Emergency on the Trail!

It was a day just like any other. We were on one of our usual trails enjoying a morning run. Lucy, Sierra and Taz love to accompany me on this desert trail near our neighborhood. I was excited to be running early because it had showered the night before which made for a cool morning with that “after the rain” smell. I love the smell of creosote bush in the morning.

We started up the trail where many dog owners bring their pets for an off-leash walk. My three were also off-leash running a little ahead of me, but staying on the dirt path. The sun was still behind the Franklin Mountains in the backdrop and the clouds were lit in a wash of orangish yellow. 

Self Experimentation

Why not experiment on myself to find relief from plantar fasciitis? What have I got to lose? I listened to my podiatrist for the last four months and the only outcome was that he became richer.

Santorio Santorii or Sanctorius of Padua (however you want to call him) was the earliest known self experimenter. This 16th century professor meticulously weighed himself, his food, pee and poop for thirty years in the earliest study of metabolism. Talk about being obsessed with your weight, but let’s give this guy some credit; Shangri La Diet wasn’t discovered yet.

Got Electricity?

This is simply dumb and ridiculous! I’m shocking my foot right now. Why would anyone want to electrocute their foot? The doc says it could help alleviate the pain from my plantar fasciitis. Electro-stimulation therapy is supposed to bring blood flow into the injured area to help ease the inflammation and advance healing. Wouldn’t a cold bag of frozen peas do the same thing? That’s one thing peas are useful for- icing injuries.

Growing Old Ain’t for Sissies

When I was hiking in Yosemite several years ago, I approached an old gentleman hobbling down the trail on two crutches. He looked like he was about to take a tumble any second and end up in the valley thousands of feet below. As our paths crossed, he just looked at me and said “Growing old ain’t for sissies.” I admired his courage and determination to keep on living the adventurous life even though he was limited physically.

What I've learned since having Plantar Fasciitis

If you love to run like I do, plantar fasciitis is your worst enemy. I’ve been icing, resting, swimming, stretching, biking, researching, and wearing a night splint to try to heal my foot quicker. This is a slow process, but I’m optimistic that I’ll be back on the trail before too long. I hope to be more cautious in the future and try to incorporate more cross training into my routine. I love trail running more than road running and think that staying off the hard surfaces may help me prevent this in the future.

Here are a few things that have come to light since I haven’t been running for a month.

Snow Day

What to do on a snow day when you can’t run? Well, the doctor said I could walk, so that is what I shall do this morning. We have had unusually cold weather for 3-4 days here in the desert southwest and a little bit of snow. The snow isn’t what prompted the snow days, but a shortage of electricity. Our power plants have frozen over and can’t produce enough electricity so schools and businesses have taken a few days off to conserve energy.

Twenty more years

It seems that 20 years of pounding my feet has finally taken its toll. I don’t know why, because I know people who run a lot more than I do. I haven’t really run that much have I? To warrant foot pain that has temporarily stopped me from running? I’ve only ran 20 races of 26 miles or more and I’ve never run a 100 mile week unless you count the one time that I ran 100 consecutive miles through the Sierra Nevada.

The race that started it all.

Injured!

INJURY UPDATE: (Jan 10, 2011) I've been walking almost every day and was able to successfully run today. I had a little bit of tenderness in my foot, but things seem to be improving each day. I’m working with the Big Bend Ultra Run staff to switch from the 50K to the 25K race that is being run this weekend. This seems like a sensible compromise so I can still run in the backcountry without further injuring myself. I feel confident that I can finish the 15 mile run.

(Jan 6, 2011)
My plantar fasciitis (PF) has improved, but I haven’t been able to run for almost two weeks. During Christmas weekend I went for a routine run out at the BR ranch and half way through my 6 miler, my foot started to hurt. I didn’t twist it or anything and was very perplexed, not to mention annoyed. When I was done, I had no idea what was going on so iced the top of my foot and rested for a day.