My dawgs are barking
I haven't run for three. ONLY three days. It's not like it's been two months. I remember now the addiction that happens with running. I crave it...not necessarily the running itself, I think more the idea of expending all that energy. The sweating, the feeling of fitness, the obvious accomplishment of doing it faster, or going farther, or really just not feeling as tired when it's done. There are thousands of things that are easier to do and may be much higher on my priority list. I'm really not a runner. I don't look like a runner, I probably don't even run like a runner, but somehow I enjoy running more than biking or swimming or stair climbing. I've said before that I really like running with someone. That is for sure the best part.
I've been cleaning the cobwebs out of the part of my brain that stores physical therapy knowlege, and I'm frightened. Not by the knowlege I have or have not found, but by what may be going on with my own body. All in all, I think I trained for 6 weeks for the half marathon...not long enough. Most people can't go from running 3-5 miles a week to running 25-30 miles a week without running the risk of injury. Of course that doesn't apply to me, because in my head I'm still an 18 year old athlete. I was doing fine until my third long run of 8 miles...actually until after I was done with it. No pain while running, but by the time I returned home, my arches were really sore. I acknowleged it, iced, stretched and ran some more. No problems all week and then another long run...same thing, and again after yet another long run. By this time, the pain was not only in my feet, but my knees too, and only after the long runs. A third pair of new shoes and 25 miles later, no pain. I thought I had it figured out, and then the next long run: 13.1 on Sunday. I could feel it by mile 10 that I would be hurting. Still not bad while running, but when I was done, it was almost immediate and worse than ever before. It is Wednesday. I am still sore...my feet...6 on a scale to 10. Shoes are a must...no barefeet here for a while. Specifically, the tubercule on the plantar surface of the navicular bone where the posterior tibialis tendon inserts. Point tender.
I know that this is a common injury in runners. I know that the proper treatment is rest. I know that the worst case scenario could be surgical repair. I am going for a run tomorrow. It is a short(er) one. I am planning to run a 10K in a month and be part of a relay team to run from the Old Market to the Hay Market. For now, I'm thinking that if I stick to short runs and continue my own treatment regimen of ice, heat, stretch and strengthen, I will be fine and over the proper course of time I will also be fine running 10+ miles without any pain at all. Who knows...maybe eventually I'll even look like a runner too!
(I'm blogging about this to remember what hurt, how it hurt and the denial that I was/am in just in case I need to remember!)
I've been cleaning the cobwebs out of the part of my brain that stores physical therapy knowlege, and I'm frightened. Not by the knowlege I have or have not found, but by what may be going on with my own body. All in all, I think I trained for 6 weeks for the half marathon...not long enough. Most people can't go from running 3-5 miles a week to running 25-30 miles a week without running the risk of injury. Of course that doesn't apply to me, because in my head I'm still an 18 year old athlete. I was doing fine until my third long run of 8 miles...actually until after I was done with it. No pain while running, but by the time I returned home, my arches were really sore. I acknowleged it, iced, stretched and ran some more. No problems all week and then another long run...same thing, and again after yet another long run. By this time, the pain was not only in my feet, but my knees too, and only after the long runs. A third pair of new shoes and 25 miles later, no pain. I thought I had it figured out, and then the next long run: 13.1 on Sunday. I could feel it by mile 10 that I would be hurting. Still not bad while running, but when I was done, it was almost immediate and worse than ever before. It is Wednesday. I am still sore...my feet...6 on a scale to 10. Shoes are a must...no barefeet here for a while. Specifically, the tubercule on the plantar surface of the navicular bone where the posterior tibialis tendon inserts. Point tender.
I know that this is a common injury in runners. I know that the proper treatment is rest. I know that the worst case scenario could be surgical repair. I am going for a run tomorrow. It is a short(er) one. I am planning to run a 10K in a month and be part of a relay team to run from the Old Market to the Hay Market. For now, I'm thinking that if I stick to short runs and continue my own treatment regimen of ice, heat, stretch and strengthen, I will be fine and over the proper course of time I will also be fine running 10+ miles without any pain at all. Who knows...maybe eventually I'll even look like a runner too!
(I'm blogging about this to remember what hurt, how it hurt and the denial that I was/am in just in case I need to remember!)
