Can't Wait for 2013... But Then Again, Maybe I Can.
When last we left this blog, I was coming off my 3rd ultra in six weeks, looking for a month of downtime, prior to my next build. And that's pretty close to what's happened.
The month of November was only about 160 miles of largely unstructured running. The early weeks were shorter, mostly due to some foot tendinitis that took a while to heal, but at the moment is completely gone. And last week I got in over 50 miles, including an easy 3.5 hours.
All of this is because I'm hopeful that 2013 will be big. My tentative race schedule includes my first 100 miler in March and my first 24 hour race in July. I've done enough 50s now that they don't scare me, so I want to go bigger.
And speaking of bigger, today brings with it news of Team Type 1's rebranding as Team Novo Nordisk. There's little I can say about it at this point other than to say I remain so grateful to be part of an organization that is doing amazing cool things.
And, yet... there is a "but." Two weeks ago, for no apparent reason, I started getting insane pain in my arm, only when I was in bed at night. The first night, I thought it was an odd cramp. And then it continued and has pretty much every night since then. Keep in mind, the pain during the day is so slight to barely register. It doesn't hurt at all when I run. At one point, just to test my sanity, I banged out 15 push-ups, pain-free and went immediately to bed, where the pain was intense enough to wake me all night long.
I'm off to the doc this morning, but it turns out that I'm not insane. Rather, it looks like I've got rotator cuff problems. Yes, a guy who does next to no upper body work, who hasn't played competitive baseball in 25 years, who should be telling you about blowing out his knees at this point, is terrified to lose his season over his shoulder. Odd, isn't it? I'm hopeful it will only be a matter of a cortisone shot, which I seem to be needing like cars need oil changes these days, and I'll be good to go. To this point, it hasn't affected my running, other than it really is affecting my sleeping, which is an important part of the ultra-running deal. As always, I'm planning on this being merely a blip is the plan for an awesome 2013. But I am reminded of the guy who told me that he wasn't too concerned when he hit 40, until he realized that 40 hits back.
The month of November was only about 160 miles of largely unstructured running. The early weeks were shorter, mostly due to some foot tendinitis that took a while to heal, but at the moment is completely gone. And last week I got in over 50 miles, including an easy 3.5 hours.
All of this is because I'm hopeful that 2013 will be big. My tentative race schedule includes my first 100 miler in March and my first 24 hour race in July. I've done enough 50s now that they don't scare me, so I want to go bigger.
And speaking of bigger, today brings with it news of Team Type 1's rebranding as Team Novo Nordisk. There's little I can say about it at this point other than to say I remain so grateful to be part of an organization that is doing amazing cool things.
And, yet... there is a "but." Two weeks ago, for no apparent reason, I started getting insane pain in my arm, only when I was in bed at night. The first night, I thought it was an odd cramp. And then it continued and has pretty much every night since then. Keep in mind, the pain during the day is so slight to barely register. It doesn't hurt at all when I run. At one point, just to test my sanity, I banged out 15 push-ups, pain-free and went immediately to bed, where the pain was intense enough to wake me all night long.
I'm off to the doc this morning, but it turns out that I'm not insane. Rather, it looks like I've got rotator cuff problems. Yes, a guy who does next to no upper body work, who hasn't played competitive baseball in 25 years, who should be telling you about blowing out his knees at this point, is terrified to lose his season over his shoulder. Odd, isn't it? I'm hopeful it will only be a matter of a cortisone shot, which I seem to be needing like cars need oil changes these days, and I'll be good to go. To this point, it hasn't affected my running, other than it really is affecting my sleeping, which is an important part of the ultra-running deal. As always, I'm planning on this being merely a blip is the plan for an awesome 2013. But I am reminded of the guy who told me that he wasn't too concerned when he hit 40, until he realized that 40 hits back.
Marcus, I had a similar problem during the summer affecting my shoulder and arm (C7 nerve) which was similar. I kept running for a while as like you it didn't actually hurt when running, mostly at night. But the running wasn't allowing it to recover and heal. Physio advised taking a break for few weeks and sure enough it recovered eventually and I was able to train and complete the Dublin marathon. Since you have a pretty full-on calendar next year make sure you take the time now to get the injury sorted fully. Looking forward to hearing more on Team Novo Nordisk in 2013!
ReplyDeleteHope you can get your arm/shoulder figured out - sounds like a frustrating injury. I can't wait to watch 2013 unfold for you!
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