9.05.2010

Say, 'Cheese,' Long Beach! and Sole Runners Run

The Green Girl has been on a bit of an emotional roller coaster the past couple of weeks.

After a successful 17 mile run a couple of weeks ago, I managed to twist my right ankle as I was doing household chores.

Instead of containing itself to a particular location, this injury would present differently each time. I would go an entire day without any pain or discomfort and then I would feel a sharp pain in a random location. Since it didn't hurt when I ran, I simply went on easy runs sans Mr. Green Garmin.

With 15 miles planned for this Saturday, I decided it was time to pay my podiatrist, Dr. Richard Graves a visit after work on Friday.

He patiently listened to me babble on about my poor foot and my inability to Internet self diagnose due to the fluidity of the pain. He said his best guess was that I managed to tear my plantar fascia. I was thrilled that he didn't think it was the posterior tibial tendonitis since that was one of the places I had been feeling some pain.

As a runner, he understood my need to get this mileage in. He asked me when was Athens. He said he would tape me up and I could see how I felt on Saturday and go from there.

He suggested I come by each week to get taped before my long run and just listen to my body. He said, if possible, to try to get in my long runs and then instead of tapering, rest as much as possible in the last three weeks leading up to the marathon so I can give my foot a chance to heal.

Friday evening, my Sole Runner friend, Michelle, joined me at First Fridays for the Say, 'Cheese,' Long Beach! photograph competition results.

I didn't end up winning in any of the categories but I was thrilled to see a number of my photographs featured in the exhibit.

When I woke up Saturday morning, I held my breathe as I stood up and put weight on my foot. I didn't feel any pain so I headed out to join the Sole Runners for my tentative run.

I talked to Coach Steve about my foot and he suggested I look into getting a plantar fasciitis splint to wear at night. He explained the importance of applying dorsiflexion at night so the fascia heals in a flexed position.

I gingerly headed out with Mentor Barb, and her dog, Sassy.

My right foot felt good but the inside of my left knee was hurting so I put on a patellar strap and the pain went away immediately. I had brought the strap because I'd been feeling a pulling sensation and thought I might need it.

A few miles in my left hip flexor tightened up and became sore.

At the marina, Barb pointed out the boat she sails on, the Yippee Kai Yay.

Mr. Green Garmin ran out of juice towards the end of my run so I'm not sure what my exact mileage was but I did around 14.5 miles. I didn't have it in me to try to do another half mile.

It never felt so good to sit down on my yoga mat and do post-run yoga. I felt so much better as I headed back to my car.

My right foot is feeling good today but my left hip flexor is still sore and very tight.

I will try and make an appointment for another Active Release Techniques session this week. I also wanted to follow up with Dr. Gonzales on the results of my running gait analysis video.

13 comments:

  1. Go, Green Girl! I don't need to say, take care because I know you are being careful. Keep running and keep letting your body tell you what it needs to be its best!

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  2. I hope you recover quickly. And BTW, the last couple weeks I've been putting in some swimming in Belmont shore (off of Bayshore Ave) and then running on the Strand north and back 4 or 5 miles. That's a nice piece of beach real estate for running. Going there today at about 5 PM in fact. Go LB!!

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  3. Continue taking it easy and listening to your body, but sounds like you are already doing that. Hope it all goes away soon!

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  4. *fingers crossed* for a speedy recovery!
    How exciting to see your photos displayed, I can't believe you didn't win something!

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  5. i hope his taping will be enough to get you through the marathon! best wishes!

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  6. Wish you speedy recovery and next time, skip household chores, they are not good for you. (Oh, boy, do I have an excuse now!)
    You might be feeling aches and pains in other parts of the leg and even the other leg because you might be changing your gait to protect the injured foot.

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  7. Sounds like you are doing all the right things - speedy recovery to you!

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  8. Oh no! Is it a partial, or complete tear? I had a partial a few years back and it was so painful I couldn't even walk on it, much less run. But a friend had a complete and it actually resolved itself quite quickly (her body just adapted). I hope your body heals up quickly!

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  9. Hope the foot doesn't give you too much problems. Take it easy and be careful not to compensate for the foot and then injure something else. Our club do one or two of the slow runs every year. Most clubs do at least one per year to have some fun on the road.

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  10. I love the picture of you, Barb and sassy with the Queen in the background!

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  11. must be cool to see your photos on display!
    hoping your foot has a speedy recovery! *healing vibes *

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