A break rather than a tear.

Week ending 26^th June

Blimey the last entry was very gloomy. That said I haven’t made my mind up about what the situation is regard to running, weather I will get back into racing at all. For purposes of fitness I would be disappointed not to get back running by August but training for races I don’t know.

I had a MRI on Wednesday (200 smackaroos) and to my surprise it wasn’t a muscle tear I have suffered at all but a fracture of the upper arm (proximal humerous). This was much better news as it shouldn’t mean any surgery but a simple case of letting nature take it’s time and keeping it a sling. It means I should be driving by August and while physio can take up to 4 months it’s a case of easy as it goes rather than anything too involved.

 A muscle tear would have required surgery and lots of post operation recovery. The left foot ankle feels much better. I am doing my exercise and trying to a bit of walking every morning , usually 45mins to a hour. Walking bores the shit out of me so it was a handy excuse to buy that i Pod I always wanted. I’m currently uploading 600 CD’s as I speak. A nice project. It keeps me out of trouble. Sleeping is a big problem. I  can't put weight on my shoulder or arm when in bed and i have to pretty much sleep sitting up propping my back up with pillows. It usually means I can only get 6 hours of sleep a night. That said I catch up with naps during the day. The ankle is still rather swollen and while the x rays showed up no breaks it does concern me somewhat. That said walking isn't a issue

Bar the arm issue the summer is going well so far. Teachers (unpaid) holidays,plenty of books to read, football on the box, (Ireland just lost to France but at least did so with pride), garden is coming along well as is my lovely wife. Having some good social meet up with friends is nice too. No summer holidays this year but on the whole things are ok. Everyone I know and love is in good health.

The thrill is gone. Injury update.

Week ending 19^th June

Any future running plans are to be put on hold indefinitely for a long time to come as a result of my fall on the 9^th June. I wrote in my last entry I entered the Galway Bay marathon  (a couple of days before I fell).I thought, after the X-Rays ruled out a fracture, I only had a heavy sprain and that it would clear up in a 2 week period. Unfortunately this will not be the case. I am waiting to be called in for a MRI scan to see or confirm if I do have a rotatory cuff injury in my shoulder.This is a muscle tear that limits movement of the upper arm. Lifting, reaching out, side movement are all effected. Either way if this is the case (and it is suspected it is) recovery - be it through physical therapy or orthopedic surgery will take up to 2 – 3 months if not longer. This assumes of course I do get called for that MRI promptly. All these delays between the fall, x rays, MRI and resolution impact on recovery time and I find it all very frustrating . Viva -  the health service!!!!

 Running considerations aside , in terms of more important real life issues like mobility , driving, lifting,  being able to sleep correctly, all these at the moment have proven to be difficult (lifting and sleeping) or impossible (driving- lots of reliance on public transport). At the most I can only lift my arm to chest height, reaching any higher or over is impossible. I also won’t be able to correct the state exams for the summer, so there is a financial impact as well.

Anyway back to running. It’s hard not to consider giving up on the whole idea of taking part any more in races or marathon training. Since 2012 my times in general have either disimproved or remained stagnant. Injuries seem to have become a regular part of running to the point that it becomes expensive or foolish to continue. You have to wonder about continuing in a sport/ hobby that actually takes a toll on your physical well being and ends up costing a small fortune in recovery. All of these makes even less sense when you realise I am at best a mid pack runner. Even in terms of PB’s I haven’t PB’ed a marathon since 2012, a 10k since 2012, a 4 mile ,5 mile or a half marathon since 2013 or a 10 mile race since 2014.

Even on the club scene it’s frightening the amount of people who are getting constantly injured and while many of these injuries are hardly serious they do seem to be very common (PF, slipped kneecap’s, twisted ankle, I.T band and so on). 

I even know of club runners who have dislocated shoulders or under gone major surgery to repair damaged bones or tissue (hip replacements and knee replacements) and have had to take time off work as a result simply because of running. There seems to be too much of a casual acceptance to injury on the club scene for me at the moment to make it attractive any more.

It also seems to follow that once a cycle of injuries start it seems to be a regular issue for participants. In my case I have had at least one injury issue or bodily stress issue every year since 2010 – all running related. This time is probably the most serious as I seemed to trip and fall for no reason, it wasn’t as if there was a outside factor that caused it. My leg just gave way and down I went. It could have happened to me at any time and while it could happen to anyone even non runners  it was a shock. Even the staff in Mallow general said these days the amount of cyclists with broken collarbones and runners with tissue damage or fractures is way on the increase.

A gloomy entry I accept but it’s the way I see it. Once we get things sorted here with the shoulder maybe things will look better in a few months but I can’t see myself hitting the roads for a long time yet.

the harder they fall

10th June.

I had originally targeted the Cork city half marathon as a goal race to end off what was a decent training block which started with the 4 mile Boherbue race. The plan was then to focus on a possible marathon in August or October. I had run a good race in the Killarney half marathon and a solid time in the Ballindreen 5 mile in May (34.32) so I was hopeful. However things were a bit of a disaster on a number of fronts. Runners were misdirected at the very start of the race and ending up running a half mile extra before they reached the first official mile marker. This meant there was no chance of anyone getting a proper PB. I ended up running the first 3 miles at what was in effect too fast a pace and by mile 7 I was beginning to wilt. It was very hot but my mindset was all over the place knowing I wouldn't get any where near a PB or a course best. I decided to pull the plug before the official 8 mile marker(8.7 miles on my watch) deciding there was little point in wearing myself out running a 13.5 mile plus race. My buddy Aidan and my Mallow clubmates all finished the race in what was a hopelessly organised event. I don't know if I will be back doing next year. It was my own decision to drop out though and I should have adopted a more sensible pacing strategy. Having run close to 20 half marathons and DNF'ed 2 I think I made the correct decision. I won't be dropping out of races  again though unless I am injured or sick.

Tuesday I ran 4.5 miles at a slow 9 minute pace with a HR reading of 135 and I was happy with that.

Thursday was a hell of a day. 4 miles into a routine 8 mile run I took a tumble near Harrison's place and landed heavily on my shoulder. I got a bit of a shock and I had a terrible time getting back to my house. I feared I dislocated my shoulder and broke a bone in my ankle (it was quite swollen), Thnakfully the local park keeper spotted my distress and dropped me back home lecturing me on the dangers of running !!!!!

 Thankfuly the ankle was only swollen and the shoulder while sore , battered and bruised wasn't broken or dislocated. This was confirmed by the good people at Mallow general hospital in the disgracefully downgraded A and E department , now called the local injury unit. I can't drive a car for at least a week and general mobility is at 50 %, Running is out of the question for a similar period of time, maybe longer. As the pictures show the grazing is light enough but the ankle is swollen.

I did enter the Galway Bay marathon set to be held on the 1st October, That will be the focus of my training when I do get back running.The course consists of 4 X 10km loops plus 2.2 km. To be honest I don't know whether it will be a well organised low key event or a badly organised one. Time will tell, lets get the training done first.