OUCH OUCH OUCH! OH %^$&#@% THAT HURTS!!!!!

   I don't know if it was fatigue from the long run, or when I twisted while unloading groceries from the car several hours later or a combination of both, but my lower back started spasming very, very painfully in the evening of the Sunday I did  my 11-miler. I couldn't stand, I couldn't sit. lying down was OK but getting up really hurt.  I missed work on that Monday because I couldn't bend down to pull my pants up.  I actually made it to work the next day, but only lasted two hours (I am so thankful I have a job with sick leave!!!).  Ibuprofen wouldn't touch it, percocet helped but put me to sleep, Flexeril gave me no relief at all; ice was good as long as I was on it, but as soon as I tried to get up the pain was back full force. I tried walking at work, a total of about 3 miles between work sites and the shop, on Wednesday but was crippled up the next day. Eventually I wrapped my foam roller with my heating pad and laid on that, massaging and rolling for hours...  That helped a lot - foam rollers really are your best friend!  A few days of that, and I was able to touch my toes but even now it feels sore and heavy.  I walked very little on Monday, about 3.5 miles Tuesday and maybe 2 today and can still touch my toes. so I am going to attempt a very easy run tomorrow morning and if that goes well (and I can build my front steps over the rest of the day) I will try another long run on Saturday.
  I don't EVER want to hurt that bad again so I am going to build a LOT more core and back exercises into my crosstraining routine.  I had been doing some planks and ab work on a kind-of haphazard basis, but obviously that didn't prevent my back problems, so I plan to make it a more central part of my cross training.  I will report back after tomorrow's run...

Aiming for consistency

  I am into my 16 week marathon buildup.  My overall goal, of course, is to finish the Poulsbo marathon, and feel strong at the finish.  My "secret" goal is to get close to 4 hours. Probably not too realistic since I haven't run that distance since 1995.   Using my most recent half-marathon time as a predictor puts me at more like 5 (double your half time and add 20 minutes = 5:02). But....I am really trying to be more consistent and and build my fitness to better than what it was for the Heroes half last year.  For that race I really only "trained" for the month before the race and my longest run was only around 8 miles. At least now I have been running more consistently and following more of a plan.

   I ran the Hansville loop (11 miles) for the first time yesterday.  I'm not sure why I have felt so intimidated by that particular route: maybe it was the climbs - totalling all of 400 feet or so, or the traffic (some parts have no shoulder and fairly heavy traffic) but I finally just went for it.  It really wasn't bad at all.  My left calf started cramping at about 7 miles but I kept running - it was sore at the end and still very slightly sore today.  Tried a Vega gel during the run - they are pretty good, and I definitely felt a boost after eating it.

   I think next time I run it I will stash a bottle of water about halfway and maybe avoid the cramp...

Snags and slowdowns

I finally got an MRI of my right knee, being concerned about the "lump" I've been feeling for the past year.  My orthopedist was completely unconcerned about it, dismissing it as a cyst.  It only occasionally causes me any discomfort and doesn't impact my running so I guess I am not too worried about it, either.  He then pointed out the slightly frayed meniscus and very minor evidence of osteoarthritis.  His next words:  "you should stop running".  Hmph....  I think that the frayed meniscus might just as easily be an artifact of hyperextending my knee a couple of years ago while out on a trail run rather than a result of running wear-and-tear.  I am stronger, better balanced and more agile, now.

   The only reason I'm not running at present is the cataract surgery I had on Monday, the second of April.  I have enough trouble with my eyes (thanks for giving my brother and I BB guns, Dad...  I have been enjoying that particular gift for 50 years) that I am not willing to risk jarring anything or causing other problems by going out for a run till I get an OK from my opthamologist.  I went out for a short walk with a weight vest the day after the surgery, and have been walking consistently since then.  Hopefully after my next doctor visit on Wednesday I will be able to put in some easy miles.  That will give me a couple of weeks of running till the surgery on my right eye - walk a couple of weeks then back to running in mid-May.

  That shouldn't impact my plans to run Poulsbo in October too badly - I might have to look at just finishing feeling strong, rather than setting any kind of PR, but that is OK.  My goals are more long-term, anyway.

Via con Dios, Caballo Blanco

I think I will go out and run my favorite trail today...

Starting again, again...

So I basically took the last 4 months months off.  I was tired all the time; just feeling worn out.  I finally got around to getting physical and complained to my doctor about it... my vitamin D levels were low and I have a sizeable cyst on the inside of my right knee (when I first noticed it all kinds of scary "tumor" thoughts ran through my head, but it still took me a couple of months to work up to talking to a doctor about it), testosterone levels low but in normal range...

  I started taking 5000 units a day of vitamin D3, but I think the biggest problem was unrecognized stress  surrounding my work situation: the mill where I was working was up for sale, and even though there was a potential buyer in negotiations the future there was rather uncertain.  In the end the sale fell thruough and the owners of the mill decided to close and lay everyone off.  It worked out OK, though - I was able to move directly to a new job - severed/laid off on a Friday, Dec 30, started the new job on Tuesday, Jan 3 ($5 less an hour, though...).

  The new job has a few benefits, though, the first of which is no more ferry commute!  This gives me an 'extra' hour to hour-and-a-half a day, which I have been using to run and cross-train in the mornings.  The second thing, which I really just started appreciating today, is being able to breathe.  My last job was at a pulp and paper mill where there was nasty chemical vapors(sulfuric acid, sulfur dioxide, chlorine dioxide...) and an unendung supply of very fine paper dust.  I would wake up in the morning very congested with my sinuses feeling like they were stuffed with steel wool.  Without the nose full of dust I am able to wake up breathing freely, and go through the day without a continuously dripping nose.  I work an alternate work schedule which gives me a three-day weekend every other week.  I work for the federal government, so I have every federal holiday off as well.

  I am back to base building, though I have been doing some short (3-4 mile) tempo and progression runs as well.  My goal is to work toward a mid-to-late summer marathon, another fall marathon and all the while building my mileage in order to complete the necessary 100 milers in 2013 and early 2014 (H.U.R.T. comes to mind...)

Less stress, more time to run (I am hoping to add a second run a couple days a week starting in April), actually being able to breathe....  It feels good to be able to run again and feel like I have the energy to move forward.