The podiatrist and the orthodics

I went back to the Podiatrist on Monday since I got a call on Friday that he had my orthodics ready. Those are inserts that I will wear in all of my shoes going forward to help straighten out my feet and remove the foot pain I have been feeling. It was a 5-minute appointment (still paid my $25 copay) and walked out with the orthodics in place.

Like contacts, I need to wear them for only an hour or less each day for the first week, then 2 hours, and so on until I wear them full time when I wear shoes. Today, I wore them at the gym while I attempted for the first time in weeks to run. I ran 3 1/2 miles with no pain at all (treadmill). I will attempt to run 6 miles tomorrow night (about an hour) and 13 miles on Saturday. I'm fairly certain that I won't be able to run all 13 miles but that it'll have nothing to do with my feet.

Today, I felt some pain in my knees, but that is from the correction that the orthodics have in straightening my feet. A few weeks from now, my only pain will be from covering distances that my 47 year old body just isn't ready to cover...

Frostbite 15K

Since my feet aren't fixed yet, I was unable to run in the 15K race this morning. This is named the Frostbite 15K for a few reasons. First, it is 15K or 9.3 miles long. Second, it is held on or about the last weekend in January (the 27th this year) and it's damn cold. Great name since everyone knows at least the season when the race is held. This was the 24th running of this race and people come back year after year.

Melanie, Sara, and Lori were using this as their long weekend run in their half-marathon training. They were scheduled for 10 miles, I think, so this was perfect. I, on the other hand, simply couldn't run. I thought about volunteering to help with the race, but came to the conclusion that I could help in a better way -- take pictures!

I looked at the course online, trying to find the perfect spot. I was unsure of what the status of the sun would be, but the forecast was for overcast skies - perfect! I found a great spot on just after the 4-mile outgoing marker, and where I would see the runners returning just after 5 miles. This course was conveniently an out and back course, providing the opportunity to see runners twice.

It was very cold this morning (frostbite - duh), so I dressed in multiple layers but still had to make my fingers work. When all was said and done, I had snapped 864 photos and my fingers were absolutely numb when I was done. I swapped my long lens (70 - 300MM) for the mid-range one (55 - 200MM), set the camera to autofocus and just used the sports setting. I was able to capture what I think were some great pictures! The pain was occasionally shown, but the smiles were rampant! I came home with some great photos of Melanie, Sara, and Lori, and believe that they will be very pleased with the outcome! What was funniest was that people were posing, giving thumbs up, and making silly faces for the camera. I think a few people will be looking for pictures soon!

da feet

So, the pain in my left foot has gotten to be too much. During a 5-mile attempt on Wednesday, I had to stop after 2.5 miles. On Tuesday, the podiatrist told me I had a cyst sort of in the pad on the left side of my foot. It's under part of the 5th metatarsal. So, he shot me up with some good stuff that took care of the pain temporarily. The shot didn't hurt since his nurse numbed the area with some cold spray first. Immediate relief for the pain. So, still feeling fairly pain-free on Wednesday, I joined the group for 5 miles. While not a mistake, it certainly was a learning experience.

The pain is still there.

I will try to see the doctor this week if possible and try to schedule the outpatient surgery to get the cyst removed. I'm not at all sure what kind of recovery that involves, but will likely not be running 13 miles in the next two weeks.

Saturday - 2nd longest run to date

Saturday we ran 7 miles around the neighborhood. Other than last week's 9.45 mile run, this was my second longest run ever. 7 miles is about a quarter-marathon. Half of a half-marathon. Longer than a 10K by almost a mile. No matter how many ways I think about it, it was a good run. I walked a bit, mostly caught up in the congestion that accompanies most people during this time of the year. I ran most, however, and it actually felt pretty good. We ran at almost exactly an 11 minute pace, a pace that I would die for during the half. Lots of hills (relatively), and lots of congestion. I used another PowerBar Gel to get through the distance. That bowl of instant oatmeal 90 minutes before I start is just not enough to last the morning! Fortunately, my good friend and church wife Heather suggested that we hit Melito's Restaurant before heading home. Great food that filled my belly! For some historical precedence, Mr. Melito designed the Freedom Flag after September 11th, and 3rd place American Idol contestant Elliott Yamin used to work at Melitos since he lived around the corner!

We all made it through even though all 7 miles, I was the last to finish. I was last because I was meticulous about the full 7 miles. According to my Garmin 205, I had to take an extra lap around the parking lot to get in the full 7 miles. The funny thing is that I saw a friend from church pulling into the parking lot at 6.8 miles and we joked about it the next day. Boy was she surprised when she found out that it was at the end of 7 miles! I must be fat enough to look like I run maybe 2 miles at most ;-). I suppose it's finally time to lose some weight!

This week, we continue the longer mid week runs (3, 5, 3 weekly runs). We're all concerned on January 23rd when we get to running a full 10K on a Wednesday as a mid-week run. This will be hard since the weather by the end of January is very cold in Richmond! That week, we are replacing our long Saturday run with a Sunday 15K race (9.3 miles). The race conditions over such a distance will be good, and we will have SAG breaks along the race for a change. I will love not having to carry water or pre-mixed Accelerade for a change!

This week, 10 miles is scheduled for our Saturday run. It might be an interesting run since we will need to carry all water and snacks with us! All I can say is to hope for cooler weather than today, but warm enough that I don't have lots of clothes to weigh me down!

Saturday - 2nd longest run to date

Saturday we ran 7 miles around the neighborhood. Other than last week's 9.45 mile run, this was my second longest run ever. 7 miles is about a quarter-marathon. Half of a half-marathon. Longer than a 10K by almost a mile. No matter how many ways I think about it, it was a good run. I walked a bit, mostly caught up in the congestion that accompanies most people during this time of the year. I ran most, however, and it actually felt pretty good. We ran at almost exactly an 11 minute pace, a pace that I would die for during the half. Lots of hills (relatively), and lots of congestion. I used another PowerBar Gel to get through the distance. That bowl of instant oatmeal 90 minutes before I start is just not enough to last the morning! Fortunately, my good friend and church wife Heather suggested that we hit Melito's Restaurant before heading home. Great food that filled my belly! For some historical precedence, Mr. Melito designed the Freedom Flag after September 11th, and 3rd place American Idol contestant Elliott Yamin used to work at Melitos since he lived around the corner!

We all made it through even though all 7 miles, I was the last to finish. I was last because I was meticulous about the full 7 miles. According to my Garmin 205, I had to take an extra lap around the parking lot to get in the full 7 miles. The funny thing is that I saw a friend from church pulling into the parking lot at 6.8 miles and we joked about it the next day. Boy was she surprised when she found out that it was at the end of 7 miles! I must be fat enough to look like I run maybe 2 miles at most ;-). I suppose it's finally time to lose some weight!

This week, we continue the longer mid week runs (3, 5, 3 weekly runs). We're all concerned on January 23rd when we get to running a full 10K on a Wednesday as a mid-week run. This will be hard since the weather by the end of January is very cold in Richmond! That week, we are replacing our long Saturday run with a Sunday 15K race (9.3 miles). The race conditions over such a distance will be good, and we will have SAG breaks along the race for a change. I will love not having to carry water or pre-mixed Accelerade for a change!

This week, 10 miles is scheduled for our Saturday run. It might be an interesting run since we will need to carry all water and snacks with us! All I can say is to hope for cooler weather than today, but warm enough that I don't have lots of clothes to weigh me down!

Our daughter's knee surgery

KT is home and resting, with her leg elevated and iced, doing exercises every TV commercial (she is NOT allowed to fast forward through the TIVO'd ads!). For the next 48 hours, that is the prescribed treatment.

She had a plica band which was causing the majority of the pain. A plica is a band of dense scar-like tissue that occurs normally in many people. It is left over tissue from when the knee was developing prior to birth. We always knew she had a little something special! This was removed since it's location was preventing her knee cap from doing it's thing. Since the plica band had acted up, the IT band (a group of fibers that run up the outside of the thigh) had positioned itself so that it was pushing her knee cap out of position. This was surgically released to allow the knee cap to re-align itself correctly. Which should allow her ankle, knee and hip joints to re-align eventually. She was great and really held it together throughout. I am so proud of her -- and she did far better than I ever would have done (I'm such a baby about such things).

She has pain meds for as long as needed, has crutches for as long as needed, but has already put weight on the leg. She will have physical therapy tomorrow (Friday) morning and will keep up with that for another 6 weeks or so to re-build the muscles again. The bandage comes off either tomorrow or Saturday and then she can hop in the shower - she seems opposed to the yellow of the Betadine as an accessory color!

There are no stitches. It is an amazing thing.

A Year of Change?

This year will be one of change. Jake will get his drivers license and have a full season with the Robotics team. KT will have her knee surgery and regain mobility. Sue will continue to run both the house and the Foundation with utmost precision. I will finish hundreds of miles running capped by completing the half-marathon. We will consider our job options and current location with care, sure that there will be a change in one and likely a change in the other.

It is indeed a year of change.