Well, this post WAS going to be out how I ran the Irongirl 5k over the Clearwater Memorial Causeway on Sunday. And how, despite this bridge (we Floridian runners don’t generally encounter anything resembling a hill), I still had my best 5k time since Evan was born at 32:19.
But now this post is going to be about how I can’t run anymore. I am so close to getting my 5k time back under 30 minutes. I could probably even get a PR on a flat course at this point. But now I’m benched.
When we were in DC, I did a hash with my cousin. During the 3.5-mile craziness that was that run, my foot started hurting. By the end, I was barely keeping up. Yet I continued to walk on it A LOT that weekend – for a total of 22 miles between Saturday and Sunday. I was in quite a bit of pain by the time we got on our flight home.
But then it felt better the next day. And even better the day after that. I went to yoga. I went to ballet. But I didn’t run.
Then I ran my race on Sunday. And 1/4 mile in, my foot was hurting again. And this time it was even worse.
So I saw my podiatrist on Monday. Yep, I already had a podiatrist. This is what happens when you turn 30 – you gain all kinds of specialists to treat your aches and pains. And he says I’m injured, can’t run, and should probably start investing in some granny shoes. There was a lot of inflammation and the bones in my foot are basically jamming into each other (you’re supposed to have space between your bones with some nice cushion-y cartilage – I don’t). But the worst part is he says he sees some early arthritis in my foot (thank you, pointe shoes).
But, he also seems to think that this is workable and I don’t have to sit on the bench forever. First, I need to get the inflammation down. So no running at all. Then, we take another look in two week. Then I get custom sport orthotics and I get back out there. Hopefully.
I always assumed I would end up battling arthritis some day, thanks to all of my years of dancing and my extra crunchy joints. I just didn’t think I’d be doing it at 31. Hopefully I have some more information in a few weeks about what is exactly wrong and what I need to do prevent it in the future.
It’s discouraging to get injured when I’m right at the fun part of my running season and I can see the possibility of a sub-30 5k/PR. But injuries are the price you pay for being active. I’ve been fairly lucky in my life so far and I’m sure I’ll get back out there. For now, I think I’ll try hanging out in the lap pool.
And I’ll still share some 5k photos:
my books. my life. 
Oh man, I screwed my foot up with plantar fasciitis and it took almost a year to heal so I can certainly understand what you are going through. I did it by lifting something heavy, but I was at the peak of my workout phase, which is such a rarity these day (smirk) that it really brought me down.
BUT YOU MUST listen and rest and try not to pick Evan up too much. That was my problem too. He’s a walking kid now but you still pick him up and all that extra weight o your crunchy joints is not good. Please REST!
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Towards the end of my training for the Princess Half Marathon, I got plantar fasciitis. I finished the race, but after that I could barely walk. Took close to 9 months for it to heal, and I never have gotten back to full-time running. My husband and I have been walking longer distances (5-7 miles), but it is so hard to start back up. Getting old sucks! Just make sure you give yourself the time to recover, otherwise you might mess it up for good.
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