Glutton Free Lunch

Breakfast casserole with hot sauce, and a side of strawberries (in a little maple syrup).

Freedom 5K

Picture this: Small town America on the 4th of July, and the streets are lined with thousands of people -- families, rodeo fans, veterans, grandparents, young and old alike; all waiting with much anticipation to watch one of the largest Independence Day street parades west of the Mississippi. Now, imagine that they are also waiting to cheer on YOU. 

That's right, you too can run or walk the Freedom 5K road race in Molalla, Oregon, just ahead of the Giant Street Parade. How often do you get a chance to have your spirits buoyed by thousands of adoring fans? And the best part is the little kids along the course who are always happy to give high-fives to runners and walkers -- they don't know, or care, if you are in 43rd place of 343rd place, they're just out there having fun. 

All participants receive a tri-blend athletic t-shirt, a Molalla Buckaroo rodeo ticket, and a finisher's medal. There is a fee to run/walk the Freedom 5K, but all profits are donated back into the Molalla community. To register, go to: http://molallarunningclub.com/races/freedom-5k/

You can also register the morning of the race, but numbers are capped at 575 participants, and this has become a very popular race, so keep that in mind. I'm bummed that I won't be around to run it this year, so someone else is needs to go an have fun in my place.

Here's a fun course preview from the 2015 Freedom 5K:

4:29

I have posted about encouragement before, but have been wanting to look at it a little more in-depth, and maybe from a slightly different perspective. One reason for starting this blog was to write about how following God's basic principles ("don't be a glutton") has made positive impacts in my life, and I can't honestly look at the topic of "encouragement" without viewing it through the same lens.

2016 was quite a year for me and my family. I ran a whole bunch of half marathons, we committed to being part of a new church congregation (Foothills Community Church), and I discovered the joys of group runs with the Molalla Running Club. After about a year attending Foothills, we really started to feel confirmation that this was where God had been leading us; and after one week with with an especially stirring message and several "taste and see the Lord is good" moments, I sent notes to some of the pastors, letting them know how much I appreciated them.

That Saturday at running club, I had a chance to run and chat for a while with Pastor Jon (the leader of MRC and worship pastor at Foothills) and he said something I wasn't quite prepared for: "I think you have the gift of encouragement". My reaction was one of, "no, you've got the wrong guy", and I quickly deflected that notion; noting how my wife was the one gifted at encouraging others, and any encouraging I was doing was just from what I had learned in recent years during my service at our former congregation, or possibly from managing a small family business. But coming from someone who I had learned to respect and appreciate, the statement stuck in my head.

Maybe Jon has the ability to see gifts in others. Maybe it was simply prophetic. Maybe there was truth to what he had said. I definitely wanted to be "an encourager", but being human, there were many times in the past when I had failed miserably at this -- when I had let negative words dominate my conversation, engaged in unhealthy communication practices, and let a sometimes cynical heart cloud my outlook. Luckily, we don't need to hang on to the past -- as another Foothills pastor (Sam) so profoundly stated this week, "God's greatest victories aren't in your history. Stop looking back."

In the following weeks, I began to take Jon's words to heart, earnestly trying to follow through with what all followers of Christ are instructed to do in Ephesians 4:29:

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

The great thing about encouragement is that there's no need to form a committee or ministry team to go around encouraging others. It's something we can all do. It's especially important in a church setting, but it also needs to be reflected on the rest of the world -- shining light, "like a city on a hill". Even those who don't feel gifted in this area are called to speak kindly to, and of, others.

There was a time when I thought it was somehow fake to present a positive outlook to the world around you when so many things in life seem to try and drag every last ounce of positive energy from you. On the flip side, I thought that the truly uplifting people around me must be leading perfect, problem-free lives of ease. But then I realized they were living in the same broken world that I was, experiencing the heart-breaks and setbacks that we all experience; and the difference was their genuine desire to follow Christ, and to reflect His light to others. They were making a conscious choice to GO BEYOND the difficult situations life deals out, and choosing to build others up instead. That is who I want to be, too.

So what part of this is the "gift" Jon referred to? It might be in the fact that writing comes easier to me than speaking face-to-face, so sending encouraging notes to others seems natural for me. Maybe it's the fact that I'm willing to say something at all. So often we think that others just know that they are appreciated, when the truth is that everyone benefits from a little encouragement from time to time, no matter how accomplished and confident they may appear. 

To truly lift others up, I need to be willing to say it in person, too; and that is something I am working on. The starting point is making sure that what I say in person, and what I post on social media, reflects the light of the One whom I claim to follow -- Jesus Christ. That is where it has to start. I'm not perfect, and I know I will fail at this again; but I will keep trying, regardless.

Run With Endurance...

Not every race is going to be perfect. Sometimes more perseverance is required. Just keep your eyes focused on what's ahead, keep putting one foot in front of the other, and breathe.

It's Complicated...

Again, I am not a medical professional in any way, and am not giving medical advice.

As I have been following the recommended treatment for PTT (Posterior Tibial Tendonitis), I have noticed that the protruding area below my medial malleolus, which I had assumed was my inflamed tendon, was quite hard and bony. That always seemed very strange, so I decided to research it further...

What I found is that approximately 10% of the population has the same protrusion just above their arch, and it is called an "Accessory Navicular Bone" -- lucky me. It's basically an extra chunk of bone that has been present since birth, but is only now deciding to cause trouble for me. Once it does start to cause trouble, it they call it Accessory Navicular Syndrome -- here's a good article discussing this: Accessory Navicular Syndrome

Here's what the article has to say: "Many people with accessory navicular syndrome also have flat feet (fallen arches). Having a flat foot puts more strain on the posterior tibial tendon, which can produce inflammation or irritation of the accessory navicular." 

The article also states that the "accessory" can start to present problems due to "excessive activity or overuse". Yep, that would probably be the cause.

Here is a photo of what a protruding accessory navicular bone looks like (not my feet).

As shown in the photo, the accessory navicular on my left side protrudes further than my medial malleolus, especially when I bear weight on that foot, and my arch drops to the floor. I also have the accessory on the right foot, but it is not as pronounced as the left, and that arch has not fallen to quite the same degree.

Much of the information out there on the web suggests that surgery is the best way to take care of this condition, but some of that info also suggests that it can be a very complicated surgery with a long recovery time, as there is often tendon attached to the area slated for removal. I did find one YouTube video from a podiatrist who suggests that surgery is over-prescribed, although I don't know if he is taking distance running into account. Here is the video:

I have been trying to keep a stubborn, bullheaded, attitude about running, and even got 5.5 miles in yesterday afternoon; but this really does present complications to my overall plan. The current plan is to tough it out and complete half marathon #10 in 27 days, but after that; my plan will likely involve visits to my doctor, and likely a podiatrist and/or physical therapist. 

At this point, if I could back my mileage off and only run 10K races, I would be thrilled. Until I have a doctor tell me that I need to stop running, I'm rolling with my theme song for the next 3 weeks: Marchin On by OneRepublic

Flat Feet, Over-pronation, and Running

The following is not intended as medical advice. If you think you have similar issues, you really should see a doctor or physical therapist.

Ever since I was first fitted for running shoes, I've known that I over-pronated to some degree -- in other words, with each foot-strike on the ground, the inside of my ankle rolls inward, my arch flattens, and things don't line up like they are supposed to.

"Stability" shoes did the trick for me up to about 10 miles per week, but once I got beyond that, I had to jump to full-on "motion control" shoes, as I started to get posterior tibial tendon pain as the miles increased. Motion control shoes have a "medial post' built into inner base of the shoe to keep your ankle from rolling inward; but unfortunately, they have limited support for the actual arch. My motion control Brooks Beasts got me through 5 half marathons in the spring/summer of 2016; but since April 2017, I have struggled with more foot pain due to this overpronation.

As you can see in the following diagram, the posterior tibial tendon starts under the medial malleolus (inner ankle bone), and runs up the back side of the tibia. Overpronation and a flattening arch put extra strain on that tendon, leading to pain and inflammation.

A while back, my doctor had recommended looking into orthotic arch supports from a local "sports medicine" specialty store, so I finally decided to stop in and see them. Their recommendation was not expensive custom orthotics, but a good quality off-the-shelf insert that would provide some cushion and support. I'm still not quite back to full-on running yet, but just wearing the orthotics around feels so much better, and I find the inserts they recommended to have a very natural feeling arch for my foot. I just bought a second pair for my everyday shoes, so I don't have to worry about transferring sweaty insoles.

As I stated above, if you have pain in your foot, you should seek the advice of a medial professional (which I am not); but it doesn't hurt to do research online to at least narrow down where the pain might be coming from. Here's a great video that I found while searching YouTube -- Bob & Brad are great:

My pain is exactly where they stated it would be -- originating in the arch area, with greatest pain focused directly under the medial malleolus, and sometimes radiating up the tendon past my ankle. Here is a video showing their top treatments for this disorder -- it seems to support everything else I've read online, although this is very simplified. There's a full list of exercises you can do to strengthen this area.

Another option that I'm trying out is the use of KT Tape (Rock Tape is similar). While it doesn't really "treat" the issue, it can provide added support, and take strain off of the tendon. I've heard that it is best to have a professional apply the tape the first time, so you can see what it feels like, but of course YouTube has videos for doing it yourself. Actually, a professional applies it in the video, but they show you how to do it -- and it is an awkward procedure when applying it yourself.

I am in the process of combining the old "R.I.C.E." recovery treatment (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation), but am also incorporating some of the treatments mentioned by Bob & Brad. I still have not abandoned all hope of running my 10th half marathon, which is scheduled for April 21st (just over 3 weeks away). 

I realize that at some point I need to follow my own advice and go visit an actual physical therapist; but right now, this is where this stubborn old mule is at.