DAMN MARIE! Back at it again with the plantar fasciitis

The week after the race, I was really achy and sore. My knees hurt and my left hamstring was tight and tender for several days. The area right behind my left knee was also hurting again. And my heels hurt. The right one was only mildly uncomfortable but the left one was in agony. I felt like I was falling apart you guys. A steep price to pay for a sub-2:00 half that wasn’t even a goal race.

So I took last week to recover. I did a lot of stretching and icing and foam rolling. Monday, Wednesday and Friday I did some light lifting. I only ran as far and as fast as I wanted.

Tuesday: 5 @ 9:39
Wednesday: 3 @ 9:28
Thursday: 4 @ 9:49
Saturday: 5 @ 9:54
Total: 17 miles

This week, I feel a lot more like myself. I’ve done some harder miles and speed work but I’ll probably hold off on a double-digit long run this week and instead do 10 the week before the race, like I did last time. That strategy seemed to work well for me because it gave me a little extra recovery time (mentally as well as physically) but still allowed me that confidence-boosting longish run before heading back into race week.

The only lingering pain is in my left heel, which bothers me pretty much all the time. And standing barefoot on a hard floor (like when I’m cooking) really aggravates it. Ice helps and also feels excruciating at the same time. (But in the long run seems to help.)

The only time it doesn’t hurt, oddly, is when I’m running. It takes me about a mile or so to warm up and then the pain goes away completely and doesn’t bother me again until later on. My guess is plantar fasciitis, which I had years ago, and is consistent with what I’m experiencing now. I really haven’t done anything about it yet but I’ll start doing some PT and if it doesn’t feel better next week, maybe even – gasp – see the sports physician.

I did buy some new shoes– another pair of liquidation Kinvara 6s. The Kinvara 7s have been out a while but they’re still around 100 bucks and that shit is not happening. I refuse to pay full price for running shoes. I can’t.

But it was difficult to find my size in the 6s since they’ve been out of circulation for so long. The cheapest ($49) were only available in like, sizes 5 and 11, but I finally found some for $65 at jet.com. It’s more than I paid the first time I bought Kinvara 6s, but it’ll have to do.

Aaaaand I got a half-size larger. I went up half a size after Kenzie was born (for anyone who doesn’t know how much babies fuck up your body, being pregnant actually makes your FEET longer. I know.) and they were fine if I wore thin socks (which I prefer anyway), but the 8.5s feel so much better and I’m kicking myself for not doing it sooner. I also feel like something changed with the Kinvara 6 because my Kinvara 5s don’t feel nearly as snug in the toe. I could wear any thickness of sock with the 5s and I never had issues.

Anyway. My next race – the actual goal race – is November 5. I run the Monumental over and over again because even though it’s a pretty large race (probably close to 20K now), it’s incredibly well organized and the course is fantastic: wide roads, a lot of nice local landmarks and scenery, and it’s flat and fast. It’s also pretty damn cheap– I paid 50 bucks by signing up on New Year’s Day. (And the full marathon was only $60!)