I got too excited. I’m thinking that as a result I jinxed myself. I had an afternoon that wasn’t wonderful. Saw the doctor today to go over some x-rays of my feet. Who knew that I had more issues that tendonitis in my achilles --- which, ironically, is present in both feet and not just my right foot. Doctor commented that I must have an extremely high pain threshold as I didn’t feel any other pains or even realize that other things were happening with my feet. I figured that any aches and pains were the result of too many years of not taking care of myself.
Turns out that my tendons are very short, much shorter than most people’s tendons. As a result, I have very little flexion. Put it this way, in my good foot I only have 10% flexion. Doctor was pleasantly surprised by how flexible I am in terms of stretching, etc. but that has very little to do with my feet. I have always had these “bumps” on top of my feet --- at least I have noticed them over the last year or so. They never really hurt or caused problems, so I thought that is just how my feet are. Who knew they were bone spurs? I also have the good fortune of having bone spurs on each of my heels. Together, all of these ailments are not, “making my feet happy,” according to the doctor.
He mentioned the word surgery, and I stopped him pretty quickly. “If I need surgery, it’s going to be AFTER the marathon in October.” He gave me a prednisone prescription because you can’t inject cortisone directly into the tendon because the tendon could burst. That will apparently cut down on the inflammation. He gave me soft orthotics for my running shoes as opposed to the hard ones. The motion control shoes will help. I am to continue my ice and stretching regimen. I had to promise that the Chicago Marathon will be the first and only marathon that I run.
I called my sister as I left the doctor; my sister is also a doctor. I told her what had been relayed to me. She asked if I was still going to do the marathon. “Of course,” I said. I then added, “I may be ignorant but I’m not completely stupid. If it gets unbearable or to the point where I could lose my ability to walk, etc. then I will stop. If I don’t get to that point, then I am crossing that finish line and then I’ll deal with everything else.”
What pissed me off the most is that it got into my mind and got me worried. I ran today and instead of running freely and having fun with it, I ran nervous. I realized it, though, and will make a point not to do that again. I am going to put 110% into this. If I can’t run 4 days a week as a result, I will find a way to train more efficiently and still be ready for the big day. If I have to go 6 months without wearing high heels, it is a sacrifice that I am more than willing to make. If I have to take more frequent ice baths --- bring them on. Even if I have to get “puffy” from the cortisone, my attitude will be the puffier the better (besides, I am still kind of used to bring puffy from before the weight loss).
So, I got bad news. It wasn’t the worst thing I could have heard. I can still walk and run. I just have to be more careful. Nothing is getting in the way of this marathon --- even if I have to crawl across that finish line.
I played competitive tennis growing up. In high school, I used to listen to Tom Petty’s song, “I Won’t Back Down” before big matches to get psyched up. In college and law school continued to listen to that song before my exams and during trial competitions. Even now I listen to that song before trials. I added the song to my playlist and it will become a staple during my runs. Tom Petty has gotten me through this much --- he won’t let me back down from the rest of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment