Now What's the problem.

After starting off a great week last week of running it seems my big toe hasn't jumped on the RDL Plan and is retaliating. Actually, I came to figure out that on Thursday it may just have been a different general shoe I started wearing daily.

Here's the deal. I got these Etonic motion control shoes at the triathlon store that went out of business a couple of months ago. I had them in my office and would just basically wear them during my office hours only but last week I started wearing them daily. I didn't think nothing of it when my toe started hurting and as the weekly running progressed my toe would start hurting more and more. It's actually my right big toe in the metatarsal joint. So I was trying to figure out on Wednesday why it was hurting, what caused it, what changed.. anything! Then when I was getting dressed on Thursday morning I grabbed the Etonic shoes to put them on and it hit me, these shoes!

It has been the only factor that has changed in the last 10 days and my toe started hurting within that time frame. So I quickly threw them across the room and grabbed my old dirty Asics GT-2130's I had been wearing and have continued to wear them over the weekend. I also taped my lower ankle for FHL (flexor halicus longus) dysfunction, cold laser, tramueel and anything else to help reduce the inflammation before running again on the weekend.

On Saturday went to do some stretching at a fun run event and although my legs were tired from standing for about 3 hours my toe seemed Okay. On Sunday I headed out to the trails and ran a 6 mile loop back to the car to refuel and my toe was slightly noticeable but seemed a lot less on the trails than the road surface. Once refueled I took off again for a 4 mile out and back on the trail, the first 4 miles was all down hill gradual and I could feel the toe starting to act up or become more irritated. I made the turn around and on the way back it was much more of a problem and actually caused me to stop abruptly a couple of times. It then seem to go away the last 2 miles or until I had to run about a 1/2 mile on asphalt to get to the car. Not only was my toe hurting but the sun was blaring and it cooked me pretty good wiping me out with a headache the rest of the afternoon, not used to that the Vegas Sun just yet since winter time.

After getting back home and cleaned up I napped and ate and my toe seemed to be okay, achy but okay. Today, I feel as if it is sore but then again I am not running today so will just have to see WTF is going on with it.

I will say that the 15 miles I ran was much freakn' harder than the 31 miles I ran two weeks ago!! Not sure why, maybe the toe, maybe the heat either way it may be question how in freakn' Shit am I supposed to run 85 more miles in Sept! It was actually a low point in a training run, of which I have had not had in a long long time nor am I really focused on when I get that way. It was weird and just made me think that starting training with a big toe and heat difficulties is not the best way to go but so be it. I completed the week with 33 miles of 46 planned miles which is not the best but as anything else in training, it's done and over so move on to the next week.

I did use the Infinte nutrition and it seemed to be working okay. I did find that possibly taking in the drink with protein may not be a good thing over the course of the day and I also find that I need to increase my electrolyte intake on it. Other than that I would say that for me in training long runs will need to be planned because I can only carry so much of it in my pack where as on a race you can carry the powder and mix it up at aid stations but no worries. It sure beat taking gels every 20-30 mins!!! I drank 3 bottles of 20oz which was 810 calories for me.

rockon'