I not so secretly started running again recently (on June 12th). I’m sticking to the trails and keeping the distance short for now. No real verdict on my toe (at least not a helpful one). My first run was only 1 mile and involved some walking – but hey, I was out on the trail so I’m not complaining! I’ve done 6 runs since then with my last one at 1.8 miles yesterday. My toe feels okay. I mean, it’s not perfect but so long as I can run I don’t mind a little bit of an achy breaky toe. I’m pretty sure my mountain bike fall last weekend is what messed up my hip a little bit so that has been actually more of a concern than my toe and has kept me to flatter runs recently (uphill = no good on my hip). Don’t get me started on that either. I was going downhill and should of had the right away but some guys coming up weren’t moving. I moved to the left then back right again and my back tire slid out due to some loose rocks. I survived (with a bit of blood) and they felt bad so we’ll leave it at that for now 
I also picked up some Hoka One Mafate trail shoes. They aren’t cheap and they look funny but if they help me run then why not? So far I love them and I’ll post a review soon. Also, with another run or two left in June, I’ve already ran 6.7 miles (0 in May and only 6 in April). Double digits in July – here I come!
Both of my softball teams are done for now (sort of). Our coed team was tied for 3rd in regular season but we won the playoffs! Our womens’ team won our division handily with a 16-2 record. That team has a tournament coming up this weekend and Philadelphia in August for the softball World Series! Our baseball team is doing well. 4 games in now and in first place.
Happy Running & Dirty Feet,
Jessica
A while back, Becky from Naturopathica contacted me about trying their Arnica Muscle Gel. At the time I wasn’t really running much or doing anything where I experienced enough soreness to put it to the test. Then came the fast paced 7 game 1 day softball tournament. Sometime during the day I tweaked my quads pretty good (actually more like my hip flexors).
I used the Arnica gel twice a day. Personally, I liked the smell and thought it was pretty pleasant. The gel was not sticky and had a nice texture. Once it went on you could barely tell it was there aside from the lingering smell. A short while after applying the gel you can start to feel the burn. It’s a typical menthol type burn that lets you know it’s working. It definitely helped with my muscle soreness especially as the days went on. I was able to keep playing softball that next week despite how bad my muscles had hurt after the tournament. Probably in testament to the Arnica Gel and it’s ability to help heal the muscle by reducing inflammation and stimulating circulation.
I’m definitely a fan and highly recommend it if you are looking for a natural remedy to help with sore muscles!
Jessica
Categories: Product Review
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Same news. Different day. It’s been 2 months now since I last did any form of running. I recently had a bone scan of my foot. A few days later I got a call/VM from my doctor that went something like this: “Your bone scan looks fine. There is a slight uptake where I suspect you are having the pain. Call me and I can tell you more.” So I called him right back – no luck – left a VM. I called him again yesterday because he still hadn’t called me back. I’m going to make an appointment on Thursday (he’s in surgery today) if I haven’t heard from him. It’s frustrating to have to go in for what might be a two minute conversation. It’s also frustrating that my foot pain has not really changed all that much which is a good and bad thing considering I keep playing softball and baseball and it’s not getting worse – but it’s also not getting better which means I’m not going to run yet until my doc says it’s okay.
I’ve at least been enjoying softball. On Saturday, our Sunday Women’s team competed in a one-day tourney. We started out a little shaky going 1-1 in pool play and losing our first game in bracket play which put us in the loser bracket from the start. We fought our way back and won 4 straight games (with no breaks in between) to become tournament champs. We had to beat the last team twice because they were undefeated and it was a double elimination tournament. Not an easy task considering there were an A division team and we are B division! I had a few good games and a few not so good games. Would be nice if I could be more consistent… Last night we had the playoffs for our CoEd softball team where we finished 3rd in the regular season (top 4 teams go to playoffs). We won the semifinal game and took the final 19-17. That was the most runs we scored in a game all season (and we didn’t need the bottom of the 7th to score more). I played okay the first game (1-3) and really well the second game (3-4). Great night! Feels good to be a double champion in 4 days. We’ve also played 9 games of softball in the past 4 days and this weekend I have a baseball game and two more softball games. That’s a lot of ball!
Next up – running? Please?
Happy Running & Dirty Feet,
Jessica
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