diary of a runner

four pack at the top and a keg at the bottom

January 27, 2012 | Author: Valerie

i’m just going to jump right back in here like i haven’t posted in forever. oh a lot has happened since i last published, but i don’t remember any of it. i guess my mother was correct when she called to tell me epidurals can cause memory loss.

speaking of epidural, i’ve had three. the first two did absolutely nothing! the third one was supposed to be the kicker, the one that did the trick and it worked, for all of 3.5 days. for three days, i slept and behaved like a normal person; heck, i thought i was normal up until saturday afternoon, then the pain returned and i went back to the walking wounded.

the doctor may give me one more shot and supposedly steroids also cause arthritis later. guess what? i already have arthritis. the only thing i fear more than arthritis is rigor mortis, so bring it on.

anyhoo, for now i will have to live in pain every day until someone offers a cure for my nerve damage. i don’t want surgery, but i seriously can’t stay like this forever, i would be the first to check myself in to the loony bin. i got the rocking back and forth part down already; i just need a room with a view. it’s hard to function when all i can think about is pain, but someone told me to suck it up and that’s what i have been doing, with pills.

in between knocking back pain killers and sleeping pills while destroying my liver, (at least my corpse will win ‘best in shape’ at the morgue) i have been getting in some exercise. not my preferred exercise, but good enough.

i bought an exercise bike because my neck does not like the elliptical trainer. i do better enduring the pain while sitting on my rump and pedaling with my legs than i do using the elliptical every day.

i’m bothered by a low impact machine, weird i know.

in the past, i hated the bike because the calorie burn was so low in comparison to running or the elliptical trainer. now that i know what i need to do to make my body burn calories and lose weight, i don’t stress over the numbers any more.

it helps that i actually enjoy working out and i don’t do it just for weight loss. the weight will come off, it’s just a matter of how i’m going to get it done.

by the end of this month, i should be down 5 pounds plus, but i’m not counting the .x (ounces) anymore, whole numbers only. i’m quite positive i’ve added some muscle as well. as regard my mid-section, i still have a four pack at the top and a keg at the bottom, but it’s looking better.

running, however, doesn’t bother my neck as much, but every thing else that’s wrong with my body. i’m slowly working running back into my fitness repertoire with short runs.

hey isn’t that all i ever do is short runs. yeah, i have a point.

the first mile is always the worse. i grimace, i limp, i hurt, but after i out run the kinks it feels great. my legs are getting stronger too, thanks to the 155 miles i’ve logged this month on the bike.

i don’t want to run more than three times a week if i can help it and never back to back days for now. hopefully, this will relieve some of the stress off my skeleton until i’m healthy again. i rather my runs be short and consistent than not at all.

so that’s all i have to report for now. not really, i do have another post to publish soon. i probably say that a lot and i mean it, eventually.

some photos i took this week:

before my workout. this shirt is choking the breath out of me, but i will wear it to the gym and Nets games.

i routinely take photos of myself, not sure why probably because i have a crappy camera on my itouch and minutes to spare. the shirt i'm wearing could pass for fitted, but it's tight. broad upper body, weirdly proportioned.

once a day, several times a week this is what happens to my hands (sometimes feet). they turn beet red, hot and i suffer with the pins and needle feeling for hours. i flipping hate it.

i made my first pizza, a wheat pizza and it was yummy.

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i have a ph.d in poppycock

November 14, 2011 | Author: Valerie

lately my back has not been playing nice in the sandbox, but i think it’s okay now. at least it has been for the past 6 days. last tuesday, also my scheduled chiro day, it was hurting so i didn’t run, but by wednesday it felt much better.

wait, did i mention that i have thee best chiro ever, long story short he pimped out my sweet tooth (teeth) and bought me a gift card to my favorite bakery. which is another reason why i’m glad i can do some running again. i’m not winning in the weight department, most of which is sitting around my middle, and if i keep eating sweets i will never see my janet jackson abs.

speaking of doctors, i have to share yet another horrible experience of mine (off the record, so huddle around).

last wednesday, i visited a new orthopedic doctor and he was no better than the last one i had. he could not read the MRI and said he saw “something” at C4 and C5, but wasn’t sure what.

he also did not agree with the report because he couldn’t follow it and said this particular company under reads MRIs and their findings are not always accurate or aggressive enough, which is why i went to him.

i know “something” does not feel right and i want a new MRI done. he said, “nah, i don’t think you need it. you can live with it, have surgery or go for epidural shots.”

wth.

i said, “i will not live with it and will take the epidural shots.” he threw me a prescription for the pain (at my request) as i walked out the door. i left his office upset, depressed and almost in tears, because i couldn’t believe he wasted all that time and money attending medical school.

and just how smart is my new doctor? he examined my left arm. i said, in my mind of course, it’s the right arm, you moron. i knew i was in trouble when he walked in looking 8 months pregnant and not wearing a t-shirt under his dress shirt.

i spent more time in his office filling out inefficient forms than i did speaking with him about how we are going to fix me. forms that asked the same darn questions over and over again, sometimes even on the same page.

he doesn’t know this, but i have a ph.d in poppycock and have been known to flip out on medical forms after i deem them ridiculous. on page 1, i play nice:

name: valerie
dob: 7-17
sex: f
address: 123 any street

on page 5, my eyelids are half-staff

name: still valerie
dob: see page 1
sex: not yet
address: same as page 1

on page 9 my left eye is shut and the right one is twitching

name: let’s see, i’m on page 9, you can call me pissed off
dob: i’m not a born again christian, see page 1
sex: this morning
address: haven’t moved from this chair

i spent at least 45 minutes waiting and filling out forms. i wasted 10 minutes listening to the doctor talk about a boat he just bought. another minute watching him type a text message. twenty minutes wondering why wasn’t wearing an undershirt, five minutes listening to him talk about golf with another patient and 5 minutes watching him and his assistant try to read my MRI.

so, in order to save what’s left of my sanity i decided not to spend any more time getting upset over incompetent doctors. i blame myself, too, for walking around like a person with no options, i am not at his mercy. if he can’t do what i want or answer my questions, i will find someone else. simple. in the meantime, i’m thankful for the prescription pain pills.

on thursday, i am scheduled to see the doctor who will administer the epidural shots. it’s only a consultation though, i don’t even get the darn shot until the following week, december 1st, if i’m fortunate. he’s only in the office on thursday and next thursday is a holiday.

end.

i was able to get in a few runs last week, at least three, several cross training workouts and a few weight lifting sessions. it felt great to be in the gym and running again.

i had no problems with my shins, but my right calf was a little tight after my 2nd run. i don’t anticipate this being a problem. i’m not running very fast outside or on the treadmill or even every day. i’d be content with getting my body used to the activity again and hope nothing breaks down in the process.

in odd news: i’ve been mulling over the idea of becoming a personal trainer and certified nutritionist. i’m quite positive – on most days – that all i want to do is workout and eat; the two combined keep me happy.

on the other hand, i’m not sure how committed i can be to other people. i have too many rules: don’t call me during jeopardy; don’t call me on the weekends; don’t call me at night, don’t call me in the morning, etc. my attitude tells me i’m not ready to take this on full-time. part-time maybe and then only on certain days.

at least if people are not happy with my shoddy personal training services because i’m more interested in watching jeopardy or what’s going on with my itouch, i can explain i train people on the side and that my real degree is in poppycock. hmmm, maybe my orthopedic doctor is really a professional golfer who does surgery on the side. this would explain so much.

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baby got back

October 31, 2011 | Author: Valerie

bad back that is.

long story short: my shin pain is gone. the end.

long, boring, rambling story: i’m surprised how well my shins have responded, or not responded, to my running outside or on the treadmill. i don’t have too much of a problem running outside, though it hasn’t always been pain-free, i can make a lot more mistakes outside than i can inside before throwing in the towel.

not sure why the treadmill is so exacting and outside is more forgiving, one would think it’d be the other way around, but that’s the way it is for me. hi my name is valerie.

here’s what i’ve been up to since we last chatted:

day 7-10

i’ve continued with my regimen, (i.e. warming up, stretching, then running) and it seems to be working. i haven’t had any shin pain since i changed my foot strike, which is so amazing!

i have noticed that since i’ve been running pain-free my body’s natural painkillers are m.i.a., obviously because i’m not in any (shin) pain and strangely i miss it.

i always run with some degree of discomfort, shin pain was the worse, and felt the exact moment when the “workers” inside my body would say, “this woman is too stupid to listen to her body. send out the endorphins we haaaaave a runner.”

tuesday morning i worked out on the elliptical machine and got my butt handed to me by the beast. the entire 3 mile workout was a struggle. hated it.

wednesday afternoon i used the recumbent bike. i don’t get much of a calorie burn driving ms. daisy, but my legs are getting stronger.

last thursday, and i guess monday for that matter, i deviated a little, running more miles than i planned. my plan was to do one mile 4 days a week, and not put too much stress on my shins, but there was a man on the treadmill next to mine and i was not getting off first - sometimes i can be competitive – and ran two additional miles.

friday, i warmed up on the recumbent bike and unlike a road bike, it’s a lot of work pedaling the entire time. i’m getting better at it and completed 4 miles in 17 minutes. then i did a quick stretch and hopped on the treadmill for a fast one mile. i thought my shins would surely bark at my speed, but not a yelp.

day 11-12

on saturday i gave my body a rest, not necessarily a day off, with an easy walk on the track and on sunday i used the elliptical. unfortunately, i didn’t get in a stretch either day. not sure why. things that make me go, hmmmmm.

day 13-19

i like to run on mondays, but didn’t feel like working out at all this day. i took two flexeril on saturday and one again on sunday and was very tired. i went to the gym anyway because i can at least plop my behind on a machine and go through the motions and that’s what i did. i cycled four miles on the bike and then hit the weights.

tuesday i overslept but was able to squeeze in 3 miles on the elliptical. not much going on, burned some calories and strengthened my legs.

wednesday i warmed up on the recumbent bike and cycled for 5 miles. my goal on the recumbent bike is 1 mile every 4 to 4.5 minutes. after the recumbent bike, i ran a mile on the treadmill.

thursday i did one of my favorite walk at home dvds with leslie sansone. it’s very easy for me to follow, 99% of the time after i’ve completed this workout i feel great and then i followed up with a stretch.

friday morning i rode the recumbent bike and did my usual stretch afterward. then i hopped on the treadmill for a quick 3 mile run; shins were fine but when i pressed the fibula bone i felt some tenderness, but it wasn’t an issue while running. my arm wasn’t hurting too much so i did a mini upper/lower body workout.

on saturday (and sunday) i walked a little and not sure what happened, but by the afternoon my back was done.

day 20-22

monday i stayed home from work because my back was still hurting. actually, my entire body ached and i felt tired. too weak to get dressed or maybe, like samson, my strength comes from hair and i just needed a perm.

later that afternoon after my meds kicked in, i went for a walk as i did tuesday, wednesday and probably will be doing for the rest of the week.

day 23-27
back pain continued; i walked and did whatever exercise i could muster or didn’t hurt.

i gave myself until the end of october to figure out my shin hurt, but surprisingly i only needed to see that i was heel striking (also not properly warming up and stretching) and made the necessary corrections.

unfortunately, and because my name is valerie, the rest of my body is in no shape for me to run. now ain’t that some shin!

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mother may i?

October 12, 2011 | Author: Valerie

as we all know or at least the three people who read this blog and spammers, my name is valerie and i suffer from persistent shin pain. and i’m sick of it. and it must stop now. i’m tired of playing the runner’s version of mother may i; i take two steps forward and then four steps backward. i don’t want to play that game anymore. i’m already running with disabilities which incidentally seems like a better name for this blog.

reminds me of the time i went to my acupuncturist and she asked me to cough before inserting the first needle. supposedly coughing while inserting the needle distracts the brain from pain, it can only focus on one thing at a time. uh huh. prior to this appointment, i coughed on command, but on this day i went sybil on her and said, “no. i don’t want to cough; go ahead and stick me, i’ll be all right.” (waited patiently as wendy considered pressing the red emergency button or either realized i was being a donkey and not a threat). seriously, i have to laugh at myself some times, but i mention this because i have a limit and the time limit is up for shin pain. i’m not doing shin pain anymore, we need to fix this now or very soon.

i read this quote somewhere: “if you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over.” i’m tired of starting over and i’m ready to do it right.

october will be a month of trial and error. i will try a number of different things until i am able to run the first mile, since my symptom usually reveals itself within the first two miles, without any shin pain.

also before each run i will be implementing the following into my workouts (and stretching on a daily basis):

i ~~stole~~, ~~borrowed~~, copied and pasted the text in quotes from this website.

“first, a thorough and correct warm up will help to prepare the muscles and tendons for any activity to come. without a proper warm up the muscles and tendons will be tight and stiff, which may limit blood flow to the lower legs and result in a lack of oxygen and nutrients for those muscles;

second, flexible muscles are extremely important in the prevention of lower leg injuries. when muscles and tendons are flexible and supple, they are able to move and perform without being over stretched; and

third, strengthening and conditioning the muscles of the lower leg will also help to prevent shin splints.”

had i uploaded this post 7 days ago, i would not have had to rewrite portions of it and i would have posted my progress daily. here’s what happened under my new regimen and i’m totally stealing the write-ups from my dailymile entries:

day 1
i taped my arches, stretched at my desk half of the morning, wore insoles in my shoes and compression sleeves over my lower legs. after the elliptical (my one mile warm up) i stretched my calves, got in a few toe raises and a heel walk then i ran.

this run felt a lot better and i could feel the difference because my landing on the treadmill was near silent in comparison. when my feet slap the belt and i sound like i’m stomping sum ting wong! it was a silent glide over the belt and it felt right.

no shin pain until the 9:50 mark. normally if there’s going to be a problem it’s around 6 or 7 minutes. i was able to shower with the tape still wrapped around my arches and i put the sleeves back on. also planned to tape my run but my camera battery died. will try again tomorrow.

day 2
had to grab a treadmill before someone else did and i neglected to stretch after i got off the bike (my warm up). a little more shin pain than yesterday. only thing i did different was i did not tape my arches. starting speed: 6.2 and at .70 of a mile the shins tightened up. ran at 7.5, 6.2 and 7.5 the rest of the way and no change in the shins. will be back on it tomorrow.

day 3
finally! no shin pain today. not an ounce. nothing. nada. zilch. booyah! i wore my compression sleeves and new balance running shoes with no insoles. started out slow at 5.6 and gradually increased my speed to 6.4. i videotaped yesterday’s run and i’m a freaking heel striker.

today i made an effort to toe strike or at least midstrike, i increased my cadence and made sure my feet landed under my center of gravity i.e. i didn’t extend my feet – much – past my hip bone (guess who was watching youtube video this morning on running toe/midstrike).

oh i made sure i pushed off from the ball of my feet as well. slight changes in form, but not uncomfortable, just have to find a way to make it look natural. very happy with this try.

day 4-5 stretch/walk/rest

day 6
first run without any gadgets. was a little nervous about this run because i hadn’t been running outside in a while; thought i’d be tired and out of breath, but the run was better than i expected. 70% of the time i was toe or mid-striking, the forward lean came naturally running this way.

also worked on keeping my arms at 90 degrees and belly breathing. ran out of steam around mile 5 and darn near crawled home during mile 6. not out of breath, just tired. took a muscle relaxer before i left and my neck was okay for most of this run. oh, no shin pain.

six miles? no shin pain (specifically the tibia) at all? sweet! was it just a matter of me changing my foot strike from heel to mid/toe strike? we’ll find out tomorrow.

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and bob’s your uncle

October 5, 2011 | Author: Valerie

how long has it been since my last update? here’s what i remember up to the present day, i’ll try to keep it short:

body
not only does my right arm continue to hurt, but my neck has boarded the pain train as well. i’m used to my neck hurting once in a while, but not every day. this sucks donkey.

my right leg from the knee down is often numb and both my feet have the same pins and needles feeling that i have in my right arm. this too sucks donkey.

physical therapy
i plan to undergo a new route of physical therapy soon, hopefully something to help with the pain specifically in my neck and arm. i tried the PT sessions with my chiropractor because he does a great job with my sciatic nerve and thought he’d be able help with my neck and arm.

i was wrong. he’s just as frustrated as i am and tried several aggressive moves while working on my spine. it didn’t work, but it was one heck of beat down and felt great!

now i ask for the aggressive treatment by name. i gave him my consent to go WWF on me and if it’s too rough i’ll use my safety word.

sadly, the acupuncture did not work and i won’t be resuming treatment. it helped for the moment, but the moment i left the pain returned.

weight loss
hmmm. i am seven to eight pounds heavier than my ideal weight. of course, no one can see the extra weight, but i feel like i’m carrying rosemary’s baby. i made several changes to my eating habits (stopped eating tons of cookies) and i’m back to tracking almost every calorie i eat over at myfitnesspal.

shin pain
i hate shin pain! even after a two week layoff my shins still hurt, but i’m on a mission to heal them. my primary plan of action involves lots of stretching and strengthening of my lower legs. i will document this process and upload my findings as i progress.

i planned to videotape my run today for a better look at what i may be doing wrong, but my camera battery died just as i was about to step on the treadmill. i did get some footage, literally, of me tying my shoes. i’ll try again tomorrow.

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four pack at the top and a keg at the bottom

i have a ph.d in poppycock

baby got back

mother may i?

and bob’s your uncle

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