I Couldn't Make This Stuff Up

If I could throw in the towel I would. But that requires your throwing arm to NOT have a torn biceps tendon.

From the "Here We Go Again" files...I will be having surgery soon to repair a torn right biceps tendon. It popped clean off of my bone a week ago today.

Here's the exciting tale:

Two Thursdays ago, I was at my dad's house, getting ready to load my sister's belongings into my truck and other vehicles to help her move into her new house. My dad has a riding lawnmower that wouldn't start, yet had to be moved out of the way. While my dad was inside taking care of something else, I decided that I could take care of this problem by myself. So, I dialed my testosterone up to "HIGH" and proceeded to push the mower. The back wheels were locked up, so I had to push hard. I had forgotten that the seat flips up (it hinges near the front), and I was pushing against it. The seat suddenly flipped, my right arm hyperextended and I felt something pull around my elbow. I was in quite a bit of pain, but I continued helping my sister move that night and the next day.

Over the weekend, it slowly started feeling better. I bowl league on Monday nights, so I decided to give it a go. On my first warm-up throw, I felt a "pop" and sharp pain. I knew exactly what I had done. My orthopedist (the guy who operated on my broken left arm last August) confirmed my fears two days later and recommended surgery. I'm still waiting to hear from the scheduler on the date.

Fortunately, the bicep & tendon didn't retract too far up my arm, so hopefully they won't need to cut a huge incision to fish it out and pull it back down. It is slightly deformed, though. I have a bigger gap around my inner elbow now, below the biceps. I also had a good amount of bruising below the elbow (where the blood pooled).

Ugly, but I've seen worse after biceps tears...

After surgery, I'll be unable to use the arm for 2-4 weeks. Recovery will be gradual after that, with "full" recovery taking 6 months, so says my doc.

So much for attempting my first triathlon this spring. This also delays my new bike purchase. With a high insurance deductible, my body will be a financial burden for a second straight year.

As for the hip I've mentioned in previous posts, I'll tentatively get that surgery done in mid-August. By then my deductible will be met, so might as well get it taken care of, too. I'll also have to endure physical therapy after both surgeries.

So this year will pretty much be a wash, as far as any serious training goes. This will be three surgeries (four, if you count my root canal) in the span of one year, after basically going my entire life without any. Hopefully, this will be it for my stretch of misfortune for a LONG time.

Post-Surgery Update, and Potential Plans for More Surgery

It's been 9 days since I had surgery on my broken left arm, and things seem to be progressing as expected. The surgery to insert a metal plate and screws (not sure how many) went well (only took an hour), and I'm back in a hard splint, held up by a sling. I have full use of my fingers, which is a good sign, although there's a very small, persistently numb spot on my index finger. Even if it's permanent, it's not a big deal.

I took the day after surgery very easy. I took pain meds every few hours. I've since resumed full-time work and am only taking pain meds when needed, which is right before bed and occasionally one during the day, if I've been a little too eager to use my left hand (like today, for example).

My first return visit to the doc who cut me will be on Monday, Aug. 31st. He'll most likely remove the splint to take a look at how the incision is healing. Hopefully, he'll put me in a shorter splint so I can bend my elbow. We'll see. He won't be putting me in a traditional hard cast, though, which is nice.

The itching under the splint has been more annoying than the pain, but even that seems to be subsiding. My other cuts and scrapes are healing nicely and have formed some of the biggest, thickest scabs ever seen in the free world. The looks and reprimands I've been subjected to for picking at those scabs is terribly unfair. I mean...it's so satisfying!

I still need help doing many things, although I've taught myself some tricks and shortcuts, and have become more dexterous with my right hand. I can button and zip my pants all by myself, like a big boy, but I still need help making my meals and washing myself. I hope my wife doesn't get suspicious when I still ask her to bathe me a year from now. "But honey, the doctor says that this is the last skill to be redeveloped after such a violent break. It could be five, ten years before I can bathe myself...and even then, it's dangerous."

Yeah, I doubt it, too. A guy can dream, though...

As for my activity level, I can do a few exercises, some 1-arm dumbbell work, and walking, as long as I don't get too sweaty under my splint. Going from 150+ miles of cycling per week to zero has confused my body, both from an exercise perspective and a dietary one. I still want to eat as much as I was pre-accident, but I'm trying to keep the intake in check. It took too long to drop last year's excess weight. Don't want to go through that again.

Now, the even more interesting news. Since my insanely high insurance deductible of [insert Luxembourg's GDP here] has finally been met, I now have full coverage. Imaging is included, so it might be time to get my left knee checked out. I at least want an MRI to determine what's going on in there. Then, if there's a chance it could be fixed, perhaps surgery would be worth it. If so, here's what the next few months potentially looks like for me:

AUG - arm surgery
SEPT - root canal (9/3)
OCT-DEC - knee surgery?
JAN 2016 - beg wife not to leave me

It would be a royal pain to go through all that in just a few months' time, but if I can get an MRI and knee surgery for essentially no cost out-of-pocket, it would be a shame not to do it — especially if it would allow me to run again. I'm not getting my hopes too high just yet, but who knows?

"Good Night, Good Night. Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow."

I'll begin with a disclaimer. I have no intention of disparaging running streaks—neither my own nor anyone else's—with what I'm about to say in this post. It just became obvious, for reasons I'll go into, that it was time to end mine.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I had a definitive reason to start running more frequently. While an ongoing running streak (which I'll now refer to as 'Romeo,' as a reference to the post title) wasn't the objective, that's what happened. After an undetermined amount of days of consecutive running, Romeo began to take on a life of his own. He became an 'entity' as much as a number. That's something I wanted to avoid, before my running-related decisions became influenced by Romeo. That, however, was beginning to happen. One would think that a 1-3 mile easy run would still allow for complete recovery between harder efforts, and one would be…mostly…correct. What seemed to happen was that there was an accumulative effect. The fatigue gradually built up. It became most noticeable after two consecutive weeks of 30 miles of running. Not high mileage compared to what I used to run, but I hadn't totaled 60 miles for two weeks in over TWO YEARS. What started as 1-mile easy runs with the dog on my recovery days gradually grew to 2.5 mile, slightly faster, runs with the dog (the dog needed it, believe me.) Add to that some speed work and a couple of long runs in the second of those two weeks, and the graffiti appeared on the wall. I ended up not only becoming fatigued and slightly re-injured, but I came down with an upper respiratory illness (that's still with me, as I write this.) Whether or not Romeo contributed to the illness, I'm not sure. It has probably prolonged it, though.

With that said, though, Romeo was enjoyable and helped to keep me motivated to run.

[Okay, 'Romeo' has run his course. From here forward, the streak will be called 'Amos Otis'—center fielder for the Kansas City Royals during the '70s and early '80s.]

Amos Otis did teach me that I could do far more than I realized. When Amos Otis began, I had no idea I'd be able to run every day for even a week, let alone 11 weeks. Aside from the latter stages of Amos Otis, I felt like I was in a groove and getting stronger.

However, as much as I enjoyed most of Amos Otis, I remembered that my main objectives as a runner are to:

1. Stay healthy & injury-free
2. Recover fully
3. Race well
4. Have fun!

I feel like I can achieve these objectives a little more effectively without Amos Otis. Hey, chin up, Amos.

Now what? Since I'm planning on riding in the Seattle to Portland bike ride next summer, I'm going to dust off the bike (and the trainer, and the bun-hugging cycling shorts. Sorry, ladies, I'm spoken for) and start putting in some time on the saddle. At least a couple of runs per week will be replaced by bike time. I also plan on taking AT LEAST one complete rest day per week. That means no cardio, no strength training. Just letting my body rest & recover. I'm an old guy, after all.

I'll wrap up by giving you the final Amos Otis numbers:

Consecutive days run: 77
Miles: 266.1
Avg. Miles Per Day: 3.5
Long Run: 9 miles
Minutes: 2317.78 (38.63 hours)
Average pace: 8:42
Races: 4

[FYI—any future references to Amos Otis will be changed to Count Dracula]

When Recovery May Not Actually Be Recovery

Well, I think I may have done it. What is "it"? "It" refers to short-circuiting my "recovery week". This past week was meant to be an easy recovery week, after racing a half marathon last weekend and stringing together 5 straight weeks of over 40 miles per week. This week I ran 5 times for a total of 30 miles, all at an easy pace. Sounds like I backed off...and I did. But I think I let my ego get the best of me. Thirty miles in a week is indeed less than 40+, and as I mentioned, I ran everything at a slow recovery pace. However, this morning's 5.5 mile run revealed some fatigue and, afterward, a very sore right hip, which has been killing me all day. If I really wanted to "recover" this week, maybe 3 or 4 runs for a total of 15-20 miles would have been more appropriate. After all, before my string of 40+ mile weeks, I really hadn't been running a lot of miles per week (probably an average of 30).

Next week is my first official week of marathon training. My schedule calls for 35 miles with a long run of only 10 miles. Should be do-able, as long as my hip isn't seriously messed up.

So, as cliché as it sounds, remember to do what I should have done (especially this morning) - LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!

Easy Run With Sore Legs

After taking yesterday off, I went out for an easy 3.5 mile run this morning. My quads and calves are still pretty sore from Saturday's 10k race and Sunday's romp up and down Tiger Mountain. The plan is for a fartlek run tomorrow.

Recovery Run

I ended the week with a slow and easy 3.5 mile run (8:49 pace / 119 finishing HR), for a 25 mile week (plus 20 on the bike). The legs feel GREAT after yesterday's 12-mile run.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Thoughts on Recovery

Today is a scheduled day off for me - from both running AND work. I made note on my Facebook page that this month, I've worked more hours than the previous three months (May, June, July) COMBINED! Although I must admit that in May, I worked a grand total of 9 hours. I'm self-employed, and with the current economy, my business has taken a beating. Fortunately, things seem to be turning around, for now, anyway. I say all this to bring up the issue of recovery. This month, as my work has increased dramatically, I've also increased my running mileage and intensity quite a bit. I don't know if it's just me, but I don't seem to recover as quickly as I think I should. Granted, I'm in my 40's now, have a family and, as I mentioned, have the stress of self-employment. Yesterday morning, I ran 8 miles at a fairly easy pace. It started feeling harder as the run progressed. I wasn't actually struggling to finish it, but I could tell that fatigue was setting in - more so than in previous long runs. I'm pretty sure that Thursday's speed session took a lot out of me. Yesterday I ended up taking TWO naps during the day. I was wiped out. I'd like to do some strength training today, but I don't know if I have the energy.

What are your thoughts on recovery - particularly if you're in my age group? How do you deal with balancing an increase in mileage and/or intensity with the need to stay fresh enough to run effectively...and not get injured and/or sick?

Rest Day

Well, I do feel a bit better this morning, but I can tell I definitely need a rest day. After spending several days out of town, not sleeping especially well and running a hilly course 3 times in 4 days, my body is sending me a message. After dinner last night, I laid on the couch to read and rest and quickly fell into a deep sleep. I ended up going to bed at 9pm. My throat isn't sore like it was last night, so I'm hoping it was just fatigue and not a cold. That soreness in my tendon behind my left knee is still there, so there's another reason to rest. Like I hinted at a few posts ago, the boost in running mileage after doing more cycling than running might take a more gradual effort on my part, given the injuries I've dealt with in the past.

If I feel up to it tomorrow, I'll do some sort of tempo/speed/fartlek workout, then maybe take Friday off, then do my long run on Saturday.

Friday Recovery Run

Did a short and slow run this morning. 4.5 miles in 38:53 (8:38/mi pace). Finishing HR was 127. Kept it slow intentionally, but after yesterday's 10-mile run, I didn't have much juice in my legs, anyway. Felt pretty good, though. No aches and pains.
We're off to Spokane for a few days. I'll try to get in a run or two while we're there, along with a bike ride.
Have a great weekend!

Friday Run

Ran an easy 3.5 miles this morning in 29:18 (8:22 pace), with an average heart rate of 123. I'm looking forward to a long run of 8 miles tomorrow morning.
Happy Friday!

Weigh-In Day

Once again, it's time to bore folks with my weekly weigh-in stats (and changes from last week). I do this more for my own "journaling" than anything else.

Weight: 146.2 (-1.0)
Waist: 30.5" (-.2")
Bodyfat%: 9.7 (-.4%)
Resting HR: 42 bpm (+2 bpm)

I'm currently at my lowest weight of the year. The blinking red "warning" light hasn't yet come on, but I need to watch it. Don't want to go much (if any) lower. Body fat is the lowest ever. I wanted to get under 10% and finally did it. It might be a challenge to keep my weight up, since I haven't even begun running decent weekly mileage, nor the string of bi-weekly long runs leading up to the half. Don't want to just stuff a bunch of junk down my pie-hole, so remembering to eat mini-meals between regular meals will be important.

I'm heading out a bit later for my first bike ride since the race. This one will be an easy cross-training ride of around 16 miles. It'll be nice to ride easy for a change!

Breakfast!

Usually every Saturday at the Hayes household, we have either pancakes, Belgian waffles, or French toast. The rest of the week is either cold cereal or oatmeal. This morning, I had a hankering for something more than a bowl of cereal. Thus, the above, very satisfying breakfast:

3 large eggs, mixed with:
1/8 cup nonfat milk
handful of chopped broccoli
handful of chopped red bell pepper
3 sliced mushrooms
1 slice of chopped tomato
handful of chopped steak from last night's dinner
ground pepper, to taste
handful of mozzarella cheese sprinkled on top

1 sliced, fresh home-grown apricot
1 english muffin with butter and strawberry jam
1 cup black coffee
1/2 cup orange juice
drugs (multi vit, vit C, glucosamine, fish oil, flaxseed oil)

Yum! Good fuel after yesterday's bike ride. Speaking of which, my legs are pretty beat this morning (and I love it!), so I'll stick with some upper body strength training and core work today, then hit the bike again tomorrow. Have a great day!