I posted yesterday from the sunny peak of Mt. Si, which I climbed as a test of how my painful heel would hold up on a steep trail with the support of a rigid sole. Overall assessment: ouch. At baseline these days, I've got a pain level of 2-3 (my reference points are zero=no pain, ten=can't bear weight on it), with periods of 6-7 pain. I'm happy to walk with a 5, and would hike with 6, if there were a compelling reason.After an evaluation last week, I had decided to put off full-time "boot rest" for a few weeks while I readied myself for a hike up Mt. Adams. Once that ascent (and descent, hopefully) was complete, I'd go into the boot for a few weeks, get some new orthotics made, and work toward recovery, with the ultimate goal of a return to running.
I would also like to be pain free, but I don't know how likely that is. This pain has become chronic, and chronic pain doesn't usually go away.
But yesterday's experiment has changed things a little. At the trailhead, pain was minimal (about a 2), and I felt comfortable in my old Vasque boots. I climbed well, covering the four miles and 3,200 vertical feet in just over an hour. The last mile of ascent is steeper than the first three, and steep has been the thing that aggravates my pain the most (putting strain at the insertion point
of my plantar fascia). My pain quickly rose from a three to a five to an eight, and by the time I was sitting, sans suncreen, at the sunny base of Haystack peak, I was worrying about how the trip down would be.Justifiably worried, it turns out. The trip down, usually quicker than the walk up, took about two hours due to heel pain that caused me to alter my gait, putting strain on other parts of my foot and ankle. Pain was solidly at eight most of the descent, and was a nine by the time I got back to the parking lot.
At the trailhead, I sat with my foot in the icy creek for twenty minutes (a ten for pain until the numbness set in), then hobbled to my car. More ice last night.
This morning, nine. Ice. Still nine.
So, new plan. I fear I'm not fit to walk up and down Mt. Adams in two weeks time. I'll still go, but hang with the trailhead crew: Amy, Jen, and kiddos. Starting now (yesterday, actually), I'm in the boot most of the time, icing and resting. Until I'm doing better, I'm not a runner or a hiker. I bike, I swim, I act sensibly.Podiatry follow-up next week.
