What a stress fracture in my pelvis looks like: it's kind of graphic.

The docs actually thought there was something wrong with my hips and so they only took pictures of, you guessed it, my hips. When I took the MRI film to get a second opinion, the doc there saw the stress fracture in my pelvis, which I've said will force me to stop running for three to four months.

Here is the pic:

Straight from the MRI: The red arrow is pointing at the place where I have a pelvis stress fracture. See how the bone, which runs diagonally from left to right, is discolored? Sorry about the graphic nature of this picture. TSA Agents see stuff like this all the time, I'm sure.

Feet. Don't. Fail. Me. Now.

Like the release of Hillary Clinton's tax returns, I've been waiting anxiously on the Science of Sport's post on the foot strike of the elite runners. (Heel vs. Midfoot vs. forefoot: How do elite runners land?)
I assumed that because the elites run 5-minute miles, that they must be on the balls of their feet all the time. And in the few times that I've been in an all-out sprint (at the end of 5ks and 10ks), I've found myself on the balls of my feet.
In late January, I decided that I would try to do most of my runs on the balls of my feet, or at least on the midfoot. Part of the reason was because I was having some shin pain in my left leg during some races that would subside when I went from a heel striker to running on my toes.
My training pace times became faster, but I also hurt myself, and, as I've written ad nauseum on these pages, I had to sit out 16 days nursing a strained Achilles tendon, lower calf pull, and plantar fasciitis in my right leg.
I thought it was just bad luck. But the Science of Sport people have made me think twice. They say that for a non-elite to do most of his or her runs on their toes would be inviting the very kind of injury that put me on the sidelines to begin with. (As I write this post, my Achilles in both legs are a little achy and I now believe its because I changed my running style).
The Science of Sport post says if you wanna change your running form, you should do it gradually, not overnight like I did. Turns out, I'm lucky I didn't hurt myself more than I did.

Another glass of 5ksandcabernets
One of my coworkers, whose blog is titled: Circle30, has "tagged" me. She has asked me to play the, "Six-word memoir" game. It is from a recently released book titled, "Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure." The book has only been out since February 5, but if you type "Six-word memoir" into Google, you get more than 50,000 search results.
Needless to say, The. Memoirs. Are. Sweeping. The. Nation.

Here are the rules:
1) Write your own six word memoir
2) Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you want
3) Link to the person that tagged you in your post, and to the original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere
4) Tag at least five more blogs with links
5) Leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

Here is my six word memoir: Running. Wine. Sex. In that order.
Yours: ?

Tagging: Distortedveracity, My-momoluges

A lot can happen in 10 days

I have just swallowed the last dose of methlyprednisolone, the anti-inflammatory medicine that the doctor prescribed for me last week. When I got this stuff, the pharmacist said, “Don't drink alcohol with this.” So, the night before, I drank nearly a whole bottle of Guenoc Petite Syrah.
And then went cold turkey.
Last night, though, I read the fine print on the drug. It said limit alcohol use with this medicine. Then, I read this story that says red wine is an anti-inflammatory agent. Shoot, I could have drank and got twice the treatment for my leg.
Anyway, my leg feels much better. And even though the doctor _ remember, it was a fill-in _ told me not to run for another two weeks, I'm going to call my regular guy today and see if its okay that I start putting in a few miles. I last ran 10 days ago. And what has happened in the world since: the fortunes of Eliot Spitzer and Bear Stearns have plummeted and the Houston Rockets have gone on an absurd winning streak.
On the family front: My son, Noah, and his mother, Nancy, visited me for a week. I am more in love with him everyday. He is still crawling backwards. When he gets excited he kinda squeals and babbles. He loved the zoo. He is eating rice, sweet potatoes, applesauce, and formula. He is growing up before my eyes. He is only 7 ½ months, but is as heavy as my 2-year-old nephew, Keith. Here are some pictures from his visit.

What is this stuff anyway?

When I was at the doctor's office Wednesday for my bum right leg, he gave me a script for Methylprednisolone, which is a fancy word for steroids. So I guess there goes my career in professional baseball.
Anyway, this methylprednisolone is supposed to prevent the release of hormones in your body that causes inflammation. It's a weird dosage. Six days of these tiny little white pills that you take either before or after meals and before you go to bed at night.
This stuff has some pretty crazy side effects, like severe depression, insomnia, and rapid weight gain. That's just great. To fix my leg, I'll have to turn into a fat, moody guy who can't sleep.
I think the depression is because they say you shouldn't drink while on this stuff. So, I can't run and I can't drink? Good thing my 7-month-old son is visiting me right now, or someone would be sending me to the funny farm.
Obviously, this means no racing for the foreseeable future. This Saturday I was going to run the 5K St. Paddy's Day Dash in Dallas with my good friends Chuck, Allynson, and Frank. And I was going to run the 5k Run to Joes in Fort Worth in two weeks.
Guess now I'll set my sites on running the Komen Race For The Cure 5K at Sundance Square in downtown Fort Worth on April 26. I ran this race in 2006 in a time of 21:09, a personal record.
Maybe the stars will align themselves again for me.

Putting the brakes on a bad wheel

So, what’s wrong with my leg?

My normal doctor, who has run many marathons himself, was not in today so I had to see his partner. And the news didn’t get any better after that, though, it could have been worse.

After getting poked and prodded and questioned like I was Eliot Spitzer - (Ooops, he didn't stick around to answer any questions!), the doc came up with this prognosis: Gastrocnemius muscle strain (calf); Achilles tendinitis, and a slight case of plantar fasciitis.

He gave me a script to take a cortisol pill once a day for five days, and said I should not resume running for three weeks, though he added that I could start stretching my calf after I finish taking the pills. So, maybe that means I can actually start running in five days instead of three weeks.

I’m going to make this promise to myself: I will not run until I am pain free.

I’ve got an appointment with my normal doctor on April 2. So for the next three weeks, I’ll try to stay sane by drinking wine (I know I promised myself not to drink during the week _ but hey, what am I to do when I can’t run?), playing with my 7-month-old son, who I am absolutely in love with, and blogging.

I may even, gulp, get on an exercise bike just to keep up my cardio fitness.

Speaking of Spitzer, the guy who is going to take his place as Governor of New York, David Paterson, is a runner. In 1999, he ran the New York City Marathon in 6:06:00. But don’t smirk at that time, folks. Paterson is legally blind.

Go here to see a previous post on marathon times of famous people. Credit: Wikipedia.