine podiatrist.

And there’s more bad news – they’ll probably keep popping up for the first year for new runners.

“Your body’s just kind of got to learn what’s coming,” Drago said. “But it does subside after the first year.”

I don’t have a year. I only have three more months until the L.A. Marathon.

Suffice it to say, I’m getting pretty nervous. The finish line always seemed just a bit out of my reach, but even more so now.

But, I (and you) shouldn’t be discouraged, Drago said.

“It’s more frustrating than anything,” Drago said. “But it’s good when it happens at the beginning of training rather than at the end.”

For these types of overuse injuries, it doesn’t take too long to heal and get back up to speed, Drago said.

Be sure to ice anything that hurts and rest. But the key is to keep moving, just not in high-impact exercises.

“It’s also for your mental balance, that if you’re not running, at least I’m doing something,” she said.

Take a break by hopping on a bike, getting on the elliptical, going for a walk, swimming laps or even jogging in the pool, Drago said.

Take ibuprofen for the pain, and make sure you stretch sufficiently.

You’ll want to build up the muscles around the knee by doing strength training such as squats and lunges to help support you on those long miles, according to experts.

Pagliano recommends strength workouts three times a week on alternate days, which should include upper body strengthening.

And if the pain lingers for more than two weeks, that’s when you should go see someone.

Some tips to avoid running injuries include: shortening your stride, running on even surfaces, cross-training, and getting shoes fitted to your gait at a specialty running store, according to Runners’ World magazine.

So, there’s hope yet. I just have to take it easy for a couple of weeks.

“It’s possible to get right back out there and get back on it,” Drago said.

“And your body will just come along for the ride.”

Whether you’re a seasoned athlete or an everyday Joe, the season from Thanksgiving through New Year’s can wreak havoc on the waistline – and more. Rod Dixon, LA Marathon Director of Training, and Matt Mahowald, LA Marathon Nutrition and Supplement Consultant, offer their tips for enjoying the holidays – and holiday menus – without sabotaging your diet, exercise or training routine.

1. Never show up hungry to a holiday party or meal. Make sure you have a big breakfast and enjoy at least two good meals or snacks before the feast. This will minimize the amount of overeating. For instance, 12 almonds and an apple will help to quell your appetite so that when you get to that meal you don’t overeat.
2. The most important item during the holiday season is water. Water helps your body synthesize carbs. It helps with the high and lows of blood sugar that come with desserts and sweets that we don’t normally have in our diet.
3. If you are going to attend a holiday party and plan on drinking alcohol, consume a full eight to 10 ounces of water in addition to a beverage of your choice. This will minimize the amount of alcohol you drink.
4. When eating appetizers or pot luck style, the best choices are vegetables, lean proteins and fruits. If you’re designated to bring a dish to a gathering, bring something that’s a healthy choice for yourself. You never know what’s going to be presented in front of you and you always want to have good options.
5. Fill your plate modestly, and wait 30 minutes after you finish before going back for seconds. This will allow your blood sugar and insulin levels to adjust. You may find that you won’t really be hungry for that second plate.
6. Treat dessert as a treat. Serve yourself a small portion, and stop there.
7. A good cardiovascular workout for 2-3 days after your holiday will help deplete excess storage of carbs and fat that you picked up during the holiday.
8. If it’s possible, throw in an extra two days of 30 minute cardiovascular activity. Remember that walking is just as good as a slow jog and easier on your body.
9. Consistency is key to your exercise program. Don’t let the holidays derail you by missing too many days in a row of your routine. Don’t try to make up what you’ve missed by overtraining – just get back on your plan.
10. Remember that it is a holiday, so do let yourself enjoy. The following day wake up and get right back on your food plan and exercise.