About This Blog

As time permits, in-depth musings on myriad subjects will be posted. Abbreviated adages will be announced via Twitter.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Official Version

Went to see the experts at San Antonio Orthopedic Group (seriously, these folks are awesome) and have learned that the left ankle is "severely sprained" and that I am to refrain from running for ~4 weeks. Cross training is OK, though, which is good. :)

I go back on 14 August for a follow-up. In the interim, I am to pursue physical therapy and wear an ankle stabilizer. Fortunately, TSAOG was able to direct me to Academy for a $15 stabilizer instead of paying $90 for the one they sold. No wonder insurance is so dang high.

So that's the latest. Thanks for reading.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Sunday Ride

This morning's ride almost didn't happen, but I am so glad it did.


Sadly, my circa 2002 Bicycle Heaven jersey is no more, and I was more than ten minutes late getting out the door due to said jersey (had it on & was almost rolling before noticing the zipper had exploded). After hammering it out to Walter's in hopes of making the rumored start time of 8:00 (got there at 8:04), I discovered that no one was quite ready; it was another ten or so minutes before we were rolling. Once as a group, we got going at a pretty quick pace in order to meet up with another cyclist on the other side of 10. However, due to the later start, I knew I would not be able to go on with them, so I peeled off early to head back in. Fifteen or so minutes after that, I caught sight of another cyclist ahead, though, because of this cyclist's mad cycling skills, it would be a long time before I could actually catch him (and when I did, it was out of his stopping for a traffic light).


Turned out the cyclist was Tony, with whom I'd not ridden in a month, and I kind of had him pegged when I got within 20 seconds of him. As do many others, Tony is fit to his bike in a specific manner and has a distinct cadence: EXTREMELY smooth (seriously: power generators could take lessons in stroke mechanics from this guy). Once I knew it was him, I felt better about not bridging the gap as quickly as I thought I would. Of course, had it not been for the aforementioned traffic light, I don't know if I ever would have caught him. Because of that smooth (and strong!) cadence, Tony is an extremely efficient rider. If only we could all be so awesome.


So, in spite of the demise of one of my favorite kits, it was a great day's ride, thanks to the group from Walter's house, and the unexpected treat of riding in with Tony.


Thanks for reading.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Ten Days Since

It's been roughly ten days since the now-infamous and every bit as painful rolling of the left ankle during a track workout, and, while the swelling has almost completely subsided, the pain persists. Activity on it this week has been moderate to high, with rowing, cycling, and even a couple of runs in to get the blood flowing down yonder. And, with the exception of this morning's run, everything had been favorable.


Wednesday, I opted for a treadmill run, just to see how things would go. In all, running on the injured ankle went well: I could manage up to a 7:30/mile without discomfort, although kicking the incline up beyond 2.5 did produce some noticeably uncomfortable pressure. This outing clocked in at three miles, done in one mile intervals, with ~30 seconds rest in between each mile. A 45-mile ride Thursday morning loosened me up even more, and a 90-minute massage yesterday should have sealed the deal for a solid run this morning.


On tap was just a Parkway run with Josh, who was home on leave from an overseas deployment. We headed out around 0600, with Kai in the Bob, but, after just under two miles, I had to turn around, eventually even having to walk it back in. What was different was that the pain had migrated from outside of the ankle to the inside, just above the arch.


After another stretch session, the rest of the day was spent resting, more or less, although an epsom salt soak would probably be a good idea. At this hour, though, it's not likely to happen; I'm tired.


Sunday is a planned ~2-hour outing on the bike, at a moderate-to-quickish pace; we'll see how well that goes based on the weekly trip to the grocer, as well as how well I can sleep tonight. Then, if the swelling is still substantial on par with the pain, I'll call up Doc Jacobs to try for an appointment. Time, however, is fast running out, as we report back, officially, on the 16th. Here's hoping I can get in on Wednesday.


Regardless, as the pain remains present, I will refrain from running, opting, instead, to row and cycle/spin...maybe even lift. By mid-August, I need to be able to go out and hammer out 8-10 miles at a good pace in order to be on track for pacing San Antonio in November. From there, I will evaluate what to do about Austin. The long, two-a-days are not likely to happen, due to swim season kicking up in September, but an alternate approach to training should be able to remedy that.


Wow, this was quite the post for what was supposed to be tried to run today; hurt. More to come regarding NBC's epic failure at Internet streaming and other musings on my mind. Until then, enjoy the spectacle that is the modern Olympic games. Thanks for reading.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Six Months

Six months ago, Kai made his debut in the world. After a rocky start (he spent his first week in the world in the NICU due to an infection), Kai is making all sorts of progress as babies are wont to do. 


It's occurred to me that I've not chronicled his birth, blogged about him incessantly as new parents have a tendency to do, and I suppose I'm OK with that. After all, I'm his father, not his PR agent. 


Still, in the coming days, weeks, months, however long it takes, I intend on writing an entry or two or six about Kai's entrance into the world, for he came with a bang, not with a whimper. And life has never been more exciting.


Thanks for reading.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

One Week Later

A week ago, I rolled my ankle during a track workout. The cause is still a mystery, but I'm really leaning towards the "seized muscle" theory.


Now, one week later, my cankle has more or less subsided, and the left ankle has some definition to it. No doubt, there is still some serious swelling ("There's still a lot of fluid in there," Nicholle observed this evening), but a near-full range of motion and near-painless walking is now possible. Additionally, I'm able to row and spin without incident. Curiously enough, spinning seemed to really aid in loosening things up, which strengthens the notion I had toward the cause of the roll being a seized ankle. The short of it is that it looks like I'm recovering nicely. Whether or not I can actually run -- at distance, at pace -- is a matter I'll not explore for several more days...maybe even a full week or more.


Elsewhere in the nation, in the world, people are really hurting, really dealing with pain and worse. Yeah, the pain in my ankle is a lot more immediate, but it certainly pales in comparison to what so many others are going through. I do thank you for reading, but I'll also thank you for thinking about those who hurt and who may be in need of something you may be uniquely qualified to give, even (or especially) if it's something as trivial and/or intangible as time.


More to come, but another time. For now, again, thanks for reading.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Gettin' Swollen

Schraub had been telling me about these killer track workouts he'd been doing with this guy, who happens to be a stupid-fast runner. Yesterday, I got an invite to join them at my alma mater's track for what should have been a delightful afternoon run.

After introductions, etc. were made, and we all got in the requisite, 2-mile warm-up, the workout was explained as a ladder, of sorts: 1600 meters @ intense effort, followed by 1000 meters tempo, followed by 200 meters cool-down. The next set would be 1200 meters intense, 1000 tempo, 200 cool-down, and so on until the main set was just a 400-meter sprint.

Since Frost, the coach, was so much faster of a runner than us, we were advised to see where he was when we began the final lap of the main set. For me, this was the beginning of lap three. As I rounded the corner towards the 100-meter mark, I turned my head to see where he was. I knew I had about another 50 meters to go before I should turn around, but, because I turned my head while on a corner, I must have drifted toward the inside, and my left foot planted on the concrete, causing my ankle to roll. At a 6:20/mi (~9.4mph) pace. As one would expect, I hit the ground, rolled, griping in pain.

In spite of the pain, I managed to get to my feet and limp beneath the bleachers to get pressure off the foot and get myself out of the intense heat. Sitting there, I felt spasms in my left calf, which kind of made me start to think that the calf itself had seized up, causing a misstep, and the subsequent roll. Regardless, I knew the workout was over, and I should get home. After all, I still needed to vacuum before picking up Kai from daycare.

Fortunately, I had ridden my bike to the track, instead of running. By the time I arrived home, the whole of my left foot had swollen exponentially, and was going to require much ice and ibuprofen to bring down the swelling. Application of the ice caused intense spasms in the calf, so compression socks were used to try to alleviate that. They seemed to do the trick, too, because, in spite of the swelling and soreness when pressure is applied to the foot, I can still limp/hobble around effectively enough to continue tending to my chores & such. Unfortunately, it does mean that running for the foreseeable future is questionable, as is cycling. Hopefully, the swelling will subside some in the next day or two, and I can at least get on a spin bike or the trainer. If not, I suppose there's the pool and a pull buoy, providing the legs can't even kick. The more I think about it, though, the more I think that giving up the membership to monthly massages was a bad idea, physically; fiscally, not so much so. Such is life.

Thanks for reading.