Resting

I had been having a lot of foot pain ever since the Louie Tri and it was definitely the "Oh this is bad kind of pain" so I finally got an appointment to see the doctor.  She suspected I had a heel spur and plantar fasciitis, ordered me an X-ray, and later confirmed that was the case.  She told me to rest from running for four weeks and prescribed PT.  My guess is that I've had it for years and just didn't know what it was (other than thinking it was just a "getting old" kind of ache) and the increased running really aggravated it.  


I was having a hard time getting a PT evaluation scheduled before I went on my next trip and was starting to feel helpless.  Running is already my weak spot and I was getting extremely antsy about having to miss three weeks of running (with no PT since I was going to be out of town before I could get an appointment) and then have the four weeks of PT after, still unable to run (making it 7 weeks).  Luckily, someone canceled at the last minute on Friday, and I was able to get in for an evaluation and get started on strengthening my feet.  


I am definitely concerned about my running fitness, but willing to do whatever it takes to get better and not let this set me back too much.  I've replaced all the running workouts with strength and core workouts, and it feels great to be able to complete those without having to drive somewhere!  I've also got 45 minutes of daily PT exercises for my feet and have been trying to knock some of those out at my desk while on conference calls.  


I know that skipping the run workouts is allowing me to rest and recover and strengthen those ankles and plantar fascia (can already feel the difference after 3 days). However, I must admit that skipping two weekend workouts has done wonders for my sanity.  Splitting my time physically between a hotel in Los Angeles, Nick's house (more convenient for training), and my house, while attempting to get in 80% of the scheduled trainings, keep up with a demanding client that has little respect for the lunch hour (it's a big deal to me to eat lunch AWAY from my computer), and maintain a personal life is discombobulating and exhausting on all accounts.   It felt so good to not wake up at 6am, drive for 45 minutes to a workout, and then get caught up in the social aspect of training with a team (having fun chit-chatting, grabbing lunch, lallygagging, etc.).  I was actually able to do ALL my laundry, file, get my car serviced, properly unpack and re-pack, clean my kitchen, catch up on the DVR, play on iTunes, and read one of the many magazines piling up on my coffee table, AND get my workout in!  *sigh*