Mid January 2014. Overall health: 90%
First, rewind the tape to 1995. I get chicken pox at the ripe age of 13! Not only do I miss a week of school (my last days missed until I graduated high school), but I get large, excruciating, rooted lesions absolutely everywhere including (but not limited to) my eyes, the roof of my mouth, and on genitals. I'm left scarred for life as I have a great many pock scars.
Since about 2011, I've been battling what I'm sure are shingles outbreaks, even since before I'd started any longer or more intense exercise. The original outbreak area was always the upper left buttock near the spine. The aches would come, then the blisters and burning, then subsidence. During the thick of it, my entire left leg would be on FIRE, with periodic numbness traveling all the way into my heel. Sometimes, the rash would make it over toward my hip area, which was somewhat worse.
Now let's fast-forward to 2013. During the first part of the year, only a couple of outbreaks in the same area. Nothing to write home about. In August I sprain or fracture my left mid-foot while accidentally sliding down a short hill behind my house. It takes me two months to train that out. Sept 15 I run my first 15-miler with a stiff and swollen foot. Into mid-October I battle second metatarsal overload syndrome while my foot finishes healing. On Halloween, I try to run my first 18+ miler and am struck down with quad tendinitis abruptly at mile 3. A week later, I start getting IT band friction and still can't run more than 3 miles without starting to lock up. November 10, it's Marshall Marathon time. Both injuries all but stop me by mile 13 and I'm forced to spend the last 8+ miles walking. I finish with a 12:17 mile. Now that's tough!
During the final couple months of 2013 I spend most of my time foam rolling, doing light strength training, and running very short distances. After more intense rubbing of my left quad area, low and behold, more lesions appeared. The culprit!!
Now it's 2014, and I'm currently left with what feels like shin tendinitis below where the other two injuries were. The whole area remains stiff, with my knee and shin cracking and popping from the muscle/tissue stiffness and tension. Some days my entire left leg still feels like it's on fire. Some days I'm tired. Some days I can run and keep loose. Others I wake up and the tendinitis is so painful and stiff that I can't run even though I feel good otherwise. And when out running, my left shin gets so stiff that it causes my knee to lock up, at which point I need to stop, stretch, and massage for a minute. My left quad still has spasms under where the lesions are, although they're much less debilitating than a month ago. And during week two, I even had a two-blister outbreak to the right of my c-6 vertebra by my neck. And now I'm battling numbness that travels into my right hand.
Ultimately, I know that I will overcome shingles, because I'm becoming stronger and healthier with diet, exercise, and stress reduction. Even if I need meds to combat flare-ups I will concede. And this is because I don't want to permanently damage my nerves to the point of being held back from my two loves of running and cycling.
No comments:
Post a Comment