The Bumbling Bee

OK, let's get this party started. 

You all probably know that my feet are oddly shaped. I have skew foot, a birth defect that results in the bones of my foot going this-way-and-that.

Evidence:


(No, one foot isn't dramatically bigger than the other.)

Kind of horrifying looking. These sort of feet are "corrected" at a very young age... except either they didn't do that back in the 1960s or they never realized just how out of whack they were. I mean, I was able to toddle around and walk, so what's the big deal, right? (I did find a pair of baby shoes with a place where the toes could be tied together, so maybe they tried something, but anybody who knows is long gone, so that mystery is lost to history.)

Maybe they had a point. I've been able to walk, skip and run everything from 5Ks to ultramarathons. I can run in shoes and barefoot. Maybe it's just not that big a deal?

It still impresses podiatrists, though. 

Anyway. The fact that the bones are not exactly in the perfect positions means extra wear and tear, which means arthritis and bone spurs. I had one in my left foot directly under a nerve, which made part of my big toe numb until we figured that out -- and discovered that the bones in my mid foot seem to be fusing together on their own in a process that should be hugely painful but isn't. I'll count myself lucky in that area. 

What brought me into the podiatrist's place was the right foot this time. I was getting out of the car and accidentally pushed off the brake pedal instead of the floor getting out of the car and hyperextended my big toe. I heard a pop, and it hurt. It was partly a sprain of that big toe joint (called "turf toe" to some), but that didn't explain the pop on the top of my foot and the pain there. That took the visit to the podiatrist and an X-ray that showed bone spurs that must have crunched into each other when I partly subluxed (dislocated) that joint. That joint, the podiatrist said, is already at its maximum range, so anything done to it is going to be problematic. 

He said he'd normally recommend some sort of support for my arch and a stiffer soled shoe, but, considering my feet are counterintuitive, he said go ahead and do whatever and we'll see what happens. (That was right after the "you shouldn't have been able to do any of this" comment.)

The sprain is healed and the mid foot pain is improving enough to where I'm starting to walk to work again, though I'm trying to transition into it slowly, going from one day a week last week to two days a week this week and hopefully to three days next week, etc. I'm letting pain be my guide and trying to not do too much, too soon. Besides, I'm seriously out of shape, so gradual is probably a good idea.

Speaking of which, I need to get going. More later on what's been going on in my life since last October.

Stay tuned!

OK, the preliminaries are out of the way to make sure there's a record of my peculiarities. On to what happened since I dropped off the face of the Earth after my birthday.

To start off, we got Alec through his last semester at Washington State University and graduated as part of the Class of 2022 back in December. He ended up graduating cum laude with a dual major in anthropology and history and a minor in geospatial analysis. (That's the fancy term for GIS mapping.) He'd decided to take a gap year before grad school and started applying for jobs through the federal government - then after looking at federal jobs and how the system works, decided that grad school and professorships weren't actually his cup of tea, after all. He wants to do archeology, not publish or perish. So he went all in on the federal job search. He's applied for scores of positions with the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service for locations from Alaska to Alabama, Arizona to Michigan and a whole bunch of places in between. and interviewed at least a dozen times. He's just waiting to hear back -- and dying a thousand deaths and climbing the walls since the federal hiring process is very slow. He's staying with us and not going for any temporary gigs because he wants to be available for interviews and doesn't want to take a job at a grocery store, say, only to quit after a month or two. 

That's the Alec part of the story, which spills over to us, as well.

Ought to be an interesting addition to your own foots (yes, foots) story.  I'm surprised the new podiatrist didn't want to write a journal story for Podiatrist Today and Other Oddities.  

But on a serious note, by the authority granted to me from Nancy, the president of the 365 Runners BOA (Blog Owners Association), I have filed a lien on this blog due to unpaid dues and unwritten posts on Trails for Two.

Money damages and post count forfeiture are the costs.  Pay up, suckah!

ounce wrote:Ought to be an interesting addition to your own foots (yes, foots) story.  I'm surprised the new podiatrist didn't want to write a journal story for Podiatrist Today and Other Oddities.  

But on a serious note, by the authority granted to me from Nancy, the president of the 365 Runners BOA (Blog Owners Association), I have filed a lien on this blog due to unpaid dues and unwritten posts on Trails for Two.

Money damages and post count forfeiture are the costs.  Pay up, suckah!

Honestly, I am a little surprised that I haven't been written up in some journal somewhere, given the reaction my feet get. Oh well.

BTW, I checked our total post counts, and I see that, despite my absence, I still have 1,487 more posts than the No. 2 poster on this site. (Some guy with a cat avatar.) My account is far from being in arrears (but let's not talk about glutes, shall we?), so let's just call it even.

There's a lot more story to tell. I'll get to it as soon as I can.

Congrats to Alec! One of my cousins works for the federal government as a cartographer, but it's a secretive job so I really don't know what he does.

Thanks for sharing foot pics! That's great you're able to run with all that. I've seen 3 podiatrists and have gotten different advice from them but short version is I have 7 toenails (and only one lost due to running, I suspect I'll die with 6 toenails if I live too much longer, which is nowhere near as unusual as what you have going on).

Julie wrote:Congrats to Alec! One of my cousins works for the federal government as a cartographer, but it's a secretive job so I really don't know what he does.

Thanks for sharing foot pics! That's great you're able to run with all that. I've seen 3 podiatrists and have gotten different advice from them but short version is I have 7 toenails (and only one lost due to running, I suspect I'll die with 6 toenails if I live too much longer, which is nowhere near as unusual as what you have going on).

I don't know, randomly shedding toenails is pretty weird.... 

A cartography job with the feds sounds pretty cool, actually. Why is it that now, in my (cough, cough) late 50s, I'm suddenly discovering all these interesting jobs?

Another thing that has been happening since October was health issues with our cats. Fluff's back legs stopped working, and it turned out he had diabetes. We've spent months trying to deal with that problem, experimenting with food (which both cats rejected), feeding on a strict schedule, injecting Fluff with insulin every 12 hours on the dot and jabbing his ear to get blood glucose levels. It's been difficult and stressful on all of us (for one thing, we couldn't leave home for more than 12 hours since we had to administer his insulin, which meant we'd have to board him at a veterinarian's office or get a very specialized cat sitter), but... one interesting thing about cats is that once they go into diabetes, it's possible for them to go into remission. That has been our hope, and it seems to have come true? We've stopped the insulin and will check his blood glucose in early June. If it's still in the normal range, we'll be very happy. So cross your fingers! (But not around needles - I've jabbed myself too many times!)

His legs are working again, too, which is a huge relief. He's actually kind of hyper and obnoxious now. We realized we hadn't seen him with a case of the zoomies for a long time. Now? Wow. 

I mentioned food experiments. That went poorly. We even had to take our other cat to an emergency vet when she went on a hunger strike rather than eat the new food. We thought she was dying, but no...she was just being stubborn and getting herself weak and dehydrated. Oy. Cats. We went back to the old food (mostly, though they're off dry kibble now).

By now, I suspect, gentle reader, that you've picked up on the notion that we've been dealing with a lot of extra stress over the past six months or so, sitting on top of recovering from some annoying COVID aftereffects (mostly fatigue and low-level depression), which has left us wiped out by the end of the work week and spending a chunk of our weekends just trying to recover. It's been a lot.

I wasn't able to get myself out and even walk for that time (the extended wet, chilly and gloomy winter we had didn't help), and once I was about to do it ... I sprained my big toe and tried to dislocate my mid foot. It was frustrating, but it may have given me enough of a spark of stubbornness to get me out there once the foot started to heal and the weather started to improve. So... yay? 

I didn't post because 1) I really didn't have much to say, and 2) I was a little ashamed for my idleness compared with all the great things you all are doing. I can't guarantee that I won't drop off the face of the earth again, but I will try to keep this blog fresh as I work out whatever my new normal is going to be. I appreciate your support.

Back to my foot for a second: I neglected to mention earlier that I'd asked the podiatrist about the long-term prognosis for me feet. I'm definitely getting bone spurs (even in my heel/ankle area) and cartilage is disappearing in my mid foot area, so what's that going to look like 10, 20, 30 years down the line if I make it that far? (My regular doc once helpfully said my knees will likely outlive me; he's a real funny guy.) 

Worst case scenario, the podiatrist said, is that the issues in my feet keep getting worse and eventually hinder my mobility to such a point that they need to go in and fuse joints and restructure the bones in my feet - slightly, mind you -- to restore mobility. Sounds awful, but I know people who've had joint fusion surgery and it beats being unable to move. I will note that the podiatrist saw my point when I explained how I'd moved from hard shell orthotics to motion control shoes to regular shoes to Nike Frees to barefoot because anything that was trying to "fix" my feet ended up either falling apart due to the forces I put on the shoes or causing injury farther up my kinetic chain. Like it or not, my whole body has adapted to these feet. Like a bumblebee, I suppose. It ain't pretty, but it works for me.

---

So, my walks. I started two weeks ago with one round trip walk to work and back (about 1.9 miles each way), to see how my body reacted. My foot was sore afterward, but it got better. I did two round trips last week, with some lingering soreness and some weird knee irritation, but that's faded, as well. My plan is to do three round trips this coming week. I switched out of my Vivobarefoot shoes into Altra Escalantes, which have a bit more cushion, stiffness and arch support while still providing ample toe room, and that's worked pretty well. Two weeks ago, I walked in the Escalantes and switched to the Vivobarefoot "work" shoes in the office, and I really felt the irritation. We're a newsroom and nobody cares about fashion, so running shoes to work it is for now!

That's it for now. I think we're caught up.

Sorry about the feline diabetes for Fluff but how cool if you find out it's in remission.

Well, I didn't randomly shed my toenails. I had some weird (or not so weird) problem that caused the big ones to flake off and then develop ingrown toenails and infections (so charming, I know) and after 2 decades of that (including doing my own surgeries on my college dorm floor with an X Acto knife and Tylenol) I finally found a podiatrist who was willing to kill the bed and remove them completely (after the little partial removal did nothing for me time after time) and then the 3rd missing toenail was from running and I found a podiatrist to get rid of it for me. He was surprised I was ready for that but understood since I had the 2 big ones off. That podiatrist was surprised I was ready for that but I was so ready and it's probably the happiest I've ever been with a doctor.

Anyway, I'm sorry for the fatigue and low level depression. I hope you're able to get out the door and walk when you can. This is your blog so sorry to be sharing so much about me, but I did originally get into running because of depression, back in 2004, and I am a huge proponent of exercise to help with mood.

Julie wrote:Sorry about the feline diabetes for Fluff but how cool if you find out it's in remission.

Well, I didn't randomly shed my toenails. I had some weird (or not so weird) problem that caused the big ones to flake off and then develop ingrown toenails and infections (so charming, I know) and after 2 decades of that (including doing my own surgeries on my college dorm floor with an X Acto knife and Tylenol) I finally found a podiatrist who was willing to kill the bed and remove them completely (after the little partial removal did nothing for me time after time) and then the 3rd missing toenail was from running and I found a podiatrist to get rid of it for me. He was surprised I was ready for that but understood since I had the 2 big ones off. That podiatrist was surprised I was ready for that but I was so ready and it's probably the happiest I've ever been with a doctor.

Anyway, I'm sorry for the fatigue and low level depression. I hope you're able to get out the door and walk when you can. This is your blog so sorry to be sharing so much about me, but I did originally get into running because of depression, back in 2004, and I am a huge proponent of exercise to help with mood.

No need to apologize - I love reading about the gory stuff. Must be the journalist in me, or something. 

I've been fortunate with toenails, but I could totally understand why you'd think shedding them would be a huge relief. 

I'm hopeful I'm starting a better path now. Alita comes and meets me on my walk home, and once school's out, she'll join me on morning walks, too. We could use the exercise, fresh air and the change of scenery. 

FWIW, I skipped the walk yesterday because it was going to crack 90 for the walk home (not ready for that yet) .. and I'm glad I did, because a big thunderstorm swept in just about the time I'd have been walking! I walked today though, wearing shorts on a muggy morning to not have me totally sweaty by the time I got to work. It worked.. .mostly. Looking forward to the walk home tonight.

Mark B wrote:

ounce wrote:Ought to be an interesting addition to your own foots (yes, foots) story.  I'm surprised the new podiatrist didn't want to write a journal story for Podiatrist Today and Other Oddities.  

But on a serious note, by the authority granted to me from Nancy, the president of the 365 Runners BOA (Blog Owners Association), I have filed a lien on this blog due to unpaid dues and unwritten posts on Trails for Two.

Money damages and post count forfeiture are the costs.  Pay up, suckah!

Honestly, I am a little surprised that I haven't been written up in some journal somewhere, given the reaction my feet get. Oh well.

BTW, I checked our total post counts, and I see that, despite my absence, I still have 1,487 more posts than the No. 2 poster on this site. (Some guy with a cat avatar.) My account is far from being in arrears (but let's not talk about glutes, shall we?), so let's just call it even.

There's a lot more story to tell. I'll get to it as soon as I can.

Okay guys, leave me out of this.  After all I'm a distant 5th on the Top Posters list and not catching Michele or Nick even though they don't post any more.  

But I will join in the conversation if it's about glutes.  Having trouble with tightness and pain again still.  I know what to do.  I just need to do it.

***
Anyway...Welcome back.  
Congrats on leaving another podiatrist speechless and impressed with your accomplishments.  
Congrats to Alec.  Sounds like he's a pretty good kid.  You and Alita did well.
Congrats on getting through some tough times and finding your way back to walking.  It will be especially nice when Alita can join you.
Glad to hear the cat situation has improved.
What did I forget?  I missed a lot by taking a few days off to try and get my life in order.

I do find it interesting that we all seem to be using running to help get us through tough times in our lives.  

I'm off to bed early as I overdid it during my run this morning and I'm paying for it.  I'll return tomorrow to update my blog.  I've been considering starting a new one for a long time but just couldn't figure out what direction to go.  Your new blog may have provided the motivation I needed.  

Happy walking...

nkrichards wrote:

Mark B wrote:

ounce wrote:Ought to be an interesting addition to your own foots (yes, foots) story.  I'm surprised the new podiatrist didn't want to write a journal story for Podiatrist Today and Other Oddities.  

But on a serious note, by the authority granted to me from Nancy, the president of the 365 Runners BOA (Blog Owners Association), I have filed a lien on this blog due to unpaid dues and unwritten posts on Trails for Two.

Money damages and post count forfeiture are the costs.  Pay up, suckah!

Honestly, I am a little surprised that I haven't been written up in some journal somewhere, given the reaction my feet get. Oh well.

BTW, I checked our total post counts, and I see that, despite my absence, I still have 1,487 more posts than the No. 2 poster on this site. (Some guy with a cat avatar.) My account is far from being in arrears (but let's not talk about glutes, shall we?), so let's just call it even.

There's a lot more story to tell. I'll get to it as soon as I can.

Okay guys, leave me out of this.  After all I'm a distant 5th on the Top Posters list and not catching Michele or Nick even though they don't post any more.  

But I will join in the conversation if it's about glutes.  Having trouble with tightness and pain again still.  I know what to do.  I just need to do it.

***
Anyway...Welcome back.  
Congrats on leaving another podiatrist speechless and impressed with your accomplishments.  
Congrats to Alec.  Sounds like he's a pretty good kid.  You and Alita did well.
Congrats on getting through some tough times and finding your way back to walking.  It will be especially nice when Alita can join you.
Glad to hear the cat situation has improved.
What did I forget?  I missed a lot by taking a few days off to try and get my life in order.

I do find it interesting that we all seem to be using running to help get us through tough times in our lives.  

I'm off to bed early as I overdid it during my run this morning and I'm paying for it.  I'll return tomorrow to update my blog.  I've been considering starting a new one for a long time but just couldn't figure out what direction to go.  Your new blog may have provided the motivation I needed.  

Happy walking...

I think you checked all the boxes. so congrats on that! 

And we're hoping that walking is just the first step in a temporarily paused journey for both of us. 

I'm flattered that my hitting the reset button had anything to do with anything you do, so thanks for that! It's nice to remember we're all out here supporting each other.

Week three of my transition back to regular walking is successfully complete!

I walked 1.9 miles to and 1.9 miles back from work on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I hadn't anticipated doing this as a three-in-a-row, but figured what the heck.

That works out to 11.4 miles of walking this week. Not too shabby.

No significant issues, though one of my knees gets a little grumpy when I walk uphill, which is annoying. I should probably work on some core strength to see if that'll help.

My plan will be to go to four days next week and see how that goes.

Mark B wrote:Week three of my transition back to regular walking is successfully complete!

I walked 1.9 miles to and 1.9 miles back from work on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I hadn't anticipated doing this as a three-in-a-row, but figured what the heck.

That works out to 11.4 miles of walking this week. Not too shabby.

No significant issues, though one of my knees gets a little grumpy when I walk uphill, which is annoying. I should probably work on some core strength to see if that'll help.

My plan will be to go to four days next week and see how that goes.

It does sound like a very successful transition back into regular activity.  You did a great job of making it a gradual transition.  Kudos to you for your patience.  

Not surprised you had/have a slightly grumpy knee...in fact I'm surprised that's the only niggle that has developed.  

The core work is the hardest for me to add to my routine on a consistent basis.  Will Alita join you and help keep you accountable?  

Happy walking.

nkrichards wrote:

Mark B wrote:Week three of my transition back to regular walking is successfully complete!

I walked 1.9 miles to and 1.9 miles back from work on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I hadn't anticipated doing this as a three-in-a-row, but figured what the heck.

That works out to 11.4 miles of walking this week. Not too shabby.

No significant issues, though one of my knees gets a little grumpy when I walk uphill, which is annoying. I should probably work on some core strength to see if that'll help.

My plan will be to go to four days next week and see how that goes.

It does sound like a very successful transition back into regular activity.  You did a great job of making it a gradual transition.  Kudos to you for your patience.  

Not surprised you had/have a slightly grumpy knee...in fact I'm surprised that's the only niggle that has developed.  

The core work is the hardest for me to add to my routine on a consistent basis.  Will Alita join you and help keep you accountable?  

Happy walking.

Funny you mention niggles. A few more have emerged, unsurprisingly. I've been sedentary for a while now, and my body needs to remember how to move properly again.

Nothing is seriously wonky, though, but I'm going to be careful to not overrev the engine before it's warmed up.

Alita is meeting me on my walk home. When she's done with school, she'll join me on my morning walks to work. She's looking forward to it.

Well, nothing's ever boring in the PNW.  Will Alec get to bring his clarinet with him to serenade the archeological areas?  I wonder if the govt jobs he's applying for will hold out on filling positions until October 1st (new fiscal year), even if there's money in the budget for this fiscal year.

I guess the cobwebs in your legs are gradually working themselves out of the body.  Looking forward to reading about your first 100 meter uphill run.  Maybe challenge Fluff to a race.

Keep on posting because we never got to the point of measuring for drapes on the old blog.

ounce wrote:Well, nothing's ever boring in the PNW.  Will Alec get to bring his clarinet with him to serenade the archeological areas?  I wonder if the govt jobs he's applying for will hold out on filling positions until October 1st (new fiscal year), even if there's money in the budget for this fiscal year.

I guess the cobwebs in your legs are gradually working themselves out of the body.  Looking forward to reading about your first 100 meter uphill run.  Maybe challenge Fluff to a race.

Keep on posting because we never got to the point of measuring for drapes on the old blog.

Heh. Alec hasn't touched his clarinet in years. He lost interest after his first semester in college. Besides, I think bagpipes would be more evocative for wide wild expanses.

The people doing the hiring have talked about filling the positions this summer, but since summer lasts until September, who knows? I do know that their HR departments are swamped and moving slower than usual. The federal bureaucracy got somewhat hollowed out in the previous administration, and it seems they're struggling to regain their footing. He did hear from one of the people who interviewed him recently apologizing for the delay and asking if he's still interested, which we took as a hopeful sign. 

My body feels like it's finally waking up. Walking is feeling smoother and easier now. It feels good. I'm getting some old familiar aches and pains as my body goes "Oh, so you're serious about this?" But nothing serious. I walked Monday and Tuesday of this week and took today off, since I was getting sore in different places. I'll walk tomorrow but not Friday, putting me at three days this week. I might keep that frequency up for a while before going to four. Running.... will come after my body remembers what it's like to move, period.

3 days a week is probably more than adequate as/until your body adjusts.  Good to know that some of us can actually choose a reasonable level of exertion.  

Enjoy those awesome views during your walks.

nkrichards wrote:3 days a week is probably more than adequate as/until your body adjusts.  Good to know that some of us can actually choose a reasonable level of exertion.  

Enjoy those awesome views during your walks.

Thanks! It's not easy holding back, to be honest, but my body seems to be in the driver's seat and I'm finally not trying to grab the wheel. 

The views are great, especially first thing in the morning. My outbound route takes me more along the river than my return route. I'll have to share some photos.

Mark B wrote:

nkrichards wrote:3 days a week is probably more than adequate as/until your body adjusts.  Good to know that some of us can actually choose a reasonable level of exertion.  

Enjoy those awesome views during your walks.

Thanks! It's not easy holding back, to be honest, but my body seems to be in the driver's seat and I'm finally not trying to grab the wheel. 

The views are great, especially first thing in the morning. My outbound route takes me more along the river than my return route. I'll have to share some photos.

I've seen your photos on Strava.  What a great place to relax and unwind before and after work.  It will be nice when Alita can join you.

Speaking of Alita, I hope you have some fun activities planned for the long weekend.  Looks like the weather is going to be cooperative.  Is Alec home and willing to join in family activities?

Alec is home and agitating to go on hikes. We obliged on Monday, with a nice hike at Whipple Creek Park, a nice wooded park that used to be close to where we live but is now a drive away.

We walked a couple of miles through the cedar, Douglas fir and a rich understory of maple and ferns, dodging horse apples from our equestrian friends. It was nice.




My plan is to walk again today and keep it at three this week.

Waiting for the next awesome scenery photo. 

You better take advantage of Alec's interest in hiking with you while you can!!

nkrichards wrote:Waiting for the next awesome scenery photo. 

You better take advantage of Alec's interest in hiking with you while you can!!

I think I can help you with that! We went back to our private forest on Sunday. I told the family that if I happened to shuffle off my mortal coil soon and was cremated, they could put at least part of what's left of me in these woods. They feel that much like home to me. (Might be trickier if they decided to bury me, though ...   )







Did about two and a half miles there, with a decent amount of climbing, which is feeling better the more I do it. 

Also walked to work today, with hot sun but a strong north wind. My walk home tonight will be interesting.