Starting Again… Again!

It has taken a long time to recover from my back surgery... about three years, much longer than expecvted. And of course, during that time, I wasn’t exercising and went back to my old bad habits, gained my weight back. Add to that the whole Covid thing over the last couple of years, and I’ve basically been sitting on my ass at home, doing nothing.

I can’t stand it anymore! It's time for a change. It's time to reset and restart my Three in Three Challenge… but slightly tweaked...

1. Establish a healthy lifestyle.
2. Lose 50 lbs.
3. Train for and complete an Ultramarathon.

I think the key this time will be patience… take it slow, build up slowly, listen to my body. 

Here we go again!

Rupture, Fix It, Repeat?

Last Thursday I had my back surgery. Everything seemed to be going well until I became sick from the pain meds. They caused me to throw up uncontrollably for about five minutes. After it was over, the rupture pain returned to my back and the next day I had pain going down my leg again.

I went back to my doctor and he noted that I still have some strength in my toes, so he is hopeful that I just irritated the nerves (as opposed to rupturing again). So he put me on a steroid pack and up'ed my pain meds. I just finished my last steroid this morning and I can say they didn't help. I still have a sharp pain in my left leg, and I've lost feeling and strength again in my left foot, both signs of disc material pushing on the nerves.

Tonight I have another MRI scheduled and I visit my doctor on Wednesday for him to read them. This might sound strange, but I actually hope I ruptured again. Why? Because that will explain the pain I am in. If I didn't rupture, than I am very concerned why I am in so much pain. It's been long enough since the surgery for the post-surgical pain to subside. And the post surgery pain felt different than this. So if I ruptured (again), it explains everything and I can get it fixed and begin recovery (again).

Onward.

Starting Over... Almost!

It's been a long time since I've posted. I've gone through an interesting time over the last three years, since I had to stop running due to the plantar fasciitis. Since I couldn't run I decided to take up another sport, martial arts. For almost two years I've studied Taekwondo and I'm loving it. However, back in January I injured my back in a sparring match. A couple of weeks later I ruptured a disc in my back. I have surgery this upcoming Thursday to fix it and then about three months of recovery and physical therapy.

So that brings you up to date.

Now... I ended up putting all the weight back on. I feel like with my injury and weight gain I've hit rock bottom (again!). But the positive... I think the injury was just what I needed to wake me back up. I have a brand new opportunity to get back on my feet (literally) and to start again.

So, my goals are:

1. Lose 50 lbs.
2. Run a 50 mile ultramarathon.
3. Don't get injured!

On the first goal, I plan to use MyFitnessPal to track my eating. I am going to link MyFitnessPal to MapMyFitness to track my trail running and other activities. What's cool about MyFitnessPal is that it automatically adjusts the number of calories for the day based on the amount of exercise I get. So work more, eat more! That's a motivator for me!!!

On the second goal, I won't get to a 50 mile ultra this year, or maybe even next. So my goal for this year is to get back into trail running and to build up consistency and some endurance. Maybe a 30K by the end of the year. I will reevaluate at the end of the year to determine if I can hit my 50 miler in 2016 or need more time for training.

On the third goal, I need to figure out how to do the first two goals safely. I've been derailed a few times in my quest to transition from fat to fit, all due to injuries. So this time I will pay close attention to my body and listen to its warnings.

Would appreciate you cheering me on!

I'M BACK!!!

I have finally reached a place where I think my foot has recovered to the point that it can handle some mileage. I've been going out for occasional walks on the street, four or five miles at a time, and my foot seems to be able to take the activity. No returning pain from the plantar fasciitis. I am hopeful that I've healed and I am ready to resume my Three In Three Challenge.

However, I will need to reset my goal. When I originally set my goal, it would have been this month that I ran my first ultramarathon. But that's not going to happen. The concept of the original goal still applies (to get into shape), but the timing is pushed out because of my plantar fasciitis injury well over a year ago.

So at this point, I am not going to set a training plan, I am not going to start measuring every mile and reporting every pound like I did last time--at least not at this point. Instead, right now, I am just going to focus on getting back into a routine and slowly building up my base. I am not going to try to break any land speed records but instead just get out there each day and put in some easy miles. Will probably jog a little and walk a little at the start. It's more important right now to get back into the routine.

Please cheer me on!

Waiting

I haven't posted in a while. Why? Because I haven't had much to say. I am in a waiting mode. Each time I try to run my plantar fasciitis flairs up. So I decided to just stop running.

Its been about six weeks since I ran the trail. I miss it. But I think waiting is the best thing for my recovery. It's been about 10 months since my original injury. I've gone through numerous cycles of recovery and reinjury. And I think because I've tried to get back to running sooner I've just prolonged the recovery process.

So, I am going to continue to wait. Probably for another couple of months. Then, maybe, I'll be ready to start again.

Patience, patience patience.