10/10/12
So tonight I am running the normal mile after getting home
from work. Almost 7pm...nice and overcast so it’s almost dark. The humidity is
back too...yay. I feel like I had a good start but soon realize I am my most
recent pace of about 7:54. This will make the third run in a row at 10 seconds
slower than the times that I was happy with. As I reach the final stretch I
have to slow down for a dog in the path that ends up not paying any attention
to me. Past the dog I pick up the pace to finish the final minute of the run
strong. After a few steps I feel my back “tweak” a little bit and then the very
next step my back “slips” and creates a debilitating pain along my spine at the
bottom of my shoulder blades. I stop the run immediately as I know what has happened.
It first happened in college during a run home from some intramural flag football.
It is very hard to describe but I will do my best.
It is a stabbing pain that prevents me from slouching at all
while standing. Breathing deep also hurts as well as just moving around in
general while standing up right. It seems impossible to manage consistently and
time and rest is the only thing that makes it go away. I am not sure if it is a
muscle or a nerve or what but massaging the area doesn’t help. It’s like there is a switch in that spot that
activates whenever it is shaken or compressed the wrong way. Once it is switched
I am helpless and it is very frustrating.
As I must take my posture to extreme “correctness” (read:
shoulders back, back arched, chest out, head in neutral spine) I blame my
terrible posture for this issue. My body says: Fuck Yo Slouch! in other words.
Growing up I never had anyone successful nag me enough to make me want to have
good posture. It has always been terrible as I watched a lot of tv, played a
lot of video games, and sat at the computer a lot. This created a “computer
posture” that I have been working on as of late due to an MRI that revealed a
bulging disc in my neck (C4-C5 I think) and a herniated disc in my lower back
(last lumbar L5?-S1). The former is from a combination of sleeping on my
stomach and my first rear end collision from May of 2011. This is an educated
guess on my part. The lower back problem is definitely from moving a 37” Flat
tube tv up to the 3rd floor apartment I lived in off Hollow Tree.
Bitch had to be at least 150lbs and it was on a dolly not made for tvs. The
very last step was pretty much all back and I felt it pop. This was in August
of 2009. I have not been able to afford an MRI until this year to confirm what
had happened.
After receiving the results of the MRI I feel vindicated in
my diagnosis that my back is structurally fucked up and I am ready for it to be
fixed by someone. Just tell me what needs to be done and I will be happy to
oblige. I finally make it to an orthopedic spine doctor. Turns out to be a
pretty anticlimactic event:
Me: Blah Blah Blah Neck hurts after basketball blah blah
blah Back hurts after sitting and doing burpees.
Him: Neck is meh. Everyone has a bulging disc in their neck.
Get over it and take care of it better.
Me: Ok :/
Him: Back could be worse. Stop doing burpees. Get over it,
stop doing things that make it hurt, and take better care of it.
Me: What about stuff like Insanity?
Him: Shit is hard on the back. Just recognize your limits
(like the “burpee-like” plank work) and be careful with it.
Me: Ok then seems reasonable.
Him: See you later.
So per usual there is no magic solution to this problem
aside from more effort on my part. Take better care of myself and stretch
more. Rocket science at its most
complex.
There is hope though. After speaking with my Director of
fitness I have a plan to work on my running technique to smooth out my running
resulting in less stress on my body.
Listening to the Tigers right now as they lead 2-1 in the
bottom of the 6th. Go Tigers. I don’t want to go to a game 5 and
have to waste a JV start before crushing the Yankees.
So what’s been up since last Thursday? The audit was
supposed to be on Friday and was cancelled due to a scheduling mishap on the
auditing company’s part… kind of a letdown but probably a good thing as I could
tie up some loose ends prior to audit time. Of course I have left those things
until tomorrow when the audit will be taking place on Friday. Just a few more
pieces of paperwork so we should be
fine. I left work early since there was no audit and I wanted a nap before
playing some limited Return to Ravnica somewhere. Didn’t get it but still
decided to go for a run before heading to 3rd Coast for a smaller
than expected sealed event. Opened up a bomby G/W with Martial Law, Armada
Wurm, and Grove of the Guardian. Fairly simple build at its core and DT was
there to help me refine it. Went X-1 losing to Jace, Chemister, and the
detaining angel. Got 4 packs for my troubles and we headed to Stringer’s for a
4v4 random team draft with some true dorans. It obviously did not end well
after an unclutch 2-2. We got there twice on filibuster counters though J
I made it home around 5am for 6 hours of sleep. Woke up and
went to UH for some rock climbing, swimming, and some cardio/lifting. Finally
climbed a rock wall for the first time in 10 years. Almost made it to the top
on the easy route…maybe 10 feet to the top. Belayer wanted me to take a break
while I was up there and try again. It wasn’t happening. Forearms were dead and
they were not coming back anytime soon. Tried another climb after several
minutes of rest but I did not last long. So glad I finally got to climb though.
Unfortunately I did not get to swim as there was an event going on in the pool.
As long as I do one of those two things (the whole reason for buying a
membership at UH) the trip is worth it. Stopped at b-dubs after to watch the
end of Game 1 of Tigers/A’s. Tigers won and they are on their way to closing
out the series right now.
Sunday was a game day at Geoff’s. A solid day for me as I
won a game of Fearsome Floors and absolutely crushed my first game of Ticket to
Ride Europe. 70 points in routes and longest train without using any stations
will get you there apparently.
Came home in time to watch Drew Brees break one of those
unbreakable records. Pretty epic if you ask me. Entering the game, Reggie Wayne
and his 40 points put me comfortably ahead of Tobey and all he had left was
Marques Colston. Not comfortable enough for a PPR league apparently. Colston
put up 40.xx only one catch away from stealing my victory. Phew.
The other money league left me with a 6 point lead after Sunday
and I was up against Andre Johnson. I was not optimistic. He had one catch J
This puts me at 4-1 in the TMZ league and 3-2 in the auction money league.
Feeling good about TMZ league but auction team is sketchy at best. Take me to
the promised land Matty Ice. Ohhh…playing tha Raidahs this week…should be fun.
Sorry I have no ability to truncate myself resulting in a
huge post after 6 days of not posting. Back on track now and look to finish the
week strong.
Here’s to hoping J
OH. Highlight of the day: Middle-aged black man in his
good-looking black Audi (stock rims) with the windows down rocking out to some
Cranberries. Couldn’t help but smile.
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