It’s been a not-so-great week. I’m skipping out on crossfit this morning because it was all arm work and I did a lot of pull ups yesterday. I actually liked the workout for this morning, but my arms are having some delayed soreness from yesterday.
On the calf issue, both calves/shins seem to be better. I haven’t tried to run since Sunday. I now have a knot of pain in my arch each morning that goes away with a few steps. I’m going to start treating this for plantar fasciitis or PF. I think I’ve been able to avoid this up until now because I got barefoot anytime I am not required to wear shoes. I take them off as soon as I get home and do not put them on until I’m walking out the door. I often slip off my shoes at work since I have carpet in my room. I know doctors tell you to never go barefoot with PF, but I feel that keeps my feet strong and flexible. This new pain is a direct result from the shin splints and super tight calves pulling on the fascia.
We have a 15 mile hike this Saturday to prep for Pike’s Peak. I have a half marathon at the beach next Sunday. I hope I’m not hobbling in pain from either one. And sadly, this is affecting me mentally. I hate limbo. I hate not feeling confident in my running. I can’t go back to the 10 months of agony and physical therapy like 2007-2008.
Maybe mary sunshine will show up later. This post is a real downer.
Tyler
Thursday 5th of April 2012
I've battled with plantar fasciitis as well. It sucks. It happened to me because I have flat feet, and I jumped into running with my Vibrams too fast. They tell you to ease into them, but I'm often a little hard-headed.
For me, the best thing to keep me from getting too down about it was learning as much as I could about it. This helped a lot: http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/exercises-to-reduce-plantar-fasciitis
Also, I found that doing single-legged exercises helped a lot too. They really help strengthen all of the smaller muscles in the foot/ankle. So, things like single-legged squats (short Range of Motion at first), anterior reaches, and single-legged Romanian Deadlifts went a long way in helping me. Or at least they seemed like it. I can't necessarily prove causality, though.
Anyway, best of luck to you, Katrina! I'm sure you'll make the best of it and be up and running strong again soon. :)