I’m coming around to some slow acceptance of shin splints being a Fact if Life — running can be hard, running on hard surfaces can be very hard on the body of the non bionic kind. In a recent comment, John wrote:

I am a physical therapist and found your shin splint troubles quite interesting. I’m sure many folks have thrown in their two cents about how to care for your shin splints, so I hope you don’t mind if I do.

I’ve treated many cases of shin splints with traditional PT techniques – heat, ultrasound, electric stimulation, stretching, strengthening, etc. – and have had little success in having patients return to their sport without eventually having their pain return. I have, however, had great success using orthotics to correct the mechanics of the foot, which in turn takes care of the shin splints.

That pretty much describes my experience the last few weeks with Physical Therapy, which utilized all those methods. it brought some relief (when not running), but with just a few runs, the pain was right back where it was before. I really appreciate the care and attention at Foothills Sports Clinic, the folks there are great, and I was told at the beginning that orthotics might be something to consider. But having paid for half of the PT out of pocket (til I met my deductible) and the time it was taking away from work and other things I need to attend to, I am backing off from it and re-evaluating.

Maybe a switch to other activities is a better idea- biking, swimming? Maybe just more time. I’ve heard and read just about every suggestion under the sun, and then some. My new doctor strongly recommends icing before running — she says it will not cure the problem, but allow me perhaps to go a bit further before the pain returns.

To be continued? remains to be seen.

Just be relaxing my sore leg these last two weeks, with no effort or training on my part, my time in the 1/2 marathon improved by several minutes:

Yep. I went from 3:15:40 to 3:08:51! According to the email I just got:

A few of you experienced a delay with your half marathon results due to
some unprecedented power surges in the half marathon finish area. After
careful review of video footage from the half marathon finish, the results
are complete

So my time was almost 7 minutes less horrible than I thought (and this more closely matches my own watch), yet my rank has slipped dramatically from 16337th to 16560th! Oh well. Lost in the crowd.

My left leg has been more sore than it ought to be, it is now an ongoing soreness in the top shin and almost into the knee, and I’ve been limping noticeably. It has lessened slightly the nxt few days, but if it does not let up soon, I might need an MRI.

It’s time of year to appreciate what we have, rather than bemoaning what we lack. The past few days have been very relaxing up at our cabin in Strawberry, surrounded by turkey, fall colors, family (Mom is visiting from Florida)… and zero running.

I had plans for a run here, at least on Saturday, which is scheduled for a long Team D run, but I continue to feel stiffness and pain in my shin, so I opting to give it even more rest, hopefully ready to climb back in a training schedule this week. I still have a good 7, 8 weeks of time to prep.

Also, I have firmly decided that I am on no way ready, having lost a few weeks of training, to run a full marathon, so I am commiting officially to run the half again, and instead, try to run a faster time than last January. I really cannot say with much confidence that I would ever “love” running. But I am challenged to do this run, and confident I can do 13 miles.

And I am thankful for that, and mucn more.

This one has swirled around by a lot of email forwarding, and I typically ignore these messages, even from friends, but I must thank my friend Jeff (who usually sends bizarre videos of dogs doing odd things) about the “Strongest Dad in the World”, available on YouTube:

Okay, so my complaints on a slow half marathon, and here is Dick Hoyt pushing his son through a 2:40 Boston Marathon, pulling/carrying himn through triathalons…
I was checking out the story (based on a June 2005 story in Sports illustrated) by some Googling, and was worried when a high numbered hit was listed at Snopes, the Urban Legend Reference — but good news, the ruling there was a true story.

There isn’t much more we could say about this story about Dick and Rick Hoyt — a father-and-son team from Massachusetts who regularly participate in grueling athletic endeavors such as marathon races and triathlon competitions, even though (due to complications at birth) Rick cannot walk or talk — than is already covered in the account reproduced above (the text of which is taken from a 2005 Sports Illustrated article about the Hoyts) and the video link included at the end. This is a case where the words and pictures speak for themselves, far above our poor power to add or detract.

Veyr true- and there is a lot more on the Team Hoyt web site. Look at the numbers in the racing history 206 Triathlons, 6 Ironman distances; 20 Duathlons; 64 Marathons, 24 straight Boston Marathons… Biked and ran across the USA in 1992-3,735 miles in 45 consecutive days.

I am utterly humbled and totally inspired.

Thanks Jeff for senidng me this one!

The wheels are coming off or maybe not even going on the wagon. The last I ran was… a week ago? And that was?? Maybe a slow 3 miles.

Excuse parade? It’s July? Hot? Busy? Work? Lazy?

I’m not too worried as official Team D training starts in August. I’d prefer to to start from a low level, but am not yet quite motivated to get up and going.

Maybe this week… Just maybe…..

The search for a cause of my persisent cough goes on. I have been asking my general pracitioner about this since September 2003. So far what has been rule out includes:

• Allergies (tried generic Clariton)
• Asthma (inhaling Albuterol did not improve the diminished lung capacity)
• Infection- two bouts of Levaquin the “atomic bomb” of antibiotics, did not kill the cough cause
• ACE Inhibitor side effect (a plumonary specialist thought this was a good possibility- taking an alternative form two weeks ago, and I am still hack coughing

I left a message with the pulmonnary specialist today and was pleasantly suprised when he called back afew hours later…. this Doc gives service! He informed me of 2 remaining likely causes- a sneaky sinus infection or some odd form of acid-reflux. To rule out the latter easily, he suggested I take Prilosec and Pepsin AC for a few days,a nd let him know if there are any noticable changes.

The pill parade goes on… cough, cough , cough, cough.

My training has gone down the tubes in a coughing, phlegm spiral. The cold that hit my a week ago Monday is still only loosening its grip, and I have not run since the 8 miles on Nov 26. And with the cold, its hard to tell if the persistant cough has been addressed either.

I did see a pulmonary specialist who is pretty sure it is the Monopril medication by endocrinologist has perscribed for me the last 3 years as a preventative treatmeant for kidney issues. Apparently, Monopril is known to produce persistant coughs as a side effect, so he prescribed an alternative ACE inhibitor, and said it should show signs of improvement in a week.

I am tired of lamenting the ailments,a nd hope finally tomorrow to get out on the streets early. It is very cold for Phoenix, there has been frosty windshields the last few mornings. I’ve got to get back into acition fast, as this Saturday we are scheduled for a 10 mile team training run in South Mountain.

Now I think I can so I do NOT hate running if I am anxious to get back to it, eh?

That means Out Of Commission (running that is). My Thanksgiving cold came on full bore and only today has it turned the corner. Looks like it might still be a few more days until I’m ready to put the shoes back on. I’ll need some good runs next week as on December 10, our weekend training run will be a 10 miler.

Also, while the ailment parade goes on, my doctors office called last week with some blood tests done in search of an explanation for my on going cough — and it should an infection of mycoplasma pneumoniae, which sounds pretty scary. Supposedly the antibiotic I was prescribed , Levaquin (referred to as the “atomic bomb of anti-biotics:) should take care of it (at the same time hoping it treats my cold).

The info I read on this did not exactly match the duration I have had this cough (well over a year).

All this reminds me of a cartoon I recall from the New Yorker a few years back– an older couple is walking down the beach, and as the man is talking away, the woman responds, “Frankly Marvin, your ailments are not all that fascinating.”