Tuesday, December 30, 2014

My Right Foot

   A little over three weeks ago, I went on a 12K run. This was part of my plan to gradually increase the length of my weekend long runs.
   Prior to that run, I had not had any issues with the gradual increase. After that run, however, my ankle hurt like hell. Occasionally.
   It didn't hurt to walk or stand, for the most part. Once in awhile, though, a slight weight shift on that foot would cause extreme pain, enough to almost make me fall over. The sensation was that the ankle was actually giving out on me. It gave out on me once as I was walking down a short flight of stairs and I basically fell down the last two steps. I have had people standing beside me and when I turned to talk to them my ankle gave out and I almost fell over them. I have startled people by yelping as we pass each other.
   The overall feeling was that I'd lost all elasticity in the foot and ankle and that I no longer had the same range of motion available to me.
   It could very well be that I simply overdid it while trying to increase the mileage. I generally wasn't running any farther than 5K during the week and then, on the weekends, I was more than doubling that and this might not have been the best approach. In retrospect, I might have been better off to also slightly increase the mileage during the week as well---nothing earth-shattering, just toss in a few 7 and 8k's now and then.
Blogging and heating my foot
on a Himalayan salt  de-toxifier! If
it works, I'll let you know!

   This past Saturday, exactly three weeks after that 12K run, I hit the road again. For the last few days the ankle has been feeling as normal as it ever does and I thought I should probably test the waters again.
   Initially, the discomfort I felt running was actually in my right knee. The knee has been taking a little extra abuse as I have been favouring the ankle so much for the last three weeks. It got to the point that when I was walking up steps, I would need to angle the ankle off to the right a little so that it was not taking all my weight straight on. This then put extra stress on my right knee. Hence the pain I was feeling at the beginning of my run.
   The knee pain only lasted until I got warmed up and then it disappeared. I really only wanted to test things so I limited my run to 3K. This seemed like an absurdly low mileage for a run but, as I mentioned, I just wanted to do a little wading. The rest of the run, thankfully, was business as usual.
   On Sunday, the ankle didn't feel too bad, going up and down stairs wasn't nearly as problematic as it had been and I was feeling quite relieved. Sunday night, however, I made the mistake at my brother-in-law's place of walking up the hill that is his driveway. I had the option of using steps but ended up taking the hilly route instead. I found this almost impossible. My right ankle would not allow me to roll up the incline in any kind of normal way. This was extremely disheartening, as I felt I'd been making progress up to that point.
   The following day, the ankle ached so much I couldn't even gently do a calf or ankle stretch. Today, it feels a little better.
   Now, every time I yelp, moan, groan or take the stairs on my hands and knees, my wife gives me the so when is your doctor's appointment kind of query or look. I can't really blame her and I am struggling mightily with the whole should I or shouldn't I thing, as far as medical help is concerned. My feeling is that rest will do the trick (because it generally does) and if I could just stay off it long enough it might fix itself. It's just that this is the worst my ankle has ever felt and there's no telling how long it might take to rest it sufficiently.
   To further my anxiety, the lack of running in the last three and a half weeks, coupled with all the extra holiday sweets and meals and I've put on approximately 15 pounds, if you can believe it. I really count on the running compounded with healthier eating to lose the weight I think I need to. Thank goodness the holiday eats are almost over!
   In the meantime, a little more rest is in order and I'll probably wait til the ankle's felt "normal" for a few extra days before giving it another go. And when I do give it another go, it may just be walking!
   

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Longest Run Ever!: Part Two

   True to my training plan, I ran 12 kilometers today, my longest run ever! This was one more kilometer than I ran last Saturday and my plan is to add 1K to my long runs every weekend. So far, so good.
   Similarly to last week, I set out from my house and headed east to Springbank Park. From there, I just followed the path along the river until I got to Guy Lombardo bridge. Here is where I clocked out at 6K so I turned around and headed back the same way I came.
   It was an overcast day and only just barely above freezing when I set out. Fortunately it warmed up another couple of degrees by the time I was mid-run and, with a couple of layers on, the running was just right. All the snow and slush from last week had disappeared as well so that was kind of a bonus.
    I've been noticing over the last two or three long runs that, round about 7K in, my right foot starts to become numb. At this point, it sort of feels like I'm running on a wad of something underneath the balls of my feet. It's kind of disconcerting, to say the least. The first time it happened, the feeling never went away and I actually needed to stop running. The last couple of times, it's happened but to a lesser degree and I at least was able to finish. I'm thinking I'll just continue to monitor and if nothing changes then I'll get myself checked out. Today wasn't too bad.
   What was bad today was this occasional searing pain in my right ankle after my run---there have been three or four occasions when I put a quick lateral movement on it and I thought it was gonna snap right off! My calves are also feeling it so there might need to be some TLC this evening for me and my sore body parts...
Made the mistake of putting my hand right INSIDE the ENERGYbits bag!
   I've been popping ENERGYbits the last few long runs. I still haven't been able to decide how much of a real difference they make---I haven't found myself hitting the "wall" if I use them but, at the same time, there always seem to be other variables going on that might account for that. What I can say, though, is that I have a hell of a time getting them all down in one sitting! For the uninitiated, ENERGYbits are small tablets of pure spirulina algae and are meant to more or less replace many of the other energy enhancers runners are prone to trying. The base dose of ENERGYbits for an athletic endeavour is thirty tablets. I make a big production of downing the two small pills I normally take in the mornings so you can imagine what goes on when I try to swallow thirty of them! On top of the sheer amount of them, they taste like...well....algae. Kind of like licking the insides of your fish tank, I imagine. So, at the same time I'm grappling with the amount of them I am also coming to grips with the smell/taste of them. I swallow them in batches of ten and the third batch is kind of iffy, kind of hard to suppress the gag reflex, if you know what I mean. Having said all this, though, I feel I must re-iterate that I've never bonked after taking them. I remember taking Buckley's cough syrup once and it was one of the worst things I've ever tasted but, damn, it worked! So maybe ENERGYbits fall into the same category...
Ten little spots for ten little toes,,,
   What I can un-reservedly recommend, however, are Injinji socks! My wife, Doralyn, picked me up a couple of pairs right after I started running, mainly because of their funky look. I initially had some reservations but was quite willing to give them a try and I loved them! They have a very cushioning feel to them, each toe safely tucked away in its own little envelope, and the overall feel is amazing! A little hard to find in London but eventually did find some at the local MEC store.
   Hopefully, next week I'll be able to tack on another kilometer as I attempt to work my way a little closer to maybe something like a half marathon distance (in case I need a goal or something...) barring having done any real damage to my right foot. Time will tell and, in the meantime, happy and healthy running to you all!
Holy Hanna-Barbera, what happened to my run glove?!