Walk This Way (Young Frankenstein)

Another week of not running; this is getting old fast. I have been going out for walks .....  this morning I jogged perhaps a quarter mile to gauge my condition. Not there yet but a small improvement I think.

 

Tonight I will see Maggie on TJ (Thomas Johnson High School) stage for the last time, she will be performing tomorrow evening as well but I have a wedding to attend. They are performing “Young Frankenstein”, Maggie plays Frau Blucher (Played by Cloris Leachman in the movie). Needless to say it is quite a departure from her role as Ariel in “The Little Mermaid”

Two years ago I was questioning if I would even see her graduate high school much less perform on stage, I am very grateful and proud. She is in a word... amazing. The director came up to Susan and I last night after the show (we were waiting for Maggie to change) and said, “I will miss that girl, she is talented, she can do it all”. To which I replied, “ She loves it here, flunk her!”. He got a funny look on his face as though he really considered it for a moment. 

Our weekend will be quite busy, Patrick will be coming home, Maggie will have her performances, I'll be helping at a 100 mile race tomorrow morning and then heading to Baltimore for the wedding of a friend's son.  Sunday will be "Run For 

The Rock", a 5K run that I had wanted to "Tear Up", instead I'll participate in the mile walk. 

It will be a good weekend.

Mike

Nine Days

It's been nine days since my last run, I am much more of a mess then I thought I'd be.

There is no doubt that I'm addicted to running but I certainly did not fully understand the implications until I stopped “Cold Turkey”.

First the Physical aspects, within three or four days I started getting leg cramps. This was even after walking or ridding my bicycle, this past Saturday I rode eight miles, Sunday, it was eighteen. (No it wasn't the biking that caused the leg cramps.) The “Impact” associated with running must serve as a nerve stimulator as my feet are experiencing a widening of numbness. Walking does not seem to be an adequate substitute, yesterday my entire right foot went numb across the bottom of my foot. I'd have to check the blog but I think it's been months since I felt numbness across the entire foot.

In addition to the hands and feet issues my GI tract seems to have settled into a different pattern, one that I am not to happy with. I can coax activity through certain foods, beer or several glasses of wine but none of those are healthy long term alternatives. (Augh ..... the foods are healthy enough).

Physicality takes second seat to dealing with my head; there I am a true mess.

If I didn't realize it before, it's now hammered home that running is my link to normalcy. (At least as normal as I'll ever be) Running, even slowly on my beloved trails sends me to a different place. When I am really into it I become ageless, clueless to what has happened and what may lie ahead. I become totally immersed in the moment. There are times that my almost sixty year old body forgets years and responds with the same feelings I had as a younger man even if the effort is not the same; and you ask me why I run ?

My brothers understand this as well. Perhaps not in running, but in biking and weight lifting. Perhaps one of the best complements I ever heard was someone saying, “What is Wrong With You Guys?”..... Nothing ........ Absolutely Nothing .... and ....... ain’t it great.

Mike

Maters Sunday

It's “Masters Sunday”, the official start of my golf season.

This is also the first Sunday of my self imposed cessation of running, it won't be easy but at least biking does not seem to bother me and I managed eighteen hilly miles on my Trek 7500 hybrid this morning. Had I been running I would have been comfortable but today, forty degree temperatures left me half frozen. I suspect, I need more experience to dress properly for biking.

Wednesday evening (last week) after the kids track program I came to the conclusion that I should give myself a chance to heal. It was a record setting hot day with temps hovering around ninety late in the afternoon. Since it was hot the evening program focused on technique rather then speed …... I ran dead last in most of the drills and probably should not have run at all.

Spring is finally here so my resolve to stop running for a while will be tested, it's not like I will be inactive, stretching, biking and hiking will fill in yet they are not good substitutes for that which makes me really happy. Perhaps if I can be a “Good Boy” for another week to ten days I might be able to run the Capon Valley 50K on May eleventh as reward?

Finally, I was stressed this week to learn of another runner friend diagnosed with cancer. He had qualified to run the Boston Marathon and should be in Boston today. I have few details but know that missing the race is the last thing on his mind right now, I pray they have caught it early.

Mike

Spring, Finally Here

This morning the thermometer appeared spring like, showing fifty five degrees, a full twenty degrees warmer then yesterday morning when Larry and I started out on a sixteen mile run.

Most of the run went fine until my foot got tangled in some dead branches causing me to lurch forward pulling on my abdomen. Ouch …... I felt it but for the remainder of the run it was simply uncomfortable. It was a different story a few hours later as everything tightened up. Worse then my gut, what I'm assuming are my hip flexors went ballistic. For the first time in a long time I took a pain pill during the day.

In addition to a “kind” Monday morning thermometer, my body decided to be “kind” as well. The stretching and strengthening must be paying off. Even so, I discounted any idea of a run, opting instead to head out with Molly for a three mile walk.

I was surprised at the silence, approaching a fire pond the only sound was that of a single Mallard calling out. Tomorrow I suspect, there will be a roar from hundreds of frogs “looking for love”. Hopefully I'll experience this tomorrow morning during a short run.

My three month checkup last week with Dr. Goldstein (Oncologist) went well. For now I am not seeking any therapy or prescriptions to deal with the Neuropathy but I will start taking Alpha Lipoic Acid.

As far as my GI tract is concerned, well that is going to be a work in progress for some time to come. I have cut down on the amount of fiber I'm eating a day but that really has not made much of a difference. I imagine time will be my best medicine.

Spring is finally here ….. hurray !

Mike