Tenderfoot

I've had a bit of a tender foot since mid-October.

It kept going away, but it cropped up again as soon as I had forgotten it. Despite taking 2 weeks off from running over the holidays, it flared up after some hiking.

I finally got myself to the podiatrist, expecting him to clear me and confirm that it was really nothing.

Instead I got a diagnosis of a Plantar Plate injury. In other words, Turf Toe. It's quite mild, most days I don't feel anything.



I rigged up a little homemade orthotic using Superfeet and some thick moleskin.





Though I don't appear to have any signs of hammertoe, I taped my second toe like this.

I took another 10 days off running which coincided perfectly with a nasty chest cold and cough.

I got rid of some nice winter boots I'd been wearing (not high-heeled, I don't wear those anymore) which seemed to aggravate my foot.

I am now wearing shoes at all times, rather than walking around sock-footed at home.

My mile and a half test run yesterday appears to have gone well; no tenderfoot today.

Fingers crossed that I am on the road to recovery!

ULTRA Study: Some Good News

 
Finally, a study with some good news about the health effects of ultrarunning!

Health and Exercise-Related Medical Issues among 1,212 Ultramarathon Runners: Baseline Findings from the Ultrarunners Longitudinal TRAcking (ULTRA) Study

To read the New York Times article about the ULTRA study, click here. 

My favorite quote from the New York Times article: "... Researchers ... asked them probing and almost impolite questions about the past and current states of their bones, hearts, blood pressures, prostates, breasts, skin, lungs, moods, bowels, eyes, waistlines, livers and many other body parts and systems."

Cheers to your health and happy running!

Ringing in the New Year in Sedona

As much as I love trail running, I thoroughly enjoy taking occasional breaks from my chosen sport.


On our second visit to Sedona, we did no running and lots of hiking.





We saw interesting wildlife:





We took a very scenic ride on the Verde Valley Railroad.




To ring in the New Year we went mountain biking.






Riding trails amidst this beautiful place was exhilarating fun. And what a workout!!



Wherever you spent your holidays, I hope they were enjoyable.

Happy New Year!