Improvement

While I may still not be able to walk without crutches, i’ve improved to being able to hobble for a short period each day without too much pain developing. It’s a start and gives me hope i’ll be getting back to normal soon.

Most of the swelling has gone now, just a nasty lump is left on the inside of the shin – presumably where the fracture site is. This is where the pain focus is when it nags back at me, but I can at least stand up without discomfort which is the main improvement. It means that, twice this week so far, i’ve been able to do weights and actually commence the fight back of my upper body strength following far too much running and weight loss. It feels great.

Juneathon is going to consist of much of this, along with sit ups, press ups and, hopefully if things continue as they are, plenty of rowing on the machine. Low impact and i’ll be able to vary the stress. I haven’t tried it yet but i’m hopeful.

Also hopeful that i’ll celebrate the last day of Juneathon with my first jog. Don’t know why i’m targetting this, but if I don’t have a goal I fear i’ll miss the summer season altogether. Time will tell.

Loads of Juneathoners this year…how did I get volunteered into judging? Crikey, it’ll need a spreadsheet and everything!

Stressed. Broken.

Bah is a term that comes to mind.

I confess to having been a little bit in denial regarding my leg injury but my doctor visit this afternoon gave me a confirmed diagnosis that I’ve fucked things up for Juneathon, the Crisis square mile run, the London to Brighton bike ride, any motorcycling through the early summer, repairs on the house roof, intense gardening (like mowing a huge lawn with any enthusiasm) and just about everything else I rather enjoy.

I have a stress fracture. It’s healing but needs a lot more. It might take between 4 and 6 more weeks before I can begin to use it at all normally and it just about sucks as much as an Indian on open carbs (that’s a motorbike reference before the race police investigate!!)

All from trying to do a little jog in London in April.

Juneathon will, indeed, centre around weights. And press ups. And sit ups. But blogging them will be duller than my usual efforts, so I might just read and enjoy all your efforts. Both of you.

Ok, i’ve some intense healing to do. Must get on with it.

Juneathon draws near

I don’t think many people read this who don’t know of JogBlog, who this year is looking after all things Juneathon while the mighty JoggerBlogger has a year off, but just in case you haven’t checked her out (well, not her exactly, more her blog…she is my girlfriend, after all. Still, feel free to check her out if you like – I am quite lucky but don’t get any fancy ideas!!) for a while owing to her slackness (she’s doing too many writing things to blog at the moment, apparently – a poor excuse but no amount of bribery gets her blogging. Although hang on, I could offer purple walls in the conservatory in exchange for regular posts – that might work!) at not blogging, it’s worth a look to help prepare for Juneathon.

I’ll be reying heavily on cross training owing to injuries, I think, but expect everyone else to run their little (or not so little) socks off so I can check progress and feel jealous until about…ooh, the 11th, I reckon, when the novelty will have worn off and daily runs will be torture!

A prize is to be decided – maybe a monkey (as Joggerblogger rustled up) if one can be found; maybe a shirt; maybe just the joy of knowing bloggers (and Facebook fans – a new Juneathon page will be done shortly, i’ve been assured!) everywhere will be in awe of your athletic dedication and prowess. Who knows.

But it’s all to play for. Plus the promise of injury, exhaustion, soreness, social problems scheduling a run in, complaints about how hot it is (?!?) and all sorts.

So get over to Jogblog’s site, sign up and lets have some fun.

Knackered. Possibly.

I went for some professional advice about my leg today. A physio attached to the Julie Rose Stadium in Ashford. Hopefully reasonably well versed in running injuries.

I’m still on a crutch for all but shuffles around the kitchen or site office and can’t put any weight through anything but the heel of the foot. But all but the swelling to the heel has gone down, hence the visit now the focus of the problem should be identifiable through all the supplementary symptoms.

So at the visit, I did the usual performance and demonstrated the confusion of having a large range of movement and that I can place surprisingly large forces through it when in anything but a vertical plane. I rotated it well. I demonstrated very little side force can be applied before pain. She was confused.

After 45 minutes, she recommended some exercises and the usual rest, elevation and ice (no compression – I explained compression is too uncomfortable after a few minutes and needs removing. She was cool with that). We made an appointment to monitor things next week.

Very good, if not too decisive.

Then, 6 hours later, I got home to a telephone message that she’s writing a letter to my GP so we can make an appointment to arrange further x-rays because she thinks it’s a stress fracture, despite x-rays on the day of the injury showing nothing. Probably wouldn’t show until up to a week later, she said.

Or did the internet say that, i’m wondering?

The hiccup is that I moved in December and haven’t changed surgery yet so the letter is going to a doctor who won’t be able to contact me when it gets to him. And won’t know who I am because he doesn’t know my new address and it’s not in his area. So i’ve got to stop the letter, register with a new practice, get the letter forwarded to them, see a GP, arrange an x-ray and then find out if it is knackered or just thinks it is to decide on a treatment.

I could be doing this for weeks.

Doesn’t my body appreciate the marathon was just a challenge but Juneathon doesn’t recognise injuries?

Will someone have a word with it for me?

Thanks.

Improvement?

I’m certainly trying to convince myself!

Over the last week, i’ve continued largely on one crutch, using the other for the rough terrain at work, but this weekend has been a struggle.

Friday night saw a longer than anticipated stroll between the car and two pubs which made things swollen and sore as I rolled into bed. Saturday had me hobbling along the hedges while trimming them and strimming the boundary of the garden which wasn’t nice but was essential. Soreness prevailed but then, in a desperate desire to say adios to Dave before he spends the summer in the Nevada desert, a trip to London was necessary.

The police didn’t seem to mind me having a crutch clasped to the handlebar as I cycled to the station (had to put the BMX seat above the regulation 3 inches, which was bad, but the only way I can cycle is seated with my heel on the pedal), so it was all good, but the short walk from Charing Cross through the other side of Leicester Square was enough, to be fair. The return was worse, hobbling for a train, and sitting in the carriage with an icy tin of beer held to the massively swollen ankle was all I could bear.

At home, the shin wasn’t hurting but the ankle was, and was huge to boot. Not good. But this morning, all swelling had gone and pain was minimal.

So I finished the hedge and mowed half the lawn.

That made things swell and hurt again, so I’ve stopped and am resting again. Oddly, though, the swelling is still in the ankle but all the pain today is higher in the base of the shin where the problem started.

Tomorrow, knowing things are on the mend and having isolated the odd bits of swelling and pain, i’m going to phone a physiotherapist and arrange a visit so someone can advise me what actually is going on.

Then i’m going to visit a running club and see how to run.

Then, combined with regaining some upper body physique, i’m going to do 10k in under 42 minutes and 13.1 miles in under 1hour 30.

How’s that for a set of targets for an old man?

Healing?

I’ll remain optimistic for my planned activities through the summer – i’ve made progress.

From being in a right state on Tuesday, the crutches undoubtedly helped no end through the week by allowing me to avoid any loading onto the leg at all. Since it couldn’t take any pressure whatsoever, things were frustrating to say the least. And I guess it’s a sign of progress that by Friday I was annoyed at still having to either go through the palaver of getting the crutches up the stairs or simply crawl around where the skateboard wouldn’t take me when there.

So this weekend, i’ve been easing myself down to one crutch.

And simply being able to carry a cup of tea and walk has been such a good feeling, I never intend hurting myself again. Ok, I didn’t intend to do it this time, but you get my meaning.

Anyway, the ankle joint swelling is much reduced, the foot is back to normal size and the heel can take some weight.

I can still put zero pressure through the front of the foot, much less roll it, but I can rotate it in the air with little distress. Which i’m doing to try and get it a bit flexible at least. The ongoing amusement is my swollen shin. Periostitis, apparently. On my left leg, pressure on the bone makes the skin go white for a second then return to normal, as you’d expect. My right leg, however, is still swollen enough that it goes white and dents nicely, then stays dented when the pressure is removed. It hurts like hell in the process but is worth it for the freak factor. Shin splints to the max!

Hopefully it won’t be long until I can walk. The grass needs cutting and Juneathon is around the corner. To say nothing of Crisis in 6 weeks. And a 54 mile bike ride on a BMX in 8 weeks from London to Brighton.

I’ve no time to be hurt. Will it get better now, please?

Oh, and the London ballot opens tomorrow. Shall I apply?!