Just Coasting

Haven't been doing much blogging lately, which reflects a dearth of any serious running in the past few weeks. I've also been very busy, so that's an excuse for both shortcomings I suppose.

The title of this post was originally going to be "Coming to Terms," but that sounded too somber, which I don't really feel. What did I think I'm coming to terms with?

Well, for starters, the flare up I'd had in the arch of my right foot got worse before it got better, and it took almost a week of no running before I was willing to get back on the roads. Not sure what came first, but some minor heel pain has also developed, mostly in the mornings upon getting out of bed. All signs point to plantar fasciitis, which I guess I've had the good fortune to inherit from my dad (and his dad as well). Since then, it's been short and mostly slower runs while things calm down. Nightly soaks with epsom salt really seem to help loosen things up, and symptoms are improving, albeit slowly.

More serious though, is a recurrence of groin and low ab symptoms. By serious I don't mean that it's keeping me from running, but more that I've decided to take more aggressive measures in getting it treated. Next week I have a follow-up consultation with a surgeon I saw in February for the same issues. Back then he recommended surgery, but encouraged me to give physical therapy an honest try. I did, and things improved for a while, but now I'm back to feeling like I did 9 months ago. Chances are if I go to him complaining of ongoing problems, he'll advise similarly to when I first saw him. So I'm thinking I'll have this done sometime next month. It's supposedly a minor procedure as far as surgeries go, but it'll still keep me from doing any serious running for a good couple months.

This weekend was good as far as running goes though. I flew to Duluth on Friday night to visit my grandmother (who is very ill) and met the rest of my family at a local hotel. Yesterday morning, I ran on an oldschool treadmill next to my dad as he did the same. We haven't run together in years, mostly because of some foot and ankle issues he's got (can you tell we're related?). We both needed the stress relief. The run wasn't anything long or fast, but the company was well worth the effort.

Today, back on the east coast, I took off from my office along the Capital Crescent trail. I headed southeast into peach-colored clouds at sunset, and found myself running the return leg in the dark. This prompted me to pick the pace up slightly, and I got into a pretty good rhythm. My feet didn't protest too much, and they're feeling fine now.

So for now it looks like I'll keep up the easy stuff until I'm forced to stop after the operation next month. I'm hoping by maintaining some semblance of shape I can improve my chances of successful healing. Surgery's definitely not something I'm looking forward to, but I am looking forward to finally putting this behind me.