Well what a journey. I have been so frustrated at not being able to run and having to limp around everywhere that I forgot to even try jumping on my trusty steel blue road racing bicycle. Yesterday and today I rode my bike like a man possessed. Boy if someone can suffer from BRE (Barefoot Running Euphoria) I wonder what you word you could coin to describe the rush of speed, machine and flesh screaming down the road like a man on fire. YES! I love the pain of burning lungs and legs. Amazingly I did not have the plaguing foot pain, unless I stood up out of the saddle, or tried to diesel power too low of a gear. The stiff cycling shoes bound my foot to the cranks and I focused on spinning high reps. The freedom was almost spiritual. Now here is where the story gets really interesting. Two days ago I put on my minimalist huarache sandals and headed out towards the lava field behind my house. I could run slowly for about 50 yards on the asphalt and then I would feel the pain from above my second metatarsal send feedback that I needed to stop. I would and then I would pick it up again. Once I got to the lava field I walked and danced across the field feeling the pointed stones stimulating every inch of my foot through the rubber soles of my huarache’s. I could feel the stress on my foot, but “oh” it felt so therapeutic. That was in the morning and by the time I made it to the art galleries I could barely walk.
The next day I walked past my blue steed and decided that I just had to try and ride. So at about 11:00 pm I put on my cycling shorts, wonder bread cycling team shirt, and grabbed my shoes. My dog Pepper was watching this and was so excited to see me that the twinkle returned to his eyes. Ever since I got injured he has been moping around the house depressed. He knew he was going to be able to go fast, and blew past me out the door, practically saying out loud that he was not going to miss jaunt.
I clicked in, and started to spin. I was going a bit uphill, and stood up out of the saddle. Quickly, I sat back down as ping of pain in my foot shut that motion down. I spun for about 30 minutes around my neighborhood. One of my neighbors was moving in furniture and I stopped, feeling quite empowered, and started to run, then limped, and walked. I just opened the door for them, waived my respects and was back on my way. I was now pumping at full power and I was not in pain from my foot. Waking the next day I realized that other than a bit of stiffness I felt great. Then like the previous night I went out again this time for a full hour of cycling. When I got back I slung my leg off my machine and walked stiffly back into my house. What? I could not believe how my foot was feeling. I was no longer rolling off the side of my foot to the side, but walking strait forward. My foot seemed to mechanically be working in a different way. All today at the galleries I kept remarking to myself about how this felt and what had gone on to make it feel this way. It certainly was not rest.
I am alive again, will be giving my foot therapy each day, while riding my bike. Strange how life’s experiments can turn out so miraculous.
Chow for now.
Michael Carroll
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog.
Cheers! Sandra. R.