I treated myself to another hike over the weekend, this time to the Avenues Twin Peaks. It was more challenging than the other two I have done so far this season, 3.7 miles round trip and over 1,000 ft of elevation gain, so a lot steeper! I completed it in 2 hours, which is the average pace for the average hiker. I'm totally cool with being average at this point :)
I was amazed at my foot's progress since my last hike 2 weeks ago, and I feel like I'm getting so much better every time. I felt a lot more comfortable on my feet, and navigating through the rocks and mud. I didn't lose my balance or slip and fall for the duration of the hike, which is quite an accomplishment for me, even pre-injury. I still rely on my poles pretty heavily for balance and for steep uphill and downhill, but that's fine. That is why I invested a lot on good trekking poles!
There were two summits on the hike, lots of elevation gains and losses throughout. The ascent of each peak right before was definitely the steepest. The uphill was fine, except for burning out my glutes and testing the limits of my cardio. Downhill was a pretty steep descent and was a tad bit terrifying, but I took it slow and grounded my poles in front of me. I actually kind of turned side-ways on the way down those steep parts so I would have a little more surface area and better balance. I'd say it was a success because there were no falls :D For the rest of the downhill, always the most painful for my foot in general, I tried a new technique to help offload some of the impact and weight on the forefoot. I put my body in sort of a mini-squat position, and stepped down that way. This sent pretty much everything into my quads, glutes, and calves. It seemed to work because my foot didn't get sore at all on the way down. Usually when I hit 2.5/3 miles, it starts to get pretty angry. The only drawback was how sore I ended up being in my quads and other muscles the next day! To sweeten the deal even more, after the hike, we took my niece to the Natural History of Utah Museum to see the geckos exhibit (and the lizards and chameleons too - she says!), where I did plenty more walking. My foot really didn't bother me much! I clocked about 18,000 steps for the day, so I was pretty stoked!
Hike pictures - because I love sharing! I got Nate a GoPro for his birthday and it took some awesome photos!
I have a lot to be happy about right now. I've worn several different pairs of shoes. I finally took the stool out of the shower. I haven't needed it in quite a long time but I've always left it there " just incase" But, this weekend I finally said the hell with it and got it out of there! I still have my slipmat, and I don't think I need that anymore either, but it's there just for security. Maybe in a month or so I'll take that out too! And yes, there are still "bad" foot days. But not quite as bad as I imagined they would be and not as often as I thought there would be. Sometimes it just feels stiff or more sore on some days. But it isn't really bothersome - just a part of me now. The good is outweighing the bad and I am extremely positive.
Coming up on the toes has gotten a lot easier. My right foot doesn't feel as strong still, but I can come up all the way now (if I'm in shoes) and even do multiple calf raises. Going down stairs is still kind of a challenge. I do OK on long stretches of stairs where I can get into a rhythm; it is the little flights or onesy-twosy steps that kill me. I also found another "first" I can do....which is squat all the way down so my butt is almost on the floor then come up on my toes from there. I didn't even know I could do it, but I was cleaning the other day and needed to squat down to get some leverage on scrubbing the bathroom tile. I was very excited. Also, I went to the movies with the hubby yesterday and decided to race him up the stairs to our seats. I got about 4 rows up before I even thought about my foot or if I should be doing this. It was an awesome feeling because I took off bounding up the stairs without a thought in the world about my injury.
I will keep updating this blog. Even if I have no readers! (Today I noticed I have had over 6,000 views. Wow you guys! Thank you!)
You may have a "new normal."
But,
Lisfranc recovery is possible!!
Please stay positive everyone :)
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