It's over, man. Let her go.

Congrats to Coach Cara for her 3:27 Portland Marathon finish!  12,000 runners, WET weather and wind!  She did awesome!

Goals for this week are just to get in some solid running and hope my foot holds out.  If not, I'll schedule a podiatrist appt later this week or early next.

AP was 8:32, 70s, beautiful!

Foot was sore most of this weekend but I needed to get out so I took some NSAIDs this morning and since I was working from home, could leave almost any time I wanted to.  I finally got out about 1:45pm and it was gorgeous weather.  I started walking down the hill and the left neuroma was sore but not as sore as Friday.  I started my run like Friday and it hurt but not as bad. At the 318' mark, I considered calling it but really wanted the miles and figured if it didn't get any worse I might be OK.  After about .5mi it wasn't hurting at all?!?!  What's up with that?  BUT, I had terrible cotton mouth and at that point I remembered I hadn't eaten or drank anything since the water with my NSAIDs this morning.  Whoops!  Not good, and certainly explained my extremely heavy legs.  :-(

I dealt with the cotton mouth the whole run and not until I hit about 3mi did the neuroma start hurting again but not as bad as at the first.  Weird!  Normally, it gets worse the longer I'm on it but today it got better by running on it?  Makes absolutely NO sense!  Oh well, finished the run and was glad it was over due to the cotton in my mouth and the heavy, tired legs.  I downed a bunch of Gatorade and ate some protein. 

I figured I must need more iron and protein so I suggested to the family we hit the Pittsburgh Steak Company's All You Can Eat Prime Rib dinner!  They were more than supportive of my running needs.  They're a super family and I love 'em to death!

Glad I got in some miles and I hope the feet hold up this week so I can get in 25+.  Only a couple of weeks until the Dirt Monster!

Foot wasn't cooperating today so it was treadmill day.  I didn't want to get out there 3 miles and then have to walk back or something if I was in pain, so I missed an incredibly nice outside run.  I went easy on the treadmill.  I figured it deserved it.  Plugged in the 10k program and just cruised at about a 9:13 pace.  Foot was sore through the whole thing.  I did kick it up a couple notches for the 6th and 7th km to about a 7:30-7:20 pace.  Felt good except for the sharp foot pains.  Walked a 1k and hopped off to go chat with Jake while I stretched.  Got back to the office and immediately called the podiatrist.  I've got an 8am appointment tomorrow for cortizone shots.  If my eyes are red afterward it's allergies.

Oh, congrats to Jason from the running class who ran (his first?) Half in 1:44:xx.  He did great and was very excited about his time...as he should be!  He's a good strong runner who has a 1:30 easy in his near future.

ps:  yes, that's 1.5 hrs of sleep.  Insomnia was awful last night.  Sigh.  I watched some awesome 80s music videos though!  I hope to skip the videos and jump straight to REM tonight!

Finally got to sleep just before midnight so I got a good 5 hrs before getting up to take my daughter to seminary.  I'm still tired, but functioning today.

Went to the podiatrist today and we had a nice discussion about my options.  Part of my late night last night was doing my internet research on my neuroma options, etc.  I went in thinking that the alcohol based injections were the next step but after talking with her (Dr. McFeaters - yes, that's her real name, lol), we decided to do the cortizone shots today (OUCH) and since I've met my deductible for my insurance, we're ordering up some new orthotics.  I talked her through my analysis of the orthotics, the wear patterns, etc. and what I thought I needed based on what I've read and she agreed with a couple of suggestions of her own.  So, I think the orthotics I get next will be a lot more helpful in keeping the neuromas at bay as well as helping the pain I get under my big toe (right, usually) from the nerve becoming irritated.  She also agreed to switch the top cover of the orthotic since it wore through so quickly.  She had ordered that one since it has it's own padding built in but I think we'll go with something a little more durable this time.

She also wrote me up a script for some physical therapy.  With our on-site clinic at work, the PT will be free (no copays), so I figured I'd give it a shot and see if it helps.  There was no way I was going to be able to afford paying $30 two-three times per week for a month or more.  Who said running was a cheap sport?  lol

Anyways, it's been a few hours now and the cortizone is doing it's job as it always does.  Unfortunately, it only lasts for a month or two before I'm feeling the pain again.  She said that generally, if someone needs the cortizone shots more than 3x/yr that means that they're not lasting long enough and other options need to be considered.  Neuromas are tough buggers to crack and may not go away permanently.  But, with some new orthotics and some PT, I hope to get rid of them enough that I can continue increasing my mileage and be able to run marathon distances without having them bother me or stop me from running...especially during a race like it did during the JASR.

It's surprising how many people deal with neuromas.  They are mostly women so maybe RT and I have girly feet.  Mine are dainty, I will admit.  I hope this non-invasive route works for me.  From what I read about the alcohol injections, although they have a pretty high long-term success rate, they also seem to sideline you for several days to weeks after each round due to swelling and pain.  Typically 4+ rounds are required with 7-10 days between rounds.  So, that would have meant I'd be dealing with that as I approach the Dirt Monster.

Ok, I'm going to be like Joe and I'm not going to complain about my feet any longer.  If this route doesn't "fix" me, though, I reserve the right to start complaining again but not until I've given this a fair shot.  :-)

Big fat zero again for today.  I'm not allowed to complain about my foot so I'm not going to.  (sarcasm on) My foot feels completely awesome!  I can't believe how well I can walk on it.  Walking to and from work was like walking on clouds - no limp at all.  And look!  Two days later you can't even see the injection sites or any bruising! (sarcasm off)

I can't believe I am posting a picture of my dainty foot - yes, I have all my nails on both feet.  Maybe that will change with my marathon training as soon as I can run again.  I don't know why my veins look like they're huge, but I think it's just the angle of the photo. 

So I tried to run on it tonight a little and as long as I was going downhill or flat I was semi-OK.  But pushing off too much or uphill was out of the question.  So I'll wait and see how things feel this weekend.  I'll run tomorrow if it doesn't feel too bad on the walk in.  I'm really surprised the pain has stuck around this long this time.  The other times, I've run the day after and even a couple hours after the shots.  Weird.

Oh well, it's making me take the time to work out my marathon training plan.  I'm almost there!  I've got about 30 weeks before the River Towns Marathon in May so I have plenty of time to get ready!  I'm so excited to begin the journey.  So much to do, so many things to learn (ie: how to run and drink from a cup without spilling it all down the front of me, what a Gu tastes like along with all the other cool marathon runner energy foods, what it feels like to run 20 miles at a time, etc, etc!).  One day I'll be an experienced (and hopefully an accomplished) runner.  Until then, I'm in learning mode.

The Chinese podiatrist must make a fortune fixing neuromas:

I was able to manage some treadmill time today.  I had about 30 min so I was thinking of doing some easy running.  Anything over 2% incline hurt the foot so I kept it at 0-1% so I could run.  Started off at 10:00 pace for about a mile or so, then worked my way up to finish the last .25mi at 6:40.  It felt good to run again but the foot didn't do so well.  Iced it for quite a while afterward.