Any sort of 'overuse' injury from running isn't going to heal overnight. Still, it's remarkably frustrating that my foot pain isn't healing as quickly as I would like it to!
The osteopath's advice was once it stops hurting in the non-running times I feel the pain, I can have a go at running - so I was carefully tracking how my heel felt first thing on a morning, how it felt after long periods of inactivity, and how it felt if I had to stand around for a while. Together with doing the exercises and stretches I'd been set, I was very focussed on it, and last week I noticed it definitely abated on Thursday, Friday and Saturday - so I decided to try for a short, slow run on Sunday. I put my trainers on, headed outside, and marched briskly up the hill for my usual sort of warm-up. While briskly walking, I felt the now-familiar soreness in the heel return, quietly. Regardless, I pressed start on my Garmin, and broke into a slow run. Well, not all that slow, at first - it's been two full weeks since I ran, and almost immediately I settled into 11 min/mile pace. And my heel flared with a hot, gentle pain. I slowed my pace right down, and kept running. Now my left knee twinged - perhaps I was placing my foot differently? I carefully ensured to get the foot properly planted, though the heel pain continued. I ran down a slight slope, my knee twinged again. I immediately stopped. Garmin told me I had ran for two and a half minutes, average pace 11:38 min/mile. My foot was sore. My knee felt fine. My heart sank.
So, two weeks isn't enough recovery time - I walked home, and changed out of my run kit, feeling miserable - a feeling that only intensified as the day went on. London is still, what, 24 weeks away - but that feels like a ticking clock above my head. The less running I'm doing, the quicker that clock is speeding up. Alone in my flat I sulked, moped, and wallowed... but then I made a decision. This isn't going to beat me. If I can't run yet, there is nothing whatsoever to be gained by waiting. There are plenty of things I can do that won't put pressure on my feet - so it's time to get on with it. Besides the exercises my osteo set me, there's no reason I can't do some cardio in the gym, as long as it's not pounding away on the treadmill. I can do non-runnery things, and I can take back some control. It's time to stop waiting, and get on with it. No running for a few more days at least - but I'm going to pick things up with my crosstraining, and get moving. x
Sarah, you started this year focusing on weight loss and achieved so much. Maybe use this healing time to refocus there. I'm sure you will be back running soon :-) Oh a don't forget that swimming is a great exercise too and kind on your body xx
ReplyDeleteFor me dealing with running injuries has to be worst thing about being a runner. Now you identify yourself with being a runner with an ambitious goals to training for you unfortunately hitting the same buffers as many of us runners have hit up against - something that strikes at the very foundation of this identify and drive. Alas it's very much part of the challenge of being a runner, dealing with frustration and anxiety about not training, and just missing not being outside moving too.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Paula, and from your post it sounds like your are there already, redirecting your physical, mental and emotional energy into other forms of exercise and other shorter term goals can help keep your fit and your mind occupied while the injury heals.
You can even set this period of injury recovery as your first mental/emotional test of this marathon training cycle. Set yourself a mini milestone of dealing with this period positively, making progress in other areas of heal and fitness. Having set backs and dealing with them in life mirrors what happens during long runs - often things happen out of our control, or something we didn't plan for/expect and having the mental resilience to not give in to it, but work out what needs to be done then doing it.
Find some way to keep moving each day, it needn't be long, but getting your heart rate up, be it walking up stairs/hill, swimming, in the gym. Could even lots of little micro bouts of exercise like squats/calves raises each time you go for tea and are waiting for the kettle to boil, or working/eating/drinking standing up.