footsteps loud and strong coming down
Last April I became intimately familiar with what a metatarsal stress fracture felt like while training too hard for my half-marathon. I had a very painful couple days, then a very annoying two weeks in an orthotic foot-boot, then ran my race successfully, without re-injuring my right foot. Unfortunately, my left foot started twinging in a familiar way right after the race.
My left foot felt fine a day later, but I was happy to be done with running for a bit, and my knee wasn't terribly happy, so I decided to give everything a good long break. After the initial soreness wore off, everything felt fine.... except my foot would occasionally give me a really minor twinge every once in a while. A twinge that a year ago I would have shrugged off and ignored, but that now I'm pretty sure is another minor fracture. Well, OK, no running. It didn't hurt at all when I bike or climb or walk or stand or sit or... well, anything. I'd go for 3, 5, even 7 or 8 days without noticing anything at all, then out of nowhere (when walking) I'd get that twinge again. I kept thinking that if I could just be real gentle and go two weeks without feeling that, I'd be on the way to healing. I limited my long walks. I switched out of my sandals into more supportive shoes. I wore my stiff-soled bike shoes around at work instead of my flexible work shoes. I'd go days at a time - just long enough to think that my effort was successful and I'd beaten injury - and the twinge would be back. This went on for months, because I am stupid and stubborn like that.
Finally, I had a good week in August, and then a vacation to Seattle where I didn't do any biking or running AND the walking I did used had nice comfy hiking shoes and I did a lot of relaxing. Foot was just slightly sore at times but no pain! I did a very short test run around the CMU track when I got back, and nothing hurt! Yay! Today, we got back from another camping trip and I really needed to get out and move, so I did an easy 5k through Frick. Oh goodness it felt SO good to be out. Got home, put my foot up, waited, and....
OW. Helloooooo metatarsal painful flair-up. Definitely the same place, and not at all ignorable. Siiiiigh.
Sooooo I'm finally convinced my attempts at "being gentle" didn't work. What's left? Last time I had pain, my PCP said "stay off it for a couple weeks", and the ortho poked my foot, gave me expensive xrays and told me to wear a boot for two weeks. Well, I don't need expensive xrays to poke my foot and wear a boot, so I guess that's what I have to do. Except I haaaaate this idea and I'm stupidly still trying to find reasons why I don't have to, because wearing a boot full-time means a) I can't bike to work, but even more so b) everybody will see it and ask me what happened and talk about my foot and AAAAAGHGHH I cannot properly express how much I really really don't want that right now. I don't want that so much I'd almost rather just not run anymore. But I know that's stupid and I probably won't feel that way next week. Argh.
Last time at the foot doc's, he suggested I could still bike if it didn't bother me. So I think I will try to keep biking, but boot around in the evenings and at home for a couple weeks. I can probably tolerate that.
My left foot felt fine a day later, but I was happy to be done with running for a bit, and my knee wasn't terribly happy, so I decided to give everything a good long break. After the initial soreness wore off, everything felt fine.... except my foot would occasionally give me a really minor twinge every once in a while. A twinge that a year ago I would have shrugged off and ignored, but that now I'm pretty sure is another minor fracture. Well, OK, no running. It didn't hurt at all when I bike or climb or walk or stand or sit or... well, anything. I'd go for 3, 5, even 7 or 8 days without noticing anything at all, then out of nowhere (when walking) I'd get that twinge again. I kept thinking that if I could just be real gentle and go two weeks without feeling that, I'd be on the way to healing. I limited my long walks. I switched out of my sandals into more supportive shoes. I wore my stiff-soled bike shoes around at work instead of my flexible work shoes. I'd go days at a time - just long enough to think that my effort was successful and I'd beaten injury - and the twinge would be back. This went on for months, because I am stupid and stubborn like that.
Finally, I had a good week in August, and then a vacation to Seattle where I didn't do any biking or running AND the walking I did used had nice comfy hiking shoes and I did a lot of relaxing. Foot was just slightly sore at times but no pain! I did a very short test run around the CMU track when I got back, and nothing hurt! Yay! Today, we got back from another camping trip and I really needed to get out and move, so I did an easy 5k through Frick. Oh goodness it felt SO good to be out. Got home, put my foot up, waited, and....
OW. Helloooooo metatarsal painful flair-up. Definitely the same place, and not at all ignorable. Siiiiigh.
Sooooo I'm finally convinced my attempts at "being gentle" didn't work. What's left? Last time I had pain, my PCP said "stay off it for a couple weeks", and the ortho poked my foot, gave me expensive xrays and told me to wear a boot for two weeks. Well, I don't need expensive xrays to poke my foot and wear a boot, so I guess that's what I have to do. Except I haaaaate this idea and I'm stupidly still trying to find reasons why I don't have to, because wearing a boot full-time means a) I can't bike to work, but even more so b) everybody will see it and ask me what happened and talk about my foot and AAAAAGHGHH I cannot properly express how much I really really don't want that right now. I don't want that so much I'd almost rather just not run anymore. But I know that's stupid and I probably won't feel that way next week. Argh.
Last time at the foot doc's, he suggested I could still bike if it didn't bother me. So I think I will try to keep biking, but boot around in the evenings and at home for a couple weeks. I can probably tolerate that.