BABY STEPS....and NEW FOOT DISCOVERIES from the doc!

I promised myself that when i could run again I would be grateful for every SMALL victory and that I wouldn't push myself too hard too soon. This is harder than I thought.

Remember in January when I said that I had this little feeling inside that I would be running again before the end of Feb? maybe not a lot but something.
well I did run 1 mile on Feb 26 before we left for mexico.....and then obviously I didn't run in mexico...and my foot and hip got worse in mexico actually...maybe b/c of being in flip flops all the time? i'm not sure.  but it has gotten better again. the foot pain/stiffness is still there every day but my hip has gotten better....

I"m not sure what has made the diff..there are A LOT of posibilites: such as, 

-the lift in my left shoe to make up for my 4mm leg discrepancy (this is actually bone length diff)
-the correct toes
-the higher dose of synthroid and added T3 (if it's working then inflammation should be coming down)
-the progesterone kicking in, also a natural anti-inflammatory
-the high dose of Turmeric I added......

or maybe it's the COMBO of all these things:)

When I decided to take that 1mile run on Feb 25, I did  it b/c I felt so strongly in my heart that God was telling me too and that he HAD told me to in january. I felt like I needed to fulfill this little prophecy he gave me. Maybe he gave it to me b/c he knew I would be too afraid to run if He didn't. I don't know but I knew I should, so I did.

Then when I got home from Mexico, again a little voice told me to keep trying so I did.

once I started running I noticed that when I ran the pain went from my foot, to around my little ankle bone on the outside of my foot and up to my peroneals.

WELL, when I went to the foot and ankle doc and he said my symptoms sound like TARSAL COALITION. This is when 2 or more bones in your foot are fused together. In my case probably around the talus area.
Ifi its not bone then a fibrous tissue that is fused so the bones don't have full range of motion.

Had I not run, I wouldn't have felt where the pain moved to when I ran and He wouldn't have discovered this. I consider these small miracles in my life.
SO I got XRAYS on Thursday and I take them to him on Friday and we'll see what he says.

If its BONE it requires surgery (booooo) but if it's tissue, they can do a coritsol shots and manipulate the foot to try to break it up.
He did say this would explain the two fibular stress fractures and my hip pain:)
SO....fingers crossed we get answers on friday:)

In the meantime he said running a little bit is fine. So here's what I've done...
I'm adding in dates times and paces for my OWN reference and so I can look back in a few months and see how far i've come b/c right now it's VERY HUMBLING.
None of these runs were easy for me by ANY MEANS:(

Feb 25 1 mile 9:21
Mar 06 1 mile 9:17
Mar 07 1 mile 9:58 (ran with my 9yr old)
Mar 08 1.37 mile 10:26 pace
Mar 10 1 mile 8:35 (felt SO proud of this!)
Mar 11 1.45 mile 9:34 pace (ran with my 6yr old for her first time..this girls a RUNNER!)

Mar 13 1.70 miles 9:08 pace
Mar 14 2 miles 10:02 pace (ran with my 6yr old again:))
Mar 15 3 miles 9:32 pace (this was hard!)
Today REST:):)

and that's THAT!! baby steps.......I'm a fighter and I'll get there...one itty bitty run at a time:)

xx

Reflections from Mexico! small improvements bring Big happiness:)

I've been in Mexico with my family for a few days now and staying unplugged...it's so nice to just put that phone away and leave it in my room every day....all day:)
It's late now and kids are coloring in our room, hubby is reading and i'm going to do a quick blog post:)

I heard a quote years ago that has always stuck with me. It was simple:
"Progress is Happiness" and another that is similar:
"Happiness is the consequence of good decisions"
Both of these have proven true for me throughout my life and again in recent months.

It's been over a week now since I increased my progesterone AND my Synthroid...as well as starting to wear my correct toes and metarsal lift that Dr. McClanahan gave me and i'm actually noticing quite a reduction in my pain in my leg....it's still there but noticeably better. For example I was really worried about the plane ride here... anytime I sit for even 20min my leg hurts....I was on the plane for 4.5hrs and it was barely there......
Since I've been here...the amout of times I have noticed it have been considerably less as well.

Not sure if the higher dose of Synthroid and progesterone are helping lower inflamation in my body or if the correct toes and metartasal lift and shoe lift in my shoe of my shorter leg are doing the trick but I'll take it! I'm remaining hopeful that things will keep getting better:)


As the strong feeling to run increased over the last few weeks, I finally felt at peace about it on Tuesdsay before we left for mexico.

 I strapped on my shoes and headed out for a slow easy 1 mile run:)

3 days short of 7mos since I have been running...I can' believe it's been 7mos ad will probably be closer to a year before I'm really "running"...like more than a few miles a time, but that's okay.
It was okay....my foot did start to "feel" whatever it is that it feels...I can't say pain or hurt b/c it's more of a just a "hey, i'm still here" type of feeling..and my low back ached a bit, but it just felt so good to be trotting along. SLOWLY. I only wore a watch to make sure I didn't run more than one mile. It took me 9:21 and I could have cared less. I've learned that I would give up fast times in trade for just being able to run if that's what it came down to, but I know I will be get back to where I want to be. I'm determined and smart and have shown myself how patient this very impatient girl can be when something is important to me:)

I have gained a respect for myself this last few months as i've given up food.....all food. (okay, not ALL food, but pretty much). every delicious thing I could ever eat before is no longer an option for me and i've done it all b/c I am learning to love myself enough to make hard choices. before I would have just found excuses b/c my addiction to food was stronger than my knowledge that it was bad for me and hurting me.
Being at an all inclusive this week has been tough. watching my hubby and kids eat ALL kinds of deliciousness at every meal makes my mind squirm, but i've remained focussed. meat, veggies, fruit. I focuss on just fueling my body, eating GOOD foods until i'm full and then moving on. not dwelling in "I want that food!" mode:) Not gonna lie and say it's easy, b/c it's not but My health has become my number 1 priority. If I am not well, I can't take care of my family adn they are the most important thing to me in this whole world:)


I'm excited that after 7mos I am finally seeing a LITTLE improvement in my leg....keeping my thoughts focused and positive that it will continue:)!
Hope you are all well!!

cheers from Mexico! xx