My Left Foot

So you wouldn't really think that a chubby-30-year-old-former-musical-theater-geek could get a sports injury. However, yours truly was practically crawling at the end of practice yesterday after only 10 miles! Here's what happened:

For the last couple of weeks, I have noticed some left foot pain in the outer part of the bottom of my foot to the heel. It happens to some extent on the right, but it is much more severe on the left. It usually doesn't bother me until about mile 8, so thus far, I have been okay. But yesterday was our dry run- I was supposed to complete the full 13.1 miles. I was walking at a great pace (I've come SUCH a long way since the beginning of training), with Head Coach Jerry. I mentioned the problems with my foot, and he suggested some stretching exercises. Sure enough, when we hit 8 miles, it started. I only walked another 1/2 mile before I had to slow WAY down. The pain was so bad, I felt like I was going to be sick! So naturally, when something hurts, your gait changes to compensate. I was trying hard to walk normally, but it was virtually impossible. Jerry ran ahead to get some BioFreeze gel that I could apply to my feet when I got back to the gazebo at the 10 mile mark. I literally had to bite my lip to keep from crying all the way in.

It took me about 2hrs & 15mins to walk the first 8 miles, and about 1 hour to to the last two! Jerry wouldn't let me go back out for the final 3 miles, for fear of making things worse. I was still in pain for the rest of the day. This morning, I feel a little better; the pain is not as blinding as it was yesterday, but it's definitely there. I am also nursing some lovely blisters because I was walking differently, so I basically just want to chop of my left foot.

I made an appointment at the Rothman Institute on Friday afternoon (the first available) with a podiatrist/sports medicine doctor. Hopefully, this is not a huge problem and he'll have a quick fix. I would be devastated if I couldn't do the marathon on June 3rd. Yes, we've raised all this money for a great cause, and that's the whole point. But it's a matter of pride for me as well. I have worked so hard and come so far! I feel really strong, and if I had not been in so much pain, I think I could have walked 20 miles yesterday! It's so frustrating to have a problem with only 2 weeks left until the race...

So everyone cross your fingers and toes. I'll keep you posted and let you all know what the Dr. has to say on Friday. I also have some pictures that I took at practice yesterday that I will try to figure out how to post tonight. Thanks for checking in!

-Sara