2016 Las Vegas Big Game 10K Recap

The 2016 Las Vegas Big Game 10K in downtown area near the Fremont Street Experience.

I ran this event last year because it was a local race, inexpensive, and it gave me something to do during the morning of the Big Game.  This year I ran it again because it's a pretty fast course (I set my 10k PR on it at the 2015 race), it's local, and still inexpensive.  I asked my sister Charlene to participate this year too since it was so fast for me and because I had fun last year.  I knew I could not surpass (or even duplicate) last year's results but I believed we'd be able to enjoy ourselves and really test our speed.

I decided to skip the Expo this year: Based on my experience from last year it wouldn't be worth the time and effort to get downtown for an expo that was frankly uninspiring.  Charlene was scheduled be working there as an ambassador for the coming Hot Chocolate 15k Race so I asked her to pick up my race stuff, if she couldn't then I'd have to use the other option of race day pick up.  She agreed to get my bib and swag bag while she was there.  I was pretty confused when she asked me if I wanted a black event shirt or a white one, neither one was a team color and though white often represents the home team black rarely represents home or away.  Both teams have white somewhere in their uniform but it doesn't represent either of them.  Carolina does have black in their normal color scheme but blue is their signature color (they even have a special shade of blue).  Since neither made sense I just told her to get whatever because I didn't care.  I felt bad for Charlene by the end of the night; the winds were up and down the whole time (up near 10 mph during the early hours of the expo) and the temps were in the 50s and dropping into the 40s by the end of the expo.  Poor sis was pretty cold and unhappy by the time she went home.

On Sunday, when we arrived at the starting area, the big stage was already hopping with activity; some of the KVVU Fox 5 TV personalities were polling the handful of runners present as to which team they were rooting for (it was very one sided), the Warriors Cheerleading Squad from Western High School was in front getting everyone revved up, and I think we caught the tail end of a costume contest.  I really appreciate these homey touches at local races.

One of the things that I really liked about the course design was the placement of the start line; it was set well within the course and gave us several blocks of traffic free streets to warm up and stretch. While Charlene and I warmed up the morning show crew from radio station 97.1 took over the MC job on stage and kept the growing crowd of runners engaged.  We were also introduced to Martha Watson, a Gold (and Silver) Medalist at the '75 PanAm games and 4 time Olympic qualifier.  She's still very active and is heavily involved in senior activities around Las Vegas.  At the award ceremony later in the morning she invited me to participate in a senior racing event in the near future (still unsure if I should feel insulted or not since I'm not old enough to be a senior yet - heh, I'm not).

The first race to be "kicked off" that morning was the Kids Dash; it was a treat to see them running and listening to most of the adult racers cheering them on (and to turn around when a pair of preteen siblings accidentally went past the u-turn marker).  I liked having them race before we did, I rarely get the chance to watch the kids races at other events because I'm typically recovering from my run.

The next race to be started was the 5k, the one my sister ran in.  It was started in style with a live singing of the National Anthem and our flags presented by the UNLV ROTC Color Guard.  I could have joined my sister for the 5k (as part of the Big Game Combo Challenge) but I didn't want to exceed my recovery and I like Charlene to be able to have her own race without little brother always tagging along.  I spent the time between our races to get in some "Strides" and other warm up runs.  I also used that time to "pre-fuel" with a Glukos Energy Tablet, I knew I'd need the electrolytes very quickly once the race started.

We prefaced my race with the Bengal Marching Band from Bonanza High School playing the National Anthem and the Color Guard presenting our flags.  I didn't feel nervous at the start line at all, I had a pacing plan in my head.  Honestly, one of the best things about training is that you learn your present capabilities:  I knew very well that I could run a 10k at a 7 minute pace (a medium-high effort level) so that was my plan.  This year I had no hope of matching or surpassing my results of 2015 but I knew it would be a good course on which to test my current capabilities and still be competitive.

The 5k and 10k courses didn't share much of the same route but we did share many of the same roads.  The courses ran us mostly through an older residential area (along with homes that were turned into lawyer's offices) which is part of the original Downtown Las Vegas.  The streets are very flat and in great shape (two big reasons the run is so fast).  I haven't run the 5k race for this event so I can't really say how the necessary turns effected speed but for the 10k it's one of the fastest I've had the opportunity to run on; it could only be faster if there weren't so many switchbacks (4 U-turns to be exact).  That is the price you have to pay to hold a race in that part of Las Vegas, there just aren't a lot of options.

I started with, and stayed up near, the front of the pack the entire race and ended up finishing 17th out of 224 with an average pace of 6:50 minutes per mile (pretty darn close to my estimated pace).  I pushed myself hard enough to need a gel at mile 4 but I'd included that in my plans and had a Glukos Energy Gel on my belt; in fact it was my hydration and electrolyte boost as well as muscle fuel.  I'm really trying to nail down my marathon fueling plan before I head out for 26.2.

#52 on the left side of center

Charlene was at the finish line as I rounded the final corner, that was a nice treat especially since I was feeling very winded at that point.  I'd put a lot of effort into the run which made me heart sing and my lungs wheeze.  heh  She even shot a short video of my finish for me, that was very cool.  My happy feeling went away in milliseconds though; as I turned my focus on the finish line I immediately saw a huge crowd of people filling the finish line, barely a single yard away from the finish arch.  That is such a huge pet-peeve of mine:  I greatly appreciate the race volunteers and my fellow runners but I really dislike them crowding the finish line, making me come to a screeching halt the second I clock in.  I need at least a body length to slow down, preferably 5 (30 feet), and catch my breath; the last thing I need is to get mugged and jostled about immediately after a hard run.  Topping it all off, as I looked at my Garmin to stop and save the run data, I saw that the recorded distance from start to finish was short of the required 6.2 miles that make up a 10k.  That is why my run data has a huge drop in pace at the end (feel free to check out my race data here - MapmyFitness Big Game10k for Kirk ), I had to walk around a few minutes to make up the missing distance.  As a racer, especially as a USATF member, an accurate course is very important to me.  The 2015 course was perfect; this year's being short was rather surprising.

While I walked around the finisher's area to cool down and catch my breath my good mood from the great run drifted away like smoke:  There was a table of what I believed to be cups of water a few yards beyond the finish line but there wasn't a scrap of food in sight.  I can't honestly remember if that was the same case at the 2015 race but it was sadly the case this year.  I'd just expended 800+ calories of effort to do that run and there wasn't any type of refueling for us when/where we needed it most.  Despite the fact that I'm rebuilding myself after a long downtime and hip surgery in August 2015 I'm in pretty decent shape, my body still handles physical exertion pretty efficiently.  That 10k race cost me 1/3 of my USDA daily recommended calories for both my age group and my activity level.  Think of what it costed a person heavier than I, not as active as I, someone who spent an hour and more on the course (95 finishers this year) working their bodies to their max to complete 6.2 miles.  I was famished as soon as my body realized it didn't need to race anymore, I could only imagine those further back would be nearly starving.
Thankfully my sister and I try to be at least minimally prepared for these instances and brought some fruit just in case, she grabbed it from the car earlier while I was still running. We met back up beyond the finish line, at a line of oddly empty tables and chairs, a few minutes after I'd crossed and ate the bananas she'd gotten from the car. 

We didn't stay around the finish line after meeting back up; neither of us were in the mood to hang around empty tables, I was very concerned about getting her to the 5k award ceremony near the scheduled start time, and I needed to find someplace to stretch before my muscles cramped up.  We stopped at the car real quick to get her over-clothes and our regular glasses and then made our way over to the Gold Spike, the advertised post-race gathering area and award ceremony stage.  When we walked in the door I was at first concerned that we'd completely missed the 5k ceremony because there were very few runners there but it hadn't even started yet (the awards weren't out and the finish results were not delivered yet), there would be a delay on giving out the awards.  Charlene gave me the classic "I told you so" look that sisters are so good at but I didn't want to risk her not getting an award if she'd earned it so I don't mind hustling over.  I decided to look around to find a place to stretch and to see if there was any fruit and water for us (the runners); they had the bar and cafe open but nothing set out for us to grab as part of the race support.  I didn't expect they would as they didn't offer it in 2015 but I looked around just in case the race owners decided to improve our race experience.  I did end up finding a live band playing in the big adult playground in the outdoor section behind the building which was pretty cool, I didn't even know they were there since the DJ inside completely drowned them out: I'd rather have had the live music piped in than have the DJ but that's a personal opinion.  The band had a pretty good sound but I moved on, continuing the search for a good stretch place.



The awards ceremony didn’t go any better this year than it did last year, surprisingly enough; the award medals were a huge snafu for both the 5k and 10k.  It was a bad enough mess that the “Special Guest” Martha had to sort out medals while trying to present them to the winners (with the official award photo being taken) as they were called forward.  It gives me a headache to think about.  Charlene stepped in to help Martha as soon as she saw what was happening, I stayed out of it for a few minutes (being left to guard our valuables) but had to lend a hand as well a few minutes later because the winners started stacking up behind them waiting for their awards (a few come back because they did not get the correct ones).  It took the 3 of us, rushing, at least 30 minutes to get the medals sorted and untangled; all the while the winners were announced and waiting around for us to give them what they’d earned.  The lack of prior preparation made the ceremony a chore rather than a celebration; at least in 2015 it was only slow and disorganized.    

It’s not really surprising that so few runners showed up for the ceremony; no doubt most left straight from the finish line to get something to eat, some probably didn’t want to walk the several blocks after the long run to wait around hungry just to find out they didn’t even place, or maybe some just weren’t interested in collecting an uninspiring, generic award medal with an event sticker on it (that may sound snobbish but creativity shows involvement and care where cheap and generic shows a lack of interest and emotional investment).  I went, and brought Charlene, because I wanted to know the results and if I and/or Charlene earned an award I wanted it/them: It's what is fair (if that makes any sense).

 I’d hoped that things would have improved over last year but almost every phase of the event took a step backwards in my opinion.  It’s depressing; Vegas needs a great local race experience, on a fast course, and this one could be just that but it just seems to move further and further away from it’s potential. 

Charlene asked me a very difficult question later that day:  Would I run the Big Game 10k again, after the overall experience had gotten worse in the second year?  Ordinarily it would be an easy and immediate answer of “No!” but I have to admit that the fast course is a big draw to me.  I could care less about the event and post-race mess at this point, unless the race owner decides to improve things for their customers, but the fast course gives me the opportunity to test myself in ways that no other race in Vegas has/does.  Time will tell but at this point I doubt I’ll allow myself to be taken advantage of again just for a chance to test my speed.

*Disclaimer:   The opinions expressed here are my own and not influenced by the organizers nor sponsors or any other company/individual affiliated with the event.

Post-surgery Week 10

For the complete story please review my previous blogs on this subject:

The Surgery
Post-surgery Week 1
Post-surgery Week 2
Post-surgery Week 3
Post-surgery Week 4
Post-surgery Week 5
Post-surgery Week 6
Post-surgery Week 7
Post-surgery Week 8
Post-surgery Week 9

Week 10

Day 64 (Thurs) – I didn’t get a lot of walking in today, just had too much work to day.  By the end of the day I could really feel the tightness in my hip and in my thigh.  The most exercise I got the entire day was the 10 minute walk from my office to the bus stop.  Thankfully that walk was a good enough warm up to stretch out during the 5 minutes we then spent waiting for the bus. 

I’m glad that being seated most of the day doesn’t cause me great discomfort but I can see that I have more healing yet to do because there is an amount of tightening and aching.

Day 65 (Fri) – I started the morning out with sore muscles in both legs and hips.  Despite that I still looked forward to going to Physical Therapy. 

The drive to the PT facility was rather entertaining: It was such a beautiful morning that the hot air balloon companies were out in force (I saw 10 of them either flying or launching). 

The Physical Therapy session was a real strain to get through; my muscles felt weak, stiff, and rubbery.  Thankfully the therapists took me in for a session of A.R.T. and massage.  My physical therapist paid special attention to my left IT Band again she was determined to get it to relax.  I’m still surprised that the IT is so tight: I can feel it when the therapist digs their knuckles in a Graston imitation but I don’t feel any tightness on a day to day basis.  I didn’t feel any pain or discomfort due to my IT band throughout the rest of the day which is probably why I forgot to foam roll it later in the evening.

Day 66 (Sat) – Today was BBSC’s 2015 Pumpkinman Triathlon, 10k, and 5k.  The race company (BBSC) has been hosting the Pumpkinman Triathlon since at least 2006 (all in the Boulder City/Lake Mead area I believe): This year they’ve decided to include 10k and 5k races for runners.  I’d been waiting 2 years to participate in this event, it figures that when they open it up for runners I am stuck having to walk it. 

I prepared for the race by watching my ChiRunning Lesson 5 video and downloading the companion audio file.  We covered the proper use and placement of your arms while walking and/or running.  It may seem a simple thing but I know that I and many other runners have a tendency to finish a race with sore and tight shoulders.  Watch runners as they cover the miles and you’ll see many shake out their arms, roll their shoulders, and shrug them up and down.  That’s a good sign that they aren’t holding their arms and shoulders in a relaxed way while running.  Look again after they shake out, you might just see their shoulders creeping up towards their ears again. 

The race was held in Boulder City, NV; a nice little, homey town south and east of Las Vegas.  We started (and ended) at the final triathlon exchange point, their transition from the bike to run, at Wilbur Square, and then ran (walked) into the residential area of town on a comfortable out and back route.  Both the location and course were new to me, which made it that much more enjoyable, and the weather was just beautiful. 

The first half of the race was generally downhill which made it a very easy start.  I let myself sink into the movement while listening to the lesson 5 audio file; it’s the closest I’ve felt to running since before the surgery. 

Lesson 4’s coaching of moving with stable shoulders and having them focused toward my goal combined with the arm swing and placement from lesson 5 actually gave me the sensation of a comfortable gliding run several times on the downhill.  The control and power I got from the rearward elbow swing helped me climb back up to the finish line without losing any speed or focus.

The only unfortunate part about it, and really a mental tipping point for me, was that I came in so late that I’d missed my sister’s 3^rd place finish and our fellow Las Vegas Track Club member (and friend) winning the 5k.  I felt no physical challenge from the race, no sense of accomplishment.  The moments of contentment I’d had earlier evaporated with the heat of annoyance that filled me after I crossed the finish line.  Walking has its place in my life, even an important one for what I need of it, but it’s not my joy or relief. 

Day 67 (Sun) –I got up early this morning to ride my stationary bike and to watch football online.  I only had luck with one of those; the more important one, physically.  On the plus side, the stretching I did after the ride felt great:  Life’s little joys.

Day 68 (Mon) – I was able to get out of the office a few times today, for a quick walk around the building.  I also took a little extra time to get in a solid 1 mile walk and get another book of bus tickets.  Nothing like satisfying two needs with one solution.  It really helped that the weather was a little cooler today. 

My home PT session felt much better than Friday’s, a good sign that my body is getting stronger from the exercises.

Day 69 (Tue) – Today’s walk at work took me to the medical office to receive my blood work report, drawn last week, which is part of the information my medical insurance is requiring.  They cloak it under a “discount” but in actuality they are making us get a minor physical or they’ll raise our rates.  Thankfully all of the blood tests measured well within range except for my cholesterol levels; both the LDL and HDL are slightly below recommended levels.  Considering my normal preferred foods it’s not really surprising.  Still, I need to try to make an adjustment because cholesterol is important to us.

Day 70 (Wed) – Technically, I only have 20 more days of restricted recovery to go.  I wish I could be excited about it but I’m not.  I’m actually feeling more than a little negative about going through all of this:  I’ve been down for much longer than just 70 days, save for a few bright moments I’ve been unable to run or live pain free since the middle of February.  On top of all of that, I’m going to have to go through surgery and recovery again for my right side in just a few months. 

I’ve another race this coming Saturday, on Halloween morning.  Knowing it’s not going to be a physical challenge is really making me question doing it.  I think I’m going to ask the race director about upgrading to the 10k, when I see her on Friday at packet pick up.  I know that I can do the distance, I’ve already done more than 7 miles in one day, but at least it’ll be a challenge to keep up a pace that feels good.

ChiRunning Online School 

Post-surgery Week 9

For the complete story please review my previous blogs on this subject:

The surgery
Post-surgery Week 1
Post-surgery Week 2
Post-surgery Week 3
Post-surgery Week 4
Post-surgery Week 5
Post-surgery Week 6
Post-surgery Week 7
Post-surgery Week 8

Week 9

Day 57 (Thurs) – I’ve felt pretty good this week.  I know the physical therapy is really helping me get stronger but unfortunately I also know I’ve a long way to go.  I’m looking forward to what tomorrow’s PT session brings.

Day 58 (Fri) – Physical Therapy was pretty fun this time (a little annoying too):  We added two new exercises and I had localized A.R.T. and massage session on my left IT band.  The physical therapist who worked on my leg today actually surprised me by saying that my primary PT had instructed her to work on the IT specifically because he’d noticed it being very tight back in the beginning of the month.  I need to add some stretches and foam rolling to help get that IT to relax. 

I met Charlene after my PT session; to get to packet pick up for the Danny Gans Memorial 5k race and to get our weekly grocery shopping trip done.  One of our local track club members was at the store where packet pick up was being held:  Seeing and talking to him reminded me to appreciate my surgeon and my good fortune of the repairs he’s done for me on this left hip.  The track club member had hip surgery quite a long time before I received mine and he’s still moving very painfully and awkwardly.  I wish him the best and I hope my recovery continues to go well (and completely).

Day 59 (Sat) – My routine lately has been to get up early, check my email, log into my ChiRunning lessons, watch the lesson and download the audio lesson, and then head out for an running/walking even with my sister.  I enjoy this routine; it engages my mind and body, and it helps me focus my mental energies somewhere other than inward.  This morning’s ChiRunning class was to teach us about stabilizing and relaxing our shoulders while walking and running.  Keeping your shoulders stable keeps you from expending extra energy and it helps keep your balance control in your hips (in your core).  With my walking and running style, the mental focus of “feeling” of being pulled from my sternum is a great fit.  I put it to practice in today’s race; it felt perfect especially traversing the bridge over Interstate 15.

This morning’s racing event was the Danny Gans Memorial 5k and 1 mile walk/run.  I had my concerns about the weather with all of the rain and cool temps but it turned out pretty darn good.  My sister Charlene, my nephew Eli, and I arrived early so we didn’t have to stress over parking and so we had plenty of time to get warmed up.  I took advantage of the shopping center’s open air layout to weave between buildings as well as walk up and down stairs to the second story stores.  I need this warm up time to ensure I don’t strain my recovering hip and core muscles; it also lets me listen to my ChiRunning/walking audio lesson (via the file I’d downloaded to my phone) and practice the lesson I’d be applying.  I’ve run this particular route many times with other races so I knew what was coming and could sink into my lesson and enjoy the activity.  I set myself a stronger pace than at last week’s Operation Jack walk, shooting for anything less than 15 minutes per mile (I even passed a few people, whoohoo).  I did have a moment of concern when we came to a hairpin turn; my left thigh’s abductor muscle spiked an instant of pain and felt very weak.  Once I competed the turn and began a more balanced straight walk the pain and weakness didn’t continue or return.  I need to remember to tell the Physical Therapist about that.   My sister, who finished long before me (and took 3^rd place Female masters), met me at the 3 mile mark to complete the final .1 miles with me.  I should have appreciated it more, we’ve done as much for each other many times, but I was still very much focused on my ChiWalking lessons and maintaining a good pace.  I ended up finishing with a 14:30 pace which was a full minute per mile faster than my previous race, I’m cool with that.   

After I took my family home and returned to mine I felt very restless and a bit irritated.  To expend some of that extra energy I got back into my race clothes, strapped on a pair of my retired Altras and headed out to the local mountains for a fast paced trail walk.  Applying ChiWalking disciplines to rough trail walking is quite a challenge but fun too.

Day 60 (Sun) – The recovery period is nearly complete, just 30 more days to go.  I feel that my patience is being tested more by not being able to run in these races more than it is by the various aches and pains I still have.  I try to put aside what I could do at the beginning of the year; I’m not that runner anymore.  This process, and the one to come, has changed me in ways that I’ll have to learn.  On the positive side I have a lot of training to fall back on but I can’t ignore that my body has been irrevocably altered.  What the future brings, who knows.  I hope that I become a better runner from this (and a faster one); it’s why I am going through all of this. 

 

Day 61 (Mon) – The best part of a work day is when you’re so busy you don’t notice the passage of time.  The worst part of a work day when you’re recovering from hip surgery is when you get so busy that you can’t get up at least once an hour to walk around and stretch cramped muscles out.  Thank goodness for home physical therapy.  

Day 62 (Tue) – My left knee felt uncomfortable today, thanks to the tight IT band.  The inner part of my knee has ached periodically through this recovery period but I hadn’t mentally tied it in to the IT band.  I’m not running but I am learning.  I had another busy day at work so I didn’t get a lot of walking in again; the best walking session was after work on the way to the bus stop.

Day 63 (Wed) – I had a follow up appointment with my company’s medical facility, at the work site.  They wanted to know how my recovery was progressing, if they needed to advocate for me with my boss in case I needed relief from work activities, and they wanted to know if there was anything they could do for me to help in general.  It’s nice to have that level of support at work, especially so far from home.  The company doctor that visited with me did take the opportunity to tell me (again) how much he loves having had his hip replaced and how good it feels for him now.  I’m very happy for him but I’m hoping that these surgeries I’m having will allow me to keep all of my original parts for the balance of my life.

ChiRunning Online School 

Post-surgery Week 8

For the complete story please review my previous blogs on this subject:

The Surgery
Post-surgery Week 1
Post-surgery Week 2
Post-surgery Week 3
Post-surgery Week 4
Post-surgery Week 5
Post-surgery Week 6
Post-surgery Week 7

Week 8

Day 50 (Thurs) – While I’m not close to running again, I think I am getting closer to being healthy and whole.  I find myself passing the days without having to be attentive to how I move or how I walk:  I can’t quite take walking and moving for granted but it is closer. 

I think that I am at the point where I won’t see a lot of big or obvious changes going forward, everything will probably be subtle and quietly sneak up on me.  I know that I will have minor aches and pains which will come and go, I’ll feel strong some days and weak others, but that’s just kind of “life”.  Returning to a sense of normalcy is good in my mind, so long as I also continue to learn and improve myself.

Everything I’m doing now is so close to how it felt while I was marathon training, except the running part.  The hardest part to deal with is I feel so close to being healthy that I want to run, just lean into it and feel the air rush around me.  Of course I won’t do it:  I may feel that I’m ready but I know my body isn’t.  I also won’t go against my doctor’s orders just to fulfill my own desires.  Just because you “want” something doesn’t mean it’s something you actually need or that it’s truly in your best interest.  Better to be left wanting sometimes than to cause more damage.  I guess I’ve entered the 40 days of frustration period of my recovery.  Heh

Day 51 (Fri) – I had physical therapy today.  You wouldn’t think I look forward to going to these PT sessions but I do:  It gives me a measurable example of my progress in recovery.  Today was another positive step forward; I was given a few new exercises to do, we increased weight on a few of the existing ones, and the physical therapist gave me an A.R.T. session (A.R.T. means Active Release Therapy). 

I picked up my sister after the sessions, since my PT facility is only a few minutes from her house.  We went out to get some grocery shopping done and then have a nice lunch.  It’s nice to get back to the old race routines like this; an easy relaxing day before the coming stress.

I called it an early day after that due to the race tomorrow, even walking it is going to be a big push for me.

Day 52 (Sat) – Today was the Operation Jack Elimination Challenge and 3 hour Challenge.  Though I signed up for the 3 hour challenge I knew I wasn’t going to try walking for that long; I didn’t even want to be out there that long.   

I was able to walk for 1.5 hours (including a 10 minute rest break) and racked up a little over 5 miles.  That’s my longest “single” walk since before my surgery.  The real treat was that I finished with an average pace of approximately 15:30 min/mi.   I’m pleased with that especially with the design of the race location. 

The race was held at the Kellogg-Zaher Sport Park, around the many soccer fields on a nice paved track for pedestrians and bicyclists.  The track is laid out as a big loop, literally up one side of the various fields and then down the other.  The elevation difference is only 100 feet from the top of the loop to the bottom but at 8 tenths of a mile for each up and down it was a good challenge for me.

Thankfully, my ChiRunning lesson today really helped me walk that long and far.  The lesson was about not using your legs to try powering through a walk or run; you should be using your mind and gravity.  I definitely couldn’t have powered through today’s event, especially for such a long walk so soon after getting off of crutches.  I let my lessons in ChiWalking help me establish and maintain good form, coupled with the right amount of leaning to use gravity I was able to go much further than I could have by trying to push through. 

The Top of my right calf started to cramp this afternoon after I got back home.  I thought I’d had enough water while walking and after but evidently not.  It was much hotter this morning than I thought while on the course, that and extended exercise really irked my calves.  Hopefully ice, stretching and essential oils will deal with the muscle pain before it goes too far. 

 

Day 53 (Sun) – I’m happy to say that there isn’t much to say about today:  I stayed home all day and relaxed.  The only things I did, other than riding my exercise bike, were laundry and watch football. 

I did give some extra attention to my cramping calves; they seized up a lot overnight.  I massaged them with essential oils again, stretched them both out as much as I could, and treated them with Heat and Ice.  I also drank a lot of electrolyte fluids as well as took electrolyte pills.  It all helped a little over the course of the day but man this stuff hurts.

Day 54 (Mon) – It’s difficult to appreciate how much (and how little) 20 pounds is until you have to start counting water bottles and salad mix for work, just to be sure you don’t exceed the limits your doctor has set while you recover.  Just so you know; a 1 liter bottle of Seltzer Water (unopened) weighs 2.5 pounds.

While thinking about my pesky calf pain I realized today that my left hip and leg feel very good right now.  I haven’t been feeling any odd aches or phantom pains, I’ve felt pretty normal.  I haven’t even felt a need to ice them, other than after the long walk on Saturday and that’s just standard race practice for me.  Saturday’s long walk didn’t leave me sore or weak at all.  My biggest problem right now is the lingering cramping in my calves.  I’ll take that progress. 

Day 55 (Tue) – I walked around my building quite a bit today, in hopes of working the tightness out of my calves.  I even did a backwards loop once to change the muscle groups and use.  The walks felt good, except the darn calves.  They actually ache more at rest than they do while walking: They’re at their most painful when I change from sitting to standing.  I wish the calf cramps would release and just go away; thankfully it hasn’t affected my hip. 

I’ve been using my ChiWalking techniques, even for short talks, to ensure I don’t walk funny just to favor the sore muscles.  At the moment the only thing that my calves are interfering with is my ability to stretch out the left hip.

Day 56 (Wed) – Week 8 is behind me now, only 4 more to go (Plus a few days).  I feel mostly positive and healthy after all this time.  Granted, I’ve had my days (I’ll have more, it’s just life) of being down but they don’t define me or how I feel about this entire process.  I’m getting stronger, I like that.

I feel like my hip needs to pop; no way I’ll do that though, not at all comfortable with the idea. 

I’m always analyzing how I feel and what makes me tick, it’s a habit.  I noticed this week that my left foot is starting to go pigeon toed again.  I was pigeon toed as a child but I trained myself out of it during my preteen/teen years.  Now I’m wondering if my femur defects caused me to be pigeon toed to start with.  Twisted femurs are one reason people become pigeon toed.  While my femur wasn’t twisted it was improperly shaped and therefore didn’t move correctly.  I’m going to have to train that out of myself again.  Oh joy.

I had my body fat was measured at work today as part of a general health assessment.  Our insurance company requires a basic physical (including blood work) every year so we can maintain a “Discounted” enrollment rate.  We’re not stupid enough to believe that, the insurance company is actually threatening to raise our rates if we don’t give them what they want.  The machine our medical clinic uses reported that my body fat is currently at 5.6%.  That was rather surprising: Humans need between 2 to 5% body fat to live and function, elite athletes are between 6 and 13%.  My body fat measured low last year but I’d been marathon training for almost 3 straight years, it wasn’t really surprising.  Now that I’ve been down for essentially 8 months I expected it to be much higher:  I need it to be a little higher, I’ve literally no fat reserves to help my body fuel its own recovery.  In the future, when I begin running and training again, I’ll have to take this into account for my run fueling strategy.  I initially trained myself to run using my fat reserves as fuel, I don’t have those anymore.

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