seems doable to me. MRI sounds like it would be worth a look as well

---

the world's still turning? >>>>>>> the world's still turning

I think the biggest issue is injury on race day or after. Running does a lot of damage to your body and if you go from zero to a marathon (after swimming and biking no less), I would think the wheels might completely come off somewhere during the marathon and lead to a miserable experience

If you are ok with a DNF or walking most of the 26 miles, go for it. I just think it'll be tough to run the distance if you've taken 6-9 months off running, possibly injure something in the attempt.

I have hip issues, torn labrums in both hips. I regularly do at home PT exercises and for the most part I've been able to keep the pain away, I've run pretty much every day for a couple years (maybe 4-5 days off in that period). A few exercises that work for me: front and lateral leg raises (weighted); planks; Romanian deal lifts (light weights, high reps); working on range of motion. FWIW, I've done numerous ultras up to 100 miles and many high mileage weeks, 80-100 miles. YMMV

If you can water-run that would be a help. But make sure to look up how to do it effectively. Just noodling around in z2 does not work. You need to do hard intervals. The RPE will be quite high. If you are injured you can keep most all of your run fitness. I am sure it will help you, just remember that it has to be pretty intense, getting run fitness without running is quite hard work, much harder than running.

As sperris mentioned, I was going to suggest water running too if you have a facility you can use. And I would see a sports medicine that deals with running injuries, not just a chiro.

As long as your swim and bike are reasonable, you could walk the 26.2 and make the cutoff if need be and that was within your goals for the race.

Can you use a stepper machine?

Sometimes yes, other times it kind of hurts. If I don't run in 3-4 weeks, I can pull of 2-3 miles with no pain. But, when I've tried running 3-4 mile runs twice per week, I experience pain.

I wasn't able to run in the five month lead up to IMAZ about a decade ago. I was in very good cycling and swimming shape. I did some aqua jogging a couple times a week but for only 30-40 minutes each time because it was dreadfully boring.

I managed to "run" a 4:4X IM marathon and almost broke 11 hours on basically zero run training. I was actually surprised how well I did all things considered.

---

Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

Sorry I should have asked if you can use an elliptical?

I trained exclusively in one for the run for 6 months fo an Olympic distance

Not sure if it could help for a full distance

I will find out for myself as I will be using it to train for a FIM

That is very encouraging

Thanks!

Yes, ellipticals seem to be okay.

I can’t reconcile the inability to run 6 miles over a multiple day span with the confidence you can move your body for 26 miles. But, using the elliptical and water running would surely help with training if you are hell bent on doing the IM.

i'd think that the first priority is to get a solid diagnosis. so in addition to the chiropractor i'd get some imaging done and, as suggested, looked at by a serious sports med doc. any rehab/prehab exercises you can start doing now would be time very well spent, too.

saying that:
not running would save a lot of wear and tear in the lead up to the race. if you are experienced enough to know how to pace and fuel a marathon, and have decent form, that might help carry you through a bit.

and having a very big well of swim and bike fitness to draw from would definitely be really helpful. both because you'll be fitter generally, which helps you run, but also because you'll be fitter specifically for swim and bike, which should have you arrive at T2 in better shape.

lastly, it might be a tactical move to underbike a little. even if your training is great and you know that you're in shape to ride X:XX, it might be smarter to ride X:XX + 10 minutes. as gordo byrn once said, "bike strength is like a nuclear arsenal: most effective when not used."

---

____________________________________
https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/

You're actually in a position to do MORE damage to your legs than a person with less running experience than you.

High cardiovascular fitness + high previous running experience + no current running eccentric loading = the triple crown of high likelihood to injure oneself running.

Would I try it? Yeah probably.

Would I end up amazed at how bad my legs hurt by mile 13 and doubt my ability to finish the race? Definitely.

I suspect you'll be the same.

If you can get some impact tolerance in, sometime within 2-4 weeks of the race, your tissues will thank you.

If you can walk or hike with hills (downhill especially) without hip pain, that will offer some additional protection and confer you the advantage of being able to walk during marathon leg, without further pushing beyond what your body has recently handled, come race day.

---

Dr. Alex Harrison | Founder & CEO | Sport Physiology & Performance PhD
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
📱 Check out our app → Saturday: Pro Fuel & Hydration, a performance nutrition coach in your pocket.
Join us on YouTube → Saturday Morning | Ride & Run Faster and our growing Saturday User Hub

you should ask what you want to accomplish from the race? If this is just do whatever it takes to cross the finish line to be an Ironman finisher, I get it... I guess. Not being able to run without pain, yet wanting to complete an Ironman on no run training seems like a terrible idea and kind of miserable. I would figure out the issue as to why you can't run and work on being in the best shape of your life after you solved that issue. However, if you do the Ironman with no run training, I hope you crush it!!

I did an Ironman in Nov 2021.
During 2021, I ran a total of 500 miles spread fairly even throughout the year (about 11 miles per week).
I walked another 750 miles.
I credit my decent Ironman finish to the miles I walked during the calendar year.

Less physical stress, and still time on my feet moving.

Get the MRI. Go to PT regularly. You're either seriously injured or need a serious strength training plan. I know biking/swimming are lower impact but some more digging is needed if those two are completely pain free yet you can't run a step. I'm only up to 70.3 but have run some good stand alone marathons. I doubt you can fake 26.2 at the end of an IM. I would at least try to string together some semblance of a running plan. Cut out the junk miles if the injury risk is too much but I would keep in 2 main runs/week if you can tolerate them. Do a tempo (threshold pace or slower) & do a long run. Do your long run as part of a brick if you're not running that many miles to simulate your IM as much as you can. The good thing is it's still January & you have tons of time. Figure out what's going on & correct the imbalances now. Too much time to just say no running.

Can you walk Pain Free? If so I would suggest what a few others have, miles walked and Impact tolerance. At least that way if you get closer to race time and you can run, you at least have a base of walking under your belt. As I age and the knees rebel I walk more and more. But there is a significant ramping up my body need to get used to before I can do the 26.2 even if its 75% walking

Best of Luck!

Participate and just walk the marathon. You are injured and won't do great anyway, so just walk it. As for the chiropractor , why not see a medical doctor. No respected university in the US offers a degree in chiropractic anything. Not one.

I can think of a lot of things to do with $750 that don't involve walking 42 km in a trisuit. I would bail after bike and live to run another day.

---

***

One approach that I've had success with in the past, is to figure out what duration of run does not interfere with the healing process, for example it may be that 30 mins of easy running does not impair your recovery and healing. If that is the case, then you could just do many short 30 min runs, very frequently. The main goal would be to get in close to 25 miles of easy running per week, so even at 10:00/mile you could run 3 miles every day and hit 21 miles per week. This is really individual though, so only applicable if short & easy runs don't make it worse.

---

____________________________________

Are you ready to do an Ultraman? | How I calculate Ironman race fueling | Strength Training for Athletes |

You'd want to find out what the injuries are & whether walking or walk/running a marathon is going to do serious damage.

As others have suggested get a second opinion from a sports doc.

For my first IM I had a tendon injury and did most of my run training as deep water running. Extremely boring, but if you do it correctly you can get your HR up and gain a level of run fitness. My IM marathon time was 4:26 which was not much slower than my other IM marathon times.

Along the same lines but I'd go further, no pun intended. If what you can do is run one mile but do it 5 times a week I'd do that.

I think the trap for people who do endurance races is to think a short run that we used to be able to do is the minimum worthwhile effort. Sometimes you have to reset your expectation. Or go for a long walk and do a little running in the middle.

I did a long distance tri in August one year and gave up on running properly in March of that year. What I did do is spend as much time on my feet as possible but none of it was really running. Goal on the day was just to walk through every other aid station the rest was a jog/shuffle but I'd rather do that than not turn up for a race I've paid for.

At long tris there are an awful lot of people who aren't running the marathon part.