Life got in the way

Haven't done much running since my 20 mile last Saturday. Work has been pretty crazy. Stayed late on Monday until 7p and Tuesday until 6:30p. Couldn't even run at work either, ate lunch at my desk. Came home both nights and worked again from home. It was just that crazy. Finally decided that today, I would leave "on time" and run. I got 6.2 miles out of my run! Yay!

At the end of the run, I got the pain in the ball of my right foot back like I had training for my first marathon. Not happy about that. Will keep a thought on it and watch to see how it does. As I was walking back, that's when I noticed it, not while running. I can still feel the spot even though I'm not even on my feet.

For the past few months now, I have started my own version of Operation Beautiful, but with runners. Every runner that I pass, I take out an ear bud and say something positive; "Good Job!" "Keep it up!" "Looking Strong!" I've thought about saying "Looking Good!" but once I almost said that to a shirtless male runner and decided to hold back. I don't think that would have been good. :) So I just say those three sayings and said it to a few today when we passed each other (going in opposite direction). They usually just smile or don't do anything back. Not used somebody talking to them I guess. But I actually got a response out of one of them today "Hi, thanks, you too!" It's funny though; everytime I tell them something, I get a little charged up too. I get a little more spring in my step for a few seconds. But I'm a waver and a very friendly runner; get used to it DeKalb!!

Today's run was really odd in terms of speed. Started out fast but then I got really slow. It was bad. And it hurt too. I guess that's what having nearly 4 days off will do to ya! But still my average pace was decent for a training run. And my blister, that was flat and not puffed out at all before my run, is puffed out again. I guess I should have put a bandaid on it before I went running. I've never had to deal with blisters before so I don't really know what to do!

This weekend won't have me blogging at all. I've got mad super duper plans! I'll be in Madison all weekend visiting Kevin & Jess. Leaving work at noon on Friday from all the overtime I'm putting in, will be heading up there around that time and then hitting up Happy Hour (potentially) & a Meetup group with them. Saturday will have me running 6, 8 or 10 miles (yay for step back week!) in the morning. Then Taste of Madison that afternoon, followed by NIU @ UW-Madison football game that evening (kickoff at 6pm). Sunday will be doing a 30 mile (2 hour) bike ride to a beach that's a favourite of ours, relaxing on said beach. Monday will be at a water park (dogs are allowed to swim in the pool on this the last day, so we'll have their dog with us too!) where Kevin has a radio thing to attend. Then later that afternoon, one of his co-workers is throwing a party so we could potentially stop by that as well! A fully packed, fun filled weekend will be had and chock full of exercise too!! Plenty of room for that beer drinking I'll be having!

What makes me kinda sad about the weekend is that I won't be able to run my usual race in Rockford. It was my first race ever starting in 2006 and also the very first race that I placed in my age group! They hold thing thing called On The Waterfront, 30 blocks of food, carnivals, and 7 stages of bands. All sorts of great music comes out for this! It's a chance to see and hear bands that you normally wouldn't. Open your ears to something new. And I'll miss it. Since 2000, I've only missed it twice; 2003 when I was living in Mississippi and 2005, the year after my ex & I broke up and he forgot the promise he made about going with me (this was long before I was independent). I've been to every one besides those years. But this stuff I'll do this weekend will keep my mind off of it!

Have a lovely and enjoyable Labour Day weekend. It's the unoffical end of summer!

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 858 ft Location: DeKalb, IL Elev. Gain: -4 ft Date: 09/02/09 Up/Downhill: [+219/-223] Time: 06:11 PM Difficulty: 2.6 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 63 F temp; 69% humidity 63 F heat index; winds E 7 Performance Distance: 6.20 miles Time: 0:58:41 Speed: 6.3 mph Pace: 9' 28 /mi Calories: 662 Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 52 -0' 36 6.8 +0.4 +26 ft 2 9' 14 -0' 14 6.5 +0.2 -16 ft 3 9' 20 -0' 08 6.4 +0.1 +4 ft 4 9' 36 +0' 08 6.2 -0.1 +10 ft 5 10' 07 +0' 39 5.9 -0.4 +7 ft 6 9' 42 +0' 14 6.2 -0.2 -33 ft end 10' 06 +0' 38 5.9 -0.4 0 ft Versus average of 9' 28 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

Categories: ball of foot pain, blisters, DeKalb Nature Trail, Madison

20 mile run

OK, so here I go.



I postponed my run from Saturday to Sunday because of the weather & wind. It was a few degrees warmer & sunnier and less wind on Sunday.

Started off around 9:15a.
1 mile into it, I had to stop and adjust the tongue of my left shoe because it was hitting that tendon that was sore.

2.77 miles into it, I had to stop again but this time I was worried. When I stopped it was because of a sharp, shooting pain in my foot, right where the bruise was on the bottom of my foot. I thought I really broke my foot that time. I slowed down by doing one of those hop & skip stops. I couldn't even put pressure on it to walk. I stood there crying for a few minutes as I kept testing to see if I could put weight on my foot. About 5 minutes the pain subsided and I could walk. I continued running.

Around this time I realised that one of my water bottle lid was open so water was spilling out of it and getting all over my thigh. It was 34 degrees and overcast. So my thigh was freezing. Great.

I decided instead of doing 10 out and 10 back, I would do 5 out and 5 back, 5 out and 5 back. So that's what I did. 5 out and 5 back. Then I thought, well, if I do 3 out and 3 back then that would get me 16 and then I would only need to do 2 out and 2 back to get me 20 and I could always stop and walk back if my foot was getting to bad.

On the first 5 out I estimated wrong (even though I had my Garmin with me I wasn't looking at it) and only ran 4.5 miles out so I was always .5 miles off.

So back out for another 3 and then turned back to the starting point. But then I looked down and realised that my snot rag was gone. I had brought 3 bottles with me and tucked the snot rag into my opening bottle holster. Alas, it fell out after mile 14. I debated if I should let it go or go back. I figured it fell out for a reason and I needed to keep going so I turned around at the starting point again. This was 15.5.

I ran one mile up (16.5) and found my snot rag and tried running to the next mile marker but alas, I couldn't make it past 16.6 so I turned around and figured that if I ran back that would be 17.5 and then I could finish up with another quarter mile jaunt out and back to get me back up to 18. And that's what I did.

Turning on my feet hurt the ball of my foot, I tried different ways, left to right; right to left, stopping and turning, wide turns but nothing seemed to help. My hip flexors hurt on both legs when I was done. I think it was mainly because of the cold. And the fact that I didn't do much exercise during the week. OK, I didn't do any at all. I was trying to stay off my foot as much as possible. But I don't think I injured them or anything.

The sun was out for a little bit around mile 6 then it disappeared and started snowing from mile 10 on. And it stayed that way the entire rest of the run and day! So much for being sunnier. The wind wasn't bad though. I just had to keep reminding myself that after running in this, nothing Memphis could give me (beside a constant downpour) could top this. I'm tough.

I stretched at the end. I got in the car, drove back to my house. Took a warm shower to thaw out. Then I fell asleep on the couch with my cat curled up in my arm for about 2 hours. I was exhausted.

I woke up and I was stiff. Of course. I also slept with my head turned and upright so I had a stiff & sore neck muscle too. On Monday at work, I was walking all funny. This is usually why I do my long runs on Saturday, so I can walk funny on Sunday and be fine on Monday. I had a meeting after work and I decided to walk to it to get he blood moving, so that helped I'm sure. Tuesday, I was fine and thought about going to the Y but decided against it. Tonight I went to the Y and got my elliptical on and then did a few sit-ups and worked on the express line weight machines for a quick set. Just enough to get the blood moving again.

I get my orthotics on Friday. I can't wait. Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait.

To be honest, I dont know what happened in mile 13 & 16. I know I didn't walk at all so I don't know how the time got to be that way. My Garmin stats are not that time at all. They are 11:08 & 11:45. Weird.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 872 ft Location: Sycamore, IL Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 11/16/08 Up/Downhill: [+242/-242] Time: 09:18 AM Difficulty: 3.9 / 5.0 Weather: Light Snow 34 F temp; 85% humidity 34 F heat index; winds W 8 Performance Distance: 18.00 miles Time: 3:13:08 Speed: 5.6 mph Pace: 10' 44 /mi Calories: 1751 Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 06 -1' 38 6.6 +1.0 +23 ft 2 9' 41 -1' 03 6.2 +0.6 +7 ft 3 12' 52 +2' 08 4.7 -0.9 -10 ft 4 10' 13 -0' 31 5.9 +0.3 +9 ft 5 10' 05 -0' 39 6.0 +0.4 -13 ft 6 10' 54 +0' 10 5.5 -0.1 +16 ft 7 10' 49 +0' 05 5.5 -0.1 0 ft 8 10' 47 +0' 03 5.6 -0.0 -13 ft 9 11' 02 +0' 18 5.4 -0.2 0 ft 10 11' 06 +0' 22 5.4 -0.2 0 ft 11 11' 04 +0' 20 5.4 -0.2 0 ft 12 11' 04 +0' 20 5.4 -0.2 +13 ft 13 15' 25 +4' 41 3.9 -1.7 0 ft 14 10' 54 +0' 10 5.5 -0.1 -13 ft 15 11' 43 +0' 59 5.1 -0.5 0 ft 16 14' 29 +3' 45 4.1 -1.5 0 ft 17 11' 27 +0' 43 5.2 -0.4 +3 ft 18 11' 34 +0' 50 5.2 -0.4 -23 ft end 11' 40 +0' 56 5.1 -0.5 0 ft Versus average of 10' 44 min/mile

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Categories: 18 miles, 20 mile run, ball of foot pain, Great Western Trail

Day Two & Three of Operation Fix Foot

I did my MRI on Tuesday. The nurse had me change into a pair of shorts and then I had to take off all my jewelry (belly button ring included). Then she asked where it was on my foot that hurt. I pointed it out and she put a pill taped to that area so she can line it up right. I just had to stick my foot into this tube and she stuffed sponges of different sizes around it to keep it still. Everything was fine until near the end. then I got into a coughing spell and no clearing my throat and small coughs could get rid of the nagging feeling I was having in my lungs and throat. And then my toes started to get so cold and frozen and painful. I couldn't move my toes at all in the time it took to do the MRI so the circulation started to leave my foot. She said that a STAT was put on the MRI and I should hear about the results tomorrow, if not late that night.

Well, Wednesday I didn't hear anything. And when I finally got back home from my business trip to Springfield, it was late. So I called on Thursday morning and heard the message that my doctor was not in today. I was like great, that means I won't hear back until Friday so then I won't get an appt until the week after. Well, luckily, her assistant called me back and told me the results on the phone. I didn't have a stress fracture! YAY! Good news! So I called the assistant and we set up an appt on Friday with a colleague to get fitted for orthotics and because of the rush, they should get that by next Friday. I jus couldn't wait for the appointment and get going on it!

So today I go in for the fitting and the assistant was asking me questions about what brings me in here, I tell him about the marathon training and that it's in 3 weeks. He then mentions that it takes about 3 weeks to get the orthotics back. I was like wait, hold up. There's no point in doing this then. Holly told me that it was only going to take a week and that I'll get them by next Friday. He paused and said that she should have talked it with him. I said well, could you figure this out because there's no point in even doing this if that's the case because after my marathon I plan on taking a long break which will heal the bruise. He left and I took off my shoes and socks and sat all the way back on the table so that just my feet hung off the edge.

When the assistant got back, he arrived with the doctor and the doctor said that he discussed it with my orthopedic doctor and they were putting a rush on it like they do the NIU athletic players. Then the doctor started to put the plaster on my foot. He said I have a very high arch and so he was going to lower the arch a bit and give me more support. Then he said that he could feel the metatarals joints in the ball of my foot so he'll work with that and get some relief for that. He had the assistant read the MRI report and it was all confusing but I heard the phrase no stress fracture and no muscle tearing or fluid buildup. After the plaster dried, the doctor left and the assistant pulled them off. He said that he'll get them filled and the PO on them tonight! I was happy to hear that.

The doctor said that it'll take me about 3 weeks to get used to having them in my shoe. And that i shouldn't do any long runs in them and that if I do run, only go for a few miles around 2 and if they start to hurt then I must take them out right away.

I haven't ran at all this week just because I can feel the pain even when walking and now when I'm just sitting on the couch. So I haven't run. I got 20 miles planned for this weekend. Tomorrow's supposed to be cold and overcast and snowy. So I'm going out on Sunday I think. I plan on doing 5 out and then 5 back and then 5 back out and 5 back in that way I'm only 5 miles away from my car if anything should happen.

Categories: aches and pains, ball of foot pain, feet

Day One of Operation Fix Foot

Today I went to see an orthopedic. Met with her assistant first and explained the situation. Told her all what I bought, even brought in my running shoes with the insole.

Then I got x-rays done. First one was from the side. And then the second and third one was from overhead. I stepped on the pad and the nurse said "Wow, I thought I had narrow feet until I saw yours!" She asked if it was difficult to find shoes. I said yes, but only dress shoes and then everything in those slips in the heel. She agreed and asked if I have a high arch, told her yes that I recently found out about! She was just amazed and mentioned it again as I put my socks and shoes back on.

Back to the exam room where the assistant brought up the x-rays. That's where the picture came from. I managed to sneak one in before she came back and requested that I take off both shoes and socks. While waiting for the doctor to come in my feet got very very cold though and the office had wood floors so it very comfortable.

Then the doc came in and started asking questions about my running and when the pain first started happening. Explained to her that I trained for a half marathon last year and no pain. She asked if this was my first marathon, I said yes. After all that introduction question she got right to it.

She asked if I can point out where it hurts. I said yes and showed her the bottom of my foot and pointed to the bone under my third toe in the ball area. Then she asked me to stand up. She mentioned the fact that my third toes splayed out and asked if that has been all my life. I said yes that's why I don't like showing off my feet. Then she asked me to get up and down on my tip toes a few times. I asked if I had to cause it was going to hurt, my feet are bony and this is not carpeted. She laughed and said yes you have to. So up and down I went, finally a bit of 'ow' in my right foot. She asked me to turn around so she can see my feet from the back.

Then she had me sit on the table so she can touch my feet. She grabbed them and remarked on how cold they were. I said you should feel my hands! Then she touched the top of my left foot first and said "You weren't kidding, your feet are bony!" I laughed. She grabbed the back of my ankles, the sides looking for any swelling and asked if I noticed any. I said no. Then she grabbed the toes of my left foot and pushed them back. I told her that if she did that to my right foot, it'll be painful. Then she went to the right foot and started with my ankles again to the top of the foot and then to the ball. She had her thumb on top and a finger on the ball of my foot and just started hitting all the bones. As you can see, there are a lot of bones in the foot, which I didn't know! She went to the bone and then the joint and then the bottom of the toe. She asked if I could feel any pain. Each time she went to the joint area of my third toe, it hurt but she was careful not to push on it too much luckily. So that's good. I did ask about my bone in the top of my left foot but she didn't really pay any attention to it so I'm not going to be concerned about it.

She said that the x-rays don't show a fracture and won't show a stress fracture so she wanted an MRI for me. And if the MRI didn't have a fracture either than we'll just have to go with having her colleague show me how to tape of the toe and getting some padding in the form of a custom made orthotic for my shoe. And if there is a stress fracture then no running until it heals. She did say that because of the lack of padding on my feet that is more than likely the reason for the pain. She couldn't explain the reason why it's not on my left foot. She also mentioned my 2nd and 3rd toes are pretty much the same length which usually doesn't happen. She said that if you look at my joints, you'll see that they're the same spot and usually you see a curve downward like with the other toes. She said that could be a problem as well.

I asked how soon all of this could get done because I have a 20 mile this Saturday. She said that she'll see if they have any openings for an MRI today. She came back and no they didn't but we'll get it going soon she said. So I checked out and then walked down the hall to the MRI receptionist where I made an appt for 1p tomorrow! They had one open for 9a but I didn't want to go to work and then come back to DeKalb and then back to Malta. Then she tried to make a follow up with me but she's not in on Thursday and it takes 24-48 hrs for MRI results and then she's off all of next week. I freaked! So the receptionist called the assistant and told her the plight and she said that they're going to make a "stat" on the results and then she wont' need to schedule a follow up if there's not a stress fracture but will just schedule me with Dr. York the colleague.

I'm a bit nervous about the MRI tomorrow. If it has a stress fracture then no more running. I don't know what I'll do. Tomorrow I'm also supposed to run 5 miles but I won't be doing that, I don't think. I'll be travelling to Springfield anyway and staying in a hotel. So I may bring my running clothes, just in case. Then 10 miles on Wednesday. Hopefully by then I would have heard something about it. Anyway, so we'll see what'll happen tomorrow. I'm claustrophobic but this is just my foot so no need to get in a tube. YAY!

Categories: aches and pains, ball of foot pain, feet

The weather matters

18 miles in 3:04:25 (avg pace 10:15 min/mi). Problem is, that's not how long I was out on the path for. It was probably closer to 3:30 or so. Knowing I started sometime after 9a and ended at 1:00p doesn't help.

I looked at the weather this morning and everything looked fine.

I decided to go with my UnderArmor Cold Gear wear (not my Hot Gear). So I had on my tights, and my turtleneck shirt. I also wore my fleece hat to keep my head and ears warm instead of my visor because it's so overcast I won't need it. Last minute I decided to bring my Target Champion running jacket to wear until I got up to the path. I'm glad I did for I wore it on the run as well. It was a bit cumbersome to wear it over my hydration belt but it had to be done. Around mile 2 I regretted bringing it, around mile 10, I was glad I did. It was snowing for the first half of the run.

Problem was that I didn't look at the wind factor on the far right. I only paid attention to the temperature. I got out there and I could feel the wind. Hmm, OK, well, it seems to be coming from the west and it'll die down as the day goes on. 9 miles out there. Turned around, BAM, a force of wind totally knocked me back. Uh-oh. I'm 9 miles from my car. I should NOT have done this.

I let this friend know every time I go for a run in case anything happens and I don't text him when I'm done, he knows something's up and to go contact someone. He said that if I ever get into trouble I could call him and he'll come pick me up. Problem is that now I want to rely on him all the time. Today was one of those days that I thought about it, I really did.

I carried on with my run though. By this time the ball of my foot was crying out. Unfortunately, this second half, I stopped a lot. I even walked a lot too. I tried walking instead of stopping but it still put pressure on my foot. So I stopped that and just went with stopping and rest my foot, not standing on it and then running agian. You'll be able to see all that once I upload the Garmin data with my other laptop which I'll be getting on Tuesday evening. Then once I got over like 13, I was running 1/2 mile and then stopping, then running 1/2 mile and then stopping. I tried changing up my stride, thinking that maybe something with the way I take off or land on my heel but nothing seemed to help. Maye by that time it was too late. The last .7 miles I did all in one take though. Whoo doggies.

The wind made me stop a few times. OK, a lot of times. When you're tired and weak any strength of wind will knock one over. At one point, around 3.5 miles LEFT, I had to bear down and force to go through it, it was very tough out there. I couldn't understand also how it was getting COLDER. It was supposed to warmer throughout the day. Again, if I would have seen it, the website would have told me why it was getting colder, the wind was picking up by about 5mph! Towards the beginning of the second half there wasn't that much trees surrounding the path so no protection from the wind. In the last mile left there is also this part that is wide open, no trees just little wild weeds. I had to barrel my way through that as well.

It was just downright cold out there all the time though. I could see my breath the entire way. In the second half, I put my gloves back on and had to curl up my hands inside my gloves around mile 14 because they were so cold. My nose ran like I was supposed to, all the time. My gloves & jacket sleeves are covered in snot now. My cheeks were frozen too. I should have brought a neck gaiter but I didn't think of the WIND. My eyes were bloodshot terribly when I ended, they were also very very dry. When I blinked in the second half, my vision looked funny.

Also, there was a problem with my left foot and that tendon. I managed to fix it by moving the tongue over to the side so that it wasn't on top of that tendon. But at one stopping point, I readjusted my shoelaces and it started to hurt again. So I adjusted it again but it still felt funny. I dealt with it.

This path that I run on for my long runs is a limestone path, not the greatest. I'm always getting tiny rocks in my shoes and when you're done with a few miles those tiny pebbles feel like boulders. Today was definitely no different since my left shoe was very loose at the top to let that tendon breathe. Plus, it's so out and back, 9 miles one way and 9 miles back the same way. So boring. Though I did see a squirrel carrying a tiny little ear of corn across the path and scampered away when I came by. When I came back, the ear of corn was still there, a few kernels missing. :-)

At one point, I started to break down and cry and scream at the wind "Why won't you go away!!!" I was so angry. I wasn't feeling bad in terms of energy or cramps. Just my feet and the wind was giving me a hard time. I had a Gel at mile 6 and another one after 12. Drank both with water and also in between those times had Gatorade. Grape Gatorade takes like Grape Kool-aid, I like it! This foot thing is starting to worry me though. I hope that the doctor can find something wrong with it and fix me. I don't look forward to running anymore.

20 miles is next weekend. I think I'm just going to do 5 miles out and 5 miles back, 5 miles out and 5 miles back. Just in case anything happens though I hope I won't be tempted to quit when I see my car. This will also help me with doing gel intake; a total of 3.

Now tonight for 6 hours I have to stand on my feet and volunteer at a fancy black tie dinner for the Foundation at the college. I have to wear nice black slacks and a white shirt. I will wear my trainers though. I will not wear any sort of heel. I don't care what they say. Why did I volunteer for this??

I also recommend not crying the night before a big run or the morning of either. It doesn't help with the energy and the disposition for the run.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 875 ft Location: Sycamore, IL Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 11/08/08 Up/Downhill: [+285/-285] Time: 09:25 AM Difficulty: 3.3 / 5.0 Performance Distance: 18.00 miles Time: 3:04:36 Speed: 5.9 mph Pace: 10' 15 /mi Calories: 1821 Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 13 -1' 02 6.5 +0.6 +23 ft 2 9' 26 -0' 49 6.4 +0.5 +7 ft 3 9' 46 -0' 29 6.1 +0.3 -10 ft 4 10' 14 -0' 01 5.9 +0.0 +10 ft 5 10' 04 -0' 11 6.0 +0.1 -13 ft 6 10' 14 -0' 01 5.9 +0.0 +3 ft 7 10' 15 +0' 00 5.8 -0.0 0 ft 8 10' 58 +0' 43 5.5 -0.4 +9 ft 9 10' 28 +0' 13 5.7 -0.1 +42 ft 10 15' 11 +4' 56 4.0 -1.9 -43 ft 11 12' 25 +2' 10 4.8 -1.0 -10 ft 12 19' 44 +9' 29 3.0 -2.8 0 ft 13 14' 23 +4' 08 4.2 -1.7 -3 ft 14 12' 42 +2' 27 4.7 -1.1 +6 ft 15 16' 59 +6' 44 3.5 -2.3 -4 ft 16 13' 43 +3' 28 4.4 -1.5 +10 ft 17 11' 39 +1' 24 5.2 -0.7 -10 ft 18 11' 45 +1' 30 5.1 -0.8 -17 ft end 9' 43 -0' 32 6.2 +0.3 -3 ft Versus average of 10' 15 min/mile

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Categories: 18 miles, ball of foot pain, cold weather, feet, Great Western Trail, windy