The Aircast adventures around the neighbourhood

Aircast, originally uploaded by ultraBobban.

I am getting some use out of the Aircast. It is helping me to hobble. I tentatively took steps without the crutches....although this felt amazing, full weight bearing is many weeks away. Exercise wise, I have been crutchathon walking almost all day. I think I may have done a couple of miles back and forth and feel quite tired now, definitely glad for an early night and nearing the half-way point of Janathon.

I am hoping that my tendons start to lose some of the swelling and tightness. The thought of stretching my achilles or curling up my toes is at this stage, mere fantasy.

Post Trauma Edema vs. Janathon

Post Trauma Edema, originally uploaded by ultraBobban.

This is the second full day after cast removal. I started the day by going on crutches to the Post Office, then to the bank and then the Supermarket to get milk, fruit and veg, a round trip of 1.20 miles. I did this much slower than during Crutchathon as I wanted to partially walk rather than be non-weight bearing. After an hour of rest with my leg at heart height I sat down for a lunch of grilled sardines and fruit to finish.

Nothing better in the afternoon than to look for furniture and antiques on Ebay and then I got some inspiration. Watching one of my favourite marathon runners Ryan Hall and an hour of his workouts on the PC. Ryan is a personal favourite as he has an effortless gait and approaches things scientific but laid back way. I decided to use the exercise bike and cycled for 50 minutes, with some high reps from 40-45 mins. This was followed by 15 minutes of crunches, reverse crunches, press ups, superman, leg lifts and bicycle crunches. Breaking into an exercise induced sweat has rarely felt so good.

The downside? Post trauma edema. I have some serious swelling in my right leg. I can feel the titanium screws through the skin but the rest of the lower leg is fluid filled (with a leg raise it takes about 30 mins to drain and an hour to get back to normal). How it can be described is the sensation when you take your socks off and it leaves an elastic mark in the skin for a couple of minutes but an extreme version with a swollen foot. Look at the photo and compare it with my left where tendons are clearly visible. Research is telling me that this could take many weeks or months to go.

Castaway!

Freedom, liberation! No, it is not the start of a reggae tune, but the sweet sound of foot on ground. Janathon has taken a twist in that Crutchathon now has one leg down. Having taught myself to crutch at sub-20 minute miles, I now need to re-learn to walk, which is harder than you can imagine. As a child, there are very few words that can describe the act of walking as you learn. As an adult there is a veritable dictionary.

Janathon was today crutchathon to the post box and back. Eric came round for Coffee, cream cakes and a thrashing humbling on the playstation (his I may add....not that I'm not grateful, an ace afternoon, but too addictive for my liking!!) and then I went for partial weight-bearing (10-20%) and 200m on the crutches. I can now just flex the tiny muscle that is the gastrocnemius for the first time. Soleus? That doesn't appear to be there at the mo. I finished off the schedule with my first outing on the trainer with 4.00km on the bike. I know it is one step at a time but I am really excited now!!! Well done by the way for Jezza in the Winter Tanners.

Cast removal stage 2

Cast removal stage 2, originally uploaded by ultraBobban.

Sometimes on a marathon I have a 3 stage strategy of how I feel I have done, usually in terms of time elapsed at the finish line; Best case, very pleased and minimum expectations. Today was not really much different. After shuffling around on crutches around King's hospital (I have done my mile today easily) I sat in a very busy waiting room and after peering over the top of my book (Rosie Thorpe running around the world.....a great diary to read!) I daydreamed about best, good and minimum expectations from the consultant. I was blown out of the water when he exclaimed that the cast would be coming off and that I had healed much much faster than expected. I had been expecting to be in plater for 3 months. It has just been a little over half of that time. One theory touted around a few years ago was that I was the owner of multiple spleens and healed much quicker than anyone else. Something is afoot here? Literally!

Don't get me wrong, it is painful, and weird to be walking around, albeit, with all of the aplomb of a lame dog, wincing every time the foot even gets near to the floor. It is messy. I won't put your off your cheese toastie but the skin has not shed in 7 weeks. Grim. I have an Aircast 60 brace on the way so that I can get into running again some weeks down the line. Let the physio commence!

Unused Running shoes

After the trainer wars, originally uploaded by ultraBobban.

2 things sprnag to mind today. Firstly I opened the door to the hall cupboard and looked at the pairs of running shoes. Inov8, Asics, Saucony, more Asics, New Balance, Brooks, North Face and more Asics. I have quite a few shoes! In this none running period, I have a trusty Asics Cumulus on my left foot with a walking sock on my right to keep the cold from piercing my toes poking out of the end of the cast.

2 pairs of shoes, Brooks and Asics Gel Fuji are now on eBay, as they are surplus to requirements. The New Balance will follow as they were a pick up in a sale and don't feel idea on longer XC runs. I'm stripping back to basics. That is what I am going to have to do when I get back to running. I am crossing everything that I might get a weight bearing cast or even an Aircast at my visit to the hospital and x-ray tomorrow morning.

Crutchathon is great, but no substitute for running, just a mere distraction to keep me fighting fit and healthy. Janathon has been much better than willy-nilly crutching around. I have focused the body and mind to completing crutching outdoors everyday, and so far up to 2.3 miles.......and staying off the cider and wine and anything else with alcohol in. This is making me the most positive one legged South Londoner ever. There are things that I miss. Running. Work. But they will return and all too quickly.

I will feedback on the consultant's words tomorrow but knwo that I will be completing at least a mile, possibly more......

7 days of looking after myself

no drunks at the next meeting then?, originally uploaded by ultraBobban.

Well it is rude to start the NEw Year without giving up something. Without what would be building up to somewhere between 50-60 miles on a normal January week getting ready for the Tanners and the Thames Trot 50, I find that the rest from alcohol and the limitation to one coffee a day, reduction of red meat and other animal fats has rendered me rather healthy.
Janathon enters week 2 tomorrow and today was a good day. Having had a rest yesterday, I took to my local park between rainstorms and then did some serious crutching through 2 postal codes. My first half mile was in an incredible 19.52 min pace! People, puddles and some serious incline reduced this to 22.08 for my first mile which did somewhat disappoint me. Was I making excuses for going out too fast. How could I reduce my time? OK, leave the rucksack at home (but how would I carry the milk home?) switch a coat, scarf, gloves and thick trousers and a walking boot for a trail shoe, compression tights, my OMM lightweight jacket and some Gore gloves. I know why I haven't done this. Pride. I would look like a tit. You can get away with it at 7.30 min miles as one is too fast to hear the sneers and comments as one zips past like a rat up a drainpipe. So I settled back to something around 23.00min miles for the next mile on my trusty aluminium crutches. Add that to the scamper around in the evening and I have done a creditworthy 2.3 miles for the day. The downside is having a leg raised for 2 hours afterwards to allow the swelling to go down. I guess this is why the consultant has signed me off for such a while. Janathon lives on!