Nursing injuries from my Mt Whitney climb

While the race is still six months away, I'm nursing a couple injuries from my recent climb of Mt Whitney.

First, and most troublesome, is the plantar fasciitis I've got in both feet. I guess the 24 miles of hiking in 20 hours was a little too much to handle for my poor feet, and they're reminding me of my indiscretions on a daily basis. True to the condition, it's most painful when I wake up and get out of bed thanks to the plantar's contracting all night long. My short jogs (~3 miles) don't seem to make it any worse, but it's definitely not going away.

The other injury isn't really painful as much as it is conspicuous. The wear and tear of climbing Mt Whitney has caused bruising under my left #2 toe nail (the one next to the big toe) and it looks like I'll soon lose the nail. On my right foot, the bruising is there on both the big toe and the #2 toe and I think I'll be losing the #2 nail on this foot as well. From what I can tell, this is a common malady, especially among distance runners, so I'm not so concerned about the cause as I am about the moment that the nails actually fall off.

From what I can tell, injuries are part of the process, so for now I'll just monitor the two I've got to make sure they continue to improve. I really should spend time on the bike to give my feet a break from the pounding of running. Or, I could make this the week I join the PCC Center and start swimming at their pool with the PCA Masters program.