Wednesday, February 07, 2007

On second thought....maybe a couple of weeks won't hurt

Today I went back for my first physical therapy (PT) visit since the initial eval on Monday. It began with a warm up on the bike. While warming up, the PT intern apologized for not answering my question about running on Monday (I ended up calling the main PT who told me it was ok to run). She asked me how my heel has been feeling and I told her that it was a little sore yesterday but doing ok. She then told me that I should consider taking some time off from running completely to really give the plantar fascia a chance to heal up. "No running at all?" I asked. "It really would help," she replied.

After that I got a foot massage, did some exercises, learned some new exercises for at home, and got an ultrasound treatment before leaving. I spoke also with the main PT who was also there and she agreed that, although she doesn't like to tell people to cease their sport completely unless things are really bad, it would help it heal quicker if I gave it a break. "How long, 1 or 2 weeks?" I asked. "No more than 2 weeks," she replied.

(Sigh!) So here is the new plan:
1 - When it is time for my daughter's run, either have my husband go with her or ride the scooter or bike with her.
2 - Hit the elliptical 3-4 times a week to keep up the cardio, leg exercise, and caloric burn.
3 - Try not to eat so much (my body still craves all that food I am used to consuming).

I will so miss the running - and the weather was so great today!!! But I figure, a couple weeks off will give me pain free running later - then I can train for those races.

Suffice it to say the 12K is out for Feb 24th (as is the 3K). But I am hoping I will be ok for the Winter Park Road Race (a 10K) in March.

I am happy to be on the road to recovery!

5 comments:

Maddy said...

I glad you have a plan of action in place.

It's only a few weeks. In the grand scheme of things, not that long at all. Maybe you could think about it like a business trip where there is no time to get a run in - or working on a project with a tight deadline working from the time you get up until you go to bed leaving you too exhausted to run...

Before you know it, you'll be back on the road!

Kevin said...

Hang in there Chris! Because of the below zero temps and 6 inches of snow, I haven't been able to get out for a run in a week and I know what that feels like! My Garmin 205 won't talk to me anymore! :-(

Kevin

Susan said...

I tried to comment yesterday and blogger ate it... ugh! I think you're doing the right thing - and those 2 weeks will fly by. Maybe your husband can enjoy the walking time with the girls and get as much enjoyment from it as you do!

MarathonChris said...

Husband ran with the girls today! I am excited for how good I will be :-)

ShirleyPerly said...

Chris, I'm so glad you are taking some time off. I know it's hard to do but 2 weeks is really not a long time.

I'm on my way back to Hawaii and look forward to checking in on you when I return.