Tendonitis

I don't usually go crying to the doctor for a running-related injury which can be cured simply by packs of ice and that dreaded prescription no runner can easily digest - REST. And in my case, the diagnosis is clearly overuse or shoes needing replacement (don't mean to self-diagnose, but you read the symptoms and you agree, right?)

What I had overlooked though, is an inflammation above my left foot (where the lower leg meets the foot). It doesn't hurt, but the shin still feels quite tender right above this spot .

I went to my GP to get a referral to the sports doc, because I am on a HMO. Groan! It's worked alright up to now because I rarely go to the doc, but at times like this when I get pushed through the referral process, I wish I had a different health plan.

My GP is a friendly, smiling man. He doesn't waste much time and doesn't stand around waiting for questions. You have to have them ready to shoot out the minute he stops talking. I was not sure I really needed a referral...I just wanted someone to tell me the bump was harmless, unrelated to the shooting pain I had in my shin yesterday; and that I could go back to running miles and miles a week. Silly naive me! He pressed the bump with his thumb and when I said it felt tender, he declared without any hesitation, that it was tendonitis. Just rest and take motrin to bring down the swelling, he said. The tendon could take a while to properly heal, so take it slow...no running or fast walking for at least 3 weeks. 3 WEEKS! Does he even know what that will do to me??? Then he was gone, before I could decide whether I needed a referral or not. Oh well, I don't think I need a specialist to tell me the same thing.

At least I have my box of Belgian chocolates to chow on...no chocolate a day nonsense anymore...a girl needs all the consolation she can get at a time like this!

Shin in pain

I woke up yesterday with no pain at all, so decided to run a slow 6 miles. Ignoring the temptation to look at my HR watch every so often, I just focused on the run. I felt stiff from the waist down at first, but a mile into the run, felt well enough to stretch the run to 8 miles.

This morning, I bravely undertook a 14-mile long run in 30 degree temperature. There was a layer of frost on every surface and a few miles into the run, I took a rest room break and discovered that my hair and headband were covered with frost as well.

For most of my life, I have lived in places where you tend to sweat profusely, year-round. I think my body has done a pretty good job so far, of adjusting to the cold NJ winter temperatures. The only problem is my freezing hands. By Mile 6, I had to exchange my running gloves for ski gloves. Even with the ski gloves, my fingers felt like tree-stumps when I took out my cell phone to call DH. DH had to open the gatorade and water bottles for me...my fingers felt numb and lifeless.

I was feeling really good...at my usual pace, about 10:30 a mile. I was well into the 12th mile when my shin started hurting. The pain was on the shin bone, right above the ankle. Darn! I was able to alter my running style to minimize the pain and completed the run at a much slower pace. But, the prospect of shin splits worries me. I have heard horror stories on how painful they can be. I wonder if these little injuries are signs of my body screaming overuse. I don't understand...I have been taking care to follow the 10% rule (increasing mileage by not more than 10% per week). When I was training for the marathon, my regular mileage was 30-40 mpw...and the maximum weekly mileage I have done these last few weeks without succumbing to injury has been 39 miles.

The pain stopped a few minutes after the run. I will try to RICE and hope for the best!

On the chocolate fix front: I promised myself a piece of Belgian chocolate before bed if I was a good girl all day yesterday. I did well...I did not touch any, though I had been eyeing little Ramses all day (he was a praline...caramelised sugar and roasted, ground hazelnuts/ almonds, ummm...this is torture!)...well, last night, he became history.

Sweet tooth

I am a chocolate addict.

Such a hopeless addict that I can polish off 2 bars of Cadbury's Fruit & Nut or Hershey's Symphony in a day and still crave more. I normally eat Cadbury's & Hershey's bars, because I can buy them in large quantities without going bankrupt. I like sweets in any shape or form, but am partial toward the sticky, milky goodness of chocolate.
Every time I buy a bar of chocolate, I try to delude myself into thinking I can make it last. I break off a piece (about 6-8 blocks - anywhere from 300-600 calories) and settle down in a cosy nook to nibble my chocolate and read a novel. Very soon, I am licking gooey chocolate off my fingers, and staring longingly at the refrigerator, where more is in store. I get up to break off another piece...and this goes on till my entire stock is depleted within a day or two.

I blame the marketing departments of the chocolate companies. I can never restrict my purchase to a single bar. There is always some deal or special price on 3 or more bars...how can an average penny-pinching, deal-watching, frugal-living middle class individual like me pass up the deal?

I am not partial to these brands, though. If providence presented me with a box of expensive Belgian chocolates, I would have no qualms about wolfing these down too, in a matter of minutes. What a waste, you might say. But though I gobble them up posthaste, be reassured that every ounce of chocolate is immensely appreciated by my sensitive palate.

So, when we got a gift hamper with this box of delectable Belgian chocolates from a friend over the weekend, I drooled over them, then opened the box up and promptly popped one, then another into my mouth.

Then, I stopped.

I had read that according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, chocolates can contain toxins like tyramine, histamine, and phenylethylamine. Some foods have more biogenic amines than others but they are not listed on the food labels. And these biogenic amines can cause headaches...which I have been getting a lot of, lately. I have no doubt who the culprit is.

So, I decided to make this box last a fortnight. 1 piece of chocolate per day...14 chocolates in 2 weeks. I trained myself to run a marathon...it took determination and mental toughness. I should have enough will power to stave off a box of chocolates, no?

Stay tuned as I journey through chocolate rehab.