A few weeks ago, I did something to my foot while running….or maybe not while running. I really don’t know when I did the *something*. All I know is the top of my foot is hurting in a strange way and it won’t go away. It is in the weirdest spot and for the life of me, I don’t know how this occurred. In all my years of running, the only time my feet have hurt was when I needed to change out my running shoes for a new pair and it was always the bottom of my feet that were sore.
I have some theories of what could have caused this.
-Overuse
-Ramping up the mileage too fast
-Running hills too often with not enough stretching (or none)
-Running on the same side of the road every single run instead of alternating
-That one time I was twisting my foot this way and that way to get it in my running shoe and felt a pop
-A combination of all of the above
I took a week off from running to give it time to rest and heal. I ran Wednesday morning and while my legs felt great, my heart rate was low, and my foot felt OK the first 1.5 miles, by mile 2 it just ached and felt tight. Mile 3 I walked it on home. My pace for miles one and two were my normal pace but that didn’t matter to the pain in my foot. As I walked it home (which I never do), I faced the reality that I just might need to let my foot rest for a longer bit of time, that maybe this is the time to switch gears to a different kind of exercise for the next month or so. I can’t stop exercising but I could stop pounding my foot in hopes of healing and recovery. Maybe bike or swim or strength train.
I start marathon training all too soon and I need to have happy, healthy feet in order to make it through a marathon training season.
Truthfully though, as I walked it home and thought about taking a break from running, I felt tears dripping down my face. I run, that is what I do. I have done it non-stop for two years, meaning NO BREAK. I feel as if my body is betraying me. However, before I let my mind fall down that slippery slope of *I’m not good enough, I’m not a runner, I am not worthy*, I put on my current favorite running song (Best Day of My Life by American Authors).
I told myself: “This is but a blip in your running journey. Your body is telling you something- now LISTEN. Today is not your best day BUT you will have a best day soon. You have to rest and recover so you can continue running. Don’t give up the 26.2 dream. You will achieve it.”
So no running for now. I will switch to swimming, strength training and yoga. I am not sure how long I can last with no running. A few days? A week? A few weeks?
We shall see.
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