Hope To Run Again Before End Of The Year

 No, I have not quit running, nor blogging.

But things are not fun right now.  My lower right leg hurts.  Though I have tried not to mention it very often, as if not writing it makes it not real, it has been hurting since mid - August.  But only in the last couple of weeks has it been hurting on every run and throughout either most of or the entire run.  My first thought was shin splints.  But I am scared it could be a stress fracture.  I have made an appointment with my doctor for Wednesday afternoon and hopefully an x-ray can shed some light.

So I have been pretty bummed about it.  Some runs it hurt enough to throw it all off and make it a miserable run.  Some runs I wanted to prove to myself I could still "go" when I needed to, and pushed through the pain on these.  And some runs were not bad.

It has not been hurting while walking around, such as going from one room to another.  But if I need to walk fast, like outdoors and going to down the street, it hurts.   Today it hurt more walking than running.  Go figure ??  Anyway I was happy about today's run.  Got in some distance, and shook off some rust.  Of course the legs were fresh, but the cardio was a little off.  I would notice some slight pain, then zone out, and not notice at all.  But it lingered all the way to the end.  I hope to run again tomorrow, but will see how it feels after work tomorrow.

 Leg did not hurt at all while at work today.  I was worried how it would feel this morning after yesterday's run.  Once I got started running, I could feel some pain, but not as much as last week.  I realized at .52 I had forgotten about it because it was hardly noticeable.  Now here and there throughout the run I would feel a twinge.  This gets me to thinking it may not be a stress fracture if it is a coming and going pain.

 I got tired over the last 3 miles.  Legs are sore now.  Tomorrow will be a lesser mileage day since I have to take my son to soccer practice.  I will be grateful for an easy day.

In the morning if my leg is ok, I will cancel my doctor's appointment.  Even if it is a stress fracture, an x-ray would not pick it up anyway.  A bone scan would tell for sure.  But I am still paying on the 2 I had last year.  So I am going to save a few bucks for now, but will give in if the pain does not start getting better.

 After work I was pressed for time.  Needed to be home by 5pm to take my son to soccer practice.  I guess that would make this a tempo run.  Of course I wish I could have had a couple of slow miles on each end of the run.  But all in all it was good to get the legs moving.

Legs were sore from yesterday's run.  Took it easy, but it felt harder than it should have.

Legs still sore.  Quads ached quite a bit.  Shin area still hurting today, as it did the last 2 days.  I would say though the last 3 miles it had diminished to the point I did not notice it.  But the quads hurt the whole time.  Again kept it easy today.  Cardio felt pretty good.  Hardly breathing most of the run.

Leg was hurting some today.  Gave it an unplanned rest.

Went out town for shopping.  After getting home I tried to go for a run.  My lower leg was twinging throughout the entire day while shopping.  The first few steps of running hurt.  I was hoping it might subside some once I had done a mile.  It never felt better, and made the turn for home.

This was very frustrating..to say the least !!

 Cross Training again.  Swim, elliptical, and wind resistance bike.  Had not done much walking around today to see how leg really feels.  But noticed it as I ran down the steps, very quickly, to the washing machine.  The weight of the load had shifted and it was on the Spin Cycle.  It sounded like it was World War III down there.

6 days of Midnight Shift are next, starting tonight.  It would be easier to run tomorrow after waking up rather than heading to the gym.  I might try a run.  But if there is pain, then go to the gym.  I do not look forward to my lack of sleep for the next 6 days.  Ugh !

Only took time to change clothes between the swim and ellip.  And no time between ellip. and bike.  Tried for quick transitions so heart rate did not get a chance to fall to much between exercises.

Swim - 1000 yards (.568 mile) - 100 free / 100 breast alternating strokes - continuous

Time - 19:25:67 - faster than yesterday.  Groin muscles were sore.  Made snapping my kick on the breaststroke a little painful.

Elliptical - 30:00 - 3 miles running equivalent - effort was less than yesterday, but still a good one.

AirDyne Wind Resistance Bike - 30:20 - 9 miles - really worked it the last 3 minutes. Was definitley walking funny when I got off of it.

Totals - 1:19:45 - 12.568 miles

Just did not get a chance to head to the gym.  And was  not sure about running on the leg.  GOOSE EGG !!

Again did not get a chance to go to the gym.  So I ran.  1st half mile leg hurt.  From there on I could feel it if I though about it. And if my mind drifted off I would not notice it at all.  But this could be similar to last week.  Could go a few runs and be good enough, then really hurt by the end of the week.

Today was the 1st run where I noticed my cardio suffering from all the missed training.  Bummer.

 Yesterday when I ran it was mostly sunny, a little humid and the temperature was 82f.  24hrs later it was 52f, a little windy, and a heavy mist/light drizzle going on.  What a difference a day makes.  Wore a long sleeve shirt and shorts.  And my shoes were soaked by the end of the run, along with the rest of me.

Felt better today than yesterday.  Leg held up.  Funny that the 7:30 on the 5th mile seemd harder than the 7:08 on the 6th mile.

This run felt pretty good.  Legs good, specifically the lower right leg, and cardio was good.  Leg pain only lasted for a couple of minutes this time.  This was one of my better runs when I am working Midnight's.

Funny thing about running, it's a lot easier to do when you are running shorter distances and slower paces.

 Leg stopped hurting within the 1st quater mile today.  And only twinges a little now that I have been finished for a few hours.

Got off work at 8am.  Had court at 9:30am.  Finally got to bed at 11am.  Then up at 3pm.  4 hours of sleep and running do not mix well for me.

Goose Egg !

Trying to revert back to a normal sleep schedule.  Felt blah all day.  As it got later in the day I was feeling very guilty about not running.  I called my wife and asked if she would mind me running as soon as she got home, and still be back in time for dinner.  She said, yes, and only gave me a wee bit of grief about it.  She's a good woman :-)

So I was pressed for time, and had a rest day yesterday.  So I decided I had time for 10K.  I pushed it from the start.  Did not look at my watch until after I passed my 1st mile mark.  Was pleased with the split.  Surprised I ran even faster on the 2nd mile.  Hit a headwind for most of the 3rd mile.  Still happy with time.  Now I realize I am on pace to beat my PR with 3 miles to go.  This inspired a faster 4th mile.  Midway through the 5th mile one of my PD buddies pulled along side and said I was running 5mph.  I told him it should be at least 8mph.  We chatted for close to a minute.  This left me a little winded and I had lost my concentration as well.  Then it was a slight uphill as soon as he pulled off.  Slower split, but still a PR is possible.  Getting tired on the 6th mile.  Did not feel I could run any faster, even on the slight down hill part.  Was very happy when it was all over.  And set a new PR by 13 seconds !

Nice outside today.  60F-63F while I was running.  A little windy though.  First run over 10 miles in 2 weeks.  Felt fine.

Had a hard time getting out the door to run today.  Just did not feel like doing it.  But still I went.  Never felt like things were clicking well as I went along.  Figured on doing 6.2 though.  AT 5 miles I started to feel a little better and extended it to 7.  Glad I went out and did not skip a day.

So many days off this month.  Not internally motivated with running for some reason lately.  A lot of aches and pains as well.  I try not to mention them like I did in my early days of blogging.   Back then it looked more like a fast running & complaining blog.  If I could ever get rid of most of those tweaks I think I would enjoy my running better.  I am thinking once I get past my next two races next month I will reduce my mileage and increase some cross training for about a month.

Today's run was fine.  Got bored and increased speed over the last 3 miles just to get the run over with.

Rain was in the forecast.  I wanted to be done before it came.  So I started off fast, and just kept on going.  Beat the rain too.

The moment I heard my door shut I knew I had locked myself out of the house.  So I ran to my wife's office and got her key.  Then resumed my run for the day.  Ended up with 7 total.  There was some nasty winds out there today.  I tried staying away from open areas and mostly ran in tree filled neighborhoods to help cut it out some.

 Felt like I was feeling the impacts of my steps more today.  Nothing bone jarring, but enough for my knees and hips to feel it some.

The lower leg pain came back last night as I sat around in my car and patrolling.  Not much happening and had been driving for a few hours.  When I got out of the car it felt tender.  Still that way this morning when I woke up.  It did stop hurting about a mile into the run though.  Ran 1.65 miles on the road.  The next 4 miles or so were on a short dirt/grass/cinder walking path around a pond.  The loop is only .4 so it was a little boring.  Then the rest was on the road coming back to the house.  I figured the softer surface would help though.  Ran slower too.  By the end of the run I felt good.

Felt like I had to push to keep pace on the 1st few miles today.  But I wanted to get in 8 and only had an hour to do it in before taking a shower and picking the kids up from school.  Just finished in time.

My leg hurt all day at work when I would walk.  Still I wanted to go for a run though.  I did not have much time after work and before dinner and trick or treating.  So it had to be short and quick.  I got the notion to run 4 miles.  With miles 1 & 2 at 7:30 and 2 & 3 at 6:30.  I just could not hold the pace on that 3rd mile.  I was fading fast.  Breathing was very labored and had shooting pains in my back and sides.  From trying to get more oxygen I guess.  I was so tired when I got home.  it was like all the energy in my body was gone.  My leg hurt even more where it has been.  And the rest of my legs were tired and a bit sore as well.

 Trick or Treating went well, and the kids were as tired as I was when it was over.