Today, I’ll finally do it. I’m calling the doctor. I got a good recommendation to a doctor (I don’t know what kind — I just know it’s a doctor that takes care of your knees). I have tendinitis in my right knee and it just … won’t … go … away. I had the same exact thing in March 2008, and four days off along with some kind of a prescription did the trick. This time, it flared up after my 50-miler May 9, and while it’s died down 99% at times, it just won’t go away.
If I need to take time off, now is the time. I have to be good to go next year. I get concerned about losing fitness, but my wife just took 9 weeks off due to injury and after being back on for just 9 weeks, she’s already back to where it was. I have more experience than her and I should be able to handle time off even better than her, but it’s tough to look at yourself objectively. I go back and forth between wanting to run and wanting to take time off and get better. Actually, I take that back — I go back and forth between being willing to risk injury and knowing to be smart and take the day of.
But I need to get this done right, so I’m calling the doctor today. I’m a computer guy … why should I be following my plan to make my knee better ? I’ll leave that up to the experts.
So yeah, no run today, not that I could have, considering I was up 2 1/2 hours past my bedtime working last night. That makes two days off in a row, three out of four. I’m doing a lot of perfect pushups, but I don’t think those are helping me much with my running! Better July than December, though. It’s kind of convenient, because I have a ton of work to do and a big project due August 1. I’m just looking forward to next month, when I should be able to get back on track.
Badwater starts today
Anybody who thinks I’m crazy should check out Badwater (or twitter.com/adventurecorps), which started today. A friend of mine, Jonathan Gunderson is running it. Nothing like running 135 miles in 115+ temps from 282 feet below sea level up to Mt. Whitney. The toughest race I did was a 50-miler with moderate elevation gains (varied between about 4,000 feet and 6,000 feet) in 85-degree temps. It was a miserable day for me, but it was 85 miles shorter and 30 degrees cooler than what Gundy will be doing. It’s mind-boggling and something I will never, ever do.
Site changes, Operation Jack update
I made a change to the way this site functions. You don’t totally need to go through the registration process to leave a commeunt. Well, you kind of do, but it’s part of leaving a comment. When you post a comment, name & email are required, but putting those in will automatically register you. You can add a URL if you want to. Also, you can subscribe to the blog via RSS feed now.
I’m getting some positive feedback from various groups around the country. Several organizations are thinking of coming on board to try to help make a difference. It’s a win-win … Train 4 Autism gains awareness, and those organizations raise funds they wouldn’t have raised.
Thought I had …
I love ice cream and frozen yogurt. Right now, I’m on a streak of 19 consecutive days of having one or the other. A friend of mine, knowing this, told me she received two certificates for a free pint of ice cream at Baskin Robbins for donating blood that she wasn’t going to use. She’s going to give them to me, but it gave me an idea. I’m so focused on doing what I can to help the Autism community, but there’s no reason to only help in that area.
I was thinking (which is when I always get myself in trouble) that we can do various things that are easy to do that will make a difference. The blood donation idea was a no-brainer. Right now, there aren’t enough people following, so I want to save the first blood-drive attempt for later. But I’d love it if at some point we had people all over the country donating blood as part of this. I hate needles, but I’d do it. I think it would be cool if 100 or 200 people went out and donated blood on a designated day at some point in the future.
Jack, my super star!
I’m doing Operation Jack in honor of my son, and I talk a lot about Train 4 Autism and running and all sorts of things in between, but I realized I never really talk about Jack. So, I figured I’d throw in a happy Jack story.
Jack is off in his own world quite a bit. He’s oblivious, he doesn’t communicate too well … he just kind of does his own thing. As parents, it’s like Tiff and I have two sets of kids — Ben and Ava, the older brother and little sister, and then Jack, the only child. Last night, we were at Lucille’s, a BBQ restaurant, and he was playing with Ben and Ava, getting wild and having a blast. All three of them were having blast with each other, which is something we never see. Ordinarily, I don’t let the kids run around and make noise in a restaurant. But fortunately, we were in a back room and nobody else was in there (smart hostess!) and it was loud anyways. Ahhhh, the joys of parenthood!
Randomness: I heard this song today and I hadn’t heard it in a while
Big and Rich, Lost In This Moment. I love country music and I listen to it all day long. For whatever reason, I can’t stand Big and Rich. But I love this song. Anything that makes me pause and think of my wife is a good song. This one qualifies.
That’s all I’ve got for today
Thanks for reading. Don’t hesitate to sign up for Operation Jack! Register for a team — there’s no obligation! There are no fundraising minimums and you don’t have to run a marathon. I’m just trying to drive participation and awareness, so please — sign up and tell a friend! You can follow me at twitter.com/operationjack.
john loftus says
Hey Sam, If it helps, Scott Jurek and countless Kenyan elites take 4 to 8 weeks off with NO RUNNING every year to recharge Don’t worry about your fitness, it will come right back.
Coach.