Running Injury #73


I once read that if you're going to be a dedicated runner and especially if you are going to do distance running, it's all a matter of time before you get injured. There is no way to avoid it. I wish it wasn't true, but it has been for me. I started running in 2004 and that spring suffered many, many running injuries. I fell in love with the sport so much that I just couldn't hold myself back. Being a novice at all things sport and exercise-related, I thought, "What's the worst that could happen?" I was really ignorant, to say the least.

Me - 4 days before the Turkey Trot. Never a good sign, under any conditions.

I've had at least one--if not three--stress fractures, inflamed knees, chronic shin splits, Plantar fasciitis, vamp's disease, and numb toes or Morton's neuroma. The latter is what put me in my infamous surgical shoe that was the subject of many comical Facebook postings (if I do say so myself). The neuroma appears to be the subject of my current condition, again. I noticed it coming on and had the same response that I have to any running injury - "Huh. I wonder what that is? Well, I'm sure that I can work through this problem with a 12 mile run." (Okay - only a slight exaggeration.) Despite my attempts to keep it at bay with ice and Aleve, it was clear that I needed a few days away from pounding the pavement or treadmill. So, I dedicated myself to 3 days of using the elliptical machine at the gym - a horrifying experience if ever there was one. Then I ran a Turkey Trot. Half way through I realized that this Turkey Trot needed to be over ASAP. I finished with a respectable time, but, I have recommitted myself to the elliptical machine, to my physical therapist's website (which I highly recommend), and to some actual treatment from her as well. 

I actually use the Arc Trainer when I have running injuries because the heel does not leave the pedal on these machines, which has been especially important in my recovery efforts. I can also get in a workout that is as strenuous (or sometimes more strenuous) as running.


Let's hope that I'm up and running again in a week or so. Pun intended.

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