Nothing New, but Graston

Based on APORES scoring “Amusement Park and Other Rides Excitement Scale,” which ranges between the penny ride at Meijer on the low end and Millennium Force on the other end, my injury rates somewhere along the excitement level of a bidirectional carousel. 

 

I went to the sports doctor today and they did an X-Ray, just to be sure it was not a stress fracture.  The conversation went like this.

Dr: “Your tibia and fibula look good.” 

Me: “Thank you.  People always say that, but it just seems like the type of thing people say to be nice.  When you see them in black and white, you can really tell they are awfully nice.”

Dr: “Well…moving on…”

 

(In case you forgot what they look like without their meat.)

No stress fracture.  So, they have scheduled me for some physical therapy.  I start next Monday.  They will be using the Graston method.  Painful they say, but effective. 

 

Well, I can only hope that, like the penny ride, it will be over quickly. 

Serious Pain

My injury was not shin splints, nor the dreaded stress fracture.  The doctors were sure of that after pressing all up and down my right shin—at least buy me dinner first eh.  So they flipped me over like a flap-jack and decided it was a tear in my Soleus muscle.  That was on March 6th.  I haven’t run since February 26th.  It will be three weeks next Tuesday, but it seems like forever.  Ffffoooorrrrrreeeeevvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.    

 

These things take 6 to 8 weeks they said.  So, I’ve been an elliptical god, spending as much as 3.5 hours straight on the lower-body-gerbil-wheel.  It had been feeling better, not hurting from walking or standing around, so tonight I gave  it a little test on a treadmill.  I walked .1M at a 15m/mile pace, and then tried to run at a 9m/mile pace.  I didn’t get to .2M.  The pain was there immediately. 

Looks like more time on the elliptical for Spike.  And thusly a few things stand out.  It seems very evident that racing Glass City is out.  If I’m lucky I can maybe keep enough fitness to trot it, or maybe the half.  Moreover, Racer and I have switched places and it will be my turn to support her marathon while I’m sidelined. 

Only, I wish this injury was something more serious.  Something that would justify sitting on the couch and issuing orders through my megaphone.  Or, maybe I just wish I injured a muscle most people have heard of. 

Things Break…Sometimes in Bunches

I love my Garmin 405. It has suffered with me through countless terrible runs and half-hearted efforts since I purchased it on Thanksgiving 2009.  Dark Atlas has seen eight states and even Paris, France.  It was with me for my 50M race, was with me for my marathon PR, and has carried me to three of my four consecutive BQs. 
 

But we are both getting older and sadly showing signs.  Myself, I have a mildly serious case of shin splints that may or may not be a stress fracture depending on a doctor’s diagnosis…which I have conveniently avoided.  I’ve had shin splints before, and always reduced my running and mileage to ensure they didn’t evolve (like a Mogwai into a Gremlin).  But this is the first time the pain in my right leg has forced me to take off primary runs (skipping a 8M tempo run and a 18M long run this past week).    In lieu of my long run, I did two hours on the elliptical on Saturday and then a three hour cardio session on today (elliptical, bike, elliptical); all pain free.  My hope is to make it through my speed workout on Tuesday and then maybe skip my tempo run and hopefully be pain free for my 20M next weekend.

 

Now, back to the important matter; Dark Atlas.  The battery lifespan is getting shorter and shorter.  A 20M all but exhausts the battery starting out on a full charge.  Worse, somehow the satellite reception is off, causing me to add about .02M to every mile I run.  Many times I’ve run next to Racer and her Garmin is right on while I keep adding hundredths.  Also, running my base 4M, 5M, or 7M routes all coming up about .02M per mile short. 

 

I’ve spoken to the fine people at Garmin and run completed both a satellite reset and a factory reset. Nothing solves the problem.  “They just get old and stop performing as well,” the Garmin representative told me.  Don’t we all. 

However, Garmin no longer makes the 405.  Or even the 410 for that matter.  They do make the 610, which I’ve never really loved and is perhaps more watch than necessary.  But the 210, which Racer owns, lacks a simple feature I really like…the ability to look at the individual laps of a run on the watch (the 210 requires you to download the run before you can dissect each mile).  The good news is that I can find new 405s and 410s online—relatively inexpensive. 

Or should I go with the Nike GPS?  Does anyone have this watch that really likes it?  Can you review your splits on your watch?  Is there anything annoying about the Nike GPS watch?

While I await your input, I will continue to be an elliptical god as I rest my leg.  Because there is little need for an aging Garmin on the elliptical.