Grappling With PD

The inaugural Las Vegas marathon is one week from today. I signed up for it a year ago. I must accept the very real possibility that I may be unable to finish. How did I get here? I worked pretty hard from May through September this year to prepare.  Toward the end of summer I had begun to feel some persistent pain in my left heel. In mid-September I took a week and a half off to take my daughter to college, during which I walked a lot but did not run at all.  That inactivity left me well-rested upon my return, and I had a pretty good long run that Saturday.  However, succeeding Saturday morning long runs were characterized by decreasing performance.  This result came from running less to allow my heel to heal.  I was willing to accept being a little out of shape in exchange for pain-free feet, but surprisingly, the pain in my heel did not decrease. I had long been planning to take a week off before the marathon, but having taken far more than just a week, I also found myself wondering

When I write my blog entries, I try to be as unbiased and accurate as possible.  Sometimes events make me look good, sometimes bad, but it's never about beating myself up, and it's never about bragging.  Except today.  I'm feeling really good about this particular event, so I'm gonna brag.  Just a little. First the background.  This part of the continuing saga of the injured left little finger, begun in previous entries.  I have been trying to make progress on diagnosis and treatment, but it has been difficult and slow.  Who knew the little finger could present such a big challenge?  In spite of the fact that it never was broken, it has been splinted virtually nonstop for over two months.  In that time I have used three different types of splint: 1) the traditional "tie or tape it to something stiff" variety; 2) the thermal-molded plastic or fabric variety; and 3) the sprin-mechanism variety.  The goal at this point is not to keep it straight, but to make it s

So when I fell at about mile 2 in the Utah Spartan Beast on July 20--just over a month ago--I felt confident that my finger was broken.  The medics agreed, and they applied a makeshift split made of a popsicle stick and tape.  That kept the finger straight and provided a small amount of protection. I got home late the next day and visited the doctor morning after that.  I did not get past the desk at my primary care physician's office; they don't deal with such things and told me to go to the urgent care clinic.  The urgent care doc said that it did indeed look broken and referred me to a hand specialist for x-rays, diagnosis, and treatment.  When I called for an appointment, they gave me the first available:  July 31!  That was pretty rotten, as it failed to account for the importance of timely treatment for a broken bone.   Quick side story:  the first time I had a broken bone was in the Navy in 1992 or 1993. I was at the base in Newport, RI for a few months, so it must have

The race was scheduled for Saturday, July 20, 2024.  I ran the same race--and presumably the same course, though small changes are always possible--on July 9, 2022.  I knew what to expect.  I knew  how hard it was.  How hard it *is*.  In 2022 it took me 6 hours 29 minutes to finish (in the Open division).  This time, in Age Group, I planned for 7 hours, maybe longer if I ended up doing a lot of penalty loops.  With a 7:15 AM start time, 7 hours meant finishing by 2:15 PM. I started out walking, following the advice that my friend and trainer Orlando gave me at my first Beast in Seattle in 2019.  It was a brisk walk, and as the slower runners reduced speed and transitioned to walking, I passed several of them  So far, so good. Note that the goal is to finish, not to beat anyone in particular.  However, I learned early on that I can't compare my results at one venue to my results at another, because the venues are different.  I can, however, compare my performance to that of my pee

Ever since my abdominal surgery in August 2020, I have had occasional  pains--usually mild--in my stomach and abdominal cavity in general.  Most of those pains have been due to excessive crunching/slouching, excessive eating, or excessive abs workouts.  This past Sunday (May 19) my parents came to town to celebrate my daughter's high school graduation.  We went to the Yard House by the Linq, and I had a cheeseburger.  Nothing fancy, except that I upgraded from regular fries to truffle fries.  I also ate some pieces of a huge pretzel appetizer that we all shared, plus the remains of my daughter's dessert cake and ice cream.  I knew what was in store for me--a little pain following a minor bout of over-eating.   I went home that night, slept well, and got up early for the 5 AM boot camp class at Camp Rhino.. The workout went well.  I normally eat something beforehand, but on that morning I was still full from the night before, so I skipped breakfast.  I had taken the week off fro

The original purpose behind this blog, I suppose, was to increase awareness of Parkinson's, especially as it affects me.  I want to capture current events in my life for posterity, and if it provides inspiration to someone, all the better.  But there is another reason for writing these blog entries, and that is fundraising.  Team Fox is the group of volunteers who raise money for the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.  MJFF has provided a level of funding for research exceeding  that provided by the federal government.  In other words, MJFF is a big deal!  To contribute, please click the link.  Forward it to your friends.  Any contribution, large or small, is greatly appreciated.  Every contribution helps. https://give.michaeljfox.org/fundraiser/5513862