Van Cortlandt Park Running Trail

Yesterday I went to check out the Van Cortlandt Park Cross Country track that will be used for the 5K race I was hoping to run. Whoa, not so fast!! It’s a beautiful trail, but the hills are just too much for me. I actually managed to slow jog a lot of it, but ended up walking a lot, too. Some of the hills made me breathless just walking up them at a good clip. Maybe next year…

Van Cortlandt Park Running Track

Fortunately, there’s another race the same weekend that I might be able to do. I’m not sure yet if it will work out. I think I found out another reason why I am having such a hard time getting back in condition. The night before my pre-op, so long ago, I went into atrial fibrillation, and kept it up all during the next day. They had to admit me into the hospital to get my heart back to normal so they could operate, and after the operation, I did it again a few times, though never for more than an hour…so I got put on medication to keep it from recurring, and never got taken off. I just realized how much it slows down  the heart, which means your muscles don’t get blood! So I have an appointment next month to discuss training and heart medication, and to see if I can be weaned off at least some of it.

Stiff toes…I have found that my toes on the foot-previously-known-as-broken are getting stiff, so it’s back to foot exercises. I’m also using a toe stretcher (in moderation) and interlacing my fingers between my toes when I do a foot massage. I’ll see how it goes…

I Made My Goal!

Yesterday I made my goal of run/walk at 5 minutes jog/1 minute walk 10 times. Or maybe 11, because, of course, I lost count, and my method of keeping track didn’t work. I know it was at least 1 hour, though, so it counts. Yes, I could have walked it faster, but that’s not the point! I learned more about pacing…at the end, I actually had something left, so I could run a little bit. I was especially happy because I had to get up at 5 that morning to go to the airport, and when I got home, I took a “nap” and slept all morning! At least I got something done!

I did have a setback. I had planned to do a 5K in mid-October, in Van Cortland Park, but when I looked up the course, it’s a real cross-country, with lots of hills, so I don’t think I will be ready by then. Flat, I can do, but hills wipe me out. Even penguins have pride, and the idea is to run (jog) it, not crawl! Bummer. I was really looking forward to it. But there’s another one in November…

Wish me luck!

Hurray! I’m a Penguin!!!

I discovered there’s a name for us slow runners..It’s Penguins!!! Yay, I have a name!

Here’s a link to a youtube of a penguin running…OK, I don’t waddle, but I still think it’s pretty funny.

There’s also a website for us penguins, a penguin support group, and even a thread for people who claim to be the slowest penguin on the block!.Hey, penguins, I win! This penguin is so slow that she finishes her run earlier than she started, because she can’t keep up with the earth’s rotation.

The sites don’t seem that active, but they are fun to read.

I don’t know why, but I think it’s hysterical! Somehow it helps make everything better…OK, I have lost a good bit of flexibility, my legs don’t have the strength they used to, I can’t get up gracefully from a front roll, and I’m losing my mind, but HEY! I’m a PENGUIN! (Funny, I always thought of myself as a duck!)

So when people start learning to run again once the foot has healed, you have a nice image to have in your head! At least as long as you don’t intend to be in the Olympics next time, in which case a faster animal might be better…Are runners who knock over slower ones to get to the front known as Skuas?

And remember, what is making it hard is the Anastrozole, not the Lisfranc Injury! The foot is doing just fine…just a little sore in the morning after I push it the day before.

Yes! I can run…really run!

Progress has been really slow, but today I added an extra 5/1 (run/walk) to my workout, and just to see, I decided to sprint for the last minute. Well, I lasted 30 seconds, walked for 15, and ran for the final 30 or so. The great thing was that there was absolutely no feeling that the left foot was different from the right! (A while back, when I posted a video of my feet running, I was aware of the difference.)

So I think I will add a final sprint to the workout, just because it feels so good to be really running!

Later:

That little sprint has become the best part! It’s a bit longer..still kinda pathetic, but it keeps getting better, and it just feels so good! It’s my little reward for keeping going.

Even Later:

Realized today that I am not pushing off quite as much with the left foot…the injured one. It seems to have a bit less strength and bend in the toes. So back to working on it..I think I have to do more standing on tiptoes, trying to balance there, and pushing against resistance. I hope it will work!

Even More Later:

Sept. 7th, actually. I just got back from my run/walk in the rain in the park. I can’t say I enjoyed it, but I did 5 minutes, jogging, 1 minute walk eight times! Today some other runners were very encouraging, telling me, “you’re doing a great job” probably because there were so few of us out there! Two more weeks on this schedule, and then I get to amuse myself with another game!

Running and Anastrozole

A while back, I mentioned that I was starting a running program, partly because I was having difficulty getting my aerobic capacity back, partly because I was kicked off PT before I could run, so what would I do in an emergency?

I started with a running program for beginners on About.com, which got you up to running 5 minutes, walking 1, repeated 5 times. I finished that one, and now I am using another About.com program that keeps the 5/1 but aims at getting you up to one hour of run/walking.

The adjustment I am making for the Lisfranc injury is that usually I put the foot down quite flat. Then, if I feel good, part of the time I try to use the forefoot, so I slowly build it up. Other than that, the old injury doesn’t seem to be a problem. My goal is to be able to run/walk a 5K race by October.

Who would believe these little pills can wreak such havoc!

Then the Anastrozole comes in! I have to blame my difficulties on it, because it’s easier than blaming them on me! I can’t find anything on the net about conditioning or running while you are using the stuff, because “running Anastrozole” apparently refers to taking the stuff by choice if you are taking anabolic steroids! So if you google those terms, you get lots of sites about steroids. (How can anyone take this stuff if they don’t have to?????)

One of the side effects is muscle weakness, and it seems to have affected my legs; they get tired very quickly. I adapted the running schedule to have 30-second increments instead on one-minute ones. I have also had to accept that my “running” is a slow jog. However, it still works different muscles that walking does, and over time, I figure, I will be able to go faster.

So those of you who are still in the recovery phase of a Lisfranc injury…maybe you will be reporting on your first 5K in a year or so…After all, Chien-Ming Wang is pitching again…

I revisit the Berkshires

A few weeks ago we went back to visit our friend who had invited us up for a weekend in the country when I was still on crutches and non-weight-bearing. That was when I learned that Peter Pan buses are not accessible, and there is no elevator at the Times Square A-train subway stop, so just getting on the bus was an adventure back then! This time, it was just a normal trip.

The lively, bouncy, nippy goldendoodle puppy, Jazz, who I had taught  (in 5 minutes) that she was not allowed to jump on me has become a lovely two-year old who lives to play ball. As soon as I let her out in the morning, she would be sitting at the screen door with her ball in her mouth, waiting for me to come out and play. Here she is, in her characteristic pose!

Jazz and her ball

Jazz is so smart she has even worked out that if you go to the top of a steep hill and drop the ball, giving it a push if need be, you can romp down to the bottom and catch it, so she will play by herself if nobody is around to play with her.

Jazz’s mistress had broken her leg a month or so previously, and was still elevating it and walking with a cane, and Jazz was really good about never jumping on her. We tried to help out as much as possible around the house, and I found it was extra satisfying to help someone who had been so helpful to me.

Another Success Story!

For those who are feeling down: On a whim I checked out Joan Sucks to see if there was any news and found her last post. Happiness and joy, another Lisfranc recovery success story! Here’s the link to her last post:
Joan Sucks final entry!

It would be nice if anyone following this blog makes a final comment when they are happily recovered, (or even not so happily, though I hope that doesn’t happen). That way, other sufferers have something to look forward to!

Later: there’s another positive story in the comments to this post..Way to go! Thank you for posting it, Brokeagain

Even Later: I just found a blog I had missed, Lisfranc and Me, that goes all the way to successful recovery, so I’ve put it on the blog roll. The last entry was May 2010, but she has a really good record of the process.

Running and Walking

I haven’t been posting, ’cause I was running and walking! I decided my efforts at getting my aerobic stamina back weren’t working, because my legs gave out before I got my heartbeat up! I want to do some hiking this year, and I wasn’t making it. In addition, because of the anastrozole, I was gaining weight I didn’t need. So I did two things:

Signed up for Step Up To Better Health, a 10K steps a day program. I got Omron Aerobic step counter, which I really like, because it guestimates the number of aerobic steps you take as well as the total number, and it has a clock.I found that even though I often do walk 10,000 steps, it makes me go out and walk on the days when I wouldn’t have made the cut.

I have to do it, because my sister is doing the same program, and I can’t let her get ahead of me! You enter the number of steps into their database, and can compare with a friend who has also registered.

Then, for the aerobic workout, I signed up for a running course at About.com. It takes three weeks to get to the point where you can run for five minutes, then walk for one minute. I am taking it more slowly, but cutting off half a minute from their figures, because I am concerned about my knees, but I’m slowly working up to five minutes. I decided that I’m not wedded to this one…if the knees start giving trouble, it’s history!

A trip to Montauk

It’s been a while since I posted…a lot has happened and I’ve been so busy! Today I am at a friend’s house at Montauk for the 4th of July weekend–the same friend who had me out here when I was still on crutches. It is so great to be able to walk, not crawl up the stairs and to go and walk on the beach. It’s still a bit cold for swimming, so I probably won’t end up in the water, but just walking along the beach is nice. During the day it’s crowded, but at night it is almost deserted, with fires every now and then, lit by people barbequing on the beach.

On July 4th, there was a really nice, small fireworks display which we watched from the balcony of the house. I didn’t get a picture of the fireworks, but here are the men setting up the display that morning. It was interesting to see how it was done. (You can click on the picture to get a bigger version.)

I got a picture of a new butterfly (for me). I think it’s an American Copper. There were a lot of them flying in the dunes.

This is the hardest time for recovery!

Forget all the drama of learning to put weight on the foot, leaning to walk and to roll again, even to run. That was easy, because it was so clear. This is the hardest time. I still need to work at it if I am going to get back everything (or almost everything) I had, but things keep, legitimately, getting in the way. Last weekend we hosted a seminar, so I spent several days helping take the teacher all over the city, (which involved a lot of walking) as well as working out for several hours a day. I enjoyed it a lot, but it meant that I skipped the gym. The good news was that I was able to do the entire seminar, with a little break to ice the foot, and short naps during breaks. The not-so-good was that the foot hurt where the screw is, especially when I pivoted. And, of course, my legs got really tired, so that walking up the stairs was a chore. Today I should go riding or to the gym, but I don’t know if I will, because I have errands to run.

Part of the problem is that before I retired, I had a schedule. Now I don’t. So I know what I have to do. Re-establish a schedule and follow it. Maybe next week….