Lithotripsy

On Sunday I ran the Sunshine Coast XC series again. This time the course was reversed which meant a longer downhill section and two short uphill sections per lap. It had been raining through the week and the morning so conditions were softer under foot but no mud (this is Queensland).
Again I chose the 6K as I am in no condition to be racing 12K.
The Race One winner immediately ran strongly and I was in no condition to keep him company and though I ran with some youngsters for most of the first lap they eventually dropped off leaving me a clear second overall.
I wore the heart rate monitor and glance down at the Garmin and saw myself redlining at 178bpm . Pretty close to maximum, and perhaps indicative of being out of condition. 21m2xsecs (about 20 secs faster than last week)
The sun shone whilst we ran but as soon as we'd finished the heavens opened and it poured down on the 12K runners still completing their race.
Ronnie's son Jonny won again but was kept honest by a young 16 year old who really looks like a talent. It is great to see these guys develop and good to see him race the tough man's distance - 12K.
I decided to also race the 3K 30mins later (after the 12K's had finished). I started fast to keep the hordes of youngsters from crowding me out at the first turn just 100m after the start. Surprising I led out of the sports fields across the road and round by the dog park when Shaun Lee and another took me. I managed to stay close and after the second short uphill section past the 2nd place guy and closed on the leader as we headed towards the finish. Didn't quite have enough in me to close the final couple of seconds but pleased with the 3K performance and another 2nd place overall. I ran about 10m21 from memory.
After the race had finished and I got back in the car for the drive home the heavens opened up again and poured down the whole way home.
The heel tends to react badly to the driving position and was pretty sore after. I rested on Monday (too sore) and crawled around Roo+Lake on Tuesday. Decided to give it a miss again today and underwent my first course of Lithotripsy.
I have been advised to keep off the heel for the duration of treatment so that is a 4/5 week break minimum.
I will get back on the dreaded bike but cant stand the boredom of the stationary trainer so will risk riding in the dark (but will light myself up like a beacon!).
The doctor checked out the PF on the ultra sound which also assists in pinpointing the areas requiring greatest attention. Mine was thickened to twice normal size. The actual treatment is shock waves produced by sound waves and there was nothing comfortable about it.

It  felt like electrical shocks and perhaps because of my inflammation I found it pretty painful at times but the frequency gets modulated or perhaps the foot gets used to it and you survive. The treatment does provide immediate short term relief which wears off after a couple of days. I will have 4 treatments about a week to ten days apart. No ice (slows blood flow = repair) will apply heat pack twice a day and continue with ibuprofen as required. Cost $500 and no rebate.
Gotta hope it works.