While waiting for my shin splints to heal, I am not running, but am sure getting plenty of run-around from my health insurance.

I started my insulin pump 8 months ago, getting approval and coverage shortlly before I left me previous job. It has not taken long to understand and use the pump efffectively.

However, in this 8 month time span, I have been unable to get true clarity or meaningful answers from Humana on the coverage of the pump supplies (the cover the insulin, the question is on the reservoir (a container) and the infusion set (a tube with a needle), in function exactly equal to an insulin syringe.

As syringe is covered as a $10 co-pay. However, while Humana covers the Paradim reservoiir as a perscription item at the same $10 co-pay, it provides no coverage at all for the infusion set. What good is one without the other? Hello? Is there any sanity there?

Then there was the 3 month period where the Humana web site’s perscription tools would not work for my account to even confirm my coverage. It took 4 email messages, 3 phone calls, 3 months to get them to fix their database.

But its more complicated. If I order my supplies from Medtronic directly, which does get a prescription authorized form my doctor, Humana covers only 10% of the total costs, because Medtronic is a provider of “durable goods”. My last 4 month supply cost me out of pocket $440.

So with another round of phone calls, I find out that if I can take my perscription to a place that can fill them as a prescription item, Humana will cover the reservoir at the $10 co-pay. And with some more querying of the Humana rep, I was told that I might get an “exception” to the no coverage on the infusion set, if I can have my doctor talk to their Calims Review department.

My doctor, my pharmacist has never heard of needing to go anywhere else but the supplier to get this covered (the pharmacy had to even look it up on the Walgreens system as he has never had to fill such an item). And my doctor has to waste time nagging my insurance company?

This just seems total stupid lunacy to get reasonable access to needed medical supplies — how much saving are they doing in the long run, if insurance companies make irrational coverage decisions that induce people not to get proper health care?

Crazy, I say. Stupid crazy.

Did you know... Sharon Stone's diabetes did not stop her wowing us in Basic Instinct (from Keeping Well With Diabetes Newsletter)
See more diabetic facts...

It’s time of year to appreciate what we have, rather than bemoaning what we lack. The past few days have been very relaxing up at our cabin in Strawberry, surrounded by turkey, fall colors, family (Mom is visiting from Florida)… and zero running.

I had plans for a run here, at least on Saturday, which is scheduled for a long Team D run, but I continue to feel stiffness and pain in my shin, so I opting to give it even more rest, hopefully ready to climb back in a training schedule this week. I still have a good 7, 8 weeks of time to prep.

Also, I have firmly decided that I am on no way ready, having lost a few weeks of training, to run a full marathon, so I am commiting officially to run the half again, and instead, try to run a faster time than last January. I really cannot say with much confidence that I would ever “love” running. But I am challenged to do this run, and confident I can do 13 miles.

And I am thankful for that, and mucn more.

It took 2 days for my shins to relax after Saturday’s run… it was there only slightly today, and is growing just to be an annoying companion while I run.

To shake things up, I decided today not to do an out and back, but to do a 6 mile loop I did a lot last Spring while training for the Valley of the Sun Half Marathon.

I did not think it was all that fast, but I must have been doing well because I did it in a nudge an hour, as good or better than a few months ago (in the summer the heat zapped me, could not really even finish). And this was on abhout 3 hours of stress limited sleep, so I needed the fresh air to clear my head.

Today was my first run with Team D in several weeks; we met in Tempe near Kiwanis Park. My sore shin was not really showing its face, so I was hopeful.

I’d pretty much decided back of my mind that not running the last 3 weeks was a major set back for being prepared for the marathon, and was ready to say I’d rather see if I can run a strong half marathon and better my best time. I think this was a lift, so running today 5 miles (the length for half marathon training) than 10 I think propelled me to run a bit faster.

Or maybe ti was having 3 weeks rest?

Anyhow, I felt really strong, going at a 10 minute pace, much better than anytime in the last 8 weeks.

Enough rest on the shins.

A quick test last night up and down the street felt okay, so gingerly, this morning, I put on the running shoes and did 3 leisurely laps around Chapparal Lake and the soccer fields. More than anything, it cleared the funk in my head.

So far so good, a climb back into training I hope.

The running has ceased. Even with rest, my shins remained the same.

Last week, I was in San Antonio for my organization’s conference, and although I packed running shoes and gear, they never left the suitcase. There was not time, and even walking, I felt the complaints from Mr Left Leg Shin. And it was too bad, as I saw others running in the morning up and down the Riverwalk.

Today, I saw my Doctor who confirms it is likely shin splints and it needs… more rest. I am having an xray just to confirm, but I am resigned to a few more weeks perhaps off the running trails, though biking is still on the menu. I have also accepted that this year the full marathon is not likely to happen, and I will be more than happy to run or even walk if I have to, the half.

My miles on the bike today were necessary (sans car) to get to my Doctor’s office.

Just another clear, crisp, sunny morning in Arizona. Skipping todat’s 14 mile Team D run (I needed to be in Tempe at 10 for a friend’s wedding), I opted for another bike ride. This time, I rode east from Pima road, along the Arizona Canal, crossing the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.

The way out had the 2 ingredients of riding directly into the morning sun (making it harder to see the dips and bumps) and a bit of head wind. Again, I love this ride because it is so open, one can see directly north to the McDowell Mountains, northeast to Red Mountain, east to the Superstitions… And very typical, I saw at least 2 great blue herons (or the same one twice) take off in a long, powerful gliding motion. The farms nort of the canal are carpet green with new grass (hay?) and perhaps lettuce or spinach as far as the eye can see.

I was watching my watch for a turn around, a bit short of the Beeline highway crossing, actually just at the trash dump where Gilbert Rd hits highway 87. And woah, baby, on the way back, I was flying much faster with light at my back along with the wind. I probably could have gone farther since my time back was about 10 minutes less than out.

Legs felt good, getting some of the long formant bike muscles working. And now, my weekly mileage charts show a rising ride spike of bike miles.

This one has swirled around by a lot of email forwarding, and I typically ignore these messages, even from friends, but I must thank my friend Jeff (who usually sends bizarre videos of dogs doing odd things) about the “Strongest Dad in the World”, available on YouTube:

Okay, so my complaints on a slow half marathon, and here is Dick Hoyt pushing his son through a 2:40 Boston Marathon, pulling/carrying himn through triathalons…
I was checking out the story (based on a June 2005 story in Sports illustrated) by some Googling, and was worried when a high numbered hit was listed at Snopes, the Urban Legend Reference — but good news, the ruling there was a true story.

There isn’t much more we could say about this story about Dick and Rick Hoyt — a father-and-son team from Massachusetts who regularly participate in grueling athletic endeavors such as marathon races and triathlon competitions, even though (due to complications at birth) Rick cannot walk or talk — than is already covered in the account reproduced above (the text of which is taken from a 2005 Sports Illustrated article about the Hoyts) and the video link included at the end. This is a case where the words and pictures speak for themselves, far above our poor power to add or detract.

Veyr true- and there is a lot more on the Team Hoyt web site. Look at the numbers in the racing history 206 Triathlons, 6 Ironman distances; 20 Duathlons; 64 Marathons, 24 straight Boston Marathons… Biked and ran across the USA in 1992-3,735 miles in 45 consecutive days.

I am utterly humbled and totally inspired.

Thanks Jeff for senidng me this one!

In exercise switch mode, this morning I tried to make up for yesterday’s no run with a bike ride, taking the Arizona canal west through the “perennially under contruction of condo towers” that is downtown Scottsdale. So I am getting my miles while sitting down.

It’s been almost 2 years, and still vrtually impossible to ride a bike safely or even find the same route 2 days in a row from the canal at Camelback and Scottsdale Road to to where the canal crosses Goldwater north of Indian School. That’s what knobby mountain bike tired are for, I guess.

I cruised out passed the very cool Arizona Falls at 56th to a turn around at 48th Street. I would have gone further, but with daylight not peeking out til almost 7, and I did not want to cut too much into the work day.

Tomorrow morning, I’l be forgoing the Team-D 14 mile run, I would have missed it anyhow as I need to be at a friend’s wedding by 10, but I think I can get out and squeeze in a good 2 hour bike ride.

I am worried about slipping on my training schedule, but with each run, the following day, I am feeling more or continued pain in my left shin. I started out this morning, and felt it right away… I thought- just grind it out, take some pain, but then re-considered th epossibility I was just making it worse

Everything I hear and read says it needs more rest than I have given it (again, the half marathon in Payson was not the best idea).

The plan is to do either biking or perhaps some swimming (next week when I am at a hotel in San Antonio), keep at the ice and ibuprofin and let the darn thing heal over the next 2 weeks.

Info I got was from:

• Merck on sports injury
• Mayo Clinic on shin splits
• Sports Injury Clinic .net

all of which is consistent.

I’m rather down about this, and feeling alot of doubt about catching up on training to be in shape for the full marathon. I guess I have choices:

• rest, train and run the full
• rest, train, and run the half- I know I can do that
• if it never feels better, I can always walk

And even some meandering thoughts about whether I really want to run a full. It seems so looooong. Oh well, I am borig myself with this drivel, cannot imagine it would mean much to someone else.

What a D-D-D-D-rag.