Thursday, July 14, 2011

The Cause as the Cure

Just did a three mile run. It hurt. Really now for the past week or so all that I can remember is pain associated with all of my runs. I haven't had a decent run since we got back from camping it seems like. Lots of pain, discomfort and tiredness.

I've been down the past few days, no doubt. We have had mandatory meetings at the office with executives who have flown in from god knows where. I have been working for the same manager now for three years and I could not pick him out of a line up if my freaking life depended on it. Why don't we start there... let me meet with a manager (leader) who actually might understand what is going on in my life work-wise and who might really get it? Anyway... a totally demoralizing and soul raping couple of days in the office this week.

So yesterday due to social obligations, other stuff and work I had to really hustle to get a run in. So I decided to run while I was at the office. Long story short, five miles through the Garden and fast at that. Oh yeah, it was hot as fuck too. Back to the office, quick shower, change then I sat in a hardback chair for 1.5 hours while receiving a sunshine enema.... I think that this was my downfall, the sitting for so long... everything,muscles, tendons, everything started to seize up.

And when I say everything I mean everything. Wrists, shoulders, BACK, legs, ankles, knees, hips, quads, EVERYTHING hurt. To put things into perspective, the last time I felt this badly was right after the Leadville 100 last year. All except for the torn up feet it was all the same, the pain, the inability to move, no comfortable position to lie down... Identical. Great Pain.

I slept fitfully last night. Up and down... could not lay on my right side as that old injury in my shoulder was screaming at me. Up and down and back to sleep again trying to find the right position.

This morning when I got up I felt 300% better. Don't get excited as everything still hurt but at least now I could walk. Things have slowly gotten better through the day due to copious amounts of water and ibuprofen and just sitting and working.

But then something happened today and made me think that maybe I am still carrying that bug from last week. I was sitting here working this afternoon and I completely sweated through my t-shirt. I mean like a heat flash I guess... What the hell caused THAT?

Thank god I am burning tomorrow as a vacation day... I need it.

Anyway... I have to do some work tonight. Stressful. I could not sit around the house anymore so I decided to gamble. I could walk easy enough. My left knee still hurts and my shoulders are KILLING me as are my wrists but everything else is relatively pain free now. So... I decided to risk it and see how I would do on a short three mile EASY run.

Well when I got back I actually felt a little better. My fingers are more flexible now and my wrists did not hurt nearly as much. Hips and knees still hurt a little, as well as my ankles I just realized but NOTHING compared to yesterday.

I can't wait till this race is over this week... Lot's of pressure around this one. My parents have flown out and the last time they came out to see me do a race was the 2003 Pikes Peak Marathon and that is and was probably the biggest blowup and failure in a race for me to date. ITB flare up on the down trip caused me to walk 90% of the way down. I came in just under eight hours... pathetic. I hope to give them a better show this weekend in Leadville on the 50.

But past that I think that I am suffering from the lower miles that I have been doing. The mode of race week, recovery week, training week, training week, taper, race week, has really worn me down the past few months. I haven't gotten any better it feels like. Anyway, I think that I need to get my mileage back up to around 70mpw or more to be more in my zone.

Maybe I am just getting too old for this shit.

Anyway, I still pulled three miles tonight... Going to rest and hope for a better next few days, a good race and so on.

As a side note, Melissa has started blog written from more of a crew/support perspective in regards to ultras' and I must say it is a crack up. Please visit (and follow) her blog here.

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