"You have dainty feet!!!"

My podiatrist actually said that to me yesterday with total delight and maybe even a lot of surprise in his voice when I went to get checked out for all the problems I'm experiencing.

To recap:
right leg- shin pain
left leg- constant pain and limping when I step down and bear all my weight like a normal person when walking

I decided it was time to see the podiatrist to get a real evaluation as opposed to the fake one I got from my friend Hal over the phone from New Hampshire. I was hesitant only because I decided to get my orthotics from another doctor and didn't want to get any shi*t from my podiatrist. And my fears were totally confirmed when Dr. Noah told me that he hoped I hadn't paid a lot for them. (Side note, not surprisingly I did). Whatever. I'm moving on from this as there's nothing I can do now and I feel like they're perfectly fine orthotics.

So Dr. Noah took some x-rays, which is when he discovered the whole dainty feet issues and exclaimed that I could be a ballerina. "But ballerinas have really messed up feet." He also discovered that I do not have a stress fracture which is good, but said that I was definitely on the path to getting one.

What it does mean is that I have to take another 2-week break from running and walking and go back on August 8th to find out what my game plan is. In the meantime, I can go biking or swimming. And since I'm not totally psyched to go to a public swimming pool, it looks like I have a lot of biking in my future to keep up the cardio.

I've thought a lot about this setback and I'm not letting it get in my way of fulfilling this dream. I have always known that this path would not be easy. But I am also a very very firm believer that things worth getting (and going after) aren't meant to be easy. If it was easy, it wouldn't be as worth it.

I also believe that completing this marathon is so much about mental strength and I've got a lot of that. My life experiences, all the shitty ones too, have made me the strong person that I am and I proudly carry those struggles and trying times with me...and they'll be what carries me through all 26.2 miles. I don't know how much of this marathon I'll be running, or walking, but I do know that I will be crossing that finish like in just three short months!

I may not know today how I'm going to get there while I'm sidelined from the activity I need to do on race day- I just know that I will be there. And I can't wait to write that blog post and share just how great it felt to raise my arms in the air and step over the finish line!

Read more...

Phew...

Isn't she pretty? This is the contraption that I was lucky enough to take home from my podiarist appointment today. The good news is I don't have to stop training, I just need to take it easy and do as Dr. Dan says. Which is to wear this boot 10 minutes a day on each foot. "Anything more than that is a waste of time."

I have to say, Dr. Dan Altchuler is fantastic and was everything I hoped for in a podiatrist- friendly, fun, personable, informative and most important, assuring, supportive, kind and helpful.

He told me all sorts of things about the way I walk and the mechanics of my feet, ankles, shins, etc. Of course I don't remember all of it, but basically he confirmed what I believed to be the case. That I have shin splints and plantar fasciitis and need to stretch. He really and truly believes that if I use the boot as I am supposed to, that in three weeks I should see a significant difference and that I may not need orthotics. So I'm back on December 21st.

Honestly though, I am loving this guy. He was so excited to hear that I'm running the marathon and said he'll help me with the training and can put me in touch with some good trainers.

Tomorrow I'll get back in the game with another run.

Read more...

Taking a Time Out

For me one of the most difficult things has been to listen to my body. This is a running theme in my life that not only rings true with food, but is also presenting itself in exercise as well.

Today I listened to my body, however, and ended up skipping the two-mile run I was supposed to complete. I hate the idea of being off track on my training schedule. I fear that if I miss just one run, it will throw me off and create this continuous cycle of missing workouts.

Training for the marathon and just getting my head in the game all together hasn't necessarily been easy. Last Saturday I went to see my nutritionist who gave me a well deserved kick in the pants and reminded me that I need to not only show up, but I need to do the work.

Now that I've gotten the weight thing "under control" I felt ready to examine other aspects of my life, specifically finances. The truth is I'm just not as good with money as I had thought, and was just ignoring another issue in my life. When I did start to pay attention though, I realized that I've been spending more money than I take in. I also felt like since I was doing okay without seeing my nutritionist or therapist on a regular basis, that I could just schedule a session with each of them only once a month. When I brought this up with both of them, neither were thrilled with the idea and let me know that they felt it wasn't the best use of my time or money, or quite frankly, their time. It could be frustrating only seeing each other once a month. And after seeing my nutritionist last week, and hearing her echo basically the same thing, I knew that I had to make a choice.

The good news for me, is that I chose to recommit. I'm going to move forward with seeing my nutritionist on a regular basis so that I can begin to really see results, to have some accountability (cause let's face it, that can only help matters in the end) and to set goals and move forward with those whole thing. I chose to work with my nutritionist over my therapist because I feel like we can get to both the emotional and nutritional aspects of my relationship with food and it's more in line with the work I want to focus on right now.

You know how sometimes you just really need that dose of reality? Well I needed it, and I'm very grateful that I have surrounded myself with the type of people who can and will be honest with me...and to give myself some credit, I'm happy that I'm willing to hear it and do something about it.

I know that I've been showing up and doing and saying all the right things for a while, but when push comes to shove, I haven't made a significant amount of progress in losing weight. And one of the biggest things I'm going to work with my nutritionist on during next Friday's appointment is to set some clear goals and get this party really started.

Back to the point about my body though...it was hard for me to listen to it today. But I did. I listened because I know in the end that's the best thing I can do for myself. Typing this up, I'm wondering why it's so hard for me to do that when it comes to my body in regards to food. Something for me to think about for sure.

Anyway, it's been a good week. I'm really looking forward to my podiatrist appointment tomorrow. I need to figure out what the f is going on with my feet. It hurts when I'm on them too long. It hurts when I first get up after sitting for a while. My right shin is starting to give me some problems. I know I sound like a mess, but the truth is, it's really not that bad. I just need to address these issues ASAP so I can go go go.

Read more...

Plantar what?

For the past few weeks when I've gotten out of bed in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and when I first wake up in the morning, it's been difficult to walk. The first few steps are especially painful. It almost feels like my feet are bruised. Only they're not.

So of course I googled my symptoms and found out that it's likely I have plantar fasciitis. I panicked when I first read about plantar fasciitis because it said that it can take six to 18 months for it to fully heal. And we all know that my marathon is less than 18 months away.

I called Hal right away and told him what I thought and read about on the internet. He recommended icing my feet, taking Advil, stretching and going to see a podiatrist. So I'm on track with all of that and most importantly, have an appointment to see a podiatrist that my friend Nikee recommended (through people she knows in the ironwoman world). That's set for November 26th. I'm looking forward to getting some professional advice and possible some orthotics as well- whatever it takes to properly and safely train for the marathon.

In good news, I've been sticking to my running program and have so far logged six miles in five runs.

Read more...

F'n Shin Splints

I know one day, after I complete a marathon a few days after I turn 30 in my favorite country ever, I'll look back on these times and barely remember them. But seriously, what the f? I woke up in the middle of the night to Clancy getting sick and in serious need of some fresh air and grass (just what I wanted to be doing at 3am). When I jumped out of bed, I thought I was going to fall over. My shins were so sore.

In reaction to that, and instead of throwing myself on the ground having a baby fit like I talked about yesterday, I got some Advil and made an appointment to see a recommended podiatrist. Unfortch, my appointment isn't until July 2nd, but I'm happy to have that on my radar.

Unlike my last break, when I used it as an excuse to be lazy, this time around while I chill out on the running again, I'm going to keep up the cardio by biking and walking and I'm going to do some yoga. So you see, I don't have the time to feel bad for myself, cause I'm just going to continue treating my body well by working out and eating right.

So today, I'm pissed about the a'hole shins I've got going on, but I'm not going to let the negativity bring all this progress down.

Read more...

Followed up by a Slow Week

This whole past week has been slow. I worked out once, on Wednesday in Catalina. I did yoga, and the picture above is the amazing view I had while I did yoga from the hotel room.

I attempted to go and see a podiatrist who was recommended by a friend of mine but I was an hour late or so and didn't end up seeing him. I did call on Friday for an appointment and hope to get a call back soon.

But for the sake of healing, I haven't run in a week and it's been hard actually. I haven't thought about it since this post, but taking the time off has been a challenge for me because I want to keep moving toward my goal of not running makes me feel like I'm getting farther and farther away from it.

On the food front, I've finally been keeping a consistent food journal for the past several weeks and it has been very interesting. I am looking forward to meeting with my nutritionist tomorrow because I know there are definitely some things I need to be focusing more on and making some changes. And I think the next week is going to be challenging for me with friends visiting, going out to a bar with friends tomorrow night and going up to San Francisco for work on Wednesday.

Tomorrow morning, I'm going for a long walk, with a possible set of stairs or two OR going to a yoga class. We'll see. I do know I'm going to be more active this week for sure.

My mood is on the up and up though.

Read more...

Slow Progress?

It's been a few days since I posted and I don't necessarily have a big update. Since my last post I've been to Catalina for a couple of days, I've done yoga once in my hotel room as I promised I'd do for myself and I went to see my therapist.

I took a break from the running and haven't been working out as much as I have been for the past couple of weeks. But at the same time, I'm trying to listen to my body. The aches and pains are still preventing me from running. I've been doing some research on shin splints and know that the only thing that helps them go away is to stay away from the activity that caused the pain for several weeks. It's been less than one week since I ran, and I'm not sure when I'll try again.

I asked around to see if anyone knew of a good podiatrist and I got a nice tip about a Santa Monica based podiatrist who will be at a running store near the Venice Pier tomorrow for most of the day. I'm going to bring my sneakers and explain the problems that I've been encountering and hope that I can get some great advice to help me get on my way. And maybe I'll get an appointment out of the deal too.

In the meantime, I'm paying attention to the food/nutritional aspect of all of this. One thing that I've been tasked with for the next couple of weeks is to not make plans with people that revolve around food. Instead of making plans to meet for dinner or lunch or whatever, I'm going to try and make plans to workout together, go to see a movie, head to the museum, listen to live music, etc. You get the point. I'm up for the challenge and can see how this would be beneficial for me.

Wish me luck!

Read more...