Pseudogout Episode

Here I sit in my recliner with a ice pack on my right knee.  In this week I have only been able to run 3 miles and that was probably not my best idea and may have made things worse.  It was about a week ago that my right knee started swelling up and became painful.  Had I not had this happen before on many occasions I might have been concerned that I injured myself, but I know better.  

I have a condition called Pseudogout, this is a condition associated with a buildup of calcium pyrophosphate causing joint inflammation.  When I have an episode in a lot of ways all you can do is let it run its course.  The only treatments are NSAIDS like ibuprofen, ice, and rest. 



 The symptoms are: 
  I know its nothing to worry about but I really miss running and especially that high after a good run.  
  • Sudden, intense joint pain
  • Swollen joint that's warm to touch
  • Red or purple skin around the joint
  • Severe tenderness around the joint (Even the slightest touch or pressure might bring extreme pain.)



In addition to wanting to run in general I have a 5 mile race on New Years Day and felt I had a good chance for being able to PR.  Now I just hope I am able to run the race.  I know people watch races all the time but I think I would simply go crazy.  

 About three years ago I walked a 5k race and vowed that I would run races from that point on.  Since then this running thing has gone from a good idea, to habit, to an obsession.  I know I will never be the fastest and thats fine.  I just want to be out there on the road and part of the best community in the world.  The runners I have met are simply incredible people and are what pushes me to run.  If only to continue to be able to say I still belong, that would be more than enough.  


My runs this week were: 

- Wednesday Ran Home 3 mile Loop – 2.99 mi / 00:35 11:37 pace
Felt good to get in a run. Right knee was still sore but loosened up as I ran

Podcast listened to were:

Phedippidations Fdip218: The 2009 Phedippidations Holiday PodCast Variety Show Special

Everything Always Looks Better After a Run
FishaDad


Meeting Cosmo

This was kind of a crazy week for me. I had to finish up the FSCEMS Academy which meant ad mistering the final exam written test and practical exam as well as prepare for the graduation ceremony.

All the members passed and we were putting the finishing touches on the graduation as running our final practices.  My last instructions were for everyone to be at the auditorium no later than 5pm.  I went home on the day of graduation at 8am and tried to get a few hours sleep.  My phone kept ringing with calls and texts.  I finally got up at about 2 pm and headed out with my wife and son to the graduation.  As I am driving there I checked my messages and there is a message from Jeff saying that he has bad feeing something is going to go wrong which he described as "a impending feeling of doom"  and that something bad was going to happen.  I sent him a text and told him not to worry. When we were about 10 min away from the college I received a text from Jeff simply saying "I was right".  I texted back "What do you mean?"  He called and explained that while one of the parents of the graduates was crossing the street she was struck in a crosswalk and was badly injured.  Needless to say this was upsetting to all of use but we still had the ceremony and although he was at the hospital with hios mother and was missed it went really well.


This is me:

After Graduation I was able to finally rest and take a break. As I changed out of my uniform I recalled that I had said I was going to call a person about adopting a dog, Cosmo.   I dialed my phone and apologized for calling at 8pm.  I set up an appointment for my family our meet Cosmo on Saturday evening.




                                                                                
                                                                                          

Saturday could not come quickly enough. In the morning my right knee was very sore which put me in a bad mood since it caused me to miss my long run.  After the stress of the academy and graduation and excitement of getting Cosmo I really needed a run.  The minutes clicked by and finally it was time.  I went to head out an remembered Paige was driving. You see she has her permit and under the advice of her driving instructor she is to drive always.  So away we went.  Honestly she is getting much better and driving with her is not a much of a stressful time.  We got to the house and met the owner, a young couple and very nice people.  Cosmo waited in the bedroom and was hesitant to come out.  It took about 1/2 hour for him to finally come out and sniff me.  Once he did he would lick our faces.  He is clearly a timid dog.  Other than that he seems great and we believe would make a great addition to our family. They agreed to let us adopt and we made arraignments for Cosmo to be dropped off Monday night.  My biggest fear is that Cosmo will not get along with our cat Frisco.  We will just have to see how it goes and give it some time.


My runs this week were: 
- Tuesday Ran 3 miles in 30:09 @ 10:03 min/miles pace, weather was cloudy, temperature around 35 degree. Tried to run my first fartlek to start working on my speed or lack their of was able to shave over 2 minutes off my 3 mile time which is good for first try. 
- Thursday Ran 5 miles in 53:26 @ 10:41 min/miles pace, weather was mostly cloudy / windy, temperature around 15 degrees. Thanks to the running pants my wonderful wife bought I was pretty warm. When I finished I had snow frozen on my hood.


- Saturday no run due to knee pain

Podcast listened to were:
Phedippidations Fdip217: Running Legend: Browning Ross
Running to Disney- Ep. 40: Rocket City Marathon


Everything Always Looks Better After a Run
FishaDad




Chocolate Milk

I've decided that I am going to update this blog weekly on the weekend, when I have more time to write. Honestly three times a week is a bit much, I really don't have that much to say.

So about my last week, I skipped my scheduled run on Tuesday. I had planned on running and decided I was to tired in the morning to run after work so I went to bed after setting my alarm clock (or so I thought) I woke up to my wife saying are you getting up? My alarm had not gone off and now it was dark out. So I decided to wait until Thursday for my next run. I slept a lot on the next few days and then it was Thursday. On Thursday I went out for my run feeling pretty good. Ran 5 miles in 56:10 @ 11:14 min/miles pace, weather was cloudy, temperature around 38 degrees. It's an adventure dodging cars with the snow covering the side of the road. This was not the pace I was hoping for but oh well it will come with time. I am thinking that my shorter run would be about 5 miles for now and my long I'll start at 7 mile and build.

The goal I had set for myself was to run a half marathon next year and had one in mind The Vermont Covered Bridges Half Marathon. The only issue I have encountered is that the registration is on December 14th and I simply don't have the $50 fee for the race this close to Christmas. No big deal and I am going to still keep the goal it just will have to be a different race or maybe I'll just run 13.1 on my own. Perhaps the World Wide Festival of Races 2010.

I headed into the weekend and again I found myself sleeping a lot. I really have no idea why but maybe I am just fighting off something again. Speaking of that I had discussed the H1N1 vaccine in a past post and how I decided that me and my children would not be getting it. As of now no one in my family has had the H1N1 Flu however a close friend did as well as his whole family, they recovered fine but I thought you may like to know that they all got the H1N1 vaccine.

Today I went out for my long run. I had planned on 7 miles and had thought about a circular route that I had walked years ago. I knew it was 7 mile and also thought it would be one more challenge to over come. Years ago I remember looking at that as an unrealistic goal to run that 7 mile circle. Now I had already ran 8 miles once so 7 miles was well within my reach. I drove to the airport parked my truck and started to stretch. The wind was wiping across the airport openness. I walked the driveway back to the main road as a warm up. I got to the road turned left, hit my watch and started to run. Right off I had a strong cold wind pounding me in the face and I though about turning around. I pushed through and eventually the wind became more intermittent. I felt good for most of the run and was happy to be running this route that I had previously felt impossible. I Ran 7.08 miles in 1:22:41 @ 11:41 min/miles pace, weather was mostly cloudy / windy, temperature around 28 degrees. I got done and walk back up the airport driveway as a cool down. I threw on my running pants because again I ran in shorts and a light jacket. Although I was fine it became apparent that I am going to eventually have to give in and run in pants.

I jumped in my truck started it and reached for my low fat chocolate mile, that’s right chocolate milk. I have been using an ton of different recovery drinks that are currently on the market. Some I liked, some I didn't and all expensive. Then I picked up Runner World Magazine and said that low fat chocolate milk has the needed nutrition for recovery. My son Sebastion has always drank milk and on hot days after exercise he always reached for a glass of milk which I though was bad for him. Apparently I was wrong and I have switched to low fat chocolate mile myself. It has the proper nutrition, its cheap, and it tastes awesome.

Podcast I listened to where: Phedippidations, The Extra Mile Podcast, and Running To Disney

Everything Always Looks Better After A Run
FishaDad


The Mayor Higgins Hot Chocolate 5k Run

As I write this I am sitting in my comfy chair next to the Christmas tree looking out at the lightly falling snow. It's just beautiful.

Today I ran the Mayor Higgins' Hot Chocolate Run to benefit Safe Passage, a 5k run that takes place in Northampton, Ma. This is a well organized race with over 4000 participants that I also ran last year. The money goes to Safe Passage an organization dedicated to assist victims of domestic violence. Working in law enforcement I see domestic violence first hand and the damage pain and fear it causes. To have the ability to run a race and help victims of domestic violence in a win win in my book.

I got up at about 6:30 to prepare to head out. I had about an hours drive to get there and according to the website I needed to arrive early because they were had over 4000 people registered. We headed out at about 7:30 and arrived in Northampton at about 8:45 am and parked in the parking garage. When we left the parking garage we were right at the Northampton Brewery which is where the race packets and timing chips were handed out. I had my packet and chip about 2 min later, absolutely no wait time, I was in and out. So much for getting there early.

We waited for Jen (Twitter @jenni75) and Adam (Twitter @adamm9 and http://runningspark.blogspot.com/) to arrive, they are both friends of ours and Adam and I have been running some races together lately. We all watched the walkers kick off and then took our places in the runners starting area. Adam went to the 8 min mile area I went further back in the 9:40 min mile area, Adams pace is much faster that mine at this time.

The raced started and it took about a minute or two to get to the starting line. I headed across the line and headed out to the cheers of all the people lining the streets. We immediately headed up hill towards Main Street. The first two miles were basically up and down hill over and over. This was a new route this year and the amount of hills surprised me. I missed the 1 mile sign but at the 2 mile marker my watch said 10:32 which was slower than I wanted to get a PR. Also I had forgotten to start my watch at the start and started it about 15-30 seconds after the start. I got to Smith College which I knew to be at the top of a hill and that it was all down hill to the finish. I tried to push and increased my pace. As I was about 3/4 of the way down the hill I saw Adam coming up the towards me, I waived to get his attention and he ran up beside me and pushed me to finish strong. Adam had finished in just over 26 min which is amazing.  Having him running with me was great, he picked up the pace and told me "it's all down hill from here your almost there" I turned the corner and saw my wife and son along with everyone else clapping and cheering. That’s always a great feeling and I pushed hard into a sprint. I finished the race and stopped my watch which showed 32:18 and once again I started it late so I'll have to wait for the official chip time to be posted. As of right now the official chip times have not been posted.  Chip time was 32:27 @ 10:28 min mile pace.

After the race all of us headed out to find a place to have breakfast. As I we walked in the center of Northampton which is a beautiful area anyways it was snowing lightly making it very festive. We had breakfast and Adam invited me to run a half marathon next June with him. I told him I would think about it and get back to him. To be honest I really want to run it and feel I can train well enough to be able to finish the race, but it also scares the crap out of me. I think if I don't at least try I will regret it. Will see, I am going to sleep on it and make my mind up in the next few days. It will make for an interesting blog to post about my half marathon training.

 All and all it was a great day with good friends. My next race is scheduled for New Years Day and is a 5 mile race called the Freezer 5. Once again as I sit here in my comfy chair, wood stove keeping me toasty warm, by the lit Christmas tree looking out at the falling snow. I can't help but think I am truly blessed.

"Everything Always Looks Better After a Run"
FishaDad


12/01/2009 "Shoes are the Answer"






As I drove home this morning I was thinking to myself, do I run now or after I wake up.  I usually like to run in the morning that way it’s done and I can wake up an relax.  Also it gets dark so early now that I have trouble getting a decent run in before dark.  
I had been in early for work last night. The FSCEMS Academy that I am in charge of is winding down and we had to do graduation practice from 4-5 pm and then from 5-10 they participated in what has been named "Hell Day" by the students.  This is a day filled with medical scenario after medical scenarios complete with difficult medical and trauma situations, violent patients, and screaming, annoying, and disrupting bystanders.  If that was not enough just to add another element we add instructors yelling at the students the entire time.  It's extremely difficult for the students but are much stronger afterwards for having done it.  So I had been awake since 2pm the day before and very tired.  Needless to say I chose the sleep over running.  
When I woke up at 3pm I played the snooze alarm game for about a half hour and finally dragged myself out of bed.  My first thought was why did I not run before I went to bed?  I'm so tired and wish I was already done.  I pulled on my running clothes and started stretching.  I headed out and after my warm up walk which is about a half mile I was off and running by 4pm.  I felt pretty good while running.  It was cool so I wore a light jacket but that’s all, I was still in shorts.  People must be used to me running because I had a lot of people waving and honking as they drove by.  Or maybe I was just in the way as they tried to drive by.  I tried a few times to pick up my pace but kept falling back into my normal slow pace.  I finished the run and looked at my watch, I had Ran 5 miles in 58:48 @ 11:46 min/miles pace, weather was cloudy, temperature around 36 degrees.  Once again I fall back into the 11-12 min mile pace which drives me nuts.  I shook it off and started my half mile cool down walk home simply glad I got my run in and that it is over.  
By now it is already dark except for the jagnormousness beautiful moon shining down.  As I walked back in that moment I was reminded why I run.  Here I was experiencing the post run euphoria or high out in a crisp cold night looking at a unbelievable moon illuminated sky. I find that these moments are common when I run and seemed to be missed when I don't.  Maybe it a total coincidence but I don't think so.   
Once I was home I showered and watched Glenn Beck that I had saved on my DVR.  One of his topics was that General McChrystal had requested 60, 000 troops with a minimum of 40,000. Yet President Obama is sending 30,000.  First of all how do you come up with this number?  The General has extensive experience in what is needed to win the war and was handpicked by President Obama. Why wouldn't President Obama give him at least the 40,000 troop minimum requested?  What did President Obama see that warranted 10,000 troops less?   I don't get it, and believe it may be a mistake and he should send all the troop the General is asking for. Also there are some reports that some senior White House advisors don't believe that the Taliban is even a threat, Really. Are these people paying attention at all. Maybe we can just all hug and things will be much better.  Everyone deserves a second chance.  
Finally I was interested to see that Muntadhar al-Zeid had a shoe throw at him today.  If you don't remember he was the person who threw his shoes at that time President George W Bush.  Initially I thought it was extremely disrespectful and childish act although it was part of his culture.  However tonight thinking about all the violence in this country and people shooting police officers as they sit in a restaurant and kids shooting classmates I wonder if things would be better if all just started throwing shoes.  It sure is a lot less permanent afterwards, just a quick "Ouch, that really hurt" and thats it.  
So in closing I leave with this thought to ponder, maybe shoes are the answer.  It’s really all it takes to go out for a run, and if you have never had the chance to experience the world through the eyes of a runner you are really missing out.  Sure it’s hard, tiring and takes time and training.  However you will never be the same and words really cannot describe it.  Each day and each run is different.  I will say although its getting colder and colder now I am really looking forward to my first run while it is snowing.  In addition to that if we took a page out of the Muntadhar al-Zeid's book and simply threw shoes instead of shooting each other we would all be better off.  So you see shoes are the answer. 
Today I listened to Phedippidations Fdip215: Inspiring off the Couch


Everything Always Looks Better After a Run
FishaDad

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