The bloody toe

I had an MRI when I was a child, but had forgotten why I didn’t like them.

I layed down on the table and offered myself up as a sacrifice to the white tube, which would soon swallow me, legs first.  The MRI assistant taped my feet together, so that they would keep an upright position and not move when I relaxed them.  Then she put a thick sheet of something heavy over my shins and tied that to the table.  Immediately, I tried to figure out the quickest way to escape my restraints, should this turn out to be more sinister than expensive (spoiler:  It ended up being both).

A womans voice came out of some speakers, telling me that the first session would be four minutes, the next- five.  All of a sudden, there was a POUND POUND POUND POUND POUND, like a jackhammer, set in slow motion.  It was loud and reminded me of what it was that scared me so many years ago.  Session after session came and went, each time with the voice telling me how long it would be and to not move.

Not moving was is difficult.  My face itched.  My feet were cramping.  My shorts (issued by the MRI staff and woman’s voice) were bunching up.  I tried to take full breaths, but couldn’t, because my legs would move (See Rule # 1).  The headphones that were by my head (they’d been offered to me, but I ended up not wearing them) played my request of “Alternative” music, but were drowned out by the most expensive jackhammer known to man.

One of the sessions had to be done again, because I’d fallen asleep, but when startled by the next series of pounding, I’d started and woken up.  My legs must have moved at that time.

Finally it was over and the voice ordered the tube to spit me out.

I’m supposed to take the CD that they gave me and give to the doctor who recommended the MRI.  So that’s the next step.  Do I have stress fractures, or not?  Place your bets, folks…My bet, sadly, is that I’m missing the Nashville Marathon.

For those who are mildly curious:  I have posted my MRI pics here.

Ok, all you Professional Medical Leg MRI Understanders, I need to know if I have a stress fracture.  I don’t want to wait through the weekend for the results.  Please send the results to me and I’ll be sure to send you a gob of money.

Thanks,

Nathan

Today, I woke up, feeling pretty congested (I still am), but definitely better.  My asthma was pretty strong last night, but I only had to take my Pro-air inhaler two times in the middle of it (compared to 5-6, a few nights ago).  So I think that I’m getting better.  This is the first time that I’ve actually tried to keep a journal of how my astham/cold/sickness bout has gone.  I’m hoping that if I can do this for a few more years, I’ll have a better understanding of why it happens (is it seasonal?  weather-related?  etc?)

But in the meantime, this also marks the first year, that I’ve exercised through my asthma and colds.  Pretty cool.  I didn’t die.  Apparently, I can keep exercising and won’t end up in the hospital.  This is somewhat revealing.  It would have been a better test if I didn’t have shin problems.  I would have run a lot more through the illness.

I iced, stealthily in church, this morning. My new ice pack can wrap around my shin and Velcro tight, so it’s pretty much unnoticeable (word?).

Still need to take some ibuprofen.

This is a Hostess muffin.  Very sugary and gross.  I had forgotten to eat before I left for me 9 mile run.  I picked up this muffin at the gas station (I know, I know) and started to eat it.  Very gross.

The apple juice that I bought was pretty good, though.

The thing about this run is that I had a lot of energy.  Unfortunately, my ITB and shin were horrible.  Even as I sit, here, I my shin has a slight pain.

So I’m not sure what that means for:  My 15K in two weeks, my 1/2 marathon in 3, my marathon at the end of April.  Oh, man.

I left Provo at about 8:30 AM, in the middle of a little snowfall.  The roads were slick and icy.  I passed, in total, about 5 cars that had slid off the road.  So the drive up was a little sketchy.  This time, I found the Saltair Pavilion on my first try (unlike two weeks ago).

I had a good 15 minutes to get ready this time (in contrast to my last minute crossing the start line, two weeks ago), so I stretched and got my gear.  I wore my leggings, shorts, two shirts, my snowboarding hat, and the gloves my lovely sister bought me (Thanks, Linds).

I made my way up to the starting line with 5 minutes left before the start.  I tried jumping up and down, a little, to keep warm.  When we started, I set my playlist to shuffle (I keep meaning to switch the order of those songs- too much Cowboy Mouth all bunched up).  The first 3 miles was relatively easy and went without incident.

I just wanted to start a fourth paragraph with “I”, thereby setting a Conceited Nate record (4 I’s in a row).

When I hit the turnaround, it struck me that the sign that indicated our halfway point was pretty nice and professional.  It made me wonder if there is a company that creates halfway signs in bulk, that these races order from.  Probably not.

The first thing that I noticed about turning around, was that we must have had the wind with us that whole time, because now the snow was flying into my eyes and down my neck (freezing).  The headwind was strong and made me feel like I wasn’t going to be able to keep up my pace (and I didn’t).  I slowed by about 30 seconds per mile (now I was at a stready 9 minute pace).

At mile 4(ish), I started to walk.  A guy (in about his 40′s) motioned for me to jump in, behind him and start running.  I did (I give into peer running pressure, easily).  It really did feel easier, having someone to break that headwind.  The three of us took turns until about mile 5, when we lost the 3rd man.  The man in his 40′s and I kept rotating our lead to give each other a rest from the wind.  I’ve seen this in cycling, but have never done it, running (I also don’t run in incliment weather, too often, either).  Once we hit mile 6, I suggested that we run together (both of us, side by side) to the finish.  In theory, this would have worked, except that he must have had more energy than I’d estimated.

Man in his 40′s got faster and faster, forcing me to match his pace.  At the end, I realized that this guy wanted to pass me.  We Nelson’s have a code of conduct that is to be adhered to at the end of a race.  No one is allowed to pass a Nelson at the end of a race (this rule gets complicated when there are two Nelsons in a dead heat).  I managed to get in front and cross the finish line, first.

We thanked each other for helping with the headwind, shook hands and that was the end of it.  He was a good guy and it certainly made the race easier, having someone to endure the difficulty of a race in this kind of weather.

As far as my body goes, things went relatively well.  My asthma was constantly there, so that was hard.  But my IT Band was a little tight (no pain) and my shin had no pain, until I got in my truck.

Only two more weeks until the Winter Series 15K.  Then a week after that, we have the Bidwell Classic in Chico.  I feel like I’m piling on more milage than I want to, too quickly.  We’ll just have to see how it goes.

Oh, I forgot to mention!  In regard to last night’s post, wherein I shared my angst aboout how I felt, health-wise.  I don’t feel sick, today.  Maybe I’ve been wussing out on running, when I really should be getting out there, even if I don’t feel top notch.

…to be continued (not this story; just my running)

Video before the race, here.

Did anyone catch that my post’s title would make a good Facebook status update?

So tomorrow is the second race in the Winter Series races.  It’s a 10K.  In two weeks, the final race will be a 15K.  I’m sort of taking a chance, here.  I’ve (and this is going to sound strange to some) always wanted to run a race, sick.  Part of running, for me, is to challenge my body to do things it’s never done.  I’ve heard about people who race sick and have always marveled that someone would put themself through it.

I am currently dealing with a series of things that should make tomorrow challenging.  My left shin, which I’ve waxed eloquent about for a few weeks, my right knee and its IT Band issues, my asthma has been very strong for a month (inversion), and finally, I’m all stuffed up and feel like I have a cold/allergies.  So it’ll be interesting to see what I can accomplish in this state.  I’m no hero, folks.  I just play one on the street.

This might be a good time to mention that, now that’s it’s 1:17 AM, today is Valentine’s Day.  I’m so thankful to have a wife who supports me in my running.  There are not many women who can handle someone who keeps so many hobbies and extra-curricular activities.  Wendy has been a great supporter of my sport, ever since we married in 2001.  Thanks Wendy, and I love you.  Happy Valentine’s Day!

And Happy Valentine’s day, everyone!

My sister, Lindsay, sent me a pair of running gloves for my birthday.  They are VERY comfortable and I’m sort of excited to try them out.  The unfortunate thing about trying running gloves, is that, usually, when you do, it means it’s FREEZING cold outside!  And it is.  Cold.  Outside.

So since I have a 5K tomorrow, I might just have to try them out.  Unfortunately (and this is a new subject), my shin is still bothering me, so I’m not sure what’s going to happen (or even if I’ll show up to run) in Salt Lake, tomorrow.

But either way, I’m happy to have these gloves.  Thanks, Linds.  Love ya.

I’ve been running, now, for about 7 years (off and on).  The first run I logged was when I lived in Springville, Utah.  I ran one mile in June of 2002.  I remember that it killed me.  In my relatively short running career, I’ve had to overcome such things as asthma, IT Band Syndrome, and (now) shin splints.

So shin splints are a new one for me.  Once upon a time, I thought that shin splints were the pain you’d get in the front outside of your shin.  Apparently, it’s the inside of your shin that justifies complaining about shin splints.  So now I’m in the process of trying to overcome this new affliction.  I am icing, taking ibuprofen, and trying to be patient.  I have run through this winter, so far, so I’ve bought a little time, which I’ll probably need, because I’m reading that I need to take time off from running to make sure that I don’t cause some real damage to my left shin.

So I’ve decided that this is the life of a runner.  As runners, we deal with pain.  We deal with disappointment.  We won’t always be prepared for our races.  Sometimes, the comets will align and everything will work out perfectly.  But, after talking to other experienced runners, such as my father, I’ve determined that all we can do is our best and hope that we’re ready for the events that we sign up (like lambs to the slaughter) for.

But I’ve also learned that the truth of if is that, a runner often lives somewhere between “No pain, no gain” and “Slow and steady wins the race”.  There are times when we should push ourselves through pain and stress.  There are times when we should completely back off and take time off to care for our bodies.

I think that I’m at a point with my shin where I need to take a little time off from running and nurture it until it’s ready for me to run, again.

I tried 1/2 mile on my treadmill, tonight.  It hurt.  So I’m gonna work on strengthening exercises and stretching, until I’m ready to start my miles up, again.

It’s no fun.  I’d really like to go for a 7 mile run and just take in the winter.  But that will come.  For now, I’m going to sit back, watch some TV, and use my shin as an excuse to be a little lazy.

So we’re dealing with a few issues, here.  Yesterday I went for a 5 mile run.  As soon as I started (within one minute), my left shin was aching.  I thought I was going to turn around and go home, but I’d spent so much time preparing for my run (winter running requires some prep work for me), that I kept going, anyway.

By the time I hit the halfway mark, I wondered if it was going to get bad enough that I’d have to call Wendy to have her pick me up.  But when I imagined her having to pack the girls in the car just to come pick me up two miles away, I decided to gut it out.

I made it home, and even sprinted the last half mile.  However, in the sprint, my right IT Band started to flare up.  So we may be dealing with that, again.  So I’m glad that I got the miles in, but am concerned that I’m breaking down, a little.

I should also mention that our local news advices us to stay inside because of the nasty polution problems we’re having.  That might explain my functional suffocation and taking my inhaler 4-5 times on the run.

All in all, I’ve had better runs.

Just remembered my last affliction:  I’m using some Powerstep insoles that were sold to me at the 26.2 running company in Highland.  My right insole sits a little closer back to the heel than my left foot, and as a result, kills my arches.  I almost took it out on the way back home.  So I’ve got some things to work on before my next run.