Body Inventory

Training stats
th-su 12/21-24: rest (ill)
we 12/20: easy slow jog, 10K, 1:12 hrs
tu 12/19: indoor bike, 1 hr


Sorry, folks, a sudden and severe flu caught me on Wednesday evening and I am not yet fully recovered. My hope is that the knee pain is only a side-effect of the flu and I will be able to run again when I feel well again.

Next year will be my last year in age group M50. You might have noticed that race fields in M55 are significantly smaller than in M50. I reckon that most of the disappeared runners didn't give up their sport optionally. And I wonder how long I will be able to keep to the roads and paths.

These thoughts let me make an inventory of my orthopedic challenges most of which are typical for runners. I start at the feet:

1. Flatfoot: Pain in the forefoot esp. on long road runs. Helped by orthotics and training foot muscels
2. Peroneus tendon strained: Pain on the outer side of the ankle, mainly caused by overpronating when running on uneven ground. Helped by orthotics and taping.
3. Runner's knees: Pain at the patella's back side caused by too much pressure on the cartilage. Helped by training the thigh muscles, taking gelatin and glucosamin, bandage, icing.
4. Arthrosis at both hips: Diagnosed by doc but no current problems. Pain infrequently after very long runs.
5. Tennis elbow: Strained tendons caused by overstress. Helped by couples of injections from time to time without success. Luckily I don't need the arm neither for running nor for making a living. Otherwise I would face a very big problem.
6. Shoulder tendon strained: No cause known, but very painful. Helped by surgery. Successfully so far.

Is this a typical list for a 53-year-old male? I console myself by realizing that most people sitting in doctors' waiting rooms don't do any sports. Luckily I have no organic problems and all vital and nice-to-have functions are working sufficiently.

But perhaps I should change my targets from running PBs to keep on running.

PS The German version of my Nepal Trekking Report is on line now. English one still to come.