Well, I think I've finally come to terms with the fact that I am plagued with bad feet. Yep, uber flexible, faulty feet. All thanks to my dad (but he's still running and playing golf on his, so I suppose it's not all that bad).
It all started back in '97 - playing in a rugby tournament in the summer on a rock-hard field in metal spikes, I made a quick step turn and felt like I had just stepped in a hole because I felt a "pop" and then my foot sank. When I looked around to see where it was....there
was no hole! Then came the sudden realization that my foot hurt. Like
really hurt. I hobbled off the field and took my cleat off - POOF! Instant swelling all around the mid-foot. Long story short, saw an orthopedic surgeon, rehabbed it, played the first rugby game of the regular season, and POP! - did it again. My coach insisted I see another orthopedic surgeon and was subsequently diagnosed with a Lisfranc dislocation - and from what I was told it was a "one in a million chance injury". Easy to miss, hard to diagnose, and very rare (and if not properly healed brings a lifetime of woes). Ahhhh - should've played the lottery that day. (Read more about Lisfranc injuries
here.) There went the rest of my rugby days...I believe I was on crutches and in a "space boot" for about 8 weeks. The best part was that I lived in a dorm on the 3rd floor with no elevator...and the first night someone pulled the fire alarm (insert visual of a someone in a boot on crutches for the first time trying to hurry down the stairs)...ah, the good ol' college days...
After that healed up (nicely, I might add) I kept active, but didn't ever truly have any trouble until 2 years ago while training for the Philadelphia Distance Run (now known as the Rock 'n Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon). On the last long training run, I noticed that the second metatarsophalangeal joint where my second toe joins my foot felt numb - just a very strange sensation. I didn't think much of it at the time, but noticed that it became more painful later in the day after I finished. I couldn't really walk around without shoes on - and even then still hurt. I made it through the race just fine (and PR'd!) but was still experiencing the painful middle toe joint and getting more worried about it by the day. Another long story short, I saw 2 orthopedic surgeons (one local and one in Philadelphia), was ordered to wear a space boot - for about 12 weeks total, had an X ray, MRI and finally a CT Scan...all showed....NOTHING! WHAT?!? I reasoned that if it HURT, there had to be SOMETHING wrong! After all, the last experience I had I was fixed after I did everything the Doc told me! I wanted a diagnosis and a method for fixing the problem. Isn't that exactly how it goes when these things happen?
Nope! Not always!
Well, after I got a bit of a slap upside the head (figuratively, of course) from my own personal (and sometimes very reluctant) PT, I was brought back to reality. There wasn't going to be a diagnosis and subsequent plan to fix my problem. SO, I could be a big girl and do what he told me to do in the first place...strengthen my flexible foot with specific exercises to protect it from injury. Fast forward 2 years and my 2nd toe joint is feeling great...(thanks, Mike).
So here I am, approximately 3 weeks out from the Lehigh Valley Half Marathon, and training has been going well. No aches, pains or other assorted maladies...except...from out of nowhere for no apparent reason, THIS happens:
Yep. A big seemingly spontaneous hematoma on the pinkie toe joint of my left foot. I swear it happened as I got up from working in front of the computer. Not running, not playing soccer, heck, not even playing with the kids! Completely stationary...but due to prior experience, I didn't panic and even ran 11 miles on it last weekend, all the while paying attention to how it felt as I ran and was fully prepared to throw in the towel if necessary. Some issues you can push through, others you don't. I guess it's all about using wisdom in determining which path to take.
Anyway, since I don't have any recipes that correspond to feet (ew!), here's a great recipe using quinoa...a super-food by any definition (see blurb after the recipe):
Cranberry Walnut Quinoa Salad
Serves 6 as a starter or side dish or 4 as a main course
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
½ teaspoon salt or to taste
¾ cup dried cranberries
1 cup frozen green beans or peas, thawed
¼ cup chopped walnuts
¼ cup sliced green onion (optional)
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
1-2 cloves of garlic (to taste) minced
freshly ground pepper
1. Rinse the quinoa in several changes of water. This removes the "soapy" covering that might change the taste. Combine the 2 cups water and ½ teaspoon salt in a
medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to simmer, cover, and continue
cooking until all water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, uncover, and allow
to cool for 15 minutes.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the cooked quinoa, dried cranberries, green beans or peas, walnuts,
and green onion (if using) until well mixed.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and garlic until well blended. Pour over the
quinoa mixture. Toss until well blended.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before
serving.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 234, Fat: 8g, Saturated fat 1g, Carbohydrate 36g, Protein 5g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Fiber 3 g.
About Quinoa:
Quinoa (KEEN-wa), the whole grain super-food!
The quinoa seed is high in protein, calcium, and iron, and
it is a relatively good source of vitamin E and several B
vitamins. It contains a nearly perfect balance of all eight
essential amino acids, making quinoa a complete protein
food. Quinoa is 12% to 18% protein. Four ounces per day,
or approximately 1/2 cup, is sufficient to meet a child’s
daily protein needs.
Before cooking, the seeds must be rinsed to remove the
bitter resin-like coating, which is the phytochemical
saponin. Although quinoa is rinsed before it is packaged
and sold, it is advisable to place the seed in a strainer and
rinse again at home before use to remove any remaining
residue.
Quinoa is an easy-to-prepare and excellent alternative to
white rice or couscous, or it can serve as a high-protein
breakfast food mixed with honey, almonds, or berries.
Quinoa has delightful and unique characteristics that give
it an appearance and texture all its own. The taste is a
mild, delicate, slightly nutty flavor
Ah, yes, the marathon I'm hoping will be the big redeemer...I've run only one other full 26.2 mile race and can honestly say that it kicked my rear end. That was almost 11 years ago. Things have come a long way since then...I trained in cotton t-shirts, mesh shorts, and stashed bananas on my car odometer measured pre-planned route for fuel along the way. I did not opt to train with any music - but would've had to use a personal cd player (or maybe even a....Walkman!?)...Now, we've got wick shirts, wick shorts, wick underwear (wick-everything!), iPods, gu (or other related brands) packs, gels, bars..., and mapmyrun.com (or trainingpeaks.com) to (perfectly, I might add) pre-map any route, anywhere with the click of a mouse. Instead of just Gatorade, now we've got Powerade, Cytomax, Liv, Ironman Perform, to name a few. Not to mention my gps watch and heart rate monitor that I couldn't do without...So just with all these new performance-based goodies, I should PR by a landslide, right?! 
