My Journey Through Rehab

Well I went to the doctor today because my middle and index fingers on my left hand have a numbing feeling to them. It’s been going on for close to a month now and I figured I should have it checked. It happened right before I went on vacation. I was doing behind the back shoulder shrugs and must have pinched it then. It started out as a knot in my back and has progressed to the numbing now. If I was smart I would have let it heal from the time it happened. But I’m not that smart and continued to lift as usual. She said all the signs pointed to the pinched nerve so now I have to take a break from lifting and take an anti-inflammatory for 2 weeks. She was iffy if I could run but I told her I had a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving so she gave in. So that’s it, no weights or pullups, chinups or pushups until this heals. Sucks.

I haven’t taken new pictures in about a month or 2 but I know I’ve shed a few pounds and my waist is a little smaller and I’m looking a little tighter as well. But I had 4 separate people today asking me how much weight I’ve lost and how good I look. Now these people I haven’t seen since earlier this year to 2 or 3 years ago. Funny how I didn’t think I looked that big but obviously I was heavier than I thought. It’s good to hear that my work is starting to show and maybe I’ll have to put up some new pics but somehow the mirror never looks back the way I think it should.

I had the Great Cow Harbor 10k today. I was looking to finish in less than 52 but really wanted to break 50 minutes. I finished in 49.17 @ a 7:56 pace. My watch had me 6.31 miles and a 7:51 pace but it’s probably because I always stayed to the outside to avoid the crowds. I feel really good about coming in under the 8 minute pace for that long. I forgot how many hills were on this course. We were either going uphill or downhill the whole time. Running up  a 1/2 mile hill is no fun. It’s not great going down that far either but you do make up some time. They had 5,000 people register and as of now I came in 912. There are only 4400 people’s time on the results page though. The race times are staggered every minute supposedly by how long it will take you to finish but there are alot of people who want to go first so your still trying to pass all these people.  No real complaints though it was a beautiful day for a run, about 55 to 60 degrees. At the finish line they had a band and all different companies giving away free stuff. Good way to end a run. A few hours later I threw a bi and tri workout in as well. Good day.

I forgot I signed up for the Great Cow Harbor run this weekend. My friend emailed me to tell me he couldn’t go and it was good because it reminded me I am. It’s got some nasty hills on it and I ran it 52 and change last year so I’m hoping to come in under that. I feel pretty good I should come in under. We’ll see.

Well I’m a day late with my blog for yesterday but when I got home from the city I had enough time to take a shower go to the distributor and get to my parents house for a barbecue and when I got home I basically collapsed. First off Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day. It was probably in the 60’s and a cool breeze off the Hudson river. There was only about 300 runners and we all touched the bridge at 220nd in the Bronx than ran down Broadway for about 2 miles than made a left up a hill which is when the guy I was running with told me he was going to walk it so I told him I’d meet up with him at the end. We were going at 9:30 to 10 minute pace and then when we split I picked it up and did mostly sub 9 miles the rest of the way. There is something special about running along the Hudson, the GWB Bridge behind me all the parks and piers running along side coming into Chelsea Piers than running into lower Manhattan. The construction down there is a disaster though, we were weaving in and out of makeshift walk ways. The most depressing part is that the city and the developers have done **** on rebuilding the twin towers, it still looks as if there never going to put anything there. About the 12 mile mark I started to feel tired and the last 2 miles were over 9 minutes and when I crossed the finish line it was about 2 hours and 4 or 5 minutes. I forgot to stop my watch when I crossed so I don’t know the exact time. I  got something to eat and drink, changed clothes and waited for my friend to cross. He finished in about 2:40, we crapped out on a bench at Battery Park bs’ed for a while than he headed to the subway for Brooklyn and I took a leisurely walk back to Penn Station. I love walking through the city. Next year I’m breaking 2 hours!

I’m feeling pretty good about tomorrow’s run. I ran a 5k at a 7:35 pace this morning and then ran 9 hills and felt pretty good afterwords. I’m looking forward to the run tomorrow except for catching a 4:55am train. They run every hour and if I wait for the 6:00 I won’t be able to make it up to 220th St in time. I’ll try to get to bed early tonight but I don’t think I can go that early. It’s only 1 day so I’ll have to suck it up. I’m going to do chest and back later on and than rest up.

I got 11.22 miles this morning and felt pretty good. It was overcast the whole time which kept the temps down. I stopped for a minute at the boardwalk just to go to the bathroom and fill up my water bottle. With the rain over the weekend there was a puddle in the tunnel leading to the beach and if I was smart I would have taken my shoes and socks off as I went through but I didn’t think of it until I was past and and the shoes were soaked. I did the run in about 1:43. I should be alright next week for the extra 3 miles. Forecast so far looks good I hope it stays that way.

My pullups are finally starting to increase after my runs. I was stuck at 12 and 13 and now I’m doing 14 and 15. I know its not alot but I try and do them very strict all the way up and all the way down and I’m trying to hit the 20 mark.

Well we finished 20-2 in the regular season and got bounced in the first round of the playoffs. It was the best 2 out of 3 and we won the first game easily and then got our butts kicked in the second game. The third game we were down by 3 in the bottom of the 7th (last inning) got the bases loaded w/no outs and couldn’t score a run. We deserved to lose but it still sucks to end the season like this. The only good thing is now I won’t be drinking so much after the games. Most of these guys are softball friends so I only see them during the season and we tend to party a little too much during the year. I’ll see if I can be in better shape next year. Let the off-season conditioning begin.

I have 2 weeks until my run in Manhattan and wanted to get in about 10.5 miles. For those who are familiar with Jones Beach it turned out to be from the start of the bike path until I reached the boardwalk was 5.25 miles. I stopped went to the bathroom and filled my water bottle than walked to the front of the boardwalk to look at the ocean. Bill is stirring up some serious waves and brought water all the way to the front. It was probably good for surfers but I didn’t see any of them out there either.

Man I hope it’s cooler in 2 weeks I was drenched when I finished. I’m sure I can add the extra 3.7 miles so I don’t know how far I’m going to go next week. Playing a little golf this afternoon, hope I shoot better than last time. And yes I will be getting a cart!