Madam Foot

Knock knock

Who's there?

Madam

Madam who?

Madam foot's KILLING ME!

(it's funnier if you say it out loud)

But, all joking aside, my foot is killing me and it's really starting to get on my nerves.

Yesterday I was aiming for a 3.5 hour run over all kinds of surfaces to prepare me for Saturday's Glacier 3000 Run. After 2 hours I was feeling great - the sun was shining, my shoulders were relaxed, my legs were feeling fresh, and I had just learned how to introduce members of my family in German whilst listening to a German lesson podcast: <<dies ist mein Vater, Hans>>

That's when my old nemesis, plantar fasciitis, reared its ugly head.  I had been feeling a bit of a twinge in my arch for a few kilometers, but as I've had plantar fasciitis for just under 2 years I am kinda of used to ignoring it and powering through - or at least that's what I thought. It was this moment, in the middle of the woods 15 kilometers from home that I realized I wasn't 'ignoring it', I was actually running on the side of my foot to avoid aggravating it. The side of my foot then decided it had had enough of this abuse and quit on me. So I was stuck just a little over half way through my run with a searing hot spike through my arch and an achy swelling on the outside of my foot, and a sharp pain through my knee added for good measure. Each step was agony and after another 2 kilometers I realized that I wasn't able to run any longer.  I begrudgingly starting the long walk home, limping and crying with frustration the whole way.

I spent the rest of the night like this:

This whole situation has got me very flustered. In 5 days - 5 DAYS - I am meant to be running the Glacier 3000 Run - 26 kilometers uphill. How will I be able to do that when I can't even get to 20 kilometers without limping and crying like a giant, sweaty baby?

As I mentioned, I've had plantar fasciitis for just under 2 years now. I first noticed the pain back in Brighton when I would run along the seafront before work. I thought it was my shoes, so bought a new, more cushioned pair. It only got worse, so I saw my GP who gave me a brochure about the symptoms, told me there is no cure but offered an injection of cortisone in my foot to ease the pain. I was so excited that there was some kind of relief from the pain that I ignored the part where she said, "but it's one of the most painful shots you will ever have". And believe me, it was. Essentially, it is jabbing huge needle into your arch, right above the heel, in one of the most sensitive parts of your foot, and injecting it with a thick, milky substance that then needs to be harshly massaged around your heel to disperse it. Without anesthetic. Yeah. Ouch.

And the WORST part - it didn't even work!! I was off my foot for 4 days to let the healing do its thing. And then - nothing. No pain relief, no cure. My only other option now - constant stretching and wearing a rather fetching plantar fasciitis boot on my foot while I sleep to keep my plantar fascia ligament stretched at night. H-O-T!

I have since changed my shoes and my running technique, which has definitely helped, but the pain is still there and after yesterday's run, I don't see it shifting anytime in the near future. Gutted.