Still Got It?

I have a secret. . . and it terrifies me.  Do you want to know my secret?  Are you sure?  Ok, but let's just keep this between us.

I think I broke my foot.  No, not THAT foot.  The other one.  I know, right?

I can't pinpoint when this happened like I could that fateful day of the nuts.  All I know is that the top of my left foot has been feeling a bit sore lately.  I really noticed it when I tried walking on my heels during a cool down, but it didn't hurt in my heels; it hurt in the top of my foot.  I massaged it, but it didn't look bruised or swollen, so I didn't worry too much.  

Yesterday I ran eight miles before hopping a flight to Atlanta.  The foot was a bit sore again, but I thought maybe it was overuse as I had run for three days in a row.  Then I got to Atlanta, and I walked all over the place (I'm at a teaching/tech convention) in flip flops (I KNOW!!!  I'M SORRY!), and I looked at the top of my left foot, and sure enough, there is a bump.  And it's tender.  

Dammit.

I'm going to self-diagnose here.  I'm going to say that I have the beginnings of a stress fracture, although I can't comprehend why or how because I haven't really ramped up my mileage.  Was it the two half marathons last month?  I don't know.  I do know that I worked on the recumbent exercise bike today instead of running, and I plan to jog in the pool tomorrow.  I am also not touching the five pairs of really cute sandals I brought to Atlanta with me; today I am wearing the running shoes with my dress. 

NO NO NO

 I have a race on July 4th, and I intend to tear it up.  The race.  Not my foot.

Mall Running: It CAN Be Done!

This weather sucks.  I am sick and tired of sub-zero temperatures, especially when the snow looks so fluffy and soft.  I don't own a treadmill, so usually what I do is pop in a Leslie Sansone dvd and run while she walks and talks.  She talks a lot.  She is very perky.  I hate perky.

This is EXACTLY how I look. . .NEVER.

I intend to review her videos at a later post because, while I mock her a lot, I find that her routines implement a good amount of core work with walking/running.  I've used her to recover from The Great Nut Incident, and if I run while she walks, and I use two-pound hand weights, I can get a great workout.  More on that in another post.

When the members of my running club, The Ohio Runners Network, were posting all kinds of trail runs for Sunday (my long run day),  I was looking at the Weather Channel app and fretting.  High temperature of two degrees?  Really?  Disgusting.

So, I decided to do something about it.  I ripped off a throwaway suggestion from my running peep, Deidre, who wrote, "We should go to the mall with the walkers."  Brilliant!

I posted that I was going this morning, and I was going to RUN, baby.  Sheila, my coach from OneLife Fitness Coaching, was betting that I'd get stopped by a mall cop.  She was interested enough in seeing that happen to make a call to the mall security to find out what time the mall was open to walkers.  She didn't blow my cover.

This is EXACTLY how I look when I'm stopped by a mall cop while running in the mall.

And so I went.  I did two miles in the mall, Peeps!  Nobody stopped me, nobody yelled at me, nobody cared.  I only did two miles because I got there later than I wanted, and as the mall started filling up, I was worried about wet floors from people tracking in the snow.  Safety first.  Next time I intend to go earlier; 9:00 is when the mall opens on Sunday to walkers, and I will be there.  I think it would be best if I'm gone by 10:15 at the latest.

So, yeah, I BEAT THE SYSTEM.  I RAN in the mall!  Who needs a dreadmill?

Like what you read?  Follow me on Twitter @itibrout !

Weird News on Friday the 13th

I think I'm back!

For those who have not followed my whining and moaning for the past FOUR AND A HALF MONTHS, here is the post about my stupid stepping on a nut injury.  Go catch up; we'll wait.

When I saw that I had scheduled an appointment to review my CT scan on Friday the 13th, I was a wee bit apprehensive.  After all, what if the consultation went like this?

Dr. Tucker doesn't carry around pointy objects. . . at least not during office visits.


I thought that no good could come of this appointment:  either I need surgery (and I would be off the foot for a minimum of 6 weeks, plus the complications that might follow) or I should just let it heal (which would be MORE time without running or cardio).  I was dreading the results.

I was wrong.

"Well, you are definitely not healing anymore," Dr. Tucker said.  "Are you in any pain?" she asked while poking at my foot.  "How about here?  Here?  What about here?"

I shook my head.  "No, my pain is less than a level-1.  Sometimes the foot aches if it's cold outside."  I cringed and waited for the death-blow. . .and waited. . . and waited.  I opened my eyes.

"I'm not going to operate."

What????

"Seriously, I'm not going to operate.  Why should I?  The foot doesn't bother you.  I don't treat x-rays; I treat people.  I think you should just do what you want to do."

WHAT??????

"But. . .but. . .I can't run then," I stammered.

"Why not?" she asked.  "What's the worst thing that could happen?"

"I break the foot even more. . ."

"And?"

"I need surgery."

"Right.  So you would be no better off than you are now.  Besides, I think you won't break it.  I think that your foot has built up enough strength with fibers and tendons, and you probably won't notice the break.   So, take it slowly, build it back up, but definitely go back to doing what you love. If you have problems, call me, and we will rethink the whole thing."

Apparently, I have an "asymptomatic nonunion."  This means that the bones won't rejoin, but I can't feel any symptoms of the fracture; about five percent of fractures turn out this way.  Doc says that people walk around all the time oblivious to the fact that they have broken bones.  If it doesn't hurt, why operate?

This is EXACTLY how I look when I am overjoyed!

Of course, I will go slowly.  I'm going to keep up with the Leslie Sansone walking DVDs, but now I'm going to throw in the running parts when she does.  Christmas Break is in two weeks, so I think I will try two miles to see how I feel.   I MIGHT even be able to walk/run the Christmas Lights Run next week!

Like what you see?  Follow me on Twitter @itibrout 

It Sucks to be Old. . .so I've Heard.

Yesterday I had yet another visit with my orthopedist.  She has a vacation home in the Keys, so I'm sure I have many more visits ahead of me.

The foot is still broken.  Curse you, Fifth Metatarsal!  Curse you, Spring Nut!  I have had this broken bone since August 4th, and I am moving from impatience to fear to hopelessness.

As God is my witness, I will never step on a nut again!

"Is it possible that I won't be able to run anymore?" I tearfully asked the doctor.

She winced.  "You should never ask a doctor if anything is possible.  Of course it's possible.  Do I think that will happen?  Probably not."  Last time I talked with her she had said she didn't think I'd need surgery either. . .look what came of that.

I have a CT scan in two weeks and a followup to interpret the results the week after that.  The doctor says the fact that I have very little pain is favorable, and she would like to allow the foot to heal on its own, even as slowly as it's going.  If the scan shows that the foot is not going to heal, and I don't know how someone can get that information from a scan, then I will have no choice--surgery it will be.

This is EXACTLY how my foot will look after surgery.

Looks like the Cleveland Half and the Medina Half may be out.  I wonder if Akron will let me defer another year?

I wonder if I can get police protection for my loved ones?  How will they survive this?

And That Is How I Didn't Realize I Solicited Free Medical Advice.

My running peeps aren't just in my running life; we are band parents and Girl Scout parents.  Last Thursday I was at my daughter's band concert (Flutes represent!) with Deidre and Teresa, and in between band sets, Deidre's husband Bill asked about my foot.  Bill fits people with prosthetic limbs, so I was actually going for a really tasteless joke about asking him for a new foot when I told him that my foot still hurts.  Bill started talking to me, and then the band director started talking, so I looked at Bill's mouth, and I was all, "Yeah!  Uh huh!  Oh!  Ok," while he was talking  to me.  I didn't really hear a word he said, but I assumed he was telling me what kind of insert to get.  At that point I decided that I was going to go back to wearing the boot until I get my x-ray (on Monday).

Let me just say now that the looking-at-the-speaker-and-making-positive-noises has never backfired on me.  Until now.

This is EXACTLY how I look when someone tells me I can't run the half marathon.

On Saturday, Deidre texted me:  Bill wants you to stop over so he can fit you with an insert.

Me:  ?  Um, ok?  (Now I'm thinking, what insert?)

Then it hit me.  I had accidentally solicited free medical advice because I was pretending I heard what he said.  I felt awful.

Me:  OMG.  I totally did not realize what Bill was saying at the concert; I was just pretending I did.  I would NEVER ask someone to take care of me outside his/her practice.  I was only going to ask him to fit me for a new foot.  I. AM. SO. SORRY.  

Deidre:  (Basically) Whatever.  Come over.

Bill gave me an insert for my running shoes, and he explained that it was just as good as the boot, but without stabilizing the ankle (which I do not need).  He said that I would either feel no pain in two days, or it wouldn't change anything (in which case he could still fit me with a new foot).

That night I chaperoned the Homecoming dance.  I was wearing a beautiful black dress. . . with my running shoes.  Later I found out that a student came into school on Monday laughing about the "dumb girl in a dress and running shoes."  I appreciate that he called me a girl, but I am NOT DUMB.  Anyway, I felt awful at the end of the night, but that may have been the twerking that I can NOT UNSEE NO MATTER HOW HARD I CONCENTRATE ON CUTE PUPPIES AND SUNFLOWERS.

Sunday was a recovery day, and Monday was back to school, so when Deidre texted me to ask me how I felt, I truthfully said I felt the same, but now I was too scared to take out the insert before my doctor's appointment.  Tuesday was crazy-busy, but ten minutes before bedtime, I realized that my foot hadn't hurt ALL DAY.

I think the next time I see Bill, I am going to kiss him on the mouth.

It's Not Good.

Let me apologize to you in advance: this is not a happy post.  I just returned from the orthopedist.  I'm really disappointed.

Hold still; this won't hurt a bit.

Ok, it's not that bad, but I'm pretty upset.  The doctor said that the fracture is still visible after four weeks of being in the boot.  I have at least two more weeks in the boot, and I'm not allowed to do ANY exercise involving my foot.

Me:  What about yoga?

Doctor:  Well, you could. . .no.

Me:  Aqua jogging?  I promise I won't touch the bottom of the pool.

Doctor:  No.  That will keep you from healing.  In fact, that will lead to surgery.

Me:  Swimming?

Doctor:  Uh-uh.

Me:  Can I run the Akron Marathon at the end of September?

Doctor:  Oh God, no!  That was never in the cards!  You need WEEKS before you can even start PT.  You won't even be able to think about running until November.

At that point I started fiddling with my boot so she couldn't see the tears in my eyes.

I realize that I have first-world problems.  I do.  I came home to my family basically telling me to Suck-it-up-Buttercup-and-take-care-of-us, and I just don't think I can today.  Jesus, I've been trying to be a ray of sunshine for weeks now; I need a day to mourn.
1.  I can't run the race I look forward to the most during the year, the Akron Half Marathon.
2.  I already paid for my bib, so I lost my money.
3.  I won't be able to run the Columbus Hot Chocolate, which is my only destination race.
4.  Running was my stress therapy.  I am having a difficult time keeping my head together.  I have been miserable since I broke my foot.  I don't know if I can continue like this for another two months.

I'm telling you this because people have been so kind, asking about my foot and wishing me well.  I hope to be able to overcome this setback, but right now I see black clouds.

Keeping the Faith

The only good thing about this broken foot is that today I was in the supermarket and a cute guy asked me about it and then we compared injuries and healing time.  He looked exactly like this:

I have an appointment with the orthopedist this Friday, which will mark almost four weeks of healing.  I'm wearing the boot whenever I have to put weight on the foot, and I am doing all my exercises, including aqua jogging.  Think good thoughts for me!

Nuts

There are so many ways to approach the title of this post. . .

It was a beautiful morning, the sun was shining, it was 63 degrees--every necessary component for a successful eleven mile run with the Turtles.

"Look out for these nuts," Renee said.  "They are treacherous."    The nuts were covering the side of the road, slippery little suckers.  As soon as Renee warned us, I stepped on one and my right foot rolled in.  I saved myself from outright falling, but I knew as soon as I stopped that something was very wrong.

Nuts

"Nuts!"  I said.  Ok, at this point if you know me at all, you know that I didn't say that, but hey, what if a kid is reading this?  I tentatively started walking, and the pain was intense.  Maybe you've stumbled or overextended a muscle and you knew that you would be ok in a few minutes?  Yeah, that wasn't me.  I KNEW that I had jacked myself up.  Again.

I told my fellow Turtles (who were kind enough to offer to run for a car for me) that I'd be able to make it to my own car (which was over two miles away).  They looked at me like I was nuts, and I realized that they were right when I limped to Szalay's Farm Market about a third of a mile away.  There was no way I could walk to my car.  I borrowed a cell phone from a kind couple on the Towpath ("What?" they said.  "You don't even own a cell phone?  That's nuts!"), and called my husband, who already thinks I'm. . . well, you know.

Nuts

One trip to the emergency room later, and I know I'm going to go. . . batty (see what I did there?) from not running for two weeks AGAIN.  My foot is broken.

The good news is that the emergency room doctor thinks I'll be able to run in a couple weeks, but I have to see an orthopedic doctor right away to make sure I don't need surgery.

The bad news is that I already paid for the Perfect 10-Miler for next Sunday.

The good news is that this is my chance to be a SuperFan for the Turtles in the race next Sunday.

The bad news is that without running away from trouble, I may be driving those I love. . .

Nuts