Sunday, July 30, 2023

I Wish My Foot Was Broken

Before you ask me if I'm nuts, let me explain. As you know, I've had mild pain in my left foot for about a month after landing on a rock on the trails. I ran Leadville with the pain, which didn't bother me at all. I waterskied all last weekend with the pain, again, very mild. Yet, I have this point tenderness around my second metatarsal and the ball of my foot. My foot swells at times. As I always say, I know enough to be dangerous, and based on my symptoms, I thought this was a stress fracture.

Turns out, I was wrong. It's most likely not a neuroma either.

I saw the ortho on Thursday. He did an x-ray and an exam and thinks that I have a plantar plate tear. I need to schedule an ultrasound to confirm the diagnosis. But basically, there's not a whole lot to do for this injury except wait for it to heal. This is why I would have preferred a fracture-- I'd already be halfway to being healed. Believe it or not, my ortho said the same thing.

My doctor did tell me to 'let the pain guide you' when it comes to activities. So nothing is forbidden--I just have to be smart and listen to my foot. I have some metatarsal pads to put in my shoes, which should help support the ball of my foot.

I probably will start some run/walk intervals in the next week or so. Otherwise, I have my arsenal of activities to keep me moving--pool running, cycling, waterskiing, CrossFit, and strength training. As always, I am so grateful for what I CAN do.

I'm not doing anything tricky here, just hitting some rough water. 
I thought it was a cool shot, tho!
Weekly Rundown
Sunday: waterskiing
Monday: rest
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: pool running
Thursday: strength training
Friday: assault bike 100 cal, burpees 60
Saturday: waterskiing

July miles: 31 miles

Running

That I only ran 31 miles in July makes me sad, considering that over half of them were at Leadville. 

Does pool running count? By Wednesday, I was starting to miss running. A lot. When I stepped outside into the disgustingly thick, humid air, I didn't miss running as much. I was grateful to head to the pool. The water was initially cold, but I warmed up in a hurry. This always makes me sweat! I was entertained by the campers, who were very concerned with what I was doing and why I was tethered to the ladder. They were also learning how to dive, but there was a lot of belly flopping. They were cute!


Strength Training

It was great to be back with SJ after a week off. We're still doing mostly upper body work and today I did 4 sets of 10 bench presses, building to 55#! Both of us were really excited about this. I alternated those with 4 sets of 8 barbell rows at 85#. After that I did single-arm inverted KB presses, 3 sets of 8 at 15#. These are challenging because of the instability of the inverted KB. I alternated those with 3 sets of 10 lat pull-downs on the cable machine and I have no idea what the weight was. It felt hard.


After that, I started to chip away at the summer challenge. Last week's challenge was 350 burpees and while I could have chipped away at it, I didn't want to. Now I have to. I did 45 today and yeah, I need to get cracking on these. SJ didn't believe me when I told her the ortho said no burpees!

This week's challenge is to accumulate 7500# of lifting. At first, I thought there was no possible way and then I thought I'd do deadlifts. But there were only a few lifts allowed and deadlifts were not on the list. Back squats were on the list, and I did 5 sets of 10 at 85#, which got me to 4250#. Not too shabby! 

I continued my quest to conquer those burpees on Friday, alternating 4 sets of 15 with 25 calorie rides x4 on the assault bike. 105 burpees down, 245 to go. Sigh. My motivation to finish this challenge is very low. 

Waterskiing

Sunday was my final day in Alabama and Holly and I were up early to ski. We resurrected our annual tandem ski and with the calm waters, we skied together for a long time! While I rested in the boat, Holly took a solo turn. Then it was my turn. Rinse and repeat. It was a gorgeous morning and the perfect way to wrap up a great weekend!


The hubs and I drove up to Lake Wisconsin on Saturday morning and he took me for a morning ski in my favorite bay. Shockingly, we had the entire bay to ourselves, which made for perfect conditions. I hated to stop! 



How was your week? Have you ever had a plantar plate tear? How do you like to crosstrain when you are injured? Are you doing any summer challenges? 

I'm so sorry I missed Runfessions this month. I'll be back with plenty of 'fessions next month. On Tuesday, I'll be posting my Mini Book Reviews!

I'm linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Rundown. I might not get to everyone's post today, but I will before the weekend!


37 comments :

  1. My friend Jill has had a plantar plate tear for years and she keeps running on it. I'm sure it's not ideal but that's what she does. I hope this condition allows you to do what you love!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It doesn't feel worse when I run, so I'm going to get back at it. At least I'm not training for anything!

      Delete
  2. Oh Wendy, I’m so sorry to hear about your foot! I did browse a few running blogs last week so I knew you had something and that you suspected a possible stress fracture. As you know, I know everything about foot woes. I’ve read about plantar plate tears and understand that isn’t an easy injury either. That’s great you can still load the foot enough to do squats and more! I hope you’ll get better asap.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. From what I've learned about this condition, I think it's something I am going to have to learn to live with.

      Delete
    2. Oh! I don't remember reading about that (but I probably did)! That's a bummer but I hope you find ways that work for you to still be able to run again eventually.

      Delete
    3. I just don't know if it will ever heal. So i may as well try running again--i ran that whole race on it!

      Delete
  3. I have a plantar plate tear too. Hurts more to walk than it does to run. Trying to avoid surgery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Carol, I feel like we need to talk! You should join the Trail Sisters for a run.

      Delete
  4. Ugh on the foot! I am hoping for you that with a little time off of running, it continues to heal and feel better. You did a great job keeping active. On the upside, this is not the most enjoyable time of the year to run. Hopefully, by fall you are back on the roads

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm going to start back running and see how it goes. It doesn't sound as if there's really any treatment for this.

      Delete
  5. Too bad your ortho didn't say "Nothing is forbidden- except for burpees." Seriously, that sucks! I also wish you had a broken foot. Bone injuries are so straightforward. You rest, and then they're healed. I had never heard of a plantar plate tear and had to look it up. I'm glad you have so many other activities to keep you active- and yes, running outside right now isn't the most pleasant thing anyway. I hope this heals quickly!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I never did get those burpees done, lol! Too bad SJ wouldn't take my excuse.

      Delete
  6. I'm so sorry about your foot -- I hope it heals quicker than you're expecting. The humidity this week (until today) was off the charts and even getting out early it was ugly. Still I know that doesn't really cheer you up much when you're limited.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are actually out of the humidity, which helped me feel less limited!

      Delete
  7. Sorry to hear about your foot. I hope you succeed in finding the right solution to keep on running as before.
    When I was injured I went to a gym and a pool. It helped a lot to recover soon.
    All the best.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Major ugh on the foot pain. As you know, I've had to rotate through my arsenal of fitness fixes, depending on the injury or recovery process. I walked when I couldn't run or cycle (my knee surgery in 2017), and I cycled a lot when I couldn't run or walk (stress fracture of 2020). It's great we have plenty of options to keep us busy and sane, LOL.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Believe it or not, bicycling--pedaling--hurts my foot. But I'll still do it.

      Delete
  9. Ugh, so sorry to hear about the plantar plate tear (I don't really know what that is). But foot pain is the worst. You're doing a great job staying active though - so much pool running, waterskiing, and strength training - way to go! Hopefully it heals faster than anticipated.

    ReplyDelete
  10. sorry about the foot... I have had a fracture and neuroma... hope this heals quickly... at least there is pool running and waterskiing.

    T o get rid of my neuroma pain, I switched to zero drop (Topos) so I put more weight on my heal... Now I'm at 3-5 drop... just a thought.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nope. I tried zero drop and they messed up my achilles. No need to develop a new aliment. lol

      Delete
  11. I had to google "planter plate tear"... oh my. I know exactly what you mean about preferring to have a broken foot. I wished that all the time with my Achilles stuff.
    I love your attitude! So good that you have plenty of other options.
    Hey, your hair looks so blond! I guess it must be from all the waterskiing in the sun. Looks great!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have a lot of gray and white hair and I'm tired of coloring it. I'm doing blonde highlights to help it blend as it grows out. I like the blonde, but not so much the gray. Hopefully doing it this way will help me get used to it!

      Delete
  12. Yikes, I remember when Mr Lyz sprained his ankle really badly we thought the same! At least the docs trust you and you trust yourself to go by the pain. Wishing you swift healing and much patience! (I've been off running for a week and a bit as had a colonoscopy mid-week last week (got the all-clear immediately) and what got to me was the low-fibre diet before and light diet after which left me v wobbly!).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you're feeling better soon! I felt a little yucky after my colonoscopy, but I think it's because I was so dehydrated going into it. That prep really got me. Within a day or 2, i felt like myself again.

      Delete
  13. I hope your plantar plate tear heals quickly, and I hope your walk/run plan can get you back on the trail safely. And you're right, there are so many other things you enjoy that keep you active.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Running isn't off the table, so I'm going to test the foot a bit later this week. Everyone tells me it takes a long time to go away so...

      Delete
  14. Ugh. I get it. I've never torn that before, but it sounds truly terrible. :(

    I'm so glad you had fun water skiing. I know that's so good for your heart and soul.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's not terrible but I'd rather have something that is going to heal. Who knows if this will ever heal?

      Delete
  15. That's a new one for me, I hadn't heard of a plantar tear or that you will have it for the long haul...Hopefully manageable so you can get back to the trail running soon!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm going to try some running on Friday. We'll see how it goes.

      Delete
  16. I just read your post, and my heart goes out to you! Dealing with injuries can be incredibly frustrating and challenging. It's understandable that you wish for a clear diagnosis, but I truly hope it's nothing serious. Rest and proper care are essential for healing, and I'm sending positive thoughts your way for a speedy recovery.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I do understand how you feel Wendy. Thank dog you do NOT have a neuroma though! honestly! and you DO have so many other things you can do. It does suck though and I do hope that you will really be back out there in no time. Intervals will work a wonder I'm sure!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I was OK once I'd had some proper brown food again! Did OK with the prep and managed not to get dehydrated although I won't be guzzling the orange lucozade again for a while!

    ReplyDelete