When I was training for the Brighton Marathon earlier this year, I started getting little twinges on the top of my right foot during longer runs.
I ignored them and ran through the pain, and sometimes the niggles disappeared. After the Marathon however, the pain continued and seemed to get worse, even during long walks. Last week the pain had become so intense that I couldn’t put any pressure on my right foot at all first thing in the mornings; it took an hour or so to be able to walk properly.
It’s tough to explain, because I can still walk and jog (slowly) and am used to running through pain, but I can feel that the top of my foot isn’t right, and is tender to touch.
The pain was so bad when I first woke up last Sunday that I took myself off to A&E and waited three hours to be seen for an x-ray. I suspected a stress fracture but the x-ray was clear, and I was diagnosed with tendonitis. The Doctor told me to ice, elevate and rest my foot, and to complete gentle exercises. He prescribed painkillers and suggested I go easy with running for a while.
No runner likes to hear those words, and I don’t like to be ‘benched’ from my favourite hobby, but I’m glad that it’s not a more serious injury.
I’m taking part in my local Run or Dye colour 5K this weekend, followed by the Virgin Sport Westminster 10K on 15th July, but I’ll be taking them very slowly and won’t apply any pressure to myself. I’ll be strapped up and walking/jogging lightly at the back of the packs. I had to pull out of both of these events last year due to personal reasons, so am looking forward to finally completing them both! 🙂
Laura's footprints 