Tag: plantar fasciitis

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My Wild Nightlife These Days

Icing Ankles
Yes, I know I need to shave.

So, last night I went wild with a Seinfeld rerun, ice, and a steak.  Nuts, I tell ya.  It was the one where George pulled a pre-emptive break up with his girlfriend.  What’s really crazy is, I pay $180/month for cable and that’s about the only thing I watch.  I understand that is not logical, but not much in my life is these days.

Legs feel good.  Feet and ankles, not so much.  I can honestly say this is my biggest concern right now.  A small tweak in my Achilles, and a lingering heel pain.  I’m getting more optimistic, but I need to figure this out.

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Day 5 – "10 Days of Rest"

Well, Friday was Day 4 and I didn’t do anything.  No stretches, strengthening, etc.  It was an essentially an off day during a resting period.

On Day 5, that’s when I noticed I could feel my plantar faciitis creeping back into my heel.  It wasn’t anything major, but the previous couple of days, it was gone.  Like gone, gone.

I first noticed it out of bed, but it became a little more prominent after I mowed the lawn in preparation for the soft launch of Tarrolly Hills (my above ground pool country club), which was a resoundingly mellow success story.

My first reaction was to get into some stretching poses and work it out, and while it helped a little, I was still feeling it later at Kevin and Christina’s wedding reception.  This, of course, meant no dancing, much to the chagrin of Wasky, who I learned is a huge fan of club music.

It’s kind of interesting because I’ve been to wedding receptions the last two weekends and both were packed with endurance athletes, so obviously that’s where the conversation goes.  Other than a short diversion to discuss the ridiculously tempting cupcakes, much of the night was spent discussing Wisconsin and the upcoming Ironman Chattanooga.

And that got my juices going.

So we’ll see how tomorrow goes.  I have a strange desire to mountain bike creeping into my head.  Maybe I can use it as a spin day just to get the stuff moving around in my legs a little.

In the meantime, here’s a picture of the Ironman groom, the club-music-loving Wasky, and the Tarrolly Hills Social Chairman, Jim who was sporting his outstanding leisure suit.  You really can’t ask for much more than this.

Kevin and Christina Wedding
Jim, Wasky, and Kevin. Photo by Marc Swain

 

 

 

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Dealing with Stabbing Heel Pain

These are the dog days of Winter and when you’re a triathlete with an injury, that can be treacherous territory.  I’ll be the first to admit, I have been bummin.

This year has been amazing in so many ways.  I have done things I never dreamed of, like completing an Ironman, of course, but it’s so much more.  I was waking up early and seizing the day at a lake 3 mornings a week.  I was working out before and after work.  I had lots of energy and was full of optimism more often than not.  But lately, I have been limping around and muddling in doubt.

Then, a few days ago, I went back to the basics.  Stretching, leg exercises, and the foam roller.  I really dove in and worked on loosening up my calf muscles, hamstrings, quads, and glutes.  I mean, I was makin’ love to foam.  The next day brought a pleasant surprise.

For the first time in months, I stepped out of bed without any heel pain.  It was like a damn miracle.

I thought it was plantar fasciitis, then a physical therapist diagnosed it as “fat pad syndrome,” but over time realized it wasn’t really the pounding that hurt, it was the push off.  So, once again, I trusted my first opinion, and decided it was plantar fasciitis.

Since then, I would like to say it is “healed” but it’s not quite 100%.  Another big issue is all the time I spend at a desk.  Either at work or editing/writing at night.  The minute I stand up, it feels like someone is stabbing me in the heel, then I think to myself, why would someone do such a silly thing?  That would be kind of a weird place to stab someone, I think, but after feeling that pain, it may not be such a bad idea.

So, the next time you feel like stabbing someone, give the heel some thought.  It could really screw up their training.