Explitives but not only explitives

A ganglion cyst in my sinus tarsi. Stress reaction in under my sinus tarsi. Mild Achilles peritonitis and enthesitis. Mild peroneal tenosynovial inflammation and reactive edema in the subjacent portions of the calcaneus. Old injuries and scarring of the mortise joint ligament stabilizers. Mild posterior tibial tenosynovial inflammation and pes planus.

You can see the inflammation

Well that is what I got.

What I don't have: A stress fracture or a tear in my tendons. While this isn't great it isn't horrible. The real issue at hand is fixing the ganglion cyst in my sinus tarsi.  There are a number of things to do to fix it and I will start doing those things in the coming week or so. I will document that as well.

The bad news is the doctor says I shouldn't be running. Like not just not now, but not ever. That clearly won't do. I am trying figure out what I am going to do to get rid of this ganglion cyst in my sinus tarsi and other inflamed things in my left foot (I can't believe I haven't made more "My Left Foot" jokes) as I wrap my head around potentially never running another marathon.

A longer, and perhaps a more profound, post on this issue tomorrow. For now I am going to watch Sports Center and sulk. 

Running Myself Aground

My MRIs and XRays will be read tomorrow. I will hopefully find out what kind of damage has been done and what I will need to do to fix it.

I am getting nervous. Ok, I am just willing to admit that I am nervous. I have been nervous since not being able to run more than five miles without serious pain back in June.

And until this morning I was channeling this energy into less-than-healthy pursuits of eating lots of food and drinking lots of beer. And since I (less-than-) humbly bragged about my weight loss on this platform during my running days, I will humbly note that I am just about five pounds off my move-to-California weight. This is bad.

Recently I went to the doctor for a physical and received a very clean bill of health with cholesterol levels well above and below the right numbers, liver and kidneys found to be in good order, and everything else is working-as-intended. As he was leaving the room, the doctor said, "You are a healthy guy. (pause) You could do something about the weight, but otherwise you are very healthy." Yeah. Thanks Doc.

In the best case scenario, I will not be able to run for about six weeks. This means I need to figure out what the hell I am going to do to loss some of this nervous weight I have put back on due to my inability to run and feeling sorry for myself.

So in addition to using my trusty MyFitnessPal app again, I started swimming seriously last week complete with a training program for geared toward developing endurance. I love me a training program. It starts with a 50-100-150 pyramid warm-up, then the main workout is 400s broken out into odds and evens, with odds being a 100IM and 300 Free at a moderate to strong pace and evens being a 400 Free at a moderate pace.  I do a just-barely-not-drowning Breast stroke for the proscribed 200 cool down of "non-Free." Today I did three reps (odd, even, odd) of the main workout, total time in the water was about 50 minutes.

JCCSF: Where I swim with the yentas.

Swimming is fun and I am getting better at it as I continue to swim (shocking I know).  But it isn't running and I am not good. Also, even at my best, I look more like the old dudes doing aqua-floaty-aerobics than the Ironman bros doing mad laps in the fast lanes. Not that I care that much about how I look walking around the pool, but I actually care a lot about how I look walking around the pool. It is quite literally a slippery* slope regarding how I feel about how I look and what I can do about it at this point of my injury.

There will be no running for a while. So into the pool with the hopes of knocking out flip turns without having a gallon of water rush up my nose. Who knows, the doctor my proscribe me a floatation belt and I will get to know some of the older folks yacking it up in the deep end.

The update tomorrow may or may not be comprised solely of profanities. Fair warning.

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*I made a "don't run on the deck" joke and it was very bad. Sorry about that.

Well, [Expletive]

I went back to the doctor today. Unlike my last appointment, I don't plan on running a marathon next week.  In fact, I am not sure I would be able to do so even if I was in shape for it.

Due to this change in circumstance it appears the doctor was more interested in finding the cause of my ankle pain and not simply patching me up enough to get on the road.*

After ignoring the pain for months and other stupid things like running when it hurt and being an idiot, I am off to get some radiation that isn't coming from the ocean.

I suppose injuries are part of running. But I would rather they weren't.  I also suppose that is part of the reason I ran through the pain.

My new doctor said today that I was "a tough guy" and it really has to hurt before "tough guys" come in to get checked out. The time line of my pain also supports her hypothesis. I hope that my imaging doesn't show some sort of long-term or permanent damage but you never know.  I trained really hard on a semi-nasty, long-nagging injury. It was stupid and I knew it was stupid, but I needed to get that tempo run in, you know?

There are many of us "tough guys" out there who train through pain and then are sidelined.  We know better.  We know we should stretch more.  We know we should strengthen our gluts and core. We know we should take the rest days seriously.  We know we should take the ice bath.  But do we do it? Many of us don't do enough or anything at all.

So while the insurance approves the MRIs and XRays I will have time to contemplate the fact that it is no long self-effacing humor to say I was stupid. I might actually simply be stupid. 

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*In retrospect it was probably not right of the doctor who I saw in April to say I could run the race in that condition without taking some sort of diagnostic imaging to back up her opinion. If the doctor said don't run, I wouldn't have run. I would have been pissed, but I also would most likely no longer be in pain.

An open letter to shoe companies

Dear Running Shoe Companies,

Every few months, I provide you with between $100 and $150. Most of the time I will purchase one kind of shoe for a year until you either change it drastically or I hurt myself and I need to try something new to support my newly found injury.  Dearest Running Shoe Companies, you may have noticed that I haven't been keeping up on this running blog over the last few months...and that is because I have been dealing with (or-not-dealing-with-whatever-leave-me-alone-I-am-going-to-the-doctor-tomorrow-shut-up) a hurt ankle.

So after working my last pair of shoes into the ground as part of my non-impact, non-running, very-boring work outs at the gym, I needed a new pair of running shoes. I decided a pair with significantly more support, perhaps even motion control, would be a good idea to protect my ankle from pronation thanks to my super flat feet.

I went off to Sports Basement to get a new pair of shoes and committed to the support. But to my dismay all of those options were ugly and monochromatic.  I am sure you know, Running Shoe Companies, I like to wear crazy shoes and wacked out running gear. But why you got to be like that with the supportive shoes?

Not all of us are grandmothers trying to get in a few laps with our mall walking group.  Some of your most dedicated runners are slightly larger with flat feet and flair for the dramatic running outfit. Ok that is just me, but really what gives?

Brooks, one of my favorite running companies has BRIGHT shoes and gear but BORING motion control kicks. Nike seems to have some fun stuff for the support-deficient crowd, but nothing like their insanely fun to look at Free Series or fly knit woven shoes.  Asics, makers of those neat-o painted shoes, make gray and blue shoes for people like me.

Step up your support shoe decorations folks. I like to look fly when I am running and it seems if I ever can get back to really covering great distances, I would like more choices than topee and light green stripes.

And yes, it feels good to be back even it if is only for five or six miles.

Send my best to your family,

thedcc

Without a plan

I don't have one of these right now.

For nearly the past three years, I have been constantly training for a marathon or half marathon.  I could have run a half marathon on one day's notice pretty much at anytime during this period. I had a plan I would stick to it no matter what, even to the determent of my own body (see: busted ankle posts).

But now, thanks to the parenthetically noted busted ankle, I am not following an official training plan.  And as I noted late last week, my not-on-paper plan of three runs and three spins was just a bit ambitious for my out-of-shape self. 

So I am without a plan. I feel lost and cold inside.

Yeah, not so much

I started with such high hopes.

After two days of spin and one run, I am here to report that my ankle is not 100% and I am 100% out of shape.

Nothing else to report, but I feel obligated to note that my high hopes of 3 runs and 3 spins is already off course...perhaps I will work up to it...or I will just complain about.

The Break is Over

Running in Rome.

Over the past month I have been recovering from my sprained ankle. I have done my rehab and some stationary biking, and clocked about eight total miles of running. Granted those runs were in Rome and Tuscany, so that part is cool.

Running under the Tuscan Sun

But now I got to get back into shape.

There were a bunch of stories of late in running magazines noting the benefits of elites taking time off and gaining weight and such. Well I have done that and I hope to reap those getting fat benefits.

After a fantastic vacation in Italy and New York and Chicago, it is time to lose the 10 pounds I found (read: stuffed into my mouth in the form of outrageous pasta, pizza, wine, salted meats, gelato, and other lovely foodstuffs) as well as the other 10 pounds I was hoping to have lost before this vacation started.

It will take time and I won't make the mistake of blasting out of the gate with too much for a semi-weak ankle and totally depleted cardiovascular system.

So I will only run three times a week for a max mileage of 25 miles and spin about three times a week along with continued rehab.  Like I said, nice and easy...

And we're back.

Tacoma City Marathon

Runners crossing the Tacoma Narrows Bridge
(via: The News Tribune)

Some things I have learned running the Tacoma City Marathon

• Whenever a race says it is a net down hill course they mean that there are lots of hills. 
• 75 degrees is nice for the beach but not for completely exposed miles 19 through 26.2.
• The Pacific Northwest is beautiful when the weather is nice. 
• But most importantly, don't run a marathon with a sprained ankle.

I was very worried about running 26.2 miles on a pretty much sprained ankle. Until Friday of last week, I wasn't so sure I would get through the race. But thanks to the improvement to my stability achieved in the last few days of PT, I went into Sunday with a pretty good idea that I would be able to finish but it would hurt, like a mother. 

Guess what?  I was right. I ran my second fastest marathon on a sprain, in 75 degree heat, on a rolling course through beautiful areas of a city I most likely will never visit again.  A win in my book.

If you see something, say something

This story ends well.

Last night I packed my bag.  I checked to make sure I had everything I could possibly need.  I did.  Then I checked again this morning. I still had what I needed.

After a very healthy breakfast, another check of everything, and a friendly reminder from the wife as we left about everything I had just checked, we left and locked the door.

I got a seat on the bus, put my bag down behind me (foreshadowing much?) and started reading the Times on my phone.

At the last stop, which happens to be mine, I got off thinking about the ice coffee I was going to enjoy.  And then it hit me.

Thanks Muni!

My bag, complete with perfectly worn in shoes, shorts, and lucky race shirt was on the 2 Bus heading to the beginning of the route, the depot, or God-knows where.  So I took off running while calling 411 for the phone number of the Muni lost and found.

Sprinting down Spear Street, I took a sharp right on Mission while talking to the operator getting the number for Muni which I didn't connect with.  I took another sharp right stopping to talk to some bus drivers on Main Street.  They told me to call 311 and the bus will most likely be exactly where I started my dead sprint.  So I called 311 as I was sprinting back to Market and saw the bus pulling up to its stop.  I jumped into the street and kicked up the speed and got there as the driver was about to call the cops.

VICTORY!

Then I got that ice coffee, and a cookie.  As I was taking the elevator up to my office I was extremely thankful that my absent mindedness didn't lead to a potential terrorist threat on my bus line.  I was also pretty pleased that my little speed workout didn't hurt.

Bosu Blogging is Like Gonzo Journalism

This week has been tough. The ankle, the complete and total taper (read: NO RUNNING), the PT, and the bosu ball. And then that pesky work thing.

Eric my PT, who thinks I am an idiot but respects the drive to toe the line, has put me on an increasing my balance regiment and somewhat impressively, it has worked pretty well. But he also has reintroduced me to an old friend: the bosu ball.

They call it a bosu ball because son-of-a-bitch ball was taken

Back in New York, I used the bosu ball to do fake sit-ups and pretend that I was in the work-out know.  I was not. I used it very rarely and it sucked. I do not like this piece of equipment and it doesn't like me. I would look at it as the torture devices I have learned it to be.

However this week I went from being unable to stand on it with both feet in the above pictured position, to being able to stand with one foot (either the good or bad one) flipped over for about 45 seconds before I fall off.  I think that is pretty good for a guy with a still-sorta-sprained ankle and NO balance.

The underlying issue I have, like so many runners, is extremely weak gluts.  Runners have lots of good things going on for them, however, atrophy of the gluts is not one of them.  This kind of weakness leads to a number of problems including an inability to stabilize and allow for my busted ankle to heal. So I have been balancing a lot.  I am getting good at it but still there is a little pain.  Well more like sore muscles I have never used.

#OperationGLOOMA

This past Friday, after not being able to run more than a half mile without extreme pain on Tuesday, I finally saw a doctor.  I went into the room expecting to walk out in a boot but I still wanted to put up a strong front.

I said, "My ankle hurts and has for about three months. I am running a marathon next Sunday. What can we do?"

The PA took notes, asked questions, a few of which had to do with my sanity for running as long as I did on a painful ankle.  Then the doctor came in and put it on the table.

It is official: I have been running for the past three months on a sprained ankle. To be more specific it is a Grade 2 Anterior tabofibular ligament sprain.

Well what does that mean?  For a normal person that would mean I would stop running and get physical therepy for a few weeks and continue to mend my weak ligament over the course of a month or so.

But for me, it means I am going to PT for five straight days, then getting on a flight to Tacoma to run my marathon.

But like I said, I got a plan. #OperationGLOOMA is in full effect and making great progress on the South Western front, otherwise known as my left ankle. #OperationGLOOMA or "Get Liquid Out Of My Ankle" is a complex project with many players, exercises, ultra-sound, ibuprofen, ice packs, and swimming pools.  Getting the liquid out will enable the fibers of the ligament to reattach and provide additional stability for my race. So you better believe I am all in on this week long campaign to win the war.

Today was the first time I cried

Saturday is our club's long run and today was no different, except it was.  Today we welcome back our friends who are now victims of terror and runners of one the of best road races in the world.  Some of the people were clearly doing better than others but none of us, those who ran Boston and those of us who were worried about them here, were ok. We were all shaken.

Before the run I gave a short interview to KTVU, one that I have given to a number of outlets over the past week.  In short we, the San Francisco Road Runners Club stands with all of Boston. We are proud of our runners and we will support our runners who qualify or raise money to run next year.  But the thing that I say with all honesty to every interviewer is that these little deranged bastards will not stop me from running. They will not keep our tight community away from the race or any American away from living our lives.

Today David Ortiz nailed it in his speech after the National Anthem and Julius Genachowski, Chairman of the FCC, agreed with his heart felt sentiment. Neil Diamond came on his own dime to sing Sweet Caroline during the Red Sox game.  And the San Francisco Road Runners ran through San Francisco. These little weak people will not stop us from living as free Americans. 

But what made this so real to me was the pain I saw in my friends' eyes today.  The tears they shed when talking about it or the look they gave you when asking how they were doing today.  

We talk a lot about being stronger than this attack. And we are stronger than this attack.  But that doesn't get rid of the pain and suffering.  It doesn't eliminate the feeling of vulnerability.  It doesn't change the images. It doesn't save the lives of those lost nor does it restore the lives forever altered.  

Now we must use this strength that we have seen in the faces of Boston's finest and ordinary citizens to move forward together.  But after a week like this, it was a huge relief to see my friends alive and as well as they can be. It became even more real today. No more TV images. These are my people and this was scary. But we are together, and we are strong. We won't forget but we will move on. Maybe not today, or tomorrow. But we will. We will keep running, together.

We all ran Boston today

Today was horrible.

Today was supposed to be a day about the power of humanity because unlike at any other event, no one's rooting against anyone. Yes this is one of the worst things that could have happened.

But it won't stop me. It won't stop my friends. It won't stop Americans.

The Boston Marathon will go on. There will be runners, there will be winners, and there will be fans who watch on the sidelines and support. 

May God and everything that is good help those hurt and lost today.  But know this, you sons-of-bitches, who ever you are, we aren't going to stop doing what we do.  We will run again. We will do so with a renewed passion for life and liberty.

Today was horrible.  But there is tomorrow and the next day after.

And the dreams begin

It looks like this...but glows in the dark.

I am late to the start.  It is usually due to some back up of a flying buffalo or something that only makes perfect sense deep in the REM cycle.

I get to the start, futz with my bib -- there is always something wrong with the bib -- and I get started.

There are strange things going on around me.

I run at Olympic Trial pace which is faster than I can run a two mile time trial for the first 16 miles and I feel great...and then I wake up.

I don't get to find out if I run for the US Team in Rio. I also don't get my victory ride on the flying buffalo.

Clearly it is getting close to marathon time.

50ish miles a week and a full time job

DAMN I HAVE BEEN BUSY!

I love working hard and it is great to have a challenging job.  But that leaves very little time for blogging.

By ways of catching up know these things: I am still running and my ankle still hurts.

But that isn't the point of today's post. The point is how to train for a marathon properly and be stupid busy.

The short story is you sleep less.  The long story is, longer.

#SeenOnMyRun - Darkness