New Jersey Running

As you, hopefully noticed, I recently ran a half marathon. Of course, that meant that on our vacation, I would need to be doing some training runs. 

For better or worse, that meant that Ed and I were heading out the door at 4pm on a hot and humid afternoon to get in my last long run of 12 miles. We were promised scenic towpath, which would hopefully make the weather more bearable.

We snapped a quick pictures of ourselves before getting drenched with the humidity and we were off. 

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This pathway is a wonderful feature of Princeton - incredibly lush and beautiful and flat besides.

After about a half mile, we came upon a very green swamp area to the left, which reminded me that the first colonists of the east coast had huge malaria issues. Of course, then I started worrying that perhaps alligators could somehow get all the way up here. I always thought of alligators and swamps stuck together.

 I asked Ed and he told me, "Don't worry. Of course there are not alligators here. Only crocodiles".

Unfortunately, less than two miles in, my legs started hurting. I decided to keep it to myself, because turning around early wasn't an option. I tried to get distracted by the gorgeous surroundings. 

Such a teaser. Luckily there were more exciting animals that were cute, not dangerous. There were many little turtles dotting the edge of the canal and at one point, I saw something cute and furry with its nose sticking out of the water, and then quickly slipped under the water. We asked steven later (I wondered it if was a river otter) and he said it was probably a beaver!

At some point, water began showing up on the other side of the tow path as well, and soon we were crossing over water next to lake Carnegie. 

Finally, we reached six miles and I let Ed in that I felt more or less like dying and was worried about getting all the way home. We stopped, took a break, had some food and water, and rested. Of course, the heat was so palpable that it was difficult to cool down.

Knowing I wouldn't magically start feeling better, we started back down the pathway, with sore legs and a somewhat defeatist mentality. 

One of the pluses of a later start was that it did start to cool down somewhat, which was a welcome relief. 

Nonetheless, I started having to walk some every mile, and was in more or less agonizing pain. I remember thinking that I felt worse than when I ran 50 miles. 

With only 2 miles left, Ed encouraged me to run it in, and I acquiested. However, after a mile or so, I looked to the side of the trail and saw this little guy. 

Now, on the way out, I said that I would want to take a turtle picture on the return trip. This being the return trip, I pulled over to the side to take a picture. Ed immediately tried to be tough love coach and told me under no uncertain terms that I needed to start running again. I, in my infinite wisdom of a runner about to hit the breaking point, very strongly responded that I would be taking a picture and he needed to back off. Of course, Ed immediately turned sweet and explained that he just wanted to help me finish (which I knew, even though my screaming legs made my response a bit stronger than it needed to be)

Finally, we exited the towpath and ran the last bit through the housing complex, until the lovely garmin hit twelve miles. Immediately, I started walking, thankful to finally be done.

As a reward for our efforts, we went out to a delicious Italian meal with Steven and Hilary for dinner. It was spectacular, and we got to have Hilary's favorite - balsalmic chicken pasta - which was every bit as good as she said. 

Ed and I decided to go half and half with the balsalmic and a delicious seafood pasta - I couldn't decide which one I enjoyed more, so I was glad we shared. 

After dinner, we had just enough room to go to "The Bent Spoon" known for its delicious and inventive ice cream. I had creme fraiche and blueberry marscapone. 

Perfect end to a perfect day. 

An Ending and New Beginnings

If the quietness on this blog has been any indication, I haven't had a whole lot to say on here lately. My most recent test (fMRI of my pelvis and leg, focusing on the sciatic nerve) showed nothing, and the 8th medical person to try to help me with my pain is about to give up. I'm not quite sure what the next steps will be, but probably some deep tissue massage and hopefully a referral to a pain clinic.

With this newest setback, I've been reflecting a lot on my blog, it's purpose, and how it's been used. It was always meant to be a place to write about my running adventures, but it's been over 3 years since I've been able to do that with much regularity. I keep feeling guilty, almost, that I just can't hold up my end of the bargin - as much as I want to write about running, I'm writing about other things instead - weekend trips and food. Or, I'm complaining about the pain that my leg keeps causing - also not what I want to be doing on here.

So, I've made a somewhat hard, but definitely right, decision. For now, I'm going to give this blog a rest. Since I really enjoy writing a blog, I'm starting up a new one, which will be for the kinds of posts I've been writing lately - trips with Ed, cooking, and sometimes hiking (at http://adanded.blogspot.com/). I have no plans to delete this blog, though, because I would hate to lose all of these memories. I also have a hope that someday I'll be able to post on here again, with the original purpose of the blog in sight once again.

I hope that some of you might want to join me on my new blog, though no promises of long runs through the wilderness for now. Just everyday life.

Otherwise, I guess this is goodbye. I'll still be reading your blogs, so that I can live vicariously through all of you wonderful runners.

Hopefully I'll see you on the trails someday soon.

       - Addy

Injury Update

So, I had my follow up appointment with my physiatrist today, and had to report that there really wasn't any improvement. The one thing that does seem a bit better is the spot of nerve pain on the top of my foot seems to have improve, which is exciting. Of course, that is the one spot of pain that doesn't generally bother me - only when I touch it - but I'm still pleased to have something.

On the downside, this doctor is now out of of ideas for what he can do to me. So, I'm being sent off to a new doctor, this time a neurologist. I was honestly almost in tears when he told me that his only idea left would be to try to limit the pain with medication and exercise. Since that's what I've been doing the last 3 years with no success, this really isn't a good option. It's frustrating to have yet another medical professional tell me his is at a loss.

However, he did mention one thing that might have hope for me. Apparently there are Chronic Pain Centers, where they should hopefully be better trained to deal with my kind of pain. They can do something called a "Peripheral Nerve Block." The fact that my pain is a tingling/burning means it has to be a nerve thing, and since the nerves from the spine don't seem to be involved, it would make sense that the peripheral nerves are involved. They aren't trained at my center to do this kind of work, but maybe there's a slight hope. Downside is I'm concerned that my insurance won't cover it. That worries me, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. At the end of the day, it's worth a fairly substantial amount of money to me to not be in pain any more, so I'm open to it.

In much more lovely news, we had an amazing trip to Point Reyes! Pictures coming soon :)

On a Lighter Note...

Since I don't like having up a negative post for too long, here are some photos from recent activities that have been lots of fun. 

First up, a delicious dinner from last week. Ed tried a new sweet and spicy rub on our salmon, which featured brown sugar and cumin, and was probably the best salmon we've ever had at home. We also experimented wiht roasting slices of zucchini in the oven, which transformed it into amazingly sweet and tender bites. The mashed potatoes, unfortunately, were better in theory than in practice, as we tried a new kind of potato (white rose), that ended up being a bit gummy. Still, a beautiful looking and great tasting meal. 

Second, Ed and I went for a short but beautiful hike on Veteran's Day, since I had it off. We went up to Skyline Ridge, where we had one of those rare days where you could see right to the ocean, with nothing in your way. It was windy and cold, but great. I also got to try out a new purchase - a hiking skirt! It's made of the same material as hiking shorts, is waterproof and SPF up to 50, and it really comfy.  I liked it's longer length, and wicking waist :). 

Last, today is Ed's 30th birthday, and we celebrated with some homemade deliciousness. For dinner, we had roasted red pepper lasagne, a newer recipe I've been trying that is both healthy and tasty. I even roast my own bell peppers for it.

And, of course, what birthday would be complete without cake! This was a healthyish recipe that still tasted plenty decedant and delicious. 

We're now off to Stinson Beach tomorrow morning for Ed's birthday race - a 15ish mile race at Stinson Beach with PCTR. I'll be, unfortunately, bringing my laptop and working on lesson planning instead of enjoying the trails, but am looking forward to cheering him at the finish. Afterwards, we're up to Point Reyes, which should be lots of fun - neither of us have ever gone!

So, I moan and groan, but there are plenty of great things going on :)

Nada

*in all fairness of a warning, this post is generally a not so happy post, and probably not all that entertaining to read*

Unsurprisingly, the shot didn't work. It was, perhaps, a bit unrealistic to think that, after the other steroids I've tried, that this would be different. If anything, my leg has been a bit more sore lately. It might just be that I'm more conscious of the pain, since I had a small hope that it would get better, but it's been hard to get to sleep, lately, and it's just making me feel defeated.

So, onto another appointment. I'm not sure what we'll try next, I just hope the doctor doesn't give up. At this point, I think I need to stop thinking of this as an injury - it's just chronic pain. Maybe it started with a calf injury, but it seems impossible that over 3 years later, that injury is still in effect. I have another chronic pain issue that isn't connect to running, and I have wondered if somehow they're connected to each other. In any event, chronic pain sucks, and I'm worried that it will never go away.

However, with all of that, I am gearing up to start being active again. If this is just pain, not an injury, and it isn't going away, I need to suck it up and be active again, so that I can be healthy. I've already gotten back to eating healthier, and Ed and I are going for a hike tomorrow.

I think I need to figure out how to not let myself get (stay) down with this pain. These last few months, since I started back up with school, I think I've sort of let it overwhelm me and have felt a bit sorry for myself. Which, I know, has made for very entertaining postings. But, this is where I am.

And, if anyone knows of any exciting ways to deal with chronic pain, I'm all ears :)

Trying something a bit more aggressive

Thought I would take a moment to mention the current excitment with my leg - after an unsuccessful bout with both an anti-inflammatory and a nerve pain medication, plus a very healthy looking MRI, my new doctor suggested we try an epidural. Before this, I was really only aware of epidurals being used for giving birth, but apparently, this is a common diagnostic/treatment for leg and back pain. The idea was that if the epidural works (targeting the nerves that go down my left leg), then it will be doubly good - we'll have pinpointed where the pain is emanating from and I'll also hopefully have relief from the pain.

So, this morning, I took the day off work, and Ed drove me up to the surgicenter for my 6:30 am appointment. They were very insistent about not putting anything in your mouth after midnight, the night before the procedure - no food or drink, but also no brushing your teeth, gum, mints, etc. I was worried I would forget in my tired morning state, and found it very hard to leave the house with unpleasant morning breath and no hope of a remedy. At least all the other patients there were in the same boat :P.

Just after 6:30 I headed back to my prep room, where I got changed into the oh so attractive booties, gown and cap, and got an IV put in to keep me hydrated. Apparently I was thirsty, as my body was quickly downing my IV bag. Ed got to hang out with me until it was time for the main event, while I lounged in my "hospital bed" (though, apparently, this is a misnomer here, since this wasn't a hospital. In any event, it looked like the ones on tv :)).

Around 7:30, a new nurse wheeled me back to the procedure room, where I was laid on a metal table and hooked up to some new machines. They gave me a mild sedative "cocktail" which, honestly, didn't seem to do a whole lot. I still felt pretty coherent during the whole process. What was pretty cool about the procedure was that they were doing a live x-ray during it, to make sure the needle went into the right places in my spine, so I could see it as it was happening. It hurt  a bit, but I was expecting much worse - it was over before I knew it!

Afterwards, I got wheeled to recovery, where I had to sit for 30 minutes. And, that was that. Now my back and leg are hurting a decent amount, which is to be expected. I'm told it will be 2-7 days until I feel the positive effects, if it worked. Since the extra pain today is in the normal area, I'm feeling hopeful.

In an ironic coincidence, my mom was also donning a surgical gown today for a hip replacement, including also getting an epidural. I got to chat with her before she went in for her procedure and tell her about mine. Hopefully hers will be just as easy going!