Mt. Hood Snowshoeing from Timberline Lodge

Another weekend, another trip out snowshoeing.  My friend, Sarah, and I had planned to hit Tom, Dick and Harry, a popular trek starting at about 4000 ft, but the snow around that elevation was crap, so we drove up to Timberline Lodge, which sits at about 6000 ft.  While the snow was still kinda crappy, we wanted to snowshoe, and it turned out to be a fabulous day--night and day in terms of snow conditions from the past weekend, but actually much easier in terms of effort.  Although I guess that depends on how effort is defined, as the weekend before, the snow was wet and heavy, and each step caused your foot to sink down a foot, but the trail itself was easy and gently rolling. Whereas this week, the snow was hard and icy, so we stayed on top of the snow, but we were climbing up 2500 ft in 2 miles, so there was definite effort in climbing, especially being that my climbing muscles have been on vacation for the past 2 months.

We left the parking lot with the intention of finding the PCT and hiking on it for a few miles out-and-back.  But it was foggy down low, and we missed the PCT, but realized we could easily follow the outer boundary of the ski area.  So we headed up, and had an easy target of the top of the upper ski lift. 

In short, about 4 miles, 2 up and 2 down, which took us a long while to go up, and next to nothing to come down.  I didn't run going up, but tried out running down part of the down.  I love my new Dion snowshoes!   The views all day were spectacular, with some low clouds, interspersed with clear spots, so that the views of Jefferson in the distance were quite nice.  And while we never got a clear view of Mt. Hood, parts of the top did peak through every now and then.  By the time we got back down, we were once again surrounded by fog.  

This one's a keeper....I plan to go back and do some repeats this weekend, as snow at lower elevations is apparently still crappy.

Some photos from the adventure:

New Years Snowshoeing

Got some new Dion snowshoes and hit the mountains with Liz near Hoodoo to try them out.  Beautiful day to be out, although the snow was deep and wet.  Snow conditions and my out-of-shape state made for a great workout, even though we only covered about 4 miles.  I plan to go out again this weekend, and maybe every weekend until the snow melts.

Graston fun and continued frustration....

I’ve been going to see a chiropractor/sports med/graston guy for 3 weeks now. The latest fun is he has me stand on my toes on a step while he scrapes down my arch, the tendons on the sides of my ankles, and parts of my calf with a stainless steel tool. This is fairly painful, and leaves my lower leg a bit green/purplish in color. I’m actually seeing 2 different guys at the same clinic bc I can’t always get into one or the other. One is nice, the other is not so nice, and I’m reaching a frustration point with both of them as to when I will be cleared to run again. And by run, I don’t mean jogging 100 m on a track. I mentioned to the nice one last night, that I’m at a breaking point, and without some more insight into what they see as my progression back to running, I’m going to jump ship and just go it alone. I could run pain free on roads/tracks before I got put in the damn boot, so this slow progression back into something that causes no pain doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. His response was that the partial tears could lead to complete tears which would be a career ending injury and that I can’t rush it, blah blah blah. It might as well be a career ending injury at the pace they want me to get back to running. At this rate I’ll be back to a 100 miler when I’m 70. Wasn’t the 6 weeks in the boot supposed to give the tendons time to heal?


I did jog 2 miles slowly on the treadmill last week, which I later got reprimanded for doing, by the grumpy one. He gives very unclear instructions and won’t repeat anything. So when he said I could go onto a track and run the straights for 2 miles, I took it as meaning he didn’t want me to run the curves bc of the increased strain on my tendon while turning. And at some point he mentioned the word ‘treadmill’ so I took it to mean I could try out a short run on the treadmill. I don’t know where to find a track, and no google search has given me any clue as to where I might find one that is not a pain in the ass to get to. So, I opted for the option that was easy, and ran an easy 20 minutes on the treadmill. It wasn’t fun (bc running slowly on a treadmill in a crowded gym never is), and didn’t cause any pain, but got a grumpy reaction from the doctor and I saw him write in his notes, “patient did not follow doctor’s instructions.” It’s to the point, where I’m about to give up on them, and just jump back into it. I’m not training to get back to a 5k, and their conservative approach with no insight into their ‘plan’ for me is not helping. 


I’ve got a new year’s eve appointment with the grumpy one…I’ll give them another week to convince me that this is going somewhere, and then Miwok training starts in earnest.

Boot-free, but no running in sight....

Well, since the last time I posted I've packed up a Penske, driven 5 days cross country with Dad, found an apartment, started a new job, unloaded the truck, unpacked (sort of) and have been in Portland for about a month now.  The orthopedist I saw in VA right before departing put me in an immobilization boot, which I finally transitioned out of last week.  I've seen 3 different graston guys out here, along with an acupuncturist.  I've settled on 2 of the graston guys (both at the same practice) and am now getting treatments twice a week.  I can bike, swim, elliptical, etc, but no running allowed.  So far, lots of late night swims at the gym and early morning spin classes. I got back out on my road bike for the first time last weekend, so look forward to ramping that up a bit.  I'm going to see a naturopath after Christmas to discuss some type of injection that might help.  I walked home last night for the first time and it didn't feel bad, although it's hard to say bc I saw the doc this a.m. and now am bruised and swollen (from him, not the walk).

I mentioned to the doc that I had made it through the Miwok lottery, so have a 100K to shoot for on May 1.  He told his colleague (who had already advised against this), who came in and scolded me and reminded me that this was probably not a good idea.  We'll see...I plan to run on May 1, and hope to be back running in the next couple of weeks. 

The guys I'm seeing said that immobilization was not a good thing, and that a much more active therapy would have been appropriate.  Not what I wanted to hear 5 weeks into wearing the boot.  Anyhow, they are doing graston, massage, laser, some electro therapy and I have exercises to do twice a day.  I've got tears in both the posterial tibial tendon and apparently the one on the outside (peroneal), too, per the MRI results.  So, I need to really work on balance/stabilization/strength in this area before they'll let me run, so as to prevent it from happening again.

I ran to catch the bus today, just to spite them (well, mainly bc I was already late for work), but for the most part am following doctors orders and hoping to get back out there soon....  Looking forward to a long ride tomorrow in the hills around Portland.

6 weeks in a boot.

Good news is the tear in my posterior tibial tendon should heal on its own, if it is given the chance.  So, the doctor gave me a big boot, and told me to wear it whenever I'm walking/standing for 6 weeks.  So, it could be worse, but it's going to make moving heavy furniture into the moving truck a bit awkward.  I guess if I've been on it for several months since the initial injury, I can probably take the boot off to load the truck, and accept a few more days of boot use if need be.  I can still swim, run in the pool, and bike, so all is not lost.  In the meantime, I've got 3 days to finish packing up my house, so no time to sit around and mope that I can't go and do one last Rock Creek Park loop.

7 mm tear.

I finally got an MRI this week, which is what I've wanted since about April, when the tendon that runs up the inner side of my left ankle started screaming every time I stepped on a rock.  I finally got into a foot/ankle orthopedist (which in itself was no easy feat), and he referred me for an MRI after I pleaded.  The results were sent to both my orthopedist--who I won't see until next Friday--and my ART guy (who is a chiropractor).  My ART guy called me on Friday to tell me that the results indicate I've got a 7 mm tear right below where the tendon makes a turn around that little knobby inner ankle bone.  It doesn't sound like much, a 7 mm tear, but I'm dreading what my orthopedist has to tell me on Friday.  It's in a spot where the tendon isn't that thick, so 7 mm is maybe 30-40% of the tendon.  And my ART guy, guessed that they might recommend surgery if I want it to ever actually heal enough to run without pain and without further damage.  Argh.  But here's to hoping he doesn't know what he's talking about, and that the orthopedist just recommends a supportive orthotic and encourages me to start running 80 mile weeks again.  Dare to dream.

Injuries, bike crashes, and cross-country moves.

I've been a negligent blogger bc I've been a negligent runner of late. I've gotten to the point where I feel like I'm not a runner, and never will be again. It's only been about a month of true slacking, or maybe getting closer to 2, but it feels like a lifetime.

So, posterior tibial tendonitis has been bugging me since April, and really bugging me since June. I've tried foot doctors, PTs and am now doing some ART. It isn't necessarily getting any worse. It doesn't seem to be getting any better, either, and with the amount of running I've been doing, I would expect it to be. Still, when I run and suddenly step on a rock, or other action that causes my heel to land below my toe, it hurts like heck.

I've also had a pain in my lower abdominal region for the past several months. Well, really dating back to almost a year ago. I've been convinced I've had a hernia, but my primary care guy hasn't bought that guess yet. The ART guy I've been seeing thinks it's osteitis pubis, and might be right. Anyhow, this problem does seem to fade with decreased running, but comes back quickly when I run. Anyhow, I've got some core strengthening exercises to do in the meantime, and we'll see if I can get through both of these issues so that I can RUN again. And by run, I mean a multi-hour blissful run through leaf-strewn colorful trails. Ah, dare to dream.

In other news, I tested positive for Lyme disease. I found a couple of miniscule ticks on me in August, and my doctor told me to get tested after about 6 weeks. So, when I went in to complain about my hernia and try to get an MRI for my ankle, I went ahead and got tested. I'm hoping that it was from one of the 2009 summer ticks, and not something I picked up years ago, but there is no way to know. I'm taking antibiotics, and need to check back in with my doctor. Every arthritic pain I have has me in a panic as to whether it's related to this or not.

In other news, I'm moving to Portland, Oregon. It came about pretty quickly. I visited, decided I wanted to move there, applied for a job, got the job, and am now working out the logistics of a cross country move. I've gone from being super excited to panic struck. Lots of details to work out with figuring out what to take, and what to leave. Unfortunately, Fred and Ginger (my kitties) are in the 'what to leave' category, as they'll stay in my house with their other mom. What to do with my house is another issue, but I'm hoping to hold onto it for as long as is feasible.

Bike crashes....well, nothing new there, except crash #5 of the summer/fall on Saturday. I just keep tipping over. This time in front of a barber shop, with a bunch of old friendly guys from the neighborhood. I'll give the pedals 3 more crashes before I give up on them.

That's it for now. Likely no more races for me in 2009. I just look forward to being healthy again, and getting the mileage back up. The soft pine-needly trails in Oregon should be good for all that ails me.