I will be joining all those who use the #mondaymiles hashtag to remind me to journal my running and training exploits. I’ll post my #mondaymiles on Monday evenings after I put my kids to sleep but before I turn in for the night. This should be between 9:30 and 11:00pm most nights.
I’m a bit late for the first one, so let me start with a plantar fasciitis (PF) update. Today I visited the podiatrist’s office for a follow-up and a consultation. It’s not technically a consultation, but my wife now has me in the habit of making sure I bring questions to my doctor’s appointments, so I had a few questions I wanted to ask about my progress.
To cut to the chase, although I haven’t run in four weeks, he wanted me to have another cortisone shot and take at least two more weeks rest. He doesn’t believe I’ll require another cortisone shot, and he believes I’m doing well on the recovery. Since I have an acute case of plantar fasciitis (thank God!), there is some inflammation involved in mine (confirmed since the prior cortisone shot relieved any pain I felt almost immediately), and he was able to feel some differences in the swelling and warmth when comparing both of my heels. And with the reading that I’ve done myself, I’m willing to go along with his judgment (not that I have a choice). So it looks like this plantar fasciitis layoff will be 6 weeks, at a minimum from running.
There is a lot to be thankful for, though. First off, I’m thankful for all of the runners, athletes, trainers, coaches, and medical professionals who write blogs and layperson resources about this condition. I would almost certainly have done something even more stupid than waiting three months to see a doctor about this. (Something like get the cortisone shot and continue training as planned.) I’m happy that it is an acute case and not a chronic case. The treatment and recovery timelines are totally different between the two types of PF. I’m thankful for my insurance. Even though it doesn’t cover orthotics, it does cover my appointments and so I am able to see the doctor. And I’m thankful that I have a gym membership that I can use to continue training even though I can’t run. For me, physical activity is critical to maintaining my overall health, and I count it as part of my workday because otherwise I’d probably be relying on some other form of medical intervention to maintain. So I am blessed to have the gym membership to LA Fitness. And I am blessed to have health and strength.
This week, I’m going to try to balance a desire to push myself in the gym with the reality that I don’t have that much time to devote to training. Besides, it can be a bit redundant to do pull-ups, pushups, and swim laps day in, day out. Also, whenever you do something daily, whatever it is, it can be hard to remember that consistency is the key. Moderating the intensity can be key to being consistent. But I’m starting to get bored, and I want to see how much I can progress my pull-ups, especially. I’m not necessarily doing the Armstrong plan, but I haven’t given up on my 20 pull-ups goal.
Be blessed everyone. See you next week Monday.