Thursday, March 20, 2008

Blogrunner Is Blogbroken.

Aggravation.
That's what I feel right now.
I went to my orthopedist today, because as I've been mentioning on and off during my previous blogs, that I've had a minor pain in my left leg.
Well, it was not so minor.
The doctor calls it Multiple Fatigue Fractures......I just call it plain bad genetics.
Why, oh Why!
He showed me my x-ray. I could see the new bone forming up and down the interior part of my leg, above the tibia, but well below the knee. Doc says that I should refrain from any high-impact exercises for a month. The means no running. Of course, I countered, and he did say that inevitably it will be up to me to know when to say when.
I've got a follow-up appointment with him in mid-April, and even have a visit for physical therapy next Monday. I definitely don't need PT, but he referred me to a running coach (Joe Colleen) who I should see. Unfortunately, the PT office cannot let me see him until I go through the motions and get an eval first.

What do I think about all of this?

Well for one, I think that the health care system in the United States is right up there with blackmail, and extortion and other fun white-collar crimes. I'm joking of course, but I am so fed up of this system where one has to make 18 co-pays to different people to get to where you need to get to. While I was waiting in the office today, Forbes magazine talked about hospitals. 1 out of every 200 patients that stay 1 or more nights in a hospital DIE. 100,000 people a year die unecessarily in hospitals due to hospital infection. That's more than AIDS, breat cancer, and automobile accident-related deaths per year, combined. In fact, 5 times as many people die in hospitals as a result of negligence than those who have no health care at all. So, instead of our presidential candidates barking about health care for everyone, they should also focus on fixing the quality of care everyone would be getting as well.

Secondly, I know that I'm not 100%, and I know I needed to rest my leg (hence the absence from exercise this week), but I also don't think that it's as bad as he said. I took a look the x-rays too. It wasn't bad. I might not be a doctor, but we both have the same eyes. Perhaps, it might be time for an second opinion. He mentioned that I needed to stretch more (always has been an issue with me), and the I needed to do exercises to strengthen my calf. On that note, I don't know what else I can do, other than take a leave of absence from my work, and run across America like Forrest Gump. My calf is like a cannon. There's just no room left for more muscle, and I'm not saying this to be cute either. Perhaps, if I weighed less, than my impact would be less. However, losing weight also usually means losing bone mass as well. That's opposite of what I want know isn't it?

Thirdly, I know I screwed up by doing 5 races so far. From here on out, I will not do more than one speed race (10k or less) per month. My heart's always stronger than my brain. So my willpower is always trumping my sense of reason. Dangerous and heroic.

What's the next steps for the Blogrunner who has been faced with his kryptonite (bad left tibia) again?

1. Limit my runs to just twice a week for the next month.
2. Cancel all my races until the Long Island Marathon.
3. Change my Long Island Marathon into a Long Island Half-Marathon. Forget the competition, and focus more on the post race picnic that the Forest Park Road Runners will be holding.
4. Go to the gym 3 times a week, but do ZERO footstrike-impacts (need to see if I can do the stairmaster).
5. Keep a CLOSE eye on my caloric intake, especially now that my workouts are going to be reduced.
6. Take calcium supplements, and get protein shakes/meal replacements to help with the restoration process.
7. Spend 30 minutes a day massaging the afflicted area.

Truthfully, my leg really does feel fine. This is why I need a second opinion, because either it's not as bad as they say it is, or this is almost like a repeat of 2005. That year, I went all the way, completely fracturing my leg at my lower interior tibia (ouch). It hurt, and got worse as I ran a half-marathon (Brooklyn) with it, and then that horrible race in Randall's (Sulfer Stink) Island.

UGH. I hate this shit.

My blogs will continue however, for better or worse. At least I have no stress fractures on my fingers.... :-)

1 comment:

DGA said...

i NEED TO DISECT YOUR ARTICLE IN SEVERAL PARTS.

1.- First of all it is important for you to recognize that, although
you should not run in a month or a little bit more, this will help you in the long run (no punt intended). You must support this inactivity with other options that will keep you physically busy, like the gym, but no walking or running. Biceps, Triceps, Dorsals, Pectorals, for instance.

2.- If you get a trainer, do it after a month, at least, of total rest for your legs.

3.- This is the time for you to eat well, and when I say well I mean healthy, but tasty. Not pizza galore, only once a week tops. A lot of protein and fruits and vegetables. You won't gain weight if you eat small portions and every 3 hours. This is the best diet not to gain weight and to be healthy.

4.- Don't complain about our health care system. We are number 37 in the world ranking, according to the World Health Organization, and we beat Slovania. Tremendous strides are being made to move up in the ranking before other third world countries. The first step is to make our politicians realize that they are in power because we picked them and they owe us. For that we need to change our mentality. OK, I know we will never do that, we are too comfortable with the bones they throw at us, so HMOs are here to stay till they suck the last drop of blood left in us.

4.- You are not Blogbroken. Wrong definition. You are Runbroken. You can continue writing perhaps for a while as...SITTINGBLOG? Just kidding!

And. like we say for every drawback in our lives...EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON. Find out your reason and you will totally be happy with this temporary mishap.