Taking a chance

I was taking a chance starting marathon training with my foot rather iffy. However it did seem to be doing fine with better attention to proper footwear massage, icing and keeping the calf looser. Slower easy runs (even long runs) were fine but adding any faster running I figured would be challenging. And last week, it said enough.

I bailed on the plan long run during the marathon paced section of running. I could feel the foot getting sorer and sorer. Done. And then went to work and hobbled about the rest of the day. Fortunately ibuprofen did the trick and helped quite a bit. The next day it was fine to wander all about downtown.

Fortunately I did have a really nice distraction last weekend in the form of a long time friend staying with us and visiting Seattle. Here she is with my mom before we went out to breakfast. What a wonderful visit and the weather cooperated by staying strangely warm and even sunny. 

The good? I hadn't actually signed up for any spring events so none of that annoying DNS (did not start).  I've been maintaining biking ever since i finished that marathon last November so it's not a big deal to be hopping onto the bike. I took one week off of running and tried a 3 mile run. The heel felt fine during the run but was really bugging me at work. So another week and I'm recommitting to cross training. Today while K was off running 12 instead of being consumed by jealousy (only a little bit), i rowed for 30 minutes and cleared out one area of our extra room so I can leave the roller trainer in place and set up a better area to have my laptop to watch movies. the main goal now is to heal up this heel!

Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar taping.

Ah two words dreaded by the runner or anyone else who's had a bout with this difficult to live with and difficult to heal issue.

In my case, it was a relief to hear these words however. Why? it meant I didn't have anything else going on! woohoo!

I've been having ongoing ankle tendonitis and heel pain. I'd been doing some of the usual things that have worked for me when i've had a bout of PF/tendonitis in the past (on the other foot!) but this was still lingering. And I didn't quite have the same symptoms as last time. No, my foot/heel was not really sore when i first got out of bed. Running, in general, didn't particularly bother me as long as I wasn't running trails where the constant turns stressed the ankle.  I knew something was up though as suddenly my usual running shoe just did not feel right. My foot would get sore at work towards the end of the day and I have been getting some swelling along the ankle tendontiis.

Off to the podiatrist to figure out what is going on.  I know my calves are tight and I'd switched out an orthotic insert from my day to day shoes. After adding that back in, my foot did feel better but what about that swelling?

At least, the assistant was quick to remark as she was taking my history, that everything seems to have been going well. i'd last been to the podiatrist's office in 2009!

The doc (a runner himself) was quick to run me through some checks and quickly confirmed plantar fasciits (even without the typical symptoms) and nothing more than tendontis both caused by tight calves.  Of course I have tight calves because the way my foot/ankle joint is built inherently limits the ability to stretch. I've used a foam roller and a stick for years because of this. Time to up the game and massage the tight calves plus add in daily eccentric calf excercies. He showed me a way to tape my arch and basically laughed at me and my super high arches. Yeah, I know. I need something in my shoes to support my arches which will take the pressure off and let things settle down.

26th Ave E Stairs

Ah, such relief though. I know what I'm dealing with and as a runner he was in no way advocating stopping running which I'd been worried about. So cautious marathon training resumes. I'll switch some easy short run days to cycling and be agressive about countermeasures.

Such relief! Meanwhile it's been great to run knowing that the issue is just plantar fascitis. Since I still need to limit trails (boo!), the occasional stair is a great way to add in some strength.We ran on a usual run course and I was really surprised to see these stairs. I've never noticed them before and this is along one of my popular biking routes too. 

The tell tale sign

I woke up with one foot feeling tight at my heel.  uh oh. If you've never had plantar fasciitis, this is the classic sign. Danger! Danger! This required immediate attention because having a flare up of PF can be debilitating for both running and for general comfort at work where I am on my feet a lot during the work day.  I dealt with PF for about a year a number years ago. Oddly enough the PF was caused by not running. What worked for me?

the massage spot for my foot (where thumb is)

Stretching feet by kneeling with feet tucked under me.
Heating the area and then massaging areas on foot using both thumb and elbow.
Rolling out with a tennis ball.
Using the stick to loosen tight calves especially the deeper calf muscle (soleus). A deep squat can also help loosen calves and I can actually do that now with the problem knee. 

I noticed tight calves immediately after I started the return to running.  Yes, i've been running without the orthotic which supports my very high arches in my running shoes. Some of that is definitely causing tighter calf muscles but some of it is just a return to running after the no running period.  No Plantar Fasciitis allowed!  (Day 201)