Day 25-44: Crud....

Workouts: Running, Biking, Swimming, Chalean Burn Phase, Chalean Push Phase, Writhing in Agony

Curse the Plantar Fasciitis....

So, I was going along just fine.  Chalean Burn phase was winding down, I had just started the Push Phase, I was lifting heavy weights, I was starting to feel good running for longer without having to walk, things were going well.  Then, my foot started to hurt. 

The Workouts...

Day 26 was a hilly 20 minute run that felt pretty good along with the last day of Burn Phase.  Things were looking good.  Day 27 we headed up to Chicago for Lollapalooza.  We biked at the hotel and ran on a treadmill...things felt funny.  Then, after walking around Lolla for the rest of the day and evening, my feet KILLED.  Especially my right foot. Day 28 was swimming.  I was still struggling with the breathing.  The nose plug sucked but I just couldn't figure out how to exhale out my nose properly. We spent the rest of the day walking around Lolla again, and my feet didn't hurt quite as much. Day 29 we ran for 40 minutes.  It started pouring rain in the middle of the run, but we kept going.  I started to feel pain in the 2nd mile but I ignored it.  That was probably stupid but I kept running.  It rained again on us twice that day while we were at Lolla.  My foot hurt at the end of the night. Day 30 was driving back from Chicago so we were lazy. Day 31 we started the Push Phase of Chalean.  Big Heavy Weights!!! Day 32 we tried running 30 minutes.  I barely made it through two miles before I had to stop.  We biked 12 miles and that was no problem.  We also did Chalean.  Biking and Chalean didn't seem to hurt my foot, but running was killing it. Day 33 was Vomit Intervals.  Any part that involved Plyometrics hurt my foot.  Day 34 was filled with pain, so no workout.  Day 35 was some biking and walking around the State Fair.  The walking was rough. Day 35-42 has been biking, swimming, Chalean.  No running.  My heel has progressively been getting worse.  Big news on the Swim, though! I finally started exhaling out my nose! I'm not so good at it yet, but I don't have to wear the nose plug anymore.  It just happened on accident one day.  I was pretty pumped about it.  Otherwise, my heel has been hurting so much, I went to the doctor.

The Food...

I've been eating half like crap and half good.  Of course, at the State Fair and Lolla, I ate like butt.  When I'm home, I eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Not that it matters either way, because I don't lose or gain weight.  I stay somewhat the same.  Actually, I think I put on like 3 lbs. But that might be muscle.


The Feelings...

My foot hurt so bad by the end of last week that I made a doctor appointment.  I thought I could just wait it out, it just kept getting worse.  The pain had started on the left side of my right heel, then as that got worse it moved into the bottom, and as I favored it more, caused the right side to start swelling.  The doctor took some x-rays (after pressing all around my heel rather painfully with his fingers).  He suspects that the evile Plantar Fasciitis is at work.  But he also thinks he saw micro-fractures in my heel.  The swelling on the right side of my ankle is most likely due to over use of those ligaments and tendons as I've been favoring my foot.  This has cause the tendinitis.  For the next week, I have a giant pad strapped to the bottom of my foot to provide arch support.  If the heel pain continues, he'll confirm micro-fractures with an MRI.  I can still swim and bike, since those activities don't cause me any pain (other than the normal kind) and I can do Chalean as long as I skip the squats. No running for now.  If the heel does have microfractures, I'm out 4-6 weeks.  Which means, potentially, no triathlon for me.  That's not an option.  I refuse to allow that.  So, I'll have to see if I can just walk the 3 miles.  At least, that way, it will be really easy to beat my time next year.  I'm not sure yet how this will affect Tough Mudder training.  For now, I'm just going to focus on swimming and biking so that I can kill those two events.  Or, at minimum, not drown. :)

Next Workout: Bike 15 miles

Jenn - I'm falling apart...