Getting back to Boston

Went to test the leg this afternoon. Nope. Hurt BAD, calf and hip. Shut it down after a mile, went to make a doctor's appointment as soon as I could. Found out I could go to a doc in the box, but the DiB was closed at 5 p.m. today, presumably so he could go to Hog hoops game? Anyway, will go back tomorrow and get this checked out. Not looking good for the half in 10 days, for sure.

Went to the doc on Thursday as planned. It was Sundaram from the ER. He thinks it's radicular, as do I. Put me on a Medrol Dosepak to see if that calmed it down. He would have given me something stronger if I'd asked (maybe should have asked for tizanidine, now that I think about it), but I think the Medrol will get it calmed down. They scheduled me an appointment with an orthopod on Tuesday morning. I'll finish the Medrol by then. Maybe I'll ask for the tizanidine then.

So I took the Medrol for three days, and the leg was feeling better. Not pain-free, but I could stand longer without discomfort. So I tried a run this morning. Went well. Not 100% pain-free, but just a twinge in the calf, and nothing in the glute. Shut it down after 3.4 to avoid overdoing it. So far, I'm very pleased. Still very questionable for the half next Sunday, even as a training run, but we'll see how the week goes.

Went to Fayetteville yesterday and signed the divorce agreement. Within 10 days, I'll be single. At least there's an endpoint in the near future now, after months of uncertainty, and I can move on into singlehood. I'm still not happy about the situation, but it is what it is, not gonna change, and I have to deal with it and get on with my life.

Running after work tonight, once the Garmin resumed working and got recharged. Ran a new course, around the mall, up Rogers to Albert Pike, to Waldron, out Park to 66th to Free Ferry and back home. Worked out at just over 6 miles. Temps was around 30 which was perfect; barely sweated. Pushed the pace a bit on the last K or so, just to do something different. Calf was fine. Achilles was slightly tender but not bad. I'll still go to the doc tomorrow and see if he puts me on PT or something. But a good run for the first day of Week 2 of the Boston cycle.

Went to doctor yesterday. Also thinking radicular stuff. Plus the AT is acting up again. Put me on Mobic, told me to stretch, warm up, and avoid hills. Ha!!!

Anyway, AT better today. Leg bothered me this morning, eased off as day went on. Decided to run when I got home to burn off a huge lunch. Ended up with 9 very hilly miles. Suspect I burned off lunch and then some. Then ice bath, which really felt pretty good. May pay for this tomorrow, though.

Easy run tonight, but the Achilles wasn't happy about it. Very tender, swollen, etc.

Progression run tonight, after work and before the Christmas party. Quite chilly and very windy, which encouraged me to go faster, so it became a progression run. Probably ran the last mile at MP and the last 0.11 at about 10K pace. It was four laps around the Ben Geren trail.

Since my last run, the divorce is now final. Surprised at my response to the news -- none. Pam might as well have told me she went to the grocery for a loaf of bread. The limbo is over, and I can get on with my life, and with looking for someone to share it with in some form or fashion (not necessarily marriage).

Struggle today. Leg started hurting immediately when I started. Tried stretching, which didn't help much. Finally gave up and walked/limped until the last half mile, when it felt good enough to resume a jog. But it hurt. Bad. No clue it was goping to happen, either; the leg had not hurt all day, until I started running. Concerning, to put it mildly.

Drove over to the stadium at Southside to try their track. First to see if it were open, second to see if it's accessible to the public, and three to test out the leg. Figured that if I had big problems, I'd be no more than 250 yards from the car.

So I get out and start running laps. Only other person out there is an SHS pole vaulter, messing around with his pole at the vaulting pit. Leg started hurting pretty quickly. Decided to keep going and see what happened. It didn't get any worse, and I decided I could tolerate that level of pain. First I was gonna run 3, then 4, then 5, finally decided to do a 10k. And somewhere between 4 and 5 miles, I realized the left leg didn't hurt any more. So then I started pushing the pace a bit. Ran the sixth mile at something approximating MP, and the last lap at about 10K pace. Then I jogged three laps of cooldown to complete 7 miles. All in all, not a bad run; glad I decided to HTFU and push through it.

Time for the 10K, by the way, was about 55 minutes. Not super speedy, but considering I limped through the first 4.5 miles, not too bad.

Three days off with a chest cold. Breathing better today, but run cut short by the leg pain. Very frustrating -- just keeps coming and going. Today was a bad day. Shut it down after one lap at Ben Geren. Good thing I didn't do the whole golf course loop. Maybe it will be better tomorrow.

5.75, hard, no pain. Very nice development after a whole lot of limping around. Pushed the pace all the way to MP -- still no sciatica. The right butt twinge was there, and the abs were a little sore from the core work, but no burning pain on the left side. Very pleased with that, also pleased I was able to do such a good run after missing 13 days of running so far this month.

Four laps around the mall in the mist after work. Didn't quite make it a Christmas run, as I finished at 11:35ish. Calf twinged just a bit in the first mile, nothing after that. Butt niggle still there, but less bothersome than last night, much less last summer. Had only planned three laps, but felt good enough to stretch it out to four. All in all, very pleased with the resumption of my training. Hope I can stay healthy enough to get plenty of it done. Also took my new BQ shirt for its first run.

Pam and T came by for brunch this AM at IHOP, since that was about the only thing open. Then they came by the house so she could get a Max fix. Surprised he didn't become an issue in the divorce; might just be because her landlord won't allow pets, or she just doesn't want to mess with cat care, litter boxes, etc. I'm glad the old stupid gato is here with me, though. I need the companionship.

Ran after work tonight (so I started after midnight; sue me). Three laps around the mall, then six hill sprints on Duncan. Legs did wonderfully. Worst thing was pure fatigue from lack of sleep due to Max's spasticity last night. Maintained 9:30 pace, which is what I wanted. It was definitely cold enough, dropping into the mid-20s as I ran. At this point, more concerned about rebuilding my pace and staying healthy than the pace; that will come later.

Bad news is, after several days of no pain, the leg chose tonight to act up. Good news is, I found a way to temporarily alleviate it so I don't have to shut down a run. It'll act up in another mile, but as long as I get down on one knee for a few seconds, it'll settle down enough to continue for a few more minutes. Tedious, to be sure, but better than not running. I'll have to test it on a longer run in a few days, assuming it continues to act up. Anyway, got in four miles around the mall. I've felt really tired all day; didn't sleep well last night at Bryant and didn't take the needed nap this afternoon. Maybe I'll sleep well tonight and the leg will calm down.

Need 13 more miles to get to 1400 for the year. That would have been a wonderful total in 2008, lousy last year, really lousy this year, but I've kept enough of a fitness level that I can ramp up in the next 16 weeks if the injuries cooperate.

Golf course loop today. Leg hurt for about the first four miles, then settled down. I pushed the second lap harder, with the last 1.4 at marathon pace, then jogged the tennis court trail once for a cooldown. It was cool, mid-40s, but pretty humid after last night's rain, so I worked up a pretty good sweat. Then I came home, took an ice bath, then a warm shower. Good to know that the leg pain does go away if I push through it, at least temporarily. That may be what allows me to train adequately from now until April if the sciatica, or whatever it is, doesn't go away completely. It may just be that the pain turns to numbness after four miles. Fine with me; I can run with numb. I can run with pain too, but numb is better. Anyway, a short run tomorrow will put me over 1400 miles for the year. Think I'll go to SHS and do some intervals if I can get into the stadium. Or jump the fence and do them anyway.

Intervals at SHS. Good thing it was breezy because it's in the mid-60s today. In late December???? Ran 8 X 200 at what I guess would be 1500m pace. Probably too fast, but I thought I needed to get the legs used to going fast again, and it worked pretty well. Again some twinges in the calf, but stretching kept that manageable. Anyway, most of the reps were in the 47-second range for 200. Ran 2+ to warm up and 2+ to cool down for a total of 10K. One other guy out there jogging at something under 10:00 pace; ran the reps in lane 2 to get around him (which probably means I really went something like 80 yards over 10K). Anyway, good workout, getting the nice after-workout glow (AKA the relief of no longer bashing yourself over the head with a ball peen hammer). And got the 1400-mile landmark out of the way.

Slow fish at Carol Ann Cross Park to end the year. Leg was pretty painful for the first few laps, eased up after 6 laps. Really didn't want to run, leg aside; did not sleep well, probably due to screwed up body clock (I've been staying up late because I'm working 3 p.m.-3 a.m. tonight).

Finished the year with 1408 miles running. I'm glad to see 2010 in the rear view mirror. Separation, unemployment, divorce -- it hasn't been a good year. Not everything has been bad, but plenty, thank you. Hope 2011 will be much more settled and happier. Good trip to New Orleans would be a good start. Good trip to Boston would be nice too.