tendinitus

I wrote a few posts ago about how my foot is injured. I finally got in with the orthopedic specialist today and the news could have been better, but it could have been worse, too, I suppose.

The doctor took an x-ray and there is no indication of a fracture. After reviewing my symptoms and torquing my foot in every uncomfortable direction possible, the conclusion was that I have tendinitus in my left foot, which is why I was in so much pain after any kind of workout the last couple of months. The doctor called it an "overuse injury" and told me to refrain from running for at least "few more weeks." I am supposed to consume Ibuprofen at the rate I usually suck down coffee throughout the day, as well as get inserts for my shoes, and use a topical anti-inflammatory on my foot.

It did not really hit me until a few minutes after I left the doctor's office was crummy this felt. It has been almost 8 weeks since I ran my half-marathon, and I had hoped to take that momentum and euphoria from completing that goal to run may more races this year, including a full marathon. I am seriously bummed that I will not be able to start working on that for at least another month.

I don't mean to sound dramatic; it's not like tendinitus is going to have me bedridden for the next year. It does feel like a loss that I have to spend more time not doing something I love, even temporarily, though. I have definitely found that it is hard to stay active. I walk my dog everyday, which is probably keeping me healthy, but I have not been doing yoga or anything else to keep up on the aerobic, endurance, or mental training that I need to pick running back up successfully. I think something in my brain was holding out to have the doctor say that everything is cool, just do x, y, and z stretches every day and go about your workouts like nothing happened.

Now that I know it is slightly more serious than that, though, I decided to commit to being active in lower impact settings. I went out after work today and did something that I have actually been meaning to do for months: I bought a bicycle. I even went on a very short ride today. And tomorrow I am meeting a co-worker at a yoga studio near my house to catch a midmorning class.

So that is the plan. Maybe I'll temporarily refer to Pheidippides as Bikram or The Cycler or something like that until I get the go ahead to slowly start building my mileage again. I'll definitely have some new and interesting stuff to write about, like the hazards of riding your bike on Campbell Avenue around 4:30 in the afternoon or the new experience of sharing my workout time with 15 other people in the yoga studio, rather than my own solitary pensive time. Anyway, I guess I will just have to wait and see.

As a final note, it is really interesting to me how many times I have learned in the last couple of months about my own limitations. First with my driving to Colorado fiasco (see trapped... if you have like an hour to read... sorry by the way for the longest post in blog history) and now with my foot and probably other things in between of which I am not thinking currently. It is an especially interesting series of epiphanies to have leading up to my 26th birthday (tomorrow!). Maybe it is a sign that the year to come will bring more mature and reasonable decision making.

Time will tell on that one I guess.

Until next time...