Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Slightly Injured, Majorly Bummed

It's small, and I'm sure it will pass soon, but it's keeping me off the streets this week and that is bumming me out. Plus, I'm generally stressed with the program closure and all, I'm eating too much, which would be okay if I was running, but I'm not, so now to top it off I feel fat and out of control.

That was it, that was my whine. Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming...

I wanted to hit 62 miles last week - the length of the 100K. I wanted to do it because the mysterious "they" say that if you can do it in a week, you can do it in a day. Since doing it in a day is exactly my intent, this made sense to me. I did the 50k on Sunday, so in the normal course of things, this should have been easily achievable: rest Monday, five on Tuesday, five on Wednesday, five Thursday morning and five that night, 11 on Saturday. It didn't quite work out like I planned. Tired legs Tuesday produced four miles. Wednesday was the five that was planned, but Thursday morning brought light snow and icy streets. I made that up by running to the track early on Thursday night, then running laps for a while before we ran to the park. Got ten in. Now I needed 12 on Saturday. I planned to run one mile loops at Bradley Lake - getting in the groove for Pac Rim in a few weeks.

Less than a half mile into my run towards the lake, I felt a strange cramping just above my foot - below the shin, above and between the ankle bones. It felt like it was cramping in an upside down horseshoe shape. Strange. Maybe my shoe was too tight. I loosened it and went on. The cramping continued off and on. Cramp, run a few steps, clear, and repeat. I fiddled with my shoe a couple times, but pushed on. (Silly me.) I recognized that this wasn't a normal muscle cramp type feeling, but since it was coming and going, I just kept running. Once I made it to coffee, I realized it hurt as I was sitting there. When we left and walked a half a block to another store, I found myself limping. Once we got home and I took my shoe off, the pain was gone. However, there was now a big, dark red bruise covering the area and it was beginning to swell. Ice, rest, ibuprofin. Skip the Sunday run. Finally decide I'm resting it till Saturday. It's better, still slightly sore, still slightly swollen, but the bruise is mostly gone.

I, of course, looked it up on the internet. I found this picture, and I believe I did something to the superior extensor retinaculum. (Whatever that is). Notice how it almost forms an arch - exactly where I felt the cramp? The thing that bugs me is that I don't know what I did - I know that I didn't bang it against anything, I know that I didn't stumble, or twist it. Repetitive stress injury? Could be. Funny that I ran a triple and a double and didn't have problems though. I just hope it heals well enough to let me get through 100K in 18 days!

Lasik update: Still great! Several people have asked about night vision. I have never had great night vision, but I haven't noticed any changes. There are halos around the lights, but I'm told that fades with time, and honestly, I don't even notice them. It's all good!

Program update: The big parent meeting is tomorrow night, I'll be glad when that is over. I've heard of two other colleges in the state that are closing their parent ed programs too, and many others are on the table. I have my resume together and sent one out this week to a specific posting. I don't remember if I mentioned it before, but I do have a back up plan. I can teach ECE on the other campus next fall, but it would be about half-time. I'm looking around for a while before I make that committment.

That's the state of things here in our fair village. Hope things are going well in yours!

16 comments:

Olga said...

Rest treats everything. If anything, you got yourself a nice taper!

Wes said...

sorry to hear that your foot is being such a pain... pun intended :-) Olga is right!! You will be well tapered for the event!

Anne said...

Well how about that -- I'm majorly injured and slightly bummed. Actually, I'm more than slightly bummed, but such is life. I hope you heal quickly and that everyone is impressed with your resume at the other campus. Keep your feet up!!

wendy said...

=(
I was totally looking forward to a couple of miles with you tomorrow night!

so glad you can still see. I still see halos, but I don't actually notice them...of course, I don't notice much, so maybe I'm not a good judge...

I will be keeping my fingers crossed for a healthy you soon!

Anonymous said...

Interesting while doing a search on the internet for "superior extensor retinaculum" I found your blog. I somehow hurt mine or at least that area too and I do not know how. Mine hurts to a point where I walk with a slight limp because the muscle or tendon feels very sore as if it has been worked out very hard or cramped. Been like that for the last 3 days. Seems to be getting better slowly thought, been trying to stretch it which is kind of painful but seems to help some too.

Ms Eva said...

A nice taper for sure... take it easy. << hugs >>

Legs and Wings said...

Yeah, hopefully that cramping bit and the retinaculum thing doesn't hold you back for too long. Crazy times. Keep smiling.

Sunshine said...

Whine is good!!
Sorry about the injury.. Isn't it strange.. after all the experience / running you have done .. to discover this pain in your road. Here's to rapid healing.
Best wishes for the parent meeting and your decision making.
My cataracts give me halos at night .. but I'm used to it.
Thanks for your comment.

Joe said...

Injuries really are odd sorts of things. Who knows from whence they come?? Or why? Or when? Lots of theories but many remain somewhat mysterious. As yours, perhaps!

Enjoy the rest...cut down on portion size. Your "fat", Michelle, is most people's "just fine" remember!!

Smart move to take your time on the job search...find something right. You have a lot to give.

Anonymous said...

I hope the foot is doing better. Sorry about the stress+lack of running+eating. Those 3 are terrible - I've been there many times. :( Good luck with healing, job search, etc.

By the way, the half I'm doing in April is actually in Wenatchee, WA. I decided that sounds more appealing than running in PDX in the rain. ;) My in-laws live there, so we'll go visit and I'll run!

Anonymous said...

Michelle, so sorry to hear about your injury. I remember when I had IT Band problems and thinking "All I want is to be able to participate!" If at all possible try to enjoy your 'forced rest' period. I'm sending warm, fuzzy, healing thoughts your way! Also holding a good thought for you on the job front.
Take Care,
Gail

Unknown said...

I hope it feels better today, but if not, hopefully you're resting some more. No need to cause further injury to yourself.

Darrell said...

Let's hope that after a good rest you will be back to your running exploits as good as ever.

iJuls said...

I hope your injury is short lived and that you can back to what you love to do. You're an inspiration. I have only run a few yards at a time since my marathon last weekend. Reading about how you ran after your 50K is amazing.

Scott McMurtrey said...

bummer. hope you're feeling better.

i can eat about seven...ten batches of cookies in one week -- hmmm, don't know if i could do it in a day, though. i'll try.

Dori said...

I have had pain in that exact spot off and on for several years. If you figure it out, let me know! I think in my case it's repetitive stress because of my terrible biomechanics.