My running has now gone from 10-12 miles per week to ZERO! Why zero?
It has to do with my new footwear:
If you recall on my Week in Re/Preview on June 20, I wrote about how I had some pain on my foot and I rubbed a pain relief cream into it that actually caused more problems? Well, just to recap, on June 13 I managed to ram the ball of my bare foot into a bit of edging in my backyard.
It’s one of those extremely ungraceful moments that I have oh-so-frequently… And it’s hard to explain to people. “See, I was in my yard and I had no shoes on and well, I just turned and managed to totally smash the ball of my foot into this little bit of edging that separates rocks from rocks from grass from cement really hard…”
Mostly I just say, “I stepped on a rock.”
It’s easier.
Anyway, that injury hurt. I kept taping it to go run and I would ice it several times a day. I thought the pain was lessening, but then on Wednesday morning as I was trotting around the neighborhood with Jade The Boxer, the pain just shot through my whole foot and leg. It was hard to put weight on it. So the pup and I got one mile in that day total. I iced it several times and by that afternoon I knew I had to call a doctor.
I called and got into a podiatrist the very next day. The doc x-rayed my foot and saw a small bump in the bone. But apparently stress fractures, especially new ones, are hard to see on x-rays. He could tell my foot was swollen and when he pushed on the top of my foot the pain caused me to cry out.
So he did an ultrasound on the foot. This showed “dark spots” above 2 metatarsals, which is consistent with bleeding. Since bones bleed when they break. I guess that makes sense, but it didn’t occur to me. So he said he would fit me into a boot and send me for a bone scan to check the bones out definitively.
So that’s where I’m at right now, I’m in a boot that is extremely awkward to walk in and it’s ginormous. No running right at all now.
I’m getting the bone scan next Wednesday. Apparently the timing of this with the 4th of July makes it harder to get in for the scan.
The two big questions in my mind right now are:
1. How do I work out?
Everything I like to do (run, walk, hike, yoga) is kind of hard with this. And I know the standard answers are bike and swim. I don’t have a gym membership, I don’t have a bike and I’m not a fan of swimming. I could always get a belt and go to the YMCA to try pool running, but I looked up their hours online and they’re kind of weird. And does pool running fall in line with “lap swim?” I may have to go scope things out in person.
2. Can I tape the crap out of my foot and still do the Napa to Sonoma Half with my Team on July 17?
This is a very serious thought in my mind. I’m positive I can’t run it, but I’m really tempted to KT tape it up a whole bunch and still walk the course. I have so many people on my team that put in the time and effort and I want to see them succeed. I want to do the early start with those that need it and I want to see them cross the finish line as they accomplish their goals. (And maybe, just a little, I want the medal!)
But for now, I’m just going to try to be mindful of the moment and get through my bone scan/appointment next week before I make up my mind about anything.
Jill Will Run 
Oh no! That stinks!!! I am so sorry. I hope it is all healed up soon. Hugs!
Oh, Jill. I totally feel your pain. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you!!!!!!!
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear this, especially since it sounds like the bone scan is now becoming an ordeal in and of itself 😦 I hope you can find a solution for exercise as well as the Team Challenge event that works for you and doesn’t interfere with healing in any way!
[…] got to just hang out at our start/finish point and wait for everyone, due to my new boot. That boot is HOT. A big black padded thing is not very comfortable in the heat. More […]
[…] That’s how the week played out. You end up with some stress fractures in the foot and then suddenly everything takes a different turn. But I do need to figure out something to do […]
I am so, so sorry!! I have BTDT last May after running my first marathon. I sported the fabulous boot for 3 weeks before weaning out of it. My total time off of running was 90 days. 😦 I did Body Pump classes with the boot on, I taught myself to swim & now I actually enjoy it and choose to do to it for cross training. I know how bad it sucks, but I am here to listen if you want to chat.
Hang in there!!! I hope you can get your bone scan results soon & get a plan in place.
Kim (@gfreeislife on Twitter)
I should teach myself to swim like you did. I honestly haven’t tried to actually “swim” in at least 20+ years. I got glasses when I was a kid and I didn’t like feeling like I couldn’t see clearly, so I reverted to just standing in pools when I got in them! But 90 days off running?! Yikes… 😦
Jill – That was exactly me! I hadn’t really swam since I was a kid! I borrowed the “Total Immersion Swimming” book from the library, had my mom show me how to breathe properly and spent a lot of time in the pool.
http://www.totalimmersion.net/
I don’t like being told I “can’t” do something, so it is much more pleasurable now.
Hopefully you won’t be out as long as I was. Crossing my fingers for you!
Kim
Thanks for the tip on the Total Immersion stuff! I’m totally going to look into that. There is a YMCA pretty near my house, so I should be able to cover the pool aspect. Still need a real swimming suit (as opposed to a pretty, lay-on-a-beach bikini). And then that swimming know-how! That’s a big one! 😉
If you have a Kohl’s close by, they were having a sale on swimsuits & had some athletic ones. I have a Nike suit that I bought at Kohl’s last year and it gets the job done. Tried swimming laps in a bikini and it wasn’t pretty. 😉
Another good tip! There is a Kohl’s about a mile away from me! I’ll go check that out, perhaps even tonight! You rock!
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