19 February 2013

/

It's been almost 3 weeks since my last update. I am now 10 days into wearing a non-weight bearing fiber glass ankle cast and I have 18 more days to go before my sports orthopedist removes and replaces it with an air cast boot that I will be required to wear for another 6 weeks. However, I will be able to start physical therapy as soon as the cast comes off and I won't need my crutches any longer, since I will be able to somewhat walk in the boot.

I also realized that the past few months of not running or working out at all have finally caught up with me in form of weight gain, not bad but bad enough. I figured what better way to get rid of those extra pounds than to challenge one of my training buddies (that's right, Richard, it is not only Facebook-official but Blog-official, too:-) to a 4 week weight loss challenge. Winner gets a free ultra race entry.

I got another great piece of news today that will really help me with the mental aspects of my recovery. I had purchased a couple of raffle tickets to support the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, when I saw Joe Fejes (yes, the Joe Fejes, ultra runner extraordinaire and member of team USA for the 24 Hour World Championships among other things) at last months Mountain Mist 50K here in town. One of the positives of not having been able to run or race for the past few months has been the enjoyment that volunteering at races and hanging out with folks like Joe has brought me. As "fate" would have it, one of my tickets actually won one of over 80 graciously donated race entries. I received free entry into the Coyote Springs 100 Miler on November 3 in Nevada. I'm not sure yet if I can get ready in time, but I will do everything I can to do so...safely and smartly.

Oh yeah, my new "purpose" for my ultra running adventures is also off to a great start. If you're reading this, take a look to the top right column of this post. Please take a moment and click on the link, read my short story and maybe consider making a small donation. If nothing else, you might learn something that could save your life or the life or a friend or family member.

And now, back to recovery...

01 February 2013

/

It's been a couple of weeks since my last update. To be honest, I'd much rather be writing training updates, but for now these little health updates will have to do:-) An exciting weeks draws to a close.

After being admitted to Crestwood Hospital this past Monday, a temporary inferior vena cava filter was implanted on Tuesday afternoon by a vascular surgeon. On Wednesday morning, my orthopedic surgeon was finally able to repair the lower tendons in my left ankle. By Wednesday afternoon, I was released from the hospital. So what's next?

I am currently resting at home. The procedure to remove the temporary filter is tentatively scheduled for next week once I've had a chance to see my hematologist for a follow up visit. Another follow up is scheduled for the following week with my orthopedic surgeon to check on my ankle's progress, remove the staples and put my ankle in a non walking cast for approximately 4 weeks.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that this is exactly how the next couple of weeks will unfold as that would indicate my ability to start rehabilitation on my ankle by early March. I can hardly wait to get back out there and work out and just go for a walk:-)

By the way, I've had lots of time to think the last few weeks and I decided to put this energy to good use. I've created an ongoing fundraising effort (see link in upper right corner of this blog) that I will be persuing in all my future ultra running and racing adventures. Please check out the page, no strings attached, and please share. Blot clots and clotting disorders are much more common than you think and they can affect anyone, even endurance athletes, even without any predisposing factors. I learned this lesson the hard way. But there are lots of things we all can to to reduce this risk for ourselves as well as others by educating ourselves and by supporting the efforts of organizations like the National Blot Clot Alliance (NBCA) and their "STOP THE CLOT" campaign.

US STATES WITH 100 MILE RACES COMPLETED (15)

Create a map on Fla-shop.com

COUNTRIES WITH ULTRAMARATHONS COMPLETED (13)

Create a map on Fla-shop.com

RACE CALENDAR

  • Mount Mitchell Heartbreaker 50M (Old Fort, NC) - March 23, 2024
  • Oak Mountain 50K (Birmingham, AL) - March 30, 2024
  • Southern States 200M (Delta, AL) April 12-16, 2024
  • Cocodona 250M (Black Canyon City, AZ) - May 6-11, 2024
  • Mohican 100M (Loudonville, OH) - June 1, 2024
  • Bighorn 100M (Dayton, WY) - June 14, 2024
  • Crazy Mountain 100M (Lennep, MT) - July 26, 2024
  • Eastern States 100M (Waterville, PA) - August 10, 2024
  • SwissPeaks 360 (Valais, Switzerland) - September 1-8, 2024
  • Indiana Trail 100M (Albion, IN) - October 12, 2024
  • Rim To River 100M (New River Gorge, WV) - November 2, 2024 (WAITLIST #99)
  • Charleston 100M (Mount Pleasant, SC) - December 27, 2024
  • The Montane Winter Spine 268M (Edale, UK) - January 12-19, 2025

SPONSORS

YOUTUBE CHANNEL

TRANSLATE

PAGEVIEWS

| Free Blogger Templates