I\’m Running Again!!

GREAT NEWS – I have been given the okay to run again! My foot has been feeling quite a bit better lately and I talked to my dad about running again and he said if it\’s feeling better, to ease back into it and not go more than two miles at a time for a couple of weeks. So, on Wednesday I ran on the treadmill nice and slow for about 20 minutes, just under two miles. I wanted to go two, but my foot started to get a little sore around 1.75 miles, so I decided it was better not to overdo it. It felt so good to run again! I never thought I would miss running, but you never know how much you enjoy doing something until you can\’t do it anymore. And three months without running is an awfully long time!

Last week, I got a second steroid injection in my foot. I had told the doctor that my foot did feel slightly better after the first one, but I was still in a lot of pain. He examined my foot again and poked and prodded it some more, and decided that if it didn\’t feel better a week or two after the second injection, that he did not want me to go straight to orthotics; but instead, I would have to wear a boot on my foot until the pain was gone. He said if it did come to wearing a boot, I would need to wear it for at least a month. I wasn\’t thrilled about that idea because I only have a little over a month left until the Cherry Blossom race! I prayed and prayed and went extra easy on my feet for the last week and a half because I was really starting to lose hope that I would be healed in time for the race. And it seems to have worked! My foot has felt ten times better this week than it has in several months and I am really excited to get back out there and run again – even if it\’s only short distances for a little while. On Wednesday when I decided to run, I was nervous that I would send myself right back to where I was at. I was a little sore for an hour or so after I ran, but I wasn\’t limping at the end of the day and I have felt pretty good since then, so I am confident I am on the mend. It\’ll be a few more weeks of slow, short runs, but that\’s okay. I decided a long time ago that I just want to be able to run the Cherry Blossom race this year. If I ever get a chance to do it again, I\’ll worry about my time then. I just want to have fun this time!

Unfortunately, even though I am on the mend, my dad and Nate are still in rough shape for the race too. Nate had shoulder surgery at the end of January, and only just got out of his sling on Friday. He hasn\’t done much for exercise other than walking for a month, and getting back into running will be a challenge for him as well. And my dad is also having foot issues and has started to go to physical therapy for his plantar fasciitis. He has been running, but his runs have been pretty short lately as well. My mom might be the only one truly prepared when it comes to race day! But that\’s okay. I\’m determined to still run it, my dad said even if he has to crawl across the finish line, he\’s going to do it, and Nate told me the other night the same thing; we are all going to get across that finish line one way or another!

My prayers, patience, and dedication to resting my foot has paid off; and even though it sucked and I hope I never feel this pain in my foot again, it really made me realize that I have to listen to my body. If it\’s saying: \”Hey dummy, this really hurts. Maybe you should stop??\” LISTEN!! Taking it easy is difficult for me to do, but if I were to have hurt my foot to the point of breaking it, or needing surgery, and was literally forced to take it easy, I would drive myself and everyone around me up a wall. Listen to your body before it\’s too late, because like I said earlier: you don\’t know how much you\’re going to miss something until you can\’t do it anymore!

Until Next Time! 🙂

Megan Reiffenberger