The bad news: I've officially postponed plans for a Spring '09 marathon. While my shin has made dramatic improvements in the past three days, I missed more than a week of training, including two critical long runs. May 31 is a long time from now and there's no doubt I could run a decent marathon then, but I'm just not interested in running a "decent" marathon. I need to be fit, trained and tapered to have a shot at 3:15, and I just wouldn't be.
The good news: is plenty enough to offset the bad news
1) My shin is mostly better. I've gotten many recommendations about pursuing ART treatments and massage and I'm not ruling it out at some point, but I'm also not doing it right now. I have a strong aversion to most medical things (aside from my diabetes I haven't seen a doctor in years). Moreover, I believe in the concepts of things like Chi running and believe that the answer isn't in repairing wrong running, but in running right. At least, that's how I feel today.
2) That being said, I continue to learn that my 38 year old body requires a bit more coddling than I give it. Ten mile runs require stretches afterwards. Ice belongs in more places than my bourbon glass. Shoes should be rotated. I have broken all of these rules and - once again - have had to pay the price.
3) Even with my longest layoff in two years, I AM pretty fit right now. On Saturday, I ran the local YWCA Race Against Racism, the largest 5k I do most years (though a lot of the participants are walkers). I finished in 20:07, 8th out of 116 in my AG, and 54th out of 1200ish overall. While that's 20 seconds slower than my PR, it's not an easy course, and I was 33 seconds faster than I did it two years ago. It wasn't however, a flawless execution: a 5:57 first mile gave way to a 6:21 second which wilted into a 6:44 third. The endurance is definitely gone. Sunday, Dave and I went out for an easy 10 @ 8:30 pace, after which I knew for sure that I'd lost the fitness to be able to pop out a twenty miler. Today, I'm sore and resting, though it's a good sore. Not an injured sore.
4) I went to the local diabetes fair later in the weekend and met w/ all the CGM suppliers and learned that the insurance I carry should cover the CGM. So now I need to decide which supplier to pursue. My current thinking:
* I'd really like to have an integrated device like the Minimed for distance running
* People tend to think the Minimed is more painful and less accurate
* The Dexcom receiver is separate and big, but the Dex will talk to the next generation Animas pump, which will likely be out in a year or so, about the time my pump goes off warranty.
* I saw the Freestyle Navigator, but the sensor looks too big to me and I've got no interest in the Omnipod, which it talks to. I got a sample Omnipod in the mail and have no interest in sticking it to me. I like the concept but it just looks.... lumpy... to me.
Sooo.. at this point, I'm leaning Dex, though that's subject to change (and comments and opinions welcome).
Monday, April 27, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Realignment
This hasn't been the week I expected.
Less important: my cell-phone died. Necessities and contractual obligations I won't bore you with thrust me into the Blackberry age, via the Storm. I'm enjoying this muchly, though - like I said - a week ago I had no plans to have any smartphone, Blackberry or otherwise.
Harry Kalas died. And like John Finger wrote, I have no idea how Phillies baseball sounds without him, and I'm not very eager to find out. It's kind of a bummer.
And then - more specific to this blog - I am injured. My recurring shin problem flared up very much on a Saturday ten miler with Dave and then went full-bore on Monday, turning an anticipated 20 into a measly 9. And while I've cut back recovery runs to hold off injuries, this was the first long run I've had to bag since I don't know when.
Tues. and Wed., the pain persisted. I'd hoped to bike but it rained to beat the band those days. Today it's gorgeous, but I still have the pain, so I won't be running.
Seven weeks until a marathon - this isn't a good time to be injured at all. That being said, I'm not throwing in the towel, yet. Saturday calls for six and Sunday calls for 12 (the only mercy is this was scheduled to be a cut-back week). If I can get through those pain-free, I'll try and get through next week (including the 20) and decide for sure then.
In the meantime, though, I'm icing, resting, and - starting today - biking. I'm not going to a doctor because he won't tell me to do anything I'm not doing already. More important, he can't answer the only question I want answered: Can I miss a week of training seven weeks before my marathon and still run 3:15? To quote Missy Foy's husband, Bob - the answers to that question aren't in here... they're out there. And it's just going to take me a few days to get back out there.
Less important: my cell-phone died. Necessities and contractual obligations I won't bore you with thrust me into the Blackberry age, via the Storm. I'm enjoying this muchly, though - like I said - a week ago I had no plans to have any smartphone, Blackberry or otherwise.
Harry Kalas died. And like John Finger wrote, I have no idea how Phillies baseball sounds without him, and I'm not very eager to find out. It's kind of a bummer.
And then - more specific to this blog - I am injured. My recurring shin problem flared up very much on a Saturday ten miler with Dave and then went full-bore on Monday, turning an anticipated 20 into a measly 9. And while I've cut back recovery runs to hold off injuries, this was the first long run I've had to bag since I don't know when.
Tues. and Wed., the pain persisted. I'd hoped to bike but it rained to beat the band those days. Today it's gorgeous, but I still have the pain, so I won't be running.
Seven weeks until a marathon - this isn't a good time to be injured at all. That being said, I'm not throwing in the towel, yet. Saturday calls for six and Sunday calls for 12 (the only mercy is this was scheduled to be a cut-back week). If I can get through those pain-free, I'll try and get through next week (including the 20) and decide for sure then.
In the meantime, though, I'm icing, resting, and - starting today - biking. I'm not going to a doctor because he won't tell me to do anything I'm not doing already. More important, he can't answer the only question I want answered: Can I miss a week of training seven weeks before my marathon and still run 3:15? To quote Missy Foy's husband, Bob - the answers to that question aren't in here... they're out there. And it's just going to take me a few days to get back out there.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Warning: Grumpy Post
So I want to get my bloodwork done this AM... Fasting bloodwork, which means I'm hungry, which equals grumpy.
They told me the wait would be an hour. AN HOUR. I was like, no way, and they were like, yes way, so I scheduled an appointment to come back on Friday. This Friday. Good Friday. Otherwise known as the first day I was going to sleep in since like... before my marathon plan started about a million years ago.
And then... driving in to work, my 2008 Scion XB check engine light came on AGAIN. For the third time...
Good news: I'm a grumpy enough customer that the dealership KNOWS I'll be getting a loaner at this point. Bad news: I got better things to do w/ my time then give my car to the dealership every few weeks so they can look under the hood and go, Huh?
And while I'm being grumpy: Accu-Chek is now giving users FREE skins. Why does this piss me off? Because Minimed charges ten bucks for the same thing? (Albeit for a different device.)
Which reminds me: I haven't updated my Minimed saga in a while. Last October, Minimed advised me that they could bill my insurance directly for blood sugar strips, even though I use a mail order pharmacy (which has worked flawlessly for years). I said there was no need to do it, but the Minimed rep insisted it would work out better.
If by "better" he means that Minimed now claims I owe them $612 for blood sugar strips my insurance company won't pay for, I guess they're right.
Along the way, I've jumped through every hoop Minimed's asked me to... Long story short, they (admittedly) did the paperwork wrong at the beginning, but haven't written off the bill yet. Meanwhile, I've been resubmitting whatever Minimed wants to the proper insurance company, but to no avail, (since Minimed didn't have the Dr. write the script correctly in the first place). Last week they put my account on hold and I practically crawled through the phone to wring their neck. They took the account off hold and supposedly are "reviewing the account," though the collection agent warned me that it might take a while because she works in a call center and has calls to make. Get that? She can't take the time to fix their mistake because her job is to shake down other customers.
So, that's that... the labs are too busy to take my blood, I'm going to be driving yet another rental car for a few days and Minimed wants me to pay them six hundred bucks for their mistake, which they've already admitted to (which I assure you will never, ever happen).
Saving grace? My 19 mile run on Sunday went great. Average pace of 8:11, the day after a 9 miler at 7:30 pace. So at least there's that. :)
They told me the wait would be an hour. AN HOUR. I was like, no way, and they were like, yes way, so I scheduled an appointment to come back on Friday. This Friday. Good Friday. Otherwise known as the first day I was going to sleep in since like... before my marathon plan started about a million years ago.
And then... driving in to work, my 2008 Scion XB check engine light came on AGAIN. For the third time...
Good news: I'm a grumpy enough customer that the dealership KNOWS I'll be getting a loaner at this point. Bad news: I got better things to do w/ my time then give my car to the dealership every few weeks so they can look under the hood and go, Huh?
And while I'm being grumpy: Accu-Chek is now giving users FREE skins. Why does this piss me off? Because Minimed charges ten bucks for the same thing? (Albeit for a different device.)
Which reminds me: I haven't updated my Minimed saga in a while. Last October, Minimed advised me that they could bill my insurance directly for blood sugar strips, even though I use a mail order pharmacy (which has worked flawlessly for years). I said there was no need to do it, but the Minimed rep insisted it would work out better.
If by "better" he means that Minimed now claims I owe them $612 for blood sugar strips my insurance company won't pay for, I guess they're right.
Along the way, I've jumped through every hoop Minimed's asked me to... Long story short, they (admittedly) did the paperwork wrong at the beginning, but haven't written off the bill yet. Meanwhile, I've been resubmitting whatever Minimed wants to the proper insurance company, but to no avail, (since Minimed didn't have the Dr. write the script correctly in the first place). Last week they put my account on hold and I practically crawled through the phone to wring their neck. They took the account off hold and supposedly are "reviewing the account," though the collection agent warned me that it might take a while because she works in a call center and has calls to make. Get that? She can't take the time to fix their mistake because her job is to shake down other customers.
So, that's that... the labs are too busy to take my blood, I'm going to be driving yet another rental car for a few days and Minimed wants me to pay them six hundred bucks for their mistake, which they've already admitted to (which I assure you will never, ever happen).
Saving grace? My 19 mile run on Sunday went great. Average pace of 8:11, the day after a 9 miler at 7:30 pace. So at least there's that. :)
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