Running Reboot

That's an MRI of my shoulder I recently dislocated.  Those trained to look at these things will notice the labrum, a lip of cartilage surround the ball and socket joint of the shoulder, is torn.  I can feel something funny in my left shoulder, and that's probably it.  So my orthopedist is basically going to stick something into my left shoulder and staple the labrum back into place.  Hopefully my arm won't be popping out of my shoulder on a regular basis.

I lost a couple weeks of running when this happened on a family trip and will probably loose another week after surgery.  But runners are always picking themselves off the mat whether it be from injury, recovering from a race, or times when life gets too overwhelming that training becomes impossible.  There is always rediscovery and optimism at these points starting from near the bottom and working your way up.

 The beauty of running is that even if you're knocked out for a while, there will always be another hill to climb, a trail to explore, or a race to challenge you when you come back.  As long as the mind can will the body to run, these things will always exist.

Running Thought for the Week: Strength from Running is a Fragile Strength

About a year and a half ago on a run I'd done countless times, I tripped over a small rock or tuft of grass, fell to the ground and dislocated my left shoulder.  Now I've dislocated it again, this time by simply throwing an inflatable ball to my daughter across a pool on a family vacation..  My daughter asked me how long it will be until I can run again.  Like many questions she asks, I don't know the answer.  Maybe four weeks since it took about that long last time.

We runners put in hard work day in and day out, and over time, accomplish feats we didn't think we  possibly had the strength to do.  Some of our non-running friends look at us as if we have some kind super powers, but we're just running.   But this tower of accomplishment is built upon a fragile scaffolding and a small break anywhere within it, whether caused by injuries, sickness, freak events, overwhelming events in our personal life, or other events largely out of our control, can happen at any moment, causing the whole tower to come crashing down.   There's not much else to do but start over.  Like it or not, it's what you signed up for the day you decided to be a runner..

The tenacity to overcome the setbacks makes the inevitable rewards even more satisfying.

It's a pain waiting for a dislocated shoulder to heal

There's nothing better than starting the day with a trail run. I've many mornings running the Belmont Open Space Trails, which lead to a great overlook of San Francisco Bay. This great view is the perfect way to start the day, and having to run up a few hills to get there, the best thing is that this view is earned.

Trail running is good for more than great early morning views. The changes in elevation and uneven terrain are great for developing running strength, flexibility, and balance that simply cannot be achieved on flat city sidewalks and streets. But taking more challenging trail workouts also exposes you to more injury, and last week on the trails, I tripped, stumbled, and fell and in the process dislocated my left shoulder.

I knew my shoulder was dislocated almost immediately after I hit the ground. I tried to raise my left arm hoping it might pop back into place, but it was too painful to raise above a 45 degree angle. My hand felt numb, so I started flexing my left arm in hopes it would create some circulation and feeling. A light headed feeling descended upon me, and so I bent over, dangling my left arm to my side and bracing myself with my good right arm, so I wouldn't pass out from shock. Once I gathered myself, there wasn't much more to do than walk out of the woods and go back home so my wife Linda could take me to the hospital.

Luckily, I knew a shortcut through the trails back home, so it only took about a half hour to get home. And Linda works in a hospital as a speech therapist in head injury rehabilitation, so a dislocated shoulder hardly the worst trauma she deals with on a regular basis. She got the kids dressed, and we all went to the hospital to put my left arm back in place.

My doctor just didn't have the strength to do it. It actually felt good as he pulled on my arm, which loosened up a lot of tightness in it, but he couldn't get it back into the socket. Next, he had me lie face down while they attached weights to my left arm dangling off the side of the hospital bed in hopes of fatiguing the arm muscles over time so the arm would pop back into the socket by itself. When that didn't work, they put me under with the same stuff that killed popstar Michael Jackson, and with my body relaxed and mind totally unaware, finally put my left arm back where it belonged.

Yes, dislocating my shoulder hurt, but really not that bad. And after all, running is about managing discomfort effectively to achieve goals, more succinctly and alliteratively phrased as "no pain, no gain", so the pain of a dislocated shoulder is simply part of running. They got me in a sling, and supposedly six weeks from now, my arm will feel back to normal, but my left shoulder will be more prone to dislocations due to the damage. I'm not supposed to lift things with my arm. When I'll be cleared to run, I have no idea.

A dislocated shoulder is painful, but I can handle it. What I can't handle is sitting around doing nothing, especially since there is not much I can do to make it recover. Not running for a while few weeks is something I actually find a little scary. Before started running at the age of twelve, I was this skinny kid with no self-esteem that everyone seemed to pick on. Running gave me the confidence I needed at this fragile age. I kept at it until there came a point during my first marriage where I nearly stopped running all together, gained 60 pounds, and was generally angry and unhappy. Running got my life back on track, but unfortunately not my first marriage. There's this irrational fear that if I stop running, I'm going to become that timid skinny 12-year old, that fat unhappily married guy, or some hideous hybrid of the two.

I was planning to enter a couple races in October and November, and was starting to gear up from them in my training. Since that looks like that's not going to happen, I've started spending mornings walking for 20-40 minutes instead of the usual run. It not much, but it's better than nothing, and one thing I've learned in 30 years of running is that maintaining a routine being consistent to it is important. For now that routine is morning walks, and sometime I'll get in another walk during the day. I'll build from there.

I will get back up those hills and earn some more great views in the morning. But for now, I walk and wait.