The Heel from Hell, Part 25,849

Notice anything different with my right foot?  That's my new friend, her name is Boot.

Clever and original - that's me!

So....what's been going on since I wrote over a week ago?

Well, first off, I have to tell you about the 3rd, and thankfully FINAL, Chilly Cheeks Duathlon on Saturday.  I know you are not going to believe this, I'm still a little in shock myself, but I WON my age group for the whole series.  Like in Number UNO!!!  I know, crazy huh? 

My winnings: A Road ID gift certificate, a $25 off entry to a slew of upcoming races
(Mostly du and triatlons - of course) and some Tagalons -
Anyone ever won Girl Scout cookies in a race before?
I think half were gone before I even got my bike on the
car rack to go home!

I'm not sure how I squeaked that out (and granted there were only 7 of us in the 40-49 mountain bike division - but who's counting!?!) - my heel hurt a LOT and the 50-mph winds were atrocious, but hey I'll take it.  My run pace soared to something in the snail-ish 9:00 range (wth???) but my bike pace dropped about 10 minutes from the first race back in December, and considering gale-force winds were in my face and I felt like I was moving backwards, this is pretty remarkable.

I'm thinking a small, short triathlon is in my future - heel permitting!

There she is: studly biker woman with her mountain bike in a duathlon!

Yep, that even looks like a heel-hurting, pathetic 9 min/mile pace!

 Cow-Print-Speedo-Man from race #2 showered us
with his presence, and part of his ass, in #3. 

And no race would be complete without sharing something I learned, so here's the list:

- I still suck on a bike and I still don't enjoy it.  But I am improving, slightly.

- I miss racing.  A LOT!!!!!

- My girl-bits are getting tougher (tougher??), I don't think I whined about them hurting on that damn bike seat until about mile 8.  Let's recap race #1: they hurt at mile .01.

- NEVER wear a high-up ponytail when you wear a bike helmet; the helmet thus becomes too tight to accommodate a clump of hair on the back of your head and then you end up with a headache, and massive indentation on your forehead.  That hurt way more than the girl-bits from race #1.  Ok, maybe not but it STILL hurts if you touch my forehead where the bike helmet was crammed into it.

- The uber-competitive freak I am, loves winning - even if it is riding a 4000 lb. mountain bike!

Ok, moving on....you probably really want to know more about my new best friend, Boot, who btw, I'm already sick of after knowing for a mere 5-hours.

I'll try to sum this stupid, multiple personality disorder heel since I last left you....

The Plantar Faciitis dude at Regis University was nothing but nice and helpful and just simply put: wonderful.  He spent a little over 2-hours with me testing my foot, trying this heel insert and that heel cup, asking lots of questions.  I left with two quasi-customized inserts and told to test them out.  He was going to give me a list of "small recommendations to do at home" (whatever that was) but he was late for class and had to rush off and I forget to get them from him.  Anyway, he couldn't have been more nice and I was just so touched by all this free service.....but he told me, after I asked him if I was dealing with strictly plantar faciitis, "You are anything BUT classic text book plantar faciitis.  Yes, you do have some going on but you also have Achilles Tendinitis and a wicked case of a heel contusion with most likely a heel periosteum." 

I think that deserves some sort of award or something!!!

So I decided I wasn't running at all last week because my heel was being bitchier than normal.  I won't apologize for the word, it's the best description I can come up with.  I knew I had that race on Saturday and wanted it in a much happier state so thought staying off it was my best bet.

Well, not so much.  The heel hurt immediately off my bike.  But it was manageable for 4 miles (and let's not forget in ridiculous headwind!!).

The next day, Sunday, I couldn't walk.  Literally, if I wanted to move from point A to B, I had to do so on the outside of my toes.  This pain now decided to move to the INSIDE of my foot - I mean, why not, it's never been there before and about the only place I haven't had pain before - so seems about right it was time for it to occur there.

I decided to go for a run anyway.  Cuz that's just how illogical my mind works when it wants to run badly.

FAIL!

This morning (Monday), I woke up thinking all would be fine, as usually the pain from the previous day's run has subsided.  Um, not so much.  Exact same piercing, stabbing pain on the inside of my heel.  Oh yay.  There was no way I could stand at work all day listening to kids complain about whatever minor ache they had that day.  I laid in bed and called in "sick" and called the podiatrist.

He fit me in this morning, and his first sentence when I saw him was, "It's time to attack this thing more aggressively."  AGREED!!! 

He's not sure what's going on for certain but is pretty much convinced it's still a severe case of plantar faciitis because, he claims, if the facia is torn then it wouldn't hurt.  Which I don't get but I'm not the expert (though I've read enough about this stupid thing that I feel I could probably teach heel pain 101 AND 102 at school!).  I asked about a heel contusion, like the guy from Regis suggested, but he thought I'd be jumping out of my chair when he squeezed on my Achilles (it hurt, but not excruciating).

So here's the scoop:  I GET to be friends with Boot for two weeks.  I'm pretty sure I'll be ready kick her to the curb by tomorrow, but I will be a good girl and keep her through our entire 2-week bonding (walking with this thing on SUCKS!  It's definitely a workout though, the only plus!).  I GET to go have some diagnostic testing done tomorrow, which should give us more answers.  I CAN ride my bike and I CAN swim and I CAN weight train.  I should NOT, however, eat a pint of Ben and Jerry's or a bag of Cheetos (which I may, or may not, have listened to).

Oh, and can I just say that my doctor dreamy podiatrist has been so extremely understanding with my whole insurance fiasco (aka: I have none due to my lovely doctor screwing up my charts, labeling my dehydration "cancer" two years ago) and is not charging me for office visits plus I got my friend, Boot, at cost.  I swear, just when you think the world is really failing you (the heel, the insurance, the retarded doctor who freaked out when I was dehydrated and labeled me cancerous, the job....) you find yourself walking out of the podiatrist's office, limping down the road in a freaking stupid boot, almost in tears because there ARE some good people in this world who truly care!  Dr. Dreamy and Mr. Regis, both of these guys, I have been very lucky, and BLESSED, to have on my side.

I'm not even going to share the possibilities of a barrage of solutions for this skitsofrantic heel until I know what it is exactly were dealing with and what the doctor suggests. 

And I'll be honest, I'm not even going to go there myself.  I actually feel a sense of relief, believe it or not.  I'm so ready to start healing and if this miserable boot, a slew of diagnostic tests I can't afford, taking a few months off - whatever it is I need - I am so ready for it!!! 

Bring it on!  Let's get this heel healed so I can get back on the road.  Running!

As for Skyline to Sea?  Well, it's pretty obvious to me....but when I said something to Dr. Dreamy, he said, "It doesn't look promising, but you never know."  Hum.

In the meantime, I'll be hanging out a lot on this guy, who is planted smack in my living room (a year ago I would have been appalled at a bike trainer and bike in my living room.  Well, I am SO over that now!).

After all, I have my duathon title to defend next year.  I'll be ready!!

(and for all your cyclist out there, be forewarned: I'm going to have a trillion questions to ask in the next few weeks.  Thanks in advance).

Oh and yes, I am in the middle of changing up the blog a little.  The above header picture is a reminder of happier running times when I was training to run up Mt. Evans (elevation 14,051').  I want to look at it awhile to remind me I need to do whatever it takes to get back.  And I will.  No doubt!