It’s been a while since my last blog, so before I started writing I read through my most recent post from June last year. I kind of wish I hadn’t! That blog was written the day after an excellent run at the Worthing 10k. I was full of optimism and looking forward to a sub 30 minute 5k and even a sub 60 minute 10k, which seemed to be within reach.
Fast forward 9 months - I have been injured for the past 10 weeks. It hurts to run, sometimes it hurts to walk and on the really bad days it hurts to sit on the sofa or when lying in bed!
I have to accept this is not a niggle, this is a bona fide "real" injury. Which is really frustrating and extremely boring. It’s not even an interesting injury - just forefoot pain due to overuse. And because my right foot hurts more than my left I have become sort of lopsided so my left hip has decided to join the pain party together with the nerves running down the outside of my left leg. Based on the past few weeks, now is a very good time to invest in the makers of ibuprofen!
So I have now added a new medical professional to the team that keeps me moving, a podiatrist! I am sure most non-elite (make that very average) runners don’t need a whole team (osteopath, sports masseur, podiatrist) but I guess I’m doing my bit for the economy!
Gone are the days of running 3 or 4 times a week, my only run is now my weekly parkrun, and quite a lot of that is done in walk. I’ve even had to take a break from the gym. After a very sensible two week rest, I returned last Monday thinking that at least my hip was better, only to aggravate it and return to not being able to sit on the sofa without pain. Serves me right I suppose for getting overexcited and loading the bar for back squats. Guess that means I’ll be focusing on my upper body and core for a while then.
Non-runners will not understand the hardship that is not being able to run. They probably think that it is great to have an excuse, whereas the reality is that we injured runners gaze at people running with a longing akin to a child at a sweetshop window!
Thank goodness for parkrun, which means that I still get to feel like a runner every Saturday. It really is the most fantastic thing - if you’ve never been to parkrun, try it! You will never look back, who needs Saturday morning lie-ins anyway?!
Right, that is enough wallowing. Let me turn to the positives to come out of being injured.
- New shoes!
My lovely podiatrist said that I was running in the wrong shoes and should buy new ones. Well, who am I to argue with someone who has spent over four years studying feet? Surely better to get a couple of new pairs just to be on the safe side. Apparently Hokas are the way to go because they have a rocking motion which reduces forefoot impact, and a bonus is that they are so pretty!
- Wearing pretty new shoes to work
We’ve just brought in a “dress for your day” dress code for work. It expressly forbids running shoes. I wrote it. I presented it to the team. For medical reasons, I wear running shoes to work every day!
- Toned arms and abs!
If I can’t do legs at the gym, then the upshot must be that I will have fabulous upper body muscle tone - no bingo wings for me!
- I get a “do over” and I plan to enjoy the journey
I am going to start again from the beginning, but do it better. I am going to take this opportunity to improve my running form and try to iron out my previous bad habits. By starting from run/walk I am going to ensure that every time I am running it is good running, none of the jogging/shuffling that I used to do when I was a bit knackered.
I have always enjoyed interval training, so run/walk will suit me quite well. I have even found the perfect training programme - "Thor & Loki's 5k training" - so I will be playing at being a hero whilst improving my running!
Through concentrating on form I hope to come out of this a better runner, I just need to be patient!
I read a fabulous quote a few days ago which resonated with me.
“There will come a day when I can no longer run. Today is not that day.”
Words to live by.
