injury

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Results – Running soon!

I got great overall news yesterday when I went an orthopedic sports medicine doctor.

My concerns were my hip, which hasn’t recovered since my marathon and my achilles which we really bad a couple weeks ago when I tried running.

He took X-rays and I told him about my desire need to run.  I told him how I weighed 100 lbs more that I do now just 2 years ago and running was the major reason I am where I am physically.  He seemed impressed and wanted to help.

For my hip, he said I had bursitis.  He said he wanted to inject it and then have me put heat on it and an anti-infamitory cream.  He also wants to send me to a physical therapist to get some help. So he came in with a needle and went to inject me.  At the point I thought he was numbing it, he was done.  No pain from the needle!  By the time I got into my car, I was in less pain.  For the first time in a long time, driving my stick shift didn’t bother my hip.  My walk yesterday afternoon felt great and, though I wanted to “try it out” running, I didn’t.

My achilles does have a spur on it.  He said he could operate on it but that could end my running completely.  He said it looked fine and I think the PT will help me with that some also.  He just said to stretch well use ice.

Before I left, I asked him if there was any reason I couldn’t run immediately and he said no, I can run as soon as I want.  He did say not to run hard for a bit, so no workouts – darn! 🙂

Everything checks out.  I figure I’ll keep walking through the weekend and maybe start running slowly starting next week.

Enjoy your running weekend.  I’ll be right there with you soon!!!

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5K walk on a nice day

Thank you all so much for your support of me and this blog.  It has been very difficult now, going on 2 weeks walking as I try to get my hip and achilles better so I can run again.  I cannot thank you all enough for the encouragement and hope you have given me that I will be back running one day.

Not much is new today.  I do feel somewhat better, but am still going to just walk while I wait to see the doctor on Thursday.

My walk yesterday was uneventful. 🙂  I walked 3.1 miles at about a 15 minute pace.  It took an 45 minutes to walk what I have run in under 22. Anyway, I am thankful that at least I can walk!

The weather is cool and the days are nice and I am thankful to be a healthy 50 year old male considering 2 years ago I was anything but healthy.

Have an awesome day.

Tom

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Long walk Sunday

You know, it is hard to write a walking blog.  I know it’s probably harder reading a walking blog.

I haven’t tracked a run for 2 weeks now.  Hopefully things are healing and I’ll be back soon.  My post last week about going to the doctor was not written well.  I made an appointment for this coming Thursday, not last Thursday.  Sorry for the confusion.

I did walk yesterday.  It was a 6 mile walk on a beautiful morning.  Not much to report about it.  It was good to get out.

You all have a good week and thanks for keeping up with me.

Tom

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The Injured Runner Award

The Injured Runner Award

I was thinking last night, boy I know several runners who are down and out at the moment.  Some can’t run at all (like me) and some can run, but it is painful.

The roughest part of running is not running.  When you get injured, your daily routine gets disturbed.  Your daily endorphin fix is no longer available.  Your stress had no outlet.

It is tough.

For me, I am putting up my running shoes.  I made an appointment with a orthopedic sports medicine doctor and will see what he thinks.  I know time will probably fix my problems, but better safe than sorry.

So, although this isn’t a real award or nomination, I thought I’d list a few of the recent blogs entries of people who are dealing with injuries or recovering from injuries.  Take a moment and go to their blogs and write a comment.  It is something we all have to deal with.  Also, if you know of other injured runners, feel free to post a link to their blog in the comments.

Life is tough without running and encouragement from other runners is like a life line.

Here is my list:

BigBigGeek

Running to Her Dreams

Jane Likes to Run

The Quinquagenarian Runner

Thanks again for the help and advice with my injuries.  I will probably take the next 4 weeks off which is tough as I’ve already taken about 5 weeks off (not consecutive) since my marathon. I’ve been thinking of changing my blog name to WalkingToBoston.  Maybe not!

Have an awesome weekend.

Tom

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Not running makes me appreciate running all the more

I’m still walking.  Ugh.  I did get to jog a little the other day.  Not a run, but a jog.  Very slow.  My hip was feeling stiff, but not hurting.  Suddenly I felt a tug in my achilles and… I had to limp home.

This is crazy.  Right now I am chalking it up to my marathon.  Looking back, I ran my first marathon less than 18 months after I started running.  At 50 years old, maybe that was too much.  Not that anyone could have told me that at the time.

Now it has been one thing after another keeping me from running.  That is probably best for me right now.  I did try my Brooks PureFlow 2 shoes yesterday and they felt awesome.  Of course I was only walking in them.  When I started my walk, I was limping with my achilles.  About a half mile into it, the limp went away and I felt pretty good (other than the blister I got on both heals toward the end).

So the saga continues.  I hope to one day look back and think, “wow, you really did push through a lot to get back to running”.

I think I will appreciate running more after I get over all of this.

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Running closer

I’m feeling better today.  Yesterday was a pretty rough day and knowing that my hip was not better really made it difficult.

I got home and walked 3 miles.  It was nice out and I had a good walk.

I realize that my SI joint seems to be loosening up and my pain is down about 80% this morning.  I plan on walking for the next few days just to make sure I don’t over do it.

Thanks everyone for the advice and encouragement.  In the past 17 months, running has really become a part of my identity.  I don’t think I would have stuck with it if it hadn’t.  The issue with that is when it is taken away for a period of time, it really messes with me.  I know many of you have gone through the same thing.

Have a great day, and run a mile for me. 🙂

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Running out

I”m a bit discouraged about my hip today.  I had to walk yesterday as I was having pain going down my leg.  Today it is about the same.

I’ll post when I get a chance to run again.  Hopefully before the weekend.

Tom

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Runner’s mood boost

I ran yesterday.  The first non-stop run since my SI joint acted up last Tuesday.

All in all I’d say it was a good run.  I didn’t push myself as I didn’t want to get hurt again.  At this point, I’d rather run slow then not run at all.  I think my family agrees as I seem to be addicted to endorphins.  When I can’t run, I get just a bit grumpy.  I’ve never been one to get a runner’s high, at least not that I’ve noticed.  I can notice though, that if I don’t run I just seem more moody and angry at the world.  Fortunately I am a pretty laid back person, so I can hold in most of my frustration. It is amazing though how I miss that ability to get my frustrations out while on a run.  I guess I get a runner’s mood boost rather than a runner’s high.  Either way, it really helps.

So my running yesterday was a good thing for everyone.  I ran in my old Saucony Mirage shoes.  I am trying to get away from my Fastwitch shoes because I think they might be some of the reason for my injuries.  I am a heavy runner and they are basically a racing flat.  The Mirage are much more built up and steady.  The Mirage I ran in yesterday also only have about 100 miles on them, so they have plenty of time left on them.  I will be going to my Brooks PureFlow 2 after I get over my SI joint issue.  I don’t want to introduce another variable into my running until I know I am well.

Back to my run.  I got in 3 miles at about a 9:30 pace.  My hip felt a little strange.  It didn’t hurt, but it did feel like it wanted to turn inward as I ran.

Today I am going to walk a mile before my run.  I hope that will loosen me up more and remove any stiffness.

I guess running has become a way of life.  I never thought I’d become so dependent on it, but I’m glad I am!

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My impromptu run

Yesterday’s walk with the dog turned out “different” than I had planned.

I hadn’t run for several days because of my SI joint.  So I decided to walk with the dog to have something to do while walking.  I’m sorry, but walking is boring.  I hate it.  But I have to keep the habit going of getting outside and exercising and when I can’t run, I walk.

After about a quarter mile I noticed I had forgotten my phone so I went back home and then decided to leave the dog home and head out by myself.  I was wearing an old pair of running shoes that I don’t use much anymore, but doesn’t have many miles on it.

I headed out the door and did an impromptu jog.  I slowly jogged up the road and on to my walking route.  I’m talking a jog about 2.5 minutes per mile slower than my normal pace.  I walked some and jogged some.  I thought to myself that this was like my mile 20 in my marathon pace wise.

I really didn’t hurt at all.  I had some stiffness in my SI joint, but it went away fairly quickly.

I ended up running/walking (mostly running) 3 miles.  Once again, it was slow.  Barely faster than a fast walk, but at least I RAN.

So I think I will try to run again today.  Not fast, but just a good easy run.  If I feel pain returning, I’ll stop and walk, but hopefully this pain is working its way out and I can begin my running again.

My plan is to take things slowly right now.  I do have a 10K in two weeks, but I may have to run it as a fun run, even though it is my first 10K race I’ve run.

Congratulations to all the marathoners from this weekend.  I’ve been really busy, but I will catch up on everyones blogs this week.

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9 runs to the Chiropractor

Sometimes I am so stupid.

I know I have issues with my hip.  Fortunately I’ve been to the doctor and there isn’t anything physically wrong with it.

It began hurting about half way through last week.  I had already run about 6 days straight and was going to end up running 9 days, including a trail run.

Yesterday my run (after my day off) was not good.  I thought I was going to run hills or a tempo run.  I got outside and began a slow jog.  After a quarter mile I had horrible pain in my left ankle.  It was so bad I had to immediately stop and limp slowly.  After about 5 steps it got better and I was able to run again – what was that?

I felt good the first mile and then my hip started hurting.  By the middle of the second mile I was in quite a lot of pain.  It was similar to mile 20 of my marathon.

I ran through the pain, which usually works and it lessens.  I couldn’t get it to lesson yesterday.  Even so, my 4 mile run was completed 9:20 pace.

I went home, got my Gatorade and throw the stick with the dog.  I was licking my wounds when I read a post from one of my favorite bloggers RunningToHerDreams.  It really put me in my place.  Go here to read it: http://runningtoherdreams.com/2013/10/08/tootsie-tueday-3.

So I got on the phone and made an appointment with my Chiropractor.  I haven’t gone to him lately because by the time I go after work it can be after 4:00 before I get to my run.  That isn’t easy after getting up at 3:30 in the morning.

I guess I have no choice in this.  I will do what I have to.  I need to be able to run without pain and just enjoy running again.  I figured after several weeks off I would be better, but I am worse.  So I am getting help and pushing through.  Believe me when I say that no one wants to live with me if I can’t run. 🙂

Onto good news.  Below is a picture of my Nike app yesterday.  I finally crossed the 2,000 mile mark.  It has only been 19 months, so I am pretty happy.  I need these milestones to keep me going through the rough times.

19 months in the making

19 months in the making

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A run, a hurt achilles and hangin’ with the dog!

I had a great run yesterday with @BigBigGeek at our local State Park.  Well, the company was great, the run was a tad difficult.

We ran just over 6 miles which is good for me.  In fact it is the longest basic run I’ve had since a week before my marathon (so about a month ago) and I felt the burn.  By the end of the run my body felt as if I had just finished a 18 mile run.

One issue that has come back to life is my achilles.  I thought I had gotten past it with all the time off I’ve had to take, but it is obvious that I haven’t.  After our run on my way home I went to the supermarket.  I got out of my car and I could barely walk.  My right achilles was in so much pain.  The good news was that after I got some Blueberries for my LW and paid for them, the pain went away and didn’t come back.

Later in the day I went to a local running store and checked into getting a shoe with a higher heel/toe drop.  Their advice was to make sure I am really stretching my calf during the day.  So I gave that a shot and I’ll see how my run goes today.

I can’t finish this post without the obligatory “Hangin’ with the dog” picture.  I took this a couple of minutes ago as she was enjoying her morning snack.

The Dog enjoying her morning snack

The Dog enjoying her morning snack