It's Amazing!

I'm happy but confused!

Okay . . . me being confused is definitely not the newsflash of the year!!  I'm spent a good part of my life trying to figure out what just happened!!

But today I'm just plain pleasantly confused!

This last surgery was really quite a bit more extensive than my first one.  My doctor worked on two toes this time as well as two metatarsals!

And honestly . . . I'm having way less pain and discomfort than my first surgery!!

Maybe it's not having the pin.  Maybe it's that I'm 20 pounds lighter and in better physical shape this time.  Maybe I'm just in a better mental state!!  I honestly have no idea but so far I'm pleasantly surprised!!!

I went to my doctor for a post-op check . . . actually never saw the doctor but saw the nurse and took some more x-rays.  I mean . . . what is two more x-rays in the overall scheme of things!  My foot already glows in the dark . . . giving me my own personal mobile night light!!  But getting to see the "after" x-rays was pretty cool!  The night of my surgery the doctor call to see how I was doing and he told me what he had done . . . but some it just didn't  make sense to me at the time.  Now it all makes more sense! So here it is!!

First a little education on the bones of your feet!

 

My foot problems came when I dislocated the two joint between the 4th and 5th metatarsals from their respective proximal phalanges.  This is really the ball of your foot!  My doctor set the 4th about 4 days after the accident but missed the 5th.  That was set by surgery in June (by a different doctor!!!)

So what happened since the surgery is the 4th toe developed a "hammer toe" where the toe curled and the middle phalanges was pushed "up" and forced the metatarsal "down" causing pain in the ball of my foot again!  Got really bad after 4-6 miles and was getting worse and worse every day as the hammer toe continued to get worse.  As a result of the hammer toe the metatarsal / phalanges joint dislocated again.  Adding to the problem, the 5th (little toe) also developed problems . . . the freakin' toe pointed "down" not "out"!! LOL!  Additionally, the middle phalanges was not properly aligned and it caused the 5th toe to start migrating towards the 4th toe, exaserbating that toe's problems. 

Education complete.

Okay . . . here is one of my post-op x-rays.  They didn't remove my cast so this shot was taken through the cast and all the bandaging on these two toes.  These are the two toes he worked on.

The 4th toe has the screw in the metatarsal head where it connects to the "toe-bones" (or phalanges)  that he put in to help hold it in place (it has dislocated again).  Also, the white in the bone above that screw extending to the next bone is some sort of an implant to keep those bones aligned.  Got to admit this 4th toe still looks pretty crooked here, and I'll be talking with the doctor about it.  It may simply be the bandaging that is causing it to appear this way.

To the right is the little toe.  If you count toe bones you'll find one is missing!  He removed the middle phalanges . . . that is the dark space where it use to be!)  What you can't see is that he re-set the metatarsal / proximal phalanges joint on the little toe and he also cut the tendon on the bottom that was making my toe stick down rather than stick out straight!!  LOL!

All in all he did quite a bit of stuff.  But honestly my pain is virtually gone unless I move these two toes!!

Stitches come out the day after Christmas and I'm guessing I be getting another cast then . . . but maybe a boot!  Guess I'll just have to wait and see.  Until then at least . . . no weight-bearing.  Love my crutches!!


After my doctor's appointment I went to Target to solve another problem.  When I go outside . . . my freakin' toes get cold!  I think I came up with a great solution . . . a baby's hat!!

Quite the conversation starter!

Math Skills Remain!

In my last post I expressed concern that my base 20 math skills just might be in jeopardy!  And let's face it . . . that would be totally devastating!  Think of how often you use those advanced math skills!!  I would just be totally lost!

But not to worry . . . I am still digitally complete! 

Surgery went well and when I talked with my doctor tonight he seemed very happy about the way everything went.  Must have been a slow day for him 'cause he just did a bunch of stuff!  Never a good thing when you're asleep in the operating room and the doctor has some extra time on his hands!  But honestly his positive excitement may have come from the size of the bill he's going to be able to send me!

Basically . . . I think that now, my 4th and 5th toes and the metatarsals they are (or used to be) attached to must be bionic!  I didn't understand all the things he said he did but I heard lots of words and phrases that I recognized . . . like  "removed the bone", implant, tack, screwed, released, pinned, "while I was in there" . . . stuff like that!  That last one scared me a little!!!

But I checked and all male parts seem intact so I'm not all that concerned.  Well . . . actually that extension idea was a pretty good one but clearly he didn't do that!  :-(

And my cast is way bigger than the one I had this summer!  I have no freakin' idea why!  Maybe he wrapped my foot more this time so the toes would stay warmer . . . kind of a winter cast instead of a summer cast!  IDK!!

Actually . . . the cast was one of the things he was most excited about!  Last time the cast they put on me made my foot "roll in" and I could not put any weight on it at all even though it had a little "walker" rubber thing on the bottom . . .  and I had complained!  This time he was "giddy" 'cause he thinks he got it on straight this time!!  Sheesh!

Well . . . this afternoon and evening I've been quite enjoying the cool little pain meds he gave me!  My dogs just don't understand why I'm singing and talking to myself!!  They should just enjoy my beautiful voice!

Well . . . we'll see what joy tomorrow brings!  But right now I think I'll pop another pain pill . . . just for fun!

December 11th . . . a Wednesday!

December 11th is a freakin' Wednesday!  Nobody EVER does anything cool on a Wednesday!

So I'm going to change the game!

I'm going to get FIXED December 11th!  No . . . not that kind of fixed!  I had that fix done years ago!!  Been "shooting blanks" . . . well . . . forget that! . . . let's move along!

But my right foot does need fixing . . . again!  So this is like round #3!!  LOL!

Honestly . . . I don't know exactly what we're going to do!  Get that . . . what "WE'RE" going to do!  I mean shit . . . I'll be asleep!  The frickin' doctor could do ANYTHING!!  I would only know about it later!!  LOL!  Maybe he'll do a face lift!  Or liposuction!!  Or maybe something else cool!  Actually some sort of an extension procedure might be totally awesome!!

But probably not . . . just boring foot stuff.  But based on our conversations I'm thinking my base 20 math skills may be in serious jeopardy!!  And he assures me crutches will be in my future!  Again!

Anyway . . . you readers (all 8 of you!), send me well wishes next Wednesday.  And I'll let you know what the crazy doctor decided to do once I wake up Wednesday . . . sometime!!!

In a couple of months and I'm going to be ready to kick some serious ass!!  Protect yours!!

. . . and another personal record!!!!

If we celebrate the traditional PRs . . . . I'm thinking I should also be celebrating my PWs too!!

For you non-runners, a PR is a "personal record" or a personal best.  As we get older, we runners get quite creative in ways to have a PR!!  Instead of lifetime records, we start looking at annual records, or course records, or even a record time with "these shoes!"  ANYTHING that makes us feel like we did something good!!

And as you might guess a PW is a personal worst.  Honestly we usually try to sweep these under the carpet and simply ignore them.  At least in public!  Privately we do remember these times of under-achievement and failures.  Actually they serve as terrific motivation so we don't embarrass ourselves in the future!

Well . . . this weekend I had a PW at the Crooked Road 24 Hour!  19 frickin' miles!!!  That is averaging just under .8 miles per hour!  Or a 75:47 pace per mile!!!!  My previous PW was 31 miles I believe . . . and that was just before hip surgery!!! 

But in all honestly I didn't run the full 24 hours.  In fact, I hardly "ran" at all!!  I ran a slow interval (run 2-3 minutes and walk a minute) for the first 6 miles . . . after that I only walked!

And I quit at about 2:30 pm . . . so I really only went 6 1/2 hours . . . that is a 20:31 pace!!  LOL with six miles of that were probably at a 13-14 minute pace.  Truth is I was "glacial" the last 13 miles or so!!!

If I had continued on maybe I could have finished 30-35 miles . . . MAYBE!!!!  But I just decided to "tuck my tail between my legs" and scamper home!!!

Oh . . . wait . . . I was at the very first running of the Crooked Road 24 hour back in 2011.  This was about 3 months AFTER my hip surgery and I did "do" one lap backwards that year so I could take pictures of folks.  Of course I wasn't an "official" entrant in that run . . . I was only there to volunteer so I'm not sure if that should count as my PW or not!! 

Hmmmmm . . . . maybe yesterday wasn't so bad!!!

4+ Miles in Eaton's Ferry Estates

Okay . . . when I thought about doing this I really thought it might be awesome!!

Well . . . it's not!

I thought I could document my 4.2 mile run in my subdivision and it would be interesting and you might be able to get a sense of the run.  Just didn't really work out!  But there are some pretty shots!  And the run itself really is nice!  You can't really see it here but Lake Gaston is visible for probably 90% of the run.  Actually is nice to see but you can't tell it here.

And there really are some hills here!!  LOL!  Hard to tell with these pictures but it really isn't flat!  Now . . . don't get me wrong . . . there aren't really BIG hills . . . but you still do a lot of small ups and downs!!!

Anyway . . . here is the route!



Start at my house . . .  This is actually downhill!!

Now a short but fairly steep uphill . . .

Okay . . . we are a tad over 1/2 mile . . .  Going to turn right here!!

Another short but steep up . . .

Just past the 1 mile point . . .

At the turnaround . . .

The bottom of this hill is the 2 mile point . . .

Another uphill . . .

 But you get to go down too! . . .

 Turnaround point #2 . . .  essentially at the 3 mile point here.  The neighborhood has marked routs for several distances . . .

One mile to go from here . . .

 Long slow up . . .

But the down comes too!  

 Last final uphill to my house . . .

4.2 miles DONE!

Like I said . . . this seemed like a good idea when I decided to do it!!

Migration of thought . . .

What is possible?  What's impossible?  What should we do?  What is best for us?  What will hurt us?  What should I eat?  What should I avoid eating?  How far can a human run?  How far should we run?  How much is too much?  What hurts our joints?

As athletes, we all have these questions and we are constantly searching for the perfect answer.  One that allows us to be the best we can be and guide us through our endeavors injury free.  So . . . what do we do?

Simple . . . we look to experts to guide us!

We read scientific studies.  We search for and listen to the PhD experts who have studied and researched our questions!  And we believe them.  Especially if they are saying what we personally think or tend to believe!!

I ran my first marathon in 1982.  And I just plain "blew up" at mile 17.  Nausea struck followed by a mental collapse!!  Devastating!  I wanted a sub 4 hour finish but I struggled in at around 4:35 or so with my tail between my legs!  Oh . . . I was happy and proud to have completed my first marathon for sure!  But there was disappointment too because I knew I had mentally collapsed.  Maybe no one else knew . . . but I did!!!  And I wanted revenge!  I wanted that sub 4 marathon!

So I wanted to run another just as soon as I could!  And what did I do?  I consulted the "experts" on what I should do!  Advice from Runners World was the only source of information I had available plus a few books on running.  Their combined advice?

"The human body takes time to fully recover from the exertion of running 26.2 miles.  So, even though you may feel rested a week or two later, you shouldn't run that far again for a full 26 weeks!" 

That's right!!  The human body can only take running 2 marathons a year!!!  Hahahaha!!!!

I'm sure there were runners out there who realized this was total bullshit!  But I didn't know any of them!  I had my circle of friends and none had ever run past 26.2 miles and none did marathons frequently!  So I believed "the experts!"

I waited 6 months to run my second marathon and I did achieve my goal!!  My personal record of 3:58!

Well . . . over time I've learned this advice was just plain stupid.  I have friends that run a marathon or longer every single weekend!  I have friends that run a marathon almost every day!!!  Only run 2 marathons a year???  Just sooooo wrong!

The experts used to say that the human body just runs out of all stored energy at around the 18-20 mile point of running.  And the last 6-8 miles to finish a marathon simply tear the body down!!  The human body really can't take distances longer than a marathon!!!  Hahaha!!

Tell that to friends I know that run 130 - 150 miles in 24 freakin' hours!!!  Or finishers of Vol State . . . a 314 mile race through Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and ending in Georgia!!  The fastest time so far?  Joe Fejes finished in 3 days, 8 hours 10 minutes and 17 seconds!!!!

Oh . . . and by the way . . . fat is bad for you!  The best diets avoid all fats . . . especially if you are trying to lose weight!!!  Right!!

Salt is terrible for you!  It causes high blood pressure!  Well . . . if this were true my blood pressure would be through the roof!  If I do get high pressure when I get old (not there yet!!!  LOL!) I might try backing off the salt some.  But until I do . . . stay the fuck away from my salt!!!

How about vegetarian diets to optimize health?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  Lots of studies and opinions both ways!  In my mind avoiding meat due to ethical beliefs about the treatment of animals is valid.  Avoiding meat for health reasons may be right . . . or it may be wrong.  I simply don't know.

To each, their own!  But don't freakin' quote to me what the experts say!  They mean well, but ANYTHING they say is really more of an opinion they hold.  I believe all research is flawed!!  We may not fully understand where the flaws are . . . but they are flaws there none the less!!

Today we have the internet which provides each of us with easy access to unbelievably HUGE amount of information.  Not available in 1982!!!!  Now we can find studies to "prove" anything we want to prove or disprove!!  How convenient!!

But to me . . . the internet provides us with access to other people with differing ideas.  People who have tried the "impossible."  Heck . . . people who do the impossible every single day!!

We can listen!  We can learn.  We can share.  We can break down our own barriers about what is possible and how to achieve the impossible ourselves.  What to try and what we choose to avoid!

And when it comes down to it, we just have to make up our own minds as to what we want to try.  Nothing works for everyone the same way!!

A friend of mine gave me a book called "Fixing Your Feet" by John Vonhof.  I was having tons of trouble with blisters when I would get out around  40 miles or so in a race and I needed to find a solution if I was ever going to be able to finish a 100 mile run.  He gave me this book to "solve my problem" so I excitedly began reading in!  And I was VERY disappointed!

The book NEVER told me what I needed to do to solve my blister problems.  Instead the author had interviewed numerous ultra runners about what they did for their foot problems . . . blister included.  And for each problem, he laid out various solutions and approaches these true experts had for for themselves that worked for them!  And they were all different!!   WTF?

But I started trying the ones that seemed to make to most sense to me given what I thought I knew about myself.  And I have now blundered in a blister prevention approach that usually seems to work for me.

I now believe John Vonhof was BRILLIANT!  There is no single answer for anything!  We just have to search around and keep trying out things until we finds ones that seem to work for us!Listen to everyone.  Believe no one . . . but yourself!


Okay . . . rant over!

Got to plan my CR24 strategy . . .

Okay . . . Croatan24 is done . . . in the books and it's time to start thinking forward to Crooked Road 24!  The key to success will be building a solid strategy and plan . . . then executing that plan precisely!

Crooked Road Mountain!!

Coming towards the end of the loop.

A good plan needs simplicity and brilliance plus a degree of flexibility . . .  so here it is:

Start the race, run a while and see how it goes!  Then, adjust as necessary!

Damn that's a good plan . . . I can actually follow this one!!

Now THAT was one hell of a birthday!!

This year it turned out that the Croatan 24 race was on November 9-10 and November 10th is my birthday!  Didn't take much for me to decide that this was going to be a great way to have some fun!

Actually the race was intended to honor the birthday of the Marine Corp and the race participants were urged to use the race as a means to support The MARSOC Foundation . . . "established to provide benevolent support to active duty and medically retired MARSOC personnel and their families as well as to the families of Marines and Sailors who have lost their lives in service to our Nation."  What a great thing to do!

Unfortunately . . . I had a group of people who had pledged their financial support to the American Cancer Society for my April Virginia 24 race.  I had an accident falling from a ladder (and later surgery on problems from that accident) and couldn't run that race.  Luckily all the folks had agreed to defer their support to the Croatan24.  I felt a little bad about that but Race Director Brandon Wilson told me not to worry.  So I didn't!


Birthdays . . . mile and the Marine Corp

So this was my birthday as well as the Marine Corp birthday!  Honestly, birthdays are no big deal to me at all  I drove my family crazy that I to me it's just another day!

Suzanne Ballard's birthday was also close as was one other lady whose name I missed, so Suzanne brought some "head thingys" to wear . . . don't be too envious!  Wore mine the first lap and the last!  Lots of fun!

Even Valmir Nunes was jealous and wanted a picture with Suzanne and me!

 
If you are a runner, you know how a kind word while you are running just plain lifts your spirits!  And in an ultra even, we all constantly are trying to lift the spirits of everyone around us!!  That's one of the main reasons I love ultrarunning and ultrarunners . . . honestly the most supportive group of folks I've ever been around!  So I decided to have some fun with them and had a special birthday shirt printed for the race.









 
Talk about an idea that worked!!  I had a blast with kidding around with everyone!  If you aren't an ultrarunner you may not full understand the BRILLIANCE of my idea!!  LOL!  First the shirt did give runners something to talk about!  But more than that it gave them something really hard to do and think about as they ran!  Math becomes quite hard to do as your mind just plain doesn't work so well as the miles add up.  And trying to do long division in your head is quite the challenging task!!  So for a long, long time I wouldn't tell people how old I was . . . I told them to figure it out themselves!!  While the answer is 64, I got some really funny answers!!  I thinks folks enjoyed it as much as I did!

Never in my life have I had so many people wish me a happy birthday!!!


The Course
I simply can't imagine a prettier place to run a 24 hour race.  The track was a 1.3 mile loop through coastal salt marshes and tidal forests.  You really just had to be there . . .

The Race
I had a great race.  Actually ran a PR (Personal Record for you non-runners!)  57.53 miles.  But one of the BAD things about 24 hour race is you can think about all the many things that happened and that you did that held you back from even higher miles!!  Secretly I had really, really hoped I could run my age . . . 64 miles!  Now THAT would have been awesome!  But stuff happened that kept me from doing it!  Still . . . I was very pleased.

Over a 24 hour period a whole lot happens!  You have peaks and you definitely have valleys!  The peaks are great but the valleys are the key.  They just challenge your mind . . . way more difficult than challenging your body.  I honestly came within a hair of quitting at about 8 miles!!!  My toe hurt soo bad!  But a friend messaged me and reminded me that there was a good chance that the pain might subside with time and miles . . . and it did! Thank God for technology and smart friends!  The pain was always there but manageable.  There were periods it would get bad . . . but then the pain would back off some.  That went on the whole 24 hours.

Running bends your foot way more than simply walking. And flexing my toes is what causes my pain.  So to ease the moving of my toe I quit running around noon Saturday and decide to simply walk.  A good and necessary call but not running held me back.  Walking just takes too long to cover the miles I had wanted to do.  When I did the math it was clear 64 miles was impossible without more running  But I could have done 60 miles if I hadn't slept for 1 1/2 hours!!  Damn!

But other than my foot issues and some blister problems, I felt great! Okay . . . great at the first and still motivated at the end!  I was still moving strong when the race ended.  I had more in me that I just didn't have time to let out!!

A few special memories from the day in no particular order:

• Just after midnight, I had an awesome version of "Today is Your Birthday Day" by the Dooms!!  They had obviously planned the song out as they each had their own parts!!  Loved it and I smiled a bunch of miles thinking about it!
• Just finished another lap past midnight and when I got to the aid station, Heather Wilson presented me with a birthday cake . . . picked out by her awesome daughter Rebekah!  Was a little disappointed that there was no dancing girl in popping out though . . .
• The eventual winner, Mosi Smith, just made my race!  What a cool Marine!  One of the nicest and most humble folks I've met!  He makes America proud!
• Marine Major General Mark Clark (Commander of MARSOC) joining the fun for his first ultra . . . running over 43 miles!  A fun guy too!
• Jonathan Savage is just an awesome guy!  Always trying to help and motivate others like it's his responsibility!  Just don't know of any other runner that has studied and knows that much about our sport.
• The opening ceremony for the race was honestly amazing!  Presenting the colors, the cake cutting, the playing of the National Anthem  . . . just a very, very special day.
• Had dinner Friday night with Valmir Nunes and Connie Gardner!  So much fun talking with those two!  Of course it took an interpreter to talk with Valmir as he speaks Portuguese!
• Caleb Wilson positioned himself after the first bridge and took it upon himself to "high five" everyone that passed . . . every time!!  He was so happy and enthusiastic!  Made me smile every lap he was there!  And when he finally left (after maybe 8-10 hours) I really missed seeing him!!!
• I love running miles with Susan Dummar!  Time just passes quickly . . . and I laugh a lot!!
• Was so impressed with another marine I sort of got to know during the race, Maj Jeff Harrison.  Seems like a great guy and was trying his first ultra . . . oh . . . and he completed over 50 miles!!
• Charles West just coming down to the race to help out and see friends!  Awesome!
• Getting to see two running friends do what in my mind is almost impossible (though there are plenty that do it!!) . . . running 100 miles + in the 24 hours!  This was a first for both John Dailey and Tim Scott - two more just plain awesome Marines I've gotten to sort of know.
• Also, getting to see Cam Kelly totally annihilate his best 100 mile race time by 6 FREAKIN' HOURS!!!!!  He finished in 21:17!!  Unbelievable!
• Loved that every time Cherie Yanek passed me she slapped my butt for my birthday spanking!!  And she passed me a lot as she completed about 110 miles!!!
• Ended up raising just over $2,700 for the American Cancer Society.  I thought about this the whole way.  I knew that each mile I did added over $47 to the contributions . . . so I REALLY wanted to go just as far as I possibly could.  The time I thought about quitting I thought of this!

Croatan 24 . . . a look forward

Okay . . . the inter-hypochondriac in me needs to just be still!

I'm in as good of physical shape as I've been in quite awhile.  My weight is down and my runs are stronger.  I honestly believe I am now in about as good of physical shape as I was last April when I had my accident.  I haven't done any really long runs, but my daily runs of 4-8 miles have been great . . . no walking at all!  So I'm expecting good things.

Last April I had a bunch of great friends that were supporting me by agreeing to donate money on a "per mile basis" to the American Cancer Society . . . one of the charities that I personally have decided to support.  Had I finished 50 miles, they would have contributed $2,360.  But . . . if I had finished 65 miles they would have forked over $3,033!  The more I do the more they pay!! 

But just before the Virginia 24 I had an accident and got hurt.

Most of my donors have agreed to defer their donation until later . . . and later is the Croatan 24!!

I kind of feel funny about this because the Croatan24 is raising money for MARSOC . . . but my donors are donating to the American Cancer Society.  RD says it's all good so I'm moving on!

So my physical condition is actually pretty good (assuming my hip and my toe agree!!) and I'm planning to go at this just as hard as I possibly can.  True . . . "as hard as I possibly can" isn't all that hard!!  And I have no idea how my training will work out (more running and less miles!).

But I'm planning to give this one all I've got.  I was disappointed in my Hinson Lake effort and this is my chance for redemption!!  Both my hip and my toe are potential issues, but I honestly believe they are as ready for this challenge as I am! Plus, I've got some personal reasons I just want to do good.  And if I can channel this inter frustration . . . . look out! 

So what will be good at the Croatan 24 Hour?

• 50 miles is a minimum level of acceptability.  MINIMUM.
• Could I do 70 miles?  I would sure like to think so but this would be a stretch goal for sure.  Any more is just not realistic.

So that is my bracket . . . 50-70.

Strategy?  Well . . . like Mike Morton said at about the 100 mile point at Badwater when ask about his strategy . . . "Well, I just going to run!"  So that is mine.

I plan to run intervals (maybe 3/1s) for as long as I can . . . and then walk what I have to!  The key is to just keep going.  It's a 24 hour race and I need to use all 24 hours!!  That is honestly the key for real success . . . staying out on the course, moving froward as I can.  Slow is better than "no"!!  Cold weather is always a challenge to mental toughness so I may have to face that one as well.

I don't have a crew or a support group to assist me.  A crew would really be awesome!  But I've never had one.  Realistically I should be okay all by myself.  I've pretty much learned I am my own most dependable friend and supporter anyway!!  LOL!!!!!  You never know where you stand with anyone else . . .but you KNOW where you stand with yourself.  So I have my best supporter with me!!  LOL!

So . . . if I can execute this strategy and my hip and toe cooperate . . . 70 miles is a possibility!!

And who knows . . . maybe the dollars I raise will be the dollars that will kick cancer's ass!  How cool would that be?

Sometimes I simply amaze myself...

I think I have a corner on the market for stupid!  But this time I outdid myself and even I am having trouble believing that I was this freaking stupid!

My training has been absolutely fantastic! One run after another was continuing to just get better and better.  Endurance was improving. Speed was improving. And my overall fitness level has been increasing significantly.  My pain was decreasing all the time.  Everything was getting better and better!

But I know for certain that my hip and my toe don't like uneven surfaces.  Even walking the trails at Medoc getting ready for the Medoc Trail Races let me know without a doubt that I should not be doing trails of any nature.  Be fine but then there would be one rock or one pine cone or one stick That I would step on and I would immediately feel pain.  Not a terrible pain but the pain that lets me know that I'm not anywhere close to 100%.

Actually my toe is doing fantastic!  The pain I'm feeling there is simply a "range of motion" pain that, while sharp, is not troublesome.  It's my hip that is actually my bigger problem.  Now been just over two years and my hip has not fully recovered . . . and maybe it will never be!

Me wrong . . . it's not bad.  When the hip starts hurting it's something between pain, a burning and an odd weakness that I feel.  Never terrible but when it starts it's doesn't get better during a run.

I've known I need to stay away from trails for a while.  Maybe even forever.  While trails were always my first love, I still enjoy running on the roads.  And having to give up trails is far from the end of the world!

So after marking all the trails for the Medoc Trail Races I knew that I needed to stay away from the trails for at least several months.  No walking or no running on trails.  Period.  Paragraph.  End of story!

Well it should have been the end of the story but this last weekend my stupidity took hold!

With all the improving I have been doing I was looking forward to getting out and trying to race again.  A real race!  So I found there was a 5K and 10K race last weekend near where I  live called "The Picasso Run."  The website showed people happily running on roads!  Perfect!!  So Saturday morning I drove to Roanoke Rapids for the race and entered the 10k. 

At the race briefing about five minutes before the start of the race I heard the race director mention "the condition of the trail was excellent but with some leaves down!"

What the hell?  Condition of the TRAIL?  What fucking trail????????

Ask one of the guys standing near me how much trailer was since we were starting on the road.  The first quarter of a mile was a road but then we entered the trail for the rest of the way!! I knew this trail well as I wanted many many times,  It's an extremely easy trail with fairly good footing and just minor hills. (In full disclosure I must say that on the website, it clearly said "5k & 10k Trail Race" . . . guess I just didn't read that close enough!!)

Right then I should have called it a day!

But since the trail was an easy trail I told myself that maybe I could do it and not hurt myself.  And actually during the run I did fairly well.  The pain wasn't bad at all and I thought I had dodged a bullet!  No residual pain!

That is until I went for my run this morning!  After taking Sunday off for rest I headed out for my run this morning and I instantly knew everything was NOT right!  Hip pain was there from the first stride!  And it just got worse and worse as a went so out about 1.5 miles I stopped running, turned around and walked home.

I'm fairly sure this is nothing really serious.  I'm almost 100% certain I did no real damage.  But what I did was just STUPID.  I'll take a couple of days off and I'll be fine.  Physically that is. 

Mentally . . . I don't think you can fix stupid!!

Picking up speed . . .

Okay . . . you all that know me are well aware that this blog entry is somehow misnamed!! 

"Triple F doesn't pick up any f'in' speed!  Hell . . . to him speed is an ugly word!!"

Well that is true . . . BUT it's also not true at all!  Guess that needs some explainin'!!!

So I'm not running faster.  In fact I'm running slower!!  That's right . . . slower! My run pace before was about 11 - 11:30 per mile . . . but I walked often!  That did slow my overall pace to around a 14:30 pace.  But recently I've been focusing on running as far as I can and then walking as I need to.  And the net effect is my overall times are improving!!  Maybe 13:50 or so now.  Magic!!  Faster by being slower!  Only I could come up with something like this!!

Now don't get me wrong!  I'm still not able to run all that far without having to walk.  Today was my furthest . . . a whopping 6.7 miles before I had to walk!  Ended up doing about 8.2 miles in 1:54.

My plan is to keep adding distance as I can.  And once I'm not feeling foot pain (if that ever happens!!) I'll start adding some intervals or "rocking chairs" to my weekly training.

The Rocking Chair - Steeper than it looks!

Intervals everyone understands but you may not be familiar with a "Rocking Chair" . . . okay . . . you probably ARE familiar with a rocking chair but not THAT kind!!!  Idiot!!  

My rocking chairs are really a run I do on a road near my house where the road drops steeply over maybe 60 yards and then climbs back up the essentially the same level over the next 60 yards.  So the road sort of looks like the rocker on a rocking chair. 



So you slowly run down the dip, run hard up the other side to the top, turn around and run back down slow and fast up the other side for one cycle!  It doesn't take too many of these to kick my ass!

So I'm seeing some good improvement in my running and I'm DEFINITELY going to be ready for Croatan 24.  There I'll revert to a very easy run / walk interval but I plan to keep moving the full 24 hours!  I'm excited!  I'm planning to kick some ass out there!!  LOL!

Doctor says I'm as "fixed" as he can make me!!

Had my final review complete with x-rays yesterday and basically the doctor says I'm as good as he can make me!!  LOL!

Dr. Purvis is first to say that the job he did putting my toe back together is no where near as good as what God did originally . . . but all bones appear to be properly aligned and functioning for the most part.  Still remaining range of motion issues in "the little piggy that when wee wee wee all the way home" . . . but no more surgical tweaking seems to be needed.  Honestly, my two damaged toes do just plain look weird and each one points in an odd direction!  But fundamentally . . . everything is okay!

I told the doctor that he must have put some sort of governor in my foot that goes off at 6-8 miles when it all starts to hurt and burn!!  He laughed and said I needed to "listen to my body!"  What the hell does that mean??  So I'm listening there body . . . now what the hell am I supposed to do!

We runners (especially ultra runners) are ALWAYS listening to our bodies . . . and we are constantly evaluating and trying to decide if the pain we feel is caused by increasing trauma . . . or is the pain just plain pain!!  If there is increasing trauma . . . we stop!  But if it's just pain . . . well . . . suck it up buttercup!!

The doctor finally agreed that if I was feeling pain, that pain was pain almost certainly from scar tissue and there should be no serious damage by continuing on!  So that is awesome news!  Real "piece of mind" when the burning starts!  He did warn me to be REALLY careful going up hills . . . the range of motion / bending issue is made worse going up hills.  He really urged me to walk hills slowly with as little bending as I can do.  THAT won't be a problem at all!!  LOL!!  He thinks I actually RUN everything!!

So I guess I'm good to go!

But I guess the question still does remain . . . can I "Suck it up Buttercup" when I need to???  Guess we'll have to see on that one!