Rookie on the Run

Yes, there is hope for my heel... for a healed heel.   That's how I feel after seeing the podiatrist. Did the massive mummy taping help?  I think so.  No, it was not a miracle cure.  My heel and ankle still hurt no matter what activity I was doing.  The fact that the tape on my left (and bad) foot felt way too tight didn't help.  I think I felt more pain from my skin pulling against adhesive than I do in my heel.  Seriously.  There were times when the skin on the bottom of my feet felt like it was on fire.  So, why the hope?  Doctor Bland left me feeling that I could do something to fix my plantar fasciitis.  He spoke of stretching, night splints, and the possibility of orthotics.  He did not tell me to toss my running shoes and get a bike.  He did not tell me to give swimming a try.  He did not mention surgery... or giving up on running. I was so encouraged by this!  I've been wearing my night splint...

No... you didn't stumble upon Nancy Drew's personal blog.  I'm sure her blog would be much more interesting than mine.  After all, when you have a hunky boyfriend like Ned Nickerson and far-out, flippy hair, you've got to have a great blog! On Monday I went to my podiatrist.  If I had to base my final impression solely on the office, the staff, and the doctor's personality I would warn you to run far, far away from Dr. Hutchinson and don't look back.  Fortunately, the blandness of the office, the less-than-friendly office staff, and the doctor's (lack of) personality was not all there was to my visit. Let me get this out of the way because it just has to be told... I have had pet-rocks with way more personality than Dr. Hutchinson.  I'm not exaggerating... pet-rocks at least have facial expressions.  Sure, their expressions never change (unless you are prone to hallucinations) but they have them.  Dr. H. did not  smile the whole time I was ...

I received a Sunshine Blog Award from Irene over at Magazine Smiles . Now, I get to pass it on to someone else! If you get tagged, here are the rules: Put the logo on your blog or within your post (right click and save). Pass the award onto 12 bloggers, then link the nominees within your post. Finally, let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog. So, here we go... I tag: Laura at My Reason to Run : Check out Laura's blog... you will see why she runs and understand the reason why I admire this mom's strength and drive! Jen at Setting You Free :  I love how real and down-to-earth Jen is!  She has made incredible changes in her lifestyle and lost lots of weight.  She is a runner and an inspiration!  Take a look... I'm sure you'll agree.  Jaime at Jaime learns to Run :  Do you ever feel like you would hit it off when someone... even though you've never met?  Well, I think Jaime would be one of those people!...

I have decided to see a podiatrist.  I don't want to... but I think it's time.  My foot actually feels worse the past few days and I haven't been running in over a week.   San Diego bloggers, do you have any recommendations?   If you know someone good, maybe I'll get lucky and the name will be on my insurance's pre-approved list. I made it to the gym tonight, after about a week of no exercise & eating poorly.  It felt great to go work out my muscles.  It also felt great to put good, healthy food into my body today.  I'm going to get back on track with my diet.  I went grocery shopping and got lots of organic fruits and veggies.  Yay! Well, that's all!  Short, little post... just like the title says. Have a wonderful day & take care!

I feel good!  My foot doesn't seem any worse off from my half marathon last weekend.  It's not necessarily better... it's just not worse. I've decided to take a couple weeks off and try to give all ol' lefty a break.  On my last post, some of you asked what is wrong with my foot.  Well, basically it's plantar fasciitis but the pain seems to have traveled up to the outside and back of my ankle.   I like when pain travels... it gives me hope that no one spot is injured too badly. It's funny because during my half marathon, I was practically swearing off of racing and running ever again.  This week, I'm already missing it and wondering which race I should do next.  There is a 7K trail race in March that looks fun.  I'm going to check it out. Anyway, enough about me.  I'm off to try to catch up on some of your blogs!  I've been skimming them but haven't been able to comment and follow-up as much as I'd like.  Happy Valentin...

Here it is.  This is a Mile-by-Mile race report of my first half marathon.  I figured it would be best to share the thoughts I had along the way... that way you get to see the real me.  The real me that comes out while I run. Mile 0-1:   Ugh!  My legs are tired.  Don't think about it... they'll perk up soon. Mile 1-3:   OK... my legs feel pretty good.  My foot feels pretty good.  I'm feeling pretty good.  I can do this!  No problem. Mile 3-4:   I'm maintaining  pretty good pace (about 13:30/mile... which for me is a nice, easy, long-term pace).  I kind of have to use the restroom.  I'll stop at the next port 'a potty. Mile 4:   There are the port 'a potties.  Good timing since they are right at the bottom of the hill.  That will give me a chance to breathe before I head up the hill. Port 'a Potty Break:   Don't touch anything... don't touch anything... Mile 4-5:   Oh, man!  My ...

I want to post a detailed, interesting Surf City Half Marathon report.  I want to post about how I kicked butt- how I didn't even break a sweat and felt like I was flying the entire 13.1 miles. If I had time, I would post the detailed and hopefully interesting race report but I need to get to bed.  If I could, I would be able to tell you all the other stuff.  But I'm not only sleepy, I'm a horrible liar! I just wanted to drop a quick note letting you know that I finished.  And I want to thank you all for the encouragement and kind words, wishing me the best for the race.  I just read the comments and your words made my evening! Anyway, just to prove that I did finish, here is a picture of me with my cool surfboard Finisher's Medal.  I will work on posting a report and more pictures tomorrow.    Happy Monday to you all!!

Well, we made it to Huntington Beach.  My husband and I left our quiet, kid-free house later than we had planned.  After getting lost a couple times and dealing with Orange County rainy-day traffic, it seemed like we may have hit the Expo at its peak hours.  It was crowded.  Very, very crowded. Thankfully, the race seems to be well-organized and I was able to pick up my race bib, race bag, and long-sleeve shirt very quickly. The race bags didn't have any goodies in them... but that's OK because the race bag is a "goodie" in and of itself.  Very cool race bag!   I wish I had taken a picture of the race bag... but hopefully you get the idea from this picture.  That's me holding my race number.   We didn't spend much time at the Expo because of the crowds.  I can usually tolerate crowds pretty well, but this was too much, even for me!  My husband hates crowds of any size so I think he was very happy to get out of there.  I have t...