Losing, But Not Lost

It's been rough for the past month and a half from the running front. My left calf continues to be a nuisance and I can't really figure out what to do with it. Just when I think I'm past it, the discomfort comes back the next week. "Think positive".

Last Saturday, after my boys basketball game (organized chaos), I headed out for an 11-mile run home. Running felt great and things were going well until the last mile - had the old junk in the calf pop up once again. I stopped for a second, wrapped the hell out of my calf, and then continued on my way home. What's really weird is that after icing and rolling and stretching, the leg is basically fine again. This is where I'm confused on this injury.

Yesterday, I decided to do a 1.5 hour treadmill hill workout. Strangely, running up hills right now is the only thing that really doesn't bother my calf (I guess that's a good thing for Miwok). I might just have to keep any outdoor running to 8 or less miles of maintenance. How can I not run in this weather?

Congratulations to all my running buddies who've been hitting the trails and performing in races. I've really enjoyed reading all the blog entries. I've been itching to get out there and can't wait to see everyone again.

I'm not doing any races before Miwok, but I'll probably head out to Diablo on 4/19 to volunteer. Lots of faces and fast runners to see there. Hopefully, I'll be healthy the next time PCTR is back at Diablo in June.

Happy training and racing everyone!

Read more...

Phewww!

OK, I never really make that sound, but if definitely explains how I'm feeling today. I've been icing the hell out of my knee and as I hoped, the swelling and pain are down considerably. I think I can safely say that it was just a good tweak on the ligament and no damage. I actually walked 2.5 miles today and it only really hurt me when I went down a step or made a severe right turn (which I tried to avoid). I'll keep icing it tonight and then hopefully it will be completely gone within the next couple of days. 

I managed to find my old knee brace and I've put that to good use the last couple days. It basically 

restricts the lateral movement at the knee. Perfect! The "good" thing about this injury compared to a muscle pull/strain/etc., is that I'm not really worried about re-injuring the leg when I'm running. (Nobody move or say anything). Gotta love the optimism.

Take care and happy training. Here I come.

Read more...

Give Me a Break Already

I'm ready to drop-kick my computer right now creating this post. First the good news- the calf muscle is feeling good and passed the running & softball tests yesterday. Great. Now comes the bad part...As I was backing up the 3rd baseman on a throw, my right foot caught the ground and caused my knee to twist a little (and I thought I heard a pop). That hurt kind of bad but the pain went away after a few minutes and I didn't notice any swelling or soreness. It's the outside of the knee, which I believe is the lateral collateral ligament (LCL). Last night when I got home, I put it on ice and it was still not swollen or very sore.

Fast forward to about 4:00 AM this morning and I semi-wake up to change positions ... ouch! That sucker tightened up and swelled up in those few hours from the previous night. It's now relatively painful to bend my leg and definitely painful to try and turn it in or out. (Insert swearing here)

Of course what this all means is no running again. Oh man. This is not what I planned on when I signed up for the Miwok 100k. I'm still planning on running but my goal is turning into pure survival at this point. Where I had once thought of breaking 12 hours, I'll be lucky to finish the damn race. Yes, this is the point where I'm extremely bitter and frustrated. Talk about your fluke injuries. All I can do is hope that it was just a stretch of the ligament and nothing else. You and I both know the routine...let it heal and then resume training. This probably guarantees that I won't be doing the Diablo Marathon now. I'll save everything I have until Miwok.

Still need to be optimistic because in the grand scheme of things it's just a race (I deleted this line 4 times already - go to hell optimism). I really want to just run. Is that so hard? 

Bye for now, happier entries soon.

Read more...