Sunday, February 14, 2016

Winter, Arthritis, Supplements, and Always Training

    I have been remiss in my writing lately. Not that I have been slacking on my training, far from it. I still haven't been able to get my running back on track (no pun intended)). It was a long recovery from the knee overuse injury last summer. Then I rolled my ankle, for the millionth time, but it was months before the pain and swelling stopped cropping up randomly. Lately it has been my feet. It is as if the pain and problems are working their way down my legs. Hey, maybe that means they will move on from my feet and out into the earth (I know, I am a bit delusional, but it is my crazy time of year).
    I am worried that I am developing rheumatoid arthritis. My hands have hurt for years, but that rarely effects my training and I can work around it. For a long time I have had problems with the joint between my big toe and the foot bone of my left foot. The last few months I now have a joint on the outside of my right foot that swells and is amazingly painful. So, what to do? What else, keep training, adjust supplements, hope for the best. My biggest concern is that other joints may become effected. But I won't let myself worry about what I cannot control.
    The new regiment includes additional stretching of my feet and toes, running sets in the pool a few times a week, continued leg work with an increase in heavy lifting. I have been working my way through all of my shoes in search of a few pair that don't put pressure on the effected joints, trying to minimize aggravating the issue.
    I have added a few more supplements. I recently started taking MSM. I know it is an effective anti-inflammatory. When I worked for a veterinarian about 20 years ago, he prescribed MSM to geriatric dogs with achy joints. It was only a horse med at the time, most small animal vets hadn't even heard of it. But I have to tell you, it made an amazing difference for the dogs. Just a few days on it and they regained a considerable amount of mobility. And dogs don't lie, they are not susceptible to a placebo effect, so I know it works for some conditions. Our clients thought it was a miracle drug. As for me? I don't know if the inflammation is any less, but I am sticking with it.
    Also on the list is Turmeric. I have used it off and on over the last few years, but not as consistently as I should. A few months ago I started making a concoction of turmeric, a bit of black pepper (which when heated with turmeric makes the active ingredient curcumin much more effective), and cinnamon for flavor, heated in olive oil or water to make a paste. I put a nice teaspoonful in my morning smoothie every day. I should be taking it at night too, but tend to forget. I started being interested in turmeric as a cancer fighting addition to my diet, since I always have the malignant melanoma threat hanging over my head. Better safe than sorry.
    I am revisiting running shoes, again. I didn't have knee issues when I ran in minimal, zero rise shoes. I accidently changed this when I started training for longer distance, when I bought my first pair of Sauconys. I wanted more cushioning for pavement pounding runs, I thought they were zero rise, but they had a 4mm drop. Not much, but That seems to be when knee problems began.It could be a coincidence, but since I will be basically starting all over, I am going to go back to minimal shoe trail running for a while and see if I can get my mojo back.
     So, other than whining about my feet, there isn't much new to report. I am kicking ass in the pool, kicking my own ass anyway. My regular swim is now two miles, and with warmups I am swimming nonstop for 90 minutes at least 3 times a week. Twice a week I follow my swim with an hour of strength training. I've been really enjoying the Broken Endurance set, I've found I love sprint (even if I am not that fast, it is fun).
    Cycling has been my constant, even if the weather prevents me getting outside. I am on my bike at least 4 times a week, usually more. I couple of times a week I do back-to-back spins; one in the morning, one in the evening, for about 90 minutes each. I do know that if I want to increase my speed I think I need a smaller bike frame. Which makes me sad, since I love Joshua. I don't know though, they say, "It's not the bike, it's the rider," so I will just soldier on. Especially since there is no way I can afford another bike.
    Speaking of cycling, I need to get in my Sunday morning spin. And since it is grey, wet, cold, and blustery outside Joshua and I will stream some Netflix and get busy. No rest for the wicked.

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