The appointment today has lead to the recommendation that I see a neurologist and have an EMT exam. This will take a couple of months up here, of course.

It appears the muscle disparity in my two runner's legs might be a strong symptom of several neurological disorders, some simple (pinched nerve) some more ominous. This might well have precipitated the back trouble. It certainly is a problem for a runner. I call it "arm wrestler's legs". No good if you don't run in sharp circles.

Of course I'm not too sure what to do with my running in the meantime. While in California in mid-December, I'll just do some easy 4-8 mile runs and see if my back, knee or thigh explodes. I'll bike as much as possible. But if I could run 60 mpw with this, I can certainly go 30-40 mpw if the weather's good.

Again, I take this to be a good sign. It might very well be treatable. It's hard to know. Doctors have this way of keeping information to themselves; as if they are teachers and your questions are prying into trade secrets. They're not crazy about even letting you read your own lab results, though I insist upon it.

So again, (not to make excuses) my 2007 and 2008 seasons were compromised. The more training I did, the worse the muscle condition became. I'll be hearing soon from the doctor as to when my tests are to be conducted, and whether or not the neurologist here in Timmins will see me(he's retiring).

Treadmill guy is supposed to pop on over this afternoon. I'm ready to do some easy running, and the treadmill is easy on the back, legs and anything else that breaks down.

Running injuries: the cause is usually undetectable. So one can't help but shotgun the treatment and hope something works.