foot update

Thanks for all your kind words about my foot. I survived the doctor yesterday. The good news- is that she hardly touched my foot. She did most of the work on my calf and a little on my hip. The bad news- is that it HURT. And by 'hurt,' I mean it was really really really painful. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. 

If any of you have had it done before- it's called "P&M Myofascial Release." Which means: the therapist "pins" the muscle with their thumb, finger, hand, elbow, or forearm. Then they move an adjacent body part, which creates a 'taffy pull' of sorts. As the tissue passes through the pinned area it pulls it apart, stretches it and lengthens it. Once it gets to the proper length it's supposed to stop hurting. But let me tell you- until it gets to that proper length, it KILLS! I was wholly unprepared for the pain. Most of the pain happened while I was face down on the massage table, so I literally just gritted my teeth and tried to breathe through the pain. When she was all done she said that I was a dream patient and was the first person she has EVER treated that hasn't screamed, cried, or begged her to stop. More than once I WANTED to tell her to stop, I just didn't know it was an option. ha. And if I had said something, she probably would have told me tough luck and kept on going. And also I should mention that before she started any of this she iced my entire leg until I was certain I was getting frost bite. Then proceeded to do the entire 'pin and move' part while holding an ice block in her hand. 

So after she was done she had me stand up and walk around. There was NO pain in my foot. My calf- yes. But my foot- nothing! I looked at her with disbelief. Like what did you do to me lady? All that crazy pain did the trick! I'm not pain free right now. And even walking out of the office I got a few reminders of why I went in the first place. But I have to say it's better. I wish I could have it done again right before my race, but she said I will be too bruised for her to do another treatment that soon. She gave me instructions on how to do an ice bath at home and what stretches to do afterwards. 

So Saturday is still up in the air. I did a run last night and it was just so-so. But maybe in a few more days I'll feel totally up to it. I'm just worried to get 7 miles into the race and have extreme foot pain. So we'll see. But yesterday was an awesome and awful experience all at once :)