Running with a Baby and Fracture

First things first, last Thursday morning (the 17th) Michele and I welcomed into this world a beautiful baby girl. AEY and mom are doing fantastic. Dad on the other hand is back in the office wondering how in the hell he's ever going to catch up on sleep, hang out with family and run. Seriously though, I'm still on the highest of highs since monkey entered our lives.

Over 2 weeks ago, I fractured my left radius bone near the elbow and feared that I wouldn't be able to hold our little one. Well thankfully it wasn't an issue. While holding her, the pain seems to just go away.


As noted, it's been two plus weeks since I busted up my left wing and there's still a good amount of discomfort. Thankfully the pain I dealt with immediately after the fracture is gone, but the discomfort annoyance is something I deal with all day. The annoyance stemming from the lack of a normal range of motion and strength.

Therapy/Rehab is going great but I'm not out of the woods just yet. The fracture doesn't seem to want to set correctly and the insertion of pins still might happen. More will be known in a few weeks.

With regards to running, lacking any normal range of motion and the swelling has had its impact. Pain is also evident when I pull on my socks and tie my shoe laces. At least I can look at my watch now. The rotation of the left wrist was painful at one point and now just requires full and slow attention for the rotation to be completed.

Thankfully the running has come around. What started out as time off transitioning to slow jogs with Bisbee has finally turned into productive outings. And of course the new found motivation that comes along with being lucky enough to be a father doesn't hurt one bit.

If It Ain't Broke

...but hurts like a mother focker, then it's likely fractured.


Believe me, the brake in the pic above hurts really really bad. The great news is no surgery is needed, no cast is needed and that I can run within the week. The bad news is I have to deal with the pain since the only way for the elbow to heal is by moving it.

Long story short, I slipped on some ice and used my left elbow to cushion my body from the pavement. Slightly longer version.

I went out for a run Monday night. Goal was like 7 miles and to make home in time to cook dinner. All was going smoothly till just over a mile left. I hit an intersection and debated for about 5 seconds which way to go. Straight or go left. Either route would lead me home. No route was longer then the other. At the last second I decided on the left hand turn.

For almost 6 miles, I paid attention to damn near every slippery step I took. Focusing on balance and body position to help minimize a fall. This is something I've been doing over all my years of running on icy conditions. However, for this brief second I didn't focus on balance. Upper body going straight, lower body going left.

As quick as I went down I was right back up. Still running. Flexed my arm in a curl position a few times and all felt fine. Just a tad stiff. Didn't think much of it. Then I thought I'd look at my watch to see if it broke and that's when I felt it. Rotating my left hand so I can see my watch led to a few clicking noises in my elbow and a lot of pain. I just knew something was wrong then.

Ran the last mile plus home and within minutes the wife and I are headed to the ER at Porter. 3 hours later we're back home. The wife tired and me in a sling. Wednesday morning the sling was gone with the update being the one I started out this post with.

Next Monday I meet with a hand specialist to work on rehab with a recovery time frame of 4 to 6 weeks. I'm aiming for 3 with a goal to run sometime next week. Running at I'm sure will be a slow conservative pace.

Sharptail Ridge/Roxborough State Park - Snow Filled Trails

I got the opportunity to run with some more fast folks Saturday morning. So how did I get ready for this run you ask? By rolling my ankle the day before along a snow covered sidewalk that magically ended without me knowing about.

WA put out the invite to meet up on some trails I never knew existed. The meeting spot would be the Sharptail Ridge Trailhead just east of Roxborough State Park.

Pulling into the parking lot at 7am, WA and JP were waiting patiently. Soon after SJ came cruising in. From the start, the trails were covered in snow and it was obvious any distance we tackled would make for one hell of a work out. The morning temps felt cold initially but were extremely comfortable.

Now I have no idea when we exited the Sharptail Ridge area and ventured into Roxborough but the views were just amazing the whole time.


The snow was untracked and got really deep as we ventured further west. It made for tough running as we headed uphill but the downhill sections were a blast.

(SJ on the left and JP camera blocking WA on the right)

After some time, we made it to the high point of the run. Carpenter Peak. Even with a low ceiling, the views along the front range were magnificent.

From here we headed down some great single track which led to me taking a huge digger and getting my bell rung. I think a small animal took out my legs.

I was mentally strong today, just really enjoying the day out. However my running was just out of sync. I wasn't tired or fatigured, but the whole body was just tight. Not sure why. WA on the other hand was crusing with his new found trust in them microspikes. JP, other then farting in my face (or did he step on a duck?) was strong as usual. SJ, along with having one of the cooler last names, was just smooth.

It was a great time out with these three. Gotta thank them all for getting after it this morning and letting me tag along. Mileage was something just over 15 miles within a 2 hour 45 minute-ish timeframe.

January 2011 Summary

Runs - 26
Workouts - 7
Injured - 0

The Bad: The month started out damn cold and ended the same way. Most of my month from a running perspective transpired in a dark and cold setting.

Work for a two week stretch reared it's ugly head with huge hours logged in. How I found the time to run much less be a good husband is beyond me.

Baby classes. While extremely informative, 8 hour classes on back to back weekends were brutal.

I still suck at running and peeing at the same time. Why I continue to try is beyond me.

The Good: I can't take all the credit for this cause the wife did lots, but completing babies room with 3 weeks to spare deserves some props.

With all the pink splashed around the room, we're hoping the doc is right with her predicting a little girl for us.

This was easily one of my stronger months of training I've had in some time. My mileage this month easily exceeded last January and February mileage combined. Gotta love being healthy. All my runs had a purpose as well. I wasn't running to just log in miles, but rather was running to work on speed, tempo, aid in recovery or build on the long run. Each run left me extremely satisfied both physically and mentally.

I gotta thank PG for motivating me on a few long runs. We ran a loop early in the month from our hood that I've since termed the Hobo Loop (incorporating the Platte River and Cheery Creek paths). He also put together a group run including some cool and fast kids. More can be read here and here.

The gym continues to be a part of my cross training. Up to 90 minutes is spent pushing weights around, working on the core and stretching between sets.

Looking forward: The goal is continue putting in the miles and hitting up the gym as much as possible till baby is due. The docs say the 20th of Feb is expecting date. We're hoping for a 27th due date. So I'm sure that means she'll be coming out much sooner then either the wife or I expect.

2011 Running Plans

At the beginning of each year, I have one simple goal. To be better then I was the year before. This applies to every aspect of my life. A better husband. A better person. A better friend. Better mentally. Better physically. etc....

Focusing in on running, last year January, I literally limped into the new year. Nursing hip flexor and knee bursa issues that impacted my running for 2+ months. This year I start out the year feeling damn good.

Running is simple and I try to keep my training as simple as possible. This year I tweek it just a bit. Going back to what I've done in the past. Last year's focus was on getting in the miles and completely ignoring leg turnover. This year I want to re-focus on this speed work. I'm also focusing on my fueling while on the run. Hydration, calories, all that good stuff that's so important when on the feet for long hours of a day.

My 2011 Schedule is as follows:

20th-ish February 2011 - The birth of our child.

Priorities are pretty simple here. Family comes first. My training comes a distant second. I'll be running as much as possible till the birth and I have no idea what to expect after that. With Michele and I both working most of April and May till she's off for summer break, the following event is tentative even though I'm signed up and plan to race.

07 May 2011 - Collegiate Peaks 25M (R)

Once summer break starts at the end of May, Michele being home full time for the foreseeable future will make training much easier to take on.


04 June 2011 - Golden Gate Dirty Thirty (R)


17 September 2011 - Steamboat 50 - This ain't about redemtion or finishing what I started last year. It's about building on what I've learned over the past 2 years of tackling distances greater then 26.2. It's about putting together a strong race from beginning to end at the 50M distance. This will be my main focus this year.

The following are events I'm seriously considering.

25 June 2011 - Double Dipsea - I'm heading back home to show off baby and this would be a fun race. I've ran the course a few times. If the weather is nice, the family can chill at Stinson Beach. If not, then the family won't be thrilled with me.

08 July 2011 - Hardrock 100 - If Scott K. is lucky enough to get in, then I'll be spending a few days crewing and pacing him. Wife and baby would be spending the long weekend down in Dgo with friends.

16 July 2011 - North Fork 50K - If there's no Hardrock, then I'll put this race on the calendar.

31 July 2011 - San Francisco Marathon - Similar to the Double D, I'm heading home at some point and running this tough route would be enjoyable. Logistically would be easiest as parents live 15 minutes away from start/finish line.

Not included are 5Ks that I plan on running and other events that I might squeeze in.


I also have a goal of running fattie (aka Bisbee) more constentantly this year. While living in Durango, he ran a good 10 miles a week. The past few years, he's maybe ran a mile a week. He honestly hates it when the distance exceeds 1 to 2 miles. So plans are to run him as part of my cool down. Figure a goal of 250 miles for the both of us can't hurt.

December Summary / 2010 Review

December:

Runs - 23
Workouts - 9
Injured - 3

I ran a total of 8 miles the first 6 days of the month as I recovered from injury. I logged over 150 miles over the next 25 days to wrap up the month. Very happy with the progress made. I also got to use the beard for what it was intended to be used for on the morning of the 31st before shaving it off.


It wasn't my planned run up Green Mt, but family takes priority and thankfully Wash Park was mostly untracked.

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The year 2010 for me had many firsts and highlights:

1) Just days before running the San Juan Solstice 50M, Michele and I found out she was pregnant. The high associated with this news still leaves me at a loss of words with a huge smile on my face. To think in 7 weeks a little one will be entering our world. Nothing I could have done the past year even competes with this.

And since nothing can compete with this, the following are a distant second in no specific order.

- Completing my first 50M at Lake City. Epic course.
- Running the most yearly miles in my life in 2010.
- Running the most vertical feet in my life in 2010.
- Pacing SK at the Leadville 100.
- Indian Peaks North Loop (Buchanan and Pawnee Pass Loop)
- Iowa road trip with Michele to visit her family.
- Running trails in each of the calendar months in 2010. A first for me.
- Losing track of how many training runs/races I ran that exceeded 26.2 miles.
- Completing the 50K at Jemez. Another fantastic race.
- Reading all these blogs of fellow runners. They continue to motivate me to be better.
- Lastly, being so lucky to have such an amazing wife in Michele. Enough can not be said with how grateful I am that she allows me to be so selfish with my passion to run.

With as many highlight as I had this past year there were a few low points:

- A few injuries that hampered my training. Probably lost a good 30 days of running to nurse my injuries. Possibly over cautious at times but still fear my disastrous 2008 year.
- DNFing at Steamboat Springs 50M.
- My performances in general. There were segments in which I ran strong, but never was able to put a whole race together. Getting into ultras, I never realized how important nutrition was during a race and I paid for it during all 3 of my races.

So many reasons for me to remember 2010. I took on so many challenges that I didn't think were possible just a few years ago and I sit here typing away looking forward to see how high I can set that bar next year(to be continued in another post).

(One of my favorite shots from last year. Wrapping up Dawn Patrol at Mt. Falcon before a Feb sunrise)

Christmas full of family and running

Before meeting Michele, my holiday season usually consisted of myself and whatever family-less friends not heading home for the holidays hanging out at some local pub. Since, I've been slammed with family for 4 straight years now and so grateful for it.

The past 5 days offered up a nice long weekend to spend with lots of family in town. It also allowed me to get in some good running in these ideal weather conditions.

23rd - 8 Miles around Harvard Gulch & Wash Park at 5am.
24th - 12ish Miles around Mt. Falcon. Longest trail run in a month.
25th - 4 Miles around Wash Park at an easy pace.
26th - 7 Miles around Dakota Ridge/Red Rocks at tempo pace.
27th - 7 Miles around Green Mt, Boulder.

The 27th also marked my 10th straight day of running. Not a huge number but coming off an injured calf late last month, I was extremely excited about the progress I've made. Even more important to me was getting in some 6,500 feet of climbing on them trails and the calf running strong.

Yesterdays run up and down Green was amazing. Not for my time (a slow 44 plus minutes from Gregory on pretty tired legs) but for the amazing conditions. I started my run out of Chautauqua around 9am to some intense winds. Temps were reading in the low 40's and I just assumed it would get more windy and colder as I climbed. Couldn't be further from the truth. The second I hit Gregory Canyon the winds stopped. Temps only seemed to get warmer as I climbed. The trail conditions were dry, dusty and clear of snow except for a few spots just below the 4 way at the top. To my delight, I was the only person on the summit of Green. Soaking in the views on such a calm warm morning always feels good.

Knowing I would be taking today off, I decided to hammer down the descent for as long as my legs would allow me to. It was pretty obvious that I was a bit rusty on my technical downhill skills but still mustered 23 minutes down. By then my legs were cashed

With only a few days left in 2010, I'm starting to wonder how I want to end the year. With very cold temps expected, some possible snow accumulations and a day off on Friday, I'm thinking one last climb of Green Mt that morning is in order.



Plus I gotta put this foolish beard to use at least once before shaving it off and heading back to the office next week.