Toe Woes

I went 3 days without running, then...I got bored. I had dabbled in weight lifting and ab work during my time off, but ultimately, I wanted/needed to run. So, I did. Sure, maybe it was stupid. Anytime you feel pain, you are supposed to rest, right? This time, did not seem like the case.

On Wednesday, I woke up at 5:30 am and thought a slow mile would not kill me. Although, it didn't, it was oodly tiring. It was more than likely from the excessive thought I put into my form and gait. If I didn't that morning, however, I am sure my foot would have been furious!

It did ache upon finishing, but strangely, it felt better than it had all week. Still, I was obsessively researching the anatomy of feet and what could possibly be my foot's problem. The more I researched, the more I worried. I always assume the worst (I thought I had turf toe). Yet, I found myself running again that evening. I did a 2.5 mile run, rested, then did another 2.5 after dinner. Again, my thinking exhausted me, but I did...okay. I had more minor aches, but some trigger point massages helped. I've also been living in a single compression sock to help with circulation.

Today, I did another 5:30 am run. I was able to go a little faster, but I still had the same annoying pain. It wasn't until my lunch break that it dawned on me to "body sense." It is a technique I learned from Chi Running. When you feel pain, you focus on that part of your body, and find what needs to change. I found that my feet, ankles, and calves were incredibly tense from trying to prevent pain, which ended up causing more. I focused on letting those areas of my body fall loose. When they did, I could not feel the pain.

I cannot describe the relief I felt to walk like a normal person, but I knew running was going to be a bit more difficult to loosen up on than walking. So I stuck with the same workout as last night: 2.5 miles then another round after dinner. I focused on keeping my ankles relaxed and it worked out well. I still experienced some pain, but it wore off quickly. I also started to work on toe exercises to help the extensor tendon.

This was very beneficial! If you have tendonitis in your first metatarsal, consider doing this!

Tomorrow, I am taking off. Don't want to over do it, but I will keep you guys posted!

Any current running woes?