Month: December 2014

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My 2 mile run and quest for slow running

2 miles.

I ran a 2 mile run for the first time in two weeks yesterday.

My heel has been hurt.  Might be my achilles.  I stopped all running until I thought I could give it a good try and yesterday was the day.  The run went well.  Of course I paid a bit too much attention to my heel, but I had no problems.  TJ bought me new shoes that have more of a built up heel and I could really feel the support.

I honestly think this latest injury was caused by 3 things…

1) I had new shoes.  They ran great.  I won’t mention the brand here, but I loved them and felt like I could run much better then ever before in them.  Sadly, about 20 miles into wearing them, I felt a tug of pain on my heel.  Not wanting to give up on shoes after 20 miles I kept going.  I tied them differently to try and give more support.  Finally, one day the pain wasn’t feeling better. I ran one step too far and something sprang in my heel. No more running for two weeks.

2) Speed.  The need for speed.  I’m an old man (not really, but older then most of you I’m sure).  I have been on a quest to run faster and farther since I started my running career almost 3 years ago.  I’ve done well.  I’ve won my age group in many 5Ks.  I finished in the top 4 percent of my age group in my Country Music Half Marathon.  I ran half of my only marathon at an 8 minute pace (and the second half at a 12:00 pace).  Speed is fun, but for me, it causes injuries.  So I am giving up on speed and going to start running for distance.  I want to run another marathon, an ultra marathon, perhaps a 50 miler.  There are far more goals for me to achieve beyond being fast and taking chances at getting hurt.  I still hope to BQ one day, but for now, that dream is set aside.

3) Cycling.  God gave me the wisdom to buy a fairly cheap bike on Black Friday.  If it weren’t for that purchase, I’d be walking everyday because of my ankle and hating it.  So, instead I’ve been riding.  Not everyday as I’ve been out of town some and had other commitments, but several times I’ve gotten out an ridden with my kids.  Sunday was awesome.  RS and I road trails at the Mountain State Park for 6 miles.  I probably should have thought differently when I saw the sign to “Rattle Snake Ridge” and let RS talk me into going on that trail.  We made it, but it was a bit above my comfort zone.  Also, after our 6 miles with RS on the trails, I got to ride with JS for 13 miles at a small park near our home. She suffers from fibromyalgia and to be able to ride that much at one time was quite a victory.

RS at the top of Rattle Snake Ridge

RS at the top of Rattle Snake Ridge

So, all that to say, speed is out (except on the bike) and running long and slow is in.  It is a new chapter for me and will take time to get into my head (don’t run fast), but I think it is the way to go, at least for now.

Hey, maybe I can get to Boston running for a charity.  Who said I have to kill myself to reach my dreams.

Have an awesome week.

Tom

 

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The agony of de-heel

I was feeling good.  The day before, I just had the best 5 mile run, coming in under an 8:00 mile.  This day I chose to take it easy and not push it.  As I ran, my heel spur began to bother me.  It has been bothering me a lot lately.  So I concentrated on my form and tried to relax.

The run continued and I sped up a bit.  I was really wanting to have another good run.  I shouldn’t have done that.  My heel began hurting more and I kept relaxing and running.  At the 4 mile point, it hit.  The pain.  There was definitely something wrong.  I stopped immediately and began to walk.  Shortly the walk became a limp.  I had to walk a quarter mile back to my car and it took almost as long as it did to run the 4 miles.

I then limped for 4 days.  I had a lot to get done and didn’t ice it like I should have.  I still don’t know if it is my achilles or heel spur.

The good news is that I bought that bike over black Friday.  My heel didn’t hurt at all riding the bike.  I rode with my only daughter one day.  She has suffers a lot from Fibromyalgia and it was great riding slowly through the neighborhood with her.

Sunday was also good.  I went riding at the State Park with RS.  We rode a lot.  We rode mountain trails and roads.  The trails were really hard to get used to at first, but by the end, we were riding hard and having a lot of fun.  We rode some roads for a while and then headed back to the car.  Going up the hill to where we parked was hard as my legs were rubber.  Funny that I can run 5 miles hard and fast, but I can’t ride 5 miles without major effort.

Today, 5 days after my injury I am doing better.  I walked without a limp and have little pain.  I won’t have time to run again until Wednesday, so I should be good to go.

I was just thinking a week ago that what has kept me from running most lately has been other health issues (stones, mainly), and then this…

Either way, I will be back.  I will run.  I will keep the edge and, Lord willing, I will run another marathon… Boston maybe!

Tom

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Running with my new bike

With everything that has happened to me over the past couple of months, I decided to try to mix things up.

No, I’m not going to stop running.  In fact I hope that by the middle of March I will have completed 2 half marathons and 1 full. That might be wishful thinking, but hey, a man can dream.

Going back to Black Friday, I wondered into Dicks Sporting Goods with 2 of my kids.  There, in the back of the store were the bikes.  By that evening all three of us had new bikes.  These are by no means expensive bikes or ones that you might take a 30 mile ride on, but I really felt the need to have another avenue for my exercise and have been contemplating cycling for a while.

Yesterday I went out for my hill run and got back with tired legs and then RS and I hopped on our bikes and road a couple miles.  I didn’t want to overdo it and didn’t want to make me too sore, but it was a lot of fun and just enough to finish off what strength I had left in my legs.

My plan is to run and then bike each day for a while.  If I get hurt and cannot run, then I’ll just bike instead.  Done are the days of walking for an hour when I can’t run.  Of course walking is still an option, but now I have 3 options rather then 2.

Thanks for all the well wishes from my post from yesterday. I’m hoping and praying that I am now done with carrying stones in my body and can concentrate on moving forward again.

Tom

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Running with a stone!

Running has taken a back seat at times over the past couple months to physical issues.

First, a couple (or the same) kidney stones that put me down for a week.

Then a mass on my kidney was found that ended up being a cyst.  No big deal after all.

Finally a week ago Friday I had a good run.  It was only 4 miles, but I felt good and enjoyed it.  I got home and went to the bathroom and had very visible blood in my urine.  Ugh.  Not something else.  So I went to the doc in a box and they said I had no infection, but if it continued, I should go to the ER.  Fortunately it stopped quickly and I was fine.  I took Saturday as my day off of running as usual and then went out Sunday for a longer run.

The weather was cool on Sunday and lots of rain, but the run was good.  I got to 7.5 miles when the thunder started.  I texted my son to come pick me up (as I do not run in storms) and by the time he got to me, it was thundering and lightening all around me.  I got home safely and totally soaked and went up to get in a shower.  I used the bathroom and… yes… bloody urine again.

So now I realized, this wasn’t a one time thing and it was connected to running.  I’ve had lots of injuries over the past few years of running, but this one took the cake.  So Monday I made an appointment with a urologist and waited to see what was happening to me.

Fortunately it wasn’t something horrible.  I had a stone in my bladder and when I would run, the stone would literally cut my bladder and make me bleed.  So I had to stop running until I could get this stone out of me surgically.  My doctor was able to schedule me for last Wednesday, so I went in, got it out and came home.

Finally yesterday I ran and had no problems.  It was such a relief to run and not bleed.  Crazy me writing that, but it is true.

I hope that all these seemingly unrelated problems are now over and I can get back to training for my half marathon at the end of December. I have new shoes, a fixed up body and am ready to head out.

One cool thing is that my urologist commented that it is incredibly rare for someone to lose nearly 100 lbs by diet and exercise. He said in all his years of practice he only knows of about a dozen people who have done that successfully.  I admit, that made my day.

Tom