My Foot be a-Healin'!!!

I've been operating on a bad wheel for about the past month now but fortunately my exercising hasn't stopped. Soon after I got out of the hospital I went for a long run and since then my foot hasn't been the same. I had my lung doctor look at it (who also happens to be a runner) and she said that it sounded/looked a lot like plantar fasciitis. I've had foot problems since I started running so this was nothing new, it was just a bummer that it happened so soon after my hospital stay. I had started running in new shoes so we figured that could have been contributing towards the problem. Her recommendation was that I rested it as much as possible and stretch it from time to time. Since then my morning walks have been scarce (to rest my foot) and I've mostly been doing an exercise bike or my bicycle for workouts. But after a month of no running I'm definitely chomping at the bit to get back on the treadmill or street. This is definitely one of those classic cases of "you don't know what you've got until it's gone".

Yesterday, for my workout, I decided to walk at a decent pace on the treadmill. Like I said before, I'm usually on the exercise bike which doesn't put any weight on my foot so getting on the treadmill can always be interesting. I've been on the treadmill since injuring my foot but I've always kept it at a very slow pace (almost just letting the treadmill act as a stretching mechanism for my foot). Yesterday was different however. I continued to push up the pace until it got uncomfortable to keep up with it. And it wasn't my foot that was holding me back, but just my natural walking pace. I ended up walking for about 45 min. with minimal pain or discomfort in my foot (about 2.5 miles). This is the most positive sign in the last month and it's making me hopeful that I may be able to run again soon.

I ended up going back to my old running shoes as the new ones may have been contributing to the problem. I don't plan on going back to the new ones unless it's completely necessary. Now Mandi will tell you it is in fact necessary because I'm missing part of my shoe on the old ones, but my feet felt great after walking in them so they'll stay. The mistake I made in purchasing my new shoes was actually getting a half size bigger than my old ones. It's funny because the smallest things can really make a difference in running shoes. When I started running over two years ago I was in the absolutely wrong shoes for me and after most of my runs I couldn't physically walk without shooting pains in my shins, knees and hips. After getting fitted with proper shoes all the pain went away and I was able to run with ease...well, ease in my book.

Just thought I'd fill you guys in on what's going on with me, exercising and my hopeful return to running. I've been fortunate that my lung function has actually gone up since getting out of the hospital (61% to 73%), but I'm sure a lot of that has to do with continued treatments and getting in any kind of exercise that I can. I've also been doing breathing exercises each and every morning before I get out of bed. Who knows if that has anything to do with my increased lung function but I can tell you that I feel much better and my lungs feel open before I even set foot on the ground in the morning. I would recommend that everyone at least give it a shot. I know for me I have a ton of mucus that just sits there overnight while I'm sleeping and doing those breathing exercises gets everything moving around.

That's it for my exercise update. If you're the praying type keep my foot in mind and if you're not...well then I guess you're not. Any good thoughts, shout outs, well-wishes, or anything else that you can think of that has to do with my foot will be appreciated!