Saturday, November 7, 2009

Cactus Rose Recovery

Well it's been a week out from Cactus Rose and I'm pretty much back to normal, other than my feet. I have some great blisters, a hard lump on one heel and I still don't have any feeling in some of my toes (though they're getting better).

The only running I did this week was an easy 7 miles on Wednesday, so I was interested to see how I'd handle a hard 12 miles with my group this morning. A few miles in and I could tell it was going to be a bit of a struggle - it was strangely humid and running was not easy. I ran at the back, kept everyone in sight, and was definitely going slower than usual. But something odd happened around mile 9 - I started to get a second wind, and the last three miles were all sub-8 minute. I passed several of my group, but was really glad to reach the pavilion.

This afternoon I'm going to tune into the big rugby game to see if Wales can beat New Zealand for the first time in over 50 years, then I'm off down the Draught House for a few beers with some friends.

Looking forward to it.

2 comments:

Ryan V. said...

What is the deal with toe numbness? It's 4 weeks since Heartland, and I still have some lingering numbness in my big toes. Nothing like right afterwards, but strange nonetheless. Any idea what causes it? Is there anything I can do to bring 'em back to normal quicker?

Mark said...

I'm thinking it's either pinched nerve or temporary nerve damage in the foot. I've talked to a few folks who've had this and apparently it can take up to 6 weeks to 2 months for the nerves to regenerate. John Vonhof talks about it in his book "Fixing your Feet".

http://books.google.com/books?id=6rdqji58yVkC&pg=PA300&lpg=PA300&dq=running+100+miles+numb+toe&source=bl&ots=HFwxpg3O2T&sig=CI_qrSuAi6uUWLCSIZbeosbM-cY&hl=en&ei=b_L2SuGSAcWU8AbszdnzCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CBsQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=&f=false