A couple years ago, I thought I had it all figured out. Marathon training was simple: just do 2 big workouts per week (15+ miles), an easy long run, and fill the rest of the days with easy doubles until I hit 100+ miles for the week. It was a formula that took my marathon time down from above 2:30 to under 2:20. And I expected it to work into the future.

Getting hit with ankylosing spondylitis (A.S.) has changed everything. My body’s old limits are no longer valid, and the disease has imposed on me new limits. Through trial and error (most error), I’ve figured out that if I go over 50-60 miles/week, I start to break down. Mostly it’s the tendon injuries that sideline me.

I had been holding out hope that I would be able to at some point resume my old high-mileage training, and get back to marathons. But just recently I’ve finally accepted the fact that A.S. and marathoning don’t mix, and my condition will likely prevent me from ever running how I used to again. Yes, it was a bit of a sad realization, but it was actually more liberating than anything. Once I accepted that as a fact, I felt like a weight had lifted off my shoulders, and I was free to look at and pursue running from a different perspective. The pressure of being what I once was is gone, and now I can look forward to running becoming something new.

Clearly hard marathon training is now out of the question, but I had proven this past year that I could still successfully train for and run quality races at the 5K through half marathon distance. So that is where my focus will now lie. If anything, it’s getting back to my roots, as I was a 5K/10K specialist long before I had even dreamed of running a marathon. I’m excited at the prospect of the shorter distances, of different types of training, and of potentially even setting new PR’s that I’ve neglected over the last several years.

So in essence I need to relearn how to train. I had figured out marathon training, but now I need to figure out 5K/10K training, and specialize it for running with A.S. with the training load I can handle. For now, the centerpiece of my training will not be running, but the elliptical machine. I’ve found over the last year that it is possible to get an excellent workout on the elliptical, and my heart rate elevates to levels similar to running while on the machine. When I push hard on the elliptical, I often get my HR up to near 180, which is 90% of my max. Seems good enough for most types of training!

My new staple elliptical workouts are 10×3-minutes hard, with 1-minute recovery, and 2×15-minutes hard, with 5 minutes recovery. These are designed to simulate CV and MP workouts. As I get stronger on the elliptical, I plan to extend the time of the “tempos”.

Perhaps the best aspect of cross training is that since there is no pounding, I can recover faster and work out more frequently. Rather than doing 2 hard workouts per week, I will be able to do 3 hard workouts per week. I firmly believe that I can achieve a high state of fitness from cross training like this, and that it will translate to good races.

Of course I will need to run too, but for now I’m just doing 2-3 miles/day on the weekdays, and a 9-miler or so on Saturday. Once the weather warms up, the snow melts, and I get more daylight to work with, I’ll add a second 4-5 mile run with the jogging stroller in the evenings after work. Adding doubles will give a total running volume of 45-50 miles/week, along with a cross training volume about 5 hours/week. This cross training volume I convert to 30 “miles”, based on the approximation of 10 minutes on elliptical = 1 mile running (Jack Daniels suggests 1 unit of cross training = 2/3 unit of running) . So the end result will give me up to 80 “miles” per week of total training volume, which is certainly sufficient to run some nice 5K/10K/half marathon races.

Some of you readers (assuming I still have readers) may wonder, why isn’t 70-80 miles/week good enough to run a marathon? Simple: I’m not doing any long runs or big workouts. Everything is short and sweet. A huge part of marathon-specific training is geared to adapt the body to handle of pounding and fueling of a race longer than two hours. It is that type of training I’ve determined I can no longer handle. No more 20-milers, no more huge tempo runs or interval workouts, no more runs over 60 minutes in duration. Dropping those kinds of runs, I believe, will keep me healthier, but they will also prohibit me from really doing any race longer than a Half.

So marathons are out, but other races are in. And I’m excited about it. I feel like it’s a fresh start and a new challenge. And is this to say I won’t ever run a marathon again? No, it’s just saying that I won’t ever train for a marathon…in the near future. I could easily see myself taking this training plan, adding one longer run (16-18 miles), and then jumping in a marathon for fun. But it would have to come at the end of the season, and would have to be dialed back with lowered expectations.

But who knows what the future will really bring? I’m just grateful for everyday out there I have to run and be active. I look forward to trying to PR at the Indy Mini Marathon in May, and to perhaps running the USATF LDR Circuit again this summer.

Note and disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I am not associated with Padma Basic or Euconugenics. I am just a guy with ankylosing spondylitis, trying to find any and all treatments that can help control the disease. My statements below are not authoritative, but rather reflect my own experiences with Padma Basic, and nothing more. Please consult a rheumatologist when implementing any change of treatment to your own disease.

Well, it’s been a month since my Part 1 Review on Padma Basic. I have finished my supply of the product, meaning I’ve been taking 6 tablets/day for 30 days in an attempt to suppress my ankylosing spondylitis. Time to discuss results.

Frankly, for the first three weeks I experienced no change whatsoever. I wasn’t exactly disappointed with this, as my expectations were not that high to begin with (given my lack of faith in alternative therapies). However, during the final seven days of using Padma, my neck and shoulders became noticeably less painful and stiff, especially in the morning. Pain levels went from about a “3″ to a “1″ or even “0.5″.

At the same time, pain and inflammation in my feet and toes subsided somewhat, probably from a “3″ to a “2″. I experienced no change in my lower back or my bothersome left hip. I also noticed no change in my chronically cold hands while running outside.

So it’s safe to say that results were mixed. Yes, my neck feels better right now, so it could be because of the Padma, or it could just be the natural ebb and flow of my ankylosing spondylitis. Simply put, with A.S. some days are better than others, and some weeks are better than others. My final week of taking Padma was certainly a “good” week.

My own conclusion: I will not continue taking Padma, simply because I can’t afford the $85-$100/month pricetag, and the results weren’t sufficient to justify the price. That’s still a lot of money in my world for something that is not proven to work (especially in today’s economy). Fortunately or unfortunately (depending on your view), prescription medication combined with insurance costs much less, and is proven to be effective. Even the biologic medications, such as Remicade and Enbrel, can often be obtained with less than $100/month, with insurance and financial aid from the respective drug company.

But to bring up the biologic drugs brings up a reason to try Padma Basic or Padma 28: through my own experience or through my literature review, I have not found any discernable side effects. Many side effects of the immuno-suppressant drugs or NSAIDs are downright scary. With Padma, I experienced no gastro-intestinal discomfort, no orange skin, no sensitivity to sunlight, no compromised immune system. This all observational; I did not have any testing done (liver, kidneys, etc.), so please take my lack of perceived side effects for what it’s worth. I also encourage readers to go through the literature review and links from my first posting; I have yet to see mention of side effects from the studies I’ve looked at, but that does not mean that don’t exist. So in a nutshell, my own experiences were positive, but please be responsible and be cautious when trying any new medication or any especially any non-FDA regulated supplement.

But pushing aside side effects (or lack thereof), Padma’s benefits to me were subtle at best. Perhaps Padma could be a viable option for people with very mild auto-immune diseases. Also, I think to truly test Padma better than I just did, a person would have to use it for 6-12 months. One month was probably not long enough to get the full effects. But then again, most of us with ankylosing spondylitis simply do not have 6-12 months to fool around, as permanent joint damage can occur in that kind of time frame. That is reason enough to go with a form of proven medication prescribed by a rheumatologist as front-line treatment; there is simply too much at stake to bank on an alternative therapy as the main treatment.

So to summarize, I took Padma Basic for 30 days to help suppress ankylosing spondylitis. I found:

• No side effects
• A small but noticeable reduction in neck/shoulder pain and stiffness
• A very small reduction in foot/toe pain
• No change in lower back/hip pain and stiffness
• Not convinced that improvements were necessarily directly from Padma
• Found the cost prohibitive
• Feel that a longer term of use would be more conclusive

I would love to see some real studies done with Padma Basic/28 on various auto-immune arthritis’s. How does it really compare to the anti-TNF drugs? Let’s see some real numbers, double-blind trials, and other methods that will hold up under scrutiny.

I would also love to hear back anecdotally from other people who use Padma to inhibit TNF and control rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, Chron’s disease, and others. Does it work for you? Please leave your comments, questions, and experiences. I hope this blog can be used as a resource for auto-immune sufferers who are investigating Padma and looking for real-life experiences about it.