Getting Back

It has been a really long road to recovery. A trail of doctors behind I finally found a solution with an orthopedic surgeon. My lower two vertebrae were kind of smashed together and the disc was uncomfortable, which caused it to secrete a fluid which was chemically reacting with the nerves in that area. It was most likely the jarring motion of running that caused the release. There is an extreme amount of inflammation which will heal on its own. To help it I received two epidural steroid injections in my lower back to bring the inflammation down. I have been able to run for the past eight days. I had my first pain free run last Thursday, just in time to race the draft-legal race at Collegiate Nationals on the next day. I missed the big group but had a great time and finished 29th. Despite not running for three months I managed to pass 12 guys on the run and still contribute a little to our team score. As a men's team we finished 28th, our best ever by 14 spots. We are bringing back all six guys that raced this year so we are expecting great things for 2014. We did the math and if I had been healthy we probably would have been around 18th or 19th. I think next year there is no excuse to not be in the top 15, but everyone wants to be top 10. That's the goal and we are going to work for it. Just over two more weeks to get ready for TexasMan where I plan to race the sprint. At that race I will be representing a new team. I accepted an offer to join Team Cambridge. It is hard to leave Team Ironhead, but I plan to stay in contact with the team, I will just be wearing red and gray now. Looking forward to salvaging 2013!