Day 87: 3/28: Streak Broken

I have a two week recovery period that starts today.  It really sucks not to run, but if this works there is no way I will have any regrets.  In a few days I'll start lifting and biking, just have to stay away from impact for a while.  I believe that if I can train hard upon returning, I'll still run North Face with the same time that I would have gotten otherwise. 

As far as the streak and raising money for charity, I still plan on donating $1 for every mile I run to the National Parks Foundation and I plan on still running 365 times this year to honor my commitment.  If I am healthier I'll be able to do enough 2-a-days to make up for the time lost.  I couldn't really think of a better solution, I needed to address this chronic problem before it completely shelved me for the 5th time in the last 4 years. 

Day 86: 3/27: 1.00mi, 8:15, Hoboken NJ

Just had time to squeeze in a mile, some deadlifts and squats before my procedure today. 

After taking two vials of blood from my arm, they spun the blood in a centrifuge to separate the platelets and plasma from whatever else is in blood.  They used Lidocaine, a local anesthetic to numb me and then using a combination of ultrasound and my MRI imaging, they determined the exact spot for injection.  Once it was determined, the doctor injected the Platelet Rich Plasma into my leg, making several small injections along the affected area.  By nighttime I was experiencing a lot of soreness as the numbness wore off.  Now I sit and wait, and of course, hope.

Day 85: 3/26: 4.50mi, 39:02, Hoboken NJ

Back home in the cold, woke up at 4:45am to get my last long run in before my streak breaks.  My leg did not feel good for the last couple miles and I really believe that I have no choice but to try PRP if I ever want to run hard and fast again.  There have been times when I've felt really good and even fast - I want to be able to push myself again.

Splits
8:54
8:33
8:37
8:32
4:25

Day 84: 3/25: 3.00mi, 24:00, Austin TX

Hit the treadmill pretty hard today for a bit of a speed workout, in and out 200's for 2.5mi with a .25 warmup and cooldown on either side.  Worked the last 8 reps up to 9.0 speed with rest at 6.5.

Day 83: 3/24: 3.84mi, 32:48, Austin TX

Not messing around with just a few days till PRP.  Ran through some pain but made the most of things and explored a little more of the Lady Bird Lake trail. 

Splits
8:38
8:41
8:18
7:08

Day 82: 3/23: 1.00mi, 9:00, Austin TX

Still tight from yesterday, not able to enjoy the perfect running weather!  Treadmill, then a leg workout.

Day 81: 3/22: 2.76mi, 22:34, Austin TX

Discovered Austin on a nice run in 60-degree weather.  This is a great active community with a trail that runs for miles along Lady Bird Lake.  Bikers and runners are everywhere, not to mention tons of people out on the water rowing, kayaking, etc.  My leg wouldn't cooperate though and my calf cramped up right after I found the trail.  Had to cut the run short.

Splits
7:48
8:27
6:18

Day 80: 3/21: 1.00mi, 8:30, Jersey City NJ

Treadmill crap at 5am - traveling to Austin later.

Day 79: 3/20: 1.50mi, 12:00, Jersey City NJ

Did lap #5 at 8.7 speed. 

Having trouble posting workouts finding the motivation to post with PRP treatment next week.

Day 78: 3/19: 2.70mi, 22:00, Jersey City NJ

Treadmill workout
3 rounds:  4min at 6.5-7.0, 2min at 9.0-9.5

Lifting
Shoulder Press Machine: 1x12x90, 2x8x110, 1x6x130
Dumbell Hang Clean: 3x10x30
Cable Upright Row: 3x10x110

Day 77: 3/18: 1.00mi, 8:30, Hoboken NJ

The guy I was running next to stunk so bad.  This plus 10+ miles in the last 4 days meant a 1 mile recovery run.

Day 76: 3/17: 2.00mi 17:00, West Caldwell NJ

Worked on hurdles at the high school track with little brother Kenny and then ran home- good times!  Can't wait to go to some of his meets this year. 

Day 75: 3/16: 3.00mi, 24:30, Hoboken NJ

Need to find these splits...

Day 74: 3/15: 2.00mi, 17:30, Jersey City NJ

Ran with speed gradually increasing on treadmill after lifting.

I've been bad with my posts lately - will get better again soon!

Day 73: 3/14: 3.41mi, 31:39, South Orange NJ

Daylight Savings + Getting to Leave Early Once a Week for Exercise = 1st Weekday Trail Run of the Year

Still sore and black and blue, I thought I could do a real run today because my swelling had gone down.  It definitely loosened up in the beginning and got a little sore towards the end.  The good thing was that my pace remained pretty consistent and I felt pretty good otherwise.  Tons of mud on the trail but I was just happy to be out there.  I'm planning on starting to train hard up until my treatment in two weeks.

Splits
9.11
9.28
9.20
3.39

Day 72: 3/13: 1.00mi, 9:00, Jersey City NJ

I felt a little looser today but my injury area was completely black and blue in addition to the normal pain.  This was a 5:30am workout so I didn't have time for too much else.

The Workout
3 Rounds:  Row 400m, 15 pushups

Day 71: 3/12: 1.00mi, 10:00, New York, NY

Today I could barely walk.  My injection areas were extremely sore and swollen.  I dragged myself to the gym and pitter-pattered out a mile on the treadmill.  Very Slowly. 

Day 70: 3/11: 3.00mi, 25:00, Gillette NJ

Today I went out to the NJ Sports Medicine and Performance Center in Gillette to see Dr Silberman.  I found him online while googling Platelet Rich Plasma treatment.  He is a runner, cyclist and triathlete so I thought maybe the third doctor I've seen could be the answer.

After explaining my symptoms he suggested that they test me for Compartment Syndrome.  This is something that I always thought was a possibility, I had some symptoms but not all of them.  Mainly, I was lacking the tingling and numbness symptoms.  The test for compartment syndrome is not pleasant.  I wasn't looking at the big needles that were being shoved into two areas of my lower leg but it felt like the leg's version of a root canal.  They numb your leg in two places with deep injections of lidocaine and then put a large needle into the same areas to essentially make a hole in which they insert the testing mechanism.  They then measure what seems to be the equivalent of blood pressure within the compartments (which are areas where fascia hold muscle and tissue in place). 

After taking two measurements in each area they put you on a treadmill and try to get you to run until your symptoms surface.  After running on as much as an 8% incline (which I've never done before) at speeds of 7 to 7.5 for 3 miles, my leg started to get a little tight.  It was a weird feeling since the area was numb but I was about to drop dead anyway. 

After the next series of tests the results were almost exactly the same, meaning a negative test.  Running out of options, I made an appointment for Platelet Rich Plasma Treatment.  This is a related procedure to what Kobe Bryant, Chris Canty, and various other athletes have experimented with.  The testing and results have had mixed results but I'm willing to try anything.

Day 69: 3/10: 1.1mi, 9:00, Hoboken NJ

3 days in Florida, too many drinks and a few cigars, very little sleep.  One of the worst miles yet!

Day 68: 3/9: 2.75mi, 25:00, Tampa FL

Today mad me look forward to spring, 60 degrees with a light breeze in Tampa.  I felt pretty good for the first time since my calf tightened up six days ago, just a cruising pace along the river.

Day 67: 3/8: 1.00mi, 9:00, Clearwater FL

After arriving in our Clearwater, FL hotel at 1am and drinking till 3:30, I had to squeeze in a mile before our 7:30am departure for fishing.  I managed to get up at 6:30 and slog one out on the hotel treadmill. 

Day 66: 3/7: 1.00mi, 8:45, Jersey City NJ

Last workout before Nick's bachelor party, incident free day on the treadmill again.

The Workout
Skull Crushers (on bench)- 10x75, 2x8x85
Overhead Rope Pullover- 12x80, 2x10x100
4-Way Curls- 4x10x60
SS- Rocky Curls/Bench Dips- 3x10x30, 3x12

Day 65: 3/6: 1.00mi, 9:00, Jersey City NJ

This was the first day that I started feeling a bit better.  Still taking it slow and hoping to avoid anything too serious.  Catching up on a few days so I don't really recall the gym workout from today.  Played volleyball later in the night as well. 

Day 64: 3/5: 1.00mi, 9:30, New York NY

Squeezed in a gym session before a client dinner tonight.  Still no improvement on the injury front...

The Workout
Horizontal Row Machine: 12x45, 3x8x70
Inverted Pushups/Regular Pushups Superset: 3x10x15
Dumbell Flys: 12x30, 2x6x40
Lat Pulldown V-Bar Grip:  3x8x110

YTD Stats thru week 9 (ended yesterday)
Miles:  115.52
Time: 17:20:59
High Week: 15.1
Low Week: 9.50
Last Week: 13.14

Day 63: 3/4: 1.00mi, 9:30, Jersey City NJ

Bad news with my calf.  Took it upon myself to make an appointment with a Sports clinic that does PRP treatment (Platelet-Rich Plasma).  This is the 4th time I've injured it and nothing seems to work. 

The Workout
Upright Row- 12x70, 3x8x90
Hang Clean- 12x70, 3x6x90
Squat Machine- 3x10x90
Plate Rotations- 4x10x35
Ab Machine1- 3x80x12
Ab Machine2- 3x15

Day 62: 3/3: 2.91mi, 22:54, Jersey City NJ

Today I did the loop through the heights, heading up the viaduct on 14th St in Hoboken and then South back to 2nd Street in Hoboken.  It's a loop that has a steep climb and a long easy decline.  I don't know if it was the climbing or the descending but around 2.5mi my bad calf started acting up.  When I stopped it started to tighten up and tonight I'm extremely hobbled.  This is the closest the streak has gotten to ending, I'm hoping I can hobble through a mile at the gym tomorrow without further injuring myself.  So far I've done Tiger Balm, anti-inflammatories, and calf cramp pills without any relief.  I'll sleep in tights tonight and hope for the best tomorrow.

Mile 1:  8:37
Mile 2: 7:27
Mile "3": 6:49

Day 61: 3/2: 3.10mi, 30:30, South Orange NJ

Today we got Joe back on the trail for the first time this year and got Nick on the trail for the first time ever.  Nice easy run along the ridge trail from Turtle Back Rock.

Day 60: 3/1: 2.38mi, 20:00, Hoboken NJ

Ran home from the gym today.  Driving in to Hoboken is a pain but running into Hoboken might be even worse.  None of the drivers are looking out for runners and none of the roads accessing Hoboken from the South provide easy places to cross streets, it pretty much always requires stopping your run and waiting for an opening.

The Workout
Curls with "bench" barbell:  12x45, 2x8x65
Rope Pushdowns: 12x100, 10x110, 8x120
One arm hammer curls (incline):  3x8x30
Skull Crushers: 12x55, 10x60, 8x65

Day 59: 2/28: 1.25mi, Jersey City NJ

Gym, run, volleyball. 

The Workout
Incline Dumbell Bench: 12x50, 10x55, 8x60
Incline Machine Single Arm: 16x90, 2x12x110
Lat Pulldown: 3x10x120
Ab Machines: 4 sets of 15 alternating machines
Cable Flys: 12x80, 2x10x95
Rope Pulldowns: 12x70, 2x10x80