MRI Etc.

Well, I got my MRI the other day. No results yet. I'm heartened by the idea that I don't likely have a rotator cuff injury. At the same time, the unknown quantity of what kind of neurological problem I may have is bothering me some. I've talked to a couple of folks who seem to have had similar injuries. I'm hoping I can come out of this just needing a couple of cortisone injections and some therapy. I did get back to running. I decided to do what I could tolerate. I did three on the treadmill and that was no trouble at all. I ran an outdoor 10k on my regular route on Friday evening. I intended to do 12 miles today as a test for the half marathon. I woke up very sore this morning and decided it was the better part of valor to skip it, and move to an off-season mentality earlier than intended. The half marathon was a collateral goal for the year. I exceeded my intended goal way back in the summer. I think I've gotten the bug now. I can't hardly stand to skip a training session. I kind of felt like I wussed out by skipping the half marathon, but I really want to stay focused on multi-sport. If I triggered another neck episode like I had last time I would be kicking myself for doing something I'd been advised against.

Having an in home PT has it's benefits. She has me on an exercise program to help strengthen where I'm weak. It's helping quite a bit. This lack of stability is what's causing most of my pain anyway. And with some kind of program, I at least feel like I'm being proactive in getting better. For the off season, I think I'll be running every other day, and doing the trainer on the opposite days. Hopefully by February/March I'll be able to swim again. My strategy is to 3-5-7, or 4-6-8 miles, and 1-1.5 hours on the trainer. I've been advised to stay off the road on my bike until I have more strength in my shoulder. Should I begin to wreck, I'm afraid I wouldn't have the proper strength in my shoulder to protect myself and keep it from more extensive injury. I'm not digging this injury business. Nope, not one bit.

Diagnosis and motivation

I got this video from USAT's facebook feed. I thought it was very moving. Being faced with injury that has sidelined me for a bit with so much uncertainty at this point I was inspired by these athletes.

I went to the Orthopedic Doctor yesterday. He's confident that I don't have a rotator cuff tear. He believes I have an impinged nerve root in my neck. If not at the neck then somewhere else that's causing my issue. I get a little stronger each day. I still have trouble sleeping all night long and I'm still taking meds for pain. I go for an MRI soon. After that, they'll know if I have an impinged nerve root in my neck.

The Doc gave me license to do whatever I could tolerate. I decided that I would run on the treadmill in case I had difficulty. It went very well actually. I was a little slower as one might expect after taking over a week off from training. I'll try six on Friday and if that goes well, twelve on Sunday. If twelve goes well, I'll go ahead and do the half marathon. All of this is obviously based on whether or not news from the MRI and subsequent visits to the Doc allow.

Shoulder Injury

Seriously bumming over this. I've been training diligently for this half marathon coming up in November. It's looking like I'll have to skip it. I also had all these plans for the off season and the following triathlon season. Well, the best laid plans and all that. I have developed a shoulder injury that has all the symptoms of a torn rotator cuff. It started with a muscle spasm in the scapular area. I've had these before and they usually go away with massage, Advil and time. This one just seemed to get worse. I'm hopeful that I'm just dealing with a nerve entrapment or something similar that doesn't mean shoulder surgery. Shoulder surgery is going to mean a setback of roughly 9 months to a year with surgery, rehab and then getting back in shape. I'm trying to be positive, and take things as they come. I see the Orthopedic doctor next Tuesday. I expect that will be followed by an MRI etc. Meanwhile, I have quite a bit of pain and difficulty sleeping.