Yup, down for the count again... just in time for the two week taper. "Plantar" means bottom of the foot, "fascia" is the connective tissue that connects your heal to your toes, and "itis" means inflammation. Put all this together and it spells sharp, throbbing pain in my right heal. There's a whack of causes for Plantar Fasciitis, but mine is typical of the marathon runner... overly aggressive training, that is ...too much, too fast, with too little rest. Go here for the best online information that I can find. I'm not sure what to do at this point in my training. I'm looking for a silver bullet, but apparently ice, rest, stretching, and patience are about the only four options available (Note: I don't do "patience" very well). Two weeks to race day and I can barely hobble to the fridge for an amber beauty... cruel! On the plus side I managed a 42 mile bike ride today (you don't need your heal for cycling) and aside from a little residual pain, I feel OK... not great, just OK. I did have an epiphany though and after all, how often does one have an epiphany? I realized that, at age 52, I need to slow down a bit. My knees were killing me, my heal throbbing, and my IT-bands were stretched taut. I realize I am putting a lot of stress on this old bod and it's not bouncing back as it once did. For the first time ever, I'm starting to feel my age. I'm not saying doom and gloom, but perhaps I should slow down a tad. And that's exactly what I'll do... just as soon as I run a sub 4 hour marathon! Minneapolis?
1 comment:
Man, that stinks big time. I hope it's getting better by now. Anna (from my blog) had this same problem back in the spring and she did pool running to finish out her training and then ran Fargo without running on the roads for months. Check out her April and May entries from this year. http://annajoendurence.blogspot.com
Good luck to you!
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