Tag Archives: podiatrist

Jul28

So…How is my foot doing now???

Posted on by
Standard

So, I’m sure I’ll get a lot of freaky foot fetish people finding this post, but I don’t care.  Having a few of my post surgery photos available for those who are going to be having the same procedure as me will be helpful, and I want to also let everyone know my progress now that I am 49 days post surgery.

Cliff Notes

Procedures-Bunionectomy (fix bunion on outside of foot), Cheilectomy (removal of bone spur), Arthritis of the big toe cleanout (called Hallux Rigidus…yeah, I’m only 31)….all on the right foot, big toe area.

Date of Procedure-Friday, June 10th, 2016 at Cardston Medical Clinic, performed by Dr. Williams of Chinook Foot & Ankle Clinic

before

“Before” X-Ray from May 2016.  Look at that nasty toe!

My original post about post surgery experience is here.  I had meant to do recaps on how I was doing each week, but yeah…summer happened.  What have I been doing?  Well, I am really, really tan from laying on our rooftop patio.  I also got a whole math course worked through for the fall, made answer keys for the Mathematics SL IB World Exam, crocheted three pairs of slippers, and generally went crazy.  I kept occupied.  But I needed exercise.  On June 27th, I was given permission to go in the water for deep water jogging while at my two-week post op.  I had never been so excited to be in a pool (note:  I hate swimming.  I am more of a pool, margarita and tan kind of girl).  I went to our local YMCA and got a one-month membership at just below $60.  I used it, I think, 28/30 days!  I started with deep water jogging, which felt weird as I could not really move my toes at all.  I was nervous to flutter kick.  I didn’t want my foot to bust open and then have the lifeguards close the pool because blood was everywhere.

27th

After 2nd post op on June 27th.  Bandages of, steri-strips remain.  Foot sewn together.

27th later

Later on the 27th, I had lost all but one steri-strip.  This is when I realized I didn’t want to bust my foot open

I also went lap swimming approximately 3 times.  That ended fast because I suck at swimming.  I even went and bought a good pair of goggles.  My best friend Ali, the swim coach, approved them, as she didn’t want me buying “cheap swimming lesson goggles.”  My preferred swimming stroke?  Lets call it “breast-paddle” or “doggy-stroke”.  I combine doggy paddle and breaststroke to create this beautiful form.  Gross.

I wasn’t going to be seeing my doctor again until July 21st, so I carefully kept walking in my medical shoe, making sure not to put pressure on the ball of my foot.  I iced a lot, and I was very careful.  About 3.5 weeks after surgery, all while still wearing the shoe, I had the need to sweat.  Walking more than around my yard was painstakingly slow, but I figured I would try an elliptical at the YMCA.  I kept the shoe on my right foot, with my Altra on my left, and got myself positioned on the elliptical.  Since you keep you feet flat and don’t have to go on the balls of your feet while using this machine, it provided another option in addition to water jogging.

As my healing progressed, I did more elliptical and less water jogging.  I would do the water jogging 2-3 times a week and would time it so I could stay in the pool an extra 45 minutes after the morning class and just water jog in the deep end by myself (a waterfit class was occurring in the shallow end).  My scab was gone, everything seemed to be healing fine, and my tattoo was lined up damn well!

18th july

July 18th, laying on the patio with the beagle.  Probably with a beer.

My 6 week post op was on July 21st.  Doctor said everything looked good, however, I needed to be doing some physio with my toes, as since I had been SO careful to not bend them or put pressure on them, I was not able to bend them on my own.  I was also a little nauseated when I saw the x-ray, as the screws look like they could have been taken from my husbands shop.  But, I am told they won’t set off metal detectors.  And, look how good that toe looks!  Straight!  No bump!  Bright white arthritis gone!

after

I’m officially screwed….hahaha

What have I done since then?  I have been to two physio appointments (I already had a physiotherapist from the months before) and he worked on my toes real good.  I’m doing exercises to bend them, and still icing as needed.  My YMCA membership expired yesterday, so I asked my physiotherapist if I could run today.  He knows how I am, and he told me to give it a shot.  My podiatrist also told me that when I did start running, I just would need to listen to my body.  So, I went to the lake and did 5 km!  I ran them very cautiously, with lots of walk breaks in mile 1, one walk break in mile 2 and then no walk breaks in mile 3.  My average pace: 10:52 a mile.  A far cry from my 7:13 a mile I ran back at a local 5km in May which was a few weeks after Boston.  But, I know there isn’t any racing for me in the near future.  I am not planning on ‘racing’ for the rest of 2016.  Just training and getting myself back to comfortable longer runs.  My goal race is the WDW Marathon Weekend, where I will be doing the Goofy Challenge (half marathon on Saturday, full marathon with my best friend on Sunday) and I am going to run them just for fun.  No time goal, no personal bests.  Just FUN!  My training for this race weekend begins officially on August 29th.

I was going to take a photo now of my foot before posting this, but I have been doing quite a bit today and had a sock on, so it’s really funky looking.  It feels great though!  Are my results and recovery normal for this type of surgery?  I am not really sure.  I know people who have had only the bunionectomy done and have had much more of a difficult time recovering.  My bunion was not completely horrible, but we decided to go ahead as I was being opened up anyway.  I was extra careful post surgery to not do too much and get infected…until I knew the scar had healed and wouldn’t bust open.  And while I told myself to wait until August 1st to try running, I knew being reasonable out there today would be alright.  I am looking forward to fully recovering and getting back to racing speed.

If you or anyone you know has questions about my procedures and recovery, please feel free to leave a comment or email me.

Feb17

8.5 Weeks Until Boston…Training Progress, Race Goals, Injury Update

Posted on by
Standard

Helllllloooooooooooo!  Crazy to see on my training plan that I am now 7.5 weeks in, with 8.5 weeks left to go!  Almost at that halfway point!  Training is on schedule and I am feeling pretty good.  I lamented before how it is frustrating sometimes as I notice myself slower on some workouts this year than I was last year, but I then remember that last year I was coming off some strong races in late fall/winter so I was better prepared to enter training.  I have had some awesome training runs, though, and that makes me feel even more confident getting to this halfway point.  The 16 miler I have on Saturday will be my first true test, in my opinion, as it has the mileage challenge and the mental challenge.  I missed my first 16 miler two weeks ago because I was fighting this awful stomach bug, so I need to go out and just get the mileage in.  Nothing fancy, no crazy pace accelerations…just run 16 miles in my long-run pace range (7:48-9:04 per mile).

I also have mentioned before that not having any races lately has made it hard at times to really push my limits.  On February 27th, I will be doing my first event of 2016.  The Hypothermic Half is an event held nationwide and put on by Running Room.  I am doing this in conjunction with my 18 miler that day, so I am not going to race it, just simply use it as part of my training run that day.  The ‘competitive’ events come in March and April, as I have the local Moonlight Run 10km on March 19th and the Trailbreaker Half Marathon in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on April 2nd.  My dream goal at Moonlight would be to place in top 3 women overall.  The race can be all over the place, due to the change in weather, time of year, and the wicked hill climb for the last 3/4 of a mile.  Last year, while I ran faster than the year prior, I placed 5th overall in women.  I ran a 43:47.  In 2014, I placed 4th overall with my 47:27.  This year, I expect to be somewhere in between those times, but have no real clue how I will finish.  It really depends on who shows up on race day….and I don’t mean just what competitors….I mean what Andrea will show up?!?!?

For Trailbreaker, I am planning on pushing myself to the limits and run the best half marathon I possibly can.  To beat my personal best, I would need to run faster than a 1:35:41.  I did that time exactly one year ago in frigid temperatures.  My most recent half marathon time was my less-than-pleasing Lethbridge Police Half, where I had stomach issues the last 4 miles and dropped position and time, finishing with a 1:40.13…well off what I was capable of.  So really, I am aiming for anything under 1:40 at Trailbreaker, as coming off a week of ‘vacationing’ in Milwaukee is sometimes a bit much.  And since I have been training for Boston, I know my  legs are ready for this.  And, the elevation is lower back home, so you never know!  Lets just hope the humidity stays away!

Lastly….my foot.  It’s not an injury, per say, but a nuisance.  I know, KNOW it is getting more aggravated by the day as I keep pounding out the mileage.  The new shoes and orthotics have helped tons, and I am so glad I got them.  However, the only way for it not to hurt would for me to not run, walk, stand, be human.  So, I am just going to keep ruining my foot and build that bone spur up more and more until I have a surgery date set.  I have been putting prescription 10% Voltaren on it as of late, and this has helped numb the pain.  I am set to see my podiatrist next week to talk about pain management, and then I will hopefully be booking an appointment with my family doctor (and sports medicine extraordinaire) to have him inject something into it?????  I have been going to physiotherapy pretty regularly, and I am addicted to the TENS machine…those electric wave pulses (or whatever they are) on my foot feel SO GOOD.  I really don’t know how my foot will hold up on races, as during runs I don’t really think about it. It is after I am done running and my shoe is off that the throbbing really kicks in.  So the Hypothermic half, Moonlight Run and Trailbreaker will all be good indicators on how 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston will physically feel come April 18th!  I don’t really care if my foot feels like it is going to fall off during that race, because emotionally it will feel amazing!

 

 

Jan11

Race Plans, Boston Training, & Clean Eating

Posted on by
Standard

…For Boston Training that is!

I began my 16-week training plan for the Boston Marathon on December 27th.  It was a tough first week, as while I had been doing the RunStreak through Runners Soul all December, I really did not have the mileage (or speed…or skill) that I had last year at this time.  I had been taking it really easy the last two-three months (as I needed to) so getting back at it has been tough.  Those “Easy Paced Runs” aren’t feeling very easy, but I’m managing to hit my pace goals for each day so far.  This Saturday was my most impressive day, as I did 9.12 miles in 80 minutes in the nasty cold (-4F when I went out to start).

When I compare the data I have from last year’s training cycle for Vancouver to what I have so far for Boston, it is slightly frustrating as I was A LOT faster 365 days ago.  But, I was on a stretch of a bunch of races, and hadn’t taken a moment to slow down.  I took the time to slow down and BREATHE this fall, and have been managing with my foot bone-spur issue.  Will I be able to get to Vancouver 2015 shape by Boston?  Who knows.  But I do know I am going to Boston in April and I am going to finish that damn race and be happy no matter what my time is!

A better indicator for how Boston will go, time wise, will be the races leading up to it.  Other than my under-trained 5 km in November, I haven’t had a longer distance race since Labour Day weekend.  I have updated my race schedule for 2016 here.  There are quite a few unknowns, as two races I normally do (10 Mile Road Race & Rattler Run 10km) don’t have their registration up year, so I am not certain of the weekends.  I am also toying with the idea of doing the Calgary 50 km again (My husband and mom are going to yell at me when they read that).  That would in a way probably be my ‘last hurrah!’ before my foot surgery.  Or, if they schedule my foot surgery later in June or July, I would try to register for the coveted local race, LadiesFest, which is an 8km.  It is later this year than usual, as I am normally at ASAA Provincial Track & Field.  I have not done that race before!  Lets be honest, as long as my surgery isn’t until later in June, I’ll probably register for both…Might as well mess my foot up more before they cut it open!

As an unrelated (sorta?) thing….Dan (my husband) and I decided to not learn from our craziness in June 2014 and we embarked on the Buzzfeed Clean Eating Challenge yet again.  I wrote about it twice on this blog, once at the beginning and at the end.  The beginning post from the last adventure is here.  Why the hell are we putting ourselves through this again?  Well, we did learn some great recipes the first time, we did lose some weight, and we actually had fun (in between our angry bouts due to lack of booze, sugar and salty snacks).  We also somehow convinced our friends Peter & Mac to join in on this, and they are doing it too.  We will all celebrate with pizzas and beer once the shenanigans are over.  The timing for these two weeks have been carefully planned, as we needed it to be two weeks where neither of us are too overloaded with work, as this requires a lot of cooking and time.  We did a weigh-in on Saturday and started the challenge Sunday.  Dan is documenting most of the cooking with pictures and videos on his phone, which yesterday consisted of me almost peeing myself laughing at the sheer size of the meals we were creating.  And the volume of dishes.  Lots and lots of dishes to wash…….

clean eat table

How will this diet alter my ability while training??  Not sure.  When we did it the last time, I had just finished training for and running in the Calgary full marathon.  That marathon was the first attempt I made at qualifying for Boston, and I fell way short, running a 3:46.  I was in really good shape at the start of the diet, and the diet did really clean out any ‘bad’ I had going on.  But it did wreck havoc with my system a bit.  I had one race during the diet in 2014, Millarville Half Marathon, and I certainly did not feel the best when I was done.  I have some straightforward training runs the next two weeks with some basic speed work, so I should be OK.  Pushing through the long workouts while not ‘carbing up’ will be interesting, but I think this diet tying in to me getting back at it with my Boston training couldn’t come at a better time.  I will keep everyone posted on how it turns out in the end!  Until then, time to keep on running…Boston is less than 100 days away!!!!!!!!!!