The Wheels Are Falling Off

To quit running is not an option.

For two years I've known that something was wrong with my left foot, leg, stride or gate. My left foot would slap the ground at a certain pace. Last year the slap turned into heal pain which then turned into tendonitis and more foot pain. Ice helped, heal orthotics helped, and massage helped but it got progressively worse and more painful every morning I got out of bed. The longer or faster the run the more it hurt. After the last ten miler I either had a lower pain tolerance or was concerned I'd be walking like a 90-year old man for the rest of my life.

With no major runs in the next few weeks I thought I could rehab the foot or figure something out. No more running until my noodle coughed up the answer as to what was going on. On a whim, I purchased some off the shelf arch supports. Oh my freakin' dog. The heal orthotics helped a little by cushioning the pain but with the arch support, the pain was gone completely. Zip. Nada. Zero.

A coworker eyeballed my arch supports and mumbled something under his breath. All I could think was that my wheels were coming off. Yeah they're coming off and yours will too eventually. The stupid thing to do is to give up without trying to fix the problem, an inefficient complexity outlook. People stop running due to incompetent attention to their baggage. BS! Wake up! Look, feel, experiment! That doesn't mean go get a shot. The shot doesn't fix the problem causing the pain. Cheap shoes or imbalances or the change in physiology need to be identified and compensated for. Wrap the knee, take glucosamine, ice the legs, buy a massager.

Each year, more and more objects are purchased in my house to alleviate pain, soreness, compensate for something that used to be there. No vanity cult game going on here. I'll buy them, wear them and blog them off after they prove their worth.

So far, the walk around the house test worked. The walk around the neighborhood worked. The true test will be this afternoon with a 6-miler with Da Fish and L. To quit running is to acknowledge that it's a marginal part of my life. To quit running could very well result in a complete mental psychosis meltdown. Ay yay yay! To quit running is not an option. End of story.