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.

A Hip Kinda Guy

Time to un-neglect this blog once again to bring you an update. Since my last post a month ago, I've run exactly 3 times for a total of 8 miles. All on the treadmill (which felt better than the road, but not entirely without pain). I figured I could manage 2-3 short treadmill runs per week, especially given the outdoor conditions. That is, until I broke the treadmill during my third run. So, that's that.

I continued with my physical therapy visits, once or twice per week, focusing on strengthening my hips, glutes, legs, working on balance, stretching & flexibility. During this process, my right groin became more and more noticeably painful. My PT guy suspected I have some sort of impingement and suggested I see an orthopedist. I did, and got an X-ray that showed some bone chips floating around. He also said I may have a torn labrum there, too. So I get to have my hip numbed, shot full of dye, then an MRI on Christmas Eve.

The fun never ends for this guy.

With the bone chips, I'm wondering if this isn't more fallout from my bike accident back in August.

If there is a tear, surgery will probably be recommended. I've even had dreams where I had my MRI, then overheard my doc talking with the MRI tech about a hip replacement. My broken body is now haunting (taunting?) me in my sleep.

2015 has been a rough year for the old bod. I'm hoping for a still very active but less painful year in 2016. Or, at the very least, less expensive.

Oh, speaking of expensive, there is some good news: I will be buying a new road bike. It's my Christmas present and has been officially approved by the Mrs. Not sure which make and model I'm looking for, but I'd love full carbon fiber with Shimano Ultegra components. In the meantime, I've been riding my old bike on my indoor trainer 3x per week. It can be a grind, but it's better than nothing here in snowy Spokane.

Back to the MRI. I'll have my follow-up on Monday the 28th, after which I'll post the results.

So until then, Merry Christmas, folks!

Double Digits, and a PT Update

This week marked the first time in nearly THREE YEARS since I've recorded a double-digit run! I ran a pretty solid 10 miles last Thursday, keeping the pace nice and easy (9:05/mile average). As usual, my left knee hurt for 2-3 miles, but then it settled down quite a bit. My right hip (which has sometimes hurt more than the knee) barked a few times, but didn't feel too bad. This was an out-and-back run (which I've been doing on the Centennial Trail, by the Spokane River, for my long runs) and I was going to go out 4 miles and turn around, unless I felt better than usual, in which case I'd stretch it to 5. That's what I did, and the last 5 miles were the least painful miles I've run in a LONG time! If all runs felt like those last 5 miles, I could live with that. However, I'm sure that won't always be the case, given my history.

Which leads me to the physical therapy I'm currently doing. I just finished my second full week (twice per week), and it seems to be helping. I'm doing a lot of foam rolling (on the evil black roller), stretching (hamstrings, calves, groin, quads) and a good deal of hip and glute strengthening using various exercise bands. I'm also working on my single-leg balance using a couple of different exercises. I've had my left IT band rubbed and dug into a couple of times (and have bruises to prove it), but it seems a little looser. I often leave there feeling pretty beat up and unable to walk normally, but I can finally feel my stabilizer muscles kicking in now during some of the movements. And, like I mentioned above, the knee pain seems to be lessening a little.

On my second visit, I ran a mile on the treadmill while my PT guy watched my form. I apparently swing my legs a bit and "scissor" my stride (i.e. cross over a little), which probably puts my knees in poor alignment, along with my hips. He says that should start correcting itself as I get stronger and more flexible, but I've started consciously working on my stride the last couple of runs. It feels odd, but I'm trying to make it only a small adjustment and not go overboard and potentially cause other issues. I'll be doing PT until the end of November. After that, I'll continue doing it at home on a maintenance program, and will do my best to roll and stretch both before and after I run.

Today, I finally set my beat-up bike on the trainer and did an easy 45 minute spin. It was the first time I've been on the bike since my accident back on August 13th. It felt good to be back on, even if it was indoors on a stationary trainer. I'm very hesitant to ride that bike outdoors again. I'll probably have the shop look it over, but it did get banged up pretty good in the accident, and if any of the frame is compromised, I'm asking for trouble by riding it outdoors again. And that's the logic I'm using on my wife in hopes of getting her blessing on buying a new bike! Thanks to our glut of broken arm expenses, I'm not expecting that blessing to be granted until next year (if even then), but with a few triathlons in my plans for 2016, I'll pretty much need the new bike.

But marital harmony comes first.

And I'm going to end this blog entry before I get myself into trouble. Thankfully, my better half doesn't read this blog.

I hope...

Ten Thousand Miles, an MRI, and PT!

Well, well, well...

After FAR too many years, I finally managed to hit the 10,000 mile mark for lifetime running mileage. Some of you might say, "that's quite an achievement for someone dealing with so many injuries over the years," and others might say, "jeesh, it took you long enough!" You would both be correct. I have many running friends who have eclipsed this mileage in far less time and have probably doubled or tripled my mileage already, so this won't be all that impressive to those folks. But it hasn't been an easy road for me. Still isn't.

Ran my 10,000th mile today in 7:22 (4th mile of a 5 mile run). Didn't feel easy. Sucks to be out of shape. And yes, my knee and hip hurt. But it was awesome!

It all started back on June 26, 1983 (Actually, it started a few years before that, with a year of XC during middle school, for which I have no written records, so I don't include those miles.) I was living in Kent, WA with my dad, stepmom and baby sister but visiting my mom and other family in Florida during summer break. I was going into my junior year of high school and had decided I wanted to run cross country. So I started running loops around the block where we lived.

Those of you that know me at all will NOT be surprised to know that I do, indeed, have my first written log from that time. My first recorded run was a 2-miler (at 6:46 pace!) around the block (CD stands for Crestwood Drive). I also like that I threw down a 5:44 mile during my second week of running. Ah, youth...

Low mileage, fast pace. What's this "base building" people talk about?

Thirty-two years of ups and downs (and plenty of injuries) later, I finally met that goal. You can see on the right side of this blog, if you scroll down a ways, my year-to-year mileage. Some years have zeroes, some have hardly any mileage at all. I'll admit that not all of those paltry years were due to injuries. Post high school, I lost interest in running (oh, if I had that time back again...I was just starting to get fast when I graduated!) There were other years where I decided I was going to lift weights and add muscle to my skinny frame. And, of course, there were plenty of injuries that derailed my running, sometimes for months (or years) at a time. But, glutton for punishment that I seem to be, I always returned to running. It's in my blood.

So, here's to the next 10,000 miles, God (and body) willing.

Speaking of a willing body, I ended up getting an MRI on my left knee after all. I won't go into the ugly details involving my insurance company (there are still issues being dealt with), but I met with my doc a few days ago to go over the results. Long story short, my knee looks great! No tears. Cartilage, tendons & ligaments all look good. Very little wear and tear. No arthritis. There is a bone bruise (probably from one of my bike crashes, but my knee pain goes back long before any crash), and there's a bit of fat deposit that might be causing impingement, but nothing that's obviously giving me the knee pain I'm still experiencing. I'm thrilled to know the knee is structurally sound, but frustrated that I still don't know what's up. Doc said that tight hamstrings can lead to knee pain (I've had tight hamstrings for decades, so I doubt it's the main problem.) I decided to go for a 6-week round of physical therapy to hopefully get my gait analyzed (again), get more flexible, deal with any strength imbalances and weaknesses and, hopefully, put the chronic pain behind me.

After all, I've got another 10,000+ miles to run. Don't want it to be painful! At least, not the bad kind of pain...

Borrowed Time

So, the good news is that the running I've been doing lately is starting to feel pretty good, like I'm actually becoming a runner again.

The bad news is that "starting to feel pretty good" refers to everything except my left knee.

A few runs ago, the knee would hurt for the first quarter mile or so, then feel pretty decent for the duration of the run. Then, it would hurt for the first half mile. Then, two days ago, it hurt for a mile and a half before settling down. Today, I ran an easy 4 miles and the knee hurt for 3.5 miles of it!

I'm no statistician, but that's not a good trend. So, at this point, I feel like I'm running on borrowed time.

Yes, I know I'm sort of in the process of focusing more on cycling, but as a longtime runner, I can't stay away. I'm now 68 miles shy of 10,000 lifetime running miles. That number is seducing me more every time I run. I'd like to get it behind me. That's why I've continued running through the ever-increasing pain. Dumb, I know.

Not to get too personal, but another reason I've put off a doctor's visit is because of my lousy insurance. I'm self-employed and pay 100% of my insurance out of pocket. In order to afford my premiums, I've had to choose terrible coverage — basically, a catastrophic plan. I would pay a $50 copay for office visits, but anything beyond that — treatment, imaging, medical procedures — would come out of my pocket, 100%, until I meet my insanely high deductible. So that, plus the fact that we're still paying off the therapy bill for my daughter's recent concussion, is the reason that no action has been taken.

Of course, that doesn't excuse me from running on an already damaged knee.

Like I said, I'm dumb.

Anyhoo...I may have a little more running in me before the knee says "NO MORE," or I may not. Like I said, today's run was pretty painful.

On a side note, I've realized that I'm a tough runner but a wimpy cyclist. When I say "tough," I don't mean I'm fast, or even impressive. I just mean that I can run through pain, wind, cold, snow, rain, hail, hills, etc. and have no problem with any of it (I've run through all of them at once on more than one occasion, actually) but as a cyclist, I hate wind, cold, hills and rain. So, humbly, I will claim to be a tough (and dumb) runner but a sissy cyclist. So far, anyway. Hopefully I can toughen up on two wheels before long.

I also hope I can celebrate my 10,000th running mile on this blog within the next couple of months. After today's run, I'm not so sure it'll be that soon.

But it WILL happen eventually.

First Run In 3 Weeks

After three weeks of "run fasting", I had a few bites again today as I finally ventured back out for a run. It was a balmy 50-something degree first day of summer (heavy on the sarcasm). It was my first run since my heel injury. As per my wife's insistent orders, I kept it short and sweet. 2.1 miles at an average of 8:24 per mile.

The results were mixed. I was able to complete the run, but the heel was still sore. This time, though, it seemed to be more of a superficial pain - closer to the surface - rather than a deep, injury-type of pain. I'm thinking (hoping) this is good. The rest of the day, I had periods where I felt no pain at all, and periods where I'd get waves of pain in the heel. I did 40 minutes of ice alternating with heat (tub of warm water), then went to physical therapy later in the day. I've been doing more strength exercises for my glutes, hips, hamstrings and feet, as well as rolling out my right IT band.

I have a feeling that this will be a gradual process with no easy fix. It could involve custom orthotics. I may have to see a podiatrist eventually. I'm sure it'll involve more diligence on my part to stick with the stretching and strengthening, as well as paying closer attention to my stride length. The heel is just a symptom of a greater issue, so it's going to take a lot of work to iron things out. But I'm willing to do it if that's what it takes to continue running.

So how did my fast end? With a plate of Cautiously Optimistic, and a side of Uncertainty and Apprehension.

But I'd prefer to go straight to the dessert menu and order the Successful Rehab.

Muy Interesante

A little Español for yiz 8-)

I just returned from another PT session and learned some pretty major things:

1. My neon green race shirt, according to my wife, doesn't match my forest green shorts (I still went to the appointment in them)
2. Freeway traffic on Friday stinks to high heaven (I haven't commuted since 1994), and
3. My right leg and foot do some funkadelic things when I ambulate.

I finally walked on their pressure-sensitive runway, as the moving video camera on the wall recorded my slanky strut down the catwalk. I was FAR too sexy.
Ahem.
Come to find out that my right foot flares out during my stride. It seems to start with my right knee turning a bit more outward. I land with my right foot facing more outward than the left, and I push through my step on the outer part of that foot (supinate). My left foot lands and rolls through fairly normal. This may be my body's way to compensate for the slightly greater length in my right leg. It also, according to the PT, may be causing torsion on the inner part of my right heel...exactly where most of my heel pain resides.


Here's a photo of me running the Mercer Island Half Marathon, back in March:

I noticed my right foot flaring out in the photo, but thought it was just an anomaly. As I've learned, it's what I do. Although, by the time my foot lands, it's not turned quite this much.

The PT sessions have been valuable so far. Even aside from the direct treatment on my heel, I'm learning quite a few things I've never known about my body (like, showers are good body odor deterrents).

On Monday, I'll be recorded running on a treadmill. I'm hoping to bust out an hour run at roughly 5:00/mile pace to impress everyone. I may back off of that just a little, as I don't want to destroy their equipment.

Oh, and the heel is still sore, but seems to be mostly in the inside area, rather than the whole heel.

More soon...