Well, last week was the worst running week I've had in about two and a half months. Not only did the panic episode slow me down, but I woke up Friday with a burning pain in the ball of my foot (outside edge - fifth metatarsal head if you want specifics). It's been coming on all summer, ever since I got that great new pair of Crocs sandals that are so comfortable. I knew on the second day of wearing them they were going to cause problems. But they felt good and they were easy to slip on and I've worn them almost every day.
Most of my injuries have multiple causes and in this case it's a combination of running and non-running factors: the wrong sandals, combined with tightness in my achilles, caused by lack of sleep over a long period of time and the gradual disappearance of my yoga and strength training regimen. I worried briefly about a stress fracture, but I really don't think you can get a stress fracture on 20 miles a week, can you? Besides, I have similar but milder symptoms in the left foot as well. I think the right is just worse because I do so much running on the lovely left shoulder of the road.
So - solution time. I've been icing twice daily since Friday. It helps. A lot. I will keep doing it. I've reinstituted my cross training. I think I've figured out a time of day when I can do it consistently - I'll stick with it. I did an easy run today and it didn't seem to make anything worse, so I'll stick with it as long as things don't get worse. I'm really trying to get more sleep. I was hoping for 7.5 last night - I got a little closer. I'll keep trying. Maybe someday I'll discover what it feels like to function on a solid 8 hours. I'm looking forward to it. And finally - I've ditched the sandals. I'm having a hard time finding another comfortable pair of sandals in my closet. This may require a trip to the shoe store :)
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