by Glenn Dennis | Jan 28, 2013 | Running
This photo was taken of me running the 1986 Boston Marathon. Obviously, it was not a serious race for me. After I was diagnosed with trochanteric bursitis, I followed the recommended exercise recommendations to the letter. After months of doing those exercises, the hip still hurts. It’s still a major issue. So much for those. I decided to give biking a try. I built up my time slowly, and before long I was riding an hour or more a day at a fairly good pace for an old guy. On a hard day I was averaging 20 mph. The biking did not hurt my hip. On December 28, 2012 I was diagnosed with a DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) in my left calf. My doctor immediately put me on the new blood thinner Xarelto. My hematologist is classifying the clot as provoked, so I am having lots of blood work done as well at a CAT scan and X-rays. They are attempting to figure out what caused this to happen. Due to the blood thinner, I decided to give up biking. If I took a serious fall and suffered a head injury, I could bleed to death. Xarelto has no counter agent to start the clotting process. A few weeks ago I started walking four to five miles a day. I had to do something. The hip still hurt, but I could tolerate it. After a week of power walking I tried to add a little very slow jogging. I would walk 200 paces and then slow jog 200 paces. That didn’t do the hip any good. It started hurting...
by Glenn Dennis | Apr 15, 2012 | Running
I have a major issue with my hip. At left are my two cats, Zeus (in the box), and Miss Betty, his mother. Zeus was born on my birthday, June 8, almost two years ago. These are Chaussies, a cross between an American Short Hair and an Asian Jungle Cat. Zeus is a wild man. A few days ago he attacked a section of sheet-rock and tore the off the paper. Now I have some repair work to do. I went to the orthopedist last week and was diagnosed as having trochanteric bursitis, an inflammation of the trochanteric bursa. Thank goodness it was not arthritis. The doctor prescribed a bunch of different exercises. I spoke with a runner at a race yesterday that once had this problem. He did recover, but it was slow. So I will have to give it time. I had the doctor x-ray my feet while I was there to check for bone spurs. The films didn’t reveal any, so I got fitted for a set of custom orthotics. He said I had very high arches. These might help the plantar fasciitis that seems to be lingering around in the left foot. I now have to keep up with the exercises and wait. Maybe I will be able to get back to running one of these...
by Glenn Dennis | Mar 27, 2012 | Running
Another operation to deal with. This photo was taken crossing the finish line at the 2005 Cooper River Bridge Run. I won the 55-59 year age group that year. I guess you could say the good, old days. I went ahead with the surgery to repair my left side inguinal hernia a few weeks ago. The laparoscopy option left me with much less pain, but it was still no picnic. I was able to do a slow two and a half mile jog four days after the surgery. That was not possible ten years ago when I had the open surgery – a long, four inch incision – for the right side hernia. Now I have a new nemesis to deal with. My right hip is giving me problems. I felt a slight pain when I was biking, but it was so slight I didn’t think about it. After I did the slow jog, it began hurting more. Two days later I went for another jog, and the pain got worse, so bad that I could hardly walk the next morning. I let a few days pass and tried another jog. This time the pain was intense. So now I’m headed to the orthopedist. I read about all the things that can cause hip pain, most of them not good. Now I’m wondering if I will ever be able to get back to running. I was going to go ahead with the custom orthodics, but I’m going to put that on hold until I get a determination on the hip. Getting older is definitely not fun. I am going...
by Glenn Dennis | Mar 5, 2012 | Running
I’m finally back to this blog after a long layoff, both writing and running. I’m not really a blogger. I just share my thoughts on occasion. I call it a blog for lack of something different. I may change that designation. The plantar fasciitis came back with a vengeance when I tried to return to doing speed-work. Just to catch up, a little over a year ago I broke a toe. I had to take a month off to let the thing heal. After that, I slowly built up my mileage to 50 or so a week. All was going OK until I started speed-work. That was in June 2011. I tried to keep up some training while letting the plantar heal, but that didn’t work. I had to drop the running altogether. To try and keep some endurance, I got back on my bike. That took some getting use to. I’ve been biking ever since . I recently saw a podiatrist, and he said everything looked OK. It will just take a long time to heal. He did recommend custom orthotics. That will be my next step. But first I have another issue to deal with. That would be an inguinal hernia on my left side. I had one repaired on my right side ten years ago. That was done via open surgery. The pain was intense for some time. This time, I decided to try laparoscopy. They say there is much less pain. I’ll find out soon. I have the operation scheduled for this Friday. After the recovery period, I am going to get the orthotics. Then...
by Glenn Dennis | Jul 26, 2011 | Running
Today I’ll begin to share my thoughts. I just started this blog today. My pseudonym is Jason Savage. I have been using it in business for more than thirty years. All the runners know me by my given name – Glenn Dennis. I use my given name on race registrations so my old friends will know me when they see results posted online, a site like AthLinks for instance, or in the Running Journal. I will be sharing my history as a runner and avid road racer. I will also touch on the subject of injury and the issues of dealing with them as one gets older. I will be heading to Charleston, SC this weekend to attend a very dear friend’s, Coralie Leonard, 99th birthday party. I’m looking forward to that as well as having a few beers with my old British running buddy, Keith Ambrose, pictured here. A couple of geezers pouring down a Guinness. I took that photo when we met in Wilmington, NC and ran the Tri-Span 10K on July 8, 2006. That is a very tough race. The temperature can approach 90 at that time of the year. The race incorporates three major bridges. I ran a very good race that day. I managed a 39:58 due to a great burst in the last tenth. I came in 15th Overall – 4th Masters. I missed the money by 22 seconds. I won my age group (55-59). Keith also won his age group. He’s a few years older than me. More...
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