Tag Archives: plantar fasciitis

OOFOS OOlala Recovery Sandals

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Disclaimer: I received OOFOS OOlala Sandal – Orange to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

The official start of summer is tomorrow but I’ve been in summer mode since the weather changed from dismal rain to sunny days.

I’ve always been a big fan of warm weather and summer time activities, but after a tough, long winter/spring filled with injuries and lots of precipitation, I’m loving this summer with all my heart (talk to me in September to see if I feel the same).

OOlala Project Pink Sandal

Late last summer I got my first pair of OOFOS OOlala sandals when BibRave teamed up with OOFOS to promote their Project Pink campaign. I’m happy to report that their initiative to raise money for breast cancer research is still going strong.

OOFOS donates $10 for each specific Project Pink pair sold. Additionally, 3% of all sales on shoes on their website go to Project Pink, breast cancer research.

I love my Project Pink Sandals so much, when the opportunity came through BibRave to try out the new Orange OOlala Sandals, I was quick to volunteer.

OOFOS, which is in its lucky 7th year, was created with recovery in mind. The folks behind OOFOS realized that while there were shoes on the market for exercise, there was also a need for a shoe that could absorb shock after the workout was over. OOFOS was born and through the past 7 years they’ve been rolling out more shoes, more options, and more colors.

Including my favorite… ORANGE!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkDH-GjFMhY/?taken-by=scootadoot

These shoes are everything. When I’m not sneakers for running/workouts, I’m in OOFOS. After two bouts of plantar fasciitis I’m not willing to take any chances when it comes to my feet.

In fact, a friend at my gym is currently dealing with the dreaded PF, Knowing that pain, I feel incredibly bad for her. Waking up in the morning and dreading that first step. Hobbling around after sitting, especially in the evening. Stretching and massaging and rolling and being in near tears because of the constant pain – it all came back as she was talking about it.

My first question was, “Have you heard of OOFOS?”

And of course, I brought my snazzy orange OOFOS to the gym for her to check out. After oo’ing over them, she said she plans to get a pair.

OOFOS do take a bit of getting used to when you first begin wearing them. While the OOlala look like flip flops, I wouldn’t place them in that category. They cradle your feet, giving them support and absorb 37% more impact than traditional footwear foams. They make your feet and calves work different muscles, that’s something you don’t get with a regular shoe but I also think that’s what helps with recovery.

If I’m not wearing sneakers, you can find me wearing these the majority of the summer. I wear them poolside, walks with my dog, running errands… basically anywhere and everywhere!

Since slipping my feet into OOFOS last year, I haven’t dealt with any sort of foot pain at all. *Knocking on all the wooden surfaces in my house*

If you’d like to hear more of what my fellow BibRave Pros think about Women’s OOlala Orange and Men’s the OOriginal Sport Geo Orange, be sure to swing by their blogs and check them out! I’ll be adding more links as reviews are posted.

Brenda

Bradford

Deanne

Are you on Twitter? Next Tuesday’s Twitter #BibChat will be sponsored by @OOFOS! Never been to a #BibChat before? It’s easy: at 9pm the @BibRave account posts a question (every 10 minutes or so, so there’s ample time to respond and check out other answers/interact). There’s usually a fun giveaway involved from the sponsor too *wink, wink*. I’ll be there on the @scootadoot account so look for me and say hi!

Have to considered joining the BibRave Pro family? The BibRave Pro application process is open now through this Friday so if you’re interested, be sure to swing by and feel free to tell them I sent you. If you have any questions about being a Pro or about my OOFOS, which I’m always down to chat about, leave a comment.

Plantar Fasciitis Follow-up

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Good morning friends!

I was recently thinking that often I find myself blogging about events in my life when I’m in the thick of them. I mean it makes sense to cover the down and dirty, the nitty gritty things. Like the dreaded plantar fascittis, for example. I’ve dealt with it twice since we started this blog three years ago.

This is my unimpressed face.

This is my unimpressed face.

While I’m hurting and doing things to make the hurt better, you get to hear about that dang ligament so much I’m sure you feel sympathy pain.

I lament those first steps in the morning, rolling my foot on a golf ball, rolling my foot on a frozen water bottle, and most importantly, not being able to do what I want to do when it comes to running!

(Some might consider walking more important but you know… not me.)

Anyway, I talk, talk, talk about the pain and then it finally subsides… I never really mention it again. But for something that’s such a big part of my life and affects not just me but so many people, I feel like I need to write a little follow up.

So, a quick recap… this last bout of PF started during a training run for last year’s Broad Street run and lasted throughout the summer before I decided that ENOUGH WAS ENOUGH. I put my foot down (see what I did there?); I wasn’t going to deal with it’s shenanigans any longer. I had training runs and races to do, PRs to hit, and I’d be damned if I was going to let a pesky ligament get in the way of my goals.

After three and a half months of just waiting for it to get better on its own (it did not), I started going to the chiropractor for treatments.

At first it was a few times a week, then weekly, then bi-weekly and now it’s monthly. There was a rest from running, Aleve to reduce the inflammation, and lots of tweaking and prodding to figure out what needed to be fixed.

Now it’s a monthly maintenance visit, to make sure I’m aligned (yep, like a car) and my body is working the way it’s supposed to. Each visit starts with about 15 minutes of intense physiotherapy.

chiro1

When I first started going there, at times I thought that I wasn’t going to make it out of that room. The therapists actually complimented my pain tolerance but maybe I just wasn’t vocal enough because I promise you, it hurt! You put up with the pain if you know it’s going to be fixed in the long run. At least, I do.

I don’t think the therapists have changed the intensity but my foot has become more malleable, more able to handle the manipulations.

Yes, Wesley. Yes.

Yes, Wesley. Yes.

After my visit with the therapist, I get adjusted by the chiropractor. I always give him a rundown of what runs I’ve been doing, my training (we train with the same personal trainer), and all the other fun in my life.

bones

The once a month visits keep me fairly loosey goosey and I’ve been feeling really good for the past 4-5 months with minimal amounts of plantar fascia pain. Which is exactly what we want!

I’m going to continue with adjustments because the less injuries for me, the happier I am. And the happier I am, the happier everyone around me can be. See how that works?

My goal from here on out is to consistently visit the chiropractor each month and be steadfast with my training. I know that I can’t always be 100% all the time but if I can do things to assist in remaining uninjured, I’m going to do them!

There you go, folks, that’s the scoop. Foot pain is much better, training runs are going very well, and I’m expecting good things to come during my spring races!

Have you ever dealt with plantar fasciitis? What did you do to relieve the pain? Have you visited a chiropractor to help? What races are you training for?

Plantar Fasciitis – I’m Just Not That Into You

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“Ouch, ouch, ouch.” Those are my first words every morning when I get out of bed. I hobble around my room, attempting to ease the pain shooting through my foot.

Not that you follow my every move (unless you’re my mom – hi Mom!) but you might have noticed that I’m not posting a whole lot about running lately.

Truthfully? The last time I actually ran a race was Sunday, May 1st, The Philadelphia Broad Street 10 Miler. That is a long 3.5 months ago. I’ve been running sprints at the gym but never more than a mile or two at in total and I usually pay for it for the rest of the day.

I’ve been hurting. Seriously hurting. Plantar fasciitis is an old enemy; it shows up from seemingly nowhere and totally messes with my mojo.

Praying, wishing, and hoping that time and babying it (along with my custom inserts, rolling it on various products promising relief, massage, etc.) would fix the foot has proved to be futile. The best way I can describe the pain is that my heel felt like it’s been stabbed with a rusty knife.

No me gusta.

Thanks for letting me know just how much I'm not moving, Fitbit.

Thanks for letting me know just how much I’m not moving, Fitbit.

In the interest of not just “waiting it out” any longer, I decided to finally take action. You know, three months later. Since I’ve visited my podiatrist quite a few times this past year, it’s time for something different.

Enter the chiropractor’s office.

chiropractor

My visits have been twice a week for the past two weeks. They’re guessing I have about two more weeks to go of treatments but they are confident they are going to cure me.

No, really! They said that they are going to CURE this. For good. I’m skeptical but if they can actually fix the foot permanently, I might have to do something drastic, like get the name of the practice tattooed on my foot in appreciation.

So far, it’s going well. Really well. SURPRISING WELL. Dare I say that I’m actually starting to feel an improvement? (I’m scared to say that out loud, no jinxing!)

The plan of attack:

1. Aleve for a week, three times a day to take the inflammation out of the foot. CHECK

2. NO RUNNING. (My trainer wasn’t pleased when I told him this but the chiropractor actually goes to my gym so he only grumbled a little.) CHECK

3. Twice a week of torture. Oh, I’m sorry, I meant to say massage, ultrasound, and adjustments. WORK IN PROGRESS

These massages are like nothing I’ve ever felt before. You hear the word “massage” and you think good thoughts. You can erase those thoughts.

Guys, I gave birth to my second child with no drugs. After having a c-section with my first. I’m pretty sure these massages hurt worse. (But after it feels really good. I think that’s their plan.)

Like I said, I’m halfway into the treatments and I think this might actually be it. Is my optimism showing? Fingers crossed, pajamas inside out, stroking a lucky rabbit foot… I’ll keep you posted.

Ever have plantar fasciitis or a niggling injury that just wouldn’t quit? What did you do to finally get rid of it?

Coffee Talk (hold the coffee)

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Yeah, I gave coffee up a few months ago. But you go ahead and grab a cup! I’ll wait.

*

Okay! So a few weeks ago I was talking to my ten year old kiddo and he said, “I’m so excited!”  When I asked him “About what?” He responded, “LIFE!”

What a refreshing and honest answer from him! I mean, isn’t life pretty gosh darn exciting sometimes? I’ve been feeling that way, too, and with good reason.

Why? Well, we’ve got a lot of good going on in our lives. Some meh too, but the good far outweighs the bad. And I feel like I haven’t had a chance to chat with you all in so long, you don’t know a couple of the mundane things (like the fact that I gave up coffee) and the not so mundane things. I’ve blogged about races and products, but not about life.

So here’s a LIFE update!

1. Health

In the past few months I’ve turned up the running because I had four races in May.

What you might not know is that during my last eight mile training run for the Broad Street 10 Miler, I felt the very annoying twingle (that’s a twinge and a tingle, all mixed up together) of my plantar fascia.

Again.

This isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with this stupid pain in the foot so I know all the things that can help heal the heel.

Rest, ice, massage, stretching.

You might notice that running isn’t on the list. But I did the Broad Street Run, a Mother’s Day 5k, and Bolder Boulder.

Smile, though your heal is aching.

Smile, though your heel is aching.

I had a 5k scheduled for this past weekend but wisely I decided to skip it. See, I did something smart! Yay me!

My poor foot just needs a break from the constant beating it takes when I run. It’s pissed off and I am well aware of that. So I am going to cool it with the running for the month of June (which does not excite me, I’ll have you know, but I’m aware it’s necessary) and focus on cross training and… food.

2. Food

Food, you are my life now. (Yes, I just Twilight quoted you. I hope you still respect me.)

Let’s talk about this. You might have noticed I’ve been sharing some yummy looking pics on our Instagram lately.

Eggs and fruit, anyone?

Eggs and fruit, anyone?

Chipotle Lime Shrimp Tacos with Strawberry Salsa - I would push people out of the way for this.

Chipotle Lime Shrimp Tacos with Strawberry Salsa – I would push people out of the way for this.

Fish taco bowl (mine's without the cilantro because ew).

Fish taco bowl (mine’s without the cilantro because ew).

Y’all, this is stuff we are making at home. We haven’t done take out in over a week. This is a big deal!

So what the heck is going on here? Well, I was fairly certain that I would never, ever, ever do a product challenge. I mean, just call me Taylor Swift because that’s how adamant I was about not doing a product challenge.

And yet… here I am, doing a product challenge.

That will teach me. Folks at my gym are participating in the 24 day AdvoCare challenge and that includes my husband and yours truly. I’m drinking the proverbial Kool-Aid, or should I say Spark, and (prepare yourselves)… I’m actually loving it.

You see, I wasn’t too sure what we were getting into when we originally signed up. It’s a 10 day “cleanse” and then 14 day “max” phase. When I heard “cleanse” I envisioned rabbit food and not a whole lot else. But as you can see from the pics, we are eating. Eating like kings and queens, even!

It’s a lot of prep work and planning but I’ve got to tell you, I’m on day 6 as I’m writing this 5/31, and I’m down 5.2 pounds. But more importantly, I’ve got a ton of energy and a renewed sense of accomplishment. Doing the healthy living/eating thing can get sort of rut-like after awhile and this has helped snapped me out of that! I’m hopping up and down (on one foot, to give my left one a rest).

I’ll keep you posted with the final results. We finish the 24 days on the 18th of June.

3. June

First day of June, holla at me! June is really exciting, right? I mean, end of school (for us Jersey folks), long days, sunshine. I love it!

Me with my dear friend Bernadette, 20 years ago.

Me with my dear friend Bernadette, 20 years ago.

My 20th high school reunion is this month. If you’d have told me in high school that not only I would be going but I’d be paying over $100 to attend, I probably would not have believed you.

Actually, I would have laughed in your face.

Yet, I’m going. And not only that, but I’m actually looking forward to it. Life is weird. And exciting.

disneysocialmediamoms

Just as exciting, I’ve been invited to the Disney Social Media Moms event in New York City!

I was very appreciative to be invited to last year’s Philly event and although timing didn’t work out for me to make it to this year’s Florida conference, I’m thrilled that I’ll be at the NYC On the Road celebration.

Disney is very good at bringing the magic along with them and paired with awesome speakers and great attendees, it makes for a party-like atmosphere that cannot be compared.

The new business cards are on their way and I’m hard at work figuring out what I’m going to wear. I’m thinking Disneybounding might just be in order. Zip a dee doo dah! 

And don’t even get me started about July! 

But enough about me. Now it’s your turn! Tell me about your life. What exciting things do you have on the horizon for June? Will I be seeing you at the Disney Social Media Moms NYC? Or perhaps at my house for dinner (open invite!)?

Channeling My Inner Janet Jackson

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I’ve been feeling very out of control of situations lately.

It’s not a good feeling for someone who spends their life being the leader, the one who is in control, the one who (mostly) has their shit together.

However, it’s where I’m at right now and it’s a bit scary to me because I don’t typically function well in this type of environment. I’m not a complainer by nature, but I also don’t like a lot of change. Because change = me not in charge.

Earlier in January I blogged about my dog’s sudden passing. (Thank you for all the love, support and comments.) I’m still trying to deal with that and I’ll admit, it’s taking me longer than I expected to heal from that emotional punch in the heart.

Furthermore, I’m dealing with an injury. Yeah… another one. I came back too fast from my previous injury and developed a heel spur. Which, on its own, wouldn’t actually be a bother because heel spurs don’t hurt.

heelspur

Except that it’s digging into the plantar fascia tissue. Not cool, heel spur. Not. Cool.

I’m in pain. And have been since November, really, but finally went to the doctor a few weeks ago. (Again with the control thing and thinking that I could fix things on my own. Note to self: I cannot. Also, I’m not a doctor.)

orthotics

My doctor is very proactive and said that I can continue working out, as much as I can tolerate. I have anti-inflammatory cream, and exercises, and I’m getting custom orthotics (ooooooh, fancy!). If all those exciting things don’t work, we’ll discuss arthroscopic surgery to cut the plantar fascia. He suggested that if something hurts, I do not do it. This includes box jumps, step ups, jumping jacks, and… running.

Let’s get back to that control thing for a minute. That’s a lot of things right there that I’m not able to do. And ordinarily, it would send me into a tailspin. However, I’ve made the conscious decision to focus on the positive and what I can do. Because I can control my reactions to when things don’t go my way.

I can continue working with my trainer and do most things that he barks at me. Furthermore, I am able to speed walking without too much pain, which is exactly what I’m doing. I’m taking charge of the situation and while it’s not ideal, and it sure as heck isn’t running, it’s something. And in my world, something is always better than giving up.

And it really leads back to my motto, I can and I will. Rather than focusing on all the negatives, all the limitations, I’ll be focusing on what I can do to move ahead with my goals.

I’m training for my third Atlantic City April Fool’s Half on April 6th and I’m committed to getting the training done. By making the speed walking modification (walking on the treadmill at 4.0-4.5) and playing with the incline (anywhere from 2% – 15%. If it’s on 15%, I’m at 2.8 mph), I’m able to get in a good workout. I logged 94 miles in January. My goal is 40-60 minutes three days a week and long “runs” on the weekend. And I doubt this very much since we are in winter forever, but if it ever warms up, I’ll head outside.

letitgoSo, friends, that’s where I’m at at the moment. Again, it’s not ideal and it’s not where I want to be but as long as I’m breathing and moving, I consider that a win. Yay me!

What do you do when life doesn’t go as planned? Are you a crazy obsessive planner like me or more of a go-with-the-flow type of person? Also, I hope you’re singing Janet Jackson songs for the rest of the day like I’ll be. No, my first name ain’t baby.