Man vs Foot Pain

The Billy Goat is off to a rough start, fighting the battle of trying not to "hoof" it. His foot pain has increased with his increase of running. The Podiatrist has recommended an MRI to rule out a stress fracture that may not be visible in the x-rays.
The cure for a stress fracture would be approximately three weeks in a cast to immobilize the bone and allow it to heal properly, but this is yet to be confirmed. Telling the goat to stay off his foot is like telling a dog not to sniff other dogs.
The primary diagnosis is still Plantar Fasciitis. His training has been swimming and cycling as he tries to give the foot a white flag in this war of man vs foot.
http://www.rehabtoracing.com/Injuries.php#plantar
Most people probably don't think much about the importance of a good running shoe unless they experience a reason that triggers a more detailed investigation. It was a bit confusing trying to figure out which shoes are for which type of feet and/or running style. It turns out the type of running shoe someone needs really has a lot to do with foot arch or lack of arch as well as how the foot plants upon impact. This link below explains it.
The goat has no complaints about the Brooks GTS, except for a dirty diaper that was inserted as a joke. Hmmm.... I wonder who did that? I just got the Asics Gel Stive 2, and they feel great. But I almost got the wrong shoes because they looked nice. :) The maximum stability shoe is not for everyone. Some of them are very expensive and not necessary for someone without special foot issues. My old theory that anything silver and blue is wonderful is now shot to pieces. :)http://www.aapsm.org/selectingshoes.html
This link lists recommended running shoes and the various types of support they provide.
http://www.aapsm.org/runshoe.html#motion

Plantar Fasciitis

It turns out that the Billy Goat's recurring Plantar Fasciitis, brought on several years ago while playing with the kiddies at his school, is chomping at the bit. No battle or journey was ever properly fulfilled without pain, right? I'm sure this is one he could do without.

http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/front/foot/plantarfaciitis.htm

The injury is very common, and the only real cure for it is time and a great deal of stretching. It is only affected when he runs a lot; which is his favorite part of the body terrorizing Ironman Triplets. He has been to a local sport's medicine doctor, who gave him various stretches to do daily along with gel heel inserts. Neither of these has helped much, but then again he confesses to not being diligent with the stretches. Perhaps more commitment in stretching this tight structure will improve it. He wants to find another sport's med doctor with more suggestions.

On a side note, we found out we are expecting again......................................................! Our beautiful Bully, Harley Quin, is sporting her expectant mom to be wardrobe like the celebrity she is. :) Ruff. Ruff. This will, no doubt, aid the Billy Goat in his quest to run with the big dogs. :)

In the Beginning

In the beginning this man had just completed the Florida Ironman Triathlon 2004. This race consists of a 2.4 mile open water ocean swim, 112 mile bike ride, and last but certainly not least a 26.2 mile run. This race had been built upon by many triathlons over the course of a year's time. Sounds like a nice way to unwind. Not.

http://www.ironmanflorida.com/

Most of us cannot imagine the endurance it takes to push the body to accomplish such a brutal task. It took him 11 hours at age 43 weighing in at 197 pounds on a 6'4" frame. That was four years ago. Since then he has retired from his career as a Naval Officer/diver/instructor, been pregnant and given birth adding those natural extra pounds, become addicted to dreams of being Jack Bower with hours of watching 24, started a new career teaching in a 4th grade and later special ed high school classroom all day, endured my not so gourmet cooking in addition to my not cooking at all, had two litters of puppies, wrangled and managed living with six kids, and managed to keep a sense of humor through it all. To say the least his days of hardcore training have diminished over time. The new workout has gradually become a walk with our baby and me, a short bike ride, an occasional adventure hiking over the red mountain, or a quick run here and there. He has gone from Ironman to Pillsbury Dough Man with a 45 pound weight gain over the past four years. No, it is not my cooking. I repeat; it is not my cooking.

I never really noticed he was any different than before. I guess when you live with someone you don't see them gaining weight right in front of your face. When I started trying to lose my baby weight after our son was born, he started to realize the pregnancy had affected him beyond the heart burn too. He gained more weight than I did! His morning sickness was not as severe as mine, but apparently his cravings were.

We jumped on the "let's please not be fat" wagon. His quest for motivation was and is different than mine. He said he needed something lurking in the distance to motivate him into getting back into shape. I believe that to some degree, at least for him, but I also believe the man thrives on this type of thing. He is an all or nothing kind of guy. There really is no happy medium with him. He takes me on hikes that he says are two miles that turn into eight. His limits don't stop with easy once he gets going. I have to slap him around and bring him back to my reality sometimes. "Mr. Bill, we've got a baby in a backpack hiking these trails. We've got to go home now!!!" He is a mountain goat, die hard, suck it up, don't stop kind of person. It's beautiful but also exhausting sometimes.

Back to the beginning. May 2010 will welcome the first ever St. George, Utah Ironman Race. This is the beginning of the journey back to the Ironman. Go Billygoat. :)

http://ironman.com/events/ironman/st.george