He put his gloves on and examined my feet while carefully
assessing the two prominent bony areas on my big toes. He raised his head,
asking how my toes were. I could tell he
knew. He knew of my pain which nobody had validated to that point, had an
answer for, or had given any importance whatsoever! I told him how a few years
ago the right toe started hurting, but since I started running both toes are
now painful. I told him how finding the right shoe has been very difficult and
the only shoe that fits my small, chubby, and pained feet are Skechers GoRuns
as they allow room for my toes.
Inflamed and painful big toes!
For those of you who are new to my blog, I ran my first
marathon last October. I started training again in November and set goals for
myself for 2015. I registered for the Toledo marathon in April and my first
Ultra marathon (50K at Sulphur Springs) in May. I planned for a few 5K, 10K, ½
marathon races here and there as well. But things did not go as planned.
Winter Training!
On March 1st, during our long run, I told my
running buddy John (Running Room) that my left hip had been acting up for the
past few runs and that I would monitor it to see at what KM the pain would kick in.
It was around 10K that I felt a tinge of discomfort but it was nothing serious.
John and I separated as we were heading home in opposite directions. At one of
the intersections the light turned green but my knee seized up and I could not
believe what was happening. All I could think was that I needed to get my run
done. I thought I needed to slow down and just get the KM in. I got myself home
through a combination of walking, jogging, and running. I was frustrated but
thought it was only a bad run and it will go away with a few days of rest.
“It is during our darkest moments
that we must focus to see the light.” A. Onasiss
On March 8th I went for a test run to see how
things were. It was a beautiful sunny day and my heart was so happy to be able
to get out and enjoy the day. But as I progressed to 2K I started feeling the
pain in my knee. I was devastated to learn something was seriously wrong as I
was not able to run. There was a big sharp pain around my knee as if someone was
drilling a nail into my leg. I walked home with a heavy heart and lots of
questions.
"Me and My Shadow"
I always read a lot to learn more about the sport and to
help myself in becoming a better athlete.
When I got home I did some research and all my symptoms were pointing to
an ITB injury. Read here to learn more: Iliotibial Band Syndrom (ITBS).
I made an appointment with Fowler Kenndy Sport Medicine Clinic and
at the initial assessment I was told that weak glutes were the culprit and yes,
I had an ITB injury.
I started physiotherapy and was given strict instructions to
refrain from running and spinning. Yoga was ok. My allowable exercises were 10
min on the elliptical, some leg presses, and bridges to strengthen my glutes. The
marathon was scratched off my calendar and the ultra marathon had a big
question mark in front of it!
This went on for 2
months and the progress was very slow. Two weeks ago my physiotherapist recommended
seeing a podiatrist in the clinic to get some orthotics to help with my knee
buckling issues.
The podiatrist waited till I finished telling him about my
painful toes. Then he picked up my old running shoes and showed me that all the
wear and tear was on the outside. He explained how the rigidity in my big toes
not being able to flex backwards had contributed to my injury. He also said that
as long as I run long distances the bones in my feet will continue to become
bigger and at some point I may need reduction surgery. But having proper shoes
and orthotics will help to reduce injury and improve running.
WHY YOUR BIG TOES MIGHT BE THE CAUSE OF YOUR RUNNING INJURIES! I came across this great article today. Most articles point out that weak glutes are one of the main causes of ITB injury and nobody talks about runners toes!
IT IS NOT ALL IN THE BUTT!
Source: Runners Connect
He acknowledged how hard it is to find well fitted running
shoes for a person like me. Then he instructed me to purchase either Saucony
Echelon 4 or Brooks Dyad 8. My girl friend Angie at the Running Room always
worked so hard to find me a nice pair of running shoes but we gave up! I always
felt so bad when I tried on many shoes only to end up having none of them fit
properly! Today, I told her my doctor wants me to buy these shoes do you have
them? She had the Saucony. I tried them on and was shocked! The SHOES FIT with
no pain or pressure on my bones. I asked her did you have this last time. She
said: “No. They got them only a few weeks ago.” We both smiled, high fived and hugged each
other. SUCCESS. Of course, I need to learn to run with orthotics and my new bulkier
shoes. My Sketchers are still my favourites as they are super light. But if I
want to run I need to learn to run with orthotics and bulkier shoes!
My favorite light Skechers.
My new Saucony Echelon 4 Wide.
Much heavier than my old shoes.
I am going to see my podiatrist on Monday for a gait analysis
and to see how my new shoes and orthotics fit. It seems that after a long time
I may have some answers to my problems. I have to mention I saw another podiatrist
back in Oct when my toe was injured before my marathon and he did say I needed
orthotics but I kind of ignored it! I paid for it greatly.
I learned a great deal about my body and my running form
through this injury. I also learned not to purchase short distance race
packages for the whole year!
Thank you to The Runner's Academy for their continuous support providing educational materials and practical exercises to help people like me becoming better runners. Follow them on Twitter & Instagram to learn more.
10K: May 23, 2015: Sulphur Springs - (I switched my 50K to 10K
Trails) -
My goal is to just to complete this
race with no time expectation.
50K: July 18, 2015: The North Face Endurance Challenge Series, Blue
Mountain - Trails
21.2K: Sept 13, 2015: London Honda Race Series – Race #4 - Springbank
Road Races
25K: Oct 17, 2015 Vulture Bait – Trails
42.2K: Oct 18, 205 Big
? Mark! - As I did not run Toledo, I need to run another marathon.
Not
registered for this yet!
5k: Oct 31, 2015 London Honda Race Series – Race #5 - Halloween
Hunting
~ Freedom ~ Focus ~ Moving Forward ~ Determined ~
