Greetings to everyone to a brand new blog entry to the diary of a mad runner and I am sorry that it has been too long since I have posted anything. It has been quite busy.
Since April, I have been busy with running and new training and well, injuries and a new hurdle, but I am getting too ahead of myself here. Let me try to explain it more in some details.
In April, I pulled double duties in Bismarck, ND. On April 28th, I got to compete in a 5k for Parkinson's Disease on behalf of a running team I belong to, the Dakota River Runners with Universal Athletics and the morning started off cold and wet because it was raining all day but it did not break my spirit in running. The guests at the hotel I stayed at were surprised to see me in my running apparel. I was sporting the Superman shirt and socks with capes and some took pictures with me and some got a kick out of it. But the race was wonderful because a lot of people showed up on a cold day. I took 17th with a time of 24 minutes and after that, I boarded onto the bus and went over to the gymnasium of Century High School for the Great American Bike Race for Cerebral Palsy and I got to bike 20 minutes at 2 sessions and I averaged 12.7 miles of biking at 20 mph speed! It was a tiring day but I felt accomplished.
Now, onto the month of May, well, it was a month I will never forget. The week for getting ready for the Fargo Marathon in Fargo, ND was pretty crazy. I was training pretty hard for this race because it was a first for me and I was excited too. I averaged up to 77 miles in one week, a personal best. And the week of the race, I lost a lot...I lost my aunt, my grandfather and my job. But that did not break my spirit because I used that emotion of loss to win. I was honored that the people I was running for were there to cheer me on, a nice gentleman with Cystic Fibrosis and a young lady from a previous post with Cerebral Palsy showed up to inspire me and boy, did it work! I ran and ran....and ran, by the time I was wondering what mile I was on, because the scenery was so great, people all over the course, cheering, having a good time and inspiring us all and when I noticed a sign said, Mile 10 and I felt so great to have run so far without no problems. I finished the last mile with a strong pace and my goal was to run it in 2 hours and 30 minutes and I finished in 2 hours and 24 minutes. What a perfect finish because I did it strong and loved every mile.
With the month of June, well....I only ran 1 race so far and it was not a good one because I ran hurt. At the end of May, I slipped and hurt my knee and had a knee sprain and the doctor's said I would be out for a month and by the 9th of June, I ran a 5k in Wilton and ran it in 26 minutes, like I wanted but I was too focused on my knee and it got the best of me. My only regret. I did have a race every weekend in June but ended up forfeiting because of my knee and also, a severe injury.
For those tuning in, since 2007, I have had problem with my neck and the first time in 2007 was a surgery that a tumor was removed and 3 years later, in 2010, I had left over tissue removed and suffered nerve damage and had to deal with that from then on. I just never knew that it would come back around but in a diferent harm than usual.
For awhile, I was experiencing tension in my neck that would effect the left side of my face and I figured that was normal but it wasn't. I was even having this feel like someone rubbed icy hot all over my neck and finally, after a recent check up concerned the doctors to call me to see me urgently to find out what was wrong.
So, yesterday, June 21st, I went in to get checked out with an MRI and other nerve conduction tests and biopsy. I made the trip to Bismarck, ND to St. Alexius Medical Center and got in just in time to go straight to do the MRI and after 50 minutes in the machine, I had a lot to think about. My doctor was Mr. Eric Belanger, a neck specialist and after 4 hours of tests and finding out what was happening, he told me that I tore 9 muscles in my neck and arm combined. How did I manage to do that? Well, having a nerve damaged arm doesn't help when you lift and you don't know your limits because you can't feel much. And stress added was not a good thing to have too.
Dr. Belanger said that the muscles I tore were the scalene, pectoralis, trapezius and muscles by my clavicle (collar bone) in my neck and in my left arm, I tore my brachioradialis and my biceps. I suffered atrophy, also known as muscle loss.
Their solution? Well, Dr. Belanger said that it will be a TOUGH road to recovery and he thinks that I have a 20% of making a come back to racing. Which scared me. But after talking with the physical therapists have reassured me that with physical therapy, I can make it back. I will have to do a lot of physical therapy and prednisone injections, which is a steroid to help repair my muscle damage. I even have to do more electric shock therapy on my arm.
Whatever it takes, I will be back and just in time for August and the 5k rematch and the half marathon on the 25th. I am a fighter, we always find a way to the next round.
On a good note, I appreciate many who have stuck by me through all this, the good and the bad. And I am honored to have you all be a part of what I go through.
P.S. my little bro, Alan (A-Rage) says, "Hi" and "Do work!" Enough said. Haha.
