July 2011

Like many of us this summer, one word sums it up. I won't even say it, because it's just that redundant and obvious.

I have been feeling a little better on 10 mgs of Prednisone for the past few weeks. I am not running yet, but I hope that I am getting close. I still feel somewhat symptomatic, a few of the hallmark symptoms that seem to show themselves whenever I get inflammed are still hanging around. Mainly, I have a constant tingling sensation in my back. Pretty much all of my major back muscles are involved, especially in the upper back, through the shoulders. I still have a hint of a face rash, and my quads feel very stiff and heavy.

I am able to ride my road bike, which is pretty much as good as anyone can do in the current heat. My joints are still a bit achy and I still have some injury issues that don't seem to be healing on their own, but as I mentioned, they seem to be getting better, albeit on their own timeframe, not mine. Not there yet, but hopeful. I missed the Midnight 50K, which was a bummer. I have a few things up my sleeve for the next year, though. I've already signed up for Memphis, so that's no secret. The rest of my intended runs are in the spring, so I've got a bit of time to pull it together, as long as this body cooperates. I am spending a few hours a day on rehab, primarily massage, stretching, and strengthening. I am also trying the Galloway approach to building back mileage, which involves intervals of running and walking, rather than just straight-up running. I can only continuously run about 20-30 minutes until the pain kicks in, but with a few minutes running/few minutes walking interval routine, I can make it close to an hour. Better than nothing, but a long way to go.

On the up

CPK, that is. I clocked in somewhere around 350 this time, and I had been feeling it for a few months. The inflammation had been ramping up a bit, and I was starting to run a little hot. I had developed a rash on my face and hands, achy muscles and joints that were making it very difficult to be active on a day-to-day basis, and a swollen lymph node. I had lost a few steps, dialed exercise way down, and was feeling generally uncomfortable.

So for now, sweet relief. I love Prednisone. I hate it that I love it. But I feel so much better. Am in a better mood, have energy, am excited about tomorrow and the next day and the next month. Aches and pains go away like they should. Body parts don't hurt for no reason. My skin looks vibrant ahd healthy. It's hard to feel worried about being sick when I'm manic on steriods. I catch myself enjoying the feeling, but it's deceiving. The hell to pay is that Prednisone speeds up the aging process. A pleasant thought.

I am also wide awake (again). There was popcorn popping just underneath my eyelids when I tried to go to bed just now. I tried reading, but that activity seemed a little too calm for my racing mind and eyeballs. I don't think the computer will help, but at least it's more interesting than my bedroom ceiling.

Goodnight to most of you. I'll be up for a little while...

Waiting

Good news/bad news: I am very nearly off of prednisone. The "good" portion of that is self-explanatory. The "bad" part is that I am broken down, a few steps slower, not healing, and in general, in the dumps a bit. I have had problems with my IT band (a common but persistent running injury) since the beginning of the year, and now the other one has decided to flare up as well. After a few disasterous long-distance trail attempts in the last several weeks, I have decided that I cannot continue to move forward without taking a few steps back to try and get this stuff healed. It's a good thing that it's summer time and a little bit of a slower pace, because there don't seem to be enough hours in the day to ice, massage, stretch, strengthen, and repeat. It's like an obsessive-compulsive routine on a daily repeating loop. And it still just seems to get worse. I ran 6 miles last week. Total. Ouch. I have been riding my road bike in hopes of maintaining fitness, and as a last holdout of physical activity, but I am about to hang that up as well so that I can say that I am truly doing everything that I can to try and heal this IT misery. I've had my heart set on the Midnight 50K in late July, but it seems to be slipping away quickly with every day that goes by with the same knee-to-hip pain. I can definitely see the addictive mechanisms of steriods... what we hear about in sports is a different type of steriod, but the same psychological addictions must be at work. When you're on them, energy is high, body recovers quickly, and mood is good. It's tough to come down from that, you know? Plus, my poison ivy doesn't heal as quickly... ;-)

(patience is a virtue... too bad I stink at it!)

April 2011

I've been busy. It's not you, it's me. Spring has sprung, and everything seems to speed up, including time. I am feeling how I would describe as "normal". Not flawless, but not bad, either. I am experiencing mild discomfort at a low Prednisone dose... some dryness, soreness, extra recovery time & effort, etc. But that's it... no weakness that I can really speak of. It's the difference between the superman that I feel like when I'm on steriods vs. the mid-30's aged human being with a flawed body that I really am without the steriods. Boston is next week. I leave on Wednesday. Yes, I'm going again. Come on... you knew I would, didn't you? Although I have a good reason. When I decided to go the first time, I registered early and on my own. In the meantime, several of my running friends decided that they wanted to go too, and make it a group trip. However, they didn't qualify and get registered before the 2010 race filled, so they had to defer until this year. So, of course I had to go back. All of these people made the effort to train and run qualifying times so that we could all go together... I can't let them down now! Hm, I wonder what my 2012 excuse will be...

Sylamore

The Sylamore 50K came and went in its usual place on the mid-February calendar. It was a great day. Wonderful trail brothers & sisters, and many more who came from across state lines to experience the paradise where I get to live.







Coming off of the New Orleans marathon just 6 days earlier, I didn't expect too much. I took the "slow and steady" approach through the first half, stopping first at the Blanchard Springs campground, then at Gunner Pool, and finally at the Barkshed campground that served as the turnaround point. Such a great area, I love the winding highways to get there through towns that time forgot, and the US Forest Service signs that let you know that you are about to be at home in the woods, in a place that you have come to know as intimately as only someone covering the distance on foot can.



I was hoping to get into the turnaround feeling fresh and ready to pick it up, and I pretty much did. The Sylamore trail has such great diversity that you can often run with an element of play, opening up on the flats and crashing the downhills. My legs seemed willing until about 3 miles to go, which, conveniently, is where the most technical part of the course is. Large, wet rocks seem that much larger and wetter at miles 29-30.




I finished in 5:39, pulling off a negative split by a minute or so, although that calculation is only as scientific as me glancing at my watch and trying to remember what time I left the turnaround. Much better than last time. A good day with great trail and even better trail people.

Here is another author's synopsis of the race, and some video as well:

http://endurancebuzz.com/2011/02/24/sylamore-trail-run-2011-results/#more-19181

NOLA

Marathon of the month: Rock & Roll New Orleans. I hadn't given it much premeditative thought... but a friend did a good job of marketing a warm gulf-side event during what has turned out to be an epic winter wallop. This was my slowest roadie yet. I hadn't had an over 4-hour road marathon to my name, but I'm ok with it. I hadn't trained at all and am getting low on Prednisone. I can feel the soreness and fatigue creeping in, but no flare yet. So in the meantime, NOLA!


(compare this with 2 feet of snow at home)



Here I am posing with Scott Jurek. He was gracious to the long line of distance running geeks who waited to pose with him at the expo, myself included. I gave him a few race day tips, I hope he did alright.



Here is another gem from the day:

Ready or not...

Here we go! Spring 2011 semester is on. I will be using my newfound terminal degree to teach a class as an adjunct, so I've got my weeks planned out from here until May.

The picture is from the Athens-Big Fork Trail run the first weekend in January. It's a very hilly and challenging 26-mile course that follows an old postal trail out-and-back over 8 Ouachita Mountain ridges. It took me 3 attempts at this thing to actually have fun. The last time I tried it was 2 years ago, when I was getting sick but didn't know what was wrong yet. I hauled my miserable body up and down those mountains for almost 8 hours. This time it only took me a little over 6. (insert smiley face here)...

I have a few decisions to make about which runs I'm doing this year. I had a heavy road marathon year in 2010, and lived by a weekly cycle of long runs, tempo runs, and speedwork. While it was fun in some ways, I'm kind of ready to slow it down and crawl back into the woods for some trail running.

Off to a good start!