Zebano - My running partner and I started running together about 6 months before the pandemic.  He's faster than me, so to keep the runs interesting for him, we'd run on days I was training at HM pace.  Late last summer he suffered a knee injury and is still coming back from that (including some form change to alter the stride that made him more vulnerable to injury).  He's still faster than me, but hasn't recovered all his stamina yet, so he can beat me on a 5-miler, but I currently have the edge in a half marathon it seems.  We're similar in age and stage of life, so our runs are also good for talks.

DW - We're all wired a bit differently and have to dress in the way that works best for us - the trick is to find that magic solution.

Piwi, Zebano, ccoakley, Darkwave - Thanks.  I'm hoping this is a sign that my training is going well and I'll have a shot at an absolute PR in the spring.

 

DWave - Good week. What are on the for/against sides of your arguments regarding the epidural? And would I suppose correctly that you are shopping for an (additional) neurologist?

For: what the heck, we've tried everything else, and it's pretty safe, quick, and covered by insurance.

Against:  No injection is truly safe, and anytime you do an injection into the spine, there is a small chance of something going wrong.  Corticosteroids are catabolic, and can do some damage.

And then there's the matter of convenience.  Physiatrist said that the recovery was basically just to take the rest of the day easy, and then return to normal activity (and he knows what "normal" is for me).  But I've read elsewhere that you're not supposed to drive for 12 hours after an epidural injection.  Which adds some logistical challenge both in getting to/from his office and in that I'm supposed to have an ART appointment that afternoon (which I'm not sure I can do if I've gotten my back injected that morning.

As for neurologist, I might check in with my previous one, whom I left because of a bad experience with his front office (I really liked the doctor himself).  Or my primary care suggested trying the Mayo or Cleveland Clinics as a last stop, so maybe I go there.

DW, is this the same epidural they give for labor?  If so I've had 2 and I would 1000% not drive afterwards.  The hospital won't even let you walk by yourself afterwards.  It definitely takes 12 hrs before I would trust having complete control of my legs.  What would the epidural do/show/prove?

 

For: what the heck, we've tried everything else, and it's pretty safe, quick, and covered by insurance.

 

Against:  No injection is truly safe, and anytime you do an injection into the spine, there is a small chance of something going wrong.  Corticosteroids are catabolic, and can do some damage.

 

And then there's the matter of convenience.  Physiatrist said that the recovery was basically just to take the rest of the day easy, and then return to normal activity (and he knows what "normal" is for me).  But I've read elsewhere that you're not supposed to drive for 12 hours after an epidural injection.  Which adds some logistical challenge both in getting to/from his office and in that I'm supposed to have an ART appointment that afternoon (which I'm not sure I can do if I've gotten my back injected that morning.

 

As for neurologist, I might check in with my previous one, whom I left because of a bad experience with his front office (I really liked the doctor himself).  Or my primary care suggested trying the Mayo or Cleveland Clinics as a last stop, so maybe I go there.

Phew, tough to keep up but loving all the chat from the new members here.

Rune - I remember being in San Francisco in the middle of your winter a few years back and I don't think it got below about 13C / 55F!  It rarely gets below around 5C here in Auckland (40F) at which point I'd go for gloves.

Fred - any goal races in mind for the spring?

Keen - very solid week there.  I like the more miles than degrees thing.

Keen nice week as usual. I see you still spot some deer on your runs. I've been eating alot of venison lately. It's very protein rich. From Wikipedia " Venison's health benefits are many. For starters, it's one of the leanest, heart-healthiest meats available — low in fat, high in protein and packed with zinc, haem iron, and vitamin "

Rune your climate is very similar to mine. Glad you are able to jog again.

Just the word epidural kind of scares me. Probably a hangover of child birth days . My wife never actually had one though with our 4 children

Fred - Nice work.  I have a feeling you might just surprise yourself given how close your goals are.

Keen - Nice to see you putting up the numbers you're known for.  That's already higher than my expected peak in this cycle.

rune - Great to see you back here.  Hopefully you manage to get some running in soon.

Christchurch Marathon - The director has announced they are reviewing options and will make a decision within 2 weeks.  Our cases are going nowhere but up so the April 10 date is no longer 50-50, more like 10-90 now.  At least I'll know early.  I suspect they will go to a date that is almost (haha) guaranteed to be safe so potentially September (unless they want to keep it away from Dunedin on September 11).

So my current thinking, which seems to change every few days right now.  I have an entry for Wellington on June 19.  I think we'll be out of this by then but there's enough doubt for me to not risk another unfinished marathon cycle.  If Christchurch is moved to June, then they'll have some indication that it is viable so I will continue making that my #1 focus.  If they move to September, I'll do Southern Lakes on May 7.  I did want to have a real crack at a half PB this year (on a flat course) but that may fall by the wayside if the marathon is in September.  I'll take what I can get in terms of races though.

Got to feel for Queenstown who look like having to cancel their rescheduled date of March 19.

September is less than optimal in that it means a lot of training in winter, but the potential of a warm day on race day, as opposed to my current cycle which is training in warmer weather with a likely cool race day.

That's good news from Running Events.  I thought Christchurch may consider trying wave starts but with all events starting together it would mean huge changes and road closures all day which wouldn't get approved.  I don't think they'll move it to June - it's pretty expensive and a lot of work so they'll do everything to try and avoid having to move it again.  Maybe they could try early August and the race director can get off his high horse about trying to get the best weather.  Potentially brutal in August but so be it.

Wow i missed a LOT. 

Darkwave how did the KT tape on the stomach go? Good idea as a reminder to keep the back straight. Sometimes the simplest things make the best results. The Chair of Death sounds hard because I did weight lifting so squatting always bent the back a certain amount. I literally came back to get an update on the medical issues. Bunch of circles. Today I Learned the definition of a Physiatrist. I actually had to read the word a few times to say it correctly and NOT say a combination of Physicitian and Physicist. Although, may seeing a Physicist would help. Doesn’t the epidural wear off, and become less effective at the same dose over time thus not solving the problem and being a band aid until the next “well lets try this”? The only experience I have with them is my wife having one during delivery.

Hot horse. Stiff back. I find the best way to avoid being tossed off a horse is to never get on one. Only time I find it slightly acceptable to never “saddle back up and get back on that horse” is when it’s literal.

Marky Mark I’ve embraced the 5am morning run. My RP has to get home for breakfast, and it started as me joining him for runs because “I’m up anyways” and grew into “It’s really convenient to have my long run completed before breakfast.” I don’t like pushing back breakfast. 2:30 am was nice in that I was done AND got my quiet morning time. Heck, around 6am I was thinking “where is everyone? Burning….oh it’s only me who has been up for 3 hours.”

Wife bought me the Fenix 6 for Christmas. I agree it’s overkill for a lot of things. I strongly enjoy the battery life. Pretty sure I had it last a full 7 days of wearing without doing the Pulse Ox thing at night. I’m going to safely assume I’m acclimated for my elevation.

I completely suggest you do the 60km. It’s actually enjoyable in a “this is just a 5 hour long run” sort of way. Oh great….100 person limits will make the less possible. I never understood the limits on ultra marathons since they are socially distanced by nature. Including at aid stations. Less than 100 people there FOR SURE.

Zeb Did you ever get a new watch? Mine almost died during CIM and I 100% attribute it to me “short charging” it. 40% battery life before a workout? Better charge it so it’s full and doesn’t die on my 1 hour run.

Fred I believe my Garmin Fenix uses it’s internal barometer to calculate elevation, and then calculates ascent/descent based on the barometric pressure loss/gain. A friend with a Fenix 3 will have random runs where it says he is at 65,000 ft until he cleans the watch. I noticed one of his runs had a 100 ft elevation difference for an out and back run. He soaked the watch in soapy water and it seems to fix it every time.

CFarr those long runs are getting longer and longer. Feels good doesn’t it?

Piwi what GoPro do you have? You should post more photos from surfing. I once wanted to be a surfer, but didn’t want to wake up and drive to the ocean, and none of my friends surfed. Rough crowd to break into. At least where I was trying to surf without knowing anyone. As for boosters, depends on the state and the Center for Disease Control has said you’re “vaccinated” if you have the original shots, and are “up to date” if you have the vaccine booster shot. It’s complicated. We don’t have passports, probably never will, and businesses where I’m at care more about your money than you wearing a mask. Enforcement for the mask mandates is lacking and businesses are slowly realizing they WON’T be shut down. 33% positivity rate currently. I keep waiting for more stimulus money and businesses to be closed to stop the spread, BUT I keep being denied happiness. It fixed it the first 20 months so I’m not sure why it won’t fix anything now.

Steve I think you need to pick a different marathon. Seriously man, you have the absolute WORST luck with that race. Just fly to California in December and run CIM with others.

Treadmill running I started running on treadmills before being a “GPS runner” and just used the distance on the machine. It works for world record holders and my friend who “calibrated” his watch to the local track regular runs farther than me when we run together for the exact same run. Oddly, my RP has opted for the treadmill more often, and has begun running faster outside. I call him on it and I think he enjoys the faster feel, and I take a little credit for breaking him out of his slower longer run pace when I’d join him and push him during CIM training, without knowing I’m pushing him.

James are you part Engineer? 4% speed measurement of the treadmill accuracy? WOW!

CC perhaps the brick Garmin can make a comeback for your upcoming race. The emergency could be your primary watch running out of battery life. I gave an Epson watch I was given to a friend. If you want I could mail you a Garmin 410 and/or a 235 I’ll probably never use again. With chargers and possibly the heart rate strap. I don’t know anyone I could GIVE them to.

I use coconut oil to make eggs in the morning. Who knew coconuts were so awesome? A 50k in 6 hours is really really great.

Jeff 7 half marathons in 7 days in 7 states? SHEESH! Those must be some of the small East Coast states because the traveling logistics on the West Coast would be killer.

Keen only thing I might suggest is a Hoo Rag with the fleece attached to it. Might be overkill for you, and I just embraced the cold. The frost from the breath is part of the reason I kinda stopped wearing face coverings. Actually, I bought most of mine pre-COVID to wear FOR keeping my face warm in winter. Have you considered doubling it up/folding it in half to wear? I’m also in a dry state with 20ish percent humidity.

Flavio you were having trouble STANDING? Wow! I know some people in my office use standing desks however; they’re NOT standing for 2 hours.

Keen you must either fold in half, or have REALLY tall doors to do pullups in them. Hashbrown…lmao!

Watson good news about the fire. There was another one in Big Sur, California recently. Small town with a marathon in it and not may options to get in/out. Pretty sure they had a bridge collapse and left it that way to keep tourists out. Until it became really inconvenient for the locals trying to leave.

Hot runs: https://cdapress.com/news/2021/jun/28/ironman-coeur-dalene-records-smashed-course-and-st/

hottest run I’ve ever heard of. Run tempers of 101F (38C) Racers were mixed on “cancel the race” and “you should have trained for this. Adjust your race effort accordingly.”

Piwi I’ll have to post some deer pictures when I see them. Seriously, where I work they walk through town. At home it’s just wild mustangs. My buddy in California likes to say I live in the Wild Wild West.