After running the 32km I felt surprisingly quite good. Minimal soreness and some tightness in my legs, but that was pretty much it. This only confirmed to me that it was okay to make the decision to sign up. Fast forward through 2 more runs during the week, I headed out on Saturday for just a little run to loosen up the legs prior to West Van Run on Sunday.
I made it 2km. And throughout those km's a pain started to progress in my foot that I have never experienced before. Panic ensued. I immediately stopped and did my best to walk back to my car without crying.
Why is this happening now?
I began damage control. What can I do to fix this in only a few days before we leave for LA?! Well first, seeing as how I can't get into the doctor on a weekend, I began googling and searching my orthopedic chapter from school. The most fitting description for the pain I was/am feeling is plantar fasciitis. There is no easy way to describe it, but if I am correct, the connective tissue in my foot is inflamed, likely from overuse. It doesn't sound very painful, but oh my is it ever. I've NEVER had a problem with my foot before, I have dealt with knee issues for a long time, but for the most part have been able to run through them. This, I just don't know.
I've created a plan of attack to get me on that plane on Friday in hopefully no pain, and across the finish line of the LA marathon on Sunday.
1. No more running until Saturday at the LA Big 5k.
2. Wearing shoes whenever I am upright. It is the most painful to have my feet flat on the ground.
3. See a chiropractor, physiotherapist, reflexologist, and an RMT. Whoever could possibly provide any relief, I'm going to see them in the next 4 days.
4. Rest. Limit time on feet. As much as I want to run around with Griffin and pack and clean and get everything organized for my trip, the best thing I can do right now is hang out on the sidelines, well, as much as you can do that with a toddler.
So no, it's not the worst thing that could happen. And now, 2 days later, on Monday morning, I'm less panicky and slowly calming down. It was hard to sit out West Van Run on Sunday, which you might remember I took part in the photo shoot for. I was happy to cheer everyone in for some awesome PRs, but a huge part of me wished I was out there running with them. It hurt most especially knowing that I also missed out on First Half a couple weeks ago.
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| Spectating in the snow at West Van Run |
Have you ever experienced plantar fasciitis?
Oh no Krista, I'm really sorry to hear your foot is bugging you! Did you really ramp up your mileage over the last two weeks? Knock on wood I luckily haven't dealt with PF. Hopefully you are able to get a diagnosis to help confirm what is going on and get you on the path to recovery.
ReplyDeleteI have never experienced PF either but have only heard about the pain and issues from it. Hope you feel better soon and cross that finish line.
ReplyDeleteOh no, hopefully you get it all fixed and healed before this weekend. Sending you healing thoughts!
ReplyDeleteOh shoot! Sometimes injuries have a way of sneaking up on us. I hope the pain dissipates over the next few days and your team of doctors can provide some relief! Fingers crossed.
ReplyDeleteI found myself in a similar situation a couple weeks ago. It always sucks scrambling to patch yourself up before a big race. Hopefully you can find some relief this week before we leave!
ReplyDeleteHi Krista, I spent a big chunk of early 2013 with PF which has now disappeared. There's a lot of stuff on the internet about treating it and much of it was stuff I used. Here's what eventually worked for me:
ReplyDelete1. Spent a lot of time rolling the afflicted foot on a frozen water bottle. I've also heard frozen golf balls do the trick.
2. Never walk around in bare feet. I happened to have a pair of slippers with gel inserts in the bottom and they were awesome.
3. In the morning, before your feet hit the floor, take a towel, loop it under the front of your foot and gently pull your toes toward you. This stretches the fascia before you step on it.
4. Whenever it occurs to you, sit and point your toes straight out and use your big toe to write out the letters of the alphabet. This is a range of motion exercise which helps.
5. I saw a sports pedorthist, who prescribed custom-made orthotics. I've also heard that over-the-counter orthotics are quite beneficial as well.
6. The pedorthist recommended a much more extensive regimen of calf stretches and fascia stretches than what I had historically been doing and this seemed to help.
7. There are actually special socks you can purchase at running stores (Running Room has them) which keep your fascia stretched while you sleep. Never used them, just made sure I did the towel stretch in the a.m.
8. Anti-inflammatories help, although I've heard bad things about NSAIDS and hard training lately.
Rest is best! Hard to say whether you'll be able to manage a marathon in 5 days, only you can tell at this point. Beyond that, though, you're likely going to need a LONG break, to heal it properly if it actually turns out to be PF. Lots of horror stories out there and there was a time when I thought I would NEVER run again (and I've heard other runners voice this, as well) but it will get better! Sorry for the long comment! And good luck on the weekend!
I have had PF flare ups off and on and I found rolling my foot on one of those spiky dryer balls works wonders. So much so that I keep them all over the place (my desk drawer, on my vanity, in my craft room) just to allow me to conveniently massage my foot whenever I need it.
ReplyDeleteActually - I'm not sure I even use them in my actual laundry anymore LOL.
You can buy them really cheap at dollarama
I have PF as well, was recently diagnosed by my podiatrist. I agree with the above comments from Brian & Cori. I do a lot of stretching, 3-4 times per day. One of the calf stretches is done on the stairs so I do it ever time I go up. I roll my foot on a tennis ball as well. And my Dr gave me a splint to sleep in, I use that when it's really bad, like this weekend after 8 miles. Good luck at the race this weekend!!
ReplyDeleteI have found from time to time before a race I get ghost pains. Does it still hurt?
ReplyDeleteKrista, I'll be thinking of you this weekend and hoping you relax, have fun and take in the sights and sounds. I haven't exactly had PF although the tendon that runs under my arch has been very painful/seized at times, especially in the cold. Active release from my chiropractor seems to help a lot.
ReplyDelete