100 days

Hard to imagine my first 100-mile race is less than 100 days away. Pain or not, I start running tomorrow!

With a couple days free of pain and minimal swelling I thought my knee issues were behind me. Unfortunately, I’ve been struck with sharp pain under my patella for most of the day.

I spent the better part of the afternoon redesigning my running schedule. Recently I read about an ultra runner that works off a ten-day week, rather than the traditional seven-day week. The schedule is based around the long run and alternating easy/hard days. With a little luck my knee will allow me to follow the new schedule.

I'd be happy to share the new schedule with anyone willing to look it over and give me their 2-cents.

Pain-free ride to Crosby

I had a great day of pain-free endurance exercise.

Wyatt and I rode the grass farms on the East side of Lake Houston. We started on Old Atascocita Road, near the McKay Bridge. From Lake Houston we rode a little more than fifteen miles into downtown Crosby, Texas. We stopped at Subway for a quick bite to eat and then made our way back to the truck.

Great ride at a consistent pace. Wyatt’s fitness level has significantly improved over the last month. This is good news for me, because now we can go for longer rides. I really enjoyed today’s ride and sharing “rules of the road” with Wyatt. He is eager to learn everything about cycling. I only wish I knew more to pass along to him.

My knee felt great, although I had a cramp in my right hamstring near the end of the ride. We stopped for a couple minutes, just long enough for me to stretch both legs. Once we started riding again the pain had completely dissipated.

Once I got home I blew the leaves off my roof, as well as the roofs of two of my elderly neighbors. As you can imagine, my lower extremities were in all kinds of weird angles and positions as I climbed ladders and walked around atop of the houses.

I don’t have any pain and my knee is actually feeling stronger. I’m optimistic about today’s development, yet cautious about celebrating too early.

Road Bike:
30.92 miles
2:04:43
14.88 mph

3 miles at East End Park

The knee is slightly more swollen than the days prior to yesterday’s run. On the other hand, there is minimal discomfort.

With the absence of pain I decided to run again today. Andrea and I ran a little more than three miles at East End Park.

As always, it was extremely hot. Before we started our run the truck thermometer read 101 degrees. The sun was beating down on us pretty hard as we ran the quarter-mile across the meadow, but it wasn’t until we dipped into the trails that we truly started overheating. The trails were holding both heat and humidity. It felt like a sauna under the canopy of the forest.

We backed off the pace to accommodate for the weather and we were able to finish our run without any negative effects. My knee felt better on the trails than it did yesterday on the treadmill. Only notable knee pain on this run was during a small hill climb near the end. As I started the mere 50 foot ascent my right patella was acutely irritated with every foot step. As soon as the terrain leveled out, so did the pain.

I’m continuing my regimen of daily stretching. My legs are sore from the lack of running, which is a welcomed feeling. Tomorrow I plan to cycle for a couple hours. Not sure if I will run or not.

One day at a time.

Run:
3.26 miles
39:23
12:05 pace

This bum knee is starting to piss me off…

The posterior knee pain has started dissipating, yet the swelling seems worse. I wear a heavy-duty compression dressing at night and during any type of activity. Additionally, I perform lower extremity static stretches at least 2-3 times each day. I’m not sure if any of this is working, but I’m staying the course.

For the first time in twelve days I went for a run. It has been entirely too long since my last run. I chose to run on the treadmill to minimize the impact and insure I run on symmetrical terrain for BOTH knees.

The starting speed was slow, but I increased the speed every few minutes. For the duration of the run I had a dull pain on the medial side of my patella. The pain wasn’t bad, but enough to keep me guessing what the problem might be.

I’m happy with a five mile run. After months of exceedingly gluttonous behavior, it is nice to know there is still an athlete trapped inside this fat man suit I’m wearing. Speaking of behavior issues, my OCD spiked during the run. I started crunching numbers, trying to determine how many miles I would need to run each day to continue my 100-mile month streak. It is possible to run eight miles a day, but I keep thinking about Karen’s comment to me a couple weeks ago, “What is more important; your streak or Heartland?”

We’ll see how things progress and go from there. The true test will be in the morning when I wake up and take the compression dressing off for the day.

Run:
5.0 miles
1:55:00
12:11 pace

Volleyball

The knee continues to throw me curve balls. One day it is swollen with no pain and then the next day the swelling is gone, but my knee hurts like hell.

I can deal with the pain, but the swelling scares me. I do NOT want a fourth surgery to my right knee!!

My threshold for the heat and humidity is at an all time low. I have seven more years before I retire from the fire department. Hopefully, I can tolerate these conditions without make a drastic change.

I’ve been busy, although I haven’t run in eight days. There has not been any positive progression with the knee. I don’t know when to attempt a test run. As of right now, I plan to start running again on Monday. I can’t afford a big setback, but the Heartland 100 is a mere 112 days away!

With the house on the market I have been tirelessly working on small projects. Most projects have been labor intense, so the knee has not received any “true” rest. This weekend I plan to keep it low-key.

Today we met up with a few friends (two other couples) and played a couple hours of beach volleyball. I had a blast being outside and spending time from Andrea and our friends. We’re hoping to make this a regular activity.

Trail Bike Ride

I’ve been itching to get in some cardio, even though my knee is still bothering me.

Wyatt and I rode our trail bikes for a couple hours along the greenbelts. Nice little ride. The highlight was when we watched a massive bald eagle snatch a snake out of the lake.

My knee felt good during the ride. I forgot how much I love cycling. Good thing I enjoy cycling, because I might be doing a lot more because of this bum knee.

Trail Bike:
24.33 miles
2:17:45
10.6 mph

Physical Therapist

I went to the physical therapist today. The therapist said there is an obvious abnormality between my two knees and something doesn’t seem right anatomically.

After numerous strength tests, she confirmed my legs are plenty strong and not the problem. She wasn’t able to pinpoint the location of my knee pain, but she suggested it might be a tight IT band.

We started the session with eight minutes on a stationary bike, followed by several IT band stretches. The only discomfort I had was during a single leg elevated squat.

Before the appointment ended she tapped my knee to pull my patella more medial. The recommendation was to stop running, but she wouldn’t give me a specific time.

Overwhelmed

There is so much going on inside my head that I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed. Some are good vibes and a few not so good. I don’t care to discuss each of them at length, but a few highlights include;

House is for sale
Knee pain
Work
New running club
Relationship with step-child
Weight loss (or lack thereof)
Dog
Andrea looking for a new job

Thankfully I have a wonderful woman by my side that is able to tolerate me. In my opinion, she endures more than any woman should have to. Like I’ve said before; Andrea is the glue that holds everything together. I love that woman more than she will ever know.

Moving on…
I kept the new compression brace on my knee all night and day. There is an obvious decrease in knee discomfort. Looking back over my training log I see there were two changes about the same time the knee pain started. One was an increase in “two-a-day” runs and the other was barefoot running. I’ll never know if either of these two is linked to my knee pain, but I plan to stop barefoot running for awhile and minimize multiple run days. It only makes since to get the run over with and allow everything to recover and the impact of barefoot running might be too much at my current weight.

I'm happy to report an absence of horse flies at East End Park. There was an abundance of large blue dragon flies in the meadows leading to the boardwalk. I found myself wondering if dragon flies eat horseflies. Yes, I know that was a random thought!

I covered 3.5 squishy miles on the trails. The forest canopy was retaining a lot of heat and humidity, which also seemed to keep the usual runners, bikers, and dog walkers out. Lucky for me, I had the park all to myself!

After the run I spent dinner with a good friend. There is something about his demeanor that brightens my attitude. This is one of the biggest reasons I have always cherished his friendship.

Run:
3.26 miles
38:10
11:42 pace

Walk:
0.45 mile
7:41
17:04 pace

Not my knee again, please!

This morning I woke up with a swollen right knee. I only ran a single mile on the treadmill yesterday, so it must have been the yoga (Childs pose & downward facing dog). Most of the swelling went away after an hour with an ice pack strapped to my knee. I attached a picture of my knee, even though it is hard to see swelling in a photograph.

I called Dr. Muscat’s office to make an appointment for later this week, not knowing he could see me in a few hours. I accepted the 1pm appointment, but looking back, I feel like I wasted my time. Dr. Muscat palpated my knee for ten seconds or less and instantly gave me four options;
1. Physical therapy then check back with him in four weeks
2. Steroid injection into the knee
3. MRI to see if there is any damage
4. Open the knee up (surgery) and take a look around

He suggestion we approach the injury action plan in the order listed above. At no time did he give an indication as to the possible causes, even though I tried to force it out of him. Naturally I had to ask if I could still run. To my surprise Dr Muscat said "yes, as long as it doesn’t hurt too bad or change my gait".

The physical therapy prescription is 3 x 4-weeks. There is an insurance co-pay with each visit, so I didn't initially see this as a viable option. I pleaded my case to the therapist office and they said this is rather common. They suggested I schedule an initial consultation and the therapist can send me home with exercises to do on my own.

I purchased a heavy-duty compression knee brace at CVS after the appointment. Surprisingly, my knee started feeling better within a couple hours. Then my OCD kicked into hyper-drive late this afternoon, resulting in a ten mile run.

The choice to run was a poor decision for several reasons. My knee hurt most of the time, but it never resulted in a change in my gait. The weather was as bothersome as my knee pain. There is no other word for the heat and humidity other than, HORRIFIC. The first six miles was tolerable, but the last four miles of running was tough going. I ran out of water and was forced to ask a liquor store owner if I could refill my bottle. I was grossed out while filling my water bottle from a nasty looking mop bucket sink, but I was not in any shape to be picky. The owner was nice enough to let me take a couple handfuls of ice from the beer coolers near the registers, which revived me for a few minutes.

At home Andrea spent a lot of time massaging my leg and kept commenting about the swelling. I didn’t notice anything too bad, but I trust her observation. Oddly enough, my knee is bothering me more now than when I was running.

Looks like I will have to take a break from running if my knee doesn’t start behaving. I haven't missed any runs thus far, but it is going to be a day to day decision.

Run:
10.01 miles
2:02:32
12:14 pace

Walk:
1.4 miles
24:18
17:21 pace

Reset the Push-up Challenge

At work

Most of my runs went over their scheduled distance this week, so I only needed a half mile to complete my weekly mileage. The terrain around the station is not ideal for an aching knee, so I ran an easy and slow mile on the treadmill. 

I started week 6, day 1 on the push-up challenge. The numbers increased to a crazy amount, so much so I couldn’t make it past the second set. I reset to week 5, day 1.

In an attempt to correct the knee pain I went through two yoga poses several times. I started with downward facing down, then down to childs pose. There was a lot of tightness in my legs. Not sure why, but both my knees were tender as I was kneeling on them. I pushed to stretches more than I should have, but the pain in the back of my knee is now completely gone.

Run:

1.0 mile

13:02

13:02 pace

Push-ups: 95

What to do...

Picked up the kids from Erin yesterday, which is always an exciting time for me. Those two fireballs of energy always brighten my day. Once we got home we rode our bicycles to River Grove Park. The evening sunset was stunning. Alison, aka “Hawkeye” spotted a small raccoon poking his head out from under the fishing pier. She has an amazing ability to spot fascinating things in her environment.

I’ve been battling serious insomnia for the last few days. Last night was the worst and I didn’t fall asleep until after 5am. On a positive note, I have been quite productive in the wee hours of the night. I refuse to sit up all night watching television or eating.

My alarm clock went off this morning before I actually fell asleep, so the morning long run was scrubbed. I’ve been averaging less than five-hours of sleep per night, but I have been surprisingly alert for the lack of sleep.

Since I didn’t run in the pre-dawn hours while the kids were sleeping I decided to take them with me on an evening run. Preston sat in his jogging stroller and Alison rode her bicycle beside me. It was a great run even though the temperature was in the 90's. I was extremely proud of Alison who rode nearly ten miles like a champ, without merely a complaint. My legs are finally starting to feel fresh, I wish the same was true of my right knee. After the run I noticed significant swelling on the outside of my right knee. This issue is frustrating, I just want to run.

I know what I need to do, but I'm not sure if I’m ready to accept it. This includes;
1. Stop running for a few days
2. Start weight training again
3. Lose some weight

On Wednesday I’ll make a decision to discontinue or continue running for however long it takes to get my knee right again. Until then it is lots of ice, stretching, compression bandages, elevation, and trails.

Trail Bike (yesterday):
4.55 miles
31:28
8.68 mph

Run:
8.09 miles
1:41:00
12:39 pace

Walk:
1.2 miles
20:07
16:46 pace

Summer Rain

Started running minutes before an isolated thunderstorm popped up on me while running on the bayou. Rain is welcomed during the sweltering heat of summer, but today I set off with my iPod in hand which is not rain-friendly. In an attempt to prevent the demise of my iPod, I took my shirt off and wrapped it up.

Before the rain started I saw a small female red-tail hawk in the grass. I'm not sure what she was doing, but she allowed me to get within ten feet of her and she wasn't eager to leave. Once I passed her I decided to turn around and take a picture.

I arrived home with a little more than three miles completed and feeling really good. I dropped off the electronics and picked up a beautiful running partner who had just arrived home from work. We ran an out and back on the greenbelts. The rain had stopped by this time and left us with a hot and muggy run, preventing me from finding the bliss I experienced earlier.

Run:
6.13 miles
1:06:20
10:49 pace

Walk:
0.9 mile
16:02
17:49 pace

Good day to be off work. I learned that a small aircraft crashed into a house in the middle of our district. There was additional excitement today when I happened upon Houston PD doing a Felony traffic stop on my street. With their guns drawn, they were not taking any chances. I'm glad to report that everything appeared to go smoothly. I'm such a nerd because I was hoping the driver would take off toward the bayou and I could get a piece of the action!

Attached a few pictures, including;
My visit to Trinity to see Alison and Preston
Group photo from National Running Day
The hawk

National Running Day

Happy National Running Day!

I took the barefoot experiment to a new level today with a shoeless run on the bayou rim. The run was a lot more comfortable than I expected. Naturally there were a few rocks and hard clumps of dirt that didn’t feel good beneath my feet, but otherwise it was an uneventful run. Andrea was shocked by my pace without shoes.

Barefoot:
1.80 miles
17:07
9:31 pace

This evening I was invited to celebrate National Running Day in Terry Hershey Park with ultramarathon running legend Marshall Ulrich as the celebrity guest. We set off on an “easy” five mile run, but the pace was far from what I consider easy. Andrea and I were at the back of the pack with Marshall. Everyone else ran ahead, which allowed me to run and chat with Marshall the entire time. Lots of great discussions packed into our short run.

Run:
3.22 miles
30:56
9:35 pace

Walk:
1.73 mile
28:38
16:33 pace

My knee feels good while running, yet the posterior tightness continues to linger. I’ve been icing and stretching in hopes of a speedy recovery.

The push-up challenge is getting tough. For the last two sessions I have NOT been able to complete the last set without a small unscheduled break.

Push-ups: 120