Pick it up

Fixing one thing can sometimes lead to another issue. That seems to be the rule where my feet are concerned. I changed my insoles to allow for more pronation. The new insoles caused a blister problem. I changed again, and now it’s something new.

On the way back to my van Saturday, after running my 13 mile trail run, my left foot sort of yelped with each step that I took. The ball of my left foot was sore and my metatarsal bones in both feet seem to feel every step. I was walking on a paved trail, and when I moved to the dirt, the pain eased up.

On Sunday, I spent much of the day in my slippers. They have no support what so ever, but they seem to offer the most comfort these days.

I ran on Monday. I had spent much of the morning with my shoes off because my work shoes just feel wrong. When I ran, my feet actually felt okay after the initial 100 yards. I had a good run with the exception of it being faster than coach had asked me to run.

I had actually told Garminia to keep me at the specified speed interval but she began her hollering when I was still in the parking lot. I wasn’t in the mood for a lot of chatter; I would have brought along myPod if I wanted noise. I immediately told her that I didn’t care how fast I went so that I could keep her quiet. Well, that helped me get out of the parking lot, but she was useless in keeping me at the correct pace. I slowed myself down several times during the run, but in the end I just couldn’t seem to help picking up the pace as I went.

I rested again on Tuesday. I could have cross-trained, but didn’t. Instead, I focused on insuring that I would be run-ready on Wednesday. In addition to leaving a message for the podiatrist, I resumed a few of the measures that helped me with my right foot. I wore my retired running shoes to work, and began ibuprofen and ice baths. I was better at the ice baths than I am now. They are torturous. When it came time to run today, I was okay. The conditions weren’t perfect. I knew that, but they were okay.

Today’s workout called for a 4-5 mile run with 4-6 pick-ups. I was allowed a faster pace than on Monday, which was good, since I seem to be running faster in this cold weather. My toes were numb initially. My fingers were numb also, so I wasn’t too worried. I waited until I got off the paved road to begin the 1st of several pickups. I didn’t go ALL OUT, but it was definitely faster than the usual.

After completing the 5th pickup, I decided not to push my luck with another. The normal pace felt easy and I enjoyed the feeling of cooling down as my office building came into view.

I plopped both feet into the cooler as soon as I was back at my desk. I did it again just before I hit the road to drive home. My feet didn’t warm up by the time I was home from picking up YaYa, dropping off some videos, and buying groceries at the store. So they got a hot bath next. Ahh…

Thursday calls for another day of rest.