Monday, May 7th: Kalamazoo, MI
Today I was supposed to play golf with Shannon and her mom after our Sunday events (see last blog post). I was so looking forward to this since 1) I haven't played golf in several months and 2) I've never had the opportunity to play golf with someone else who wears the ToeOFF. As it turned out, the weather was really dismal and we all decided it was better not to play. I was disappointed and yet, admittedly, a bit excited to have an actual rest day. Shannon also conceded that she was sore after the busy race weekend; in addition to foot drop she has had 2 hip operations and is still battling some serious issues there. So, we all took the day off and agreed to meet again at the end of the week in Detroit.
So after my rest day I checked out of my hotel and began my drive east across the state. I had race Number 8 coming up in Dewitt, MI (just north of Lansing) but had some business in the Detroit area midweek before heading back up north. Since I spent nearly 10 years of my youth in Ann Arbor, MI while my parents were in school at U of M I chose to spend the night there and take time the next day to do a bit of sight-seeing. The drive was fairly easy but it was a rainy evening, which slowed the drive considerably... eventually I made it to my hotel minutes from the North Campus area.
Upon checkin I had some business to take care of.... LAUNDRY! That's right, with back-to-back Half Marathons and several short training runs in between them this week, I was in dire need of clean clothes. Luckily, my hotel (Holiday Inn this time) had a coin-op laundry room and I took immediate advantage.
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| My Borgess Half Marathon bag was now my Laundry Hamper. |
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| Glamorous facilities... but I had them all to myself! |
As I stated earlier, I lived in Ann Arbor after moving south from the Upper Peninsula where I was born. As best I can recall, we lived in 2 places on the North Campus properties of U of M before moving to a real neighborhood--my first time living in a house! I wasn't sure how much I would remember about this house, but I still knew my old address... 1159 Pomona... so I set the GPS and went in search.
It was really strange, I hadn't been back here since I was 11 years old and I didn't remember much about driving to the neighborhood. However, as soon as I got to the bottom of my street the memories came flooding back to me and I instantly knew the way to my old residence. The yard was overgrown a bit and the color of the house had changed but for the most part it looked exactly as I remembered it.
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| My old house! |
I used to walk to school with my sisters and so I decided to see if I still knew the route. I parked my rental car at the end of Pomona and started to walk...
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| Voila! Right where I remembered it to be and surprisingly still looking very much the same to me. |
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| On the way back, the end of my street and the turn I would take when I walked to visit my friend, Susan Carpenter, before she moved away. |
After my early morning of touring Ann Arbor yesterday, I spent Tuesday evening working in the hotel as well as getting in a 6 mile training run. I woke up early and headed to downtown Ann Arbor for a quick breakfast and then found out I need to be in Lansing for an interview opportunity by 11:00a.m. I immediately got on the road, looking for Biggby Coffee shop on Ottowa St. in downtown Lansing where I was to meet reporter, Angela Wittrock. The drive was an hour-and-a-half each way but totally worth it for the opportunity to get our message out across Michigan.
I found the coffee shop without a problem and went in to meet Angela. She was there waiting for me and was enjoying the "Red Eye" special, a large coffee with a shot (or 2!) of espresso added-- it sounded so good I ordered the same thing. Whether it was our mutual love of a good cup of coffee or our mutual appreciation of a good trail run, we hit it off immediately and talked for over an hour. I've met some wonderful reporters/journalists this year since embarking on this journey but I can't say I've ever enjoyed my time with one as much as I did with Angela. Talking with her was like hanging out with a good friend and our time together flew by. As it usually happens with the News industry, no promises can be made regarding airtime or press coverage but Angela said she'd do her very best to help us spread the word. I found out a few days later she had kept her promise, and although I'm not sure how many papers in Michigan picked up her article but somehow the story was out since I received online inquiries from Michiganders before I left the state. Here's a link to our interview:
After the interview I drove back to Ann Arbor and headed downtown for a bite to eat before retiring to the hotel for the evening. The weather was actually quite nice although the forecast was calling for rain later in the day... for now I took advantage of the sunshine and walked around for a few hours to stretch my legs.
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| Downtown Ann Arbor, MI |
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| Another view. |
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| Yummmmm... so many great choices for a vegetarian!! |
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| I don't always go for fries, but I was so hungry and my server made them sound so good that I couldn't resist. They were crisp, fresh shoestring fries with truffle salt and rosemary. OMG, they were sooooooo good! |
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| Okay, I know these photos don't convey how good this sandwich was but it was truly the best falafel I had ever had. A light and freshly made tzatziki-like sauce with tomatoes and mint covered the top... |
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| ...and the Falafel underneath was made with freshly shucked green garbanzos, a true delight! |
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| A break in the showers revealed beautiful early evening skies in Ann Arbor. |
I woke up early to head to my meeting with Wright & Filippis, an O & P facility in the Detroit area with much experience fitting people like myself with ToeOFF braces. I am so happy whenever I hear of facilities which are progressive in their approach to helping patients GET BACK UP, and this facility was one of the most impressive I've seen. Here's a link to their Michigan operations:
http://www.firsttoserve.com/
When I first arrived I met up with Scott Hennessey, an Allard specialist in charge of custom bracing who was in town visiting the W & F facility. Scott surprised me in Nashville at the finish line of the Half Marathon (he was visiting his family at the time) where he told me he'd like to cast my leg for a custom ToeOFF at some point in the future. We discussed our upcoming schedules and realized we'd both be in Michigan this week, and so the appointment was set to utilize the facilities at W & F to make the cast.
FYI: The ability for Allard to make custom braces is relatively new. Although each brace is remarkably "customizable" by design (selecting product, sizing and controlling foot motion/stability with orthotic inserts) the Allard team believes the braces can perform even better for some with custom-molding. My legs are actually bowed more than the average person's and so they don't fit along a straight line down my shin. Although the ToeOFF works great for me as is, Scott thinks I may actually get more power from the brace if it's designed to fit the curve of my leg. So, here we go! A great opportunity for me to have a brace that no one else has ever tried, I can't wait for it to come back from Sweden when it's ready!!
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| Scott Hennessey making a cast of my leg, including the orthotic insert I wear for running (seen here under my foot) |
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| My own personal cast! My foot isn't really this long though, he just didn't trim at the toes before this was taken. |
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| Central fabrications |
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| Prosthetics in the making! |
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| The sewing room! |
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| Behind the scenes look at what it takes to help people Get Back UP. |
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| Specialized operations in every room |
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| Finally get to put a face to the name! |
Next I got a real treat, a chance to meet an impressive young man who was here at W&F today for some brace adjustments. I got permission from him and his mom to use his photo but forgot to ask if I could use his name, so we'll just call him "T" for now. T is an avid basketball player and wears 2 ToeOFFs to help him with his game (and the rest of his active lifestyle) and I must say he's got mad skills! You're looking at a future NBA superstar I think:
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| "T" has an impressive layup and scored baskets from all over this makeshift court in the parking lot behind W & F in Madison Heights, MI outside of Detroit. |
After leaving W & F I made my way northwest to Lansing, MI where I would be staying before my half marathon in Dewitt, MI on Saturday. My hotel was minutes away from the Michigan State Campus and since I had never seen it I decided to make a visit:
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| Part of MSU campus on a beautiful spring day. |
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| Cool architecture at MSU, a contrast to most of the old brick buildings on campus. |
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| The details! |
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| This time, a great vegetarian meal of hummus & pita, plus a delicious lentil dish and greek salad... YUM! |
Yes, after my drive to Lansing I was due back in the Detroit area for another W & F event. This time it was in Rochester Hills where I would be attending a Gait Course given by Bob Meier to Physical Therapists at another Wright & Fillipis facility. Bob Meier has been instrumental in my success with the ToeOFF, he's a long-time consultant for Allard USA and specializes in orthotic-related gait education. When I've had issues with running in my ToeOFF he has always been able to suggest a solution--Thanks, Bob, for helping me GET BACK UP!!
The main reason for my attendance at this gait course was to meet another very special person who is now wearing the ToeOFF, Heather Turkopp. Like Shannon Poortenga (previous blog post), Heather found my story online and called me to learn more. She has been struggling with foot drop for many months now and was giving up on ever being able to run again. Unlike Shannon and me, Heather still has no medical diagnosis for the cause of her foot drop which is very scary. Instead of focusing on the fear and limitations though, Heather vowed to Get Back Up and soon after our discussions in February she was fitted for a ToeOFF. I am meeting her face-to-face for the first time today and am so excited for this meeting. She is the reason I chose to run the Dewitt Half Marathon: she vowed to get ready for the 10K there if I would come up for the event.
Heather was recently featured in an article, here's the link:
http://www.runmichigan.com/view.php?id=15466
THANK YOU, Heather, for sharing your story!! It is through people like you and Shannon that we can help others to Get Back Up, too.
Allard requested for both Shannon and Heather to be models at this particular gait course and they consented... both Shannon and I got to meet Heather here and I can tell you that after months of online correspondence the tears were flowing once we were all in the same room!!
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| Three athletes with left-leg foot drop in ToeOFFs, plus Bob Meier who helped all 3 of us Get Back UP. |
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| Bob, myself, Heather and Shannon in front of the Hall (Wall?) of Fame at W & F. |
Although I neglected to get photos, I had a great dinner with Heather and her husband in Dewitt, MI. This was a nice opportunity to spend some real time talking about our experience with foot drop and the many common emotional battles that go along with the forced limitations it brings about. We finished our 2-hour visit and said goodnight around 7:30...after all, we all had a race to run in the morning!
Saturday, May 12th... RACE DAY!
The race start was scheduled for 8:00am and I was only about 10 minutes away from Dewitt High School where the races were being held. The weather forecast called for storms later in the day and yet when I left my hotel the sky was dark and it was already drizzling.
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| View from hotel parking lot... rain setting in! |
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| Carol helps to secure the banners in the wind... we are all hoping the weather improves!! |
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| Early morning set-up, while I am waiting to meet up with Heather and her husband. |
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| Race check-in for everyone who decided to brave the day's weather. |
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| Carol holds our Get Back Up sign... with two hands to keep the wind from stealing it!! |
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| The skies are getting even darker with lighting scattered across the horizon, just as we're making our way to the starting line. |
You can't finish what you don't start.
One thing I've preached to beginning marathoners for years is that the real accomplishment behind any one marathon (or half marathon) is the long, hard training in the months leading up to the race. This is the part we can all control: how much effort we put into our training. The race itself is just the 'celebration' of these long hours of sacrifice and effort put forth to that point. Getting to the starting line healthy and well-trained should be a source of great pride, no matter what happens to us on race day.
That said, it is extremely frustrating and disappointing to not have a great performance on race day. Every runner has experienced this and if not, they someday will. It's just the way it goes. Sometimes it's an injury, sometimes it's a cold, flu or other malady that keeps up from being our best. Sometimes it's as simple as "It just wasn't my day today" for no good reason that we can discern. And then there's a bigger element out of our control: weather.
Please, all runners, hear this and remember it throughout any training program you may embark upon:
ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN ON RACE DAY. BE PROUD OF YOUR TRAINING NO MATTER WHAT TRANSPIRES ON RACE DAY.
On this race day, the day Heather and I plus hundreds of other race-warriors prepared for, Mother Nature had the final say.
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| Minutes before the race, the skies open up!! The rain, thunder and lightning were so severe that race officials delayed the start of the race.
Yes, that's right. After more than an hour of rain-delay the race organizers were forced to cancel the Dewitt race events. A severe thunderstorm had settled over us and was not predicted to move for hours. I was SO disappointed not to run but I must be honest: the race director made the correct call. This weather was not simply uncomfortable, it was downright dangerous. Rain and wind are manageable but serious lightning is nothing to mess with.
So the Allard team, along with Heather and her husband, decided to plan a different course...
BREAKFAST!
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| Carol and Shawn shown here, I'm across the table taking the photo and beside me are Heather and her husband. We are all happy to be warm and dry finally! |
In closing I would like to share one of John "The Penguin" Bingham's favorite observations:
"The miracle isn't that I finished, the miracle is that I had the courage to start."
We all finished... our breakfast, that is.
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