It's been a hellish nightmare since my last short run around the pond.
Surprising it may be (to me), it's only been two weeks since my last run. But it seems so much longer than that.
The day after my run I could feel that something wasn't right. The right side of my right foot felt like it was spasming. I didn't pay too much attention to it. I could feel it while walking all the way to work, and throughout the day. Finally I had to admit to myself that it wasn't just a simple spasm. I could feel the pain with every step I took, to the point that I was limping up and down the stairs and the hallway. I didn't know what it was; it didn't feel like a regular plantar fasciitis, or any other foot injuries that I could think of. It was like something went wrong with whatever connective tissue that went through the bottom of my foot, connecting my heel bone to my little toe. Just that one part of the foot. And I know it had something to do with my heel because I felt better walking on my toes.
It got so bad that I decided to leave work early and just get to home. I didn't know what I was going to do once I got home. But I desperately wanted to be in the private comfort of my home and just ice, warm, and massage the hell out of my foot. In the end through some twisted logic my friend and I decided to get a pedicure, since part of the service involved a foot massage. I left the pedicure with a nice shade of forest green on my nails, but in terms of massage I got next to none.
The next morning my foot got worse as I walked to work and I decided that I finally had to see someone. I made an appointment with our health center, and though I requested for someone who may be specialized in sports medicine I ended up with some random doctor because she was the only available doctor for the time slot I could do.
The appointment was not very helpful at all. She basically told me that I have a severe case of plantar fasciitis, which is sort of a relief since it's not something else I picked up, just a worsening of what I already had. She told me to take a bunch of ibuprofen for an extended period of time, and at the same time do a bunch of stretches. I basically learned nothing new from that meeting, except for the confirmation of what I had and the permission to take huge doses of drugs.
Since then I haven't been running at all. I went to yoga once and was pretty sure I screwed up my foot even more during the class. I thought about going to the gym and do something that's less impact on my foot but got lazy. I gained a few pounds back from my inactivity. I took the pills regularly for about 3 days before giving up the regime, and I wasn't even doing my stretches regularly. All in all I was just being a bad patient.
I also got a pair of Dr. You-know-who's half insoles that promised instant pain relief for plantar fasciitis, and it worked to some degree. I put them in whatever shoes I was wearing and they did help with the pain relief a lot. Until recently. So I decided that it's finally time to take my injury more seriously.
I don't want to get complacent with my injury. I hated that my weight is slowing getting back to my pre-run days. I was sort of depressed that because of those few pounds I couldn't fit into the clothes I was able to wear. I get sad that we have beautiful running weather right now and I'm out of the game. I'm angry at myself for not going to the gym like I planned to. I know now that I'm not going to run that half-marathon, but I would be so disappointed in myself if I give up running altogether.
I've been good with my pills and stretching today. This is my first step toward recovery and toward getting back to running. I will get back to being active again and I will go back to running soon. The weight has to go down and the fat has to be burned. There is no excuse anymore.
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