Diagnosis....Sort of.

I went to the Dr. this afternoon. He looked at it and said it was definitely swollen and decided to do an x-ray.

The good news is that the sesamoid bones aren't broken or fractured. I was happy to hear that.

He said that the area is inflamed and it had something to do with my joint and my tendons He didn't really have an official diagnosis of why it's so swollen. He gave me an anti inflammatory to take for the next week. He taped it, and padded it and wrapped it. I have to keep the wrap on for 5 days (no baths, but he said it should stay on in the shower). I go back next week.

I told him I have been running but I didn't tell him I was getting ready for a marathon. As he was finishing up he said, "do you have a bike?" I told him I did. He said "maybe you should do more biking and less running."

Too bad I can't bike across the finish line at the marathon.

Oh, and he asked me to bring my running shoes to my next visit so he can look at them. ?

A doctor's appointment...

Today I have an appointment with a podiatrist. My foot is worse, more painful and more swollen. It doesn't make sense for it to get worse since I haven't run on it, I have been elevating it and icing it. Very frustrating. I was going to wait until Friday but I was able to get an earlier appointment so I am going in this afternoon.

I hope that he tells me it's just a common, fast healing, back-on-your-feet-in-a-week sort of injury.

Off to a bad start....

Today was supposed to be the first day that I start the 16 week program. Up until now I have been just getting used to doing 3 short runs and one long run a week. Today I was going to start
Week 1
3 miles
4 miles
3 miles
5 miles
But instead my right foot is so sore. I thought it was just soreness left from a footcramp but it is getting worse. (Wearing dress shoes at church yesterday probably didn't help either.) I iced it last night and thought that maybe I would at least, be able to wake up this morning and go to they gym and get my heart rate up by doing the elliptical. But, when I woke up it was so swollen, it felt like I was walking on a golf ball. So I figure I will ice it today and see what tomorrow brings.

I googled "foot pain, ball of foot, below big toe" This is what I found.

Sesamoiditis

Definition

Sesamoiditis is a common ailment that affects the forefoot, typically in young people who engage in physical activity like running or dancing. Its most common symptom is pain in the ball-of-the-foot, especially on the medial or inner side. The term is a general description for any irritation of the sesamoid bones, which are tiny bones within the tendons that run to the big toe. Like the kneecap, the sesamoids function as a pulley, increasing the leverage of the tendons controlling the toe. Every time you push off against the toe the sesamoids are involved, and eventually they can become irritated, even fractured. Because the bones are actually within the tendons, sesamoiditis is really a kind of tendinitis - the tendons around the bones become inflamed as well.

Cause

Sesamoiditis typically can be distinguished from other forefoot conditions by its gradual onset. The pain usually begins as a mild ache and increases gradually as the aggravating activity is continued. It may build to an intense throbbing. In most cases there is little or no bruising or redness. One of the major causes of sesamoiditis is increased activity. You've probably stepped up your activity level lately, which has forced you to put more pressure on the balls of your feet. Speedwork, hillwork, or even increased mileage can cause this. If you have a bony foot, you simply may not have enough fat on your foot to protect your tender sesamoids. Also, if you have a high arched foot, you will naturally run on the balls-of-your-feet, adding even more pressure.

So maybe that is it, or maybe not. All I know is that it hurts and I am frustrated and I am not sure what to do next.

Oh, and last night as I had my calendar and "Non-Runners Marathon Trainer" book out trying to schedule my running days. I counted the weeks until the marathon and realized I was a week short for my program, I couldn't believe I had been counting the weeks wrong all this time. So I counted again, and again. I came up with the same number, and that meant I should have started "week 1" last week.Then I got more frustrated because I was week behind and my foot could possibly make me miss this week's training. I thought I was going to be 2 weeks behind. I went to bed pretty discouraged. Then I had a thought, I went and looked at my training schedule one more time and realized that I had thought that I needed 17 weeks for the training (there are 17 chapters in the book) but really I only need 16 weeks (hence the paragraph on the back of the book that says "a 16-week training guide", duh) the 17th chapter is just the "you did it!" chapter not a training chapter. I don't know what my problem was last night, I couldn't count and I couldn't think.

So, I guess it could be worse, I will probably only miss this one week of training if I can get my foot to stop swelling and one week behind is a lot better than 2 weeks.

1-23-10

Notes:

I was hoping to run outside this morning but it was snowing, and the roads were already icy from last night. Got to the gym about 7:50am (even the parking lot was slippery) and there were two treadmills left so I was happy about that.

Did my 4 miles, my knees didn't hurt and I kept a steady pace. (I had a foot cramp last night and I am still feeling it but it didn't affect my run.) Today was a good run and I finished it off with upper and lower body weights afterwards. Glad I got up on a snowy Saturday morning to get in my miles.

I listened to the podcast "Two Gomers Run a Marathon" for the first two miles. It kept my mind occupied for a little while.

1-21-10

Notes:
I stayed up too late last night again. I planned on getting up and running at 6:30, I woke up at 6:00 to feed the baby but fell back asleep. James stayed home for a couple hours this morning so I was able to go at 10:30am. I got my 2 miles done but my knees are hurting for some reason, it will be good to not run tomorrow. I hope they feel better for Saturdays run.

I didn't change the mph on the treadmill during my run but my nike+ shows ups and downs, I wonder if I need to adjust where it sits on my shoe, or maybe it is just dying.

1-20-10

(I can't figure out why the graph didn't chart my fastest point, I was up to almost 7mph at one point, which is fast for me, I couldn't do it for very long though.)

Notes:
Felt good today, planned on doing 2 miles but did 3 because I had time before I had to be home. Right knee bothered me a little during mile 2, but doesn't hurt anymore.

Because I did my 3 today, I will do 2 tomorrow and then my 4 mile long run on Saturday.

1-18-10

My Monday morning run was good today, (besides the blister on my toe from having a piece of ice-melt/salt in my shoe for the whole run). I need some new socks or I need to do some laundry and find my old socks. It finally snowed today so the air quality just might be better. Maybe I can run outside sometime this week, maybe, if I can make myself get out there in the freezing cold.

Notes:

Felt good this morning, didn't have to get up as early this because there was no school. The gym was pretty busy though. Saw V. and C. and ran with each of them for a little bit.
3 miles was easy today, it felt good.

There are 17 weeks until the marathon. My program is 16 weeks, so next week will be the official start. This week I am doing easy runs of 3,2,3 and a long run of 4. I had some pain in my feet from Saturdays run, mostly my left heel. It didn't bother me much today though.

1-16-10

My planned 4 miles, on treadmill instead of outside. Saw V. at the gym so the first half of my miles went by fast. 4 miles seems to be my max right now, can't imagine going longer without taking a walk break.

Hoping to do 5 miles next Saturday outside, maybe the air will be better. This article was posted yesterday about Utah's air.



Smog leaves Utah coughing, sneezing and wheezing
MIKE STARK
The Associated Press
The smog spell has made Utah's air the dirtiest in the country for almost a week, and nearly 8 of 10 Utah residents are living under health advisories. Residents are being urged to drive less and prohibited from burning wood, and sometimes even the most fit have been urged not to exercise outside. A thick layer of smog stubbornly lingering over parts of Utah has fouled the state's air so badly this week that health officials warned people not to exercise outside and some schools kept children inside for recess and sports.

The haze that has obscured Utah's picture-perfect mountain views for the last several days is blamed on a weather phenomenon called an inversion that pins pollution to the valley floors and doesn't relent until a major storm blows through.

1-14-10

Notes:
This was my attempt to redeem myself from yesterday's "run". I felt okay, the time went by fast enough, legs weren't tired but I was bored on the treadmill. Happy I did my 3 miles though.

1-13-10

Notes:
Horrible "run". (Can't really even call it a run.) Planned on 3 again, didn't make it. Had to stop and go to the bathroom, ran out of time because I didn't get to the gym on time. Just an all around waste of time.

1-11-10

Notes:
The plan was to do 3 miles today. I didn't make it. I couldn't get out of bed then when I finally I got to the gym I didn't have any energy. I had 30 minutes before I had to be back home and I only got in 2 miles.

1-9-10

Notes:
First two miles seemed to drag, 3rd mile okay but then hamstrings and inner leg muscles got tired. 4th mile was alright. Just glad I finished.

1-7-10

Started out not really wanting to do 3 miles but knew I needed to. Ended up finishing strong. Hamstrings a little sore from Tuesdays run.

1-5-10

Notes:
Just an easy run, didn't feel great, didn't feel too bad.

1-4-10

My first run of the year. Just wanted to run continuosly for 30 minutes.
I am doing my runs inside on the treadmill for now. As the mileage gets longer and the weather gets warmer I will run outside.

Notes:
First run in a while, felt good, was hard to do the full 30 minutes, time passed slowly, but I did it.