Reactive Arthritis

    Although I hate the term, it is so cliche, I had an "Ah ha! Moment" the other day. I listen to the news on the radio on my way to work in the mornings. It is just enough to reassure me that our country didn't go to war over night, we are still a "democracy," and what to expect from the weather. There is also a little medical blip once a week on some illness or syndrome. Last week it was IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). I have made no effort to hide the fact that I have a delicate digestive system. Oh, nothing as bad as IBS, or Crohn's, or Leaky Gut. Mostly I just have to be careful of what I eat, and understand the ramifications if I throw caution to the wind (like last Sunday... read my previous post). Anyhoo, enough rambling, IBS radio blip. The woman being interviewed was a specialist on IBS and other gastrointestinal maladies, so I paid attention to what she was saying. Here was my Ah Ha! She said that IBS can be triggered by bacteria such as E-coli or Salmonella. Nearly 5 years ago I had an up close and personal experience with Salmonella. It wasn't severe enough that I sought medial treatment, choosing homeopathic and natural treatment (bland diet, plenty of clear liquids, etc). But it was quite literally gut wrenching. I had nearly two weeks of cramping, diarrhea, and eventually even blood in my stool. I lost 10 pounds, and it made me feel weak as a kitten. But it passed, and I got better.
     After listening to the radio interview I started thinking, and realized that most of my digestive started about 4 months after the Salmonella Incident. True, I had stopped eating wheat more than a year before that, and my 20 year case of heartburn finally cleared up, so that is a whole different story. I started looking into the relationship between Salmonella and chronic digestive issues. Now, here is where it gets a bit weird. Salmonella is also a trigger for what is now called "Reactive Arthritis," previously known as "Reiter's Syndrome." I was familiar with Reiter's Syndrome, a doctor suggested my younger son had it back when he was about 10. The common symptoms are joint pain that is asymmetrical and often in the ankles and feet, conjunctivitis (eye inflammation), and urethritis, as well as gut issues, and ulcerations of the mucous membrane. The doctor said at the time, "You can have a bout once or twice and never again, but if you have a bout more than 3 times it is likely to effect you the rest of your life." Fortunately, my son only had the one bout. In the last few years I have looked at Reiter's as a possible explanation of all the weird shit my body does, but then I also thought maybe I was hearing hooves and thinking Zebra instead of the simple explanation of Horse. Know what I mean?
    So, back to Salmonella and Reactive Arthritis. Reiter's has been renamed, since Dr. Reiter was a Nazi therefore not PC to have a syndrome named after him. It was when I was clicking through links on Salmonella that I found that it is a common trigger for Reactive Arthritis. I hadn't heard this in relation to Reiter's, but then I wasn't thinking along these lines. Now I am beginning to wonder.
    Now, here is another weird little coincidence. A few weeks ago I cut my shin with a scythe. Yeah, I know, pretty stoopid. The cut ended up getting infected with cellulitis, a bacteria that infects the tissue just beneath the skin, and if left untreated can get nasty enough that you can lose a limb. Not cool. As much as I hate taking antibiotics I went on a 10 day course of Oxytetracycline. This is the first antibiotic I've taken in decades. Honestly. Here is the weird part, Oxytetracycline is used to treat Salmonella in pigs, who's physiology closely resembles a human. But wait, there's more. Usually antibiotics screw up the gut flora, so you need to take some probiotics to try and rebalance the whole thing. Getting to the weird part now, since being on the antibiotic I haven't had nearly the weird digestive issues that I normally do. Seriously. Coincidence? I don't know. Have I been suffering the effects of dragging around some residual Salmonella in my system for the last 5 years?
    Now I am wondering if I will have any clearing of arthritis issues? That would be awesome, though not likely. All the research on Reactive Arthritis says that once you have it you have it, it isn't going away. Oddly enough though, I am a little encouraged by all of this. Why? You may well ask. Because Reactive Arthritis isn't nearly as degenerative as Rheumatoid Arthritis. These last few months I have been pretty sure that I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, and it has been depressing as hell. One way or another, I will be dealing with the chronic pain for the rest of my life, I just need to learn better ways to manage it.
    The thing is, I could go to a rheumatologist, have a slew of tests done, and still likely not have any answers. The recommendation would likely be pharmaceuticals, very expensive pharmaceuticals. Instead I will continue to do what I do: eat healthy, take appropriate supplements, try new things now and then, keep researching, keep working out despite pain, and hope that it is is merely pain and not something degenerative. As painful as things are now, I can deal with it. What I fear is if it is this bad now, what will it be like in 10 years? 20 years? I have been looking into stem cell treatment for joint tissue regrowth, hoping to find some clinical trials that might need a vigorous test subject. I just need to grow some new soft tissue, that's all. That's all.

Lesson Learned

    Wow, if I wasn't too sure about avoiding wheat and sugar the last 24 hours have reinforced my dietary restrictions. Yesterday was Mother's Day. We had a potluck picnic at the local mini-train park where the train rides are free, to the delight of my train freak grandson. I decided to indulge my sweet tooth and made some epic sugar cookies complete with pink frosting. They were amazing, if I do say so myself. Of course that meant snacking on cookie dough, a few spoonfuls of the buttery icing, and then way more cookies than I should have. I felt fine last night. if a trifle guilty for my overindulgence. But hey, I don't do it often. Right?

    Today was a different story. For starters, I had a helluva time waking up, fighting off the fog, and getting out the door on time. At work my brain was so addled that anything remotely resembling multi-tasking was a recipe for abject failure. I made more mistakes today than I normally would in a 6 month period. I was short tempered, and overly sensitive. I had volcanic heartburn that was unaffected by antacids, and radically effected by stress. The arthritis in my ankles and feet flared up so much that a young coworker asked if I had injured myself.
    I was so worn out after work that I almost skipped my swim, but knew if I did I would just come home and park myself at the computer feeling miserable. My energy level was low, and my muscles felt fatigued. But I swam a 50 lap individual medley swim, swimming for about 65 minutes, despite heartburn and acid reflux that made me feel like I was going to ralph during most of my swim. Let me interject here, this particular swim set is my favorite when I am tired and brain dead because I don't have to work too hard to keep track of sets: 2 laps breast stroke, 2 laps backstroke, 4 laps crawl equals one set. Easy-peasy. Today I was having a hard time keeping track, I couldn't remember what my previous lap had been unless I really focused. It was a bit unsettling actually, and made me wonder if early onset Alzheimer's might feel a bit like this. I was so easily distracted I didn't worry so much about the lap count and decided to just aim for an hour swim. I followed with my usual 30 minute leg workout. Sitting in the Jacuzzi I downed a liter of water hoping to help flush the sugar and wheat from my system.
    Dinner started with a gigantic salad from greens cut fresh from my garden and topped with an avocado dressing. Then I had black bean and yam chili tacos with fresh spinach and guacamole. Dessert was a fabulous tree ripened navel orange, and 2 medjool dates. Now I'm sipping a giant mug of herbal tea, listening to Pink Floyd's Animals, and feeling a bit more like my normal self.
    The lesson here is clear: Indulge a bit now and then, but don't over-indulge. I had a helluva a food hangover today. I paid the price for injudicious choices. This has nothing to do with worry about calories, or fat, or "cheat foods." (I don't believe in Cheat foods, or Cheat days... I eat what feels right). It's not about jumping on the Gluten-Free Bandwagon. This is all about listening to my body, understanding that some foods are toxic to me, and paying attention to the signs. The funny thing is that I didn't really make the connection between all of today's weirdness and what I ate 24 hours earlier until mid afternoon. Now, full of fresh greens and herbal tea I am definitely feeling better. My brain is more functional, and my gut doesn't hurt. I am hoping I don't repeat this particular idiocy any time soon.

New Bike Seat. Jury's Still Out.

    Last week I got my new bike seat delivered to my door. The ISM Adamo Century. This is one of the split "noseless" seats that are supposed to help take pressure off the perineum aka my delicate girly bits. I have read in reviews that it is important to keep tweaking the positioning to get it right and then it works like a dream. I must not be tweaking correctly.
    The reason I got this particular seat is that with all the time I have spent in the saddle over the last few years I have been experiencing some nerve damage to the aforementioned delicate girly bits. Not to mention the numbness that occurs when I ride more than an hour or so. I don't want to have my bike seat be the cause of incontinence later in life. No sport is worth having to wear a diaper, just sayin'.
    So as always, when a problem arises I search and research. I find reputable sources for information and product reviews and spend a lot of time and effort to learn all I can before making a decision. Partly because I am poor, and a tightwad, so I don't want to be throwing money at a problem and hope that eventually I will stumble upon the right answer. This is how I found the ISM Adamo series of seats. I had seen them before, and have wanted one, but they are pricey. The Century retails for about $200, but thanks to Amazon and last year's model, I got mine for $82 and free shipping. Cheap for a good bike seat, but still more than I like to spend on anything except my mortgage (which is way more than $82, btw).
    Putting a lot of thought into bike set and position I have been thinking that one problem is that my bike frame may be too big for me. Not the height, I have long legs, but the length since I have a short torso. This makes me have to roll forward through the pelvis more so I can't curl back onto my "sit-bones" like I should. Adding to this is the fact that I have what is called a "tipped pelvis." Meaning my pelvis tips forward causing me to have a deeper curve in the small of my back that makes it physically impossible to really roll back onto my sit-bones like I wish I could. This all means that when I ride the bulk of my weight is resting on my pubis bone and the perineum, and these areas are delicate and easily smashed.
    I am still holding out hope that the new Century saddle will be the answer to numbness and nerve damage. I will keep tweaking. I am trying to not think of what it would cost for me to get another bike. besides, I love Joshua and don't want to give up on him, we have had some excellent adventures together.

Lead Legs, Fatigue, Normal Weirdness

    My legs have felt like lead the last few days. I am not sure WTH is up with them, but it has been a bit disconcerting. Today should have been Leg Day, but I know better than to push muscles that are asking for a bit of rest. Okay, sometimes I am good at knowing better, often I really suck at it. Tonight I decided I needed to listen to my body. I did 45 minutes on the bike, high cadence, easy-ish gear. I started into my leg workout, but got halfway through my first set of high knees and decided it was not going to end well. Instead, I opted for an hour of intense core work. Funny how my legs can feel tired and puny, and yet my abs were ready to be punished and rose to the occasion.
    I have been doing 20-30 minutes of leg work in the pool after every swim, basically physical therapy to try to get my running back on track. So maybe today was a combination of multiple trips up and down stairs and hills on Sunday, leg work at the pool yesterday, and a job that has me on my feet on concrete all day.
    I have been feeling ridiculously fatigued, and voraciously hungry lately. Almost as if I was pregnant. But I can assure you, I am not. Immaculate conception aside, it can't happen. But the feeling is similar. I have been so very tired, my energy level is whacked (manic cleaning one minute, absolute lethargy the next), hungry all the time yet with an undercurrent of unhappy stomach, sleep quality isn't great, and I have been a bit emotional lately. See? Sounds like first trimester.
    Maybe what I really need is to readjust my eating, get more rest (stop writing when I should be in bed), and alter my training program a bit. Not that I am training all that hard right now, but I have increased my strength training since I haven't been able to run. I guess I should stop being at all surprised when my body is acting weird. Weird is the norm for me.

    Now, I will put words to action, stop writing, and get my tired ass to bed.

2-Click Shopping

    I almost hate how easy it is to buy on Amazon and eBay. I am a 2-click shopper: Find a desired item, click "Buy," click "Confirm." Done. Easy-peasy. Almost too easy. It does save me countless hours of bargain hunting at stores or on Craigslist. It also saves me the grief of having to deal with people out in the real world.
    My reason for this particular ramble? It just took me all of 4 minutes to hunt down, research, and buy a new trainer stand for my bike. I had browsed Craigslist a few times over the last year, knowing that my trainer is on its last leg. I have been dismayed that most people are wanting $100 or more. Not that they aren't worth it, but I really don't want to spend that much on a used piece of equipment, as well as having to deal with the person selling it. My total price for a brand new, in the box, decent model from a reputable dealer: $63.99 including shipping, and it will be on my doorstep in a week. I am totally okay with that. No muss, no fuss, and I won't even have to talk to the UPS driver.
    A few weeks ago I decided it was time to buy a new bike seat. I had gotten a little windfall and decided that I wanted to spend it on something I needed, not just paying a bill.. My seat has been been causing a variety of problems over the hours and hours I spend on it. I don't mind discomfort, but I was having issues with numbness and nerve damage to my delicate girly bit. It really had become a health issue. That is not cool. It had reached a point that I had cut back on my bike training. Also, not cool. I researched heavily, via the interwebs. I kept coming back to the split saddle, nose-less style that take pressure off of the perineum. The brand of choice is the ISM Adamo. After much back and forth on my part I decided on the Century model. New, this seat has a msrp of $189. I found it on eBay, in various bidding wars for about half of that. Being too impatient to work my way through various such bidding wars I went on Amazon and found one for $79 including S&H. 2-Click shopping. Done. The seat was on my front porch in 6 days. I will say, although installation is as easy as it comes, adjusting this thing has been a bit of a beast. The style is so different that I am having to tweak and tweak to get my seating position right. And then, it alters my bike position enough that it is making me have to do shorter rides as my muscles adapt. This is where my bike trainer issues are coming to the fore.
    I have torn apart and cleaned my trainer a few times, trying to keep it smooth. Over this last winter that has not been enough. I can feel it binding just a bit, so the spin is uneven. I can deal with that, mostly, I try to think of it as training for the unevenness of road riding. But it is getting worse over time. And then there is the squeal. Yeah, a continuous squeaking that can be hard to ignore sometimes. It has made my indoor training less that optimal at a time when I need to be increasing my hours in the saddle.
    I know that most people prefer to train outdoors. So do I, in most regards. But in my area I can't just hop on the bike and head out. The roads are too narrow, and heavily trafficked by log trucks, dump trucks, farm equipment, big 4x4s, and impatient commuters. There have been a number of cyclists hit on the roads around my house. So to ride, I load my bike and gear up in my car and drive about 15 miles to safer roads. Not possible on most days. And then there is the weather: rain and slick roads... not so much fun. Add in my my previous diagnosis of malignant melanoma (cut away and okay now, by the way), and I try to limit my time out in the sun if possible. All this being said, having a bike trainer that works well is paramount to my cycling success.
    Now comes the clincher: Meredith Kessler, Ironman Champion, cut 50 minutes off of her bike split when she switched to 90% indoor training. Seriously. She only does an outdoor ride "every other week." Yes, it is more fun to ride outside. The fresh air and varying terrain make for a great workout. Yes, outdoor training sessions are vital to success. But indoor training can be the best way to build cycling base, strength, and speed. A controlled environment with no distractions, specific workouts, and no life threatening hazards (you wouldn't believe the stories I have heard of triathletes getting hit by cars on training rides, losing limbs, head injuries, etc.... Not my gig, you know what I mean?).
    So, the new trainer is on the way. It should be here in a week. Until then I will continue with the grinding, squealing, old faithful that has seen me through thousands of hours of training. Yay for eBay and Amazon.

The Key Is Speed

    New game plan. Again *sigh*.  I didn't start the year with as solid of a race schedule as I have the past few years. Last year was tough enough, not selecting an "A Race" at the beginning of the year, and then suffering a season ending knee injury in June. This year, I have toyed with a number of scenarios. Of course, my dream race was to get to do the 250K again, but that event has crossed the rainbow bridge. Then, I eyeballed the Anvil Ironman that is not to far from here, at Hagg Lake. But I haven't been able to get my running to be injury free, so any marathon distance is not in the cards. Besides, the Anvil is multiple laps over a small course. No adventure.
    Since I haven't been able to get my legs to cooperate, I have pushed my swim training to the fore. This had me thinking that a main event for the summer would be the Portland Bridge Swim. 11 miles on the Willamette River, now that would be an adventure. But, the fine print on the application states that you have to have completed a recorded swim of at least 4000 yards in the 18 months before the race. That disqualifies me. The realization was a bit of a hit.
    I have been scrambling to come up with some motivation for my training.
    There is a swim event at Hagg Lake in late June. It has three different distances you can swim: 800m, 2000m, and 4000m. You can swim all three for the same price. I think this will be my mid-summer goal: all three races.
    Then, in September there is the best in The West Tri. I have known for a while that it will be my "A Race" this year. Looking over the race results from the year I did this event I was surprised at how close the time were between all the finishers in my age group. So, this year I am not going just to finish and beat my previous time. This year I am going and pushing myself to place in my age group. It is not impossible. I am already a faster swimmer and biker than I was then. And if I don't do something stupid (like run two half-marathon trail races in the middle of the summer) I know I can better my run time. The alst time my legs were cramping so badly from over-use injuries that I would run 50 paces, cramp horribly, walk 100 paces until the cramp eased up, then run until I cramped. The cramps started at mile 3. It was a long, miserable 13 miles.
    So, that is the current edition of the Game Plan. Hagg Lake Open Water Swim Races, and The Best in The West Half-Ironman. Then there is also the Firefighter Stair Climb the weekend after my half. September will be fun.
    Now that I have a somewhat solid Plan, I can focus my training. The key this year is Speed.

Scythe Accident? What Next?

    This has been a difficult year so far. Struggling against what seems an endless series of injuries as I try to get my running back online. The latest, and weirdest, injury had nothing to do with training. Instead, it was a deep cut to my shin thanks to my large, Grim Reaper-style scythe. Yeah, I managed to trip over the damned thing, giving me a small but deep gash dead center in my shin. Not quite to the bone, but damned near. Now, this would not be that big of a deal, as a matter of fact I didn't let it interfere with either my swim sets or my cycling. Where it got dodgy was about 10 days after the initial incident. First, let me say here, I do not get infections. I heal quickly and easily. This time? Not so much. As I was saying, about 10 days after the injury, when I was expecting things to be on the way to full recovery, the area around the cut started getting painful. Not only painful, but it developed a nice bright pink hue, was getting warm to the touch, and was swelling. At first I shrugged it off, blaming it on being on my feet all day at work. But it was the increasing pain that started to freak me out a bit. I mentioned it to a coworker and she just about lost her mind. Her dramatic reaction made me start taking a slightly different view of the whole thing. Maybe I am not so invincible? Well, guess what? Cellulitis: a bacterial skin infection that causes inflammation of subcutaneous connective tissue. Who knew? I had never heard of it. Apparently, it can get pretty nasty. I mean nasty to the point of amputation nasty. No, mine never got that extreme. But here I am, on antibiotics, finally over the worst of it, but feeling a bit pissed off about the whole thing. It did slow me down a bit, and interfered with my sleep.
    I admit, I didn't let the injury give me an excuse to skip my swims. I did tape it, and wrap it with KT Tape so I wasn't being gross in the pool. I imagine it is quite possible that I picked up the bacteria at the pool.... or, very likely, just that it was a deep cut with an old farm implement. I should probably be glad I am current on my tetanus vaccine.
    So that is the latest in my successive string of leg damage. It does all seem to be affecting my right leg, for whatever reason: arthritis at the cuboid bone in my foot, IT band and Patellofemoral in my knee, hip pain (and that makes me feel geriatric, let me tell you), now the gashing of my shin. All right leg. Left leg gives me a little grief now and then, but is mostly pretty solid. I am continuing my pool legwork. What amounts to 20-30 minutes of physical therapy in the pool after my swim. I am hoping that will get me back to the start line.
    I do realize that I have been whining more than is typical. I try to not be a complainer, but g'damn, this year is not going smoothly. I've already had to put the kabosh on doing an Iron distance this year because I know my knees won't hold out for a marathon. On the plus side, the only Iron distance event in the state is the Anvil at Hagg Lake. Yeah, it goes the distance, but it is lap after lap around a short course. What is the thrill in that? That is not an adventure. The Epic 250K was an adventure. Maybe next year I can travel out of state and find something glorious. For this year, I have to get my legs back under me in time to do the Best in the West half-Iron in September. That is as glorious as it is going to get this year.