I'm Now Devoting My Life to Desserts

Time for an update on the life and times of Seth.

It's been 3.5 weeks since I last ran.  I stopped because of an ache deep in my lower left leg and a pain on the top of my left foot.  The ache seemed to be a direct result of running and I've only felt it once or twice in this downtime.  The foot pain is another matter - it continued to hurt during this period and I'm wondering if it could be a broken/fractured bone.  I suppose it's time to get it looked at.

About the same time I stopped running I also started to get some chronic neck/back pain.  Yoga and planks/push-ups have also been put on the sideline in the hopes that would improve things in this department but apparently not.  Since the foot continued to hurt I went back to sitting behind my desk at work for the first time since March of 2015.  Two weeks of sitting didn't seem to improve my foot though and made my neck/back feel worse than ever.

So I'm back to standing behind my desk.

Because of these various ailments, I decided to pursue a new direction in life.  Thanks to Easter and my birthday last week I was blessed with a copious variety of desserts.  I made an effort to become an Eater of Desserts.  Instead of wasting time running or doing yoga, I would now be focusing my efforts on consuming ice cream, cakes and brownies.  I ate ice cream cake (my favorite) for six straight days until it was gone.  I also consumed a pan of thick brownies, some wandies and many of those little chalky eggs that are filled with chocolate.  I was sad when the ice cream cake was gone but luckily the following day we celebrated Amanda's birthday where I ate two ice cream cones.

Sadly I felt like hot garbage after the cones and had to once again reconsider my life goals.  I don't think I have the fortitude to consume these delicious treats with the gusto and consistency that an Eater of Dessert must have.

And so I soldier on.  I'm seeing a chiropractor next week about my back and I'm going to make an appointment about my foot.  In the meantime I plan to continue to dabble with dessert but at a recreational level.

Weekly Log: 3.27.17 - 4.2.17

Monday - Seekonk, MA - 7.8 miles

A cold rainy day but I was determined to get out there.  I parked at the Wheeler School in Seekonk and ran a somewhat new loop.  It was raining from the get go and I didn't have much oomph but I soldiered on.  The rain eventually tapered out for the mid-miles but my legs never found any life.  With three miles to go the sky opened up and I was truly soaked.  More cars than I expected on these quiet roads but I was glad to get this one done and over with.

Later in the afternoon that ache in my lower leg came back - I had hoped that I had it licked but apparently not.

Tuesday - 0 miles

7 minutes of planks (longest - 4:20)

I went to lunch yoga - not my best session.  We did a bunch of moves I'm not familiar with and I felt like I was floundering throughout.

Wednesday - 0 miles

8:30 minutes of planks (longest - 3:02)

Ugh.  My left leg is all achey today.  The ache's coming from the shin I guess.  I guess even yoga makes things worse now.  I was going to do some easy trail miles but what's the point?  Better rest it and see if tomorrow's any better.

Thursday - East Providence, RI - 2 miles

So there seems to be two separate issues with my janky left leg.  There's the dull ache emanating from the shin/outside lower leg and then there is the ankle/upper foot pain.  This morning I woke up with the ankle pain.  I could feel it on and off throughout the day.  I went for a walk at lunch and it was noticeable at times.  Not promising.  I'm fairly committed now to taking some time off to hopefully let this deteriorating appendage heal up.  I had once grand plans for this April with my return to ultrarunning but instead it looks like I may be opting for a longer lull to let this heal up.  It's unfortunate but there's no point in ignoring/denying the issues I'm feeling.

Friday - 0 miles

8 minutes of planks (longest - 3:02)
145 push-ups (standard/wide)

I woke up intermittently through the night and could feel the ankle aching.  Let the gluttony and rest commence!

Saturday - 0 miles

April Fools Day, my most hated of days.  I'm way too gullible and easy to fool.  Ezri almost tricked me into eating a dog treat thinking it was an oyster cracker.  I realized at the last second.  In honor of the day, I'm now renaming this blog Janks and Pranks.  I hope everyone enjoys the new direction.

Sunday - 0 miles

Welp, the dull ache in my leg/shin hasn't been noticeable since my last run on Monday.  But the ankle soreness has lingered which is strange.  I plan on resting for the next week and taking it from there.

Weekly Log: 3.20.17 - 3.26.17

The Brrr-lingame 10 Miler is this Saturday.  Always a fun race and I was bummed to miss it last year.  The snow is clearing and it looks like spring is finally taking root.  Hoping to get keep up the mileage this week.

Monday - East Providence, RI - 7 miles

It's always tough to get motivated to run on Mondays.  I willed myself into making it an adventure but veering off the bike path after a mile and just heading east into Barrington.  I got good and lost on neighborhood streets and eventually found my way back to the car.  Legs were a little tired after 17 miles yesterday but not too bad.

I got that soreness later in the day and I've come to realize it's not really my ankle but rather just above on my lower outside leg.  This has me quite concerned.  It's a dull ache and it hounded me from the last hour of work to the long drive home.  I fear it could be another stress fracture.

Tuesday - 0 miles

5:30 minutes of planks (longest - 2:40)

No running today especially after yesterday's pains but I did a P90X3 Yoga workout in my office (I missed lunch yoga as I had a conference call).  It was a little tight next to the desk but I made it work.

Wednesday - East Providence, RI - 2.1 miles

8 minutes of planks (longest - 2:30)

My planking has reached a plateau and now I'm having trouble hitting even three minutes.  I suppose this sort of up and down is normal.

No intention of running today, I decided to just go for a walk along the forested bike path.  Windy as hell and with temps in the mid 30s it wasn't exactly a delightful day.  I've been using Headspace to meditate for the past few weeks and I'm enjoying it so today I did a walking meditation session which didn't do much for me admittedly.  Tomorrow I'll try a short run and monitor the results closely.

Thursday - East Providence, RI - 5.7 miles

8 minutes of planks (longest - 3:19)

I ran the bike path and nearby roads.  Nothing felt off other than that the body felt sluggish.  No leg ache later in the day which was comforting.  I shall race on Saturday.

Friday - 0 miles

Hopefully my leg thing was nothing but I wanted to be sure with the race tomorrow so I opted to rest again.  Another round of P90X3 Yoga in my office.

Saturday - Brrr-lingame 10 Miler - 13.1 miles

9th overall.  1:13ish.  Report forthcoming (hopefully)

Sunday - 0 miles

My ankle was a little sore from yesterday's race but not too bad.  Opted to just take it easy (lazy).

Weekly Mileage: 28.3 miles
Year to Date: 413.8 miles

Leg trouble early on and a hard-but-satisfying trail race to end the week. The ankle/leg wasn't an issue so hopefully my leg ailments have turned the corner.