Oh! Hey! How are you?! Happy Thursday (aka Ali’s Friday)! I hope this blog post finds you all well
Since I did my 7 links post yesterday afternoon, I never did a lunch post. It’s fine though. Lunch was a kind of boring (but really good) salad anyways.
Spring mix, cucumbers, red bell peppers, tomatoes, feta, tuna and red wine vinegar.
After work, I pretty much danced home (I was in a FANTASTIC mood)! I actually danced to my real home, you know the one I own and don’t live in yet. I had to go over a whole bunch of things that needed to be done and make about 7 zillion decisions. Luckily, I had a crew of people to help me make decisions.
FFF Dad, FFF father-in-Law, FFF Mom and the ever so handsome Adam
. They are all standing in what will be the master bedroom. With stuff like this, there are a few very simple steps to the decision making process, allow me to share them with you:
- Weight your options
- Hold your breathe
- Make a decision
- Pray that decision does not result in your house looking like a straight up circus
Simple enough, right?! (NO!!)
After we finished up at the house, we went to our apartment and made dinner. We had grilled chicken sausages on whole wheat buns with steamed sugar snap peas. I topped mine with mustard.
I was in bed early again. I am old. I am aware of it. I am dealing with it.
This morning’s alarm went off at 5:10 am. OH JOY! Let me tell you, the hardest part about morning workouts is getting out of bed and out the door. The rest of it, no matter how though the workout is, is a cake walk. I got up and put on my running clothes to meet Kristen for a run. While I was brushing my teeth I heard Adam moving around. I went into the bedroom to see what what happening and he said, “I am coming with you!”
Adam and I shared a tropical fruit Larabar and some pre-workout fuel:
Um, I really hate to say it, but this bar made me gag. I really, really disliked it. I think this is the only Larabar I have ever had that I didn’t like. It reminded me of a fruity cocktail and the LAST thing I wanted to taste in my mouth before a 5:15 am run is a cocktail.
I also drank a coconut water.
Kristen, Adam and I ran a glorious 5.5 miles through Downtown and the North End of Boston. It was really good running weather. We talked the whole time, it was great to see Kristen and catch up! We ran 5.5 miles in52:04.
- Mile 1- 9:47
- Mile 2- 9:44
- Mile 3- 8:42
- Mile 4- 9:30
- Mile 5- 9:34
- .5 miles- 4:44
Post-run breakfast…green smoothie. I have been on a HUGE smoothie kick lately!
Today’s Outfit:
- Green floral pants jumper (H&M)
- Nude wedges (I seriously have had these since I was 17 years old)
This outfit is definitively a little crazy. I was getting weird looks whole walking to work. However, I LOVE, LOVE , LOVE it!
News On My Heel:
So, I lightly touched upon the fact that I was having an issue with my heel in a previous post. But, I didn’t get too in depth. For the past few months I have been having some pretty intense pain in my left heel. It happened mostly in the morning, at the very beginning (like first mile or so) of my runs and if I sat for too long. As I have mentioned before, I love to ignore unpleasant realities. So, I kind of ignored it because as the day or run when on it would feel better. I didn’t write about it because I knew y’all would tell me to get it checked out and I didn’t want to. I was afraid I would be told I couldn’t run my marathon. Just being honest! Finally, I figured I should probably check the damn thing out since it hurts, a lot! I didn’t want to be running on a possible injury that could get worse with upping my mileage.
I called my doctor and was told she couldn’t see me until the end of October. PERFECT- considering my marathon in mid-October. So I e-mailed her. We went back and fourth a few times and She called and said, “Well, I am 99.9% sure you have plantar fasciitis.” Since her and I know each other pretty well and she knows how I can panic a little if I think something is going to effect my running (since running is the only way I know to keep myself sane). I responded, “Does that mean I should panick?!”
She laughed. Hard. And then explained to me what exactly plantar fasciitis is. It is common in the following populations:
- Overweight middle-aged men (which I am not)
- Mid to Long distance runners with high arches (which I am)
It is inflammation of the plantar fascia with is a tendon used to absorb the high stresses and strains we place on our feet. But if there is too much pressure it can cause damage or tears in the tissues. The body’s natural response to injury is inflammation, which results in the heel pain and stiffness of plantar fasciitis.
[source]
This can cause bone spurs, which is what she thinks is also my issue (no wonder this thing is killing me!). So, naturally I wrote every word she said down and then asked the million dollar question:
“Can I still train for my marathon that is 8 weeks away?!”
Technically, I CAN! If I do the at-home treatments and the pain does not get unbearable. Here are my options for treatment:
Ice Rolling: Rolling my foot over a cold water bottle or ice for 20 minutes 3 to 4 times a day.
Anti-inflammatory medication: Ibuprofen reduce pain and inflammation.
Stretching: Calf stretches (I think you know what this is) and Plantar Fascia stretches- Cross your affected foot over the knee of your other leg. Grasp the toes of your painful foot and slowly pull them toward you in a controlled fashion. If it is difficult to reach your foot, wrap a towel around your big toe to help pull your toes toward you. Place your other hand along the plantar fascia. The fascia should feel like a tight band along the bottom of your foot when stretched. Hold the stretch for 10 seconds. Repeat it 20 times.
Inserts: Heel inserts to minimize the beating my heel takes since I am a total heel-strike runner
LAST OPTIONS: Cortisone Shots or Physical Therapy (I am hoping it doesn’t come to that).
I am going to do the ice rolling, ibuprofen and stretching and see how it does. I will obviously keep you updated!
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I have been having the EXACT same trouble for the past week or so. I think I over did it on my first post-marathon speed session last Wednesday.
Luckily after a week off, nothing but cross training, icing, and golf ball rolling, it feels great. I’ll be out running tonight, wish me luck!
Good luck to you – I had some troubles in the middle of my marathon training program (wicked bad cold killed my breathing and some shin problems). I understand how frustrating it is!
I dealt with plantar fasciitis in college (I had just started running and I was built like an overweight middle-aged man, so it all makes sense lol) and it was definitely painful, but the ice rolling REALLY helped. I froze a water bottle and rolled it under my foot before and after I did my workouts and it made a big difference. And as much as taking Advil every four hours for days on end sounds like no fun, it brought down the inflammation and kept it down long enough for my foot to actually start healing! And I never had to do PT or shots, so I have hope for you!
Ice rolling sounds surprisingly awesome. Eeek though, I also hope you don’t have to get injections! ouch!
Ali, PF is very, very painful and you may need to stop running, but rolling and advil and ‘clamshell’ hip stretches all help. Are you going to see a Ortho Surgeon? I saw Dr Theodore at MGH, he is fantastic. I also took ~6 months off from running, which sucked, but now I am healthy and running 12-15 miles per week.
Feel free to email if you have questions, I have my fingers crossed that you can still run your marathon – just be aware of the pain, signs and symptoms!
i have SUPER high arches and over the past 6 months have dealt with PF in both feet, one at a time. it was seriously miserable for a while but the stretching and icing definitely help. i would freeze a water bottle and stand on it while cooking. another thing that helped tremendously was wearing heels. it keeps your arch high and the muscles constantly stretched. hope you are feeling better soon!
1. are those wedges from american eagle by any chance?
2. I was diagnosed with plantar fascitis last June, and I was able to get back into running (no hills or speed) 2 weeks post diagnosis, and within a month I was back to normal mileage (still a little pain, but not intense) and I ran my October half marathon and PR’d. I still battle the pain a little (especially in summer when it is hot out and i am in flip flops most days – a.k.a. horrible support for arches) but it is completely tolerable!
It isn’t as bad as a fracture or break, but it can become nagging if the rest isn’t taken – I personally loved (and hated) rolling my foot on a golfball and stretching with the towal (pulling my toes towards me with the towel) and I find that as long as I stretch my calves REALLY well, my foot pain is at bay!
It is no fun, but you will push through
They are not from AE, I forget where though. Thanks do the input! We have a million golf balls around my house, I will have to try it out.
That outfit is totally cute but I can also see it as an outfit in an Austin Powers movie! Work it girlie!
Yikes, get that foot stretched out! Hopefully it heels on it’s own and you don’t feel any pain. You might have caught it early enough that you def won’t need cortisone shots or anything like that.
hope your heel feels better soon! the Plantar Fascia stretch sounds like it would hurt!
the house looks like it is coming along- So exciting
I am prone to plantar fascitis due to my flat feet. My recommendation: downward facing dog. I think it is the best calf stretch you can do and it helps clear up my plantar fascitis pain in just a few days.
Good luck!
LOVE that outfit! So fashionista!
Bummer about your heel!! I had the same situation, but just backing off my running for a week and getting inserts did the trick. Good luck!!
Glad your dr agreed with me! Hope its feeling better!!!!
Sounds like you have a very common problem with your foot. I see this complaint at least once a day in my clinic. The majority of heel pain is usually plantar fasciitis/bone spur… but there is a small possibility it could be a stress fracture (which would then limit your ability to train for the marathon). If the pain is mostly in the morning when you get out of bed or after sitting for a long period of time — that’s usually more consistent with PF. If it’s painful for the majority of the day, especially in a runner like yourself – I would go to an urgent care and get an xray just to be on the safe side! In the meantime, definitely stretch, ice, and take some anti-inflammatories. Hope this helps!