toe update: 2 doctor visits and no answers yet

30. March 2017 · 2 comments · Categories: injury · Tags: ,

Hello and happy humpday! I should be hiking with my hiking friends tonight but alas I’m still limping along and had to back out for the 2nd week in a row! #beingadramaqueen

Yesterday I went to my primary doc mostly just as protocol for me to have authorization to see the foot doctor today. She said the nodule under my toe was probably a ganglion cyst and that the foot doc would probably aspirate it. She said I shouldn’t worry about the bluish color, but I left there feeling quite unconvinced. After spending too much time looking at those type of cysts online, mine looked nothing like that. And I knew that the bluish color had to mean something.

Anyway, today I saw the foot doc. IMG_8654He pushed on the lump and I winced in agony it hurt so bad. He said it was definitely NOT a ganglion cyst as it wasn’t fluid filled. He immediate said I need to get an MRI to determine what it was. He felt the bluish color meant something vascular but wouldn’t say more. He also said “nothing to be worried about”. Although that really doesn’t comfort me for the time being because I’m still limping and now have to wait first for the authorization for my MRI to come through (I’m told Friday) and then I’ll have to make an appointment for the MRI.

This is all just too bizarre for me. I’m almost done with my pity party. IMG_8643

Going to try riding my bike tomorrow to “sweat out the small stuff”.

After two days of rain I decided I’d just limp around the park with Duncan after I came home from the foot doc.

we took it slow. he's such a patient pup

we took it slow. he’s such a patient pup

Yesterday the poor thing was so bored that I took him to the pet store just to get him out of the house for a bit. IMG_8651So that’s my toe update. It still hurts, I’m still limping and feeling fairly frustrated. But it’s small potatoes right?

 

Related posts:

  1. What if
  2. injuries are a great opportunity to build mental toughness

Philly Love Run 2017 DNS

28. March 2017 · 6 comments · Categories: injury, running

First, you have to go see this clip from yesterday’s Love Run yesterday. Two men helped a woman who was struggling to get her to the finish!

 

I might have had just about every emotion this weekend but as I write this I’m ok. I’ve got a doctor appointment with my primary care tomorrow and a specialist foot dr appt scheduled for Wednesday so I’ll know what this bizarre toe injury is soon enough.

I’ve had many running injuries over the past 10 years. And I’ve had other ailments that kept me from running including laproscopic surgery. But this freak toe thing really caught me off guard. I’ve now developed a small nodule that’s bluish in color on the underside of my toe that is exactly where the pain is. It’s like a pea under the skin. And i’m guessing it’s pressing on a nerve.

Sorry. Hope you're not squeamish about seeing feet. LOL! But here's the little pea size lump.

Sorry. Hope you’re not squeamish about seeing feet. LOL! But here’s the little pea size lump.

Anyhoo Duncan and Mr. SOTSS did what they could to keep my spirits up this weekend.

Always cheering me up with his stinky breath puppy kisses!

Always cheering me up with his stinky breath puppy kisses!

But today I’m back in that positive space now and the pity party has ended. Mr. SOTSS knew I had to go through my process to get to this point and was pretty patient I must say. He’s not an emotional guy and doesn’t get as wrapped up in things as I do. So it’s hard for him to understand why I torment myself with such emotional responses to running injuries, change of plans, physical pain etc etc. His logical response to most is if you aren’t up to it don’t run it. You’ll see your friends again another day and it’s only money.

The cure to my disappointment....being serenaded. He's learning how to play one of my favorite songs by the band Oasis.

The cure to my disappointment….being serenaded. He’s learning how to play one of my favorite songs by the band Oasis.

In the meantime I’m being lazy. Really lazy. I’m not even trying to figure out a cross-training alternative. I’m sure my “process” will get me there eventually but for now I’m just chilling out.

How was your weekend? Anyone run a race? How did it go? 

Are you a logical type or emotional type? or both?

No related posts.

Inflammation is a four letter word

23. March 2017 · 4 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , , ,

I want to start this post by saying I am so grateful to be healthy in the big picture. My friend’s husband was diagnosed with ALS a few years ago and has lost the ability to do major things like walk, talk or even type with his fingers. He is currently using his EYES to type! I cannot even imagine.

So it sounds ridiculous that I’m going to post about my toe but here we go…

I had two great runs back to back this past weekend. Friday I wore a new pair of sneakers and enjoyed running with very little discomfort from my hamstrings.

New sneakers....old snow

New sneakers….old snow

I was so happy to feel like I had pep in my step that Saturday I went out again for what was supposed to be 3 miles but I felt so good I went on to cover almost 5.5 miles.

Best run I've had all year!

Best run I’ve had all year!

It was the biggest emotional boost to finally feel improvement. It could have been the new sneakers or the fact that all my diligence with strengthening my hamstrings, glutes, adductors and hips was paying off. All I know is that I was so happy.

However, I felt my toes on my left foot getting tingly and numb while running and thought maybe the new sneakers were tied too tight or hadn’t been broken in enough but really paid little mind. By Saturday evening I felt a little more discomfort and started to avoid putting too much weight on my toe. Same thing with Sunday. It felt like a bruise under the toe between the middle joint and the ball of my foot (metatarsal head).

Yesterday, after a crappy workday I decided to go out for a run. I wanted to just de-stress. I started with some foam rolling. IMG_8591

Duncan joined me.

Duncan joined me.

Well it wasn’t pretty and the toe pain got worse until I limped home after covering 3/4 of a mile.

WTF???

WTF???

Interestingly the toe is the same one that I banged on my trampoline a couple months ago and lost part of the toe nail. I first thought maybe it was a fracture. Maybe I injured it more than I thought when I banged it and eventually the pounding of running fractured it. But today I found that as I loosened up my hamstrings and calves on the foam roller and with some stretching the pain in my toe decreased. It turned into more of a pins and needles thing. (I’ve been icing it too).

After researching the internet on and off all day I’ve (foolishly and stubbornly) decided to diagnose myself with either bursitis, capsulitis or Morton’s Neuroma. Any which way you slice it the problem is that there is inflammation. I hate inflammation! Inflammation is a four letter word to me.

How could I go from a happy and feeling great run to limping? I’m walking normally today thanks to some makeshift padding around the metatarsal head. And I’m PRAYING that it calms down 100 percent for Sunday’s race.

So for now I’m just going to remain calm.

In other news…the dogs are still as adorable as ever.

book ends

book ends

How are you? What’s new?

Related posts:

  1. 60 degrees in December
  2. testing out new shoes and a twisted knee in my sleep
  3. Traffic and podcasts and one weekday run

Flashback Friday: My “Every Runner Has a Reason” story

17. March 2017 · 11 comments · Categories: running, Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,

It was exactly 4 years ago that Dicks Sporting Goods shared a video series called Every Runner Has a Reason, A thirteen part web series about runners and what they run for. I was lucky to be featured in one of those videos. I hadn’t started my blog yet and I thought I’d share a little bit about that experience on this 4th anniversary.

Every Runner Has a Reason

Every Runner Has a Reason

It all started through the social media world. Someone knew someone on Facebook who worked for the agency that was tasked with this campaign and had posted a request for stories. My friend Lisa and I submitted our story and the rest was history.

Lisa and I worked together and she was well into her pursuit of completing a marathon in every state, one of many running goals that seemed impossible to me, a girl who loved to exercise but was not a runner. I was intrigued by Lisa’s running goals, and where running took her. She had an amazing circle of running friends that met often to train and then travel to various states throughout the year to run a marathon.

More than 5 years had passed since my husband died of cancer. He was 29 and I was 25 and I was feeling fairly blah. I was going through the motions of life but didn’t have anything to get excited about and felt like I wasn’t fitting in with most of my friends who were either getting married, having children or moving forward in family life. Lisa helped inspire me to start running. First a mile by myself. Then a few miles with her running group and in 2006 I ran my very first race, a 4.8 miler in Central Park. I was hooked. Each year I only became more and more excited about it all. Running, friends, traveling….I felt like I had finally found an identity that could replace “widow”. Sally, the runner sounded and felt so much better than Sally, the widow. I had found a “family” and felt complete.

a behind the scenes shot during filming of the video. The crew was so great. They loved Duncan and worked hard to make sure he wasn't in the shot. :)

a behind the scenes shot during filming of the video. The crew was so great. They loved Duncan and worked hard to make sure he wasn’t in the shot. 🙂

It’s hard to believe that I’ve run over 35 half marathons and 7 full marathons over the last decade. If it weren’t for Lisa I don’t know where I’d be today. I’m grateful to Dicks Sporting Goods for finding our story compelling enough to use in their campaign. They even made a TV commercial using snippets from each of the videos.

Without further ado, here’s the video: (note: some of you might have already seen it as I link to it in my about me page.)

You can also read more about my entire experience of filming (including being part of a photo shoot in Charleston, SC too) when I documented it here in my 2013 recap post.

What’s your reason? What do you run for?

Related posts:

  1. sizing up the area (for running)
  2. a day in the life and another night with those fireflies
  3. Fun Valentines Weekend
« Older articles