It’s that time……Again!

I have been a bit lax since the last race in February. It seems, since we moved from Broward to Palm City, we seem to be doing a lot more activities! That is a good thing! 😉

Meanwhile…..back in running land….it is time to start training for the Walt Disney World Wine and Dine half marathon!

To bring everyone up to speed, as I sated, we have been busy. With Cub Scouts, work, and all sorts of “events”, time has grown scarce for training. Then there was the “knee” issue. Yes, “that” knee!

Some time in late May, my left knee began to hurt and lock up. It appears as though something has broken inside the knee and is bouncing around. Off to Doctor Baylis to see what is going on. An X-ray was taken, and it pretty much tells the story.

The knee with the screws in it is my left knee. If you look at the other knee, you can see a nice, smooth space between the knee bones. On my left knee, there is little space and, as I suspected for some time, my knee has worn unevenly which results in my left foot pointing out further than my right foot. The cure for this is…..nothing!

What apparently happened, is that a portion of bone has broken off above the bottom screw in my left knee. That bone, along with other debris, is wandering around in the space in my knee. Because there is no space, these tiny fragments cause the knee to lock up…until they work their way down past the middle of my knee. Then, they languish there for a while.

Dr. Baylis said we could go in and retrieve them, but, we would have to know where they are to get them out. He would only be able to remove the pieces he could get to and if a bunch are down the inner side of my right knee, that would require several incisions to be made just to find them. And, if we couldn’t find them, then it would be a wasted surgery.

Another option would be knee replacement. Which I do not wish to have done. All I hear is how the only thing the replacement corrects is the pain. I can handle the pain. Losing more mobility and the ability to do a lot of things I still enjoy, isn’t really an option at this time.

Looking back on previous years, for whatever reason, in March, April and May, I seem to have these occurrences. Coincidentally, that is also the busiest time of the year for my work. Navigating attics seems to aggravate my left knee, as well as my right knee and back!

So……on to plan F! I am currently getting hyaluronic acid injections. That combined with my newest brace from DonJoy, should allow me to continue to run.

I have also managed to find a set of walking around shoes. The New Balance 670V1s, which fit perfectly. The size is 11.5 4E. As my Saucany shoes are to narrow, I am going to try the New Balance M990V3 shoes which are for mild over-pronators. Hopefully these will work as the Saucanys have created a callous on my left inside front foot.

Right now, I am in day four of the 7-day Total Body Cleanse. I try to do this every 3 months, but it has been a long time since the last “clean-out”! A lot of people have negative things to say about these body cleanses, but I can say, that the one I use, from GNC, works. Usually, by day three, I am feeling much better. This time, it took until day four, but, I am starting to get my energy back.

I am pretty sure, staying on the BSN NoXplod and Nitrix for six months without a break is responsible for my sluggishness as of late. Your body adapts to these supplements and at some point, they do not work. The good news about the cleanse, is that gradually, I am able to tolerate fruit and vegetables. That will be incorporated into the new low carbohydrate diet.

Training will be broken up into to segments, weight training and running.

Weight Training: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, complete body workouts using lighter weights, 3 sets of 12 repetitions to start. Golds Gym has an entire row of machines starting with leg press and ending with arms. I can go right down the row and use every machine!

Running: Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday will be running days. Tuesday and Thursday, shorter runs, and Saturday will be a longer run. I will be following the Jeff Galloway running program, and will just start with whatever week it is now as I think I am two weeks late for the very beginning of the program.

Weight Loss: Living the “high-life” adds pounds…quickly! The official starting weight for this training program is 244.5 pounds! YIKES!!

The good news there, is that eating all of this fruit tends to cause bloating and some water retention. That should subside after the cleanse is finished.

We have already paid for the race, and thanks to our Mousekeplanner Extraordinaire Jennifer Upton, our rooms are reserved for the race. All that remains is the training. Hopefully, all of my body parts will hold out and I plan, if all goes well, to run a personal best. I don’t know what the numbers will be, but they will have to be faster than a 2:45 time.

Stay tuned!