A couple of weeks ago, I had an appointment to go back to the doctor to have him take another look at my very painful orthodics. I explained all of my woes and was basically on my last glimmer of hope. He took them out of my running shoes and put them on the floor. He had me stand on them and asked what was really hurting. I told him it felt like I was running with cue balls under my feet. I mentioned that when I saw the Orthopedic Doctor during the Winter, he had put these felt wedges under the heel in my shoes which corrected the posture in my feet (and ultimately in my legs) when I ran. He took notes and said he’d be back in 15 minutes. Sure enough, he came back with these modified insoles that felt much, much better. He also told me that rarely do they make orthodics and have people use them without issue. They almost always make adjustments. I honestly wish I would have known that from the beginning because I was reluctant to return, thinking “Orthodics don’t work for me”.
I have been back to running (though slowly and somewhat timid). The running doesn’t seem to be bothering the injury. It is just that the injury is still there and hurts a bit and is very weak. I often have that sensation that at any minute I could roll my ankle. Not fun. Like any typical addicted runner, I am having a hard time staying off of it. I have the Chicago Marathon looming in the distance (I am supposed to pace the 3:40 group again). I ran the Lincoln Memorial course on Sunday just to see if I could make it. It was a “I have to be able to run this far by now or the Marathon is off” deal, and I made it… sorta.
Today was a mixed bag of two workouts. Keith and Matt decided to run 4 halves at mile race pace. The rest of us did a ladder: 200, 400, 600, 800, 600, 400, 200. The weather for Track running this Summer has been the best I’ve known. Usually by now, we are seasoned sweating machines used to 90+ degree days. The weather has not been an issue. Today was no exception. We had a decent group of about 10 of us. School is back in session and the kids are another factor while running on the track. I have no times to post because I didn’t run very much of the workout, but it was good to be out there.
It was mentioned that someone is interested in a sub-5 attempt in September. Start planning.
[* the title is not a spelling error]
Eric — orthodics can be frustrating. I started wearing them two years ago training for the Chicago marathon. I ended up having too many calf issues as a result of using them and it also felt like I was running w/ cue balls in my shoes. I decided to only wear them during the day w/ work shoes or tennis shoes and stopped run w/ them. After wearing them to work for @ a year, I went to the beach and wore flip flops for an entire week or went barefoot and noticed that my feet were aching b/c I wasn’t using the orthodics. So I gave running another shot thinking that it was a good sign that my feet had adjusted to them and were hurting w/out them. So I started using them when I ran and have had no problems since. In fact, my feet feel great when I use them and I wouldn’t even think about not using them now.
So good luck, I hope you can find a resolution soon…
Scott
Scott,
Thanks for the positive input. I have heard so many negative aspects of the worthlessness of orthodics, that I was starting to think I was being foolish for sticking it out. Your experience is motivating for me and keeps that hope alive that I can ultimately avoid surgery.
thanks.