A Runner at Heart.....Riding a Bike

It was 60 degrees this morning.  I decided to run easy and see how it felt.  I feel pretty much the same as I have the last few weeks.  Nagging groin pain.....but manageable.  I ran 6.61 miles easy.

It felt good to run again....even if it was slow.

It was 64 degrees and windy this morning.  I ran 6.55 easy miles.  Pain level still the same.

It was 45 degrees with cold winds this morning.  I ran 8.68 miles easy.  Pain still about the same.

It was 50 degrees with light winds this morning.  It was very nice.  I ran 6.63 miles with 3 faster miles and the discomfort did not start until I was 5 miles in.

AM:  It was 58 degrees with a light breeze at 5:30.  I ran a little earlier as we have a long drive today.  I ran 8.65 miles.

AM:  It was 42 degrees and humid from the rain yesterday.  We are in Seeley Lake, Montana at my parents house for a visit.  I always like running up here because it is gently rolling empty roads through the forest.  I ran 11.34 miles and the injury was not too bad due to the lack of hills.

NOON:  We drove to the Morrell Falls trailhead and the entire family hiked to the falls.  It is a 5+ mile roundtrip hike.  We stopped for a while at the falls and hiked back out.  I started picking up the hiking pace with 1.5 miles to go so I could change shoes because I had a plan.

3:20PM:  I packed my running gear in the car so I could run back to town if I wanted to, and I did.  I ran back to my parents house.  The first 7.58 miles are a rolling dirt road through the forest.  After how good I felt the first mile I decided to tempo run until I hit the pavement.  I had some incentive too.  When I started running, not everyone was back off the hiking trail yet so I wanted to see how far I could get before the cars passed me.  It was about 65 degrees with some nice winds that felt good.  I kept all the 7.58 miles between 6:58 and 7:12 and was having a blast.  My legs REALLY liked the softness of the dirt road.

By the time the cars passed me I had flown through 6 miles and was almost done with the tempo.  I ran 9.72 miles.

Not a bad day.....I ran over 21 miles and hiked a bit more than 5.  I love vacation.

AM:  It was 42 degrees and sunny/clear this morning.  I ran 8.47 miles easy after my big day yesterday.  I was, however, keeping a close eye on wildlife this morning.  I normally see lots of deer running around but last night we had a Black Bear wander through the property so I was extra careful.

Spent the day at the lake swimming with the family.  In the evening we golfed 9 holes on a beautiful course.  I am a horrible golfer but it was a lot of fun.

It was 46 degrees, another nice morning in the forest.  I ran 10.38 miles easy.

Today we rented a pair of WaveRunners and spent the entire day on the water.  Temps were in the mid 80's and we had a blast.

It was 48 degrees this morning and beautiful sunshine again.  I ran 10.42 miles with some good tempo in the middle.  Now off to another day at the lake before we go home tomorrow.

AM:  It was 58 degrees with a light breeze this morning.  I ran 10.62 miles with 3 really surprising miles in the middle that were of little effort.  It was probably because of the 2 days off due to travel both days.  

It was 66 degrees and windy this morning.  It did not cool off much last night.  I ran 12.66 miles with 6 good tempo miles.

It was 49 degrees today , but at least the winds are lighter.  I ran 10.58 miles easy.

It was 47 degrees with light winds today.  I am enjoying these cooler mornings.  I ran 10.71 miles.

It was 48 degrees this morning.  I ran 10.67 miles easy.

It was 71 degrees and muggy at 5:30 this morning.  Barry Smith picked me up and we drove to the top of Buckskin to run some of the marathon course.  It was 67 at the top and a bit cooler down the back side.  Luckily the cloud cover held up so it did not get overly hot.  We hit 101 yesterday so it was a concern.

We ran 19.05 miles with some decent speedplay from mile 14 on.  I ran a couple 6:40's while Barry chased and he ran some 7:00's while I chased.

It was 66 degrees and a bit windy this morning.  It felt a bit warm to me.  I ran 10.61 miles with a few pick-ups.

It was 53 degrees and breezy this morning.  It felt great.  It did, however, warm up quickly after the sun came up.  I ran 16.11 miles in a new pair of 2140's.  Nice, mid-distance run.

It was 56 degrees this morning.  I ran 10.57 sluggish miles after all the work I did at my daughter's house yesterday.

It was 58 degrees this morning.  I ran 12.68 miles.

It was 53 degrees and windy this morning.  Pretty comfortable.  I ran 10.59 miles easy.

It was 50 degrees this morning, nice and cool.  I ran 15.86 miles easy.

It was 63 degrees this morning.  I ran 10.62 miles easy, 2.5 of them with Bob.

It was 62 degrees when I left this morning and 72 when I got home.  The humidity must have been high because I was sweating buckets today.  I ran 15.51 miles.

WELL......I finally got a diagnosis on my groin/abdominal issue that has been plaguing me for months now.  I got in to see the sports-med doctor today.  After talking to him and doing some initial testing he was sure I had a sports hernia.  He did an ultra-sound and said that it was NOT a sports hernia because the muscle was still attached.  The he found something else just adjacent to that area.  My tendon has pulled away from the pubus bone and I have a bone spur there and the gap has filled-in with the wrong stuff.  Officially it is called Abdominus Rectus Tendonosis.  It is an overuse/imbalance injury that he has seen before.  

The good news is that it can be healed without surgery and I do NOT have to stop running.  He said if I was younger, say 25 or so, my body would have flooded the area with blood to heal it but because I am 46 the blood flow is not as good so my body did not recognize the actual injury very well.  I was very impressed with his knowledge on the subject and his expertise with the ultrasound.  From what I have read, not very many doctors are that proficient in ultrasound diagnosis of this kind.  Luckily, he is the doctor that all the university track and cross-country runners go to in this area.  If there is an expert....he is it!!!

He has prescribed a nitroglycerin patch that I will wear while sleeping to increase the blood flow to the area to facilitate the healing.  He said the only reason it will work is because I am thin enough because the patch has to be within about 1 1/2 inches from the injury.  Thank goodness for being thinner due to running.  I also have to do specific exercises to strengthen other muscles.  I will see him again in 3 weeks to check my progress.

Needless to say I am OVERJOYED to have a specific diagnosis and a plan to heal.  I can still run although I may not be very fast as intensity does cause it to flare-up more.

Did not run today....

Left early this morning to take my son to the MTC in Provo.  He will be there for 2 months and then he is off to El Salvador to serve his mission.  I cannot put in to words the different emotions I have felt this week.  Those of you who have experienced this know what I mean.  I will miss him terribly but I am so proud of him and I know he will bless the lives of the people he will serve.

It was 53 degrees this morning and the air was really fresh from all the rain last night.  I ran 10.63 miles, 4 of them with Bob, in a fairly easy pace.

It was 53 degrees with a nice breeze this morning.  I ran 10.44 miles with some really nice pick-up miles towards the end.

It was 53 degrees at the top of Buckskin this morning.  I ran the marathon course by myself because my normal Saturday partner is running the Spudman triathlon in Burley today.  It seemed like a longer run by myself.  I ran 22.11 miles and felt pretty good.