Heading in to the cancelled Luton Marathon I felt I was in the form of my life, which was confirmed with my PB at the Bedford Half Marathon a week later. There wasn't much chance of keeping that up for the next 5 months though, so felt a break would do me some good.
So on Wednesday the 29th December I headed out for my first run for a week, so was going to try for 20 miles. The start of my run involves a hill of about a kilometer, which is 20% in places. Its a difficult hill, which typically takes me about 6 minutes to run but I usually I get up it ok then push for the rest of the run. Heading into this hill, I'm expecting my taper to make me fly up it, but it somehow didn't work out. I get to the top and my legs feel very heavy, they ease off after a while but I have pins and needles in my feet and my arches. After about 8k I stop and stretch, the pins and needles go but I feel tired all the way around.
I can only think of one other occasion where I have had to cut short an intended run, but on this run I decided to do one lap instead of two and head back (with the option of a short tag on near my house). It was on the way back I felt a sharp pain in the back of my foot. I tied my laces up a bit tighter which gets me down the giant hill, about a mile from home the pain returns and call an end to the run and walk home.
Getting home I can feel the pain worse and worse and can't walk on it at all, have to shuffle sideways to get about anywhere. It wasn't like any other injury or niggle I had ever. It throbbed with pain overnight. In my head I was expecting to be out for 8 weeks and having to do a 4 week training plan for London.
The next morning still can't walk, so go to A&E. They x ray me and tell me nothing broken and it might be plantar fasciitis or tendonitis. I only got to speak to a nurse so wasn't convinced. I have had plantar fasciitis before and it felt nothing like this. She said it was a common over use injury (hadn't run for a week though!).
So I get home and call around the local physios, 5 of them are shut, then I find a physio in Dunstable who is open. I see Nick from www.woodsideclinic.co.uk/ that afternoon. I've learnt that the sooner you see a physio the better, they do magical things and seem to always have taping or ultrasound that makes you feel better by the time you have left. He works his way around the foot and finds the exact agony spot, diagnosing plantar fasciitis. 15 minutes later strapped up the foot and I now can walk a lot better. By Saturday (3 days after the injury) I'm pain free and preparing to run again.
So why did I get it ? Not entirely sure but I suspect a combination of:
- I spent all Christmas walking around my house bare foot without support on new wooden floors
- Walking around in the snow in bad fitting workman type boots
- Blitzing my first run back from a long period of non running
- Wearing racing flats
- Ignoring my pins and needles (maybe cramp?) for an extended period of time.
- Christmas weight gain put too much pressure on my lower limbs
- *Cough* not warming up or stretching *cough*
No comments:
Post a Comment