The first of the two punches? After a couple weeks of denial and false hope, I had to give in and admit that I've got plantar fasciitis. (That's irritation and swelling of the thick tissue on the bottom of the foot, for those of you not in the know. It manifests itself with heel pain that's most frequently felt during the first few steps after getting out of bed in the morning.)
My right heel has been feeling sore for months -- even as far back as marathon training -- but not painful, just like a sore muscle that needed some massage. About a month ago, the heel took a pretty big turn for the worse. It felt deeply bruised and was painful to the touch. It didn't bother me too much while I was running, but the pain was definitely more noticeable after a long or intense run. Like the textbook definition, it was worst during the first few steps each morning. I also noticed that it hurt more when I wore flats (or, sadly, really any kind of cute, non-athletic shoe). But it wasn't unmanageable, so I kept running on it even though the pain gradually increased over time. I hated the idea of losing any conditioning. (I also have a fairly large area of numbness on my left shin, but that's another story. The only thing I'll say is that my doctor recommended almost two months ago that I take a break from running.)
Last weekend, during a getaway with some friends from school, I took a full three rest days in a row. I can't remember the last time I had three consecutive days without a workout. The only exercise I did was a one-hour easy hike. More like a stroll. On the third day, I realized that my heel felt much improved. Noticing the absence of pain helped me realize that the heel had been more painful than I was admitting. Filled with (excessive and unrealistic) optimism, I went for a run on my first day back at home. For the first time, my heel bugged me during the run ... and hurt me more than ever later that day and into the next. It was full-on painful, not just sore or bruised-feeling.
With that, I put my denial to the side and told myself I was going to take a break from running for at least a couple weeks. I solicited advice on Facebook and got myself some Superfeet -- supportive shoe inserts. I thought they were only made for running shoes but it turns out, they've also got 'em for regular street shoes. After slipping them inside my favorite pair of flats, I felt the difference immediately. That was one ray of sunshine ... from what I'd heard, I was supposed to be wearing supportive shoes exclusively. In my mind, supportive = athletic or orthopedic. So I thought I was doomed to walking around looking decidedly uncool until my foot got better. (Not that I look cool in general, but you know what I mean.) So now I'm Lady Superfeet.
I also ordered a therapeutic sock that purports to speed healing by holding the foot in a flexed position and lifting the toes while you sleep at night. It's called the Strassburg sock. I got a couple very enthusiastic recommendations for it, countered with one "don't waste your money," so we'll see if it does anything for me. And I also ordered a book, "The 5-minute Plantar Fasciitis Solution," that was really well-reviewed on Amazon.com. I'm icing my foot more, as well -- although not as much as I probably should be. And then, of course, I'm not running.
That's the hardest part. I honestly feel a sense of grief about it. Maybe that's too strong a word and "emptiness" is better. Weirdly, it reminds me of being in junior high school, when a boyfriend had broken up with me. I'd still get the same urge to call him or talk to him, but then have to remind myself that I couldn't, that we weren't together anymore -- and then I'd feel sad and empty inside. That's what this is like. Yesterday was a beautiful day and I wanted nothing more than to go out for a run ... but I couldn't because of my foot and it discombobulated me to a huge degree. Instead, I went to the gym and got on an elliptical trainer. Until my foot is better, I've promised myself that I'm only going to do non-impact forms of cardio. I'm not a swimmer, so that leaves me with the elliptical trainer and biking. I'm trying to keep up my regular schedule of 6 days per week of cardio, which adds up to a lot of time on a machine.
The second punch? SuperAthlete J, my workout partner in every respect, had to take a month off weight training. We recently started a new 16-week program and had just finished week 4. Badass that she is, she's doing a half iron man next month and the training schedule has gotten completely insane. There's just no room for weightlifting amidst all the 50-mile bike rides. And, while I completely understand, I also feel bereft.
She's planning to start back up again after her event, and I didn't want to be out of synch with her -- so I also dropped our program. I've gone back to my previous routine of full-body workouts every other day. They feel almost ridiculously easy after the four weeks of "5 sets of 18 reps" that SAJ and I just completed. I'm going to tinker around with them a bit to make sure I'm getting good workouts but I also don't want to ramp up the intensity too much. I'm thinking of this as a "holding" month -- I want to do enough to stay where I am, so I can be ready to jump back in with SAJ.
So yes, I'm at loose ends. It's hard to feel motivated right now, without a goal to reach for. I mostly just don't want to gain weight or lose too much fitness during this time. I know I'll lose some running conditioning and that makes me really sad. I'm consoling myself with my 10k time from last month ... that was definitely a high note to go out on. And I'm also telling myself that this is a good opportunity to get creative and explore new, non-impactful ways of working up a sweat -- all the stuff I haven't done because I've been busy running. Stay tuned on that.
I understand that I'm looking at this like I'm never going to run again. That's because I'm me -- a person who tends to see things in extremes. Maybe I'll get lucky and be able to start running again in a couple weeks, and a lot of this fretting will be for naught. Or maybe it will take longer. I just know I don't want to rush it, and I don't wait to sit around doing nothing while I wait to be able to run again. Now I've got to change my thinking, figure out some new things to work for, and get moving.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment