Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Left knee thingy
Despite effusive praise of last weeks 5km comeback run, the top of my tibia in my left leg gave me quite a bit of grief during and afterwards. Some Goggling and a timely CoolRunning thread initially had me thinking that I had gotten a stress fracture (funny thing to do after 2 weeks recovery). However, I had a similar experience back in December, and got through it by switching to grass exclusively for my training runs.
Deciding not to risk anything, I put my feet up for a week (as one does when their house is on the market, and you are trying to keep it permanently immaculate). Booked in a podiatrist visit for yesterday, but a series of cancellations curtailed my trip to the city, and have had to take a rain check.
However, today I decided that based on past experience (I successfully ran through it in December), it was not going to be too big a risk to test it on grass. And like last time, grass brought no pain at all. My layman's diagnosis is that a stress fracture would have given some pain, so hopefully it is something more mundane. Will continue with the grass running whilst ever it yields no pain. Planning to get new orthotics and some professional advice on shoe selection - because I'm not spending enough money at the moment.
For the record, I churned out 6 km in just under 26 minutes - very comforable, although a couple of silly low 4:00's which was unnecessary. Not a fan of dew, as my feet were soaking wet after about 30 seconds. Would have gone 8km, but I was reminded early on in my run that being unable to use my right hand, my toenails were at the point where they would be confiscated from on-board luggage - added to the wet conditions and an early finish made sense.
Checked out a cool rental property in Bondi Junction today - literally 100m from Centennial Park. We're putting in an application - fingers crossed.
Deciding not to risk anything, I put my feet up for a week (as one does when their house is on the market, and you are trying to keep it permanently immaculate). Booked in a podiatrist visit for yesterday, but a series of cancellations curtailed my trip to the city, and have had to take a rain check.
However, today I decided that based on past experience (I successfully ran through it in December), it was not going to be too big a risk to test it on grass. And like last time, grass brought no pain at all. My layman's diagnosis is that a stress fracture would have given some pain, so hopefully it is something more mundane. Will continue with the grass running whilst ever it yields no pain. Planning to get new orthotics and some professional advice on shoe selection - because I'm not spending enough money at the moment.
For the record, I churned out 6 km in just under 26 minutes - very comforable, although a couple of silly low 4:00's which was unnecessary. Not a fan of dew, as my feet were soaking wet after about 30 seconds. Would have gone 8km, but I was reminded early on in my run that being unable to use my right hand, my toenails were at the point where they would be confiscated from on-board luggage - added to the wet conditions and an early finish made sense.
Checked out a cool rental property in Bondi Junction today - literally 100m from Centennial Park. We're putting in an application - fingers crossed.
Monday, February 13, 2006
Slide night
A big week since my last update (including an enormous 5km of running), with plenty of multi-media support.
On the running front, the biggest news of the week was that I actually ran today. Only 5km, but knocked it over in a comfortable 22 minutes, and felt pretty comfortable. Which I would want to, as I've only had 2 weeks off, and haven't actually injured any part of my legs. What was encouraging was the complete lack of notice my wrist took of the whole thing - no pain, no swelling, no inclination that it is being held together with a piece of metal. Apart from the wrist brace's propensity for absorbing sweat and re-emitting it in a smellier form later, there should be no issues with jumping back into a proper training program, albeit highly different from the one I was on prior to breaking the wrist. No upper-body weights till May, no field events till July. Will talk about my new program tomorrow.
With regards to the wrist itself, the stiches came out on Friday, and the surgeon indicated that everything is going to plan. However, mobility in the wrist itself is very limited (as low as 10% in some planes), so I have started some (painful) exercises to fix this. I have a nice workers comp. brace that I am wearing most of the time, and a lovely scar to show off at the next CoolRunning drinks.
As I have been unable to shave for the past 2 weeks, I had the luxury of getting a barbershop shave today - cut throat razor, hot towels, shaving brush - the whole shebang. A lot less painful than a bikini wax I would imagine, and more people can admire the end result. Consequently, I no longer look like the cover of an early Bruce Springsteen album.
Enough about my bionic arm. A few other changes are taking place at the moment:
Once the running picks up, the blog will return to its more mundane format soon.
On the running front, the biggest news of the week was that I actually ran today. Only 5km, but knocked it over in a comfortable 22 minutes, and felt pretty comfortable. Which I would want to, as I've only had 2 weeks off, and haven't actually injured any part of my legs. What was encouraging was the complete lack of notice my wrist took of the whole thing - no pain, no swelling, no inclination that it is being held together with a piece of metal. Apart from the wrist brace's propensity for absorbing sweat and re-emitting it in a smellier form later, there should be no issues with jumping back into a proper training program, albeit highly different from the one I was on prior to breaking the wrist. No upper-body weights till May, no field events till July. Will talk about my new program tomorrow.
With regards to the wrist itself, the stiches came out on Friday, and the surgeon indicated that everything is going to plan. However, mobility in the wrist itself is very limited (as low as 10% in some planes), so I have started some (painful) exercises to fix this. I have a nice workers comp. brace that I am wearing most of the time, and a lovely scar to show off at the next CoolRunning drinks.
As I have been unable to shave for the past 2 weeks, I had the luxury of getting a barbershop shave today - cut throat razor, hot towels, shaving brush - the whole shebang. A lot less painful than a bikini wax I would imagine, and more people can admire the end result. Consequently, I no longer look like the cover of an early Bruce Springsteen album.
Enough about my bionic arm. A few other changes are taking place at the moment:
- our house officially went on the market on Saturday, so hopefully we will join the ranks of the homeless shortly. If you've ever wondered what Sparkie's house looks like, here is your chance to find out
- my faithful Alfa Romeo 164 died last week, and had its file marked "do not resusitate", so it will be sold off for parts. As I rarely drove it anywhere, apart from Mona Vale, it's an ongoing expense I won't really miss, but it was a great car to drive.
- deciding that I had too many extra minutes in my day, I re-enrolled in two of my last three uni subjects today, which should mean I finish this year. "Stellar Astrophysics" and "Astrobiology" - I'll be beating the chicks off with a stick!
- just landed a big new project from my main client, which will allow me to work from home (wherever that may be) for at least the next 6 months. My new assistant is working out well, although sometimes there are some pressing matters to deal with.
- and for no reason, some more photos of my beautiful son:
Once the running picks up, the blog will return to its more mundane format soon.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Whinging and tagging...
Nothing exciting to report on the running front. Stitches come out Friday afternoon, which I can't wait for, although I am not sure whether that will improve things much. Getting more utility back with my right arm - managed to cut a piece of veal last night, but still in a bit of pain most of the time. The drugs wear out by about 4 am, and I find that moving around makes things better - but this is not compatible with sleep. Starting to get work done, but my right hand is only good for about an hour or so, so not being hugely productive.
Have read a few running books, and have a schedule mapped out for when I get back into things, which I will talk about in a future post. Feeling positive about October, which is good.
Although it was over a week ago, apparently I was tagged, so I will begrudgingly maintain my link in the blog chain...
What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was an upstart software team leader at Macquarie Bank, causing my managers grey hairs with my visions of global domination. Probably loved my work more than at any other time, and living a fairly packed lifestyle. I was living by myself in a 2 bedroom unit in Artarmon, and going out a lot. Dating very unsuccessfully!
Running wise, I was at the end of my track 'career', missing the State 800m final by 1 place (following a 54 second first lap - big mistake). Took winter off, and then attempted a come-back only to twist my ankle playing basketball the day after my first training session (can you see a theme developing). Moved to longer distances when I got back into running, and did a nice 1:15 half marathon debut at the end of the year - still a PB, but hopefully not for long.
Five snacks I enjoy?
Lollies (esp. snakes) - although I don't eat them because they make me break out
Boost juice - Mango Magic!
Fruit (mangos, grapes and any stone fruit)
Pepsi/Vanilla Coke
Cashew nuts
Five songs I know all the words to:
I probably know all the words to hundreds...
Thunder Road - Bruce Springtsteen
Oliver's Army - Elvis Costello
Special-K - Placebo
The Shoop-Shoop song - Cher
The entire Wiggledance Concert video - The Wiggles
Five things I’d do as a millionaire:
Train 2-3 times a day
Eat out a lot
Do another Master degree
Support independant media like crikey.com.au
spend more time with Louis
Five things I like doing:
Playing with Louis,
running,
reading,
listening to music,
and what every man would put at the top of their list
Five favourite toys:
my favourite toy is in storage at the moment, but I like mucking round with:
My Garmin,
my computer,
my MP3 player,
Louis's "Little People",
"Rufus" - Louis's very large stuffed dog
Have read a few running books, and have a schedule mapped out for when I get back into things, which I will talk about in a future post. Feeling positive about October, which is good.
Although it was over a week ago, apparently I was tagged, so I will begrudgingly maintain my link in the blog chain...
What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was an upstart software team leader at Macquarie Bank, causing my managers grey hairs with my visions of global domination. Probably loved my work more than at any other time, and living a fairly packed lifestyle. I was living by myself in a 2 bedroom unit in Artarmon, and going out a lot. Dating very unsuccessfully!
Running wise, I was at the end of my track 'career', missing the State 800m final by 1 place (following a 54 second first lap - big mistake). Took winter off, and then attempted a come-back only to twist my ankle playing basketball the day after my first training session (can you see a theme developing). Moved to longer distances when I got back into running, and did a nice 1:15 half marathon debut at the end of the year - still a PB, but hopefully not for long.
Five snacks I enjoy?
Lollies (esp. snakes) - although I don't eat them because they make me break out
Boost juice - Mango Magic!
Fruit (mangos, grapes and any stone fruit)
Pepsi/Vanilla Coke
Cashew nuts
Five songs I know all the words to:
I probably know all the words to hundreds...
Thunder Road - Bruce Springtsteen
Oliver's Army - Elvis Costello
Special-K - Placebo
The Shoop-Shoop song - Cher
The entire Wiggledance Concert video - The Wiggles
Five things I’d do as a millionaire:
Train 2-3 times a day
Eat out a lot
Do another Master degree
Support independant media like crikey.com.au
spend more time with Louis
Five things I like doing:
Playing with Louis,
running,
reading,
listening to music,
and what every man would put at the top of their list
Five favourite toys:
my favourite toy is in storage at the moment, but I like mucking round with:
My Garmin,
my computer,
my MP3 player,
Louis's "Little People",
"Rufus" - Louis's very large stuffed dog
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Picking up the pieces...
Nice touch of melodrama in the title...
Well despite the hand surgeon's receptionist not knowing when he could possibly see me, or when he could possibly fit me in for surgery when I rang on Monday morning, at 12:15 I was having my consultation with him, and at 5:30pm I was being operated on.
I assume the operation was a success, with a metal appliance not unlike a hand razor in shape being attached to my wrist. Out of hospital the next day, and on a steady dose of painkillers since. Predictions that I could drive and type by today where a little optimistic, although I am composing this with 1.5 hands at the moment (mostly the backspace key). Fairly useless around the house, a status my wife is not letting me easily forget.
Despite planning to take a week out mentally from thinking about running and double decathlons, I have started to mull over the options in my head.
The surgeon was very optomistic about my recovery. He even wrote down what events were in a decathlon, although I think he was humouring me a bit. By his estimations, I should be doing the following:
* running - 2-4 weeks
* strength training - 6-8 weeks (wrist based, anything else (e.g.) legs 2-4 weeks)
* pole vault/throws - 3-6 months
Worst case, that means running by March. This gives 4-6 weeks of training leading into the state and national masters titles, making them a possibility. My original plan was to compete in all events, as a practice for the double decathlon. Given a likely drop in form, particularly in events 800m+, I have 2 options:
1. Race a restricted program, maybe just the sprints, as a stand-alone contest
2. Compete in all the events (except the pole vault, throws and possibly the high jump), with
greatly reduced expectations
The other option is to forgo these two events completely, and start an 8 month build-up to the double decathlon champs. This would give two extra months of training, and provide a better base to attack the event. It would also allow me to seek out some more expert advice in areas I am less knowledgable in (strength training, field events, hurdles) and put in place a long-term program for these, rather than the suck-it-and-see approach I have adopted over summer.
The third option is to ditch the whole double-decathlon goal, and go back to being a regular runner. This has a couple of advantages:
1. I don't have to train as hard
2. I don't have to go to the gym
3. I don't have to do hurdles (which quite frankly have me spooked at the moment)
4. I don't risk going through this all-over again in 6 months (if Mrs Sparkie's reaction the second time I sprained my ankle is anything to go by, I do NOT want to break my wrist again)
However, I have accrued a collection of big goals in my life that I have walked away from, and however good some of the reasons, they still represent disappointments, and in some cases out and out failures. I can start pole vaulting on the 1st of July, which is 3.5 months prior to the world champs. Having gone from 0 to 2.7m off the back of 3 session, I see no reason why I can't build on this significantly over what may potentially be 14 sessions. Likewise, the throwing events. And with 4 months without these events to focus on building strength, and building my endurance base, I should be better equipped to handle the training than I was when I started back in November. So no, quitting is not an option.
Which brings us back to options 1 and 2. In all honesty, the Masters competiton in the M35-39 category is not that competitive (good athletes in this age group tend to still compete inOpens), so focusing on a limited program for these wouldn't achieve much, apart from allowing me to derive some rewards for the past few months training. Doing an extended program would be a good mental exercise, but I am unlikely to be in any sort of form to have a serious crack at most events, so it would just be two days of run-throughs.
So it would appear that come March, I will kick-off my build-up for the World Champs. The key advantage of this is that I will not have to rush my build-up, and can focus on strength and endurance without worrying about competition. The challenge now is to talk to the right people and get the right program, so I can take advantage of the opportunities this injury has given me.
BTW - thanks to everyone who sent words of support and encouragement. It really meant a lot, and the support has allowed me to quickly move on and refocus on the future.
Well despite the hand surgeon's receptionist not knowing when he could possibly see me, or when he could possibly fit me in for surgery when I rang on Monday morning, at 12:15 I was having my consultation with him, and at 5:30pm I was being operated on.
I assume the operation was a success, with a metal appliance not unlike a hand razor in shape being attached to my wrist. Out of hospital the next day, and on a steady dose of painkillers since. Predictions that I could drive and type by today where a little optimistic, although I am composing this with 1.5 hands at the moment (mostly the backspace key). Fairly useless around the house, a status my wife is not letting me easily forget.
Despite planning to take a week out mentally from thinking about running and double decathlons, I have started to mull over the options in my head.
The surgeon was very optomistic about my recovery. He even wrote down what events were in a decathlon, although I think he was humouring me a bit. By his estimations, I should be doing the following:
* running - 2-4 weeks
* strength training - 6-8 weeks (wrist based, anything else (e.g.) legs 2-4 weeks)
* pole vault/throws - 3-6 months
Worst case, that means running by March. This gives 4-6 weeks of training leading into the state and national masters titles, making them a possibility. My original plan was to compete in all events, as a practice for the double decathlon. Given a likely drop in form, particularly in events 800m+, I have 2 options:
1. Race a restricted program, maybe just the sprints, as a stand-alone contest
2. Compete in all the events (except the pole vault, throws and possibly the high jump), with
greatly reduced expectations
The other option is to forgo these two events completely, and start an 8 month build-up to the double decathlon champs. This would give two extra months of training, and provide a better base to attack the event. It would also allow me to seek out some more expert advice in areas I am less knowledgable in (strength training, field events, hurdles) and put in place a long-term program for these, rather than the suck-it-and-see approach I have adopted over summer.
The third option is to ditch the whole double-decathlon goal, and go back to being a regular runner. This has a couple of advantages:
1. I don't have to train as hard
2. I don't have to go to the gym
3. I don't have to do hurdles (which quite frankly have me spooked at the moment)
4. I don't risk going through this all-over again in 6 months (if Mrs Sparkie's reaction the second time I sprained my ankle is anything to go by, I do NOT want to break my wrist again)
However, I have accrued a collection of big goals in my life that I have walked away from, and however good some of the reasons, they still represent disappointments, and in some cases out and out failures. I can start pole vaulting on the 1st of July, which is 3.5 months prior to the world champs. Having gone from 0 to 2.7m off the back of 3 session, I see no reason why I can't build on this significantly over what may potentially be 14 sessions. Likewise, the throwing events. And with 4 months without these events to focus on building strength, and building my endurance base, I should be better equipped to handle the training than I was when I started back in November. So no, quitting is not an option.
Which brings us back to options 1 and 2. In all honesty, the Masters competiton in the M35-39 category is not that competitive (good athletes in this age group tend to still compete inOpens), so focusing on a limited program for these wouldn't achieve much, apart from allowing me to derive some rewards for the past few months training. Doing an extended program would be a good mental exercise, but I am unlikely to be in any sort of form to have a serious crack at most events, so it would just be two days of run-throughs.
So it would appear that come March, I will kick-off my build-up for the World Champs. The key advantage of this is that I will not have to rush my build-up, and can focus on strength and endurance without worrying about competition. The challenge now is to talk to the right people and get the right program, so I can take advantage of the opportunities this injury has given me.
BTW - thanks to everyone who sent words of support and encouragement. It really meant a lot, and the support has allowed me to quickly move on and refocus on the future.
