Over the last week I developed some pain in the ball of my right foot (probably metatarsalgia/Morton’s Neuroma, as I wrote about here healthunlocked.com/bridgeto... ).
So wether I was able to run my weekly 10k today as part of the HU Virtual 10k was a bit up in the air. I had planned to listen to the RunGo HUHM version, and using also the fabulous playlist.
I was then going to see how I was at 5k to see if I was going to run on.
How I addressed the pain was
- foot massage 😊
- running rest since Tuesday
- Injinji finger socks
- stole my husbands shoes which are the same as mine but the male version, a bigger size and with only one run in them as hubby still struggles with calf muscle spasms. So he tends to focus on strength workouts and walks with other shoes, and was ok to hand me down his shoes. I relaced them with parallel toebox lace technique to maximise toe space and heel lock to ensure a good tight fit for the rest of the shoe
So both aspects of monitoring my metatarsals and running in different shoes made me cautious to commit to the full 10k, and I was aware I might just have to be satisfied with a 5k.
But the biggest deciding factor was something completely else: 2k into the run I realised that although I had belted on my hydration belt and filled my waterbottles in preparation, I actually forgot to put them on! 😣 😖 🙄
I can run a 5k without water but 10k is too much, as my super slow Niko Niko speed means I’m running almost 2 hours for a 10k.
So I fear it was to be only a 5k.
But immensely enjoyed the music and the robot voices, and am now desperate to find out if the Teddybear (who dashed ahead to run with a group of girls) makes a reappearance, all exhausted and sweaty. I have a vivid picture in my mind… 🥵🧸🏃🏼♀️🤣
Thank you all for putting this run together. I might be able to attempt it still next weekend. But joining everyone for a 5k distance was immensely fun!
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CBDB
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Great your back out again. Glad your rest has helped. Lacing can make a difference, mines is bunions, You are a very determined person , you do as much as you can to help your injury , you stick with it. 👏👏👏 Your probably right on just doing 5 km with your feet being the way they have. Well done . I’ve been resting all week since Tuesday strained ribs , walking today. . 🙂
Thank you, yes. Prudent is probably a good word for that. The nice thing about running 10ks regularly now is that the 5ks feel so easy! And I’d love to expand to 10miles, just for the 10ks to feel that easy.
But I’ll have to make sure I keep my prudence to make sure my feet stay happy for as long as I run! (I feel Barefoot running shoes might be in my future… )
👍🏽 definitely. What i find more difficult is balancing my general health and well-being that I get through running with specific issues like this toe thing now.
I need to strike a balance between the two, as I feel so brilliant whenever I run regularly, and miserable when I don’t.
So we’ll see.
(For info: I am looking more seriously into toe shoes or barefoot shoes currently… it’s definitely something that I’m now thinking of. Did you say you had tried Saguaro barefoot shoes, by any chance? Their cost is lower and they seem to be an “entrance shoe” to barefoot and toe shoes)
Nope. I only have Merrell and Vivobarefoot in addition to the Vibrams. (And some Xero Huaraches, but they're definitely not cold weather shoes, and probably not safe to drive in either.)
Ha ha… I think the huaraches are a step too far for me! 🤣🤣 having said that, I’ve always have worn Birkenstock thong sandals in the summer, but definitely not for running 🤣🤣 (image: birkenstock.com/gb/gizeh-bi... )
Much too thick soles on those! 😆 And no strap round the heel.
I'm probably overdue a truly barefoot dash. My last one was about six months ago, and the previous one was about this time last year. Both were pretty short.
😳 .. if I do, then it’s fairly mild or at the beginning. So I’m pretty hopeful I caught it early and can address it via shoes. But it does sound like a runner’s nightmare.
I spent a _fortune_ trying to fix mine and actually foot exercises worked better than all the crap suggested by various "experts" pay attention to how your feet/ body feel.
Yes, i’ve been starting to tiptoe around the house, have a spikey massage ball under my working desk, do the hand fingers through foot finger yoga thing, and have to started including picking up pencils with my feet whilst at my desk. (Or scrunching towels)
Any other exercises you can recommend?
Thank you and yes will very much continue to pay attention to my feet.
Just keep moving them! Check mobility in big toes (stand up and see how high you can lift your big toe on each foot) if one is less than the other work to get them equal at least.
I also test individual toe strength by pressing each toe against a finger and work on any weak ones to bring them back up in strength.
I still get some minor ball of foot pain but I can live with it (would prefer not to have to!)
I found putting my feet on my shakti mat when watching TV was good to help speed up healing too.
Oh that's so annoying although it did take the decision out of you hands really.But still a good run and now you can look forward to having another go.
Yeah, they feel fine. Being able to consciously spread out my toes at times where I sensed my toes were starting to tell me something, that felt great. But it probably was also good to not run the whole 10k.
So if I get 2 shorter runs in this week, I might attempt a 10k again next weekend, feeling my way as I go. By then I should also have ran in the new shoes, so that’s one uncertainty less.
Ouch! poor you. Are you going to get someone to check your foot out properly for you? There are so many 'things' in your feet to go wrong. I wondered about metatarsalgia/Morton's Neuroma for a short while, but it turned out I had a stress fracture of the metatarsal instead 😢 (at least I was closer than the first physio I saw who said it was plantar fasciitis!!!!). Whatever it is, I do hope you find a solution soon.I did wonder if it was possible to restart Rungo part way through. If you really want to hear more I can break it up into chunks for you 🤣 or maybe you're just being polite and don't want to hear another word of it 😍
Thanks. Hmm.. I did think I had it pinned down quite well as 100% of description fit with symptoms. But now that you mention your experience with a stress fracture, I begin to wonder.
Running today was fine as well, as I had 4 days rest. And whenever I feel a slight ‘burning’ sensation in that area, just focussing on spreading my toes whilst running really relieved any heat sensation in that area. I can’t think this to be a stress fracture.
But if it reoccurs, I will go and see the physio.
RunGo: oh I searched the functions if I was able to start half way through, but couldn’t find any.
I don’t want to make more work for you, but I would run it in chunks if it were available.
I loved hearing it! It really feels as if we are all part of the same running community. And you and roseabi have a brilliant robot-interaction going on in this HUHM RunGo race! 🤣🤣👏👏
I'm sure it's not a stress fracture but it would still be good to know exactly what it is so you do the right things. I'll split that rungo up if it proves easy. I think it will be. 5,5,5,6.5?
Ohh wow!! 😍😍😍😍 Thank you! 🥰😘 (and if it is too much a hassle, don’t worry about it. It will then be a great motivation for me to go further for the future!)
OK. I have created one that starts at about 5k, another at about 10k, another at about 15k. They each go all the way to the end, but of course can be stopped early as you did today. They are similarly named (if you search for HU you should find them all or the links are routes.rungoapp.com/route/s...routes.rungoapp.com/route/J...routes.rungoapp.com/route/v... )I'm not 100% sure if the chopped ones will work with the comments at the right distance. I will try one when I get the chance to get out 😊
OK. I think I now have the run set up from 5k to the end. In the app search for 'HU autumn 2021 HM - part 2 (5k to end) - around Oxford' or use this link to open the route via the web routes.rungoapp.com/route/5...
So you can run from 5k for as long as you like. I will also try to do one from10k to the end, and another from 15k to the end.
Can you hold fire on the shortened rungo for now? I need to tweak it, but something keeps going wrong! I'm determined to get to the bottom of it .... Will get back to you, but maybe not in time for your run tomorrow!
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