HOBBLED BY MY PAST
I have been meaning to write
about the tales of my injury woes for a bit now and this weekends latest set
back has pushed me to get it written. So time to depress you all with my story
of suffering.
I never used to run anywhere
other than after a football in my formative years and that is the main cause of
my troubles, well that and my physically demanding job of course. I suppose
slipping a disk in my back while at work many, many years ago was the very
start of my feeble body’s speedy disintegration!
Since then pretty much every bit
of my left hand side from the hip down has become ancient, frail, and painful.
I suppose it makes matters worse that the mind is so willing to still run about
like a young fool. Instead I just run around like an old, slow, slightly
balding fool.
After partly recovering from the
back problems, that many have said came from picking the ball out of the back
of my net too often, I went on to tear my tear my Achilles tendon. Thanks to the magnificent help I received from the
NHS, this is now the main cause of all my secondary injuries.
After doing nothing about the Achilles for a year, the doctor then injected it to ease the pain.
This I have since read should never be done as it makes a rupture far more
likely. Thanks doctor! Another year or so later it was decided to pop my ankle
in plaster for a month, so the tendon would heal back together while fully
stabilised. The Achilles felt great
by the time I went for the plaster to be removed, until the nurse partly cut
the plaster off and then proceeded to twist my foot out of the plaster. The Achilles immediately went again and
since then has never recovered properly. Who would ever want to go private with
such a good NHS in this country?
Since that event I have had
loads of niggles with various parts of my left leg, who cares though? Pain is
only the body’s way of reminding us we are still alive, so I certainly am alive
and kicking, but only kicking with the good leg!
Shortly before I joined Wesham Road Runners I visited the
doctor as I was also getting pain in the hips, his advice was to stop running.
Shortly afterwards Angela and I
became club members and started running in as many races as we can get time to
do, life is too short to take doctors advice I think!
Since joining I have also had spells of referred pain from
the hip and back down into my IT Band, but I take great motivation from our Chairman. When I see Dave hobbling about, then run a 10K way
faster than I ever will, it makes me realise I probably am just being a
hypochondriac! The old whippet doesn’t half show me up, ha!
I suppose you are wondering what
latest body trauma caused me to type this load of “woe is me” tripe. Your not
eh? Well I am going to tell you anyway.
On Sunday, 9th May at the Blackpool Fun Run, I only managed about a mile before I had to pull
up and limp back to the start line; I was frozen by the time I got there! Fancy
only wearing skimpy vest and shorts on cold
The slight tear to my calf was a
bit of a shock to the system, it was on my good right leg. That leg never, ever
get’s injured, until now. Hopefully not a sign of things to come or I will be
doing the wheelchair race before long. I did feel a bit better about things
when I found out
Hopefully my misery with
injuries will motivate you to not listen to doctor’s dodgy advice and instead
listen to your own body. It will let you know what you can and can’t do; mine
is always telling me what I can’t do! Hopefully it won’t tell me that I can’t do
the Freckleton Half Marathon. So I
am looking forward to seeing you all running in the future, you never know, I may even run past some of
you.
Written by: Charles Colby
Submitted: 11th May 2010
Edited by: Brenda J Earnshaw WRR Editor