The Best Laid Plans...

It will be bittersweet to pick up our Inaugural Wisconsin Cheesy Half Marathon race packets tomorrow, since neither of us will be participating in the race. It was November 2008, when we were at the peak of our running glory (we’d been doing many 5k & 10k events), that we registered for this race. We were excited to be part of a brand new race, and a race close to home with no travel or hotel overnights needed. We’d put a lot of thought into which May marathon to do – we could’ve done one in Door County, Madison, Green Bay, or Eagle, but chose Kenosha. We knew we’d be traveling to see my sister later in the month, and plotted out a training schedule, a race date, and a recovery period with great effort. What do they say about the best laid plans?! Anyway, our friends Denise & Karen (pictured above) who we ran with in Napa , will be doing this event, and we wish them all the best - a healthy, fun race, with a possible PR and a strong finish. Always finish strong!!!

Joe's Results

I won't beat around the bush. Joe has 2 or 3 stress fractures between both feet. The fractures are on the topside of his metatarsals. If you're interested in seeing the scans, let me know and I can email you the file, which cannot be uploaded in this blog's screen - they're quite interesting to look at. He is out of the half marathon this Saturday, and will need to give his feet 6-8 weeks to heal. He can bike to keep his cardio up, but should otherwise avoid impacting activities that will interfere with the healing of his feet. He's also been advised to take extra Calcium. How did this happen? It's likely a combination of many factors including running too hard, too far, too fast, the orthotics, pavement, bad luck, etc. It goes without say that this is terribly disappointing for Joe - he trained hard and was so close to the race day. It was a bummer when I had to drop out, but now it's doubly sad. On the plus side (you always have to look for the silver lining), we can sleep in Saturday, rather than getting up at 3:30a.m. to head to Kenosha. Joe's plan is to heal enough for our vacation to my sister's in a few weeks so that he can hike without pain. Total healing should take him to early-mid-June. He'll continue to focus on keeping his feet strong in preparation for our August backpacking trip, and after that he will build a solid running base on his own time frame, rather than following the dictates of a training schedule for a race. Once he has a good base, and can run 5-9 miles with ease, he'll look into doing a half marathon, as he still needs to experience what an injury-free half marathon feels like, and to see what he is capable of when running healthy. This story isn't over yet.

Why Is My Left Calf So Small?

The other day while dressed in shorts, I was showing Joe how my leg muscles have returned, and he told me that the calf muscle of my left leg appeared noticeably smaller than the right. The left leg is my nerve damaged leg. Today I pointed this out to Ben during our training session, and he said sure enough – I have a much smaller calf. A well-developed calf will have a ball that separates into two visible muscle groups. My left calf just has a small ball with no separation. So why would this be? Well, I did some research and this is the scoop.

The sciatic nerve innervates (charges) the muscles on the back of your legs and the bottom of your feet (FYI, the Femoral nerve innervates the front of your leg). For normal muscle function, muscle tissue and nerve connections between the brain and muscle must be normal. In my case the nerve is not stimulating my muscles normally, which is why my left hamstring can’t curl 10 pounds, and why my calf is puny (I may be exaggerating this). Ben will add more exercises to work that calf, and that’ll be the best we can do for the nerve damage. What? You want more anatomy explained in easy terms? You got it. This is a more detailed explanation of what is going on with my situation.

The Sciatic nerve splits into the Peroneal and Tibial nerves which innervate the side and back of the leg respectively. The peroneal is the most commonly affected nerve. This peroneal nerve has two divisions: superficial and deep. If the superficial branch is involved then there will be hypalgesia (means reduced sensation of pain / numbness, which I have) on the anterolateral (means situated in front and to one side) aspect of the foot.

What is causing this you ask? Well let me tell you more! It’s my sciatic nerve being impinged by a disc and/or swelling at the S1 joint (this is the first vertebrae of the sacrum – kinda near the beginning of your butt crack). Impingement of the S1 nerve can lead to weakness with the large gastronemius muscle in the back of the calf, causing difficulty with foot push off. (this is me to a T!!!!!). Numbness for the S1 nerve runs on the outside of the foot. (yes!) The nerve consists of one long cell from the low back down to the foot so the nerves tend to heal slowly. The nerves heal from the top down, and depending on how much damage is done at the time the nerve becomes impinged (pinched), it may take weeks to months for the nerve to fully to heal. Any questions?

Cheers!

Cheers to my sister Christine & Tom on their commitment to each other today. It was nearly 3 years ago that Christine's husband of 20+ years died. While grief never completely ends, rather it just ebbs and flows, it doesn't remain the center of her life. She and Tom are evidence of how life gives us many opportunities to find happiness, as long as we remain open to them.

All that said, I must say that my mom's house is cursed by nature(the commitment ceremony was held at her house, and that's her in the picture conducting the ceremony - "Reverend Juanita"!). The last several family events held there have been met with ferocious storms that leave flooding and ponding on the roadways - making for a frightful, white-knuckle, eye squinting, two-hands-on-the-wheel drive home. And it's a looooooong 25 mile drive home in those kind of conditions! For you out-of-staters, we've had more than 2 inches of rain in 24 hours - rivers are close to flooding, yards have standing water, everything is saturated beyond saturation.

Safely tucked inside (thanks for driving, Joe), we watch storm after storm roll through as we psych ourselves up for the next work week. We'll watch "The Amazing Race", and hit the hay. Tomorrow Joe will have his bone scan ... stay tuned!

Spring Showers

Three blogs in one week - it's almost like old times at "Always Up For A Challenge"! Gee, it's nice that the meteorologists are so accurate with their forecasts. The-sun-before-noon-showers prediction never happened, but before I complain, let me say that it was so nice to sleep with the bedroom windows open for the first time this year. Hearing the bamboo chimes and cardinals outside our window this morning was wonderful. The balmy breeze refreshing, the covers crisp.

My plan to take a 4-5 mile hike was foiled by ominous clouds, cracks of thunder and torrential downpours. At one point during a lull I thought it was safe to head out. Decked in shorts, a light jacket and boots, I began my trek. It was short lived. About 1 mile. The temps had fallen 25°, I was cold, and angry rumbles in the distance were a bit concerning. The thunder rapidly moved closer, light rain began to fall, and determined my walk was not meant to be, I made a prudent U-turn. About 2 blocks from home the rain upgraded from light to heavy to sheets of water. I was relatively soaked when I reached the garage, but happy to be home where I could take a warm shower, put on dry cloths and lie on the couch. Joe and I have backpacked in cold downpours like this, so I was grateful not to be on a trip. The rest of the day so far has been lazily spent on the couch, watching bad movies (so bad they're good), reading and watching the yard turn greener with each intermittent storm.

There are more buds and shoots appearing by the hour. Seriously. This morning the honeysuckle bushes were bare, now they're covered in green buds. The forsythia, bare yesterday, are speckled with nascent yellow flowers. Tulip heads are waiting to open and daffodils, in full bloom, are drinking the rain like manna. Happy spring :)

Do Herniations Heal?

That is the million dollar question. What I’ve learned is that the torn disc never repairs itself, once torn always torn. What may improve is the degree to which the herniated disc material protrudes into the spinal column and nerve roots. Less intrusive blow-outs, as I now like to refer to herniations, may partially resorb and cinch back in towards the vertebrae it should sit between, but this isn’t the rule, and they never pull all the way back in. This means you’re always at risk for re-injury. The following hopeful information I pulled off of www.spineuniverse.com :

“Numerous medical studies have been performed and published. In recent studies by Mochida et al., lumbar disc herniations (LDH) were studied in pre- and post-MR imaging conditions. In LDH cases, they demonstrated about a 60% reduction or regression in the size of the herniation. They also found that the larger the extrusion or sequestration, the better the rate of regression (I had a honking extrusion, so this is music to my ears. They concluded that disc regression or resorption depended upon size, location and the phase of the injury. Discs tended to reduce in size early on after onset, and more so in the lateral or sequestered type of herniation than smaller herniations. It is interesting to note that most patients in Mochida's study did well clinically with conservative care(this means non-surgical) regardless of the MRI outcome. The period of care averaged six months, with a range of 2-12 months for good clinical and anatomical MRI outcome.”

In summary, my hubongous blow-out may shrink by 60% during a 2-12 month period, which means by December, I may be as healed as I’ll ever be. Can you imagine spending a year to recover and heal from an injury you don’t even know when or how it occurred??? This is my life.

HAPPY EARTH DAY

The blue sky has shifted my mood. When the sun and warmth left Saturday, I literally felt my mood drop like a barometer. It hit rock bottom yesterday as my “Outdoor Exploration” group walked ½ mile uphill from the mental health center to Center Court in 40mph sleety winds to play indoor basketball and volleyball. I was not feeling the love, or anything of a positive sort. Later at home, I indulged in a session of first dumping Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips into creamy peanut butter, and then scooping them out one by one. It tasted good, but mentally made me feel worse, as I threw off my healthy eating for the day. And on top of that, I had skipped the gym in the morning (a rare thing), so I imagined myself instantly turning into a blimp with the extra calories I did not need, and would not burn! This morning I awoke with renewed vigor. After a killer Ben work-out, followed by sunny skies and a promise of 80° temps by Friday, I have returned to my bright demeanor. On a cloudier note, Joe’s foot has not improved since his Saturday run, so he has scheduled that bone scan for Monday 4/27 – just 5 days before the half marathon. Fingers crossed!

In honor of Earth Day, I thought I’d share some trivia with y’all:
*The garbage in a landfill stays for about 30 years.
*Each person throws away approximately four pounds of garbage every day.
*More than 1/3 of all energy is used by people at home
*We each use about 12,000 gallons of water every year
*1/3 of all water is used to flush the toilet.
*The 500 million automobiles on earth burn an average of 2 gallons of fuel a day.
*The energy we save when we recycle one glass bottle is enough to light a traditional light bulb for four hours
*Every ton of paper that is recycled saves 17 trees
*14 billion pounds of trash is dumped into the ocean every year
*84 percent of all household waste can be recycled.

Warmer Inland!

For those of you who don't live in WI (or SE WI), we've got this little thing going on where it's cooler by Lake Michigan in the spring and summer and warmer in the winter. The differences in temperature are usually small - within a 5° difference - but in early spring the variance can be as large as 15°-20°. Waukesha benefits from being 25 miles inland. It is a gorgeous sunny 75° in our neck of the woods, though it was a tad cooler when Joe and I struck out on our course through the neighborhood.

My original plan was to walk 5 miles today, but Joe encouraged me to heed the 10% rule that dictates you don't cover more than 10% of the furthest distance you did the week before. So I was prudent and scaled my walk back to 3.5 miles (still more than a 10% upgrade). Next week I may jump to 5 miles. I felt strong the whole time - no drag to my left leg - and my new hiking boots seemed okay. Of course the real test of the boots will come when we start hitting the trails at Lapham Peak, Scuppernong and the Nordic Trail. The walk was filled with visions of humans cleaning up yard debris, squirrels scurrying up trees, birds flitting about and cars with windows down.

Joe ran 5.5 miles before his feet demanded he stop. If today was the race, he would have pushed through the pain, but what was the point of doing so today? Unfortunately, this was the one time he didn't carry his cell phone with him, so he hobbled another 3 miles home (I would have picked him up if he had his cell phone to call for a ride), soaked his feet in Epsom salts and iced them. He'll see his P.T. Tuesday and try to address this problem yet again.

As for that sun I mentioned a paragraph ago? It's gone. The warmth remains, but dark clouds are taking over, ushering in a rainy cold front for the next couple days. More updates soon ...

Always On My Mind

Are the rest of you as tired as me when Friday rolls in?! It’s been a relatively uneventful week. Joe’s swollen feet got worse before they got better. Fearing a possible stress fracture, he saw his orthopedic sports doc, and was given an order for a bone scan. Those two words – bone scan – must have scared his feet, because later that day there was a noticeable decrease in swelling. While his feet still aren’t pretty to look at, they’re no longer bloated mounds of flesh, and some of the pain is subsiding. Joe put the bone scan option on the back burner and plans to complete his 11+ mile run tomorrow. I’m planning a 5 mile speed walk at the same time (in my new North Face Gore-Tex low-cut hiking boots) – maybe our paths will intersect on the pretty tree lined streets of SE Waukesha.

I’ve had a solid week. Yesterday as I worked upper body, I noticed my legs have regained the familiar bulges and defining lines they used to have. I was so damn excited, that I thought I’d test my new strength on the lying down leg curl machine. (You may recall me talking about this machine 6-7 weeks ago. It primarily works the hamstrings. I used to lift 100#, but when Ben had me try it, I couldn’t even lift 10# - in fact, my left leg just couldn’t lift any amount of weight in that curl position. Is this ringing a bell?) So I lie on my belly, plug 10# in because I don’t want to overdo it, and guess what? No change. My left leg couldn’t do a thing. I’m just accepting this as the way it is. I’m not devastated by it, or upset. I’m hopeful that my nerves will heal, and that I’ll be able to do this leg exercise again, but for now I figure how often do I need to curl weight towards my butt while lying on my stomach in everyday life, right?!

A friend had arthroscopic hip surgery 3 weeks ago, and her recovery has been painful, tiring, and boring, as she is restricted from much movement, and is somewhat cut-off from the world while she recuperates at home. She told me that when she gets to feeling bad about her situation, she thinks of me and takes inspiration from the way I handled my whole back saga. It makes me happy to know I can inspire others, as so many have inspired me. And yet, my “saga” isn’t over. While the debilitating pain is gone, the muscle strength in my legs returned, and my limp absorbed into my normal gait, I am still healing. But how long does the healing take? If I bend over too many times, I’ll feel a slight tweak that quickly reminds me of my precarious situation. I am super conscious of my posture (always lengthening the spine, pulling my belly button towards my spine, not twisting my upper body), how I move, how I feel, and so on. This awareness is good, and necessary, but it also means I am often thinking about my back, which still becomes a tiresome thing. I wonder when or if a time will come when I am not always thinking about my back and my movement ….

A Spring Walk

It was a gorgeous crisp morning for a run and a walk. While Joe was a superstar pounding out 9.08 miles in 75 minutes (still maintaining that blistering 8 minute mile pace), I "aggressively" walked 2.5 miles through our steeply hilled neighborhood in 30 minutes, giving me a 12 minute mile, which is a respectable walking speed. In fact, there are runner's who have a 12 minute mile (or slower), so I can feel good about that. I meant to walk further, but without a watch I thought I'd been out longer than I actually was. Next time I'll plan to walk/hike a known distance or wear a watch. I felt good, and I don't think my leg got limpy. Amongst the beauty of the walk - green shoots poking out of the ground, bird song filling the breeze, expansive blue sky - I had to fight ugly thoughts, such as "walking is for losers". My self-critical voice was chattering away. I imagined Joe, maybe a mile away on a parallel street, running like the wind, as I was tethered to the ground doing something anyone can do. There were several moments when I had to forcibly hold back from starting a trot of my own. However, being the little ol' therapist that I am, I caught my stinkin' thinkin' and countered it with positive thoughts, reminding myself of how far I've come in a short amount of time (i.e., I was reliant on a cane to walk several feet 3 months ago), that in fact not everyone can walk (hell, aunt Shirley can't walk or even go up one stair), and that I need to be kinder to myself.

Wo Bessie...

... slow that horse named Joy down. I continue to find new reminders that I am not healed yet. Reminders that I am coming back from a very serious injury that may take 6-12 months to fully recover from. I am 100% back to my previous work-out standards, but am finding that I’m more tired from doing it all then I used to be. Is this due to the healing process taking a bit more out of me? Or is it unrelated – is this just a tiring time of year? Joe is feeling the same kind of tiredness, but he’s coping with injuries, his chronic insomnia and weekend long runs. He should be tired!

So my latest reminder that I’m still on the mend came during a teeny hike during the week. April through June I am fortunate enough at work to lead a group of client’s on a weekly hike. We start out easy, with a build-up plan that will enable client’s to triumphantly scale the hills at Lapham Peak . You heard me; I get paid to take a hike every Tuesday afternoon! The group began this week and we did an easy 2-2.5 mile hike at Fox Brook Park – an easy walk on pavement, a flat grade surrounding a quarry. Towards the end of the hike a client asked if I was limping, and sure enough, my left leg was slightly slower than my right leg. I was walking at a fast clip, so I don’t know if it was the speed or the distance that slowed my leg down. Aside from the small limp, I felt fine, had no pain, and was not tired. I mentioned this to Ben and he felt it was part psychological and part neurological. He said my strength is back, so that’s not the issue. What this tells me is I really need more data, and I can only get that by hitting the trail. While Joe is on his 100 minute run tomorrow, I plan to walk the neighborhood at my hiking pace (we have lotsa good hills), and will report back here on how we both fared.

Running Updates

Congratulations to Laura & Kris on the birth of 9 pound Josie!!!

Would you rather give birth (and this birth after 20 hours of labor resulted in a C-Section) or run 7+ miles? Joe is clipping along in his training for the Cheesy Half Marathon. Yesterday he ran 7.3 miles in an hour, which is nearly an 8-minute pace. He tells me I'm not missing anything. Joe hates every minute of running, and says the best part is when he's punching in the garage door code to come in after the run is over. Joe's ankle is no longer a problem, but his hip remains sore, and the orthotics seem to be causing problems that effect the top of his feet which are swollen and painful. I was fortunate not to have injuries when I was running. I still get a twinge of desire to be out there running - especially on a sunny cool morning, but for the most part, I remain at peace with not running. I'm happy to have had the experience of running, doing races and making PR's (personal records). Some things aren't meant to last.

The Fab Five

Through the wonders of Facebook, I have reconnected with all sorts of people, including friends from middle and high school that I hadn’t seen or heard from in 20 or more years. Last night I met 4 high school friends for dinner at Singha Thai. It was huge fun. While we may have all been friends to varying degrees at different times, we were never a group of friends in high school. Everyone looked stellar – slim, stylish, un-aged. Conversation flowed easily and naturally, with little reference made to high school days. We’d barely scratched the surface, but by 9p.m. I just had to get home, so we called it a night with plans to do this monthly. 4a.m. arrived as a cruel and belated April Fool’s prank, but I was determined to make it to the gym 5 days this week (haven’t done that for a month), and am glad that I did. Now I could go for a bed and pillow. I’ve completed a full and rigorous week of exercise. My leg and back are not barking at me, but my foot is more numb then it’s been in a long time – giving me that feeling of a bunched up sock on the underside. I wouldn’t say I’m out of the woods 100%, but my odds are improving each day. With the weekend rest, I’m sure my foot will calm down too.