It's All About Context

"...you could stand outside naked for five hours and nothing is going to happen." When I read this line last Wednesday in the Seattle Times I couldn't help but laugh. I want to know where you could stand outside naked for five hours and have nothing happen. Surely someone will notice, perhaps point and laugh?!? Actually, the context of the article was that people living in the Northwest suffer from Vitamin D deficiency and the solar radiation from October through March is insufficient to glean the necessary Vitamin D even if we were to stand outside naked for five hours. Ya, whatever, I still thought the line was hilarious. And even with the sunshine we've been having I think it's a little chilly to stand outside naked!

The B boyz are off to their next caregiver this afternoon. I'm glad I seem to have gotten all the bugs worked out but having Bogey wake me and Benjamin at 2 am because he needed to potty, not really going to miss that part. Better that he woke me than not, but I was awake for a good two hours after that. Harumph! Thankfully John will be able to keep them until Saturday afternoon after my race! I'm sure they will be happy to be home again, too. Thank you, thank you, thank you John!

Tomorrow I'm having the prolotherapy injections in my right foot. Fingers crossed that it doesn't hurt too terribly much and it puts me on the path to a pain free foot. Then I'll get the left foot done as well. I'll let you know all about it tomorrow.

Tonight I'm paddling with the 50+ guys. I'm sure they will make me work harder than I would have left to my own devices. They are good like that. I'll think of it as another training session for the race coming up this weekend down in Tacoma. It starts at 10 am at Jack Hyde Park. If you have any interest in seeing an OC1/OC2 race this one has a better vantage point than many. There will be two laps, twice the opportunity for viewing! Email me if you would like additional details.

Feet & Numerology

I've been battling plantar fasciitis for over two years now. It feels like my heel is very badly bruised, it's painful to stand or walk, or sometimes even just sit there. I'd gotten some custom orthotics for my shoes in August 2005. I wasn't given clear instructions that I should break my feet in to them slowly. My feet have suffered ever since. I went back to the podiatrist who suggested I may have plantar fasciitis but then never did anything beyond that. I had to go back repeatedly to have minor adjustments made to the orthotics to no avail. In March 2007 I saw a different podiatrist, the first words out of his mouth were: you have plantar fasciitis, we need to do this, that and the other thing to treat it. Which included a walking cast for 2 months, 2 rounds of cortisone injections, and ultimately 2 more sets of custom orthotics (anyone seeing a pattern here, just wait there's more). The second set actually made my feet much, much worse. :-( Finally, this doctor suggested a couple of experimental (read: not covered by insurance) procedures. I don't think so.

Last April I started seeing a new massage therapist, Carmen Strand, specializing in myofascial work. Oversimplified, the fascia is the stuff that connects the skin to the muscles. There is nothing quite like having someone dig their thumbs into the already very painful, tender soles of your feet. The upside is that it actually gives me some relief. Unfortunately it is only temporary relief. Carmen actually pointed out that I have plantar fasciitis in both feet, I can just feel it more in the right foot. I don't want to post her phone number here but if you want a great massage therapist contact me and I'll put you in touch.

The day after Christmas I saw a new doctor who specializes in managing pain. One of the things he does is called prolotherapy. It involves injecting a sugar solution into the painful location causing the body to go into a super healing mode. I finally made my appointment. Get this, I'm going in on 2/20 at 2:20 and the appointment should last about 20 minutes. If only we were doing both feet, it could be 2-20 minutes. I'm not sure what the numerological meaning is, but it looks like it has to mean something.

I'm still seeing Carmen and I'm hoping the prolotherapy will really help. Keep your fingers crossed.