Cause & Effect

Hey there blogosphere, what's new?  So to pick up where we left off last time, I was back to running after ending the running streak at 43 days and I had what I thought to be a really bad case of shin splints.  Fast forward to Wednesday, January 25, a day that will live in infamy for the following reasons.


1.In 1915, the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, inaugurated U.S. transcontinental telephone service and we've been charged outrageous long-distance rates ever since...

2. In 1980, Paul McCartney is released from a Tokyo jail & deported.  They should have left him there....have you listened to any "Wings" album?

Really?

3. In 2012, Justin Rummel was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his right tibia.  Stupid, stupid man.

A stress fracture is described as a small break in a bone caused by repetitive action.  An example would be running every day.  Yes, I know what you're thinking, in fact, I am an idiot for taking on this ridiculous challenge.   


According to Newton's third law "for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction".  So the body can take a great deal of stress from continual action due to the slight elasticity of our skeletal structure.  Add in the absorption power of the muscles and most of the shock forces can be dissipated throughout the leg.  However, due to the muscle fatigue from all the miles logged during the previous month, my muscles stopped absorbing the shock and the bones' shock force intake increased; thereby creating the perfect environment for a stress fracture. 


So you could say, I am a broken man.  The doctor's prescription....rest, no running for one month and then he'll take another x-ray to determine if the fracture has adequately healed.  When I asked him about the marathon in March, he said, no marathons until April or May depending on how it goes from here.  Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but there is a bright side, if you look closely enough and sift through all of my stupidity.


Dr. Cohen said that I can still bike, swim and that's about it.  So I've been biking while awaiting my doctor's appointment, not my favorite thing in the world but my Christmas gift (a bike trainer) to Addy will sure come in handy over the next month.  Additionally, we have the sweetest pool in DC right across the street at Wilson High School so it looks like I'll have to break out my speedo!

So what have we learned from this little adventure?  Running on average 5 miles everyday for over a month, not recommended.  Listen to your body and your wife when they both implore you to cease and desist.  Finally, being a stubborn, stubborn man really sucks at times.


So while this blog is entitled "Man Running", this man won't be running for awhile.  Stay tuned for Man Swimming & Biking and perhaps Rope Climbing soon.


Until next time,


Justin