The MS Runner

Running While Battling Foot Blisters, Leg Cramps, Black Toe Nails - and MS

Archive for the ‘knee’


My lame excuses

Published December 14th, 2008 in Rock and Roll Marathon Arizona, Miles, blak lab, knee, Kari, Michael, Diane, training, Jason | 1 Comment »

Wow.  I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve written anything.  No real excuses, but I do have some that I will share with you.

After the half marathon I ran, my daughter Kari got married 2 weeks later.  The ceremony was in Florida on Sanibel Island and it turned out great.  There were just a handful of people that came to it since most friends and family are from Michigan.  The ceremony was on the beach right at sunset, and the weather that day turned out perfect.  I was there for 4 days and most of the time I hung out at the beach with my boys Jason and Michael.  Of course we all ate and drank too much and I only got one run in.  I needed to go 18 - 20 miles, but all I could do was 14.  Possibly too much drinking the night before.

We now have a new addition to the family.  His name is Miles and he is a Black Labrador.  Diane and I got him when he was 6 weeks old, so he is for sure a handful.  He eats like he’s never eaten before, and chews up everything.  He’s 10 weeks old now and almost potty trained.  I guess that’s not too bad when you consider it takes 2 years to potty train a baby.  I’m looking forward to the days that we can go running together (hence the name Miles), but for now he sniffs and eats everything along the way when we go for a walk.

My training for my next marathon, the Rock and Roll Phoenix Marathon, is not going well.  I re injured my knee on a run 2 weeks ago, so I had to miss almost 2 weeks of my training.  I was scheduled to do 22 miles last weekend, but I ended up just working out on the elliptical machine at the gym.  I ran 14 miles yesterday, and although my knee is sore, it feels okay.  I will attempt 20 miles next weekend and see how everything feels.    It’s 5 weeks until the marathon, and I have some ground to make up, but I can’t be too aggressive in my training for fear that I hurt my knee again.

Well that’s my story,and I’m sticking to it.  I will try and be more diligent in my writings, and actually try and make it worthwhile reading.

Feelin’ Good

Published October 21st, 2008 in Denver Marathon, Stinger Gels, Left Hand Brewery, knee, OBX Marathon, beer, marathon, Running | 5 Comments »

I did the half at the Denver Marathon this past weekend and I must say that it was a success.  My goal was not to push myself too hard, finish somewhere around 2 hours, and not hurt my knee.  The day was perfect for running.  It was 50 degrees at the start and got up to about 62 at the end.  The one thing that I would change about this marathon is the start.  You have the marathoners, the half marathoners, and the relaythoners all starting together.  It’s like a freakin’ cattle call and I felt like I was going to go to the slaughterhouse.  And the one thing that really pisses me off is the people that line up towards the front with runners that will run the race in 3 hours or so, and the only thing that they can run well with is their mouth.  Oye.  Anyways, I think they should have qualifying waves and if you are a slow poke, you will have to be at the end. But, after the crazy start, it thinned out a bit, but there were always other runners around you.  I like that because if can fall into a group that runs your pace, it seems that much easier to run.

Around mile 5, my legs started feeling heavy.  Being that I hadn’t run longer than 10 miles sine June, I was a bit concerned.  But then at mile 6, I had one of my Stinger Energy Gels, and felt much better.  I probably should have taken it a mile sooner, but I’m a creature of habit.  I seem to always have one at mile 6 instead of having one when I need it.

After mile 6, I ran into someone I knew and she was doing the half also.  This is a week after she ran the Chicago Marathon!  Amazing.

Between mile 7 and mile 11, I really don’t remember much.  I kind of get into a zone where I don’t notice anything or even pay attention to my time.  I checked my watch at mile 11, and it was at 1 hour and 42 minutes.  I was doing okay, and I didn’t even try and do the math to see if I was going to make it in 2 hours.   I just kept along at the pace I was going and figured I’d be right about 2 hours.

Once I hit the point where you could see the finish, I thought I’d pick up the pace a bit, because I felt strong and good.  There was less than a half mile to go, and I think I passed about 15 people to get to the finish line.  My final time was 1:59:38.  I broke 2 hours, and more importantly, I didn’t hurt myself.

One nice thing about this marathon, was the beer garden afterwards.  They actually had some good beer instead of the typical Bud or Coors.  It was all from Left Hand Brewing Company here in Colorado.  As I was sitting there tossing back a few Sawtooth Ales’s, this woman sat down next to me and starting talking about the run.  It turns out that she is 66 years old, ran the half marathon that day, and has done 5 marathons already this year!  She’s not even sure how many marathons she has done in her life, but she said it’s well over a hundred.  Maybe close to two hundred.  Incredible!

Well that’s it, and now I aim for the OBX Marathon in North Carolina.  Since I have not run much this summer, I’m doing the half.  At sea level, I’m shooting for 1:45.

What Happened to Fall?

Published October 11th, 2008 in knee, Denver Marathon, OBX Marathon, Kari, Michael, marathon, Jason | 1 Comment »

I think last weekend it was 75 degrees and sunny.  Today it’s 40 degrees and raining.  I’m not sure what the rest of the week will bring, but it’s crazy.  I’m sure it’s global warming and them damn Republicans.  In fact, I think I heard that it was Governor Palin who was shooting holes in the ozone with her shotgun.

I signed up today to do the Denver Marathon which is next weekend.  Since I’m still “recovering” from my knee injury, I’m doing the half marathon and doing this as a training run, and not a race.  The most I’ve run since June is 10 miles, so this should be a good test for my knee.  I hope that the weather is better this year.  Last year it was 34 degrees and raining.  I was miserable.

Then in 4 weeks is the Outer Banks Marathon, of which I’m doing the half with I think my 2 boys, Jason and Michael.  I hear that Michael may bow out because he hasn’t been training at all.  I think that he didn’t want to get beat by the old man.

Not to be missed is my daughter Kari’s wedding in 6 weeks in Sanibel Island, Florida.  That should be fun except for the part where my ex and her family will be there.  I plan on hiding out until it comes time to give Kari away.  Then when that’s done, I run into the gulf where I have a speed boat that is straight out of Miami Vice waiting for me.  I speed away as fast as I can and as far away as I can.  After that my plan is kind of fuzzy.  I’ll either end up in Mexico or Cuba.

Don’t Want to Jinx Myself but……

Published September 20th, 2008 in knee, OBX Marathon, marathon, Michael, Jason | No Comments »

My knee is feeling good after my 6 miler today.  I hadn’t run in 2 weeks and was a little nervous about running at all today, but everything seemed to go well.  Of course I took it easy and I didn’t even look at my watch for fear that I would want to speed it up.

So it looks like I’ll resume a schedule of running this week and see how things go.  A lot will depend on how my knee feels tomorrow after my run today.

My “marathon” is 7 weeks away now, but as I’ve already said, I’m going to try and run the half.  If I can’t run, then I will walk since I already paid for the freakin’ thing.  But my 2 sons are going to be running, and I’m sure they will be out gunning for the old man.  If my knee is feeling good, and I’m able to get some miles in before the race, then I smell a wager on who will win.  Of course I should get odds and I’m thinking of a 10 minute spot.  We’ll see what happens, and if anyone wants a piece of the action, let me know.

Taking the Week Off

Published September 10th, 2008 in Red Wings, Detroit Lions, knee, Pistons, football | No Comments »

And it’s not from work.  I can’t remember the last time I took a whole week off from work actually.  But I’m taking a week off of running.  The knee is not getting any better and actually it took a U-turn this past week.  I was feeling pretty decent and starting to ramp up my mileage, when BAM!  Batman hit me.  I mean my knee started hurting again.  I went 10 miles on Saturday, and then paid the price the rest of the day.  It swelled up bigger than my head swells when I finish the word search puzzle in the comic section of the newspaper.

So here I am, drinking beer, and wondering why I’m still a Detroit Lions fan.  They lost this past weekend to Atlanta which is about as bad as losing……aarrgghh.  I can’t think of a good example.  Or bad example as the case may be.

So let’s talk about something else.  You go first.

I’m waiting.

Oh well, talk amongst yourselves.  I’ll give you a topic.  Civil War.  It was neither Civil, nor a War.  Discuss.

Isn’t Mike Myers the best?

Anyway, hockey season starts soon, and the Detroit Red Wings should be favored to win it all again.  They just resigned 46 year old Chris Chelios, so who can beat them now?  I hear Gordie Howe is a free agent.  And then of course, basketball starts again.  Oh boy.  They play like 800 games a year, so wake me up when they have 10 left.  And it’s the 4th quarter.

Thank you and good night.

It Could Be Worse

Published August 5th, 2008 in ACL, meniscus, knee | 4 Comments »

I had an MRI on my knee yesterday and it’s not good news.  I have a torn meniscus and a stress fracture on my femur.  I also have a torn ACL, but I knew that.  I did that about 10 years ago and just never got it fixed.  But the torn meniscus and the stress fracture are my biggest problems.  So it looks like I’ll be out of commission for awhile.  I go next week to see an orthopedic doctor and I’ll find out then what my options are.  I’m sure it’s going to at least be arthroscopic surgery and  then maybe I’ll be out for week.   If that’s the case,  I may be able to run the half marathon in November with my sons, and maybe target another marathon in  January or so.

I know I have to stay positive and hope for the best and I’m determined that I’ll come back stronger than ever.  Blah blah blah.  This sucks and I’m pissed.  I just hope that if I have surgery, I’ll still be able to run.  I really do like running and I can’t imagine not being able to do it.

I Think I Broke My Knee

Published July 27th, 2008 in knee, Georgetown Idaho Springs Half | 4 Comments »

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything here and the reason being is I hurt my knee and I haven’t been running for 2 weeks.  I’m not sure what the problem is, but it’s gotten better and I’m going to try and run tomorrow morning.  I’ve been seeing a physical therapist and she has been working my knee trying to get it back to where it should be.  I probably should have gone to a orthopedic doctor, but I was afraid that he would want to “cut me open”.  The last thing I want is surgery because then I know I probably would not be ready for my marathon.  The fact is though, I still might not be.  Everything is going to come down to how I feel after I run tomorrow.  If it goes well, then I think that I’m back on track.  If not, it looks like I may have to see the orthopedic guy.

I had hoped to run the Georgetown to Idaho Springs half marathon in less than 2 weeks, but I highly doubt it now.  If everything does go okay, maybe I’ll do it as a training run and not be concerned about my time.  We shall see.

It’s been driving me nuts that I can’t run though.  I feel like I’ve gained 20 pounds and I’m really restless.  Hopefully I’ll get back on track and everything will be fine.