health

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Man runs 50 marathons in 50 days

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This is an oldie but goodie entitled The Perfect Human, courtesy of Wired.

Dean Karnazes ran 50 marathons in 50 days. He does 200 miles just for fun. He’ll race in 120-degree heat. Here are 12 secrets to his success.

Reading this article back in January 2007 was  one of the reasons I took an interest in running.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Against my will, I’ve become a “Sorry, I got a bad back” guy

bad back, back pain, ruptered disc, herniated discI ruptured a disc in my lower back on July 4. I successfully ran a 10K that day, but the spine cushion (as it is called) blew due to genetics, not physical exertion, I’m told. The demanding event and requisite training only aggravated an already degenerative disc.

On Friday, I had a discectomy to cure the problem, which slices through my back, drills a hole in my vertebrae, and traverses the sacred spinal canal to remove the loose fragment that was pinning my sciatic nerve against my bone, causing pain throughout my entire right leg.

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Friday, August 1, 2008

My right leg hates me right now.

Herniated Disc

After four weeks of inexplicable pain in my right leg, I was diagnosed with a herniated (possibly ruptured) disc in my lower back yesterday. Said injury partially blocks my sciatic nerve, making my right leg mad at me.

In seriousness, it’s rather disabling — causing limping, an inability to sit or stand for long periods of time, and loss of feeling in my foot. Unbeknownst to me, it seems I sustained the injury during my 10K run on July 4.

If only I had maintained my previous life of idleness and extreme atrophy, none of this would have happened. ;)

(I should be fine, by the way, with at least a shot, physical therapy, and time. If not, routine surgery should take care of it.)