The Road Back · Post 4
First Run Back
Three weeks to the day after I was admitted, I ran.
Not far, and not fast, but properly running. 3.69 miles out through Bridport, round past Skilling and back home, in 36 minutes 46 seconds at an average of 9:57 a mile. It’s the same loop I walked in 1 hour 16 minutes back on 23 August.
WOW! First run back since being hospitalised!!
That’s what I wrote on Strava, and I’m not going to tone it down now. Well ahead of my recovery schedule, and really chuffed.
The meds have kept doing their job, and the scales said 97kg. That’s 10kg down from the 107kg I went in at on Day Zero.
And of course it wasn’t a solo effort. Thanks to my recovery running buddy, Nellie. She’s walked every slow mile with me, so it’s only right she was there for the first run.
The Road Back — Stats
Weight
97kg
Down from 107
Lost so far
10kg
From 107kg start
Longest run
3.69mi
First run back
Pace
9:57/mi
36:46 · 102ft climb
Road Back day
21
Three weeks
To Paris
350+mi
April 2028
Tablets a day
14
8 of them steroids
Treatment — the daily rattle
- Prednisolone — 8 × 5mg a day (40mg) · steroid, repairing the immediate kidney issue
- Furosemide — 2 × 40mg (10am & 2pm) · to release the water
- Ramipril — 1 × 2.5mg · blood pressure
- Atorvastatin — 1 × 40mg · cholesterol
- Famotidine — 1 × 20mg · protects the stomach while on steroids
- Adcal-D3 — 1 × 750mg · calcium & vitamin D, protects the bones while on steroids
- Rituximab — IV infusions · the long-term repair
The combination stays until everything heals. The steroids get weaned off, one tablet at a time, once the urine test sticks come back clear.
Every figure is real and dated. Early weight loss is fluid shifted with medication — the rest is earned on the road.
Three weeks ago I was in a hospital bed. Today I ran. Next stop: the final infusion.
— James (and Nellie)