After getting a second round of blood work done prior to my upcoming consultation with the M.D., I put myself on a course of prednisone, which is apparently the only treatment for polymyalgia rheumatica, the ailment I’m almost 100% sure I have. Wow, what a difference! Within one day I went from feeling about 100 years old to just somewhat stiff and achy, and continued to improve slowly over the rest of the week. I got in 54 miles over the first five days of the week and it felt wonderful to be able to run with something like a normal stride. But I got overly enthusiastic and strained a hamstring on Friday’s run, forcing me to take the weekend off from running. I did an easy 21 miles on the bike on Saturday and a 12-mile, high elevation mountain hike on Sunday, on which I was barely aware of the hammy, so it doesn't seem to be anything serious. Next trick is to convince the M.D. that I really do have PMR (assuming she can’t come up with a diagnosis that fits my symptoms better) and get her to prescribe more prednisone, as I’m almost out of the stash I’m using that was prescribed for one of my dogs a few years ago.
I don’t know when (if ever) I’ll be able to race again, and whether that time will come before there are any races to run. My local Memorial Day 5K was postponed until the last weekend of August and hasn’t been cancelled yet, but I’m quite skeptical that it will go. A local half-marathon that I usually run is currently still on for the first weekend of October, as is one of my two local marathons the first weekend of November. I don’t think that the chances of either race going in any remotely normal format are very high, and I don’t know whether I would want to run if the format were changed to Rtype’s chip-timed time trial type format where runners start just one or a few at a time. For now I’m sitting tight and not paying any money to enter anything.
Michael Rohl, congratulations to Michelle on a great time trial!
SCgal, too bad on the Netherlands competition being canned, but surely not unexpected. You’re wise to now appreciate just being healthy and uninjured.
Big Red, good luck on the Santa Rosa marathon going off in November. I wouldn’t put the odds too high, but it's certainly possible.
Good luck to everyone, stay healthy!