Week 20 of 26

YIKES it is getting close!! No way I'm going to be ready.

Spent the week (AGAIN) babying the foot and eating a lot of ibuprofen. I did ALL my
hiking in my sneakers, and the foot seems to be a bit better for it.

On Thursday I went to see my physical therapist from when I had the hip surgery. He watched me walk barefoot (and sort of just shook his head), and was appalled that I can't bend my big toes. That is the result of never having had PT when I had the foot surgeries, we think. Anyhow, he wants me to massage my feet and work the toes as much as I can. He also discovered that my right hip (surgery was on the left one) is weak, and recommended doing exercises for that. He thought that Ryan was right on with the pad under the distal three toes, trying to spread the weight onto the big toe knuckle.

On Saturday, I went back to Ryan to see if there was anything else we could try. He thought the pad was working, and shouldn't have caused a blister, but put a tongue pad in the boot to try to stop any movement. We got to talking, and I pondered whether I was just in the wrong boots. The more stuff we pack in there, the tighter the fit and the more my foot hurts. I told him the only reason I bought them was that they were the only kind that both were waterproof and kept my foot from sliding forward and banging into the front of the boot. He said they were very old school and there were other options that were lighter and had more room in the toebox. So I walked out with a pair of New Balance boots. I have only worn them around the house, but they feel already broken in. Well, the innards are, after all, the inserts and pads that I have been using for some time. II won't know whether they are keepers until I do a couple of 10-milers in them. But I am desperate, and ever-hopeful!

This week:

July 26: 5.2 miles on streets in sneakers
July 27: 5.2 miles on streets in sneakers, Pilates
July 28: Nothing
July 29: 5.0 miles on Jones Crk up and down, Pilates
July 30: 5.0 miles on Jones Crk up and down, Pilates
July 31: 5.0 miles on Jones Crk up and down
August 1: Pilates

Total for week: 25.4 miles