My Very Gross Veins

I went out for what was supposed to be a Saturday long run, but things did not go well. Legs were just feeling very weak early in the run. With the exception of the Celtic Solstice 5K, that's been the norm. On my last long run, 12.something miles 2 weeks ago, I made it to my desired distance, but my legs were feeling weak very early in the run. On Tuesday, I went for what was supposed to be a 7-miler, but cut it short at 5 because I just was feeling dead. I blamed my cold/bronchitis, whatever, but really it seemed more like the problem was my legs. Today, I was resolved that I was going to get 10 miles. That was before I looked down at my leg at about mile 3 and saw this:


None of my cel phone pictures came out very well, but kind of looked like I had another ankle bone growing out of the out of the wrong part of my leg. Of course, I thought it was probably a blood clot, compound fracture, or high-ankle sprain. Of course, I also know I'm a hypochondriac.

But, the doctor's office doesn't have appointments on Saturdays (walk-in only), and I thought I might be able to get it looked at quickly since it was right at 9:00am when the office opened.

I ran back to my car and was seeing the doctor within 15 minutes. Her diagnosis: Varicose veins.

So, compression socks, here I come. yay. Hopefully though, with some improved circulation and some more leg exercises, I can get rid of the power outage feeling I've been having lately (since Philly, really.) To clarify, varicose veins having nothing to do with not enough blood getting to the legs...but some of the symptoms are pain, heaviness, and the inability to stand for long periods. I've got the pain and feeling of heaviness in the legs, so the diagnosis seems to fit what I'm experiencing. I didn't go to med school, but I can wikipedia with the best of them.