The school year is off to a great start - little boy has had two great cross country meets (he placed fifth in the second one of the year), a letter in the mail declaring him to be an AP Scholar (he scored 3 or higher on three AP exams), and he likes his two philosophy-themed classes (along with all 6 of his other classes, yeah those are good, too).
I got hideously busy at work, which tends to happen intermittently, but still takes me a bit off guard until I get used to it. As always, when it's really busy and the deadline looms, the attention to detail requirement is through the roof. Get it done NOW! But make sure it's perfect!!! I got to write a decision on an issue that hasn't yet come up (I checked the database, there wasn't anything that I could find). Love that case of first impression.
And now back to studiously avoiding talking about my job.
Running has been an adventure. One of the reasons for the lack of posting is there just wasn't much running going on because of my stupid foot. little boy thinks I shouldn't run any more marathons, but I think I want one more go at it. Next year. Because of moving, I only ran one 4 miler in my new 'hood in June. My stupid foot hurt for days afterward. Instead of buying yet another pair of shoes, I went in the opposite direction. I tried a 2 mile run on my treadmill in bare feet. My foot didn't hurt. Well, to be perfectly honest, the skin on the bottoms of my feet hurt like hell, but my cuboid problem was not an issue. Barefoot running also makes your legs work differently (some would say they way they're supposed to), because you really do have to land on your midfoot and roll forward through the toes. My calves had a lot to get used to (and then bulked up like crazy after awhile).
We have a "no shoes in the house" rule (more like a guideline than a rule, per se), so I'm going barefoot all the time at home. But obviously that doesn't work in situations outside my own back yard. I've not gone totally nuts: I'm afraid of stepping on glass, various gross things and the occasional dangerous thing. So I ordered some of these for running:
Just a couple of millimeters of vibram outsole between your feets and the ground. No arch support, no heel lift and your toes get to move independently. Your feet get a lot stronger very quickly. I'm still only running every other day, and up until last week, my long run was only 5 miles. I got to accompany two of my very cool runner buddies Melis & Jen for what I thought would be the last 6 miles of their 19 mile training run (they're both running Chicago). They sort of picked me up at mile 10 of their run and I'd already run a mile and a half to our planned meeting place. Oops.
I got through it with surprisingly little complaining. My cuboid felt a little weird in the last couple of miles, but nothing actually hurt. I paid for it later on, though. I spent the evening lurching around not being able to make my feet work and cursing the day I'd ever agreed to run with M & J (just kidding, ladies!). But the next day I was fine, even my calves. (Anyone keeping a tally, I haven't done a 10 mile run since November 1st of last year.) And, just because I'm a glutton for punishment (or just a glutton in general), I volunteered to run the last half of M's 20 miler on Saturday. It was hotter that day and I stopped sweating about mile 8 (uh oh), but the after effects were not like the week before. Of course, I sat around more, iced my feet and had a beer, so I just have to remember that recovery is important!
2 comments:
Hey, you should go and get an MRI for your foot, see if they can figure out what is exactly wrong with it, they will probably tell you to stay off of it, but at least knowing if it is a recurring fracture or something might be good.
Yes, that's what I'd do in an ideal world. However, to get to that point, I'd have to see at least 3 doctors (3 copays), pay for x-rays (deductible not yet met for the year) and schedule an appointment for the MRI, which my insurance doesn't cover anymore. So, I'd have to pay for it. Running with no shoes to make my feet strong is an excellent cheap alternative.
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