I think my shoulder looked worse than this guy's. After I finally ran the entire 5K distance in the Guthrie Gallop race on May 13, I got really serious about improving my 5K race time. My short-term objective was to get my time down to a 10:30 pace, with a longer-term objective of a 10:00 pace. Not very many over-80 guys that compete in my part of NY can run a 5K at that pace. So, I decided that this would be a neat goal to work toward. And I thought it was something I could definitely achieve…
I quickly made progress and, within only a few weeks, my time on the track where I train was consistently below the 10:30 pace, with a number of laps (it takes 10 laps on the track to make up the 5K distance) close to the 10:00 pace. After four weeks or so, it started to look like I could maintain the 10:00 pace for the entire 5K distance. I was enthusiastic as I didn’t expect that I would improve this quickly. To make a long story short, on June 13, I brought my daughter, Margie, with me to the track and, after every lap, she called out my pace for me. I was doing fine with all of the laps being at or near the 10:00 pace. However, the ninth (out of a total of ten) lap was starting to get hard. Not wanting to give up, I maintained the pace and, only 10 feet of so before the end of the tenth lap, I blacked out and fell, the result being that I dislocated my left shoulder!
I think I was only out for a few seconds. The only thing that I think I missed was the actual event of falling. But when I woke up, I was really hurting. Poor Margie probably thought I had a heart attack! To abbreviate the story a bit, she got my son to help out and they took me to the hospital ER. Luckily, the attending physician had experience dealing with dislocated shoulders as she had worked a ski resort in the past. After a few X-rays and other preliminaries, she got me in position such that she was able to “reduce” the dislocation. Instant relief of pain as it “popped” (I should more accurately say, "clunked") back into place. I could actually hear this happen, although I doubt if anyone else in the room could.
Anyway, now, almost five weeks later. I still experience some pain and don’t yet have full mobility of my upper arm. The encouraging thing is that every day there is a tad of improvement. This is all reminiscent of a motorcycle accident I had around 60 years ago. I vividly recall the long-standing pain following it and the long time it took to regain full mobility of my arm. That was my right shoulder and my right collar bone in still “separated” a bit from my scapula as a reminder of that accident.
The motorcycle accident was a result of the stupidity of youth. This mishap was the result of the stupidity of an old man who ignored warning signs that were screaming at him to stop and take a rest or to at least slow down. So, although I’m improving, it will probably be another month or so before I am able to exercise my upper body. Only this week have I begun to run (very slowly and carefully) and to do sit-ups.
The fall was a major setback for me as I was about to “open” my home gym. My feeling is that I have to be in good shape --- a mentor --- for folks who might want to join. This will probably delay these plans by three months or so. In the big picture, that’s not a long time. However, in the here-now, it seems like forever as I go day by day monitoring my recovery and looking forward to being more or less normal again.
Strangely, the moral of this story is something that I have written about in the little fitness books I have produced and that I always tell people when they talk about beginning or re-beginning a fitness program. Take your time and let your body adjust to the increasing demands you are placing on it. This is true for anyone and, even more so, to senior citizens. Don’t be a jerk and hurt yourself! Shame on me; I should know better!
Still a mystery is the actual reason why I blacked out. I suspect that I might have been dehydrated. I was sweating, but I don’t think I was hot enough to have a heat stroke. I’ll be meeting up with my physician/mentor in a week or so and she might be able to offer insights…
I quickly made progress and, within only a few weeks, my time on the track where I train was consistently below the 10:30 pace, with a number of laps (it takes 10 laps on the track to make up the 5K distance) close to the 10:00 pace. After four weeks or so, it started to look like I could maintain the 10:00 pace for the entire 5K distance. I was enthusiastic as I didn’t expect that I would improve this quickly. To make a long story short, on June 13, I brought my daughter, Margie, with me to the track and, after every lap, she called out my pace for me. I was doing fine with all of the laps being at or near the 10:00 pace. However, the ninth (out of a total of ten) lap was starting to get hard. Not wanting to give up, I maintained the pace and, only 10 feet of so before the end of the tenth lap, I blacked out and fell, the result being that I dislocated my left shoulder!
I think I was only out for a few seconds. The only thing that I think I missed was the actual event of falling. But when I woke up, I was really hurting. Poor Margie probably thought I had a heart attack! To abbreviate the story a bit, she got my son to help out and they took me to the hospital ER. Luckily, the attending physician had experience dealing with dislocated shoulders as she had worked a ski resort in the past. After a few X-rays and other preliminaries, she got me in position such that she was able to “reduce” the dislocation. Instant relief of pain as it “popped” (I should more accurately say, "clunked") back into place. I could actually hear this happen, although I doubt if anyone else in the room could.
Anyway, now, almost five weeks later. I still experience some pain and don’t yet have full mobility of my upper arm. The encouraging thing is that every day there is a tad of improvement. This is all reminiscent of a motorcycle accident I had around 60 years ago. I vividly recall the long-standing pain following it and the long time it took to regain full mobility of my arm. That was my right shoulder and my right collar bone in still “separated” a bit from my scapula as a reminder of that accident.
The motorcycle accident was a result of the stupidity of youth. This mishap was the result of the stupidity of an old man who ignored warning signs that were screaming at him to stop and take a rest or to at least slow down. So, although I’m improving, it will probably be another month or so before I am able to exercise my upper body. Only this week have I begun to run (very slowly and carefully) and to do sit-ups.
The fall was a major setback for me as I was about to “open” my home gym. My feeling is that I have to be in good shape --- a mentor --- for folks who might want to join. This will probably delay these plans by three months or so. In the big picture, that’s not a long time. However, in the here-now, it seems like forever as I go day by day monitoring my recovery and looking forward to being more or less normal again.
Strangely, the moral of this story is something that I have written about in the little fitness books I have produced and that I always tell people when they talk about beginning or re-beginning a fitness program. Take your time and let your body adjust to the increasing demands you are placing on it. This is true for anyone and, even more so, to senior citizens. Don’t be a jerk and hurt yourself! Shame on me; I should know better!
Still a mystery is the actual reason why I blacked out. I suspect that I might have been dehydrated. I was sweating, but I don’t think I was hot enough to have a heat stroke. I’ll be meeting up with my physician/mentor in a week or so and she might be able to offer insights…
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