To Run or Not to Run.....That is the Question??????

I've been muddling through this half-marathon training and it's been rough with all the crazy cold weather we've been having.  The first winter I'm a serious runner and it's the coldest it's been in 20 years. Go figure.

Anyway, this week I had my first major running scare.  There was a possibility that I had a stress fracture in my right foot.  I developed an aching pain at the base of my 5th metatarsal after my run last Saturday.  It stayed with me all day Saturday and Sunday.  It didn't help that I stood on it for 3hours Saturday night, but I was at a beard contest with a burlesque show, so forgive me.  I made the mistake of looking up my symptoms on Google and was then convinced I had a stress fx.  I was more convinced after talking to a friend of mine who is a doctor.  As soon as I described my symptoms, he says "stress fx". 

So now I'm freaking out, knowing that I will not be able to run for at least 6 weeks if that is the case and will have to sell my bib for half marathon.  I knew I was enjoying my new found activity of running, but I had no idea how much I loved it until I thought of not doing it for 6 weeks!!! I felt a little lost at the thought and wondered if I would be starting from scratch after such a layoff. 

I skip my runs for Monday and Tuesday to give the foot a rest and to try and find out what is going on.  I go to our wellness clinic at work, where the nurse practitioner has no clue about my foot, barely touches it, calls her attending doc, and then tells me my symptoms carry a presumption of it being a stress fx and that I should stop running. Ok--- I'm not going to quit 7 weeks away from my goal based on a "presumption".  So I get an ortho appt for Wednesday. Tell me what I want to hear doc!!!!

This guy does great exam, x-rays, asks lots of questions pertaining to my running (he's a runner, thank goodness!) and tells me he's pretty positive that I don't have a stress fx!! Does tell me I need to cross train for strengthening due to my slender frame (thanks doc!) and my advancing age (thanks doc!). But I'm cleared to run. 

I did a treadmill run on Thursday due to ice all over the streets and my foot ached.  So I'm still worried.  Today I had longest run of my life thus far scheduled, 7 miles, so I was very worried.  But I thought it would probably tell me what I needed to know.  And here's what I found: my plantar fasciitis in my left foot hurt more than my right foot did!  You just never know.  I know I will still have to see how the foot does with all the increasing mileage, but for now I'm going for it.  And let the strength training begin........

7 miles was tough.  But I kept reminding myself how lucky I was to be out there trying.