Monday, April 16, 2012

Runner Girl...

Hubby stuck this magnet on my car today... cute huh?!  Thanks Jeff... :)



I haven't blogged in a couple of days  (did ya miss me... I missed you!)  :)  
I may be hit or miss until we get our service switched over from Comcast to At&t on Friday.  Hoping we can get better service through At&t since customer service for any company these days seems non existent!  I have been trying to blog all afternoon, but my internet connection has been down... ugh!  So frustrating. 

But that's life isn't it?!  Sometimes, despite our best intentions... life happens.  Things come up that are just out of our control.  Such as Metatarsalitis or walking pneumonia.  Both of which are STILL plaguing my best attempts at progressively training.  So I just do what I can.

I have had my fears and reservations when it comes to aggressively training because my foot still really hurts and I don't want to make it worse.  Either way I feel bad... if I train I wonder if I'm hurting myself indefinitely or if I shouldn't be resting this injury more.  If I don't run, I feel like I should be running and training harder.  So I really have been in my own head making it impossible to win, either way by my own thoughts and feelings.

So yesterday, after book club... I asked my new book club friend Maggie for advice.  Maggie besides being a fabulous Mommy Blogger, Clothing line creator, Crafter, Chef and just over all fabulous... is also a Chiropractor!  
She was so kind to take the time to not only discuss my foot issues with me but actually, physically examine my foot in the parking lot after our meeting was over!  She gave me a ton of great information about how to treat and manage the injury... got me thinking a bit more about whether or not I should be running on the Newton's now or ever, since they can be so unstable in the toe front especially.  
But most importantly for me, she put my mind at ease by confirming that it seems to be more of a muscle tendon issue and most likely not a break.  I'm going to be going in to have her adjust me and hope that will help also... so if you live in the Chicagoland area and are looking for a great Chiropractor... you may wish to consider Active Family Chiropractic!  
Maggie, thank you again... so very much for taking the time to share your expertise!

Active Family Chiropractic

And if you're interested in checking out all of Maggie's other endeavors, see below:

Blog:  Smashed Peas and Carrots
Crafting, Kids and Crazy Fun!

Shop: Smashed Peas and Carrots
Beautifully Handmade Goods for Children and Momma!

Facebook: Smashed Peas and Carrots

Twitter: Smashed Peas and Carrots


So once again... reconsidering my running shoes... I decided it was time to try... AGAIN!  (sigh)

So this afternoon, I packed up my Brooks and my Newtons and took a trip to see Eric over at Running Unlimited in Palatine, IL.  http://www.runningunlimited.com/index.html  
Eric really knows his stuff!  I was also reassured by the fact that the first thing he said, after I explained my predicament... was that he was stumped.  He said "I would choose the Brooks for you, again!"
So if it's a good shoe for me, why the shin pain?

So after more careful inspection Eric realized that I need a half size bigger and a wider shoe base.  I have wide feet I guess?!  AND, I tie my shoes too tight which is causing more pain, stress and possibly even injury.  He said you should be able to pull your foot out of your shoe with out undoing your laces.  This is going to take some getting used to!

So I tried the Brooks in 8.5 (half a size bigger) and wide base.  Ran around the block and while they were a lot better, I still had shin pain on my left.  He said this was because my left foot is bigger than my right.... what a mess I am, eh!?  ;)

So he pulled out the Asics Gels... Dad, I remembered you saying Karen (my step Mom) loves them, and I thought of Lacey praising the Asics and considered that perhaps a Stability shoe would work better than the one I had tried prior... I'll give it a go.  Around the block in the Asic Gels and I was sold!  
Love them!  Of course, its the GT 2160's which they're no longer making... and Eric said the newer 2170's run more narrow which wont work for me... so I could very well be in the same predicament (looking for the right shoe again) 5 months from now.  If I don't buy every pair I can find in the older model first! ;) HA!

So as much as I loved the fact that the Newtons didn't hurt when I ran in them... they weren't helping my injury either... and I couldn't walk in them without calf pain.  
Thank Goodness a woman reserves the right to change her mind! ;)

So I'll be exchanging the Newtons to Roadrunner Sports thanks to their 60 day return policy and selling my Brooks on ebay.

I am now an Asics girl.  Whooda thunk it?!  :)  


So beyond this, it's been more magical moments with my new VitaMix!
Split Pea soup (with Boars Head Ham... cause Boars Head is A-mazing good!)  and frozen Limonaid had us mmmmmm-ing as of late!





And just look at my purdy new jars I got to house my flax seed and organic cane sugar... idn't dat niiiice! :)

10 comments:

  1. so glad you were able to figure out your shoes so that you can get back to running and not have your feet hurt! I am so proud of you! However, I don't know if we can be friends anymore.....I HATE split pea soup! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. LOL, K you're crack'en me up! :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. love my asics!! I've used the gel cumulus, and gel nimbus and love them both! have been running in Asics since 2004ish and had no problems! Good luck with the new shoes!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm so glad you posted Lacey... I was wondering which Asics you preferred! I'm glad to hear how much (and for how long, Wow!) you've loved them and I'm glad to have found a pair that work for me... thanks so much for your input!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Holla! I am so excited to hear about the shoe situation! That is awesome, Mel!!! I hope this gets you back running in no time!!!! And, you are making me mighty jealous with that Vitamix, I'm thinking I should just bite the bullet...ahhh!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hey Melis, if you like the Gt2160 try on the Asics Gel Kyano (I think version 17 is the current one.) It like the 2160 is a mild stability shoe for people who over pronate which I do and assume they told you that you do. The Gel Kyano is a little more than the 2160 but has a little more cushon, a few more bells and whistles and I know for a fact comes in regular and WIDE. They can often be found at Nordstrom Rack on clearance. An amazing shoe and they've consistantly kept the toe box wide ulike the narrower 2170.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Maggie, I highly recommend the Vitamix... especially with a baby on the way! I wish I had known about it when my kids were babies, I could have been making all their baby food so easily and quickly!! With a large growing family, this thing will pay for itself before long! I was lucky that my Mom pushed me to get it and forked out half the cost!
    I would think Vitamix would send you one at a steep discount in exchange for a public blog review... you have enough press and followers!? :) You never know, doesn't hurt to ask! I am forever grateful and indebted to you Maggie for helping me fix my foot issues! I will be singing your praises and buying your starbucks at book club! HA! Seriously! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Dr. Matt! Is there anything you don't know!? I mean I knew you were smart but the extent of which is amazing! I can't thank you enough! Even from 2000 miles away you've been a huge help in my training!! I'm going to look into the Kyano's for sure!! Thank you so much for the tip... and since Nordstom Rack is one of my favorite places to shop, I'll be checking their racks each time I go! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  9. It's not so much that I know a lot about all of this stuff, it's that I'm a complete gear junkie. For example, there are 2 adults in my household, and there are 6 bikes in my garage. That's right 6! It's a disease...

    ReplyDelete