The Verdict and A Dromedary

Well, we were all relieved to find out that I will be able to participate in the marathon after all!

I went to the podiatrist on Friday afternoon at the Rothman Institute here in Philly. Since it's affiliated with Jefferson, and literally a block from my office, it was very convenient and they were nice enough to squeeze me in before the holiday weekend. I had some X-Rays done, and met with Dr. Tawell. First of all, there is no fracture. Thank goodness! The doctor thought that the pain I am having is just a repetitive overuse injury. Also, my feet flatten out a bit when I walk, which causes a weird distribution of weight and stress. So my foot is trying to compensate, and I end up putting alot of stress on the balls of my feet and also along the outside. The connective tissue and muscles get squashed and inflamed, and that's what's crippling me at mile 8. The doctor thought that shoe inserts for better support would be best. He asked when the race was-- "Don't say tomorrow!", he joked.

Since the race is so close, there isn't enough time to order orthotic inserts for my sneakers. Dr. Taweel gave me generic ones that should offer the support I need. There is a heel support to help me from turning my foot inward or outward, and there is a "metatarsal extender", which is kind of a ball of support beneath my big toe pad. It sort of feels like walking on a tennis ball a little bit, but not that severe. He had me walk back and forth across the room-- then he said "okay, close your eyes, you're on mile 10 of the race. Is that ball bothering you?" It actually felt a little better to have that support, so I think it will be fine!

We had our last practice on Saturday morning at Kelly Drive. What a difference from our 1st practice in January! Instead of 28 degrees when we finished, it was 82 degrees! Instead of moaning after 3 or 4 miles, we were joking that 6 or 8 miles was "a walk in the park". It's really neat to see how far we've come, and how much we have bonded as a team. My feet felt okay after the 6 miles- sore but not awful like the week before.

After practice, Dan and I drove up to NY visit our friends Becca, Ken and their 2 year old daughter Amelie for the long weekend. We took Amelie to the Bronx Zoo on Sunday. We had a great time! It's funny, you almost forget you are in one of the largest cities in the world (until you get in the car and turn left out of the parking lot and you are DEFINITELY in the Bronx!) It's kind of like when you're in the middle of Central Park and you look up and see skyscrapers surrounding you.

I took Amelie on a camel ride, which was interesting to say the least. Technically, I think it was a dromedary since it only had one hump. So we're standing in line, and we're watching the camels walk around this little track. One of them pooped, and Amelie said "OOOOHHH, that camel made poops and didn't even go on the potty!" It was hysterical. As the camels are making their rounds, Amelie decided that she HAD to ride the blue camel (they all had different colored blankets on their backs), and NOT the pink camel. Of course, when we get to the top of the stairs, old PINKY is waiting for us. I eventually convinced her that riding the cool pink camel was FAR more exciting than the dumb old blue camel, so it wasn't too much of a crisis. Then the Zoo employee lifted Amelie into the carriage. I was freaking out-- I kept asking the employee, "Do you have her? I don't think you have her. Can you hold onto her better?" Then I had to get onto the camel. Can I remind you how short I am??? I practically had to jump onto the camel's back. So now I'm hanging onto the carriage and the 2 year old for dear life-- all the while trying to sound really calm and positive about riding the PINK camel as opposed to the BLUE one-- and around we go. By the time I got used to the bumpy ride, we were a couple hundred feet from the end. And of course, they take your picture, just like on the roller coasters. But they take it about 30 seconds after you start. So in the picture Amelie smiling in that "2-yr-old-Is-this-okay-?-I-don't-know-if-I'm-really-having-fun-kind-of-way", and me smiling in that "adult-holy-crap-what-have-I-let-this-kid-talk-me-into-and-if-we-fall-off-and-land-in-camel-poop-I'm-going-to-lose-my-mind-but-I-need-to-pretend-I-am-having-fun-so-the-2-yr-old-doesn't-freak-out-kind-of-way". Becca was laughing so hard, she actually spent $14.95 to get a copy of the photo.

Can't tell you how glad I am that the camel moment is captured for posterity....

Well, the next time I post may be after the marathon, since we leave on Friday morning. I will be sure to take lots of pictures, and post them as soon as I can when we return. Please think of us on Sunday morning--pray for good weather, no blisters, and comfy insoles! I can't believe it's here already! Thanks for visiting our blog and also for all your support in the last 5 months!

-Sara