Happy New Year!

Well, it's been two months since my last update. It was November, I was building my distances again after being given orthotics by the sports med specialist, and instructed to start again from scratch. 

I've kept up with my running since then.  Around 5km, two or three times a week. Not amazing, but definitely 'good-enough'.

There's been no change to the foot numbness.  I have an appointment next week with an ultrasound technician who will look for any physical issues inside my foot, that may be compressing on that nerve. Failing that, I think the specialist might send me off for an MRI, but I'm hoping that's not required.  At my last appointment, he seemed reassured that there's no structural issue with my foot (no stress fractures, for example) and I'm in no significant pain, so it's okay to keep running for now. I'm not sure what to hope for with the ultrasound.  It would be good to have a reason why this is happening - but at the same time - if it's something that requires treatment, that'll be more set backs!

We had a family holiday up north in the New Year. I had the chance to explore around the area, check out a couple of nearby bays. It made running so much more fun! I realised how much of a rut I've been in, running the same streets all the time.  Of course, since my distances have been relatively small, I've been limited to as to where I can go!  I did a couple of 6km runs on holiday and surprised myself as to how good I felt, and how easy it was.  

The other day, I needed to drop something off at the local post office so I decided I'd drive there, park, and run from there, in order to get some different scenery.  What an inspired decision. I just kept going and going, and before long I'd hit 8km, and decided I'd add a few extra blocks to make it up to 10km. 

I was so pleased, it seems like such a milestone to achieve, and I haven't run that far since the half marathon back in August.

I'm feeling more inspired and I'm keen to lock in a half marathon to start training for.  Now that I know I can run 10km, I know I can train myself back up to 21!  I'm going to wait for my test results though, before booking in any particular event.

Such a great way to start the day..

So far I've been really enjoying running in the morning.  I've worked my way up to 3km at the moment and it's a nice easy distance, long enough to make you feel like you've been for a run, but not too long that you have to get up TOO early!

I find that I get home, feeling amazing, and get to greet my waking family and get on with the morning. It's so much nicer than being woken from sleep by them.  It was a 6.20am alarm today which actually wasn't too hard to get up to :)  Hopefully I can keep it up as the weather warms up for summer and then I won't have to worry about running in the worst of the heat.  There were some 30 deg runs last summer which weren't too great.

Some new running kit & a plan of attack

Nope, no new shoes, running shorts or bright new cap. 

Just some orthotic insoles for my shoes. Just off the shelf ones for now, as a trial to see if this nerve problem is a biomechanical one. Potentially my foot movement on landing is causing something to impact on that nerve. 

So, I've been instructed to start very short and light, and work my way up from there.  It feels like I'm starting from scratch again but I'm trying to reassure myself that my body does know how to run, and if I can keep some cardio fitness by swimming in the meantime, hopefully it won't be too frustrating.

I'm wanting to make the most of this though, and try and turn myself into a morning runner. I do NOT get up earlier than I absolutely have to, but only ten minutes earlier to throw on shoes and run round the block for 1km? I could do that. If I really love it, maybe it'll become a habit and getting up at 6/6.30am won't seem so awful... This mama has been spoiled with very good sleeping children, and uses absolutely every minute of sleep in the mornings, usually!!

I've never exercised before eating though, so that'll take some getting used to.  My morning hunger pangs are way less (and sometimes non-existent!) these days since 'turning LCHF'. I suspect the biggest obstacle will be my brain, but starting off with small distances to begin with and building slowly should work well.  I'll be retraining my mind as well as my body!

Below is my rough plan I want to follow - running 3/4 times a week, increasing 'long run' by 0.5km each week but not increasing weekly total by more than 15%. 

Week 1: 4 x 1.5km Total 6km
Week 2: 1 x 2.5km, 2 x 2km - Total 6.5km
Week 3: 1 x 3km, 1 x 2km, 2 x 1.5km - Total 8km
Week 4: 1 x 3.5km, 1 x 3km, 1 x 2.5km - Total 9km
Week 5: 1 x 4km, 2 x 3km - Total 10km 
Week 6: 1 x 4.5km, 1 x 4km, 1 x 3km - Total 11.5km
Week 7: 1 x 5km, 2 x 4km - Total 13km

Getting back into it

This week has marked my return to running after a three week lay off.

The first was a run on a walkway with hubby, in New Plymouth.  I actually said, mid run, "I hate this".  I felt slow and sloppy.  Nevertheless, it was a little over 4km and I realised I hadn't lost as much running fitness as I thought I had.  I really thought I would have to run/walk in 3 or 4 minute intervals!

A few days later, hubby and I had an opportunity to run along the coastal walkway in New Plymouth.  It was magic.  A gorgeous sunny day, and despite a strong headwind on the first leg, it was the best run I could remember for a very long time.  We took our time, stopping for a few photos, and a missed turnoff lead us to some rock scrambling along the water front. Heaps of fun!  I realised that it's so easy to get caught up in the target paces and distances way of running and sometimes it's just great to run for fun.

To round off the week, I managed a quick 3km over dinner time on Thursday night.  I was feeling tired, and hadn't eaten for about 2 1/2 hours, but surprised myself by how fast I was.

The foot feels okay.  On my first run the side of my foot (the original injury) was a bit niggly, and I even noticed the exact same pain on the other foot afterwards.  I wonder if those tendons/ligaments have been a bit weak?  It flared up at the start of the coastal walkway run as well but after a couple of minutes it disappeared, and last night I didn't notice it at all.

The top of my foot remains numb/tingly, and the occasional ache appears, but I haven't heard back with the results of the x-ray so I assume there was no fracture picked up.  I go back to the specialist next week so it'll be interesting to see what he says we do from here.

I can run!

The good news: The specialist I saw today (who was awesome, by the way!) said he was confident there was no bone involvement causing my pain (given that I could easily hop up and down on my foot with no pain) and therefore I am clear to run with pain as my guide. Yay!

I do have an x-ray for tomorrow just to rule out a stress fracture as a cause (even though if I had one, I'd probably know more about it) at least that will rule out one possible cause.  There may be a couple of other things going on, including some ligament irritation on the outside of my foot where the initial pain after the half marathon was the worst, and this may just require a little more time to come right.

So, if I can get out for a 20-30 minute run twice a week and swim a couple of other days a week, I will be a happy girl. Hopefully it'll be light enough to encourage healing on it's own, but it'll be enough for me not to feel like I'm missing out on running so much.  It's felt like a VERY long two weeks!

An update

I've been referred to a sports medicine specialist.  No running AT ALL for at least two weeks, until I have my appointment and get further assessment. 

I gather he'll have more of an idea of what testing and/or treatment will be required.  In the meantime, the physio has strapped a disk to the ball of my foot to cause the metatarsals to splay out when my body weight is applied.  I believe this is to reduce any compression or swelling in the area.  It's like walking around with a large flat stone in your shoe, not terribly comfortable.

I hope to keep swimming twice a week and perhaps cycle on the weekend, to keep my fitness up.  I'll take the opportunity to keep up with the strength exercises and weights to keep my body strong.

Trying to stay as positive as I can for now.  Best case scenario - the complete rest sees me healed in two weeks time... we'll see.  I want to get this right so I can run another half marathon (or several) but if this injury/condition rules me out from long distance running then I'll just have to find other challenges to keep me busy :)

I miss running!

It's been a quiet few weeks since the half marathon. My foot still isn't right.. And we're a month post-injury now. 

I'm on the ACC/physio books too. The physio said it was a compressed nerve and it's the sort of thing only time can heal. Have been running easy and light as suggested, it's been nowhere near the mileage I was doing 6 weeks ago!! Back to physio next week to reassess. I'm not sure what the next step is. 

Last week I ran a measly 3.7km. I went to the pool on Sunday though and had a great session - 60 lengths (1.5km) in about 45 mins. 

This week I hope to run 10km over the week (3 runs) and go for another long swim on Sunday. 

I'm also working on building my strength in my hips and glutes, as well as overall muscle tone. I aim to do a weights/strength season twice a week from now on. 

I miss running, especially long runs, but I'm hoping that a little time to rest now wil l have me running again before long!!