Photo from Mount Royal, Frisco, Colorado.

"That is happiness; to be disolved into something complete and great. When it comes to one, it comes as naturally as sleep." - Willa Cather

Tuesday 18 September 2012

I've got a broken toe and the only prescription is more running

The title, perhaps, made you think of two things:

1. I've got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell
2. Why does she do this to herself?

I was debating what I would say to a patient who had a broken third left toe who asked me if they could run a marathon two days after the break. If I said yes, I as a doctor would be like the fire department in the Steve Martin movie, Roxanne.

"You can't have people, if their houses are burning down, saying, 'Whatever you do, don't call the fire department!' That would be bad." - CD Bailes

But I ran 37 km yesterday with Annette Fredskov, Lene Brun and Preben Poulsen. Annette has now run 66 marathons over the past 66 days.


I was so excited Annette had painted a start line that I  insisted we use it
After the first 10k, my toe stopped hurting. I actually stopped short of a marathon because my right hip started bothering me. Completing the marathon was not my goal of the day anyway. I just wanted to get a long run in and anything over 20 miles qualifies in my book. I am just not into keeping track of the exact number of marathons I have run. There is a group here in Denmark called Klub 100.  They are all of the people who have run 100 marathons. I have a number of good friends in this group. But if I ever become eligible, I won't know.

Long story short, maybe my toe wasn't broken after all. It is still black and blue and swollen, though. But running didn't hurt it. I'm glad I experimented on myself.


In other news, our family has scheduled a visit to the US the first two weeks of January. The timing worked out perfectly for SR and I to run the Bandera 100k in Texas on January 12th. It is part of the Montrail Ultra Cup and the Men's Trail 100k national championship. Of course, you need to be a man and an American citizen to win this, so neither of us is eligible. But that doesn't mean it won't be amazing.

River going through the town of Bandera, Cowboy captial of the world.
Photo by Woody


From the course.
Photo by Woody.
This week - maybe a 10k PR attempt on the track tomorrow? Maybe a marathon PR attempt on Sunday.

Some recommendations:

I finished The Hours by Michael Cunningham and it was great. Not just for Virginia Woolf fans, though I am a big one.

The new Cat Power album Sun is my favorite album of 2012 so far.

Running songs of the day: Not Talking by AC Newman and Cherokee by Cat Power

8 comments:

SteveQ said...

The toe might've stopped hurting just because it got numb and the hip problem might be from compensating - injuries tend to go up the leg and switch sides.

I read The Hours and I think I liked it at the time, but can't remember any of it now. Then again, I think Woolf's "To the Lighthouse" and "The Waves" are the same, because they both make me think of rowboats.

Now I really need to explore the space with cowbell.

PiccolaPineCone said...

have to say i agree w steve q, the hip was probably from running funny... though it seems to me you had hip problems prior to breaking your toe??
{nag} also, if you're serious about going for a 10 km track pr... taper! just a little! you know how you said it just wasn't your day when you ran your 19:36 5 km? if you don't taper, it won't be your day. {/nag}
finally best use of a Roxanne quote ever.
"I would rather be with the people in this town than with the finest people in the world!"

Danni said...

Having broken my toe (the one next to the pinkie toe), I can only guess that your toe wasn't really broken if you're able to run on it. If it is broken, you are guaranteeing that it will heal wrong which may just cause you chronic problems in the future. A rational person would at least get an x-ray before running on it. But you are not rational so hey. (Or maybe you are rational but just let your exercise addiction override your rational side).

Jill Homer said...

I was going to echo Danni's comment. In 2001 I broke my middle third toe in at least two places (judging by the way it healed. It looks like a crinkle french fry these days.) Because I didn't get it checked and let it heal badly, these days it aches from pressure from my shoes when I do steep descents, and also blisters on top during long runs or hikes. Badly healed broken toes can haunt you for life! But I also agree with Danni that if you can actually put weight on it without seeing stars, it's likely not badly broken.

PiccolaPineCone said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlUu27JJ4Tc

sea legs girl said...

Just a couple comments:

1. It's the same old hip injury I had last week and also had when I ran the 5k. I don't think it is at all connected to the toe.

2. As far as broken toes go - it might just be a hairline fracture but it is definitely not out of alignment. And it only hurts ever so slightly. It's more swollen than painful. I think toe fractures come in lots of flavors - but if I have athritis in it years down the road, I will hate myself.

sea legs girl said...

PPC - I am so glad I am not the only Roxanne fan here. Can you convince SR that he needs to watch it with me? :D. He takes your opinions much more seriously.

sea legs girl said...

Jill - that sounds like utter nastiness. Amazing it looks like a crinkled frech fry now. That is not really the look I am going for in the future. But it must earn you respect in certain circles (just looking at the bright side).