Wow, has it really been since 17 Feb that I've updated? I have been neglectful of my blogging duties! Well, let's get on with it then.

The Injury Front

Yeah, my legs are effed up again and I'm pretty ticked off about it. There were starting to bother me about two (three?) weeks ago so I went back to Podiatrist to see if I needed an adjustment. He observed that my left leg was shorter than my right leg and added a 1/4" lift in my shoes. I had three (maybe four) really good, pain-free runs (It's been so long, I'd completely forgotten what that felt like), and then things slowly started to fall apart until everything hit the bottom last Saturday when I set off for a 7 miler and had to bail at 2.5 miles in disgust because my shins & knees were killing me. In hindsight, I should have bailed after the first mile, but I didn't. I'm stupid. Anyway, I've got shin pain and now knee pain and I've never had knee pain from running before. In fact, it's about the only thing on my legs that haven't given me problems. Hamstrings: check. Hips: check. Calves: check. Shins: check. Ankles: check. Knees: awesome!

So, I'm taking this week off to do some moping cross-training and I'm going back to yell at discuss things with Mr. Podiatrist on Thursday. Last summer, he advised me that my problems were caused by over-pronation and that custom orthotics would resolve this issue and I'd be running big pain-free miles in no time. $500 custom orthotics will cure my lower leg issues, my ass! If anything, they seem like they've caused a good portion of the issues and I'm about THISCLOSE to going back to my original setup of over-the-counter cushioning insoles in my stability shoes.

The Simon Front

Poor little Simon has had a rough month: weight loss, appetite loss, vomiting, lethargy, drugs, drugs, drugs. He finally seems like he's leveling out and is (mostly) keeping food down and his appetite is much improved. I had to bring him back in last Friday so he could get his T4 (thyroid hormone) levels checked after being on Trapazole for the last month. He's been on & off the medicine so much in the last month, that I didn't hold out much hope for good news, but I was pleasantly surprised that his levels are back in the normal range. Woohoo, good news!

He's still having bouts of vomiting in the middle of the night which I usually step in as I stumble to the bathroom in the morning (gross), but it's sporadic. And his appetite is okay. He's never had a big appetite to begin with, so as long as he's eating and not losing any weight, I'm happy. So, we continue with the two pills/day and that's that.

Well, that's about it. Until next time!

In a funk, that is. Because I'm not running. Tomorrow will be one week.

Runners. I see them everywhere. On my trails. On my roads. On my route. Running like I should be. Where I should be. I find myself gazing at them longingly. Jealousy.

What am I doing?

Moping.

Riding my bike.

Lifting weights.

Trying not to eat like a sumo wrestler because I don't end up looking like a sumo wrestler.

I'm testing out a new saddle for the bike. The other one was causing some serious discomfort to my lady parts. The first ride in the tester was promising, lady parts were happier. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Started wearing the running shoes with the orthotics all the time. Maybe it'll help.

Podiatrist has me taking another supplement called Bromelain. It's some pineapple extract thing that's supposed to help with inflammation and pain. Whatver.

Appleton is 24 days away.

I don't know if I'm running.

Running used to be such a great pleasure to me, but it's not anymore. It's become some sort of cruel lesson in pain management.

I'm tired of taking time off to rest. I'm tired of having to continually cut my schedule and my runs short. I'm tired of trying to figure how out I can cross-train enough to maintain my endurance. I'm tired of researching. I'm tired of tweaking. I'm tired of trying this and that and everything else. I'm tired of being consumed by it. Nothing is working.

Mentally, I just don't have it anymore.

And I think up until now I've been in denial.

Maybe if I cut my schedule back from four runs/week to three runs/week, I'll be better.

It's not.

Maybe if I cut my schedule back from three runs/week to two runs/week, I'll be better.

It's not.

Maybe if I don't run at all, it'll be better.

That's the reality that came crashing down on my head during my five mile run this afternoon. Only it didn't turn out to be five, it only turned out to be 3.5 because I just couldn't go any farther. I stopped and stood there feeling defeated and feeling like crying.

This injury. It's like a toothache that never goes away. Sometimes you can ignore it, other times you know it's there, but you can deal with it. And then, after a while, after it's gnawed it's way through the mental barrier you put up to protect against it, you just can't deal anymore and you feel like taking a pair of pliers and yanking the tooth out yourself.

Running is now all about pain. Fear. Anxiety. Confusion. Anger. Frustration. Dread.

I'm a tough chick. I can take a lot of pain and I can withstand a lot of mental challenges.

But this injury. It's broken me.

Or at least that’s what I thought around the two mile mark of my five mile run tonight.

Then, I felt a twinge in my left leg. 

Now, being a runner, I’m pretty accustomed to random twinges during my runs.  Sometimes I’ll get one during a stride and it’ll disappear in the next.  Sometimes it’ll stick around for several strides before fading away.  So, I’m not usually too bothered by them.

This was a different twinge.  It was accompanied by a burning, aching feeling that spread from my ankle to my lower calf.  It was a twinge with attitude.  Then, my hamstrings decided to tighten up and every step became a battle between me and my legs.  Immediately my hey-i-think-i’m-getting-better-because-there’s-no-pain run turned into a i-hate-my-legs, i-hate-running, why-does-this-always-happen-to-me, screw-this-I’m-just-going-to-sit-on-the-couch-and-get-fat self-loathing pity fest.

Somehow, through sheer will or sheer stupidity (with me, they seem to be interchangeable), I made it through the last three miles and I felt like crap afterward.  Not just physically but mentally.  My legs were throbbing and I was just disgusted with myself and running.

I think my big mistake in all this was running two days in a row.  But, I’ve been feeling pretty good the last few runs.  I’ve had minimal pain and my speed is starting to come back.  I’ve slowly started to incorporate uphills, downhills and pavement back into my routine and everything’s been okay.  However, I was only running three times a week with a day or two between runs.  So, I think running two days in a row was just too much for my disgruntled tendons and they let met know it in no uncertain terms.

I’ll take the next two days off then have an eight miler on the schedule for Saturday.  We’re going to be camping in Marquette, so I need to find some soft trails to run on because I don’t think my legs can handle any more pavement.

Last week’s totals:  13.04 miles @ 10:55

Unimpressive, to say the least.

Wow, it’s been that long since I’ve blagged.  I didn’t think it was that long so I guess I’ve been busy.  What have I been doing?  Well, we took a trip to Iowa for a few days and did the touristy thing.  That was a lot of fun.  I have a bunch of pictures, but I’ve been too lazy to get them uploaded to my gallery.  One of these days…

Before we left for the Land of Corn and Tractors, Josh and I ran timing for the Miner’s Revenge MTB race.  It’s called the Miner’s Revenge because the race actually goes right through the old Adventure Copper Mine in Greenland, MI.  Our friend James over at Bad Decision Bicyclist was competing and it’s always fun to go to his local races and make fools of ourselves hooting and hollering when he rides by.  This was our first time working rather than spectating and it was a lot of fun.  I was a little bit nervous that a ton of people would cross the finish line all at once and I’d screw up everybody’s time, but the riders were spread out enough that the most we head to deal with was five riders finishing in a clump.

Finally, I’m happy to report that the other thing I’ve been doing is running.  I ended up taking a six-day break because my tendonitis was being pissy, and that turned out to be the smart thing to do because I’m running without much pain now.  It’s not gone completely, but it is about 80% better than it was a week and a half ago. 

I did add a new weapon to my arsenal to get me healthy.  I started taking glucosamine & methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) supplements daily after reading about a fellow blogger’s success with it.  Glucosamine & MSM are commonly used in tandem to treat or prevent osteoarthritis.  Among the many marketing claims of MSM, the most appealing to me were the anti-inflammatory aspects.  Glucosamine can help repair cartilage and joints - not that I’m having those types of issues – but I figured I couldn’t hurt.  So, I started taking the pills containing 1500 mg of glucosamine, 750 mg of MSM eight days ago and either they’re magic or I’m falling for some snake oil trick because I think they’re helping.  Actually, it’s probably the MSM that’s working because that takes about 3 days to kick in.  Glucosamine takes something like 6 weeks.  Anyhoo, after about three days of gulping down these horse-sized pills, I noticed that my left leg didn’t seem as annoyed and some of my swelling also looks to have gone down, too.  The pain on my first run (5 days after starting the pills) was 50% less than compared to my previous runs and each subsequent run has been more and more pain-free.

So, I don’t know if it’s actually the pills or it’s all in my head, but all I know is that I’m running regularly and every run is better than the last.  It’s giving me hope (cut to me looking for some wood to knock on) that I’ll actually be able to do the Appleton HM in September.  For a while there, I was pretty well convinced that I was going to have to pull my entry, which would have really sucked.

Well, until next time…

...but I can still run!

After a three week layoff from running while I was nursing posterior tibial tendonitis and adjusting to my custom orthotics, I started running again on Monday.

The first run went great. There was no pain, not even a twinge. Granted I took it very s-l-o-w and cautious, but it felt great to run without pain. The orthotics felt great - meaning I couldn't even tell I was using them.

The second run felt good as well, but I made a key mistake in the beginning of the run, which I'm pretty sure stuck me back in Podiatrist's office. I ran three blocks downhill. Like straight downhill. As I was about mid-way through the last block it occurred to me that it probably wasn't a smart choice because I could feel the stress on my lower legs more so than before. Wouldn't you know it, toward the end I could feel a little something happening on my inside shin area.

Crap.

Ice, Advil, ice, Advil.

At start of my third run, I felt a twinge. Or maybe something stronger than a twinge. A pinch? Whatever. Anyway, that twinge subsided after about a quarter-mile and I didn't really feel anything until I stopped and then started up again. Then, the twinge hit again. Cue a burning feeling, which is a tell-tale sign that my tendon was on the verge of being pissed off. Fortunately, I was at the end of my run, so I walked home and immediately started my ice, Advil, ice routine.

This morning I woke up and assessed the situation. The burning feeling is still there and is now accompanied by a really tender spot on my shin. So, I called Podiatrist who told me to get my butt into the office ASAP and don't run.

Craaaaaap.

Fortunately, I was able to get an appointment for this afternoon. Podiatrist and I discussed the situation and he agrees with me that it was probably the downhill running that aggrevated my tendon. He made a slight adjustment in my orthotics to give me some more lift in my heel (yay, I'm taller!) and gave me some stuff called CryoDerm, a pain relieving spray that I supposed spray on my leg before I run. I'm also back on the Meloxicam (so long, beer!) to keep the inflammation from getting out of control. Finally, he instructed me that I should do wall-push calf stretches three times/day to keep my calves loose.

Oh, and I'm also supposed to keep up with the icing and try to stay off the pavement.

After discussing all that, Podiatrist and I then had an interesting conversation about the drug Propofol. That's the potent anesthetic Michael Jackson was taking to supposedly help him sleep; the stuff everybody's saying is really hard to get. Apparently the drug companies Podiatrist buys from have started to push Propofol big-time. Cheaply, too, Podiatrist said around $3.50/vial. He can't figure out why they suddenly started to push this drug when he's never used it in his practice before and it's not something he would ever use. The only thing he figured was that this was all fall-out from MJ. I find that to be very bizarre. But, we are talking about Michael Jackson, here, who can probably be summed up by the same word.

He made dang good music, though. Dang good. If I hadn't sold my Thriller and Bad cassettes (yes, I'm that old) at a garage sale last year, I'd totally be jamming out to them right now. Shamon!

"Please do not run until I can see you." said the podiatrist to the running chick.

Great.

I’ve been doing the same weight training routine for the last several months and it’s getting seriously boring.  So, based on the reviews at Amazon.com (and a few glasses of wine), I picked up this new DVD.

One review said “…[the routines] are tough and leave you feeling it the next day (or two)…”.

Ha!  My back and sides are in agony!  It’s pretty apparent that the DVDs I’ve been doing don’t even hit those muscles.  I didn’t dare do the second portion of the workout today because I figured getting up off the floor was important.

Hopefully I’ll be recovered enough tomorrow to attempt the next routine.  I watched it today and it’s a killer.

Can’t wait!

Picked up the orthotics on Thursday afternoon and all I can say is that I now understand why Podiatrist warned me to break them in for a week before running  (well, actually he said two weeks, but I negotiated him down to one week ) – they’re going to take some getting used to.

The first thing I noticed is that, unlike the cushy over-the-counter insoles I’ve been buying for the last many years, these ones are rigid.  That rigidity is (apparently) what’s realigning my lower leg and keeping my ankle from rolling in too much.  They do have a cushy surface on them, so it’s not like I’m completely running on hard plastic.

Second, the heel cup is really deep, deeper than any other insole I’ve even worn.  I forgot to ask Podiatrist what that meant, but since the ultimate goal of these things is to realign, I’m sure that somehow comes into play.

Third, they feel different.  I feel my heel sitting differently in my shoe, I feel the arch support pressing into my arch.  The realignment of my feet are causing my outer ankle to rub on the top edge of my shoe.  I’ve been really lucky in that every shoe and insole I’ve ever worn has been instantly comfortable and I’ve never had issues with shoes causing me blisters or even causing hot spots on my feet, but I don’t know how the orthotics are going to work out once I start running.  I am a bit concerned about that.  I guess I’ll have to stock up on tape or something.

Last, and most annoying, the damn things squeak.  I’ve worn them constantly for two days now and all I hear is squeak, squeak, squeak.  I can’t imagine how annoying that’s going to be when I start running.   I can only hope the break-in period will take care of that.

I left Podiatrist’s office with a warning from him to not freak out if I start to get aches and pains mysteriously on other parts of my body.  He said that since my base (feet) is being realigned, that could have a domino effect on other areas of my body as it adjusts to everything.  He said to give my body a solid month of working everything out before I go back for any adjustments.

Well, anyway, onto the pictures. Here's the orthotics from several angles.

Here's me standing without and with them. (How come I look like I have cankles?) You can see how my ankles are rolling inward in the first picture, and how they're realigned in the second.

 

My plan is to wear them around as much as possible for a week and then I’ll start running.  My tendonitis is under control, so if all goes well, I’ll be able to get back into the running groove fairly quickly.

I got the call from Podiatrist's office today that my orthotics are in. I get fitted tomorrow after lunch.

Thank God, let's get this show on the road. I've got lots of running to make up for!

I should rename my blag to “Not Running Chick” because that’s sure what I’ve been doing.

My tendonitis has been a bugger – mostly because I was a big, dumb idiot and continued to run through the pain just to get some miles in.  Not smart.  I finally grew some brains and made the decision to just chill out and rest until my orthotics come in.  I’m hoping to see them late this week. 

In the meantime, I’ve been lifting weights like a fool – like for the past 14 days straight before I decided it was okay to take a day off.  I’ve also been riding my bike, but not as much as I should.

I did 40 miles yesterday in 3:15 and the week before I did 27 in 2:08.  I’ve been using my Garmin 305 to keep an eye on my cadence and I’m finding that I can cruise along pretty easily between 85 and 90 RPM.  Thanks to the hills, though, my rides are averaging around 75 RPM.  My heart rate typically stays between 155-165 BPM throughout that cadence range, which is the BPM I’m supposed to maintain for my long, slow runs.  I think that’s good, but I haven’t done a whole lot of research on heart rate training yet.

 

We’ve been grilling up a storm, thanks to the new addition to my arsenal.  Behold (on the left) the Weber 22.5” One Touch Gold.  The grill on the right is one that we inherited from my parents and is about 30 (?) years old.  It works really well, but I wanted something that contained the ash so it wouldn’t blow all over the place on a windy day.  We’ve been grilling a ton of stuff – vegetables, steaks, chicken, pizza, quesadillas, pork roast, pineapple. 

Things taste so much better on a charcoal grill, for sure.

Finally, we’ve playing Pictionary.  Can you guess what this picture represents?

Thanks to these..



causing this...

I now have a case of Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome. Podiatrist said I'm "textbook". Yay.

My MTSS is characterized by pain and tenderness in the inside leg above my ankle. As an added bonus, I have some swelling too. I usually have pain when I start out running, then it goes away after about 15 minutes only to flare up about an hour after I'm done. The tenderness is always there, but the pain typically goes away the next day. So, basically my ankles roll inward excessively putting stress on the muscles and tendons that run up the inside of my leg causing pain & swelling.

Podiatrist says "We can fix you".

These little little plaster slippers get shipped off to some place in New York where goo gets poured into them to make a cast of my foot. My custom orthotics get made from those casts.

They should be here in three weeks.  Then I have a two week adjustment period where I’ll wear them walking around (at work, etc), but not running.  Then, RUN!

In the meantime, Podiatrist put me on some serious anti-inflammatory drugs to get the swelling down and and make my inflamed tendons happier.  I can still run during this period, I just have to take it easy.

Oh, and the cost of getting me running pain-free?  Just under $550.  They’d better come with a money-back guarantee.

I thought it was broken, but it's not. Just bashed all to hell.  It's a lovely purple & red now, I wonder what it'll look like tomorrow? Maybe black! Ooh!  I wonder if I’ll lose my toenail!  Double ooh!

The good news is that if I keep my shoe loose enough, it doesn’t bother me when I run.  I did a quick 3 miles tonight around the neighborhood and it was okey dokey.

This weekend is the Breakers to Bay 5 mile race.  I haven’t trained at all, except for a few meetings of the Friday Night Run & Booze Club.  I’m not sure that counts.  This might end up being my first DFL finish.  Oof.

I've noticed a robin hanging around my deck over the past couple of weeks and this afternoon I decided to investigate. I found several nests in the spaces between the joists, but this one was the only one occupied. I have no idea how old the eggs are or when to approximate their hatch date. Nor do I know about how long the babies stay in the nest after they've hatched. This could quite possibly put a damper on refinishing my deck this month. Also, some enterprising black bird is taking advantage of my unfinished eave and built a nest there as well.  I almost didn’t notice it.  but I glanced up at the roof and noticed dried grass coming out of the mesh part, thought WTF?, then noticed the bird on the neighbor’s roof having a hissy fit at me.  Oh.  Pardon me.  So sorry for interrupting your nest sitting.

Non-running update:  the pain in my right shin is gone, the pain in my left shin seems to come and go.  It didn’t bother me much yesterday, but it did today.  I have no idea why, I haven’t been doing anything exercise-related in four days.  It is better than last Thursday and it feels better every day, so I’m sure I’ll be fine by the race next Saturday.  Just in case, I’m planning on carrying several packets of Bio-Freeze with me.

In case you’re interested, my pain is narrowed down to one 3” spot on my shin where the big muscle starts to taper.  I’m a textbook case of posterior shin splints.

CRIPES.

Just once I’d like to head into a race completely healthy.  I’d like to not have any shin splints, hamstring pulls or calf strains.

JUST FREAKING ONCE.

But no, it’s just not in the cards for me because my shins are pissed off again.

ARGH.

So, I probably won’t run any more before the HM.  I can grti through 3 miles with aching shins but 13.1….

No. Freaking. Way.

Bah.

Well, at least I can say I got two runs in this week, so all is not lost.

Tuesday’s run: 3.25 miles @ 35:28 - 10:55 ppm. Average bpm 165

Today’s run:  3.00 miles @ 28.33 – 9:31 ppm.  Average bpm 175

There’s always the bike and killer yoga, I suppose.  And the One Hundred Push Up Challenge which I started the other day.  I’m on week 1, day 2 and my arms are slightly sore, but nothing too bad.  We’ll see how I feel next week.