On running

I saw my orthotics doctor today for a follow-up appointment regarding my new orthotics.  I must say, I love my orthotics.  Mine were fitted for dress shoes so I can still wear my heels to work.  I also discovered today that they also fit my running shoes, so I can wear them while running too.  While they don't fit my bigger, clunky winter boots, I have other off-the-shelf orthotics that work in them. 

All this ortho stuff was necessary to ease and end the shin pain I was feeling while running.  I have tibialis posterior syndrome.  Sounds fancy, but really it's just tight shin muscles that cause phantom muscle pains in the front of my shins.  I've been doing lots of stretching for that area and the orthotics have been helping - I ran on Monday with no pain!  And, more importantly, no pain after either.  So I was pretty chuffed about this and all excited about signing up for a 5K.  Then today...

My ortho doctor told me I shouldn't do any sustained running as this will only cause me injury.  This means that I have to always run/walk, even if I do a 5K.  This won't stop me from doing a race, but it is a little disappointing.  One thing I liked about running was the ability to set goals and see them achieved, whether in distance, speed or me not falling down gasping for breath after five minutes.  But it's not certainly not the end of my running career.  In fact, I now have to figure out how long I can sustain a run before I need a walking break.  This will still give me a challenge and allow me to build my endurance; I just have to listen to my body and stop when it says I should. 

In the long term, though, even if I never run a marathon, at least I'm doing what I need to do now to get healthy, enjoy exercise without (unnecessary) pain, keep my arches from falling and keep my legs from aching.  All in all, that's a health win.