"We'll Get There When We Get There!" Mr Incr3dible's journal (comments definitely welcome)

[Mr_Incr3dible]

At this point, training is maintenance runs in the summer heat. I ran on Tue and the T+D was around 158 with 95-degree temp. The dewpoint was reported at 68, but it didn't seem that bad because the reported humidity was lower (rare in the Atlanta area) than 50%. I started the run same as always and was feeling pretty good, so really interested in how well Mile 1 went and at the mile mark.... nothing.
What?! Watch was dutifully reporting what time it was, but nothing about the run. So I started my run and mentally tacked on a mile. Annoying but important only toward satisfying my OCD. 11 minute mile isn't stellar, but I'll take it considering the temps. Again, maintenance.

Peachtree road race is next week; for me it will be virtual. As mentioned elsewhere, I hope to do it on the low-tide sand. If so, my elevation will be nominally sea-level, the ultimate in a flat course. No, I'm not getting into curvature of the earth, etc. Even I'm not that OCD....

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

The week at the beach was nice, but the condo had a tile floor which felt great for bare feet, but is hard. And the bottom of the pool was rough, as were the paving stones around the pool, which has to be navigated to get to the beach.
Long and short of it is that the bottoms of my feet have been abraded a bit due to the rough surfaces, and my left foot hurts inside from the hard surfaces affecting my Morton's neuroma from not wearing my sneakers or sandals as much as I should have.
Toward the end of the week, I went back to wearing my sneakers (running shoes retired from running), but even so I can feel some low level pain. Normally I'd run this evening, but now I'm thinking resume tomorrow or Wed and give my foot another day or two before resuming the summer maintenance runs.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

After the virtual 10K on the 4th, I didn't run again until yesterday (the 14th). This was in part due to my feet hurting as Morton's tried to rear its ugly head, and the heat. But was feeling restless yesterday and headed out into the 90+ degree heat for a maintenance run. It went fine for the first 3 miles and then the hills, heat, and humidity were enough and I mostly walked the 4th mile back to the house. But cooler temps coming later in the week, so back in the saddle, and back to training.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

I resumed running at the beginning of the week (Monday) after the 11 day layoff, and went back to my every-other-day pattern for maintenance runs. On my Wed run, I encountered something I wasn't used to on regular maint runs: leg fatigue! After the 11 day layoff, I was feeling it in my legs when I did the Wed run. Between that and the heat, I did a decent pace for the first 3 miles, and then 50/50 walked and ran the 4th mile back to the house.

The point of mentioning this?
1. That that was a longer layoff than I had anticipated, and I was surprised that it had already started to have effect. Lesson learned: don't let the layoffs get too long.
2. The realization that for regular maint runs, I really don't have noticeable leg fatigue during or afterwards. (Which some might say means I need to extend my runs). The bigger aspect of that is the realization that my maint runs are now more than a 5K and usually don't even register in terms of feeling tired afterward.
If you had told me that 5 or 6 years ago, I'd have had some choice comments expressing disbelief. In fact, I still don't think of myself as a runner, in that I associate that with skinny people with much faster paces than I have.

OTOH, facebook popped up a memory photo from 6 years ago and I am noticeably heavier than I am now. And while I know that I'm down ~15 lbs in the last 4 years, the photo says I've dropped more weight than that. Cue the mental cartwheels.

So no overall points to this posting other than to say that the running in-earnest that started during COVID has had more impact than expected on my weight and health, not to mention making routine distances that used to seem like a stretch.

YMMV. Thanks for reading.

 

[jmasgat]

It's good to occasionally remind ourselves of the progress we have made over our past selves. Even when we start to slow down, or put on a little weight (I speak of myself here), we are still in a better place than before.

Glad you see the positive (maybe one day I'll learn to do the same!)

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

I've mentioned before running to/from a local shop where I get my cars serviced. It's right around 3 miles, so not a huge run. But my Mustang started having a bad misfire and I took it to the closest dealer. Time to make that extended warranty pay off.
DW and DDs were all working, so I decided to run the just over 4 miles back to the house. I had just done 4.25 miles on Sat, so shouldn't be an issue to do so again on Mon afternoon. Right?
Not so much. I guess part of it was the extra effort of going through the high grass off the side of the road where there weren't sidewalks and traffic was coming. Plus, not a lick of shade the first 2+ miles, plus very humid. So not the best maintenance run, but it got me home and got some miles in.
I'm not hobbling around this morning or sore, but definitely feeling the effects of the run.
I'm really looking forward to the break in temps that should be coming in the next few weeks and then stepping up the training.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

It is still stupid hot and humid in the Atlanta area, but training continues...


Last Tue I went out for a run that went well for the first 3 miles, and then the 90+ degree heat was hitting me so I walked the 4th mile back to the house, and was a bit put out that the run didn't go any better than that.

But was feeling my oats the next day and headed out again. Same conditions, but a solid 4 miles with a pace around 10:30, just the day after a less-than-great run. Go figure, and a reminder that some days just aren't the day for a run, so regroup for another day.

And then on Sunday, had the opportunity to go to the greenway and enjoy its flatishness. Still in the 90s, and the first 3 miles were in the tens, and the next 3 miles in the 12 and 13 minutes per mile ranges as I alternated walking and running. Shoutout to @Herding_Cats for her method of running or walking to a visible landmark (usually within a 1/4 mile or so) to alternate between walking and running. I used that to good effect, and recommend it for others to find themselves walking, especially later in a race. It helps to alternate between the running and walking muscle groups rather than just walking. (I know, calling Capt Obvious....)

As mentioned elsewhere, I may not make MW, but I do plan to find a half this fall and try for a new PR, so the training continues.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

It has been an interesting past few weeks, just not quite how I wanted...
The DW and I went to Ireland for a college football game (yes, that game. Go Jackets!)
Midway through the trip, I vaulted a fence, landed on my feet, turned and took off running. I made it about 50 feet before my right leg gave out. Was in pain and limping the rest of the time, with the wife having to put my shoes and socks on/off for me. I have a giant bruise that runs all across my backside on the right side. I get back home and after a couple of days of x-rays, ultrasounds, and MRI, it looks like a hamstring tear. Doctor visit to look at the MRI is next week, but fairly sure that will be the diagnosis.
As the Brits would say, I'm rather unchuffed, not only for a self-inflicted injury, but also because now is when I should be stepping up training as the weather cools a bit for false-fall.
Will I be healed up enough that I could complete a Goofy in Jan? Probably. Will I be very trained for it? Iffy. Plus with the DW's pending surgery, still unclear if any other family members will be around to be with her during MW.
The other factor is weight. I was glad to come back from Ireland with having put on only a few pounds, but now getting those (and more) pounds off is more difficult with an extended period of idleness. On top of that, I'm really bad at being inactive....
I really wanted to do this Goofy, and do the half with my son. Now it looks like it may not happen. Just dang.
Thanks for reading.

 

[jmasgat]

Ugh. Sorry for your injury--and didn't anyone tell you that Dopey doesn't involve hurdling over obstacles, so no fence-jumping required! Also, you and I have very different definitions of "chuffed" (one of my favorite British English words)....cause I'm never happy/pleased when I'm injured.

Hang in there.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Ugh. Sorry for your injury--and didn't anyone tell you that Dopey doesn't involve hurdling over obstacles, so no fence-jumping required! Also, you and I have very different definitions of "chuffed" (one of my favorite British English words)....cause I'm never happy/pleased when I'm injured.

Hang in there.

Well, poop. I totally muffed the chuffed. That was meant to be unchuffed, the opposite of chuffed. I fixed it.
Mostly, I can't say politely what i really think....
I'm still very miffed at myself.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

NOTICE: Until further notice, this training journal is now a recovery journal, giving me a place to vent and to possibly provide insights to anyone else who may have this happen to them.

Sep 22, 2024: I went for surgery to reattach my right hamstring. I don't recall the official medicalese, but the English version is "right suture of hamstring muscle rupture".
The night before, being both precautionary and in a bit of humor, with a Sharpie marked the front and back of my knees and upper thigh with notes like "yes", "no", "not here", "other side". Fortunately. the medical staff were amused.
My 19-year old son, who went along in case he was needed to help me back to the car, "Dad, did you get tatoos?" Sure son. I wait until nearly 60 to get tats, and those were my choices.... Gads.
Prep included reviewing all the questions about meds I'm on and did I eat anything. Good. Plenty of "what's your name and date of birth" and me having to remember that they have my real first name and not what I go by.
Take a bunch of pain and other pills before surgery, which is the first I've had anything to eat or drink in 15 hours (2 pm surgery. Not optimal for hunger, but I wanted to get it done).
I talk to the surgeon and anesthesiologist about what it going to happen. We're all on the same page, so I don't wake up with an artificial knee. Surgeon adds his own Sharpie notes to my backside. (I'll say this now: I was super impressed by the professionalism I saw and how well everything went with the whole team)
Prep nurse comes in to shave the incision area, which is just below my right butt cheek. Poor her. She may need therapy now...
DW gets to come back and hold my hand a bit. Tells me later that she told DS about the shaving and he was doubled over laughing at the idea of his dad getting his butt shaved.

End Part 1

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Surgery Part 2

I get wheeled back to the operating room. Classic soft rock is playing. I approve.
Up on the wall is a white board with my name, bday, which leg and the procedure in medicalese. Good, I'm in the right place. I have to help get myself scooted off the cart and onto the table and on my stomach. They get my arms arranged as comfortably as possible (my shoulders aren't as flexible as I'd like). Anesthesiologist tells me to take a few deep breaths of pure oxygen, and that's the last thing I remember. Pretty sure it wasn't O2.....
I woke up semi-reclined and seeing my feet. My very first thought was that there was no pain down my right legs, so they had indeed skillfully avoided the sciatic nerve. Score!
The nurse notices that I'm awake and starts talking to me and getting me some juice and graham cracker type snacks. DW gets invited back to sit with me. I think we were the last op for the day, so it was otherwise very quiet. After they deemed me sufficiently conscious again, I got dressed and was sent on my way with DW and DS making sure I didn't fall on the way to the car.
Stopped for food on the way home. Used the crutches to get to the recliner and took one of the prescription codone pills. The rest of the evening was a combo of napping and TV. FWIW, that was the last of the high-power pain killers needed.

 

[jmasgat]

So a little "manscaping" along with a hammie repair?

 

[Herding_Cats]

I'm so glad that things have gone so well with your surgery and recovery thus far.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Post-op:
Per the discharge paperwork, it says to use the crutches (I also have a scooter that a co-worker loaned me), but also that may bear weight as tolerated. What?! Yup, it's load bearing pretty much from the get-go, but pain-wise not advised.
I also have to wear ugly white compression socks, which I've upgraded to my running compression sleeves. That and a daily asprin to prevent clots.
Back to the load-bearing: I was able to make it up to the bedroom, take a shower, and sleep in my own bed the next night after surgery. I'm using just the left leg to go up/down stairs, but the quads and repaired hamstring allow me to stand in the shower.
I still can't easily reach my right foot, so i takes a minute to put on socks, but I expect that to change with time and PT. I use the crutches and scooter to get around any kind of distance, but inside the house, I'm already walking without crutches, albeit gingerly. DW and I went to a local fall festival on Saturday with me using the scooter. Even on a knee, there's a clock ticking on how long you want to do that without feeling it in your backside, and my arms and shoulders were really feeling it from leaning on the handlebars. We headed home and I spent the rest of the day sitting on icepacks and watching football. As for the icepacks, I spend a lot of time sitting on them. Those and an occasional Tylenol are the extend of pain relief. I plan to WFH this week and part of next week, and then to resume the 2x per week of going in to the office.
Color me surprised as how quickly mobility has come back and the relatively low level of pain. So far, so good.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

It has been ten days since surgery, and I have become surprisingly mobile in that time. Working from home, I leave the crutches on the ground floor in case we go anywhere, but otherwise I'm getting around the house on my own two feet. For now, I'm continuing to peg-leg it up and down stairs out of an abundance of caution. I find myself occasionally starting to step down in a bipedal fashion with my right leg, and if I do, I stop and go back to one-legged. I could go down a flight of stairs in bipedal manner, but would probably be feeling it not too long afterward. That also goes for being out and about. I'll use the crutches or scooter to keep the load off the leg and even with that if I do too much I'll be feeling it later and looking forward to sitting on an ice pack.
I still get into and out of bed gingerly, ditto for getting in and out of a car. I'm also careful getting up when I've been sitting because scooting forward wants to pull the incision open.

Did I mention the incision? I thought I would have stitches running up and down the back of my leg. Nope. There is an incision about three inches long going transversely across the bottom of my butt cheek. And near as we can tell, the surgeon used internal stitches and then glued my backside together with superglue. I'll be asking on Monday when I go for my follow-up visit. But the short version is that I won't even have a visible scar, not that I was terribly worried about it.

 

[garneska]

Glad to hear it is going well. Did you go to Emory Sports Medicine?

 

[nancipants]

IDid I mention the incision? I thought I would have stitches running up and down the back of my leg. Nope. There is an incision about three inches long going transversely across the bottom of my butt cheek. And near as we can tell, the surgeon used internal stitches and then glued my backside together with superglue. I'll be asking on Monday when I go for my follow-up visit. But the short version is that I won't even have a visible scar, not that I was terribly worried about it.

I feel like surgeons care more about incisions now than when I was younger and had surgeries. When I had my c-section, she cut right along the bottom of my belly. Obviously it’s still a long scar, but the way it’s placed, you can barely see it because it’s sort of blended in with the natural curve of my body.

 

[Herding_Cats]

I feel like surgeons care more about incisions now than when I was younger and had surgeries. When I had my c-section, she cut right along the bottom of my belly. Obviously it’s still a long scar, but the way it’s placed, you can barely see it because it’s sort of blended in with the natural curve of my body.

totally agree with this. DH has emergency surgery a few years ago and the incision was on his neck, and the doc put the incision into where there was already a crease, so you don't even see it unless you are actively looking for it.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Glad to hear it is going well. Did you go to Emory Sports Medicine?

Resurgens. The doctor near me who read the MRI said, "You want someone who does this a lot and we have a guy who's decided he likes these procedures and does most of them." And then a friend who works at a local medical outfit asked around (unbeknownst to me) and was told the same person. That sure gave me a bit more confidence in going to the guy.

>> "and the doc put the incision into where there was already a crease, so you don't even see it unless you are actively looking for it."

I went back to the photo the DW took of the incision (I really need to pull that off my phone. "Are you downloading porn?" No, that's my own butt. As if that sounds any better....
Anyway, yup, the incision seems to be in a natural crease. And anyone looking for it or seeing it suffers their own self-inflicted trauma that they can't unsee.

Went to a football game last night. Went with crutches instead of the scooter because nowhere to park the scooter. Was looking forward to the ice pack and a couple of Tylenol on the drive home, and I'm feeling it in my arms and shoulders this morning. But, progress, so no complaints.