Update!

Just wanted to update to say that my legs and feet have been feeling great lately. Marathon training is much more difficult than I thought it would be, but it's been going well. I'm running distances I never thought I'd be able to. 16, 18, and soon 20 miles.

Every once in a while I get a little bit of tingling in my toes, but it's really nothing compared to how it used to be. My inner calves and ankles are still desensitized 7 months later, but I think I blogged before and said that the nerves might take more than a year to regenerate.

All in all, things are well.

Physical Therapy

As of 7pm tonight, I am done with physical therapy! :-)

TNT Week 7

This week's team run was great! 10 miles at Green Lakes State Park and also on the Erie Canal trail. I wore shorts and a t-shirt despite it being a little chilly. The hills were the only things keeping me from running the entire way, but I think that was pretty much the case for everyone. If there's one thing we're prepared for, it's hills. My legs and feet felt great, too. I'm finally feeling good that the surgery actually worked. lol...

Dr. Appointment Update

So yesterday I went to see Dr. Battaglia. He seemed really pleased with my progress, and admitted he wasn't 100% positive on his diagnosis. Not the most comforting thing to hear, but I suppose it's difficult to diagnose the human body sometimes. lol... I guess he gets the benefit of the doubt. I have one more appointment with him shortly after the Mountain Goat. He's primarily curious as to how I do from here on out.

As far as how I feel, I've been feeling great! My last long hard run was on Tuesday, and I did 5 miles. Really pushed myself. After about 4 miles my toes got a little tingly, but it went away after about 4.5 miles. It really is a HUGE improvement.

The insides of my lower calves are still a little desensitized. I have feeling, but it's a numb feeling. I've noticed a big difference in improvement, though. Dr. Battaglia said that nerves generally regenerate at the rate of 1mm per day. At that rate, I should be fully recovered in about a year. lol... In the meantime, it really doesn't bother me, though.

Also, I'm going to PT once a week now. My therapist told me that I really don't have much time left there. Dr. Battaglia doesn't really see much of a reason for me to keep going. I may go for a few more weeks then call it quits.

All in all, I'm glad I got the surgery. Tomorrow will be 5 months post-op, and I can already tell I'm a better runner than I was before. I'd say I'm about 85% healed.

Tipperary Hill Shamrock Run

Yesterday was our week 5 training run, and our first race as a team. We all met up at our teammate's apartment on Tipp Hill, down the street from the infamous upside-down traffic light. We couldn't have asked for better March weather for the race. I think it was probably mid-30's and sunny, little wind. The hills were great, and the PT I've been going through has helped a lot. I do a lot of strength training, not only in my calves and feet, but in my thighs, hamstring, and glutes as well, which has been great for the hills. My chip time was 43:12, a 10:48 pace. This was up 5:10 from last year.

A few days ago, I was talking with my PT about moving down to once a week and he was all for it. Even said I'd probably be done in a few weeks. Yesterday's run was quite encouraging because I felt very little tingle in my right foot and I pushed myself pretty hard.

After the race, met up with most of the team again at the apartment, then met up with other friends down at Nibsy's. Got a bite to eat before heading up to watch the SU game with even more peeps.

Now it's time to figure out how I'm going to go get my car up on the hill. lol...

Team In Training Week 4

Well, today we battled through the snow for a nice run in Fayetteville. I did 7 miles with a couple great people on my team, and it's good they were there to help push me, because the run was a challenge! I fell between my goal of a 11-12 minute pace. The hills really did a number on my legs, though. Although, that's not really a bad thing. I was still able to endure. My feet didn't have any pain. Just before the water stop at the turnaround 3 1/2 miles out, my right foot started to go numb. I stopped for water and did a little bit of a stretch. My foot felt fine on the way back.


This is still very encouraging to me to know that it's not as bad as it was before. Before, it would go completely numb and would stay that way for about 5 miles. So, I am very happy. :-)

Much Better!

So tonight, a little over a month since my first run after surgery, I finally got a great run in. I did a 4.28 mile training run and pushed myself a little harder than I have been. Lately, I've been going for a pace between 11 and 12 minutes. I've been closer to the 12 minute mark, but tonight had an 11:16 pace. That's about what I did my last half marathon at. It was a good run.

The best part of the run was that my arch pain didn't show it's ugly head! Also, and most importantly, my right foot didn't go numb!!! This is very encouraging to me since the last time I felt like I had a good run my right foot went numb.

I've still got a ways to go, but I can finally feel as though things are going to be fine.

Team In Training!

Well, the Team In Training season is officially underway. I've been running now again for almost 2 weeks. Like I said in my last post, the arches of my feet hurt, but I feel as though that's progressively getting better. I've been doing a 2 minutes run/walk routine that seems to be working well for now.

Yesterday, we had our first group training session (GTS) with the team. I did 4 miles of my 2 minute routine. At one point I was going downhill, so I decided to run for 4 minutes. This was at about the 3 mile mark. My right foot started going numb.

I can't tell you how disheartening it was to feel that sensation in my foot again. After everything I've been through, that's the last thing I wanted to feel. I could deal with calf pain, foot pain... but numbness. UGH!!!

So, soon after I started to feel that, I got to a water stop. I stretched out, and went on my merry way. Before surgery, after stopping the numbness went away, but shortly after starting to run again it would come back. Yesterday, after leaving the water stop, it didn't come back again. So that was good.

After talking it over, I'm thinking it could be that way for several reasons. One, I haven't bought new sneakers since just before the Mountain Goat run in May. Since then I've done 2 half marathons, the Mountain Goat, the Boilermaker, a couple 5k's and the training for all of them. They're probably not good sneakers anymore. Two, I haven't been back in the running game very long. Endurance is lost very easily when you're not running. Three, it was very cold out and hard to get the legs warmed up. Perhaps I should buy leg warmers!

If it turns out my surgery didn't work, then I'll have to deal with the numbness. I was told before surgery that I could still run with it. It'll slow me down a bit, but I don't think I'll ever win a race anyways. I'm not in this to be fast. I'm in this because I enjoy it. I was actually able to deal with the numbness pretty well. It was the calf crap at mile 10 of the Lake Placid half, and feeling like it was going to cramp at the ARC half that I couldn't deal with. This surgery may help with that, too.

So, I'm not down for the count, yet. In fact, I don't see me going down for the count EVER! I've still got a lot of running ahead of me. I love being a part of Team In Training and there's still not a cure for cancer.

First run!

Well, I'm happy to tell you that it is exactly 99 days since my last run and I am running again! My surgery was 98 days ago. It's hard to believe that more than 3 months has passed.

So to be honest, I did run last night at PT on the treadmill. It was very short and treadmills don't like me, so it hurt a bit. I think tonight's run outside was much better. I took it easy. The first 2 minutes was spent walking and warming up. Then I did a fairly slow pace for the next 5 minutes. Then I walked for about another minute and ran home from there. All in all, I estimate I ran a total of .75 miles.

My feet hurt a bit, but not the numb feeling like before. I think it's due to not having run in over 3 months. It's certainly an exciting feeling, though. Can't wait to start full blown training. :-)

It's been a while...

Hello! Happy new year! So, an update has been a while. Of course, with the holidays and such, things have been a bit busy. However, things are going well. My left leg is still a little bruised, but my doctor isn't worried about it, so I'm not either.

PT has been going well. Doing a lot of jumping exercises, and some things that I don't particularly like, but they seem to be working. This week I talked to my therapist about going 2 times a week instead of 3, and he thought that idea was fine.

I had a small setback after feeling some pain in my right hamstring after a PT session. It lasted a week or so, but seems to be fine now.

I've signed up for my next Team In Training season. I've decided to up the mileage and attempt a full marathon. Of course, I can't even run right now, but that's not going to stop me. I'm sure I'll be back soon, and I feel as though PT is preparing me to be better than ever!