On the mend

Maybe TMI... I had what grew to be a very painful Plantar Wart on the bottom of my right foot, mid-foot but under the area near the outside that receives a lot of pressure when walking or running. Last Friday I had it removed as an outpatient procedure in a Hospital. The operation was more extensive than a quick office procedure. I was to be given anesthesia that was not 'general anesthesia' but I would be asleep. The Anesthesiologist said, Well, your heart rate is 48. That's certainly going to set off the alarms that usually go off at under 60. She said if my HR goes too low they can give me something to boost it up 5 to 10 beats. They knew I was a runner so there was nothing unusual about my HR.

The doctor cut out the Plantar Wart and then cut a skin flap nearby the site and rotated it to cover the wound. He then sewed the skin flap in place. It's important that I don't put pressure on that area to ensure the skin heals in place properly and doesn't form excess scar tissue that could cause me more problems down the road. I woke up in recovery and the Dr. came to tell me that it all went well, etc, etc. My wife was there too. A few minutes after the Dr. left, I asked my wife if the Dr. talked with me. I thought he was there but couldn't quite remember anymore. Then I told her I hoped she could remember what he said because I was forgetting in just a few minutes. That was a strange feeling.

Another strange thing was the following morning when the pain-block injection was wearing off in my foot and I stepped up to two Vicodin's at at time. I had been logging onto my laptop every few hours to check/send e-mails and surf the internet. Well, the drug effect made me forget how to spell my password. It's not difficult to remember as it's just a long word with a few special character modifcations. I remembered the modifications but I could not remember how to spell the word. I figured out that I would type it phonetically and that was my problem. My brain would only allow me to type it how it sounded, not how it was spelled. At one point I had to get one of my kids to look it up in the dictionary for me so I could write it down. My mind was still pretty clear, not like if I was drinking. I now understand why some people may have trouble spelling words.... not that they're on Vicodin, but just the way their brain works. I've been off Vicodin for 35 hours and now my pain is totally gone.

I had a post-op check with my Dr. yesterday. It all looks great and there is no bruising. I think with all the stitches it looks like a small birds-nest on the bottom of my foot. In three weeks I go back to get the stitches taken out but until then I can't put weight on that foot. Then he says I'll have little adhesive bandages across the area for awhile to hold things secure but I will be wearing shoes at that time. I've been doing a lot of standing on my left leg so that will get strong but I'm not sure when I'll be running again. Hopefully the end of February or early March.

I've also wanted to get 'off' caffiene for a while now. I did that too. Last Friday morning was my last cup of coffee. I still plan to go for coffee with friends from time to time but I'll make it a treat, not a daily habit.

update 1/28: I tried to count the number of stitches this morning and it looks like there are 17, plus or minus a few.

--Mark

Weather forecast

I normally run in the early morning, usually around 5am. I like to pack my running clothes the night before and I use the National Weather Service web page for a very good forecast. The forecast is hour by hour and also includes wind speed/direction and wind chill too as well as many other factors. I also use the data to talk over with my running partners to help determine if we will be running outside or on the treadmill. I'm an engineer and love graphs and tables so that's another thing I love about the NWS site.

See: National Weather Service Forecast - Twin Cities

Once at the website, you can click on the graph for the data in a tabular format.

One Block Fun Run

My first race of the year will be a One Block Fun Run this Saturday, January 17th. Dick's Bar and Grill in Hudson, WI is the race location and some of my running friends and I are planning to run it for the first time. It's been an annual event for over 25 years and is a fundraiser for United Cerebal Palsy of Central Wisconsin. This may be my wife's first running event!

Registration is at Dick's Bar until race time and, for this one time only, I won't be wearing a heart rate monitor. :-)

--Mark

Foot surgery coming...

I don't complain about pain very much but every step I take feels like there is a little knife poking up into the bottom of my foot. I saw a Podiatrist on Monday and he verified that I do indeed have a plantar wart. After discussing my treatment options, their success rates, and treatment timelines, I decided to have the thing cut out on Jan. 23rd. For approximately 3 weeks after that I'll need to keep pressure off that area in order for it to heal properly and minimize scaring and ripping out of stitches.

I should be back to walking normally in shoes mid February. I'm guessing by mid March I'll be back getting some miles in but maybe not more than 25 per week. The reason I'm figuring this out is to see how ready I can be for a Spring and/or a Summer marathon. I've determined that it doesn't make sense for me to run the Eau Claire marathon on May 3rd, and I'll skip Grandma's in June.

I'll run whatever I can when I'm ready.

--Mark

Not running today...

I'm not running until I get the pain in my foot fixed. I'm seeing a Podiatrist next Monday so hopefully I'll be on the mend soon.

I took a 2hr Spinning class yesterday to end the year and a 75 minute class today to start the new year.

I'm not making any New Years Resolutions for 2009 so there will be none to break. :-)

--Mark