My Right Foot

While training for my next 5K race, I overdid it. Hilarity does not ensue.

My goal after running in the Lansing Race for the Cure 5K was to meet or beat my time at the Detroit Race for the Cure less than a month later.  So, I decided what I wanted to focus on my endurance.

I wanted to run for longer with fewer (or no) breaks.  Training went well at first, I would run for 10 minutes straight, take a short power-walk, and then continue running.

It was working.

I also decided to run in different locations. I visited Woldumar Nature Center (a great place) and did my first nature trail run. Let me tell you, that was a whole other animal. But I survived and enjoyed  running there.

More recently, I was chatting with a friend about running and was talked into joining him for a run at a park near his home.  It is a trail built on a wet land and it is very pretty.

Last Friday, we had our first run together after work. It was great. We did (give or take) four miles.  We kept an even pace and didn’t slow down.  We decided to run again this past Sunday.

Another four miles, everything was fine–or so I thought.

We ran at 8:30 on Sunday morning and by the middle of the day, I noticed my right foot was a bit sore.

By Sunday evening, I could barely walk. It was bad. And painful.  I promptly purchased a bag of frozen peas and started icing/elevating my leg.  Monday wasn’t much better, because I was at work all day. I iced/elevated my foot when I could, but I was still moving very slowly.  This inspired the title of this week’s episode of LansingNext, “Dan and his Pimp Limp.”

By Wednesday I was feeling a bit better, but I was starting to (finally) take over-the-counter pain pills to fight any inflammation.  But, upon hearing from a few folks who had similar problems, only to find out they were much more serious than a sprain (including broken bones), I quickly called up my doctor and made an appointment for tomorrow morning.

We’ll see how that goes.

All signs are pointing to me not running the Race for the Cure in Detroit this weekend, which bums me out quite a bit.  Even if I am feeling better by then, I don’t want to chance making things worse.

But, I’m hoping I’ll be back in shape for the Race for Education here in Lansing come June.