I'm back!

Hello Runners!!!!

I'm back (if anyone cares)


It has been quite a while, almost 8 years to be exact since I last posted a blog entry.  My goal with this series of blogs will be to help runners struggling with injuries to see the "right way" and the wrong way to recover from serious injuries.  I put the term "right way" in quotes because there are multiple right ways to recover but I will explain the way I used for recover this time as opposed to the last time.  I didn't put the term "wrong way" into quotes because if you are trying to "train" through a serious injury to stay fit you are doing it wrong, plain and simple.  (side note- I am talking about serious injuries, in my case a sacral stress fractures both times.  I am not talking about something like Achilles tendonitis/tendonapothy or runner's knee which do require special care and treatment but you could possibly still modify your training while treating.

Let's take a journey back to November 2013.  I had been running well that year with the "usual" tightness/soreness you get from long runs or hard workouts.  Then my life changed.  My wife and I lost our first child 6 months into pregnancy.  Needless to say nothing prepares you or feels as empty and hopeless as the loss of a child.  After a few days of being in a fog and not knowing if I could go on with life, I decided I needed to get some running therapy in and see if I maybe take my mind of the indescribable pain I was in.  When I got done with a 6 miler my body was killing me.  My left glute and lower back were so tight.  I took 4 days off.

For the next few months I suffered with the tightness in that region with some days being way worse then others.  And some days I didn't have any issues.  I did go see my general practitioner and see sent me to physical therapy.    I was told it was a tight piriformis and I needed to stretch more, work on my HORRIBLE lack of mobility, and heat/ice the area.

Even though I did what they told me it wasn't getting better.  Yet I kept running.  Until I couldn't.
In February I had an 30K and I could barely stand up straight and walk the next day which was Monday. Yet like an idiot who was training for a March marathon I went and attempted a 11 mile run on Tuesday.  I was in so much pain at the end I had to walk the last 3 miles back.

I took the full week off and tried to run a 21 miler that following Saturday. I made it 50 feet before I was in excruciating pain.  Back to the doctors and after an  MRI I was misdiagnosed and was told I could continue to walk and exercise if it didn't hurt.  After a month of trying that I got a second MRI and was told I had a stress fracture in my sacrum and waould be out for 3-4 month!  A freaking death sentence for a runner.

So that's my "back" story..HA HA get it back, sacrum, part of the back.... oh never mind.

Over the next few weeks I hope to let you know how I fucked up that recovery and turned a 3-4 month recovery into a 7-8 month recovery and how this current one is hopefully healed in 3 months because I  learned the hard way to recovery from an injury correctly.


Hope you enjoy it.

Summer Blog

After 11 weeks of not running, I finally got two runs in this week. I did a 5 miler on the trails of Griffith Park (uphills were easier on the back than the downhills) and then I did a 5 miler with Chris (@ChrisSchauble) Peter (@lamarathon) Liana (@FITtorrent) and Bob (@RCMCoach) http://twitpic.com/23bwtx . Today I feel great although my legs feel a little "dead" from the "new" activity I am introducing them to. When I run I am still super cautious (almost too much) and am constantly thinking "is this a dream?" Today is a swim only day and tomorrow I might do stairs or make it another swim day or aqua jog. I am going to slowly get back into this running thing, the last thing I need to do is get injured again rushing back to soon. the younger me would rush back, the older wise adult (?) is going to ease back into it.

I plan outlining my recovery plan later this week. I just wanted to tell everyone that I might be back and racing soon. I am actually signed up for a 5K Sunday at the annual Keep LA Running. I don't plan on racing it just having fun. It did feel good to get this tweet from @massayaka
"@cmoss23 tnx, dont mind finding it out 1st hand. r u gona Keep LA Running this wknd? u used 2 kill my AG. bet u still do... ". It is nice knowing that I "killed" my age group when I used to be able to race. That will motivate me to return to my racing pace.

Major News!

Major news on the home front. No BP didn't stop the oil spill. No America did not win their soccer match in the World Cup. And no I didn't lower my insurance using Geiko. It's BIGGER. I just ran 20 minutes on the t-mill without pain!!!!!!!! I know, I know it doesn't seem that important in the grand scheme of things but to me it means a lot.

Earlier this week my lovely (and can I say beautiful since I think she is still reading my blog) principal had 3 treadmills delivered to school. A necessity, no. A want for my running team, yes. And regardless if she is reading this, she is wonderful since she actually came through on her promise. When school started she said she would get me a few treadmills to help me evaluate my runner's gait so I could place them in proper shoes and we could use the t-mills on rainy days. True to her word we got the t-mills earlier this week. I was going to wait until Sunday to try my t-mill run but I said "what the hey, I am here and I should see how well they work", so I ran this morning. LOVED IT!


Now I am really starting to get encouraged and looking forward to my next stage in rehab, the long road back to running great. At least I know I can start incorporating more runs in while I am rehabbing to keep me sane.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Oh and if anyone knows of a gym who would like to donate old treadmills or cardio equipment we would love them and they would get a tax write-off. Win win for everyone.

Gym Dislikes!!

Let me start off by saying I hate the gym! I don’t hate working out/lifting weights or the benefits from working out with weights; I hate all the boneheads that make going to the gym a horrible experience. I love gyms like Jordan’s Virtual Fit Club. It is the size of a strip mall liquor store and is packed, PACKED with weights. It is like working out in your own private gym.
Since I have been relegated to rehabbing in the gym, I have noticed even more things I dislike. Jeff Bomberger touched on gym etiquette before, but this goes beyond his.

Dudes the shower wall is not a tissue!
Dudes that walk around naked in the locker room have been discussed, but do they really need to SHAVE naked? Come on man show a little respect!
Speaking of respect, what the hell is up with guys that don’t want to say thank you for holding the door that extra second for someone. I am not gay and hitting on you or I don’t think that you can’t open the door; it is a polite gesture that a civilized society respects. I don’t care how much muscle you have saying thank you doesn’t make you a pussy.
Speaking of guys thinking you are gay and hitting on them, that is NOT the case when I see you struggling with too heavy of a weight and I ask if you need a spot. It’s not that I don’t think you can lift it (you shouldn’t be lifting it if you are struggling so bad with poor form but that is another topic), it is that I don’t want to waste my time later filling out a report as to what I saw when you crushed your skull with a 95 lb. dumbbell.
Now for too heavy of weights; if you are using dumbbells you do not need to slam them on the ground for attention. If you are not strong enough to be able to control the weights back to your legs and stand up or control them enough to get them to the ground gently, you are not as strong as you think and should mix in a few stabilizer exercises once in a while.
Treadmill racer guy, I am rehabbing an injury I am not here to race you. Don’t look over at my t-mill and increase your pace to better mine. I am just here because I have to be and couldn’t care less how fast you think you are with your board shorts and Vans.
Other treadmill/stair master/elliptical dorks don’t jack up your pace or the incline so high that you hold on to the handles for dear life. That totally negates the effects of the workout.
OK- this one happened last week it is not BS. Dude, do not get in the pool/hot tube in your Hanes boxer briefs! Nasty!
Last one because I am busy- girls going to yoga classes that are late and rushing through the gym all stressed out they are late. Yoga is supposed to be relaxing and a de-stressor. You are completely missing the point if you are huffing and puffing at the lady that is slowly checking people into the gym because you will be 2 minutes late to yoga class. RELAX the class isn’t going anywhere.

Ahh. Feels better now I can go the gym and smile at all you boneheads.

Crushing my hopes

So after seeing my regular doctor 2 weeks ago, I finally received my referral request for a cortisone shot- DENIED!!!! Man I hate my insurance. So I stay fit my entire adult life, never ever see the doctor except once a year for an annual check-up, and when I finally need something, "nope, sorry it isn't going to happen". So what the hell am I paying for?

Sorry, had to get that rant out. Anyways, I guess that means more icing, more therapy, more Advil, and keep praying my hip gets better (unless some knows someone who can administer cortisone shots!).

Today, I am going to attempt to walk stairs. There is a flight of 300ish stairs in Stevenson's Ranch that I will walk up and down for 30-40 minutes. I know my quads and calves will get sore (in a good way) I just hope my hip/groin doesn't get hurt in the bad way.


Have a great day!

Weekend Update

True to my word and against better judgement, I decide to run 10 whole minutes on the treadmill on Sunday. I set the pace for a 10 min a mile so I would run an entire mile. Three shitty things: 1. 10 min/mile felt like a decent pace (fuck I can maintain sub 6's for 10Ks man how I have fallen. 2. 6 minutes in my hip hurt. 3. I got bored (not surprising but if I have to rehab for a few weeks on a t-mill I will hate it! After my "run" if you can call it that, I did my rehab exercises and stretched for 15 extra minutes. I then went home and iced a few times and did my rehab exercises again. I was really distraught throughout the day because of the discomfort.

Now the good. I swam 2500 meters on Saturday faster then I have ever swam in the past. Then I did a sick-ass chest/back/ab circuit on Sunday which killed me. And now for the best news (fingers crossed), my hip and legs feel great today! Maybe all the icing and extra stretching helped loosen things up? Who know but I feel good and will try and run on the t-mill again this Sunday.

Congrats to everyone who raced this weekend. You inspire me to race more often (when I get better) and make me jealous that you are out there racing while I watch TV on the couch.

Enjoy your Monday everyone.

Injuries Suck

I haven't run on land in 45 days due to tendonitis. I know the exact days because the first day of my injury was the first day of the BP oil disaster. Everything I read about tendonitis says that it should take 4-6 weeks to heal. I am no mathematician but 6 weeks x 7 days a week is 42 days. I should be feeling great. And I was feeling like I was getting better so I started aqua jogging. I did ten minutes one day. Then skipped 2 days and did 25 minutes. Then skipped 3 days and did 40 minutes. Never once did I feel any pain or discomfort while running or the next days that followed. I thought I would be on the treadmill by Sunday. Then yesterday happened. I was in so much pain, it was like the first day of my injury. WTF???!!!!!??!?!?!?! I am so upset and distraught I can't even begin to explain. I am almost at wits end and at that point in an athlete's 9I use that term lightly when talking about myself) life where I feel that if I am going to be in pain without running, I might as well run and then be hurt.

Oh well, hopefully someone, somewhere will come through for me and find someone who can administer a cortisone shot (or 2 or 3 like I really need) since my insurance company thinks everything is fine with me (they suck ass just like injuries)

Despite all of this, I WILL have a great weekend and I hope you all do too.