Please excuse the extreme ramble of this post....
Hiccup.
Hiccup.
Yep, I have a case of the hiccups and it's called Plantar Fasciitis.
I could start to hyperventilate. Or get angry.
But, I'm choosing to breathe into the freakin paper bag and take immediate action.
Let me back up a tiny bit so we can get on the same page...
A few weeks ago - around the middle of May, I walked across the room and felt a slight twinge in my left foot. Because I tell Jerold about every aspect of pretty much every part of my training - AND because I notice every twinge in my body - I immediately said: "That is so strange, but I felt a twinge in my foot and it feels kinda weird."
His immediate response was, "Take time off from running and rest it." To which I am like: "Are you crazy? I'm not taking time off from running for a twinge in my foot that is probably nothing".
So, I ran. I had a good week of training, but the twinge was still there. I checked in with coach he had me do the following:
1. Gently roll my foot with a golf ball
2. Ice for 10 minutes, heat for 10 minutes, ice for 10 minutes
3. Roll and stretch my calves like it was my job
4. Pull my toes back and stretch
I also decided to purchase a new pair of Super Feet insoles for my shoes - the previous pair seemed a little worn and I was due for a new pair.
When I ran in college, I had a pair of custom orthotics (I suffered from REALLY bad shin splints and the PT recommended that I get fitted for custom orthotics) that I kept for a long time.
A few years ago I tried Super Feet and they really seemed to work for me. But, maybe not?
No pain running all week and we thought, anything that was there was caught in in time. Then I ran 13 miles on Memorial Day weekend Saturday. It was a great run, but I could feel quite a bit of pain in my foot at the very end of the run. I was scheduled to take the next day off and I did. I tried to run on Memorial Day Monday and was in a lot of pain, so we made the decision not to run until we could figure things out and I could run (and walk!) without pain.
A couple of days went by and I was starting to get worried. Was this really PF or something else? I had never had any problems with my foot or Plantar Fasciitis before. I decided to text a runner friend of mine (thank you Leslie!) and she immediately put me in touch with an awesome podiatrist.
The great thing about this doctor is that he is an athlete. Multiple Ironman, marathoner - a real athlete, so he gets it. He knew how much it meant to me to get back on the road healthy and as soon as possible.
** By the way, I was still kind of in shock over this. I am doing all my PT exercises, I am weight training and cross training and stretching like a boss. I've paid my injury dues - I should have some time in the bank before the sand rushes out of the hour glass, right?**
Anyway, doc gave me a big ole cortisone shot (we did not come to this decision lightly, as a cortisone shot is a big deal. You should weigh all the pros and cons and take the advise of your doctor) and taped my foot (KT Pro tape to the rescue!) like a mummy, told me to take the rest of the week off (so I would get a solid week of zero running), ice, stretch and pop ibuprofen for the swelling. Cross train and off you go. See you next week.
I had a choice - I could either:
A. Freak out and worry about losing fitness and training time for my marathon that was 14 weeks away.
or
B. Breathe into a paper bag and try to chill out.
I chose B. Let me say - B is NOT EASY. Some days you start to turn to A and then you remember the PAPER BAG and start breathing into it. The power of positive thinking is huge and necessary.
So, I go for a 2 mile run last Monday. I couldn't make it up the block. Seriously. I texted my doc and he says, "You need to run before Wednesday so we can further access the problem."
Okay.
My coach told me I needed more warm up time, so I tried again that evening. I did a super long warm up and ran 2 easy, easy miles on the treadmill. Success! Zero pain.
The next day I ran 3 miles. Zero pain.
The next day I saw doc and he fitted me for custom orthotics and put a super rush on it, plus he wants me to go to PT to get the area massaged and worked on.
Later that day I ran 7 miles and felt awesome. Thursday was a disaster. Three miles of horrible, can't wait till its over, blah running.
Coach told me to take Friday and Sat off, and just swim and then run again on Sunday.
4 easy miles yesterday on the treadmill - SUPER SLOW. My body just likes slow right now. Slow makes my foot happy, so I embraced slow.
You know, when you put yourself out there in this sport, there is always the chance for injury. I think you need to be smart and do ALL the little things - dynamic stretching, drills, core work, strength training, sleep, eat well...
But even then, something may come up. For me, I truly think I need custom orthotics and I am really excited to get them.
As far as the marathon, I am still full steam ahead on my focus for Erie. This is just a little bump in the road and I will get through it. I know I have a good base behind me that I can rebound from the time off and reduced training for now.
Two more things to share with you about my crazy week:
1. My phone DIED. Literally, this weekend I charged it and it told me that it was overheating and then it died. SOOO, I have zero pictures for this post, because they are stuck on my phone for now.
2. Someone hacked my credit card and decided they would go shopping and try to buy everything in sight. Luckily, they got stopped and all is well.
Embrace the hiccups....
May 31st - June 5th: NO RUNNING. Cross training only (swimming and strength training)
June 6th: 2 miles
June 7th: 3 miles
June 8th: 7 miles
June 9th: 3 miles
June 10th: REST
June 11th: REST
June 12th: 4 miles
Total Miles: 19
How was YOUR week?
How do you mentally and physically handle hiccups in your training?
xo,
Natalie
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