Why Now?
I'm a little self-conscious of the way my feet look. The bone growth is a little ugly but I hadn't really thought that many people noticed. Until one yoga class in May. After the class, an older woman (and by that I mean a woman even older than me), came up to me and shyly asked: "Can I ask you a question?" Sure, anyone can ask me a question - whether I answer is another matter right? But in a yoga class, I don't expect anything more invasive than "where did you get your tights?" So, I was a little surprised when she asked "Are you getting surgery on your bunions? " Yikes!! I didn't realize they were so bad! Yes, my feet are a bit messed up and long runs become yet another exercise in pain management. I've known for a while that if I ever want to do another marathon or Ironman, I'd either have to get surgery on at least my right foot in order to manage enough training to put in a race effort. So, that's part 1 of the answer to "Why now?": my feet are ugly and other people notice it. Take a look:
 |
| The toe separators are a permanent thing for me - ignore them for now. And ignore the fact that I desperately need a pedicure. Whatever. Notice the big knob on the side of my feet? The right is worse and that will be the first surgery. |
Ironman Canada Penticton?
Unless you were living under a triathlon rock, you've likely heard that Penticton City Council unanimously agreed to proceed towards ironing out a 5-year agreement to bring Ironman back to Penticton. Back where Ironman really began in North America. Back to a community that truly embraced the sport and the athletes. Back to the course where it really began for many of us. Back to a city that became a second home to so many of that last weekend of August.
So many athletes are already talking about returning to Penticton for 2020 but I change age groups in 2021 so that's when I want to be truly ready. If I make it to the start line next year, I'll probably be walking much of the marathon.
Nothing is certain yet but I have made an appointment with the podiatry surgeon for June 3 to see what he says. What does the surgery entail? What is the recovery time? What is the recovery like? Can he take out neuroma #2 while he's at it? Yes, neuroma #2 is becoming a real little bitch these days and it's time for her to go. I'm tired of hurting all the time. Like I said to the woman who asked about my ugly bunions, "If you see me running, it's safe to assume my feet are hurting."
Hitting Rock Bottom
Four and a half weeks into getting shingles, I'm still on pain meds and my skin is painful. My training basically stopped for 4 weeks but I've managed a few short bike rides in the last two days. Just easy ones with no timer, no computer, just me and my bike. I know the rides were only about 15k and that's about my limit right now. My low fitness level is just one reason. Shingles might be visually evident by the rash but the muscles in the area are also affected. In my case, my neck, left shoulder and left upper back are stiff and sore all the time, even with 1200mg/ day of gabipentin. Until I'm healthy, a few short easy rides are about all I dare to do so my fitness won't be coming back very fast or soon. So, if I'm relatively unfit right now, what's another few weeks of downtime. Thus, we come to my decision to finally cave and consult with my podiatrist on bunion surgery. And I hope he can take care of my painful Morton's Neuroma at the same time. I guess we'll know more after June 3. Until then, I'll still be attending my pity party of one.
 |
| If I was into stress eating, this would probably be my meal of choice right now. |
No comments:
Post a Comment