Well I’m not healing as fast as I would have liked and as a result will definatly not be doing the Quebec Matharon des deux Rives. I’m quite dissapointed but also would like years of running and if I don’t let this heal up right I’m going to really be in trouble. I’m still plaigued by the posterior tendon as well as the shin splint symptoms. I’ve seen everyone under the sun, have tried many different things and it always comes back almost right away. I fear I might have a stress fracture that has healed up or is near the end. I’m wrapping it up now and am doing greater stretches. I’ve really let the eating and working out go downhill the last few weeks as the entire situation has kind of depressed me. Well no more, I’m going to hit the gym tonight and the pool. I’ve got to get the cardio back up but keep the legs out of it. I’ll let you know how that works out. I’m hoping to get running by the end of April. I need to start the 18 week training program for Toronto Waterfront by May 24 long weekend. As long as the legs are good and healed up by then I should be ok. If they aren’t healed up by then (8 Weeks) I am in serious trouble and will have to really figure out what my next sport is going to be…

Well I’m going to have to change the name of this site to the injured runners site. This is ridiculous I just can’t take this being injured. I’m having trouble working out and doing any kind of cardio when I can’t run. I’m going to have to start from scratch I think. I’m wondering if some medication I take regularly could be causing all this. Much of  this started when I began taking some medications. For those of you who do or don’t know me I’ll admit it I take some mood disorder medication. Well I’ve been on them for about a year and a half now and that’s about how long I’ve been plagued with injuries (well running injuries that is). Anyhow I’m going to try and get back into the DR. to see if we can put a figure on this. Stay posted.

Started the day out with an ART (Active Release Treatment) Session and then followed it up a few hours later with a run. As you can tell by the image it wasn’t a bad day. -3 seems cold but after the winter we’ve had it really isn’t. Also there were no clouds for my run, just sunshine which was very nice and I was really hot at the end of the run. The legs feel pretty good. Slight discomfort but nothing really out of any norms. Nothing that would imply either the start of something or the lingering after effects of something else.
Todays run was 4 mile run which I completed in 35.24 minutes. Pace was a nice relaxed 8.51 minute mile. I don’t actually start training for the Quebec City Marathon till mid April so at the moment I’m working on technique, and making sure that I have better muscle balance as well as getting used to running in the orthotics.

Well the next marathon is in the works, End of August in Levis et la ville de Quebec (Quebec City). This will be both a family trip and marathon run. It looks like everyone is going to be heading to Quebec for this one and I hope I have some friends out there to cheer me on from work as well. Seeing as I work for a french school board there are many people from Quebec and Levis that I work with. I also have family not so far away in and around St. Magloire.

St-Magloire

Well today is the first run outside in months. Also the first somewhat healthy run in quite some time. Did almost a 1 mile warmup first (walk/run) followed by a good stretch to get all the kinks worked out. I knew it was going to be a bit more work than running inside on the treadmill. The legs felt pretty good during the run. Post race the left shin is a bit sensitive but nothing really bad. I got the ok to start running from Dr. Levy (My sports physician) and he did some tests for a stress fracture. Seems all is good.
Started my run on Upper Wentworth just outside our area heading towards Stonechurch. Took a left onto Stonechurch heading towards Upper James. Ran past upper James to W5th turning left up toward Rymal. At Rymal ran throught the plaza parking making way down Upper James back towards the Honda Dealership and cut through the townhouses stopping just short of Stonechurch where I walked the rest of the way home. The entire run (excluding the approx. 1 mile warmup) was 3.28 miles which I ran a the ever so slow pace of 9.23 minute miles for a total run time of 30.49 minutes.

Glucosamine, well the bottle says “use minimum 2 months to see results”. I took this stuff once in the past and it seemed to work. I’m not quite sure why I ever stopped but the fact is I did. Today I’m taking the first tablets in years. At this stage my running is so inhibited that I’m trying anything. I’ve got appt. with specialist on Thursday and I’ll see if I can get an x-ray to make sure I didn’t suffer a stress fracture. If I did how much longer I should lay off, if I should at all. I ran yesterday and it felt pretty good. I’m going to run again tonight and really limit how much I increase weekly as I mentioned before until April.  Then the 10% a week kicks in. I also have been doing shin strengthening exercises as well as ankle and balance.

Well I am now officially the new spokesperson for Molson Ex I guess. If you can read french you’ll love the site. To give you the gist of it. Our english ads we had a couple years back for the “I am Canadian” the spokesperson was “JOE” well in Quebec and Ex he’s “Serge”. And yes Serge has Principals and they are on the site. I’ve included them here. I’ll translate later. Anyhow I thought this was hilarious.

Nice run on the machines tonight! I’m a bit sick of this long winter and running on the treadmill but I’m still in recover/rehab mode so it’s ok. I’m profiting by working on my gait. Specifically strengthening the left leg and trying to make sure I bring the forefoot (toes) up when I transition from left to right foot. I’m also very conscious of the amount of time it took to heal from these shin splints and wish to never have them again. I’m more and more certain that I might have had a stress fracture as this seems to be far to long of a recovery for mere shin splints.
Anyhow some facts about the run; did a 30 min run for 3.23 miles, that provides an average pace of 09.17 min miles. That isn’t bad. Really don’t want to push my luck. Slowly build back up.  Don’t start my next buildup till April so take advantage of this time to build a good base again.

The shins have a slight tingle but I made sure to not push it. Stop as soon as I felt even a tingle. I have till mid April before I start my 18 week training program so for the moment the goal is to run a nice 5 mile run without any discomfort and to work on my form. The key to being healthy is going to be my form. I did 3 miles (5Km) in 26.23 min’s, for a pace of 8:52 min miles. That is the first time that I have let it go below 9 min miles in quite some time. I’ll take tomorrow off the running and run again on Sunday.

Well I did my cardio at home tonight and got it out of the way early. Robin is working afternoons 4-12 so I won’t get a chance to get out for my run or get to the gym. I worked out hard enough yesterday to take a night off of that but had to get my cardio in today. I jumped on the new stair machine and did 35 min for 1994 stairs and burned approx 586 cals. I’m am still amazed at the sweat I build up on that thing and the level of breathing I get up to. I have to get a battery for my heart monitor so I can see at what percentage of my max heart rate I’m exercising in. I’ll keep you posted. For those of you looking for a cross training exercise this is it!