MRI with arthrogram on left foot

So I had an MRI with arthrogram on my left foot on Friday. The first part of the process involved two iodine injections, one in the ankle joint and another in one of the joints of the foot. This was not fun. The purpose of the injections is 1) to get a better picture and 2) to determine whether there is any leakage through the spring ligament. The second part of the process was the MRI itself. I have not yet made a follow-up appointment with Dr. Johnson, but I hope to see him again early next week.

First post of 2013

This blog was all but dead, but, tonight, I'm compelled to write here. The year started out well but has gotten progressively worse. It's not my knee but my left foot again. I cannot run. I cannot ride. I cannot even walk to work. All I can do is built shit in my garage.

I've tried everything to heal this injury. Cycle only. Run only. Hike only. Rest. Stretch. Strengthen. Yoga. Drink heavily. Diet. Etc., etc.

A few weeks ago, I caved and visited a chiropractor here in Ashland. He massaged; gapped my sub-talar joint; taped. He had no clue. On Friday, I saw a podiatrist (also in Ashland). He shed (a lot) of light on my injury. It turns out that my foot surgery was flawed. According to Dr. Johnson, whenever utilizing an arthrodesis and/or repairing the spring ligament/posterior tibialis tendon complex (which I had done in 2008), the gastrocnemius muscle must be lengthened (which I did not have done), as a short one is almost always the underlying cause of blowing out the spring ligament and/or posterior tibialis tendon. To make a long story short, Dr. Reach did not address the underlying issue, which is, per the doc, borderline malpractice but perhaps an East Coast/West Coast thing. And I was this close to flying to CT to see Dr. Reach. It turns out that I have an unusually short calf muscle, which prevents full dorsiflexion of the ankle and over-stresses the medial aspect of the foot.

The next step is an MRI with arthrogram to see the degree of injury to my foot. Dr. Johnson suspects I'm back in the same boat with a spring ligament rupture and osteochondral lesion.

Shoe Review

I bought two new pairs of running shoes.  Deal was too good to pass up.  Sierra Trading Post has some good deals.  I got a pair of Saucony Hattori's and NB MT00 Minimus for $30 and $45 respectively.

The Saucony's are excellent.  Good for road running and not bad on the trail.  Super light and still a offer more cushion than the Minimus.  I also like the velcro strap, no laces.  My foot did slide around a bit in the shoe when going down steep hills.  That was the only drawback. Probably going to go back on STPost and buy another pair for when they wear out.

The MT00 Miniumus was a bit disappointing, but still good.  The toe box felt too big, kind of like I was wearing clown shoes.  The MT10s I have fit like a glove and feel like they are part of my foot.  I didn't get the same feeling with the MT00.  Nice grip/traction and a bit more cushion in the toe than the MT10s.

Chiropractor

Just went to visit Dr. Steve, chiropractor in New Haven. Very nice guy and we spoke for 5 minutes and then got right into some myofascial release. Fancy word for massage as far as I can tell. He thinks it is an IT band issue and perhaps also related to my quad and/or hip muscles. He had a roller bar he went pretty hard on my outside leg where the pain stems from. At this point I was thinking I could probably do this with the foam roller, then he took to the inside of my leg and found a particular point that hurt like a motherfer when he pressed it with his thumb. I was impressed with this as I hadn't identified that spot as a problem. This all took about 10 minutes. Now my leg feels like I just did a bunch of serious squats. Back next week same time and place to see if this fixes it. $80 for the first visit, and $50 each visit after. He recommends at least 6 visits so this will be a $330 attempt. I'd pay twice that if this fixes it.

3rd Annual Southern Oregon Beer Mile

After receiving a Facebook invite from Rogue Valley Runners about the beer mile here in Ashland yesterday, I decided what the hell. After class, I hurried home and jogged over to the Southern Oregon University track, where it was held. It was dark and rainy. I had tasked Jess with procuring an at least 5% beer with low carbonation, and she showed up just as we were about to start with a 24-pack of Budweiser! Unbelievable! Long story short, I got through three beers and three laps. Hal Koerner won in 6:30. Erik Skaggs was second; Timothy Olson third.

Michael Arnstein

200 miles/week on fruit?

A MUST-listen: http://ultrarunnerpodcast.com/archives/2010

MDI

MDI Marathon didn't go so well. Made it about 18-19 miles and my knee/leg/IT band, whatever it is, became too painful to continue. Legs felt pretty good otherwise though. Weather was horrible. Rain and in the 40s. I tried walking and running for a bit and then got really really cold. Shaking uncontrollably and couldn't find any help from race organizers. Had to jump in a guys truck and get a ride. I don't see much road running in my future. Gonna stick to the trails. Sounds like I need to move to Ashland. Karolina finished strong in 3:43. Very good time for a super hilly course.

Three hour long run

Yesterday morning, Jess and I set out from our doorstep for a 15-miler in the Siskiyou Mountains.  After only about a mile of pavement, we hit one of the dirt roads above Lithia Park and started climbing to the first trailhead.  The first trail of the day, Bandersnatch, is a hiker/runner-only trail that switchbacks for about two miles to another trail named, Alice and Wonderland.  (Bandersnatch is a relatively new trail and, within the last week, finally got its very own permanent trail signs, which were previously only laminated signs stapled to trees.)  We took Alice to Forest Service Road 2060 to Toothpick.  Toothpick provides a brief respite from climbing before turning onto Catwalk, which climbs well over 1000 feet in about a mile and a half.  Despite this stout climb, we both managed to maintain a running stride.  Catwalk eventually empties out into the parking area at Four Corners, which is still only halfway to Mt. Ashland (not the day's objective, thankfully; however, Jess and I have hiked from Four Corners to Mt. Ashland in just over a couple of hours).  When we reached Four Corners, we refueled with Gu Chomps and then started the descent.  We took FSR 2060 to Caterpillar to White Rabbit.  White Rabbit eventually empties out onto the top of Park Street.  From Park Street, we jumped on the ditch (a nice, flat traverse trail about 500 feet above town) and cruised it over to Walker Avenue.  From Walker, it's only a few easy miles of pavement home.

We covered 15.3 miles with 3000 feet of elevation gain in almost exactly 3 hours.  My last 3-hour run was at the Austin Marathon in February 2011.  My last 3-hour training run was in December of 2010.  So completing yesterday's run without any trouble was hugely encouraging.  Today, I have no pain or soreness--only slight fatigue.  I'm pretty sure Ashland is the best thing that's ever happened to my running.  Jess, too.  Her nagging injuries are gone.

Here's the elevation profile. More stats here.

Lithia Loop Marathon

I took four days off after the Enchanted Forest Wine Run half-marathon and felt amazing on the fifth day. My old self would have tried running within only a few days, but I think I've learned a very important lesson--rest and recovery are key--through serious injury.

There's a marathon here in Ashland in a few weeks--Lithia Loop Marathon--that is run completely on trails with somewhere in the neighborhood of 4000 feet of elevation gain. I've contemplated doing it, but I don't think I'm ready for the distance yet. Jessica, on the other hand, is more seriously considering it and wrote up a plan, which she's kept to so far, that could get her to the finish line. She had planned on running about half the course with some folks yesterday morning but much of it was closed due to logging. Instead, they ran from town up to 4 Corners, which worked out to be 2800 feet of climbing over 15 miles. Jess reported to me that she handled it quite well.

Here's the elevation profile and course map for the marathon.

Post-race photos from the Enchanted run

If you look carefully in the picture of Jared with his head down, you'll see Jess on the massage table.

Enchanted Forest Wine Run Results and Pictures

http://thewinerun.com/images/Wine%20Run%2013.1M%20Overall%20Results%202012.xlsx.pdf

http://gallery.longrunpictures.com/TrailRaces-2/Enchanted-Forest-Wine-Run-Half/25659733_g3ScK4

Enchanted Forest Wine Run

My brother, Jess and I did the Enchanted Forest Wine Run, which is a trail half-marathon in Grants Pass, OR, today. It was about 90 degrees at the start (noon) and very hot in exposed areas of the course. There were about 2700 feet of vertical, per my Garmin. Jared's and Jess's more or less agreed. Jess was the fourth female and 26th of 143, finishing in 2:11:47. Pretty impressive, especially given the fact that she didn't carry any water and had maybe 5 sips from aid stations along the way. My brother finished in 3:14, and I finished in 2:33.

The first few miles circle around the vineyard cross-country style, and then there's a half mile climb on the road to the trailhead. From there, it's straight up, and then you have to do it again as part of a second, sort of truncated, loop. After the second loop of climbing nice single-track, switchback trails, the trail empties back out onto the road for a bit, finishing at the vineyard. I really liked the course. As part of the race package, we each got a buff; post-race, we got really good hot organic food and a glass of wine (with the wine glass).