Injury Update And Next Steps

As I mentioned in my last post, just before running in the Drake Relays Half Marathon, I began experiencing pain in my right foot. More specifically, the pain was in my heel and ran up the inside of my foot. For several days after the race the pain started to increase and become more unbearable. My 3 mile run last Wednesday bothered me so much that I couldn't even imagine completing my 5 mile run on Thursday.

I decided to call the doctor but was unable to get in until Monday morning so I decided to cancel my 19 mile run on Saturday as well. My hope was that giving my foot a few days off might make a difference. Throughout the weekend my foot continued to bother me and I was really starting to worry. I started to prepare myself for the worst by thinking through how I could rework my race schedule to allow my foot to heal without giving up my entire season.

After a few x-rays to rule out a stress fracture, the doctor diagnosed me with Plantar Fasciitis which is simply inflammation along the bottom of the foot between the ball and the heel. There are a lot of potential causes and it is a very common issue for runners (especially runners that are overweight). I discussed the planned marathon with my doctor and he didn't see any issues with me continuing to train and run the race. He told me to rest it as often as I can, use ice and anti-inflammatory medicine, but most importantly he gave me a list of stretches and exercises for my foot and lower leg to do every day. He also suggested a brand of replacement inserts to put in my non-running shoes that will provide additional arch support.

I am happy to say that after just a single day of completing the stretches, I'm already noticing a difference. In addition, I have decided to take the remainder of this week off of running. I am expecting it will take several weeks for the pain to subside, but I am hopeful that it will.

Now to the issue of the race. After talking with a buddy at work that has been training and running races for several years I have decided to modify the remaining 4 weeks of my training program with the intent of completing the marathon. My plan is after taking this week off, to pick things back up next week which includes a 20 mile training run the following Saturday. For that run, I am planning to run in laps around Grimes so that if my foot starts to bother me, i can cut it off and easily get back home. My final decision will fall with that run. If it goes well, I will shoot for the stars and try the full marathon, if it doesn't, I will get my registration switched to the half marathon so that I will still be able to run a race that day.

To say this situation has been stressful and disappointing is an understatement. To most it may seem like a silly race, but to me, this is my life and has been for the past 4 years. There are so many goals that I have left to accomplish and I am a bit worried about what this may mean for my future. For now, I'm trying to take it one day at a time and doing everything in my power to get back on track. I will persevere and I will succeed!