With Wings

It has now been about nine months since I had my amputation, and today I gave birth to a lovely PR!

With my Achilles not onboard with the No Whine rule, I have been giving it plenty of squeaky wheel grease in hopes it would not degenerate further. This morning I got up, took a hot shower and then gently stretched it. No pain, not even a "are you sure you want to do this" shout of foreshadowing. Okay, I wasn't listening as intently as I do to Jennifer's every word, but I was silently happy that all systems were a go.

Speaking of all things lovely, Jennifer is still recovering from her ankle sprain and would be unable to run at all. She had signed up for the half marathon as she was trying to do one a month, but her plans have been recalibrated for now. I know how it is to go to a race and not participate, and it is particularly gruesome when your fitness level is high and your paw is sore.

The race was well organized, and with three events going on nearly simultaneously, the race director, Charles Fox, along with race management RMS did a fantastic job. There was a short delay at the start but fortunately for us the forecasted rain held off and we had great running conditions, perhaps 50o F with overcast skies.

We arrived with about an hour to spare. There was plenty of parking and we found a spot very close to the start. A quick trip to the "facilities" then I did a long warm-up and stretched the Achilles some more before heading back to the SUV to make take off the warmups and join the flock at the start.

The mayor of North Charleston, Keith Summey, made some remarks and gave an invocation, and the National Anthem was sung by the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Spiritual Ensemble. Very beautiful and moving. We then had a delay while the final course checks were made and I thought of Ashley Kurpiel, my friend to whom I had dedicated this race. Thanks for the wings, Ashley!

We were finally off and running! My stride fell into a quick rhythm and I felt very good. The 5k course has a long straightaway, then right and left to the first mile marker, which my Garmin 301 read as 9:24 min./1.05 mi. Not far from here there was a 180o turnaround, probably my only complaint of the course as these sharp turns are time killers. We were basically doing a loop, then headed back to the main straightaway before making a left into the officer's housing.

This was among the most scenic areas but I really couldn't enjoy the sights as I had the task at hand of playing the runnin' fool. About the time we entered Waterfront Park we hit the second mile, 8:52 min/0.98 mi on my watch. If accurate this would also be the fastest mile I have yet run as an amputee and I was still feeling strong. There was a cool drum ensemble in the park that I was able to listen through my distress some, a nice touch by the race director.

Around 2.5 mi my effort became more labored...as I approached 3 Army soldiers at a sharp turn I give them a thumbs up and one guy tried to give me a high five but I just missed his hand. Headed out of the park I noticed a man about my age - hard to tell sometime though - who had been pulling steadily away from me earlier. Shortly he began to walk and I passed him about the time we turned down the homestretch. I never fail to have the unfortunate realization that the last quarter mile or so of a 5k seems to go on forever, that times slows as the mountain slope steepens. I hit mile three, 1.03 on the Garmin, at 9:00 flat.

My breathing was very labored as I tried to keep my form together while picking up the pace with...wings. I pass three spectators who cheered for me. Higher. I looked for my sweet wife but could not focus on any faces. I hear my name announced, cross the line, and look down from this summit. I am home. The time on my watch is 28:10, chip time was 28:07, gun time of 28:13.

My chip is removed from my shoe and Danny White of RMS gives me some words of encouragement. Jennifer finds me and yeah, this day just keep glowing brighter. One of the post-race goodies is shrimp and grits, and they were very good on a mostly empty stomach. We stand around a bit to see if preliminary results are posted but it appears that is not going to happen today. We head back to the Pilot so I can do some socket housecleaning and put on some warmer clothes. After another coffee infusion we had back for the awards ceremony. At most 5ks I know my time would be far out of the hardware store, but given 3 races my chances improved slightly.

I believe it was about this time one of those little miracles happened. A young woman came up to us and said she just had to tell me how much she admired what I was doing and wanted to give me a hug. I was hoping I was going to hold it together and I did...such kindness is overwhelming to me. I did have a number of people shake my hand or speak to me as well. This genuine outpouring of support goes to a place inside - the heart - and lives there now.

A bit later as Jen and I are chatting, David Quick, a top local runner and reporter for the Charleston Post and Courier, comes up to me a little wide-eyed. 'What happened to you?' he asks and then we proceed to an impromptu interview. He asked me if I would agree to talk to him in the future and I gave him my contact numbers. David takes a couple of pictures and also asks Jennifer some questions about my decision to have this procedure which she handles easily. We finish up and head to the award tent and it starts to rain for the first time, not heavy, just a little drizzle.

In my AG the third place time is slower than mine so I know I've placed!

2010 CHARLESTON RIVERFRONT RIVER FESTIVAL- 5K

FIVE KILOMETER ROAD RACE

N. Charleston,S.C. Jan 16,2010

Results compiled by Race Management Systems(RMS), www.rmssports.com
Pl  Div No. Name            Age S City        St Chiptim Time      
=== === === =============== === = =========== == ===== ======

55  2  1511 Richard Blalock 56 M Mt. Pleasant SC  28:07 28:13

I win a nice glass with the race logo and my place. Jennifer and I walk back to the car with the treasure and we head to the IHOP for breakfast. Yes, it was a good day to run, a very good day. The feeling is hard to explain, but happiness certainly encompasses this ring of those near and far, and yes, I am flying even now.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly.
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.

- Sir Paul McCartney

How To Live A Life

Carol and Ashley Kurpiel

A little over a month after my operation, I was researching all things amputee. Ashley Kurpiel messaged me about the Amputee Coalition of America's conference in Atlanta in late June, but as I was still recovering I was not quite ready to travel, plus we had a few expenses that made the trip just out of reach. Even so, I really wanted to go because Dr. Robert Gailey would be there giving running instruction. I would not be able to participate in running clinics, but I was intensely interested in learning everything I could and making contacts with those who could help me down this path.

I knew nothing about Ashley at this time. Later I found Ashley was profiled on "Mystery Diagnosis" on the Discovery Channel for her FOP (Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva), an extremely rare condition that "causes bone to form in muscles, tendons, ligaments and other connective tissues." Think about your life for a moment.

Now think about Ashley's.

Then imagine how you would react to an arm and shoulder amputation that was not only not necessary, but exacerbating the condition you do have.

What would you do?

I can tell you what Ashley did. She went on. Living. Helping. Doing.

When I read Ashley's Facebook status updates she is always on the go, and I mean on the go with rockets lit on her heels. Traveling to DC to appear before a Congressional committee. Getting her pic (at right) with Stephen Baldwin. Appearing on the Tyra Banks show. Attending local fund raisers. She is all there.

I've yet to meet Ashley, but I see in her a strength and courage of mythological proportions; hers are real and here and now. When I next stand on the starting line I am going to think of her, with wings on my feet, ready to fly.

Ashley is a hero of mine.

*******

International Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva Association

Ashley

Polar Paw

I ran 3 miles at noon today. Okay, OKAY I jogged 3 miles at noon today, first run since Sunday. I can't remember when a 2 day layoff seemed like 2 weeks but it does now. I took it very slowly and stretched the Achilles every mile, then some more afterward before dunking my dog in an ice bath.

Yep, you heard right, it hasn't been cold enough that my friend Rick Ball would suggest this as therapy for my ailing Achilles. I had to retrieve a bucket I used for this very thing with my dearly departed right foot, both for swelling after runs and then for Epsom salt soaking after my first foot surgery. The bucket was confiscated for house cleaning chores, so I held a covert operation and rescued it from this unsavory turn of events.

I filled the bucket in the bathtub, dumped the icemaker tray in it, sat down on the couch and poked my paw in the icy elixir. The thought came to mind that perhaps this was some sort of inside Canadian joke, but alas, I knew whereas it had all the markings of a "good one," that indeed ice baths help the body recover faster from hard workouts and promotes a healing response. It just works out on every level imaginable.

It will be about 24 hours before I know if the Achilles is responding to this, and if it feels no worse that would be good news, as I know it will take some time to fully heal. I will continue to do my exercises and ice/heat/massage as before, but will take Rick's advice to heart on this one. Right now, a few hours afterward, it feels good and I think I am on the road to recovery but there will be NO speedwork or longer runs until the body says so. Okay, there is that 5k this weekend so I will be evaluating my situation over the next few days.

I owe you one, Rick. The ice suit is in the mail.

Achilles da Pitts

My Achilles tendinosis seems to at least been caught quickly enough not to degenerate further, and I am taking two days off while doing ice/heat therapy and some very light eccentric exercises. I will make these part of my regular stretching and strengthening routine. I mean really, why is work interrupting all of this training anyway? :-)

I plan to run 3 very easy tomorrow, I would say "jog" as that is exactly what I will be doing yet, cannot. use. that. word. Occasionally I would tell an officemate who choose to use that word and most often I would simply say "I don't jog." I can't say that now although we know it to be true.

I very much hope to still run the 5k this weekend. If it is pouring rain I've decided I won't, not so much for concerns about running in the prosthesis as keeping the Achilles warm and not making that worse. A ruptured Achilles would ruin my day and I want no part of it.

Mixed Bag

This week was a mixed bag. I had hoped to run a few more miles and was on track to do 38, but toward the end of the week I started feeling some twinges in my Achilles; on Thursday I noticed some swelling indicating some damage. Hard to say what caused this unpleasantness, I suspect the grades on the bridge may have contributed to it as some injuries take a while to make themselves known.

Regardless, although I'd like to ignore it, at my age and experience I know that is a recipe for disaster. So I took Saturday off completely and shortened my Sunday long run to 5 miles. I had hoped to run 9 miles today and certainly could have had I been willing to gamble, which I was not.

So my mileage this week was 3, 6,7,4,5,0, and 5 for 30 miles total. On Tuesday I ran 4 miles at noon and 2 in the evening, with 8 x 2 minutes harder. It is possible I strained or added to my woes then, as at one point I accidentally ran faster than I intended, 6.7 mph instead of 5.7. My treadmill is not calibrated properly and is faster than it displays, so I only run according to effort most of the time and use the readings for reference. The cost to replace the parts and labor on my treadmill as about 60% what we paid for it, so I am going to wear it out before I get a new one.

On Friday I ran 5 miles with 2 at tempo pace, the last one at 9:15. I was holding back some in taking care of the Achilles, and I hoped last week when I scheduled this workout that I could go under 9 minutes. That will have to wait as staying mobile is my priority.

Like the rest of the country and world not experiencing global warming, we have been at near record low temperatures all week. I truly don't mind the cold weather as my residual does not perspire as much; I didn't have to dry it off during my slow Sunday 5-miler. I am hoping the leg is acclimating itself to life in the liner because before we blink it is going to be summer and hot with high humidity and folks finally complaining about...oh, nevermind. ;-)

We have a race this weekend, The Riverfront Festival of Races. I'm not sure if Jennifer will be able to run yet due to her ankle sprain, but I am still on target to do the 5k. Right now there is a 50% forecast for precipitation; I still have not run in the rain yet with my prosthesis and should I have to, I will waterproof it as best I can and see what happens.

With the Achilles acting up, I doubt I will be doing the Charlie Post 15k at the end of this month. We are not signed up for it yet, so I'll wait until just before the race to decide if I will run the 15k or 5k. This is a favorite local race of mine, held on Sullivan's Island. The weather always seems to be challenging, cold and wet and often windy, something to really lean into.

*******

For next week I will take it relatively easy, monitoring the Achilles and hoping it responds to my therapy. It bothered me some in my able-bodied life and I was able to attend to it, so I will have to keep better tabs on it now. I have to admit I really hadn't thought about it much since my return to running but it hadn't forgotten me. I wouldn't have minded if it hadn't forgotten me.

Random Thoughts Part IV

It seems no day I pass through now does not show me some glint of magic. Nothing that I have missed, but more polished and sharper in my sight.

Exultation.

I found how much more I could love something that I thought I could not love more.

There are heroes all around us and one inside every human being.
The drum bangs within.

I ran 7 miles with the tune "Mai Nozipo" performed by the Kronos Quartet. I first heard this music in the movie "Fearless," a favorite of mine. This may be my prerace music for a long, long time. Feets gotta move.

I feel I have lived one life as able-bodied and now a new life as an amputee. I think the day I came home from rehab was that birthday, the unknown became real. It seemed I was learning a new language for the new life and was lost between worlds.

I consider myself a lucky man. Others have suffered far worse and do so even now.

Execute. Cancer. Now.

*******

Out of great suffering comes the music to move men's souls.

My New Year

On Wednesday I had a strong urge to run the Cooper River Bridge. My only hesitation was having not run the previous week I felt it might be a harder workout than I was prepared for. Still, the weather was good with temps in the mid-50s but somewhat windy. It is almost always breezy up on the bridge and would be at my back going to Charleston and in my face on the return trip to Mount Pleasant.

I parked at the lot off of the Cold War Memorial that serves as parking for a recreational complex as well. I had not seen this monument before and took a look around while my Garmin searched for the satellite signal. It's a very imaginative display and I will check it out further at future runs.

I estimated the run would be about 6 miles and it turned out to be 6.25. From the parking lot to Coleman Blvd., it is a concrete sidewalk and the bridge is all concrete so it's not a joint friendly route. However, for hill training, it's the best around for hundreds of miles. I ran up to the foot of the bridge and drank from the water fountain, checked my socket fit and then headed up the first span.

This is the second time I've run the bridge, but the first time with Jennifer I did not run to the other end and back. The bridge has a separate bike and pedestrian-only lanes marked with paint, yet I saw at least six couples walking abreast each other in the bike lane. The danger is obvious but in my many crossings on the bridge as able-bodied and now as an amputee, I've never seen any law enforcement attending this problem. I suppose when someone is seriously hurt the lawsuit(s) will cause a change in attitudes, which seems a shame but is often the case with bureaucratic minds. A performance bike traveling 30+ mph is a potential missile and not the benign cruiser that many ride.

I stopped at the second tower to dry the liner and socket and continued the long decline to the Charleston side of the bridge. With the wind at my back it was a very easy descent, but I knew the return would be uphill and blustery. At the Charleston end of the bridge there is a drinking fountain and several benches, so I took another opportunity to dry out the liner and socket. I wished I had my Blackberry with me to take a picture of all the perspiration I dumped out of the liner as it was significant. But with everything dried out the fit felt good and off I went to complete the round trip.

It is rather impressive to see from the Charleston side where I will be running back to Mt. Pleasant; I always liked point to point courses because the distance, when seen on a map, gives a true sense of the distance covered. I like the feeling of accomplishment that instills in me.

On the way up to the first tower I had two or three people give me a runner's wave; I love that sense of comradery. I tend run with a good deal of concentration on my form, trying to keep an even gait. Yet I am, as always, aware of the feeling of the prosthesis, its weight and the compression on my residual limb. And I am aware of how I must look to other people, so I can understand them looking a bit longer at this tall, bearded, running man with a prosthesis.

As I descended back into Mt. Pleasant I could feel the stress on my legs and knew I would be sore the next day or two. The piriformis did not send any distress signals and I took it quite slow; once the wind took a hard swipe at me and I had to reach a hand out to the railing to steady myself. Those running gods are such kidders.

As I finished I felt ready to be done with a good dose of running fatigue to boot. I didn't feel any hotspots, always a good thing, and I did my stretching for good measure. I had hoped I had not overdone it, but if I had I knew I had pushed the current small envelope through a tight slot.

*******

I did 3.25 miles easy in Thursday and could feel the stress from the bridge run, but nothing significant. The hardest part was getting off the couch and the first stiff strides of the run. I definitely didn't want to overdo the recovery, took it nice and slow and the distance was all I wanted to do.

On Friday, New Year's Day, I did my speedwork, still a little stiffness but about what I would expect, and no specific owies. I did 6 miles total with 8 x 200 in the middle to work on my form and generate some speed that all of my other base miles lack. It is difficult to work on being relaxed while (allegedly!) sprinting but with the prosthesis this is even more apparent. I started easy and my last 200 was 48s. I am very happy with this progress but it will take several more months to get them all down in the low 40s range.

I did 4 easy miles on Saturday in chilly and windy weather, and today, Sunday, I did 8 miles again. This gives me 34 miles for the week, same as the week before Christmas. I'll try to run around 37 - 38 miles next week which is going to be a cold one for us Southerners. I like these 40oF days, as I sweat less in the prosthesis and the cold, clear air is invigorating.

I added my race schedule on the sidebar of this blog. Yeah, I know it looks like a lot of races and it is, but they are generally at least 2 weeks apart. I am using the 5ks as tempo runs for now, so racing this often is not quite the same as racing at top fitness level. Also the more I do for now, the less I hope to feel so self-aware of my appearance although this is something I can't see ever being a non-issue. Truth is, it is self motivating on many levels and once the race starts and I turn inward then running is all there is...even if I feel it enhanced these days. I believe the trade gives me this one small privilege.

*****

Here is to the New Year of life and running. As bad as 2009 was on the economic front, I will remember it kindly for what it gave back to me.

And I am going to run with it.