- Dec 29, 2002
- 27,153
- 6
- 81
Story:
In high school I was a pretty decent runner, I qualified for the Illinois state track meet in the 800 meter and I was a solid 400 runner as well. I loved to run, my life pretty much revolved around it.
I went to college and excelled, but not before severe hardships. For the first time I became injured. I suffered 2 stress fractures in my lower right shin. They couldn't figure out the cause of them until an MRI showed a tumor inside of my shin, effectively making my shin hollow. No wonder it hurt so bad! I had surgery to remove the tumor and I have an artificial shin in that spot. The doctor said running was unlikely ever again. I was pretty beat up.
While on crutches I started to swim run in our pool. I would go for 2 hours at a time. Then I decided to get crazy and swim run without the flotation belt on. I bet a senior (I was a freshmen) on the team that I could go longer with no belt than him. He went for 5 minutes before he had to stop, I went for 35 minutes before I almost drowned. From then on I did swim running with no belt, once reaching 45 minutes. Tough stuff.
I hit the roads. My coach advised against it, but I told him I only get to live once and this is what I want. I gradually started running again, slowly getting back into the rhythm. My leg felt great. Three months later I became a conference champion as part of the 2 mile relay. I also did extremely well in the 400 meter, and I also picked up javelin and did that a lot. I ran cross-country and excelled at that as well.
Then my senior year I suffered a blood clot in my right leg (same damn leg!). It went undiagnosed for 6 months, I was lucky to live. My right leg swelled up and remained like that for over a year and a half. It was so painful I couldn't run on it. I lost my senior year of track and cross-country. Sucked.
After college and a LOT of physical therapy, my swelling in my leg finally went down and I started to jog again. I worked my way up to 2.5 hour runs. I had no GF at this time and lived alone, so all I did was run to kill time. I started doing a lot of road races. I got 2nd place in a large 10k road race (3-4k people) and was pretty happy with that. A kid I ran with in college beat me :awe:
Then in the winter (Feb) of 2009 I went skiing and fell. I thought I twisted my ankle, I shook it off and kept going. I tried running on it and it was soooo painful. I gave it a few months rest, thinking I just twisted it. That summer I started running again and the pain was worse. I would collapse on it on occasion while I was walking. My stubborn ass didn't go to a doctor. I tried to push through the pain, continuing to run while I winced every step.
I went to the doctor a few months ago to see whats going on. An MRI showed a giant cyst inside of my ankle. The doctor says that I broke my ankle in that fall and my ankle filled with fluid and didn't heal properly. The fluid turned into a cyst, and a bone scan showed the cyst was growing. It was basically decomposing my ankle. He told me I am lucky it didn't collapse on itself, I would have needed a complete ankle replacement. Did I mention this was also in my right leg? My damn right leg has been through hell.
Anyway, where was I. I had surgery on August 5th to remove the cyst. The doctors are hoping that healthy bone regrows in the socket where the cyst was, or else I will need another surgery. I have been on crutches since and will be on them until at least September 10th. FML
Today I got a membership at a badass gym right near where I live. Here is my new home for the next several months:
http://www.rushcopley.com/virtualtours/virtualtours_new/healthplex/tourfiles/flash/index.html
Every day I am going to be in there. Problem is, I dont know how to swim properly. I am taking some private swimming lessons to learn how to swim. I plan on swimming for hours. The lifeguards are going to think I am nuts, which I am. I will also be biking. When I am finally able to run again, I will be running like a maniac. Did I mention this orthopedic surgeon said I should never run again?
My goal is to do triathlons. Not just complete them, but compete for wins. I wasn't blessed with natural ability with athletics. I was so bad at running when I first started, I couldn't break a 6 minute mile for months. I work extremely hard, and unlike 99% of America I LOVE to work hard. I love coming home beat to hell. When I race, I race so when I finish I know I have no regrets about how I raced. I cannot wait for next spring and summer, I will be in the best shape of my life.
In high school I was a pretty decent runner, I qualified for the Illinois state track meet in the 800 meter and I was a solid 400 runner as well. I loved to run, my life pretty much revolved around it.
I went to college and excelled, but not before severe hardships. For the first time I became injured. I suffered 2 stress fractures in my lower right shin. They couldn't figure out the cause of them until an MRI showed a tumor inside of my shin, effectively making my shin hollow. No wonder it hurt so bad! I had surgery to remove the tumor and I have an artificial shin in that spot. The doctor said running was unlikely ever again. I was pretty beat up.
While on crutches I started to swim run in our pool. I would go for 2 hours at a time. Then I decided to get crazy and swim run without the flotation belt on. I bet a senior (I was a freshmen) on the team that I could go longer with no belt than him. He went for 5 minutes before he had to stop, I went for 35 minutes before I almost drowned. From then on I did swim running with no belt, once reaching 45 minutes. Tough stuff.
I hit the roads. My coach advised against it, but I told him I only get to live once and this is what I want. I gradually started running again, slowly getting back into the rhythm. My leg felt great. Three months later I became a conference champion as part of the 2 mile relay. I also did extremely well in the 400 meter, and I also picked up javelin and did that a lot. I ran cross-country and excelled at that as well.
Then my senior year I suffered a blood clot in my right leg (same damn leg!). It went undiagnosed for 6 months, I was lucky to live. My right leg swelled up and remained like that for over a year and a half. It was so painful I couldn't run on it. I lost my senior year of track and cross-country. Sucked.
After college and a LOT of physical therapy, my swelling in my leg finally went down and I started to jog again. I worked my way up to 2.5 hour runs. I had no GF at this time and lived alone, so all I did was run to kill time. I started doing a lot of road races. I got 2nd place in a large 10k road race (3-4k people) and was pretty happy with that. A kid I ran with in college beat me :awe:
Then in the winter (Feb) of 2009 I went skiing and fell. I thought I twisted my ankle, I shook it off and kept going. I tried running on it and it was soooo painful. I gave it a few months rest, thinking I just twisted it. That summer I started running again and the pain was worse. I would collapse on it on occasion while I was walking. My stubborn ass didn't go to a doctor. I tried to push through the pain, continuing to run while I winced every step.
I went to the doctor a few months ago to see whats going on. An MRI showed a giant cyst inside of my ankle. The doctor says that I broke my ankle in that fall and my ankle filled with fluid and didn't heal properly. The fluid turned into a cyst, and a bone scan showed the cyst was growing. It was basically decomposing my ankle. He told me I am lucky it didn't collapse on itself, I would have needed a complete ankle replacement. Did I mention this was also in my right leg? My damn right leg has been through hell.
Anyway, where was I. I had surgery on August 5th to remove the cyst. The doctors are hoping that healthy bone regrows in the socket where the cyst was, or else I will need another surgery. I have been on crutches since and will be on them until at least September 10th. FML
Today I got a membership at a badass gym right near where I live. Here is my new home for the next several months:
http://www.rushcopley.com/virtualtours/virtualtours_new/healthplex/tourfiles/flash/index.html
Every day I am going to be in there. Problem is, I dont know how to swim properly. I am taking some private swimming lessons to learn how to swim. I plan on swimming for hours. The lifeguards are going to think I am nuts, which I am. I will also be biking. When I am finally able to run again, I will be running like a maniac. Did I mention this orthopedic surgeon said I should never run again?
My goal is to do triathlons. Not just complete them, but compete for wins. I wasn't blessed with natural ability with athletics. I was so bad at running when I first started, I couldn't break a 6 minute mile for months. I work extremely hard, and unlike 99% of America I LOVE to work hard. I love coming home beat to hell. When I race, I race so when I finish I know I have no regrets about how I raced. I cannot wait for next spring and summer, I will be in the best shape of my life.