Monday, February 20, 2012

Reality bites



I thought it was just a pinched nerve. Or it was what I had myself believe as the reason for the pain in my right foot when I ran.

I did not want to hear something like "stress fracture" or anything that meant I would be unable to run for a long time. I already had my training plans and race schedules. I did pretty well in my races last year and I want to keep the momentum going. A long lay-off would keep me off track. I definitely didn't want that.

A day short of three weeks since I felt that shot of pain during my last training run, the foot still hurt there when I put pressure on it. The acupuncture and massage sessions helped reduce the swelling and the intensity of the pain I felt during the first week. The pain that lingered wasn't really killing me, but it was bothersome enough.

Today I finally gave in to my wife's persistent request that I see a doctor. The x-ray result showed that what I had was indeed a stress fracture in one of my right metatarsals. The doctor said my foot has to be in a cast for four weeks.

Now, it's not just no running for me. Even cycling, which I had been doing at least every two days for the past two weeks just to maintain the aerobic conditioning, was no longer possible.

Four weeks. On second thought, that's really not too long. I can start those upper body strength workouts with my dumbbells which I had long been planning to do. And there are those running books and running movies waiting to be read and watched.

I'll get by and will definitely be back. Stronger, I hope.

3 comments:

Chino R. said...

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Richard Melrose said...

I found your blog as I was looking for information about my poor foot. Yesterday, I all-of-a-sudden got a pinched nerve (I'm not a runner, so I've decided it's not likely to be a stress factor).

Anyway, a sharp, excruciating foot pain quickly makes you stop taking your feet "for granted" and makes you realize just how complex and amazing the foot really is. It's hard to imaging ever being able to walk (much less, run) pain-free again.

I sure hope my foot gets back to normal, soon; .. and I wish you well on your foot recovery, as well.

Richard

Carlos Bautista said...

Richard: Thanks. Seeing a doctor and having my foot in a cast did me good, and I am happily starting to run again. Slowly, yes, but I'm sure I'll get back to my old running form soon (fingers crossed). I hope you have had your injury looked into and that you recover well from your foot injury.

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