Boston Marathon Training: Post Hernia Surgery, Post Injury. 20 Weeks, 8 Weeks In

I’ve moved most of my running stories to Substack, but it’s time for a running story here on Medium!

The Journey

Never an athlete of any kind in my youth, I enjoyed running throughout most of my adult life. Two to three times a week, but no spectacular achievements. My best marathon was 3:54 at the age of 29 in New York City in 2010. Mediocre. There were also many stretches when I didn’t run.

During COVID-19 — I turned forty in March 2020 — I started running consistently and achieved improvements I never imagined possible. I also lost lots of weight then. I hadn’t set any goals; running became an everyday habit and I introduced structure into my routine — speed work, long runs, and so on. Between 2021 and 2024, I ran 6 sub-3-hour marathons in Southern California, winning my age group in almost all of them. They were local races, so my “age group” wins are local too, but I’m proud of my 2:43 PR — it’s a respectable result by most standards. Throughout these years, I maintained 60–65 weekly miles year-round, peaking at 85 miles during pre-race weeks.

The Disruption

In the summer of 2024, I helped coach a high school cross-country team in Southern California (incidentally they went on to win state championships!). It was an awesome experience except that I went over the top with my running — I was doing my training AND frequently joined the varsity team for their runs. The intensity was too high and it was a question of time before I’d pay the price.

In the fall of 2024, for the first time in four years, I experienced not one but two disruptions. The irony was that they happened just after I signed up for my first Boston marathon. For all of my improvements in my forties, I never experienced a major race — all of my running had been in Southern California. So I signed up for Boston for which I qualified with a huge cushion only to be hit — almost on the following day — with my first major disruption to my running. How unfortunate!

The Timeline

Mid-September 2024: I had had discomfort in my groin for a couple of months. While it wasn’t severely painful, I finally decided to see a doctor. Diagnosed with a small hernia. The surgery got scheduled for October.

September 22: During a long run with my friend in Newport Beach, around mile 10, I experienced sharp…