Again?

2 miles.  18:18.  So, my fastest run of the new era, but that's not really important.

What's important:

• No compartment syndrome pain through 4 two-mile runs (last Thursday, last Saturday, Tuesday, and today).  Again, not conclusive by any means, but a good sign.
• I felt really out-of-breath.  I was going to do two mile runs this week and next weekend, and then start trying to move up, but I feel like I'll probably be "stuck" on two a little longer than that.  A) I want to be cautious and B) I hate running in warm weather, so this was the worst time for me to begin a comeback.  I'd like to push myself up to 3, even if I have to mix in some walking, in the next two weeks just to get a sense of if my symptoms are really better, or if they only seem better because I am not running far enough.
• Someone upstairs is clearly telling me that running is stupid and I shouldn't do it anymore.:

And the Crowd Goes Wild!

Today, I started my Wellfit Infury Prevention Program, a sort of post-physical therapy supervised workout program that is a lot easier on the wallet than continued PT. ($45/month rather than a $50/session copay).  That's another post in and of itself.  But, because my therapist shares a name with an NBA Hall-of-Famer, I'm inspired to do what I like to do best on this blog:  tell long, rambling, pointless stories.

I was not a terrible basketball player in my youth.  At least, that's what I told myself.  I had a 3-year career as a shooting guard and small forward in 5th, 6th, and 7th grade at St. John.  I wasn't a good scorer.  I think I scored a total of 19 points in those 3 years, but I was good passer and rebounder, and I really did work hard in practice. In 5th and 6th grade, I played on the Jr. Boys team and in 7th grade moved up to Sr. Boys.  We played the local public schools and got routinely annihilated, going winless in my 5th and 6th grade years.  

In 7th grade, the shrinking parochial school only had one team for 5th through 8th graders (there were no 8th graders on the team, so my 7th-grade friends and I were the veteran leadership of the team.  Ha!)  We also bumped down a league, so we were playing the bigger public schools' "B teams".  We still lost more than we won that year, but we were competitive and it was a lot more fun than getting destroyed game after game.  I still remember our first close game.  We pulled out a nice lead against one of the local Catholic middle schools (their "A" team, too, I think), when our coach put the 5th-graders in to get them some playing time.  And they blew the game!  I understand that in youth sports it should be more about participation than winning, but most of us hadn't won a game our whole careers!

After 7th grade, I switched schools to a larger (graduated with a class of...65!) christian school.  I went out for the basketball team in 8th grade, got cut, and didn't try out in 9th grade, but I continued to ball with my neighborhood and school friends.

Meanwhile, in 10th grade I was in a sports club that would go over once a week to play basketball, touch football, or soccer at the local park.  I stuck to hoops, and playing among my friends I did very, very well in all phases of the game.  Indeed, often the court was covered in goose crap, meaning there were like 100 extra defenders on the court, and I'd still play very well.

With encouragement from my friends, I got the idea to try out for the JV team.  Luckily for me, there were few enough returners from the previous year that they really weren't making cuts.  So, my career was resurrected.  I worked my butt off in practice, and I think I genuinely improved a lot. One time, I even think I scraped the bottom most molecules of the rim with my fingertips.  

I liked being on the team, enjoying the early dismissals for road games and the camaraderie as we rode the team bus to opposing schools, blasting hair metal or 90s rap music to inspire us, and watching most of the game from the bench.   I didn't get a lot of playing time, but I don't think I embarrassed myself or the school when I was in there.  I was realistic, knowing I was one of the last two guys off the bench, but only once did my lack of playing time really, really bother me...

We were down at least 40 points late in the 4th quarter at Littlestown, a public school in Adams County, but I had still not gotten in the game.  With about 5 minutes left, our coach stormed off the bench to go help the varsity coach, his brother, prepare his guys for their game.  The assistant coach called me over at the next time out and says "Brian and (other last guy off the bench), I don't care what happens, just go out there and try your best."  I always appreciated that.  I quickly got the ball and got fouled.  I was only about a 60% free-throw shooter, if that even, and I missed my 1 and 1.

But I got another chance on the next possession. I grabbed a long rebound and had an open jumper just inside the corner of the foul line.  I released the ball, and to this day I can still picture the perfect arc and see the rotation of the ball...

...as it soared completely over the backboard for a very embarrassing air-ball.  With only a few minutes left in the game, the gym was filling up for the varsity, and so quite a big crowd had a great laugh at my expense.  I was not so amused, but I did follow it up with another rebound and a made shot from the same place on a later possession.  When the coach heard that I got two rebounds and scored, he seemed pretty impressed.  I belive the final score was 60-12, so I was by default one of the leading scorers.

I didn't play the next year, when I probably would have been warming the JV bench again as a Junior. However, I think I still continued to get better playing against other JV and varsity guys at weekly church youth group meetings  through the rest of high school, and I even played pretty well in intramurals my freshman year of college. After that my mad skills started to decline via rust, but I'll always have that memory of the ball soaring over the backboard.  

Go Away, Nature!

I live on a back road in a semi-rural area, but for safety and laziness reasons I usually run in a slightly flatter, sidewalk equipped, normal suburban neighborhood a few miles away.  

But, even though I was in normal American suburban neighborhood and not my backwoods trail of terror, I still a saw a big blacksnake on my two-mile run this morning. 

I couldn't get my camera phone to work (to either dial 911 or take a picture), so here is an artist's rendering:

Needless to say, I ran a bit faster than I did on Saturday.

Trying Again

I ran two miles on Thursday.  That may not sound like much, but it was the first two miles I've ran since April 20...which is also about the last time this blog was updated.

I have not been idle during that time.  I've been fairly diligent with the exercise bike -- since biking was the only cardio my orthopedist said I should do while I was rehabbing -- and also lifting more consistently than I have at any time in the last 3 years.  I've still been trying to earn my donuts.

I've been in physical therapy during May and June, learning new stretches and exercises that I hope will help me avoid the knife.  I've had my muscle fascias for 36 years, after all.  I'd like to keep them.

My run on Thursday was humbling:  2 miles in 19:04.  That's fine, and honestly, I couldn't care less about speed right now.  But afterward, I felt like it had been years, not months since I ran.  Parts of my legs of hurt that hadn't hurt since I decided to take up this stupid sport in 2006.  My quads were still sore from Thursday when I headed out for the second run of this latest comeback (2 miles, 19:34) this morning. I'm sure they'll hurt like hell tonight.  I was completely out of breath.  I can go 60 minutes on the exercise bike, no problem, but running is a whole different beast.

But its what didn't hurt that's important.  Shins=fine.  Ankles=fine.  Calves=sore, but regular soreness, not injured sore.  (I think I can tell the difference!)

It's a small sample size.  Just two runs at a distance where symptoms might not show up. I'll know more at 3 miles, I think.

I'm by no means out of the woods yet.  But right now, I'll take this gladly.

It's Bacon...On a Stick!

It seemed like a good idea at the time.  (I feel like that could be a good alternate title for this blog.)

It seemed like a GREAT idea, actually.  I love bacon.  I love Orioles baseball.  When the two came together to bring me "Bacon on a Stick", I had no choice but to try it.

One of the great things about Bacon on a Stick is that there are no surprises.  The name is exactly what it is.

The second great thing about Bacon on a Stick is that half of the ingredients are bacon.  (I'm sure stick aficionados are happy that the other half of the ingredients are stick.)

I'll be honest, though, bacon-lover that I am, Bacon on a Stick was not for me.  I like my bacon very crispy.  This was not especially crispy.  It wasn't floppy bacon, mind you, it was just very, very thick and so it still tasted fatty.  If you're a fan of very thick bacon, you'll love it.  It was well-seasoned and the lean parts of the bacon were tasty.

If I get it again -- and I make no promises -- I might see if they can do an extra-crispy slice for me, as they are cooked right there at the Bacon on a Stick stand.

(I had another picture of me eating Bacon on a Stick in which I looked less troll-like, 

so I decided to post this one.)

 

 And, since this blog post is completely unrelated to running or injuries and kind of worthless, anyway, it can only be improved by a random picture of Adam Jones at the plate:

The Orioles would go on to lose the last game of this series with the Dodgers after taking the first two, but their fans went home with full stomachs.

Race Report: 2013 Sole of the City 10K

I was really dreading the 2013 Sole of the City 10K.  I haven't been able to get even a 5-miler in since the 8K in Virginia Beach, and I have only one 4-miler. Even with aid of prescription-strength anti-inflammatories, most of my runs just haven't gone well.

This one didn't go all that well either, but it wasn't as bad as I was afraid it would go:  I ran 4 miles of the 10K course, but then needed some walk breaks to get through the last 2.2 as my compartment syndrome really flared up.  

The damage?  1:08:21 -- compared to last year's 57:17.  The good news, if I can call it that, is that it felt like my conditioning is coming back.  I paced myself well, didn't feel completely out of breath, and ran (most of) 6 miles for the first time since July or August of last year.  The bad news, and I can definitely call it that, is that even with a steady diet of naproxen leading up to the race, my symptoms were pretty bad.  There are sometimes where I've limped back to my car with aching shins and lack of range of motion in my left foot where I think I unconsciously exaggerate my limp a little because it's embarrassing, but I was really limping pretty badly during my walk breaks.  (I could run somewhat more normally, it was just more painful and I needed some breaks.)

(Race organizers suggested people wear blue and yellow to honor the Boston

Marathon bombing victims.  We also had a signs pinned to our backs, 

but mine ripped off when I put my long-sleeve shirt on.)

Review
I like this race, but there's not a lot to distinguish it from other local races.  The swag is nice, but other than that it's the generic Baltimore race around Inner Harbor and Key Highway.  The course is challenging, in my opinion, because the second half of the course is hillier than the first half, but I didn't struggle as much last year when I was less injured and better conditioned.  

(Men got a blue quarter zip Under Armour running jacket. 

 Women got a full-zip.  Hey!  I want a full zip!)

It was very crowded at the start and could perhaps use a waved start, but is generally a well-organized event.  I thought the start of the race was better handled last year; this year the race started about 15 minutes late and I wasn't able to hear announcements or the National Anthem at all (last year they had an amazing National Anthem singer, this year I couldn't even hear it well enough to know when to yell "O!")

The post-race party was more spread-out this year, with the beer truck parked farther back from the finish than it was last year, when everything was crowded by the Greene Turtle (the bar that is one of the main sponsors).  The array of snacks was good, they had several wrap options including vegetarian and free beer.  The beer was Bud Light, however.  I just ran a race -- I don't need to have a low-calorie, flavorless beer!  Still,I shouldn't complain; free Bud Light is better than no free beer at all, and it was cold and refreshing on a cold and windy day, but one in which I was feeling pretty heated since the sun was out for most of the race.


I'll probably run this race again next year -- and hopefully be about 15-minutes faster whether or not I have those pesky muscle fascias in my left leg weighing me down!

Compartment Pressure Measurement

Earlier in the month, I went to the orthopedist to talk again about the persistent calf and shin pain I've been having, mostly in my left leg.  With x-rays and MRIs coming back clean and rest, stretching, and calf exercises not doing much to help, the doctor determined that it was time to take the next step and do the test for Exertional Compartment Syndrome (which I'm going to call ECP).

Unfortunately for me, the test for ECP involves big needles being jammed into four places on each leg, then me running until my symptoms flare up, and then needles attached to a pressure-monitor being stuck in again.

I'm a wuss.  I've been dreading this.  The doctor and his assistant put iodine on my leg and used a small needle for local anesthetic, and I'll be honest, the procedure itself wasn't as bad as I feared.  It was probably worse for the doctor, who had to put up with my nervous banter between him, his assistant, and Chris (who was kind enough to accompany me for moral support and to drive me home).  I think I did crack one good joke during the procedure:  As the doctor was using a pen to mark where on my leg where he would insert the needle, I deadpanned "that wasn't as bad as I thought."  It was pretty much downhill from there.

When I left the office with the assistant, who accompanied me to show me the likely direction that would be safest for my run, my calves still felt a bit numb.  The run itself seemed ok considering I didn't take any naproxen, I didn't stretch, and I didn't wear compression socks.  All of these anti-precautions were in hopes of making my symptoms flare-up badly and quickly.  Instead, I ran for 20 minutes and while my calves became very sore, I didn't have the level of shin pain that I normally have.  I did feel kind of stupid running around the medical center, but I never run on treadmills and so I thought it was best to go outside.

Despite the lack of shin pain, I sat down to check that my left foot didn't have the full range of motion and given the level of pain in my calves, I figured I was "good" to go back and be re-tested.

The second round of tests hurt a bit more than the first,  but not as much as the results (positive) and the aftermath (calves extremely sore all day).

The measurements showed that even at rest, the compartment pressures in both my legs was higher than normal, and after running the left leg compartment pressure rose even more, while the right leg stayed pretty much the same.  These results do confirm Exertional Compartment Syndrome, and confirm that it's worse in the left leg.

My best option is surgery, but with my doctor's blessing I'm going to try a few weeks of physical therapy first.  It probably won't work, but really don't want to have surgery.  I can't stress that enough.

A second is option is quitting longer distances.  Stop running or stick to the mile, 2-mile, and 5K.  I admit this option is tempting after a frustrating, often unenjoyable last 16 months of running.  But on the other hand...if I'm going to give up running, I really don't want to go out like this either.  I'm probably not going to be a frequent marathoner, ever.  But I'd love to get back to my 2011 form in which I could run 8-10 miles several times a week and train myself up to a half without much trouble.  More specifically, I would really like to be able to run the AC half this year and either the half or hopefully the full next March in VA Beach. 

I've quit a lot of things in my life when they got too tough:  tee-ball, soccer, basketball, cub scouts, jobs.  I don't want to quit running yet.

Still, before I get ahead of myself to the surgery/no-surgery decision, I'm going to cross my shins and hope that PT will do the trick.