Did: PT, wore normal shoes briefly for a work presentation
I'm feeling more confident about things. No pain when walking. This is good. Maybe I'll be able to volunteer to walk a single 5K leg at BC this weekend... since my team is now down THREE runners. Two of us are booted, and one has calf tendinitis and can't run more than a mile without pain. WEEEEEE.
Tuesday
Did: PT, doc appt, and an emotional breakdown
When I went to my follow-up with the doctor today, I was in great spirits. I thought I was progressing well and would be given the OK to walk a leg of this weekend's Bourbon Chase.
What the doctor said:
"Alright. So, this sort of injury is rough. Recovery is going to go much slower and take much longer than you want. You're going to cross-train your way through it, though. We're going to keep you fit and sane through cycling, swimming, and a lot of floor/core work."
We talked about tendon/muscle injuries, the structure of the plantar fascia (which was partially awesome because the doctor also has an engineer degree and spoke in my language), and how this sort of injury heals.
Based on the key words and phrases I heard ("2-4 weeks in a boot", "(2 to) 6 months to recover", "the more you can keep load out of the tendon, the faster it will heal"), here's what I got out of it:
"You are not doing as well as you thought. All initial estimates of 1-2 months were completely wrong. You're not going to run again for a year. You should go back in the pegleg. You can't walk anywhere. EVER. Your life is over."
After a complete breakdown, some therapeutic chats with various athlete friends, and a reevaluation of what actually transpired, I calmed down. The biggest struggle for me is the though that this is going to last beyond Thanksgiving. In my head, I had a 2mo estimate, and now that there's a chance that it's longer, I'm really struggling with adjusting my expectations. I don't handle deviation from plans well at all.
Vent:
Cross-train? That's doesn't fix my problem. It's not a one-for-one swap or easy alternative. Running isn't just fitness for me. It's my entire social outlet. You can't exactly bike along with a running group at 4:30am on the track, or hilly sidewalks at 5am. I can't take my baby on my bike with me and meet B for a long run on the greenway. All of my friends do running races, not bike races. Running is something I can hop out my front door and do at any time of the day (which is imperative to fit it into my life). Nothing else is.
Wednesday
Did: PT session, ran 1.2mi in 10min on the anti-gravity treadmill at 40% bodyweight
Talking with my PT made me feel better today. He helped me focus on the fact that I am making great progress, and reminded me about how this injury heals.
First you crutch until you can walk in the boot. Done
Then you walk in the boot until it's painfree. Done
Then you walk in shoes until that's painfree. In-progress
Then you start light jogging until that's painfree.
Then you jog longer... then run easy... then run longer... then run hard.
So, in the grand scheme of things I'm doing alright. I heard back from my doctor with some clarifications, and the big takeaway was "if you can do something painfree, it's alright... unless your foot is sore the next day, then don't do it".
We did a lot of balance board things, some quad and calf exercises, massage, ice, and, the best part: THE ANTI-GRAVITY TREADMILL.
I GOT TO RUN!!!!
I was pretty nervous about this, considering I still wasn't completely sure what my doctor had meant yesterday, but trusted my PT and my own research enough to try it out. The first few steps felt weird- not painful, just a "oh, whoa, this is what running feels like" to my entire legs. Then I felt into a groove, and it was amazing.
This was the "hardest" workout for me in awhile. None of the tasks were something I'd call difficult, but I was definitely feeling muscles in my leg and foot working that haven't been asked to in awhile. Here's to getting stronger.
Thursday
Did: Caroline's Hurt Foot Fitness Party
I hate that it's not running, but it's something. If I'm going to be sidelined, I need to take the opportunity to continue strength-training in some capacity...
I'm also planning on returning to bootcamp. It'll give me something a few times a week to do with B, and a social-ish outlet that revolves around fitness. I spoke with the instructor, and he's able to give me modified workouts that keep impact and weight off of my busted foot. :)
Progress.
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