....seven months later

So last blog was in November.  I thought it was pathetic that I hadn't blogged in seven weeks.  This time it's almost seven months.  Seven long months of trial and error, tests and more tests, with little to no results.  MRI's of my back, abdomen and brain revealed nothing new.  Blood tests normal.  Neurological tests normal.  I stopped PT back in December because we felt that I had hit a plateau.  All bad?  Not so much.

Here is the good news.  I have stepped away from medical professionals for the last few months and have discovered some things on my own.  First, since I stopped PT, the face and hand tingling has gone away.  This leads me to think that the adjustments on my neck were causing the bone spur to push against the spinal cord at the site of the stenosis and was creating that sensation.  But I have continued my exercises and stretches that I learned in PT, and they have been very beneficial.  

Now for the best part.  After doing a bunch of reading and research, I decided to try a variety of running styles and see if they would have a different effect on my back.  Treadmill, track, trails and of course asphalt and concrete were continuing to bother me and cause my back to lock up.  Even at slow pace and short distances.  Then just six weeks ago, at the beginning of May, I started to run barefoot on the beach.  Not only barefoot, but with toe strike instead of heel strike (which is what I've been doing for over 25 years).  I am basically training my body to run a whole different way, and this has been quite a workout for my calves, achilles tendons and the front of my feet.   In fact, the rough sand can be abrasive and has caused chaffing and blisters.  So I've discovered new footwear that is basically like a glove for the foot.   You are practically running barefoot, but the bottom of your feet is protected.  The Vibram 5-Fingers are awesome, and if you are interested, I would also get the finger socks to line the inside, especially if you want to try running on the sand.  The sand gets in there and can cause blisters and chafe, but with the socks, they are fantastic.

Anyway, I started out with a mile, then two, three, etc. and today, just over a year after my injury, I ran six miles on the beach.  I'm still a lot slower than I was, and the sand has a lot more give then all of the other surfaces, but I'm running... with minimal discomfort.   So that's the last seven months in a nutshell.  Now that I'm less frustrated and progressing on my own, I'll do a better job updating details on how this new avenue goes, as I test harder surfaces again.  I didn't get to do that Super Bowl 10K in February, but now my new goal will take me back to the scene of the crime.  Next Memorial Day, 2011, I want to run the Bolder Boulder again.  If I'm able to do that with no problems, marathon training may not be too far off.

The Best Sore Ankle I've Ever Had

Forgive me, blog for I have sinned.  It's been seven weeks since my last entry.  That is unforgivable for a journal, but I must explain.  Things have been very confusing with my therapy.  My goal was to make an entry about once a week, or more if something significant happened.  But I felt like I wasn't making any progress at all, and every day there was some kind of confusing twist.   One day I felt great, the next like I was starting over.  It has been quite frustrating and the last thing I felt like doing was trying to sort it out here.   But there seems to be a breakthrough of sorts.   In PT I have been gradually increasing short distances on the treadmill.   They started with 3 or 4 minute runs and have been slowly getting longer, but they all have had one thing in common... a tight back later that day and the tingling in my face, left hand and left foot.   Today was different.  I've actually increased my run to 18 minutes (albeit at a slow 11-minute mile pace).  While I continue to have the tingling, my back is not bothering me at all.  It's now almost 12 hours since I ran, and by this point in all previous runs I have felt some degree of discomfort in my back.  Is it a fluke?  I can't help but be thrilled about how I feel.  My ankle is sore.  Do I care?  Hardly.  It's a chronic problem that I've had for years, and to avoid it I must stretch it out well before I run.  But since I haven't really called my short visits to the treadmill actual "runs,"  I haven't been doing all my stretching.  Now that I have increased my time, looks like I may have to return to my full stretch routine.  I have no problem with that.


I'm far from being cured.  Tests on the treadmill have determined that if I increase my pace over the 11-minute mile pace I've been running, that the symptoms in my back will occur.  If I increase the length of my run, the same will happen.   My orthopedic surgeon thinks there is a possibility that I have an abdominal hernia.  We'll hopefully rule that out or confirm that next week after I see a different surgeon who specializes in hernias.  


The tingling is another story.  The consensus of the doctors and my physical therapist is that it's about time I see a neurologist to determine the source of this problem.  The strange thing is that while the stenosis in my cervical spine where the bone spur is impinging on the nerve could be causing the tingling in my hand and foot, it does not explain the tingling in my face.  The source of that sensation would be from the cranial nerves which are much higher above C1.  


So there is work to do.  At this point a sore ankle is a welcome issue, since it means I've run long enough at one given time to aggravate that problem.  Long enough being just about 1.5 miles, which is what I did today.   I just received an email promoting the Redondo Beach SuperBowl 10K, which I did last year (picture to right).   I'm hoping that by February 7th, I will be able to run 6.2 miles.  I remember how I used to sign up for races with hopes to improve my times.  Now it's hoping I'll be able to run them at all.  

To Climb the Divine Spine

The sign read "Warning: Falls from cliffs on this trail  have resulted in death."  Yeah, yeah, yeah... all parks have disclaimers.

When my college roommates decided several months ago on going mountain biking and hiking in Zion National Park, I was in.  The problem was that if the impact of running was causing my multitude of agonizing symptoms, the bone-jarring impact of mountain biking wouldn't help my recovery.  After my diagnosis, I originally was going to cancel altogether. But after discussing it with my physical therapist, he thought some light hiking would be good for my treatment.  What he didn't know (and what I didn't know) was that I would be joining my old friends on a strenuous, 1500 ft ascent up maybe the most dangerous path in the park.  Angel's Landing, once known as The Temple of Aeolus, provides some of the most amazing views of Zion Canyon.  It has also been the site of four deaths in the last five years, most recently that of a 55-year-old woman who was hiking with her husband and three children.  If I had known the facts before the hike, I might have reconsidered.  Of course I would then be subject to jokes and ridicule by my pleasant and caring friends of 25 years who may have come up with such endearing terms as wimp, gimp, old man, loser or even one too crude to type.

What intrigued me most about this challenge was that we would be climbing along the ridge, or "spine" of the mountain.  Unlike the human spine, which I've discovered can be sturdy yet delicate, this spine was a massive hunk of unyielding solid rock.  This spine has no worries about such conditions as stenosis or hyperkyphosis (although you might say it suffers from scoliosis by the way it winds side to side).   No sports activity, car accident or disease is going to have an effect on this spine.  It has been there for millions of years and assuming we don't blow up our planet, it will be there for millions more.  It demands respect.  And I felt that there was no better way to show my respect than to follow it's tempting path all the way to the top.

The first two miles are not so bad.  It is a very steep climb, much of which is along a maintained path.   There are no railings,  however, and  it is best to stay away from the sheer cliff that drops straight down into the canyon.   Once you reach Scout's Landing, about 1000 feet up, you can rest a moment and enjoy the views.  Most say "that wasn't so bad,"  but it's the final half mile that is humbling.  Many turn around and quit this leg right after they start it.  The single lane path is along a very steep and narrow sandstone ridge.  They have put some chains along some of the trail for assistance, but it doesn't provide a whole lot of comfort when it seems like a small gust of wind could take you over the edge and to your untimely plunge into the depths below.  This final stretch takes a while, as you must watch every step.  If you encounter other hikers coming back down, it's a one-by-one decision as to who will "go around" the other, as the person who takes the outside path is just inches from the drop-off.  The mental challenge is to not look down while at the same time respecting what you are up against.  After about thirty minutes of this questionable precariousness,  you finally reach the top.   This is a moment of empowerment, with spectacular views in all directions.  Much like the Grand Canyon, pictures can not fully show the magnitude and words can not tell the story.   I can only say that if you ever have the chance to give it a try, do so.  You can at least get to Scout's Landing and enjoy the comparable views.  If you are lucky enough to be acrophobic or are blessed with good sense and sensibility, you will call it quits and let the others go on.

The greatest thing about this little outing was how I handled it physically.  My little spine seemed to handle this massive spine valiantly.  I believe it was because the impact was minimal.  While you use a lot of upper body strength on the ascent, movement is slow and meticulous.    My physical therapy takes a new step soon as we will be attempting some short bursts of impact on the treadmill.  I'm feeling confident as my back is feeling only minor stiffness and discomfort from the hike.  The only significant  pain I have is on the tips of my toes.  The descent is just as precipitous and my toes were jamming into the front of each of my boots like five fat men in a smart car.   There were never any warnings of this.

A fate worse than mine

Thank you, Lamar Odom.  If there is one thing that must be worse than a sore back, it has to be getting caught in front of worldwide media with arm pits full of deodorant.
 
Today was Lakers Media day, and for the the 11th straight year I had the opportunity to watch swarms of local, national and even global media fight to get as many photos, videos and interviews as they could of the NBA champs in about 90 minutes.   This year I was working with KCAL's promotions department getting the players to lip-sync to a new song by Brian McKnight that will help promote this year's games.

After four hours of setup and discussions, my back was starting to get a little sore and I knew that the hardest part was yet to come:  standing on a riser for 90-plus minutes shooting a bunch of really tall guys trying to dance and sing to a song they had never heard.  One by one they would come in and give it a shot.  Kobe Bryant:  reluctant, but pretty good.  Ron Artest: surprisingly good.  Sasha Vujacic: funny.  Jordan Farmar: ridiculous.  Adam Morrison: abysmal.  And then it happened.  By now I've been holding my posture, as directed by my PT Gary, for quite a while.  My back muscles were really getting challenged and I needed a break with none in sight.  And then it happened, Lamar walks in and begins his groove.  The newest member of the Kardashian family (no, Khloe wasn't there with her new husband that she's only known for six weeks) was actually doing a nice job.  He had the smile, the timing, the moves.   But his mistake would be one that he now has to live with for eternity: lifting his arms revealing the curds of milk I find in that forgotten carton that sometimes hides in the back of the fridge.  Wow.  For a moment I was able to forget about my back.  I had to think that someday soon I will recover from my injury, but would Lamar recover from this?  One of TMZ's newest stars and NBA champion was caught with the remnants of wet, powdered donuts hanging from his pit hairs.   The NBA is very specific about dress at team events:  The players' uniform shirts must be tucked in and shorts can't be longer than one inch above the knee, business casual at team and league events with no jeans, hats, do-rags or clunky jewelry, and sport coats for players attending games they are not playing in.  And while Lamar gave me a moment of relief today, it also almost made me sick.  So maybe this will set a new rule that requires all players to wear invisible stick, because if we must look at their pits, they should be free of mold and mildew. 

That's what friends are for

That's what I needed.  A little inspiration to write my first post.  I received a call this morning from my buddy Brian Lawlor who wanted to let me know he was on his way to Augusta, GA to swim, bike and run the Half-Ironman 70.3.   He has already done a full Ironman (left) and a bunch of other events, including the Arizona Rock and Roll Marathon which we ran together back in 2005.  With the weather reports from Georgia, it seems it would be swim, swim and swim.  Maybe the waters have receded enough now that you can actually bike and run.   For me, however, it's been none of the above.  My 25 years of having a 40 pound camera on my shoulder, slumping at an edit station and generally bad posture has finally, for the time being, taken away my absolute favorite hobby and passion.  My physical therapist and orthopedic surgeon have told me I will run again, but it will take some work.   The day after I ran the Bolder Boulder in Colorado back on Memorial Day 2009, the symptoms began.  My back was really tight and knotted up.  The sharp pain in the center of my back on my spine was so acute, I thought I was going to throw up.  Over a course of weeks, the headaches came on along with tingling in my face, left hand and left foot.  After seeing a few different doctors, I eventually got an MRI and was diagnosed with thoracic kyphosis and a herniated disc in my cervical spine, causing a mild stenosis, or narrowing of the spinal canal.  My PT, Gary, believes that the kyphosis, or irregular curvature of my thoracic spine is the primary source of the problem.   The biomechanic goal: to increase my extension, straighten up the thoracic spine, reduce the stenosis, improve the posture and strengthen the back.  My personal goal:  to once again feel the thrill of being alone at 6am, seven miles away from home at the top of Palos Verdes looking back at the Pacific Ocean, Malaga Cove and the lights of the South Bay... knowing I have seven easy running miles to get back home.  Another marathon awaits, along with the half Ironman and then the Ironman.  Someday.  So I wish the other Brian good luck this weekend.  Have a great event Bri... and hopefully it won't be long before I can join you out there again.  Until then, it's a lot of PT, boring elliptical, keeping up with my son Jack... and chasing an elusive gutter-gnawing destructive squirrel that is tearing up my house.