Menagerie

I wish I was able to somehow download my thoughts directly into my blog while I am riding.  It seems that is about the only time I have these days to think about things to write about.  I do enjoy my blogger time, but lately family time has eaten up a lot of my "blog" time.  Not that its a bad thing, I am just busy being a Mom and wife.

Below have been my thoughts over the last two weeks of training.

FEET:  I have been wearing my orthotics for about a month now and I do notice a decrease in foot pain. I still cannot walk bear foot on hard surfaces; if I could EVER get back to that point, I would be extremely happy.  Even though it is a bit of pain to constantly move my insoles from one pair of shoes to another, it must be done.  I am hoping that as time goes on, my feet will continue to improve.  My feet were quite happy at the last 6 hour race, on a single speed.  This coming weekend, I will be testing them out on the ORAMM course, single speed style.

RACES:  The final race of the season will be the Chainbuster 6 Hour at Oak Mountain.  This is going to be the most technical and difficult of the series.  Right now I am comtemplating gear choice, as I am going single.   Do I want to suffer on the climbs and the Jekyll portion of the Jeckyll and Hyde Trail or do I want to spin my legs off on the easier sections?  Right now I am going with the latter: spinning is better than cramping.  I really enjoyed this series, but I am going to move on to other adventures next year.

ERGON:  My hands are so in love with these grips.  I am currently running the GS2's on my Niner AC9 SS and Jett 9 RDO and the GX2's on my Air 9 RDO.  I love the extra leverage the bar ends give me.  There have only been a couple occasions where I went "bar end-less" this year due to the tightness of the trees.  The only difference I have noticed over this year as opposed to the last 5 is that I have had to run the grips in a more horizontal position.  I used to run them with the wings in a slightly up position, but I began to have some ulnar pain, so I adjusted them down a bit and the pain went away.

WHOLE 30:  Even though I am still a little over a month away from starting my "cleansing," I have already begun to wean myself of the "junk" foods.  I have made my own mayo and salad dressings, cut my dairy intake by 75%, and am only using stevia and honey as sweeteners.  What I have noticed by doing this is that I am sleeping better and my energy levels are up.  The flavors of the foods I do eat have intensified!  I don't need as much sweetener to make things sweet.  I need very little of my home made salad dressings as compared to the store bought. I LOVE sardines straight out of the can for a snack.  I am anxiously awaiting November 26.  My only concern is that I might just freeze to death this winter as I have lost most of my natural insulation.

LW COACHING:  Lynda Wallenfels is a wonderful coach.  This year, I had to take a step down from her premium coaching package to her basic due to financial constraints.  But I have not been let down in the least.  I did miss talking to her on a weekly basis, but she is so awesome about answering e-mails that I did not feel sleighted.  She even answered one of my e-mails while in the middle of racing the Cococino 250!  I plan on continuing to be coached by her in 2013.

GRAVEL GRINDERS:  I am really liking this type of racing and am gonna try to do a few next year.  I finally have the right bike, which makes all the difference in the world.

19.2 pounds with a 1 x 10 drive train

JackRabbit 6 Hour Race Report

I was looking forward to this race, as I would be back on my single speed after a 4 month hiatus, nursing painful feet.  This would also be my first race using my $$$$ custom orthotic inserts.  I had been wearing them at work and had done a few short rides; my feet were digging them!

I was long overdue for a mudfest.  Sure enough, it rained the night before and then the skies opened up again just 1 hour before the start.  It was still drizzling at the start line, so I was all geeked up in my shower cap and 16 gallon Glad trash bag.  This was a tip I had picked up at La Ruta.  My Niner was sportin' a mud fender, too.  With this "get up," the plan was to stay warm and dry for the first lap.  Even though the temperature was about 60 degrees, I was shivering.

I would be coming down this, watching oodles of geared riders pass me by!

The start was 1/2 mile of pavement, with a 2% downhill grade, a SS'rs worst nightmare!  And so, as I was spinning a cadence of 140, I watched about 50-60 racers blow right by me.  I was sooo looking forward to "choo-choo" time on the single track.

With the muddy conditions on the first lap, at least being stuck behind some slower racers kept me from doing anything stupid.  And it also allowed my legs to warm up as I sure did not have a proper warm up prior.  On this first lap, I watched at least 5 racers hit the deck.  Luckily they all bounced back up, only their egos bruised.

The rain stopped about midway through Lap 1 and I managed to keep the rubber side down.  As I pulled into the Northwest Georgia SORBA pit (they were kind enough to allow me to set up with them), Norma helped me to to get out of my garbage bag, Hulk-style!  I decided to leave the mud fender on until the course dried out ... my eyes thanked me.

Running through the Start/Finish area ... no need to remount as my pit area was just 10 yards away.

The second lap was slicker than the first.  I got "squirrely" a couple times.  About halfway through the second lap, I was finally able to get in my own little bubble and enjoy the ride.  I had Specialized Renegade Controls (550 grams each) on the bike.  Initially I was worried how they would hook up as I generally like more tread, but I am happy to report that they worked well in the mud.  Luckily this was not a rooty course; I don't believe the Renegades would have worked at all on slick roots.

The third lap was still a little slick, but by the fourth lap, the course was dry and fast again.  It was during this lap that I realized I had chosen the wrong gear ... a first for me.  I was too spinny.  I was wishing I had an 18 on the back.  Oh, well, better to be under geared than over geared.

By the fifth lap, I started doing the math.  I was feeling really good, but I wasn't sure if I would have enough time to get in that 7th lap before the 4 pm cut-off.  (In this series, if you come across the line at 1 second past 4pm, that lap does not count.)  So I really put forth an effort on the 5th and 6th laps.

As I ran across the timing mat finishing up my 6th lap, the clock's cumulative time was 5 hours 14 minutes.  That left me 46 minutes for the 7th lap.  Not having a bike computer, I was only able to guesstimate my lap times; I was thinking about 49-53 minutes per lap.  There was no way I could crank out a 46 minute lap.  So I handed my timing chip to Kenny and went out for a 7th lap anyway.  Why?  Because I was feeling good and this course was fun!

I also wanted to see how my feet would hold up for a solid 6 hours of racing.  I was ecstatic that they were happy for the first 5 hours:  no pain, burning, numbness, or jolts of electricity.  The orthotics were working!  I only had a bit of pain along the outside of my right arch and I attributed that to my arches not used to bearing a majority of the weight; something that will just take a bit more time, I hope.

I finished up my 7th lap at 4:06:  a 52 minute lap and just 6 minutes after the cut off.  The real funny thing was when I took a look at my lap times.  They were ALL 52 minutes and some change!  Talk about consistency!  Danielle would be proud!

6 laps in 5:14 earned me a top spot on the podium.  My feet were a non-issue.  I had a great NWGA SORBA pit crew.  My Niner SS was perfect.  The sun came out on lap 5.  I could not have had a better day!

A great bunch of people.

Rolling With The Punches

I love to suffer on the bike.  You know, that kind of eye-ball popping, lung-busting, leg-burning pain as you push yourself to the limits.  This type of pain is an endorphin-releasing monster that I welcome with open arms.  It is one of the many reasons why we endurance junkies race.

However, in the last few months, that "fun" kind of suffering has been replaced with a burning, stabbing, and sometimes even an electrical searing pain.  With each step or pedal stroke, I am constantly reminded that my neurological system is full functioning, albeit in a negative way.  If I am lucky enough, the pain is eventually replaced by numbness.

The pain is most definitely worse off the bike.  It hurts to stand, period, and walking barefoot is almost impossible on hard surfaces.  The only respite is when I sit, swim, or sleep.  Weightlessness is my friend, gravity my foe.

On January 15, 2012 when I registered for the New Hampshire 100, I was super excited to be headed to a new race.  LW had my plan dialed for me to peak for this one.  I was salivating at the thought of a 100 mile sufferfest and competing against some of the best endurance ladies in the US.

Fast forward to today.  I am headed to New Hampshire to race, but LW and I have re-set my goals.  As she so eloquently put it, "Setbacks that occur as your race career progresses are called insults.  Always frustrating and demoralizing.  When you have a series of setbacks holding you back from where you know you can be, the best course of action is to place a higher focus on the joy of riding/racing and less on the suffer part."

I have always placed the fun factor of racing first, closely followed by safety and seeking that top podium spot.  So I have decided to race the 100K.  At this distance I feel I can still have the "euphoric" level of suffering, yet not be hindered/frustrated/demoralized by the pain.  And at this distance, I will be able to enjoy 2 days of riding the Kingdom Trails afterwards.

In the meantime, I am following my doc's recommendation of using a trans dermal cream to help placate the nerves in my feet.  Two days ago I visited Choice Orthotics to get fitted for a pair of custom insoles.  Richie told me that my arch is super high and my metatarsal fat pad is non existent.  The insoles will help displace my weight more evenly along the entire foot.  I will get a properly placed metatarsal button and there will be a gel pad to help cushion the metatarsal heads.

They can also fit Ossur Cheetah carbon fiber foot prosthetics.

Right now the forecast looks pretty good for the race.  The 6:45am start will be a little nippy in the low 50's.  Zeke will be racing his Niner A9C single speed and I will be on my Niner Jet 9 RDO.  The legs are tuned and the GI is happy so hoping the rest of the body follows suit.

At least there is no target on my back!

Morton's Neuroma Surgery Follow Up Report

Well, it has been 9 months since I had that nasty little bugger of a neuroma cut out from between my third and fourth metatarsal heads on my left foot.  Let's just say that if I was a horse, I would have been shot by now.

And here is how it goes!  The surgery had gone great and 3 months later I was in Arizona at the SSAZ riding without pain.  I rode my SS for 5 straight days, 25+ hours, and who knows how many miles.  Only on the last day did my feet start to bother me a little bit.  I experienced some mild numbness and tingling across the balls of my feet, save for the surgery site.  There I experienced nothing at all.

Everything was going great, I was winning the spring Chainbuster 6 hour series on my single speed.  Then in May (7 months post op), my feet started taking a turn for the worse.  After the Chainbuster race at Winder, I noticed the tingling, burning, and painful sensations returning across both feet.  I also noticed that the scar tissue from the surgery appeared to be getting thicker and more tender to the touch.  It became uncomfortable walking barefoot, especially on my left foot.  Where the scar was, every step felt like I had a large rock under my foot.

At work, I was miserable, having to stand 10 hours a day.  I did my best to sit every moment I could, but we are a very busy practice and that was difficult to do.  And then, to make matters worse, I began to have electrical jolts of pain just proximal to the surgery site.  That did not feel good at all!  I was having to soak my feet in ice baths 2-3 times a day to make the pain and electrical stimulation go away.

The funny thing, however, is that my feet hardly bothered me at all while I was on the bike.  I know that the long hours in the saddle had to be affecting them, but to me the days at work made them hurt 10 times as much.

I was apprehensive about the Pisgah 111 and afraid that I would have to DNF, given the amount of hike a biking. I started out conservatively, just waiting for the pain to appear.  Funny thing, that day, my feet were great!  After about an hour I was able to pick up the pace and forget my feet.  Only towards the end on that last Black Mountain hike a bike section, did they start to bother me.

In between the Pisgah 111 and Karl's Kaleidoscope, my feet went back to their former painful, burning, tingly selves.  After Karl's Kaleidoscope, I went back to see my podiatrist.  I have had a history of cheloid formation.  This is basically a scar gone awry, laying down granulation tissue instead of maturing into a nice healthy small scar.  Cheloids can be painful and even entrap the end of the severed nerve, causing the nerve to fire.  It was either that or I was developing a neuroma at the site where the nerve was cut.

After discussing this with my doctor, he ultrasounded the surgery site looking for evidence of a new neuroma.  After not seeing one, we decided to inject the scar with dexamethasone, a type of steroid.  Within 3 days, the electrical jolts had stopped and I had less tingling, burning sensations when I walked.  Whoo hoo!  Small victory.  However, I was still experiencing numbness across the entire balls of my feet.

Since then, I have had a second injection and am still seeing improvements. The scar is beginning to soften and decrease in size.   I am now able to walk barefoot some and the days spent at work are not as excruciating.  I have also made some other adjustments which are helping as well.  Although it is killing me, I have not single speeded since May 5.  I am sure that mashing the pedals aggravates those other neuromas that I do have.  I have taken up swimming to replace those easy recovery rides.  And I have switched from wearing Keen's to Chaco's.  The Chaco's support my arch better so that more of my foot is taking the impact.

Next week I will be going for a second opinion to a foot surgeon (who is also an athlete) on this issue.  I am hoping that she has a miracle cure ... other than a bullet!

Fort Yargo 6 Hour Race Report

I was a foam rolling fool leading up to this race.  On Monday, I happened to ask Carly what she was doing in gym, to which she responded, "Races -- shuttle run and the 50 yard dash."  I should have stopped right there, but had to ask her to show me the shuttle run.  Needless to say, she kicked my tail ... twice.  We then raced each other 50 yards; she had plenty of time to skip across the finish line. The next morning I thought both my hips were dislocated.  That was a "DA" move on my part, thinking I could go from 0 to 60 without warming up!

Fast forward to race day.  The foam rolling definitely helped and my hips were good to go after a warm up.  I took a look at the 1.5 mile paved start and the first bit of single track and then lined up just a couple rows back and waited 20 minutes.  It was essential to have a good start as there were 400 racers.

Ready, set, go!  I managed to avoid the Tour de France style pile up then occurred within the first 10 seconds of the race.  I also managed to hold my own on the pavement with my 32 x 19 gearing.  I was happy that my legs responded happily to the intense pace and I entered the single track about 40 riders back.

Lap 1:  On the opening lap, it is always easy to burn a match or two.  My body says, "Go, go, go!" and my mind says, "Settle, settle, settle."  Having a good start helped me to find my rhythm early.  There was only one train of 12 that I passed smoothly (but not quite effortlessly) on the double track Outer Loop climb.  I managed to snag the fastest lap award for the ladies, which netted me a set of Maxxis Exception Larsen TT tires ... for a 26" bike (argh!)

Lap 2:  That one was over before I realized it!

Lap 3:  My big toes really began to hurt.  On the descents that were "stutter-bumpy," it was like someone was jabbing a knife underneath my toe nail.  I was extremely concerned about a re occurrence of my metatarsalgia. This pain came and went throughout the remainder of the race, making it not as much fun as it should have been.

Lap 4:  The temperature was approaching 90 degrees, but I felt pretty good.  I had just chugged a Red Bull at the pits and was awaiting my "wings."  I must say thank you to the single speeder dude that I passed during a series of climbs and descents around mile 2.  As I passed him, he said, "Don't  LET me catch you on the downhill!"  Dem's fightin' words!!  I happily obliged him and never saw him again.

Lap 5:  I mistakenly did not drink much on the previous lap and that, combined with the heat, caused me to feel a bit clammy when I would notch it up.  So I backed off a bit on this lap, drank my entire bottle, and then some more at the pits, so that the last lap would not be catastrophic.

Lap 6:  Fighting through the painful toes, I managed to latch on to another racer that was setting a fast and consistent pace.  The legs were feeling the earlier efforts and the speed bumps (there is only 1000 feet of climbing per lap) soon became mountains.  I was glad to see the metal bridge around mile 8 because the course after that is fast and flowy.  I came through the finish line in first with a time of 5:33.

I managed to win another set of fine Maxxis 26" tires which I found a home for.  I also mentioned to the new owner, Rachel, that they were UST.  You see, she had an unnecessary pinch flat early on in the race.

But I also came away with this cool sombrero, in honor of Cinco de Mayo.  An exponentially better way to spend this day ... on a bike instead of in a drunken stupor!

Not for hire.

 Right after the race, my big toes were on fire.  So much so that I was seeing stars.  Thanks to Ursula, I found out that it was not metatarsalgia, but how I was trimming my nails.  So hopefully with the proper pedicure, I can avoid this pain at the next 6 hour race.  It seems that I have some mild ingrown nail issues that I can fix fairly easily (I hope!).

Thank you Dirty Spokes, YABA, and the rest of the crew for a wonderfully orchestrated event.  The Dri-Wicking T's in extra small, the cooler of ice water at the top of the long climb, the live band, and the pizza at the end were nice touches.

And a shout out to the Northwest Georgia SORBA gang who let us hang out (or should I say, let our stuff hang out) in their pit.

Morton's Neuroma

Today, I saw my podiatrist, along with a bag of shoes, pedals, and foot beds.  After deep palpation of my 3rd inter-metatarsal spaces, which elicited a few whimpers, my doc said,  "I believe you have a Morton's neuroma in both feet.  I also had the classic gap sign between my third and fourth toes where the fibrotic nerve is so large it is pushing apart my metatarsal heads.

See the space between the 3rd and 4th piggies!

Radiographs ruled out any bony pathologies.  When he placed the ultrasound on the area of suspicion, he outlined the two neuromas.  Basically, the nerve that runs between the metatarsal heads is normally the size of angel hair pasta.  My neuromas, however, are the size of large green peas!  No wonder the pain was so intense!  

Doc then outlines different methods of treatment.  One is a series of 5 alcohol injections over 5 weeks to kill the nerve.  He sees a 50% success rate.  The other is surgical removal.  Two small incisions over the top of the foot, and cut out the offending portion of nerve. No real down time; I could be back on the bike the next day!  The only potential complication is a stump neuroma, which he said happens about 10% of the time.

For the short term, he injected the area with marcaine and dexamethasone, bringing about instant relief!  If you look closely at the picture above, you can see a needle mark on each foot at the 3rd inter-metatarsal space.  I love any doctor that can relieve pain without prescription drugs!

He agreed on all my methods of orthotic management with the wide toebox, the Specialized BG footpeds with the metatarsal bump, and the XTR pedals.  But he said that more than likely, until the neuroma is excised, I will have recurring episodes of pain.

He said the injections could help for 1 week, 1 month, 6 months, or maybe even a year.  We shall see, I guess.  But I am prepared to have those little bastards cut out if necessary.  As much as I am on my feet at work and on the bike when not, I will probably have to undergo the knife in the future.

Today was the first pain free day on the bike since TNGA.  I felt so good I almost cried!  I did not feel every friggin little bump and for once forgot about my feet.  I also tried out my modified Specialized MTB shoes.  I was able to move the cleats back 1 cm with the modification.

I was able to drill out the carbon sole and move the cleat plate further aft.

Riding my SS today, I really did not notice any difference in this new cleat position or power transfer.  It might be more noticeable when riding gears and staying in the saddle more.  I suspect I will have to make saddle adjustments and will defer to Eddie for that.

Metatarsalgia

Otherwise known as hot foot, this condition was my undoing at Trans North Georgia.  15 hours in to the race and it had me writhing in agony on the climb up Hogpen Gap at 10 pm.

Two weeks later, with a week off the bike, it is still there, a constant source of burning, tingling, numbness which is beginning to take its toll on my sanity.  The pain is bearable now, more of a sense of intense pressure, but it is never ending.

I have spent almost every waking hour trying to come to some "light bulb" solution to end my misery and get me back on the bike with happy feet.  I have enlisted the aid of bike crack addicts Dave Byers, Lynda Wallenfels, Ruth Cunningham, and Eddie O'dea.

I have done all the usual things:  wide toe box, aft cleat positioning, wide platform.  All those were in place pre-TNGA.  Post-TNGA, Eddie  addressed pedaling technique.  Yep, after several rides, I figured out that I was pretty much following his advice during the race.

So two things are gonna happen ... soon.  Tomorrow, I am going to see my podiatrist, hoping that he has "the magic pill."  After much research and seeing how my hot foot has progressed over the past year, I am almost convinced that I have Morton's Neuroma.

Hopefully, the doc will give me some promising information with regards to surgery ... if indeed that is what I have.  Otherwise, I am gonna ask him to cut off both feet and attach artificial feet made out of carbon fiber!

In the meantime, I have put on my cobbler hat and started to alter a pair of old Specialized MTB shoes with carbon sole.  My intention is to move my cleats back another centimeter.

This plus

this plus

this will hopefully equal pain free pedaling!

I gotta run to Lowe's to get a 1/4" drill bit.  I hope to give it a go tomorrow.  As there are many of you out there that have this condition as well, I will keep you posted on my progress.  Being in pain and not being able to pursue your passion is NOT FUN.