Memorial Day weekend... normal Saturday group run... 10 miles... no problem! Sunday, spent about 4 hours walking at the NC Zoo... no problem! Memorial Day Monday, met up at the Teeter for a shorter run... about a mile in, I started feeling a pain on the outside of my right foot. That's weird, but whatever... some twinge or pain always seems to pop up with runners, so I finish my 5 mile run. Later that afternoon, my foot really starts to hurt... with every step... and by the evening, I'm limping. GREAT!
I know I have two races the next weekend, so in an effort to be smart about this, I take Tue - Fri off from running. So 4 days off, a little ice, foot is feeling better. On Saturday, June 2nd, I run the 3rd Annual Whirli-Run 5k in Wilson with some fellow RMEC'ers... this year, with added distance to the route, as nearly 80% of the runners ran a block too far before the first turn. Nice! Oh well... I consider it a PR in the 3.25 race distance. Foot hurt some, but not too bad.
Later that afternoon, Jon and I head to Raleigh to pick up our race packets for the Captrust Half Marathon, which is Sunday morning, and we get settled into our room at the Renaissance Hotel (about 50 feet from the race start!). As the day and night went on, my foot became more and more tender. Not good!
This is a new race which starts out behind North Hills mall on Lassiter Mill Rd., you run about 3/4 of a mile downhill and then turn left onto the Raleigh Greenway. It's an out and back course, which I normally don't like, but this one was really good... the course was great, you were running on asphault (which my feet like, much more than trails) but you're running through trees and over bridges (which my mind likes), so it was the best of both worlds. Until you get to the last 3/4 of a mile and you're running up that same hill! Everyone was thinking it at the start... man, this is a long downhill.... uh... wait, isn't this an out and back course? Dammit!!!
So anyway, I knew I probably had no business running in this race... not with my foot hurting with every step before I even started. But that's no fun... run now, pay later, right? So I did. I tried to be very conservative and walk a lot in the beginning... like, a couple of times per mile. I did this till around 6 miles, when I finally realized the foot didn't feel much better walking than when I was running... so I decided to just run. I ran most all of the back half of the race, taking a couple of walk breaks to fuel and I walked a good bit of that massive uphill finish. Though I really picked up the second half, I had wasted way too much time walking in the beginning... so I couldn't salvage but SO much time. I came in with a time of 2:32:15... my slowest half marathon to date, but all things considered, I couldn't complain.
Great course, well organized, great medal! I look forward to trying it again next year.
As expected, my foot was wrecked! By the time I got home, the injury started showing itself on the outside... started as a bright red strawberry under my ankle and spread into a large, red swollen patch along the whole lower side of my foot. Could barely walk that night....
Monday morning, I go see Dr. Jones. Fortunately, it's not a stress fracture, which is what I assumed, given how bad it hurt! It's tendonitis... he's keeping me off the foot for 3 weeks with a walking boot and no running. Today I worked with the physical therapist and hope to be at the root of the issue. He thinks it's all stemming from weakness in my right hip (which I have suffered with before), so we're working on some stretches, exercises and foam rolling techniques I can do at home.
I'm so bad about doing this stuff long-term... but if it'll help keep me from getting injured, all while strengthening my weak areas, I'll give it a try. I need something to help with my running, instead of everything I do hurting it!
Meanwhile... my footwear for the next three weeks:
Yea . . . the boot sucks! Sorry! But your string of injuries is the real issue (like you already mentioned!).
ReplyDeleteTalk with Dr. Jones. I'm guessing your body just doesn't like yo-yoing. Long runs followed by periods of short runs . . . then another long run. I'm guessing you need that long run each and every week. But what would I know. Talk with Dr. Jones.