Holy Feet

Puppy dogs and lollipops!

PUPPY DOGS AND LOLLIPOPS!

Those were the thoughts I used to settle into my happy place before Doc Lisch came in to administer the second injection of cortisone into my left heel in just eight days. Upon his entry, I reported that my heel felt well. Actually, despite my best attempts to limp on it this morning (I've become accustomed to doing so after races), it refused to hurt, even a little! He layed back the exam table, sharing how he himself had become a bit "sweaty and light headed" just last week while visiting a ear nose and throat doctor, sprayed some of the magic cold water on my heel, and then hit me with the good stuff.

Though this shot hurt a bit more than the first, there were no problems. No sweating like I stole something, no ringing of the ears, no signs of a loss of oxygen to the brain. With the shot over, I got down to the meat of the matter, "Should I take a break from running for a while, just to make sure this heals up fully?" He retorted, "You only run two or three miles a day right?" "Sure," I lied in response. "There should be no problem with that, just keep to easy running for about three to four weeks. Make sure you don't run hard, nothing like any kind of speed work."

The best kind of medical advice is that which is given by a doctor without having to prompt him or her for it. That kind of advice is surely representative of something they feel strongly about, as a physician, and not simply a reaction, perhaps an uneducated one, to a specific question. So without having to prompt him, he had given the yes/no answer I was looking for regarding speed training. His advice is not really surprising. After all, I stopped speed work last August when this problem started after I read that speed work / tempo runs were the worst kinds of running for the plantar fascia. I've been running with one group or another for nine months strait, I suppose it's time for a break.

As for whether or not I'll need to see Lisch again regarding the offending heel, he said 90% of people are healed up by this treatment; if in three weeks I haven't relapsed, I should be good. Unfortunately, another shot is not an option at this point, so if it doesn't work ... hummmmm ... it had better work!

So with only Memorial Loops on the running agenda, I will probably take a break from running for a while. I've said all Winter long that I want to do some swimming/biking in prep for a possible first ever Triathlon later this year; my Saturday mornings are free, guess I'll be going for a swim! This does leave me with a bit of an issue around the Bayou City Classic. In this race our centipede (a group of at least six runners who are roped together and are in costume) is the four time defending corporate champions! Such award winning centipedes as "The Lucky Charms", "Running of the Bulls to Market, Eat Mor Chiken", "Dick Cheney's Hunting Party", and "Beer Run" would not have graced the streets of Houston if not for our group. I suppose a very easy 6.2 miles roped to 30 or so of my friends wouldn't be that hard on the foot, but at the same time, if I'm going to keep to this running siesta, I think I really should keep to it. I think I'll agree to help organize it, but only run the last couple of miles of it. Tradition has it that we sing the third verse of "Eye of the Tiger" while climbing the last hill into downtown (honestly, where else do you hear the third verse of that song?), so I suppose there's no way I could pass that up!