I am deformed!

Actually, its just my metatarsals although I could lump my scalp in there and no one would argue.

It turns out a primary cause of patella femoral syndrome is actually a short big toe called Morton’s Foot. I have every symptom of this condition that essentially creates a 2 legged stool out of your foot.

I remember watching my Grandpa stumble around acting as if he was walking on ice skates when I was a kid and come to find out, he probably was! I think both sides of my family have this condition and it will be interesting to see how treating it will affect my back pain, knee pain, shoe wear, etc.

The treatment could not be any easier, simply place a thin pad under the head of the first metatarsal or the “ball of the foot” making sure not to cover the second metatarsal. To accomplish this, cut a circle the size of a quarter for a gal or a fifty cent piece for a dude out of some insole padding. Feather the edges and stick them on the insole of each shoe or on an oder eater insole if they are attached.

You will end up with something that looks like this:

Photo curtesy of The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook.

There are for real orthodics one can order but for a couple bucks worth of padding, I think this is a cure that is worth the cost.

Happy running!

This is just as cool, a little school house north of town just before BIR.

Keep an eye out for the new sign and stop in and say hi for me.

On second thought, stop in and put him in a headlock for me, that would be more in keeping with how he would expect a visit from his older brother to go. :)

And if you are interested in body work or yoga instruction, hit up his webpage or stop by his new place and get back to school.

Everybody knows sugar is not the best choice for us but there is something much worse. Fructose. Fructose presents itself just as alcohol to the liver.

That can of Coke we give to our kids is like handing them a glass of Budweiser.

If that wasn’t bad enough that glass of fruit juice without any fiber as God designed is more like drinking a glass of fat.

I realized it as I pulled the Poang from my office into my bedroom in a last ditch effort to tolerate CPAP. As I said goodnight to my wife I had a glimpse of my future and I did not like it.

I lasted about 20 minutes in the chair before my legs got numb and the absurdity of it all became too much.

The thing is, I have been sleeping better, far from perfect, but much better than the year before. Last years depression and overall despair has lifted and even though I know most nights are not great, they are better than they used to be.

I have lost about 15 pounds since the heart of winter when once again the scale read close to 300. Most of my friends find it hard to believe I actually get that heavy. They know I am overweight, joke me about it from time to time, but 300 is a huge number even for 6-2. It is embarrassing to be that heavy especially when you stand in front of a church crowd week in week out playing guitar.

I am happy to report that I am under 280 now according to my scale which is what I will be using until my 3 month checkup. My doctor wants to see me hit 240, but I am shooting for 220 as my personal goal and will see how things look and feel for me there. If I just maintain my caloric levels of 1790 per day, that is a 2 pound loss per week. At that rate I am looking at 7 months to reach my goal. Since I am adding the C25K program as well as biking to my diet, it will probably take less time than that. I tend to lose very rapidly anyway and once I get going 10 pounds a month should be easy which will bring me in right at 240 in 3 months.

I feel really good about this and the timing of it in my life. I have the tools I need, a “diet” I can live with, a fantastic running program, and 100% support from the home team. Now that Emily is a little older, I have the time and energy to devote to me. I didn’t want to miss a moment with her as a baby as I did with the other 2. I probably went a little overboard, but I knew this was probably the last time I would be experiencing this. I loved the late nights and early morning and sleeplessness. It took its toll on me, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

So it is time to get up and go. Consider this my accountability partner and promise to love myself into the person I want to be.

Time for bed, I have 2 miles to run and walk in the morning.