When my Bath HM bib number arrived on the doormat several few weeks ago. I picked it up and put it through a shredder without even looking at it 😥
The Bath HM is my nemesis. I’ve lost count but I think this might have been my fifth or sixth attempt to get to the start line. I’ve done several other HMs but this particular one eludes me. I got to week 4 of a HM training plan for this one and then had to ditch it because of an injured hip 🤬
But my DNS yet again has given me some pause for thought about my running and why I keep getting injured. I seem to have lurched from injury to injury since February 2022 when I hurt my back. It took ages to heal, then I had shin problems and the last hiccup, a hip issue. Grrrrr, I’m so frustrated.
Some of these injuries were my own fault and not necessarily running related. For example, I overdid an exercise that aggravated my hip, I ran long runs in shoes that needed replaced, I overdid it in the garden….. you get the gist.
But my recent hiatus got me also thinking that perhaps there’s something going on with my orthotics. Over the years I’ve been running I seem to have had an awful lot of niggles, pains and injuries. I’ve kept notes of each and every run I’ve ever done(yes I know 🙄) and there are loads of “right knee a bit sore afterwards, left ITB achey”, blah blah. I do all the right things and cross-train and do strength exercises but I seem to get injured very easily. Could it be the orthotics?
I’ve been wearing orthotics for seven years now and see my podiatrist every year for a check and adjustment. He is a big supporter of my running and is always very encouraging and, with his expertise, helped me achieve my first HM.
However. His offices are a fair bit away and so I can’t see him regularly. It is also hard to get an appointment for those “help” moments when something doesn’t feel right. I had to wait weeks for my last appointment and I was becoming increasingly frustrated with my shin problem and so I ……..*whisper* saw another podiatrist 🙀
This new guy is a sports podiatrist and comes recommended. He’s local to me too which would make a big difference. And he’s a runner! He seemed very professional and knowledgable. But here’s the thing. He gave me different feedback from my usual podiatrist. Two professionals with different approaches and different solutions. What should I do? For example, my first chap tells me that I have slightly flat feet. The second chap tells me I don’t have flat feet at all and that I don’t need so much support. The orthotics look very different. What do you do? Who do you go with?
When I started to recover from my hip injury and needed to ease back into running I thought it was a perfect time to try out the new orthotics. With my injury history I felt I had nothing to lose. So, with the guidance of my new podiatrist I started with 1 minute run/1 minute walk intervals and have built up from there. It seemed I was starting again with C25K!
I had double anxiety on every run because of the hip as well as the new orthotics. Will they be ok? Will they make things worse? I can’t say the runs were relaxing and I felt anxious throughout, but the longer I didn’t have any after affects from each run then the more confident I grew and the anxiety eventually disappeared.
On Tuesday I did a 30 minute continuous run. Whoop whoop! This was the longest continuous run I’d done since August and it felt fab 🤗 Today I did it again. Oops!
It’s a very slow comeback but I’m in no hurry. In a way, it’s like starting from the very beginning and I have everything crossed that these new orthotics will make a difference. To be honest there is still a little frustration. Earlier this week my husband and I drove along one of my long run routes. I sighed and said how much I missed the long runs. As my most faithful supporter, he replied, “you’ll get there”.
And you know what? He’s right. I will.
But you are strong, determined and you will achieve those goals.
A change of focus and rethink of goals...... possibly a HM 😁