Sidelined

You would think I would be training for almost a month now for my half marathon. You would be wrong. Injuries tend to place you on the sidelines.

It happened two weeks ago while I was running on the treadmill at the gym. I was running my normal pace and suddenly felt a sharp pain in my right foot by the arch. I slowed down immediately to a walk, hoping it was just a kink. After a few minutes, it did subside and I continued with my run/walk training program. I didn’t have any other pain the rest of the night, so I thought it was all good.

That is until I stepped down off the bed the following morning. The pain shot from my arch up into my ankle. I tried staying off of it and not running for several days, but it didn’t improve. I went to a sports medicine specialist on Monday, hoping it was nothing too serious and that I’d be back to running soon.

Well, my bones look okay (except for a bone spur in my heel that I didn’t know about), but I definitely injured my tendon. The doctor gave me a brace that laces up like a shoe and has about 30 straps that secure with color-coded Velcro so I know where to secure each one. I don’t think it’s doing much except annoying me, but I will wear it until further notice. I also have to get an MRI so we can see what and how extensive the injury is and then hopefully start healing.

Of course I am unable to run and the doctor told me I can’t even go on the horrific stationary bike either. Fortunately, I can strength train, so I will be doing that at least three times a week for a while.

Yes, I am extremely disappointed that I can’t run (of course, the second the doctor said I couldn’t run I wanted to immediately get my running shoes on and just go), but I know I need to allow my foot to heal and not cause further damage. I’m also hoping it’s just a really bad pull and that with rest and maybe physical therapy I will be back to running sooner rather than later. Until then, I can only do what I can.

As for the half marathon in March, it is completely up in the air. But even if I’m unable to participate in it, which is likely at this point, there are many other half marathons I can participate in and will just pick another one later in the year. I may be sidelined right now, but I will back out there pounding the pavement soon.