Saturday, January 17, 2009

Running Toward 50: The Agony of de Feet

I got a pedicure Tuesday while I was waiting for the call that never came~no massage appointments Tuesday, sad to say! I was supposed to run my first 5K today but it is so blasted cold and snowy and icy and wintery...Besides, I'm still doing battle with plantar fascitis in my left foot. It is maddening and I am reluctantly becoming the foremost expert on the subject, much to my own dismay! I am still in my Brooks. I am stretching. I am icing. I am taking the occaisional Aleve. I am taking extra calcium, vitamin D, and drinking extra Mona Vie. I put on flip flops if I have to get up in the night to go potty and I never go barefoot anymore-ever! My personal(hehe!) trainer(hehe!) Matt says I could go get a cortisone shot in my foot as a last resort. My two nurse advisors, Rach and her sister Esther, said absolutely not and NO surgery!! The weird thing is that during the two weeks before Christmas when I had finals and a research paper and shopping and wrapping and cooking, etc. I could not get to the gym with any regularity and my foot hurt 10X worse-go figure! I have actually noticed an improvement the last two weeks and have had several workouts where I've been able to run for half an hour continuously without stopping and not any worse for the wear and tear on my foot the next day. So, here's my plan. The days when my foot is too painful, I'll do the eliptical and the bike. Otherwise, I'm going to continue training as close to schedule as possible. I'll bump my timeline forward a few months and do my 5K sometime in the spring when there's no snow or ice to worry about, I'll do the 10K possibly at the River Bank or sometime thereabouts, and hope to get in the 16 weeks of training I need for the marathon in September or so...still a goal for 2009, my 50th year, just a little later than anticipated. Disappointing to be sure but on the bright side, I can add plantar fascitis counseling to my repetoir! I have to say that, no matter what, I feel like a million bucks, my body is starting to firm up and get healthier all the time and I feel very empowered to be able to do even what I am able to do at this level. I am also learning to be more patient and to listen to my body. All good!

3 comments:

Rascal said...

Hi Lona,
What lovely toes! Sorry about the foot pain. Keens and New Balance have given me great releif cuz I feel your pain! Something else that works wonders is the handy dandy Homedics heated foot massager for working out those painful spots and it just doesn't work to massage your own feet. It's just not the same!Also,do you have inserts for your shoes? Take care.Jodee

Rachel Nykerk said...

Lana, no flip flops either, only supportive shoes. Anything flat is bad for plantar fascitis. You are looking great, keep up the hard work.

Lana Mae Kamer said...

Girls~you save my life! Yes, I will try EVERYTHING...let me know if you think of anything else. One of my clients mentioned wrapping the feet. Does anyone out there know about that?

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