My First Race

The doctor told me before surgery that I would never be doing obstacle course races again.

Well, OK, he clarified that I would be done with running, jumping and high impact exercises, so naturally that included obstacle course racing.

But, I am stubborn and always find a way around the rules.  He said that I could walk and hike just fine.  And as as long as things were low to minimum impact, that was also fine.

He never said that I couldn't walk an obstacle course race.  Or skip the obstacles that required jumping or landing more than a couple of feet off the ground.....right?  So, loophole was found.

I henceforth made my racing debut at the Greater Salt Lake Battlefrog Race, which was a very last minute decision.  Nate had signed up for it as a prep for Spartan in August and I kind of was sick of being cheerleader and being stuck on the sidelines.  So, we talked about it at length, and we agreed that I would only walk the course.  And I would skip any obstacle that had the potential of falling or landing more than a couple of feet off the ground.  I warned him it might be slow, and zombie-like-ish, but he was totally fine with it...or so he said.. :)  

So we drove an hour out to Tooele on Saturday morning, to the Miller Motor Sports Park, where the event was held.  It was a course mainly used for BMX style bike racing, so mostly flat but with some rolling hills.  I would describe the race more low-key than Spartan and not quite as intense.  That was fine with me.  I wasn't there to compete or be the fastest racer.  I was just there to prove to myself that I could do it.

This video was taken at the beginning of the race for the 9 AM racers.  Nate and I are at the very back.  Needless to say, I started the race, on my knees sobbing.  Full on sobbing.  Shoulder-shaking, tears streaming down my face.  There was so much emotion in this moment for me as I sat and waited for the race to start and listened to this speech.  Sacrifice.  Every obstacle representing an obstacle in life.  Embracing the moment and living your life.

A rush of adrenaline hit and I took off at a slight jog to start the race.  (Shhhh don't tell Dr. Van Boeurm!) but I didn't last very long and only kept it up for maybe a 1/4th of a mile or so.  Then I settled into my race-walk, which according to Nate's GPS watch, was about 4MPH.  Not bad!  I held true to my commitment not to try to tackle any obstacles which required more than a few feet or climbing or had any chance of falling off.  I was able to complete 8 out of the 24 obstacles, so, a third.  I pretty much shredded my strength based obstacles, like the tire pull, bag carry, and gas can carries.  I attempted a few obstacles that didn't feel quite as comfortable as I liked so I didn't try to finish them (mainly ones which required a lot of weight coming up on my toes... argh!).  I think looking back I would like to have attempted/completed more of them, but there's plenty of time to improve before I try again.

The course ended up being a little over 5 miles, and we completed it in a little under 2 hours!  I was very pleased with myself and was so glad to cross the finish line after 10 months of not racing at all.  Some of the obstacle race purists might be pissed off...that I didn't "earn" my medal by not doing all the obstacles.  IDGAF.  I don't.  I was out there doing it, and that's all that matters to me.  There were a few staffers yelling at me that it was too early in the course to be walking... I just smirked... if he only knew what I'd been through to get here.

The next day, my foot was pretty damn sore. Like everywhere.  Lisfranc joint, toes, ankle, shins, heel, arch.   And the day after that.  It started to be less sore by Monday.  And today (Tuesday), it's back to it's good ol' self!

Totally worth it.

Pre-race

Pre-race/Start Line

Climbing over a fence - just a baby, only about 4 feet tall!

Nate climbing this huge pyramid.  Me?  NOPE!  Just nope.

Post-race - got our medals!!

All cleaned up!

Average...and that's OK!

I'm really starting to believe that there is hope for recovery!  This week I started to feel like my foot was no longer controlling my life, something that I have not felt in 10 long months.

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 :)

Stepping Up My Game

I had another great week!  I hope you guys don't start to get bored with my updates.  I hope they inspire you so that you keep pushing and moving forward.  I started this blog with the intention of turning it into a positive recovery story, so that anyone suffering a Lisfranc injury has hope, and a light at the end of the tunnel that it will eventually be over, and eventually be just a memory.  My injury ended up being on the severe side of things, so yes, there are things that I will never be able to do again (at least, they aren't recommended if I don't want another surgery in 2 years, so yep, taking the doctor's advice), but there are plenty of things that you still CAN do.

I was hoping that this feeling of encouragement and happiness about recovery would have come maybe a few months ago and I really didn't expect the injury to take this long to heal.  Patience is the key and you just have to have it.

So what did I do this week that has me so excited?  Another hike!  I increased my distance and elevation gain with this one, last week's was more of just a baseline on where I was.  Last week's hike was about 2 miles round trip, 0.75 each way and then some tooling around the reservoir, with overall about 450 ft. of elevation gain.  On Friday, I had the day off work and we celebrated my hubby's birthday by going on a hike that was a little more challenging than last week's.

This hike was located in Millcreek Canyon,  on a trail called Rattlesnake Gulch (I'm in Utah, not Colorado) and led to a beautiful overlook of the Salt Lake Valley.  It almost double the distance of last week's adventure, 3.4 miles roundtrip with about 750 ft of elevation gain.  My foot held up so great.  I actually didn't have much pain at all during the entire hike, and it started to get kind of sore about a third of the way back down the trail.  I did have to kind of think about my foot in general though, since the trail was super rocky.  I was conscious of every step, where I was putting my feet, and my weight on each foot.  I was trying not to put too much weight on the right foot, especially on the steep parts.  I tried to lead with my right foot as much as possible so that I wasn't pushing off too much on it.  I let my left foot be the back foot to push myself up the hills.

The rocks really tested my balance and I was grateful for my trekking poles.  There was one section that was almost all rocks, and I tweaked my ankle just a bit.  My foot is seriously not used to this type of activity and this is helping to work on stability.  As anxious as I might be for pushing the foot, I am seeing huge leaps of progress the more active I am.  

I also found out that my cardio totally sucks.  Definitely need to work on that aspect!  During the steepest part of the hike my heart rate got up to 203, according to my Polar Heart Rate Monitor.  I didn't die though.  Overall, it took me about 1hr 50 min to do the hike, exactly on point with the average hiker pace for the Wasatch Mountain Club.  (Slow clap?)  I honestly don't care about pace or speed.   Maybe next year that can be a goal.  Right now it is just about completing the hikes!  I burned about 1300 calories on the hike which had me feeling awesome afterwards.  And yes, we treated ourselves to a birthday dinner at Ruth's Chris later in the evening.

Pics!

Going up the trail (this was the non-rocky part :) )

At the top - if you zoom in you can see the Salt Lake downtown skyline!

Looking west to the other side of the valley; Oquirrh Mountains in the distance

Looking down at Salt Lake Valley.  The abandoned pipeline is in view, which Google tells me used to power parts of the valley years ago!

The next day, my legs were for sure sore, especially my calves and quads.  Most importantly, my foot was only mildly sore.  Compared to last week's 2 mile hike, and this week's 3.4, it definitely felt more sore this week than last week.  But not really enough to bother me much.  I some gardening that Saturday and we hung another bird feeder, ran errands, and did some shopping, so I still was able to be on my feet and fairly active throughout the day!  There was one point where we had gone to pick up some flowers for the garden at our favorite nursery, and the hubby told me that I was WALKING TOO FAST for him.  What!  (In his defense, I had a pair of tennis shoes on, and he had flip flops, but still)

As I think about it, maybe a year ago if I had gone on this hike pre-injury, I might have noticed the pain or the differences in my two feet.  Maybe it would have bothered me.  Other than getting used to how to hike all over again, I am so pleased with how my foot held up.  I wasn't bothered.  A little sore, but not bothered.  Considering all the time, surgeries and trauma my foot has been through, this was exciting.  This is my new normal now.

And I'm fine with that!

Another First - Hiking!

I had an absolutely fabulous day today!

The weather was finally nice & warm, so Nate and I hit the trails this morning.

I was pretty nervous.  This was my first real attempt at hiking since my injury.  During the spring and summer months, hiking was the way I loved spending my weekends and my favorite way to exercise. I didn't really get to do any hiking at all last year, and the last real hike I did was King's Peak in the summer of 2014.  Then I broke my foot and everything changed.

The hike I chose was a fairly easy one.  It's a hike I've done about a dozen times and one that can be done earlier in the season with little snow, and it's one of my favorites.  There are technically 5 points you can hike to on this 9 mile hike, but I chose to hit only the first one that is about a 2 mile round trip.  It isn't that steep, but still a really good workout!  The goal wasn't to hit any PR's, or do it as fast as I could, or anything like that.  I simply wanted to prove to myself that I could do a hike.

I expected to be slow.  I expected my foot to hurt.  None of that really happened.  It was 0.75 miles to the Lower Bells Reservoir (my destination) and I was able to reach it in about 27 minutes!  In peak performance, it typically would take me 15-20 minutes to get that far.  My pace hadn't slowed that much!  I was taking a little bit of extra time navigating the parts of the trail with rocks, just to be careful.  I brought along my trekking poles and they helped with balance.  My foot actually didn't hurt very much at all.  I could feel muscles working that I hadn't used in a very long time, though, especially on the uneven ground.  We got to the Reservoir and I wanted to go a bit further, so we did a lap around.  We followed the trail mostly, but took a wrong turn and ended up in a swampy, muddy mess.  I was really dirty by the end, but it was all so much fun!  The only part I struggled with was getting back onto the actual trail - we ended up having to bushwhack a bit to get back to the top.  I still have been struggling with calf raises and coming up on my toes in general, and found myself having to boulder up and be on my toes.  I can't say that it was "painful" but it was kind of an uncomfortable feeling trying to push off the right foot.  Like a muscle that you are overstretching or trying to lift something that is too heavy.  I think that it was good that I pushed my limit a little bit, hoping to get that part back to normal eventually!

I was most terrified of going downhill, actually.  So, I thought it would be a slow and painful process and that it would take forever.  But, I didn't!  I did slow my pace down some because I felt a little anxious and really wanted to be careful not to slip or slide down the trail, but the foot held up awesomely.  I used my poles a lot to steady myself coming down.  By the time we made it back to the trailhead, my foot was starting to get pretty sore, mainly in my navicular area.  I think it was going all kinds of crazy angles and just working my foot out in a way that hadn't been done in a while!

Bell's Canyon - Lower Reservoir

I switched to my flip flops after the hike, and getting my foot out of my hiking boot was a bit difficult since it had kind of swollen up a bit.  But really, no real pain.  I expected to be sore for the rest of the day, and while I could tell I'd had activity, I was really surprised how not sore I actually was!  This made me very excited!  I am very encouraged, and thinking already about what I want my hike next week to be.

Update:  I woke up the next morning, a bit sore, but nothing terrible, and nothing I couldn't handle.  I didn't even need to take advil or pain meds, or anything to get through the next day.

I am super pumped!

Still Progressing - 9 Months Later!

I've been trying to find something newsworthy for an update, but I just really don't have much!  I still am seeing progress with my foot, and I think I've had some really, really good days - the first since having surgery.  It has been 9 months since my injury.

I am continuing to go for walks on the lake trails around my house, about 3.5 miles each time, once or twice a week.  Last week, I officially got my time under an hour for the route (57 minutes!).  My foot was pretty sore that night and the next day, but I was really pleased with the progress.  

I've also been experimenting with different shoes.  Each shoe that I wear feels different, and I am more aware of what each type of shoe feels like, and what different muscles I engage.  I now can cycle through several different tennis shoes, without inserts.  I am wearing flats, and flat-heeled boots.  I also like wearing my trail running shoes, and my hiking boots.  I splurged and also bought a really expensive pair of orthopedic flip flops (a girl's MUST for summer).  I cringed at the price, but as the doctor said, I will be getting what I pay for.  They seem to be working out just fine - minimal and sometimes no pain at all while wearing them.

I can say that I'm starting to have more good days than I do bad days. I feel really positive about things!  I think about my foot less and less, but it's always there in the back of my mind with every step.  I'm a little terrified of heights, uneven ground, and tripping.  I still can't come up on my toes yet, but I've been slowly seeing some progress there.  The nagging big toe pain still kind of bothers me.  I wish that would go away.

I have also started introducing some lower body weight lifting into my strength routine.  The doctor encouraged me to keep it light when first starting out, and I should be able to do 3 sets of 20 reps.  I feel kind of wimpy squatting with a body bar, but I absolutely do not want to push too much too soon.

The foot is slowly starting to turn into "just a foot."  I still limp occasionally, when I've been on my feet more than usual, first thing in the morning, or after I've been sitting for a while.  I always think it is not that noticeable, but I was at Costco on Saturday and got attacked by a sample man who noticed I was limping and asked if it was arthritis.  He sold me some Wellense Joint Movement supplements, that may help with arthritis pain.  I figured I didn't have anything to lose by trying it!  My limp seems to be getting me into trouble it seems.

Hiking season is so close!  We had a big snow storm this week, but in the next couple of weeks the snow should start to be melting and opening up some trails.  That's the next milestone.  For now, I'm taking advantage of the nicer weather in the valley and spending some time gardening.  It's very therapeutic and I'm just happy to be outside again on my own two feet!

Encouragement

I have been really encouraged with my progress the past few weeks.  I am feeling really positive about recovery for the first time in a long time!

Things aren't perfect but I feel like they've gotten so much better.

I started going for walks on the trails around my neighborhood; they used to be my old running trails.  It's beautiful - there is a lake nestled in with a gorgeous view of the Wasatch and Oquirrh Mountain ranges.  This has been the first time that I've gone for a walk on my own for any extended period of time.  I was a little discouraged the first time I went out.  I walked my 5k loop, and it took me 1 hour & 14 minutes to complete it.  But, since then, I've done that loop a few more times, and I've already gotten my time down to 1 hour & 2 minutes, and I feel each time I go, I am getting faster and better.

I find that going uphill is actually the easiest thing to do.   Followed by flat ground.  Going downhill is the worst though.  It's still slow going, and that is where I get most of my discomfort from walking.

So, after walking 3.2 miles at a respectable pace, my foot is a little sore for the rest of the day (my limp is probably a little more noticeable too), and first thing the next morning.  But, it's not nearly as sore as I expected it to be.  I actually find that it feels better when I go for walks, than when I don't.  So that's really exciting!

I also have been wearing some of my cuter shoes without my Superfeet.  Swelling isn't much of an issue anymore, so I can fit into my old shoes again!  It feels really nice to not be confined to my tennis shoes anymore.  Today, I'm wearing a dress with a pair of cute flats!  My surgery scars are exposed, and I can't help but look down and be proud of them, and what they represent for me.

Also, hiking season will be starting soon!  I'm so very excited for that, because I've been so pleased with how much progress I have made over the last month or so.  I have not felt ready, but I AM READY NOW!  Most of the trails are still snow-covered at this point in the season, but we should start getting some slow melt soon.  Nate has promised me that we are going to do all the hikes this summer.  We are going to have to start really slow and easy, but I'm totally OK with that.  Some snaps of my favorite hiking memories!  I assure you I will be posting updates once I start again - Hiking with a Lisfranc Injury :)

(White Pine Lake - 10,080ft)

(Doing Yoga at Gobbler's Knob - 10,246 ft)

(Mount Raymond wildflowers)

(Lake Blanche - 8,920 ft)

(Reynolds Peak/Dog Lake - 9,422 ft)

(Bells Canyon)

(Waihee Ridge - Maui)

I am finally feeling so great about things!  8 months later :)

Spectator

I've had quite an eventful couple of weeks!

I went in for a check-up at TOSH last Monday.  Doctor visits are always hard for me because it is a reminder of just how bad my injury was, and how life-changing it has been for me.

I got a set of x-rays taken, and everything appears to be lined up properly and healing well.  My bones are still not quite as strong as they were before, and it will just take time to build back the bone density.  Otherwise, the x-rays looked great and there were no major issues that could be seen.  The doctor did say that he could see evidence of very mild arthritis through my midfoot already, but it was nothing to be concerned about at this point.

I am still having quite a bit of pain and stiffness in my big toe.  There wasn't anything on the x-ray that could point to the cause.  The doctor examined my foot, and he thinks that it is just stress on the foot after not using it for so long.  He said to continue with my plantar fascia stretches, and to also work calf stretches in, by hanging my right heel off a step and dropping it down.  I also still cannot really come up on my toes at all on my right foot, and the doctor said that that is usually one of the last things to come back.

I was also given clearance to start weaning out of my Superfeet.  I have been wearing those inserts for arch support ever since I started weight-bearing, so I've become quite accustomed to them.  But, my arch has built up enough strength now to be able to support my foot on it's own, so I can begin to phase them out.  I wore a pair of boots to the grocery store over the weekend without them, and I didn't really notice too much of a difference - other than there was a lot more room in my shoe!  Walking barefoot has certainly gotten a lot easier; it's not my favorite thing to do, but at least I can stand walking around on it a bit after I get out of the shower without running for my shoes first thing.

I got the standard set of instructions for the next 4 months until my next appointment:  low or no impact exercises, a stiff supportive shoe, and monitor for pain.  The next time I see the doctor will be the 1 year post-op mark.  

I also took another trip last weekend, to Phoenix.  The hubby was doing the Spartan Race, and I signed up to be a Spectator, so I could watch him compete.  It was HOT down there - 90 degrees - compared to about 50 here in Salt Lake.  I had a lot of mixed emotions about him doing the race, though.  We had an agreement that I would NOT cry the entire trip or there would be consequences.  It was incredibly hard though, because every fiber of my being wanted to be out there with him running the race.  He was also running it by himself, and that made me so nervous for him, and I felt bad I could not be his support.  But, as a Spectator, I still was able to see him quite a bit on the course.  They block off an area for "spectators" in the main festival area, and you are able to see about 6 of the obstacles.  But, there were 22 of them in the race!  

I don't do well with "rules" so after he took off from the start line, I started my own race around the course to find him and cheer him on! I had a course map and an iPod.  I was really surprised at how my foot held up during my escapades.  I was climbing hills and walking around with no real pain, or problems!  Descending was another story - although it was mostly psychological.  I didn't have the confidence or trust in my foot when I was coming down a steep hill, so it was very slow, and steady.  But, I made it, with no falls!  I trekked my way to 6 obstacles (Over-Wall, Rope Climb, Herculean Hoist, Rolling Mud, Barbed Wire Crawl, Bucket Brigade), plus the 8 in the designated area.  So, I got to see him do over half of the race!!  I took pictures and provided vital nutrients such as Gatorade and water.

I also watched him tackle the obstacle that caused my injury!  It was nerve-wracking and really hard to watch, (and exponentially harder not to cry while watching), but he conquered it like a boss.  He later admitted that he was shaking the whole time, and that he had "words" with the obstacle.

He finished the race (mostly) injury free!

And I didn't cry!