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update: First of all, there’s a reason these posts never saw the light of day. Keep reading, you’ll see. Second, my ITB issues are gone. I haven’t run with the strap since the Lake Placid Half Marathon (race report to follow). What healed me was 2.5 to 3 weeks of complete rest. I never did get the MRI, btw.
Left leg/hip/knee still giving me trouble, so I’ve started trying to find someone who can diagnose me. Turns out this is a lot more difficult than I thought.
May 8th – See a sports medicine doctor. Nice guy. Not the first guy I wanted to see. Actually, not even on my top 5 list of people I wanted to see, but after searching our health insurance provider’s website, this is one of the only guys in our area that will take our insurance. Thanks, Blue Cross. I give him the rundown. After 3 or 4 miles, I start having pain in my knee that gets increasingly worse as I continue running. If I stop running, the pain goes away. Both are telltale signs of ITB syndrome. I also get some tingling on the bottom of my feat. That is not generally associated with an ITB problem, and he mentions if I’ve had any lower back pain. Since incorporating some core exercises I have noticed a little bit of stiffness but nothing too painful. He tests my ITB. It’s tight. He tests my hamstrings. They are also tight.
This guy is nice, but he’s unwilling to answer the question that I really need answered. Basically I want to know if I lighten up the training, can I still run the marathon in Lake Placid (it’s about 5 weeks away) or will I risk injuring myself severely by running on it when it still hurts.
“Well, I wouldn’t say not to, but I would recommend you rest. And take Aleve. Have you ever tried Aleve?”
This guy’s claim to fame is that he’s the assistant team doc for the New York Liberty. I think that’s what he said. If not, it was something equally pathetic. I small tear rolled down my cheek. I wiped it off before he saw.
He sends me down the hall to have x-rays taken.
Have x-rays taken of my knee, hip and spine. He looks at them and says that I’m a little arthritic in my left knee. I didn’t know that. This is the first problem I’ve ever had with my knee.
I go home and examine the x-rays myself. (They’re all computerized now, did you know that? No more “films.” Now it’s all on the computers and tubes and so on.) I notice something that the doctor either didn’t see or was too scared to tell me. This is a picture of my pelvis. Check out it out. Right there. Do you see it?
They say deep inside most athletes lies the heart of a lion. Well, deep inside Kevin Hodge (specifically nearer to his pelvic girdle) lies the disembodied head of a kitty.
Besides prescribing Aleve and charging my insurance $600, he tells me that I should try some physical therapy. “Any place that’s convenient will do,” says he. So I find a place called the Bay Ridge Sports Medicine. Sounds appropriate, right?
The next week, I go in for my first physical therapy session. There are 5 tables in the front half of the room, a few machines near the back. This place is no great shakes. It looks a little like the basement den just off the garage at your uncle’s house. The cool uncle, though. Not the uptight one. My cool aunt/uncle had a lava lamp and a kinda sand/oil/water mixed together thing that would move and make cool designs. Completely fascinating.
This place is packed. There are at least 7 patients, 2 interns and the guy. The doctor (but he isn’t a doctor, so I’m not entirely sure if I call him by his first name or not). I decide to do the first name.
“Trent,” I say, (his name’s not really Trent) “I’m having an issue with my left leg. Seems like it might be an IT band problem, I think. Also the bottom of my left foot tingles when I run.”
“Okay,” says Trent. “Let’s try some stuff.” I get on the table and he moves my leg around a bunch. Then he jams his thumb into my kneecap and I knee him in the balls.
“Boy, your hamstrings are really tight. And you’re a little arthritic in your left knee. Hop off the table. Let me see you touch your toes.”
Long story short, I can’t touch my toes. I can’t remember the last time I was able to. He tells me that I really need an MRI or else I could be chasing this issue for years.
update: This is a post about cats. I like very few cats. I have no allergic reaction to their hair or dander, I have a reaction to their holier-than-thou, have-a-look-at-this-well-groomed-ass-I-licked-it-myself’ attitude.
For my shorter runs, I usually head up Narrows and over to the waterfront or Colonial. That stretch of Narrows is very pretty. Think of the big houses, some with good sized yards and attached garages, that you’d find upstate. A $225,000 house in the southern end of Johnstown would easily cost $950,000 if you plopped it on one of the Bay Ridge plots. In this section, quite a few of the houses are built up on small hills. This is either so you can squeeze a two-car garage/basement under your house or so that you can look down on the little people that you look down upon. Holding back these hills of earth, you have long stone or brick walls that line the sidewalks. Back in the early spring, I started to notice a group of cats that were always hanging around a block up from the gingerbread house (pics here). I always see them around sunset. They either sit on the wall, the sidewalk just below the wall or the lawn above. I usually see two but occasionally I’ll see three or more. The most I’d ever seen at one time was six.
At some point in the summer I noticed a trap set out where the cats like to hang. Part of me hopes that they were catching these cats, having them fixed and then returning them so that they could be reunited. But then another part of me thinks that if I was the homeowner and six mystery cats appeared on my lawn every evening, I’d be a little creeped out. And then there’s the bigger part of me that thinks that it’s a freakin’ cat and it DOESN’T CARE. Doesn’t care about you, doesn’t care about his fellow ‘brother-cats.’ Hell, I’ll bet he doesn’t even care whether he’s sitting on that damn wall or not.
You know why I said ‘most cats?’ Cause I’m gonna drop the sentimental bomb on you now. Lara’s cat Pompii (that’s him- the grey one sitting on his… man-purse, I guess) passed away over the summer. Not only was he smart, but he was a kind soul. *I* miss him (and that’s saying a lot). RIP, Pompino.
In the middle of August, we headed to Fredonia for Kevin and Kasey’s wedding. At some point I started feeling sick and had to leave the reception. Lar took me back to the hotel. Long story short, she found out what the “for worse” part of our wedding vows meant.
I’m not certain, but I’m thinking it was some kind of flu because Lara ended up getting sick a few days later. I didn’t eat anything on Sunday. On Monday night, I felt well enough to head to the greatest county fair the world has ever known. Had a few french fries there, but that was it for the day. I still felt pretty weak on Tuesday and Wed. Decided to hold off on the mid-week runs because I just didn’t have the energy.
By the time Saturday came, I was feeling better, but I decided to wait until Sunday to do my scheduled 13 miles. Normally I would run north into Park Slope, but I wasn’t feeling great so I decided to stick close to home. From the start, it’s a tough run. I think being sick, and not taking in enough food all week has done a number on my energy level. Feel really weak. No strength in the legs.
Mile 7 comes. I realize that it just isn’t gonna happen today, and I start to feel pretty down. Another step back. First it was injury. Then it was school got too busy. Then I get sick. What the hell?
Then I start thinking about a lyric. “I’m still here.” (I’ll be damned if I remember which tune it’s from.) It got me thinking and I realized that if you can’t always bring your ‘A’ game, sometimes just showing up is good enough. So I say it out loud a few times…
And would you believe it?
I was able to finish my 13 miles!
I’m just yanking you, I stopped at 8 miles.
(You read the part about me being malnourished, right? What did you think was going to happen? Sheesh.)
Anyway, the lesson remains.
And I am still here, now in training for the New York City Marathon on November 1st. Tomorrow is a 12 mile run, the end of week 12. Lots of stuff has happened since the Buffalo Relay (Dan’s race report is here) including a new hat. A new royal blue, Donnie Osmond hat. It didn’t look that blue online. I have quite a few half written drafts that were never posted. I plan to finish them off and post them over the next two weeks or so.
Team "He’s Touching Me" pre-race.
Lara’s first pre-race pb sandwich. On our way to downtown.
It seems to be going around. Matt, then Dan, now me.
I’ve done something to my left knee. Started on Tuesday. Ran through it on Wed. Got 1.25 miles in on Thursday before I stopped. I’m good for a few miles, then pain starts on the outside of my kneecap. A few more minutes go by and it radiates down to my feet and up to my hip. Could be ITB. Not sure. I do know that I’m shutting it down until at least Wednesday.
Saturday was my 16 miler. Made it over the Brooklyn Bridge, and stopped to rest for a bit in Manhattan. Big mistake. I did do the entire length, but I walked quite a bit of the last half. Because I was walking, I got to overhear a couple of interesting conversations. Works best if you read them with a heavy Brooklyn accent.
Two guys on a street corner somewhere near 3rd Ave.
“The FBI don’t want nothin’ to do with it.”
“Yeah, they got otha stuff they gotta do.”
“Yeah. The thing is that I’m innocent of the charges! She had no right to come at me with the meat cleaver.”
Two guys sitting on a stoop somewhere on Dean Street.
“So I tell him, ‘Stevie, when soccer season starts, the U.S. women’s team can practice naked in my back yard!’ ”
Been reading a lot about ITB injuries. Everything about it is depressing. Difficult to treat, takes forever to recover… . If things aren’t better by Wed, I’m gonna try to get an appointment with a sports medicine doc.
I gotta start writing these the day of or the day after. I can’t remember any details this far out. Anyway, here goes.
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Traveled upstate this weekend to take Chris out for a quiet, man’s night out. Just dinner and fruity shots. I don’t know where my compatriots come from, but where I went to school, a shot was poured from a single bottle. It’s not a potion, it’s a shot. But I’m getting ahead of myself… .
Call around to a few places in the a.m. to try to get the car looked at. Turns out the good techs at the Nissan dealership in Bay Ridge decided to leave two bolts loose on the stabilizer. Does that mean anything to you? Me neither. All I can tell you is that it made one helluva clicking noise when breaking, and dealerships are a complete waste of money.
Saturday – 15 miles – Johnstown to Broadalbin
Overcast. Chance of rain but the radar looks clear for at least a few hours. Three pieces of bread with peanut butter, banana and a cup of tea. I’ll be running the ‘Rail Trail.’ Several local communities have gotten together, ripped up the railroad tracks that used to connect the towns and made a nice running/walking/biking route that runs from Fonda to Broadalbin.
Catch the trail on Main Street in Johnstown. The backsides of old factories and large houses pop up between stretches of woods. It’s pretty tranquil here. Pretty deserted too. I go nearly 3 miles before I see anyone. Normally I wouldn’t think twice, but there have been instances of violence and unexplained disappearance on the trail. Jeeze. Who’da thought it’d be safer to run in Brooklyn?
The pavement is close to new. No cracks or breaks, and mostly it’s free from litter. At one point I did see an old plastic swimming pool lying dead off to the side. Who goes through the trouble to cart something like that down here?
As I say, there aren’t a lot of people using the trail. The folks I do pass are very friendly. They actually say “Hi” and “Good morning” and “Are those compression shorts? Can I see?” That type of stuff. Downstate you occasionally get acknowledgment with a weak hand raise or a Clint Eastwood nod.
I’m on the trail till there’s no more trail. I’m still short of halfway, so I cross a busy-ish road and head up a quiet road that is lined with houses on one side. Up ahead a woman is chatting with her neighbors who are gardening. They all say “Hello” and I say “Hi.” I get to the end of this road and decide to double back since I don’t feel like running down the busy road to get back to the trail. On the way back, I pass nosey neighbor who has apparently caught me checking the Garmin. “What’s that? Checking your heart rate?” Nosey says.
“Yeah,” says I. “I ran out of trail a while ago. Didn’t realize it ended back there!” I chuckle.
Nosey laughs. “Hey, are those compression shorts?”
That last part was made up, but you get my drift. If there’s one thing I hate more than being stabbed or forcefully abducted it’s being assaulted with kindness.
2 Gu’s today. One at mile 6 and the other at 11. I was kicking myself when I started out because I had forgotten to bring money for another bottle of water. Turns out I didn’t finish the bottle I brought. Which brings up a point. I weighed myself before and after the run. I had lost 1 pound. I’ve read that you want to try to not lose weight during. I’m wondering if I should be drinking more water?
That said, a good solid run. I had wanted to stay in the 8:40/mile range, and I did a little bit better than that. The only caveat here is that this was a very flat course. Gotta get working on those hills.
I hate peeps. There’s no honor in a peep. No honor in manufacturing, selling or consuming them. I’m not sure what’s worse, tempura or a peep. A peep starts out as crap and finishes as crap. At least tempura begins life as a vegetable and turns into something awful for you. Tempura is more tragic.
11 miles – Ridge to Slope
It’s freakin’ April and it’s freakin’ cold! It finally gets above 45 degrees in the early afternoon, and I head out. Five minutes in. Ahead of me a car comes to a stop at a red light. The driver’s side door opens and the driver leans over and throws up. A lot. Real loud too. I was initially going to go over and ask if he needed help, but then I remember I don’t have my phone. And he’s being really dramatic and now the vomiting has turned into a show which annoys me, so I keep running. I stop a little ways up the block to get my stretching in and I see that he’s four or five blocks down the road, only this time he’s pulled off to the side of the road with the door wide open.
Into the wind all the way to the Slope today. Gusting up 30 mph according to weatherunderground. Hard to breathe. The only positive is that runs like this build lung capacity. All I know is that it’s hard to catch a good breath.
It’s Easter Sunday and the roads aren’t as busy as usual. Probably most folks are already having dinner or vomiting with their loved ones. Costco is closed today. White Castle and KFC are open, as is the live poultry place, door open, feathers flyin’. To the left of the front door, their window is painted. “Lamb, chicken, duck, rabbit, turkey and more!” I wonder what the “and more” is and why they are so excited about it? If a place is willing to slaughter and clean a bunny for you for $10, I’m thinking $50 gets you a whooole lot more.
This was one of the toughest runs I’ve ever done. The wind was relentless there and back. Legs feel good so far. The nagging in my right leg/hip hasn’t bothered me. I’ve started incorporating some core training, strengthening of the abs. Also getting more serious about my stretching. Trying to work up a sequence so that I can do these moves without thinking.
Took the car in on Tuesday. I’m on the phone with the guy from the garage. He says it needs new front/back breaks and rotors and a new stabilizer. That requires a wheel alignment. And hell while we’re at it, may as well do the 60,000 mile checkup. What do you call that instant where the words the person is speaking turn into the muted-trumpet sounds the adults make in the Peanut cartoons? I’m there.
And while I’m pissing money, I still have to find a hotel room in Lake Placid.
On Sunday, May 24th I will be running a leg of the Buffalo Marathon. It’s a 4-person relay. Let’s meet team “He’s Touching Me” :
 Lara  Kevin  Dan  Me This will be Lara’s first running event. I believe this is also Dan’s first. Kevin has run the Buffalo Half before. This will be my third Buffalo run. I’m due to run a 20 miler that weekend, so I think I’ll run three legs and call that my 20. That’ll actually work out great. Lots of water, spectators, and free beer afterward.
Last weekend was the second annual Prep Ho Half Marathon. Bay Ridge to Park Slope and back. If you’d like to see it all in detail, it’s right here. Lara got me a Garmin 405 for my birthday. I’ve been using it for the past 7 weeks. It spits an incredible amound of info at you (speed, heart rate, elevation etc…). I could bore you to shit by posting my Garmin stats and charts of my heart rate, but I promise I won’t.
Anyway, incredibly nice weather. I overheard a couple of young kids as I was making my way around the north end of the park.
“This is like the perfect day,” one kid says.
“It’s not like the perfect day, it IS the perfect day!” says the other.
The compression shorts worked out well. The same company (Under Armour) also makes a compression shirt, but I’m not sure I’m ready for that yet. Little bit of pain in the right leg, but nowhere near as bad as it was. I’ve started to do my stretching after the beginning of my run. Typically I’ll run for 3 or 4 minutes, then stop and stretch. It’s a drag stretching outside. Inevitably it’s always cold, and inevitably my hand lands inches away from a pile of dog crap. I’ve had it happen twice now. You’d think I’d survey the area better before I make my stretching mini-camp. Betcha Jack LaLanne never has to worry about such foolishness.
Ten miler set for tomorrow. Then over to Mark and Sam’s house for Easter dinner. Lara made a cake tonight, and I ate a quarter of it.
Let me say that again; I ate a quarter of a two layer yellow cake. I may need to do 10+ tomorrow.
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