Than I am thinking to heal. No pain upon resting does not equate to being totally healed as I found out yesterday. Not that I did anything silly like running or cycling or swimming for that matter - I have been extremely diligent in that regards. However, I went for a brief shopping interlude with the family and it seems the foot hates being walked on or stood on for any length of time. And because it hates being walked on I then walk funny - like I am putting pressure more on my heel and then my heel starts to hurt. At this rate I should be walking like the "Hunchback of Notre Dame" in no time at all.
The pain I get is located where the Peroneus Brevis tendon attaches to the base of the 5th Metatarsal. And if I am not careful my little veiny foot will go back to looking like it has elephantitis again. Check out the before and after pic.
Quite a noticeable difference from one foot to the next I say. And even though the pain has settled remarkably, the foot still hates being walked on for any great length of time - even though I stilled have it supported with a thermal ankle brace. So, here's my thought's. I am out for the majority of this year I think in terms of races. And whilst I am out nursing this foot to health I may as well use the time wisely and get my other complaint looked into as well and have it sorted so I can get to my bigger goal for this year. And that is - my bike ride from Sydney to Melbourne in April of next year.
So this other ailment is the issue of an Epigastric Hernia I have. It's not big by any stretch of the imagination but enough that I can feel it everytime I touch my stomach. And the surgeon said that it won't disppear, if anything it will get bigger and I don't want it interfering with my cycling training. So it's time to get this baby fixed.
I asked the surgeon if he thought this hernia was related to the pain I kept getting everytime I ran up under my rib - and although he couldn't quite say that it was 100% related he didn't dismiss it either - considering everything else had been excluded. And seeing as my hernia still only has fat protruding through into it, he thinks that it could cause a pulling effect from the area thereby causing that stitch pain I get everytime I run.
He also said that because it is fairly small at this moment that they would normally fix it with a few stitches to close the hole, however because I am so active he is quite possibly going to use gauze to cover up the hole to make sure it never returns. But the even better news is that I will be able to return to cycling within 3 weeks of surgery - and so start my training. That's very good news indeed.
So when am I getting it done? Quite possibly within the next month. The quicker I get it done, the quicker I am back out there. And quite frankly I am going totally nuts waiting and not being able to do anything. Atleast by this Friday I should be able to go for a bike ride and see how the foot holds up. And if it holds up for cycling then I am very very happy. Atleast there is 2 legs out of the Tri I can do. And if I can never run again because of my foot - well then I really wont know what to do. And it's not something I want to think about right now - so I won't.
So in the meantime I shall let all of my other little projects consume my every thought and be happy with what I have happening in my life. And know that atleast I am mending and looking after me.
