Week 8
So when I last updated, I’d just found out that I do not have plantar fasciitis and that my doctor cleared me to run. Of course, I still had a raging cold. Well, the Snook and I went off to Kiama and did a 4.2km hike through the rain forest. It was a pretty good workout, and my foot felt fine through it. This week I’ve walked home from work twice, and on Tuesday I felt good enough to go for my first run in nearly two weeks. I wore my New Balance shoes instead of my Newtons, reckoning that my feet would welcome the extra padding. It was a warm day and I’m not at 100%, so I went slow. I aimed for more of a mid-foot strike, as I suspect in my Newtons I’m landing a bit too far forward. It felt fine at first, but after 20 minutes the niggle in my foot came back. It’s not really pain. It’s like a sort of a tender ache. My right arch felt like I’d just spent 12 hours walking around at DisneyWorld. You know that feeling? Not a sharp pain by any means, but a tightness and tenderness along the whole arch from the ball of my foot to the start of my heel. I still finished the run, taking a few walk breaks when necessary to keep my heart rate low. That night I went through the whole spiel my doctor had prescribed: self-massage, stretch, strengthen, and ice. I went to Spudds on Wednesday and it didn’t bother me at all. So the problem is specifically related to longer periods (20 minutes or more) of continuous running. Good to know. From now on, I’ll be taking preemptive walk breaks on all my runs.
Feb. 20: 4.2km (hike)
Feb. 22: 2.54km (walk)
Feb. 23: 5.06km
Feb. 24: 2.53km (walk)
Total this week: 14.3km
Total in 2010: 151.5km (94.7mi)
I’m counting the walks and hike this week because it was the only exercise that I could do. I am now 2.3km behind schedule to meet my 1000km goal. That’s okay. I’m just about over this cold, and I think my running distances will creep back up.