Team Elite

     I have a new plan for the Mercy Health Glass City Marathon and I am really excited about it.  Back on March 9th I had my PT appointment with Alisha at Elite Sports and Orthopedic Physical Therapy.  I won't go into detail, because you can read about it here, but long and the short of it was I ran.  Alisha took me for a 3/4 mile run to test the hip, before cutting me loose to slowly start reintroducing my body to running.

     When we were finished she asked me if I was interested in running on a relay team that she was thinking of assembling for the Mercy Health Glass City Marathon.  It immediately reminded me of all the fun I had doing the Ragnar relay back in 2014.  You can read about it here: Ragnar Recap 1, Ragnar Recap 2, Ragnar Recap 3.  Of course I said yes!  Now I just have to worry about getting my mileage up to ensure I can cover the leg I am assigned.

     The Yark Subaru 5-Person Relay takes place during the Mercy Health Glass City Marathon and consists of five team members each running a portion of the race at varying distances.  For those that aren't ready to tackle a full or even a half marathon but wants to go further than a 5K than this race is the perfect way to join in on the fun.

     Lastly, if you haven't heard of Elite Sports and Orthopedic Physical Therapy then I recommend you get familiar with them.  They can help with all kinds of recovery from various injuries that are sports and non sports related.  You can visit them at toledophysicaltherapy.com or on Facebook by clicking here.  You can also meet them at the Mercy Health Glass City Marathon Health and Wellness expo on Saturday April 23rd from 9am-5pm.  They will be selling these awesome shirts you see below with proceeds being donated to Racing for Recovery  Stop out and say Hi, and tell them Dean sent you!

Physical Therapy is Complete

     It seems like a lifetime ago that I was running consistently and having something to say about it.  I do apologize for my posts being few and far between lately, but there just hasn't been much to say that hasn't already been said on my current situation.  However, I did want to give a quick update since I finished my 6 weeks of physical therapy and I thought this would be a good time to catch you all up to date.  

     As far as therapy goes, it was successful in the job of increasing my flexibility and strengthening my legs, hips and core, but to answer the sixty four million dollar question, I still have pain.  To be completely honest I am having pain right now as I type this.  The intensity of the pain and aching varies depending on my day, but what I have noticed is no one thing is the trigger.  If I stand or sit for most of the day is flares up or it can flare up no matter what the combination is for the day.

     If I remember correctly the last time I was running regularly was early July, and the pain has continued during this rest period. Needless to say that if I was never to run a step or do any other "sports" related type of exercise, as the insurance company calls it,  this is affecting the quality of my everyday life.  My therapist says that there is a chance that I could continue to have pain even after I have the surgery done, but to be honest I would rather get the surgery and still have pain than never get the surgery and always wonder if it would have fixed it.  Plus, don't forget the extra bone protrusion that was rubbing on the cartilage and caused the tear to begin with.  If I don't get that taken care of I am sure to have more problems in the future.

     Anyway, I have a followup appointment with my surgeon on Friday to discuss where things go from here.  I hope to have some news to share from that visit, but I am thinking it will go like this, Lets set up a new surgery time and submit it to the insurance company and see if they will now approve it.  Well, all I can do is cross my finger and hope at this point! ;)

Life Without Running

     I would be lying if I said I was completely happy with my current situation, but I have decided all the stress and anger I have spewed the last month was just a waste of time.  While it felt really great at the time to rant about my situation, all it did was deepen my depression for the situation.  I was so down I started to question my resolve and wanted to just give up the whole thing.  In my last post, I even looked to find blame with my doctor and his handling of things and even sought out a new doctor expecting that would solve all my problems and the insurance company would just magically fall into line and allow the surgery.  After a few days I came to accept what is my current situation, drain away all that angers me about the situation.  I've been told that "you only get one life, so live it" and going through it angry just wastes what little time I have with this life.

     So what have I been doing since I haven't been able to run?  That is a good question.  First it has allowed me to spend more "together" time with my wife since I don't have any training runs to go do or races that keeps me busy for a couple hours while she hangs out and cheers for me on the sidelines.  Also, a couple of weeks ago I started my physical therapy which has gone great.  I see her twice a week doing strength training followed by some stretching to increase my range of motion.  I have four more weeks before I am to see the doctor again.  At that point, I assume, we will discuss if we will petition the insurance company again for the surgery. 

Some GREAT news to finally report amidst all that has transpired with my injury I forgot to mention that I was asked to return as a race ambassador for the 2016 MercyHealth Glass City Marathon in Toledo, Ohio.  This year's race will be the 40th anniversary of the marathon and the organizers are working tirelessly to make it one to remember.  My goal, post surgery, was to work hard to get myself ready to at least run and finish the race, however that goal may be in jeopardy with each day that passes.  So, I will heed the advice of my doctor and PT and do what they suggest in this situation, If I only have enough time to get ready for the half marathon or the 5K race than that is what I will do.  If things work out that I won't even be ready for the 5K then I will work the course as one of my fellow ambassadors did last year when an injury sidelined her a few weeks prior to the race.

The last thing I wanted to talk about was my weight.  I have struggled with this recently and I am trying to rectify it, without letting it run my life.  Just as my injury took place back in early July my weight has seen its lowest ever with a 169.5 on the scale.  Without running to continue my calorie burn, the lack of ambition to find a suitable replacement, and my depression fueling my binging habits my weight has crept up to 181 pounds.  I have managed to try really hard at getting back on track with my eating habits and have managed to drop a couple of pounds, but without that vehicle to burn some calories I feel a little like I am hanging on the edge of a cliff by nothing more than my fingernails.  In an effort to keep myself positive, I have told myself that I haven't resorted to my old habits of eating the greasy shitty food, I just have been increasing the volume of what I have eaten.  I just have to get back to watching my calorie intake and I should be in good shape.

Taking It To The Next Level

     Just wanted to throw out a quick update on my injury and the road to recovery.  Last week, Alisha, my physical therapist asked me to take a complete week off from all activity and we would reevaluate on Wednesday.  During my rest I put myself on an ibuprofen regimen and a icing routine.  Slowly throughout the week the pain started to subside and I was starting to get a positive feeling that this may be all I needed, that is till Wednesday.

     I woke up Wednesday and the pain and aching had returned in full force and believe it or not all I could do was smile, shake my head and laugh.  I sent Alisha an email letting her know of my progress and regress for the week.  She felt it was time to take it to the next level and see a specialist.  I really had no idea what to do or who to see on, so Alisha recommended a doctor that is top notch in his field here in Toledo.  Alisha has been so great through my previous injury recovery and now this situation that I fully trust her opinion and who she recommends I see.  She got me his contact info and I called for an appointment.     This coming Wednesday I'll be having my initial evaluation and an x-ray, so hopefully I'll have an answer to my problem or at the very least have it narrowed down to a short list of possible issues.

     If you wonder how I am able to keep my spirits up during this situation, well its been a little rough but Jedi has been keeping me entertained!

   
     I am anxious to see what he has to say, but I fear that this my drag on for a couple of weeks before, one, I have a diagnosis, and two, know if I have to have surgery or not.  So for now, the goal is to get healthy enough to run again, while I hope and pray that I'll be able to run the Detroit Marathon in three and a half months!

Hello are you there? It's Wednesday Weigh In

     Hello All!  It feels like forever since I have written a post, let alone a Wednesday Weigh In.  It is mostly due to my life becoming very busy and a little complicated lately.  A couple of friends of mine run a regional publication and due to some unforeseen circumstances need some graphic design work done to help them out.  Needless to say that has added to my responsibilities when I get home from work, which has left me minimal time for other things.  I had a little extra free time today and I had some great news that I wanted to share. 

    

     First though, let us get to my weigh in.  I don't want anyone to think I was hiding my weight because it was going up, but it did start to tick up and last week it was up to 177lbs.  It was nothing to freak out about, but I was getting pretty laid back with my nutrition and portion control.  I decided last week to really try to buckle down and get it right this week; combine that with how well my training has been going I was able to drop two pounds and get back to 175lbs.  Now if I can just get those last to freaking pounds to hit goal.

2/25/15 official weigh in

175 lbs

Change: -2 lbs

Total loss from heaviest:  142 lbs

Current BMI:  27.4 (overweight)

Change: n/a

Here are the weigh in pics from the last couple of weeks

 

      Now for the great news!  I was officially released by my physical therapist today!  She feels that with all my hard work I have put in at home and what we accomplished during our visits I have been able to correct the issues that were causing me all the knee pain.  Now just because I don't need to see her anymore doesn't mean my rehab is over.  To continue to run pain free I need to continue the work that I have already put in.  She has given me 7 new strengthening exercises and finished my training plan for the GCM Owens Corning Half Marathon.  It feels so great to be back to how I felt before all this came about.  I have learned so much that will pay dividends for years to come.  

     Anyone in or around the Toledo, Ohio area that is suffering from a sports related injury or is in need of physical therapy that is not sports related, than get in contact with Alisha at:

 Elite Sports and Orthopedic Physical Therapy

6919 W Central Avenue

Toledo, OH, 43614 

Telephone:888-294-1089

E-mail: Alisha@toledophysicaltherapy.com

   

Wednesday Weigh In / Rehab Run

     We got two inches or so of snow this morning and when I let Jedi out to go potty that was the last thing on his mind.  He seems to love playing in the snow so I went out to join him.  Now two inches of snow doesn't sound like a lot, but when you are a chihuahua dachshund mix and your legs are only like two inches long, that is a hell of a lot of snow.  Anyway I snapped this pic of him and had to share it because he looked so stinking cute.

     I was excited to get to my PT appointment because I really wanted to get some new things to work on because the static stretches I have been doing three times a day, every day was getting a little old.  Well I still have to continue the stretches, but got some new stuff to work on including yoga.  Yep that's right I said yoga.  I will give this yoga the old college try, especially because if I do I can skip two of my stretching sessions.  Today she also gave me a variation of a single leg squat to build strength and promote good running form.  Basically I do a single leg squat on an elevated platform and swing the opposite leg in a running motion.  It was quite difficult at first, but I was getting the hang of it by the end.

     Since this week we concentrated mostly on my running form to try and correct my issues that have been adding to my IT Band related pain, Alisha had me on the treadmill for most of the session.  While working on my cadence, she noticed that my left leg form seemed to be really good, but the right leg, the problem leg, isn't extending enough in the push off and isn't bending enough when I bring it back forward.  This is causing my leg to kind of swing out to the side to help clear the ground.  She had me get off the treadmill and do a few static movements that will aid in the muscle memory for proper form.  My form improved quite a bit after just a few minutes of drills.  Alisha then had me hop back on the treadmill and try it again.  It is amazing how much better you feel when you are running with proper form.  

     We finished with all the running drills, I cooled down and we talked about a few thing and scheduled my next appointment.  When we were all done with this session I hoped on the treadmill and banged out another 2.5 mile run, since I hadn't run since Sunday.  I concentrated on my form trying to keep my right leg in the proper position.  Now this may be due to being on the treadmill versus the road and after my therapy treatment, but I managed to only get a small amount of light tightness and pain for a short time around two and a quarter miles in.  I don't want to get my hopes up to much yet, but I came away from today's visit and run feeling very optimistic.  I would say I am right on track for starting my training for the Owens Corning Half Marathon at the Glass City Marathon in April!  

     Since it is Wednesday I need to post my current weigh in to hold myself accountable.  Sorry I skipped last weeks post, I just ran out of time.

1/21/15 official weigh in

176.5 lbs

Change: +1 lbs

Total loss from heaviest:  141.5 lbs

Current BMI:  27.6 (overweight)

Change: +.1

Rehab run

     Up until Sunday, I have only tried a one mile run that didn't really go so well.  I made it to a mile, but just barely as my knee pain had started to return.  I attempted the run right after my first physical therapy visit and at that visit I asked her if it was ok to run.  She said yes, but I could tell she really didn't want me to.  After that run I could see why.  My knee pain had come back, it wasn't to severe, but enough that I decided I wouldn't run again till Alisha gave me the go ahead.  My second PT visit went quit well and it was obvious that Alisha thought I had made some good progress.  She instructed me to give a two mile run a try and report back to her how I felt.

     Do to the frigged sub zero temperatures I waited until Sunday when things got a little warmer out.  Its funny to say that 28 degrees was warm, but compared to what it had been, it felt like a heat wave.  I headed down the bike path for an easy out and back route.  Other than some jackass that plowed a pile of snow right on the path that I had to walk through, the path was pretty well clear of snow.  I kept the pace around a 10:30 for the first quarter mile till I was warmed up, then slowly increased my pace to right around 10:00 per mile avg.  I obviously have been obsessing over this injury, so my senses were hyper sensitive on this run thinking every little thing is the onset of pain.  The thoughts quickly died down and I was able to make it to the turnaround pain free.

     Once I was headed back, I got about a quarter mile in and I started to feel a little something.  If you asked me on a scale of 1 to 10 on pain it was a one, more of an aching feeling than pain.  I slowed my pace slightly and the aching went away.  This feeling would come and go as I finished the remainder of the run, the pain never getting above a two.  I walked a few hundred yards to cool down then headed in to do my Therapist prescribed stretching routine.

     In previous running attempts the pain would get stronger a lot faster and my knee would ache badly for the remainder of the day.  This time no extended aching after the fact and I was feeling pretty confident I am on the right track.  I emailed my therapist with my notes and she sounded happy and encouraged at my results.  She gave me a go ahead to attempt another 2 mile run.  Now it may be awhile before I go out again anyway, we just got more snow and the temps are going to plummet again.  I really hate this time of year.

Wednesday Weigh In / PT Visit

     Hello from cold Cold COLD Northern Ohio. It's been in the single digits the last couple days and wind chills have been almost unbearable.  When its this cold I usually do something stupid like shave my head, but it's a new year so I felt like I needed a new look.  Actually I was just looking pretty shaggy and really need to clean it up some so instead of just shaving my head I headed to the local barbershop to get a trim.   I decided I wanted to continue to grow the top, but wanted to trim down the sides and the back.  I am digging the look and I think it will lay a lot better when it gets longer.

     

     As you know I haven't been running due to what I have self diagnosed as IT Band syndrome, or better known as "runner's knee", so it has been difficult trying to maintain the weight loss let-a-lone try and loose any. I had a slight up tick this week, but that is not bothering me at all.  With how my weigh ins have been going recently it doesn't shock me what the scale said today. 

1/7/15 official weigh in

176 lbs

Change: +1 lbs

Total loss from heaviest:  141lbs

Current BMI:  27.5 (overweight)

Change:+.1

     Today was my second visit with my physical therapist and I have to say it went very well. We reviewed my gait analysis, which gave a glimpse into what my problem is. Running itself without doing any other strength and stretching exercises can cause a muscle imbalance. For me, running is all I have been doing for two plus years now, so it was no surprise to my therapist as to what she was seeing.  Essentially, as things got tighter and tighter on my right side and my right leg was pulling inward and kind of crossing in front of my left. When my right leg would land it was putting torque on my IT Band and irritating it. Eventually it got to bad and my leg said "I give up" with pain on the side of my knee. 

     After we finished the analysis we moved on to the actual physical therapy part of the visit.  After a lot of stretching, bending, pulling, twisting and deep massaging she gave me my homework. I am still to continue my stretching and foam rolling 3 times a day, but she added 3 stability/strengthening exercises to do once a day. 

     As for my running future, she has asked me to attempt a two mile run and email her how I felt.  If things go well she will allow me to attempt 3-4 more runs before our next visit in 2 weeks. If things continue to progress positively then at my next appointment we will talk about where my training will go from here.  

An Apple A Day

     Well my at home PT is been going pretty good.  So far she is just having me do three 1 minute sets of 4 different stretches three times a day followed up with some foam rolling.  I am trying not to let my inability to run to continue to get me down.  All I am focused on is doing everything my therapist asks me to do in hopes that I will be able to start training for the Glass City Marathon event at the end of April.  It is not what I would recommend as a proper training plan but for me it is all I got.  As far as actual running goes my therapist has only allowed me to run one to two miles at a time as long as I have no pain and though she didn't say she didn't want me running I got the impression that I should keep my running attempts to a minimum till she tells me otherwise.  My hope is by the start of February I'll be back to running regularly and can add some real mileage, but I am not holding myself to a timeline.  March and early April is when I really have to ramp up the mileage if I am to have any hope to completing the race.

     I wanted to share a small victory I had recently.  I haven't really talked much about my nutrition and I promise I will, but this was a big moment for me.  Now I am not a fruit or vegetable guy; in fact I am a self proclaimed meat-eterian, almost the complete opposite of a vegetarian.  Pretty much potatoes were the only vegetable I ate and if I was eating pizza then the tomato sauce was the closest I ever got to eating a tomato.  Yeah I know.
   
     Well maybe a year ago it was a big deal for me when I added spinach to my diet, so the other day I got the "What?" look from Mandy when I asked her to get me an apple while she was at the store.  I don't know why I wanted to try one but I did.  She ended up getting a bag of them and it took me a few days to get up the nerve to try one and when I did I only ate about a 1/4 of a 1/4 of it and that's it.  A few days later I gave it another shot and ate a whole 1/4 this time.  Both times the apple was at room temperature and I didn't really like it a whole lot.

     See I have what I believe to be some sort of a psychological block when it comes to this stuff.  Whether its the taste, consistency or the crunch it makes when eating it I start to get a little bit of an anxiety attack and feel like I want to throw up.  For example, years ago I was at a Skyline Chili in Dayton, Ohio and got a couple of chili cheese dogs.  I asked for no onions, but when they arrived on my table, hidden under the cheese was fresh diced onions.  I took a bite and heard the crunch of the onion and immediately knew what it was.  I had to spit it out and almost threw up from a severe anxiety attack.  I know a lot of this is all in my head and I don't know why I let it get to me, but it is just the way I am built.  If you wanna hear something funny, after I graduated college I was looking for a job in my field and to pay the bills I was working in a produce department at a local grocery store.  Me!  A self proclaimed meat-etarian working in a produce department.
     
     Anyway, back to the apple.  A few days later I took one to work and left it in the fridge all day and forgot to try it at lunch so I grabbed it for the drive home.  This time it was nice and cold and no cutting this one, I just bit right in.  It was so much better cold!  I got through about half of it and decided to call this try quits, but I liked it and I am gonna try it again that way. 

     I know this may sound stupid to many of you, I mean shit its just an apple, but this was a huge deal for me.  When I started this weight loss journey I made changes to my diet that I could live with and was healthier than what I was eating.  Now I feel like I am pretty much at that maintenance period of my journey and I want to explore some other foods that I have never tried or tried and didn't like previously.  Hey you never know what I might end up liking. 

Wednesday Weigh In / PT Visit

     Well Happy New Year to you as I type this at 1:32am January 1st 2015.  As you all know I have been in a bit of a funk lately with my binge on cookies and buckeyes, my IT Band issues and my weight gain last week.  Today, well actually yesterday, I finally felt like I was on my way back up from the depressed lows I have been feeling.  I managed to have a solid week of eating my usual stuff without any major slip ups.  I also tried an apple for the first time in years.  It was only about a quarter or a little more, but that is more than I have ever eaten before so I call that a success.  The scale snapped itself back to where I was hoping it would be.  I really think the gain last week was more of a fluke than a true weight gain, but the scale is all I have to go on right now.  

12/31/14 official weigh in

175 lbs

Change: -4 lbs

Total loss from heaviest:  142lbs

Current BMI:  27.4 (overweight)

Change: -.6

     As my regular readers know I have been battling a horrible case of IT Band syndrome.  I have been doing a lot internet research and trying to solve the problem myself with no luck.  After talking to Hilary, my Ragnar teammate, she suggested I visit a sports physical therapist for some professional help.  I did some research and found a place in Toledo, Ohio that has impeccable credentials and she is geared to athletes of all skill levels.  I had an appointment next week, but I was really getting impatient waiting so Monday I asked if she had an opening on Wednesday and she did.

     With my first visit Alisha made me very comfortable and asked me what seemed to be all the right questions that helped her narrow down what might be causing my issue.  After a physical exam of stretching, twisting, pushing and pulling she had me running on a treadmill while video taping me for a gait analysis.  She gave me her initial diagnosis and a few stretching and foam rolling things for me to do till my second appointment next week.  At my next visit, we will review my gait analysis in detail and go over my treatment plan and time frame for it.

     I know it has only been one visit and I have to be realistic about this, because this injury takes time to fix, but I feel so much better about my situation.  I need to be diligent and do all my "homework" that she gives me, add in some prayers and time and I think I'll be back to running long distances in no time.

     To add to what I wrote last night, I got up this morning to a very cold and windy new year.  The temp read 30 degrees, but with the heavy winds the wind chill made it closer to 15 degrees.  Alisha has allowed me to continue running but I am restricted to no more than 1 to 2 miles as long as I don't have pain.  After seeing everyone getting out and running today on Facebook I felt compelled to get all bundled up and head out, even if it was only for one mile.