Happy Feet

I just saw Dr. M. in the hallway -- he's one of our foot surgeons. I told him I had run the marathon and I had hurt my toe. He said "Congratulations. I told you so." (He had told me in December that I would be 'seeking him out' when it was all over.) Anyway, he looked at Big Toe and said it didn't look like I was going to lose the toenail! HOORAY!!! He said it was just 'major bruising from a traumatic injury' and I should rest it. Yea for that. He also couldn't understand why I was upset over the possibility of losing a toenail. Anne & I were high-fiving the salvation of the toenail and he kept saying "It's just a toenail. Why were you upset about that?" BECAUSE IT'S SANDAL SEASON!!! AND I'M A GIRL!!!!! I had taken the polish off Big Toe last night to see if it was discolored and now am sporting 9 toes featuring OPI Cajun Shrimp and 1 plain toe. I will have to remedy that tonight. Anyway, Mr. Went To Market Toe, I'm glad you decided to stick with the other piggies.

Today, I'm still moving a little slow, but much improved from yesterday. I have a massage scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. Can't wait.

More to come real soon about my marathon weekend.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes....

So Derrick Rose is leaving. And Coach Cal is staying. And Chris Douglas-Roberts isn't talking. And today at 2pm, we find out if Tyreke Evans is coming. As the world turns for the Tigers...

My knee is significantly better. I did about 30 minutes of stretching this morning. Felt good. I was going to attempt some kind of movement, but felt a teeny bit of twinging so I didn't. I am starting to see the light at the end of the ITB injury tunnel. I am walking around with practically no pain. Finally. I'm glad. I really want to get back with my training and my feeble attempt at running. The whole ITB pain has been a bit brutal. And quite pesky. It has just taken longer to get through it than I expected. But it is also apparently a fairly common running woe. I think I have made a wise decision about taking this time off to let it clear up. Again, one small detour is better than a major derailment. The extra rest has been nice. Having the WHOLE day on Saturday last weekend was just divine. But I also am WANTING to walk or run. I miss the exercise. Anyway, I do believe I'm approaching the end of this detour. In the meantime, you know the drill, more NSAIDS, stretches, ice, and the beloved foam roller.

Let's talk a little bit about that foam roller. I love to hate that thing. But it is pretty effective. You basically roll your body weight along the roller. It allows the tightened knots and irritated tissue and muscle to loosen up. Almost like a self-massage of sorts. In fact, this concept is called "self-myofascial release technique". And let me tell you -- in the beginning, when you find that sore spot and roll on it....OUCHYMAMA!!! Major ooowwwwie! But the more you roll on that sore, tight spot the better it feels. So, I've been rolling around the bathroom floor with the ol' foam roller. I've been using it also on other places - my calves, hamstrings, back, etc. And sometimes, it actually feels good. It's a good way to keep your muscles loosened up. And from what I've read online, there are lots of runners that use it on a regular basis. I saw somebody one Saturday morning at Shelby Farms rolling on one in the parking lot before her run. It's a pretty useful little thing. OK, it's not so little. But it's useful. And cheaper than a $75 massage.

Walk this way

Before we get started, join me this morning in raising your coffee cup to salute the Vanderbilt Commodores who knocked off the #1 Tennessee Volunteers last night. Woo-hoo! We were all Vandy fans yesterday weren't we?! The Tigers take on Tulsa tonight and Southern Miss Saturday. So, I hope UT enjoyed their BRIEF stay at the top (Rocky NOT Top - ha ha), because next Monday, we should be back on top of the polls. Then there are two games remaining. Pundits have us at 30-1 at the end of the season and a #1 seed in the tourny. March Madness is looming and I'm excited!!! GO TIGERS!!!!!





This morning, I walked a nice little mile on my treadmill. Just one... Every once in a while, I broke out in a slight trot. Nothing major. There was some tightness and just a slight touch of ouch. A little discomfort remains, but nothing like it has been. So, I would say I'm on the mend. I'm not going to be able to just jump out there and pick up where I left off. Hard to think that two weeks ago I was running 7 miles and now I can barely squeak out one mile walking. But, shin splints can be summed up in four words: too much, too soon. So I'll just have to SLOWLY get ramped up again.

Julie the Mentor sent me an email last night and summed it up like this: "definitely better to take it easy now and still be able to finish the season than to be sidelined for a longer period of time...(and if it takes a little longer, there are still more seasons - we ain't goin' nowhere til there's a CURE!)..." (Thanks Julie!) I'm still viewing this as a detour not a derailment. Plus, if it comes down to walking the whole stinkin' 26.2 miles, I'll do that. My goals for this quest were to raise money and awareness for the Leukemia Society, honor and remember my Daddy, and finish the marathon in an upright, vertical position. I am convinced I can do all of those things.

I've also been keeping an eye on Darren McFadden (my favorite former Arkansas Razorback) who is knocking everybody's socks off at the NFL combines this week. He's expected to be a top 5 NFL draft pick in April.

And, in case you were wondering, my favorite American Idol guy is that cute little David Archuleta. I love how he is just so surprised and embarrassed by the applause and cheers he gets. He's a cutie and a darn good singer.

Desperado

Add to my latest treatment method.... Castor Oil. No, NOT drinking it. Just rubbing it on my legs. Mom read about the healing powers of castor oil from Dr. Gott. She tried it on a painful arthritic joint yesterday morning and got some pretty good relief. So I figured, what the heck. Got nothing to lose. So we rubbed it all on my legs. Jodi walked in to Mom's house and there we are going to town with a bottle of castor oil and a cotton ball. He just rolled his eyes.

He said when he got home last night, the entire house still reeked of Icy Hot.

Poor Jodi.....

I will try *anything* to get this problemo taken care of. I am seeing some improvement this morning and I'm very thankful for that. I just want this whole injury thing to be a small detour rather than a derailment. Because I REALLY want to participate and complete the marathon.

I did some Pilates this morning. Whew -- that abs dvd is very tough.

On another note, Jordan spent Sunday afternoon at Trenton's playing with his new Wii. Last night, there were about 20 pictures of the Wii printed out and taped all over our house with the plea "We need a Wii". Nothing like a little advertising to get your message out there.....

And finally, I'm looking forward to watching Vanderbilt HOPEFULLY beat UT tonight, so we can take back what is rightfully ours.... THE NUMBER ONE RANKING!! GO TIGERS!!!!

Trying to be smart not stubborn

It's GAME DAY!! I just read on the Commercial Appeal website (since my paper isn't here yet - GRRRRR) that by 5am there were already almost 100 students at the Forum getting in line for tickets and spots for the ESPN College Game Day show. I'm *so* excited!!!

Now let's talk about running. Or for today, NOT running. I've decided to sit today out and not run or walk. Very hard decision and I'm disappointed and upset and trying not to cry right now as I type this. But after listening to Nanette and Dr. Azar and Ty (my MD bro-in-law), and Connie (my WISE sister), I've decided to just rest today and not push it so this inflammation can heal. I did think about just walking the entire thing. And while walking is just walking, nine miles is a LOT of walking.

The inflammation is the body's way of dealing with injury. I have to listen to that. The last thing I want is to try to push through something and then REALLY get hurt. So I'm hoping that a day or so of real genuine rest will benefit me a lot.

So, today is game day. In more ways that one. And here I am on the DL. But hopefully this will be a smart decision and I will be back on track very soon.

In the meantime,

GO TIGERS!!!

Yes, it's some 'itis'

Nanette said she thought I needed to let one of our doctors take a look at the 'point tender' spot on my leg. Kind of scared me because I really didn't want them to find anything. Ignorance is bliss. But it was also painful. I saw Dr. Azar this afternoon (He's the team doc for the Grizzlies.) and he agreed with Nanette. Just some major inflammation. He didn't think an xray or MRI would be beneficial right now. And I should just watch it and not push myself beyond what it feels like what I can do. So, again, I'm very thankful it's not a stress fracture. I'll settle for some 'itis'. They both agreed I shouldn't run on Saturday if I'm not up to it. But I could at least walk my 9 miles. We'll see how it is.

It did seem that as today went on, I didn't have as much pain as I have been having. So maybe there is some small improvement. Maybe my cortisone bionic patch is working. I hope so. I get another one tomorrow and Nanette said I should get three more next week.

I'm so thankful - and lucky - that I have these orthopaedic resources available to me. I can just go down to PT or knock on Dr. Azar's door and get help. How great is that.

(Hey, I made it through a whole post without saying GO TIGERS!)

Taking it slow

I was anxious to attempt to run, walk or even move on the treadmill this morning because my calves were hurting so bad. I put in 2 miles - walking mostly and a little running. My calves were burning almost the whole time. I just think I need to take it real slow and not push myself through this. But right now, almost 2 hours later, I am feeling better than I was while I was actually walking. So I wonder what that's about. I am wondering if I will be able to run/walk the 9 miles on Saturday. Or maybe I should just walk all of it and just let this inflammation settle down. I need to ask Nanette about that.

Big banner headline on the front page of the CA today about the Tigers/Vols game: "Bring 'em on!". That's funny - that's almost the same title I posted last night. But that's how Memphis is thinking right now. This game on Saturday is huge and is the talk of the town and the hottest ticket around. I AM STOKED and cannot wait!!! GO TIGERS! (Can you believe we shot almost 78% from the free throw line?!)

Progress made:

Accomplished 2 miles of movement this morning

My fundraising total is $2,026! Thanks everybody!

The Bionic Woman

LOVED that show when I was a kid. Jaime Sommers and Steve Austin. The perfect bionic couple. Lindsay Wagner was so pretty. And Lee Majors was beyond handsome. Connie even had the Bionic Woman doll - her rubber skin rolled up to show her bionics.






Well, The Bionic Woman doesn't have anything on me. Check this out.
I finally acknowledged that my shin/calf pain was a bit more than "oh my calves hurt because I've been running". There was a specific place that hurt pretty bad to the touch. So, I went down to see Nanette in PT and she said it was probably an "itis of the peroneous something or other" which basically means inflammation of the leg muscle. So she gets this patch thing that uses a small electronic current to put cortisone directly into the sore spot on my leg. I am to wear it for three hours and then take it off. It even has a little green light which will turn red when my time is up.

She wants me to rest tomorrow and get another patch. Run on Thursday. Rest Friday (which was already scheduled) and get another patch. Then do my long run on Saturday.

I'm very thankful that this is just some inflammation and not any kind of a stress fracture. I google too much.....But I think I had ignored it long enough and then realized that this could lead to something a lot worse that could end my marathon running career before it ever got going. (insert laugh here)

Jaime Sommer's bionics gave her amplified hearing, a greatly strengthened right arm, and enhanced legs, enabling her to run faster than a speeding car. I can't wait to see how I turn out after my electronic patch.