Smiles on a rainy day

It's been a miserable day, cold and raining. I've spent a couple of hours sat in traffic (the junction of the M5 where a bag of bones has been found didn't help me much) and the rest of the day sat in a cold hotel conference room doing a revision course for my senior reporter exams and probably failing some mock exam papers (I may have suggested in one of my reports that a lighthouse - in the middle of the sea - was to be turned into a museum. Don't ask me how).

It is days like today that you need a bit of a pick up - and it came in the form of Dom and Liz at work texting me as I sat in a lecture saying "well done". For what? They then explained that I'd made it to the shortlist for some trainee journalism awards (grandly entitled the NCTJ awards for excellence! ooh er) for a couple of stories I've written this year (obviously not the lighthouse one) - which put a great big smile on my face. I'm the kind of person that likes to get a bit of encouragement, which can be hard in a newspaper environment where a lot of the time you learn from mistakes and sometimes don't get much positive feedback - so this is just the pat on the back I needed to make me feel, yes I can do these exams and yes - I can do my job! I'm making a big deal of the being shortlisted part - because I am pretty sure I won't win my category, so I might as well bask in this little but of glory. Why not?

More relevantly to this blog, I also have a smile on my face this evening because I did another 15 minute run, and my bad-ball-of-foot is ok, even if once again the rest of my feet KILLED. I lay on a mat doing my stretches afterwards, inwardly sobbing with the throbbing pain... which lasted about.... well, a minute. I'm not convinced that it will be perfectly ok from now on, I am trying to take it really slowly. Come on foot, you can do it.

Step forward?

Just been to the gym to do 15mins on the treadmill, a slow jog. It felt ok - the ball of my right foot (where I have been having problems) felt alright, maybe a little achey but I think that's just because I'm super-sensitive about it. HOWEVER. The rest of my feet were really not happy!!! The podiatrist did warn that the insoles might feel a bit strange, but they have felt fine when I've been walking/cycling/playing tennis in them. Running is obviously a different ball game, and although they feel fine now, at the time and immediately afterwards they were really uncomfortable. I think the lump in the middle of the insole will just take a bit of getting used to.

Next stage... will try a little run on Wednesday evening. Right now - dinner!!

Shepherd's Pie... not quite what mine looks like

Time for another go!

I haven't been blogging because I haven't been running. I got my new insoles - swanky carbon fibre on the heel, with a big round bump in the middle just before the ball of the foot. I have been wearing them in a bit, the only shoes I have that they fit in are my trainers so I wear them around the house and whenever I can and have been wearing them for other sports - gym classes (I started going to a few at my gym to motivate me a bit... including a body-breaking "body conditioning" class involving an hour of weights exercises - I was left in agony for a week after the first one, unable to walk up and down stairs or lift my arms above my head!) and tennis lessons (Matt joined me up to the tennis club down the road for my birthday and now I'm having group improver lessons which I'm loving... slowly improving enough so that I don't have to apologise after every ball I hit!).

It's hard to tell if it is helping. But now it's probably time to start running again - so tomorrow's the day. Once again, the fingers are crossed. Hopefully the rest over the last month from running will have helped some more. I'll start with 15 mins and go from there...

Thank you to everyone who has been getting in touch with messages of support - it means a lot. Dan, I hope I don't have to take your advice and see the sports specialist guy, but if tomorrow is no better maybe I will.

Send my foot some good luck thoughts!!!!!

shhhhh

I'm a bit tentative about writing this... in case it jinxes things... but I went for a run last night, 10 mins on the treadmill, and (I'm whispering) my foot did not hurt. Today, my foot has not hurt when I've walked around. Could things be improving?

My feet are a lot better off than Matt's anyway - he did an amazing 1:28:51 half marathon run - but has two black little toes and is hobbling around with a huge burst blister in the arch of one foot. Ouch. The event was really good, it was a great day to be a spectator. I watched the start, then went to Queens Square to watch at the 10mile point, then watched the end. I couldn't believe just how fast people were running that crossed the line in the first 90 minutes. I saw the Bristol woman who won, Claire Hallisey, cross the line - with her coach or family member running along behind the crowds shouting at her that she had done really well. There was also a pretty inspirational guy running who had lost both legs beneath the knee and was running on blades - he did sub 90 mins.

Matt crossed the line, picked up his goodie bag and then as I walked to meet him he just lay down on the pavement, worrying me and the St John's Ambulance people quite a bit, but he was ok just knackered.

Maybe next time for me...

Two days to go

The Bristol Half Marathon is on Sunday, and I'll be there - not in my running shoes, but in my role as dutiful girlfriend. Matt's aiming for somewhere around the 1:30 mark, so not too long for me to wait around!!

I've been working nights this week, and the other night I did a job in Shirehampton. I drove out along Hotwells Road, then along the Portway - and felt really pissed off that I wouldn't be running it in a few days time. If my injuries allow, I think I'd love to do it next year, and maybe do one somewhere else in the mean time. But this foot of mine needs sorting first.

Since my last post, I have seen the physio again and the podiatrist, I'm getting some orthotic insoles made to see if that helps. But most of all I just feel a bit confused - I don't feel convinced that they know why this has happened. The podiatrist says it is genetic, the way my feet pronate, and that is putting extra pressure on the ball of my foot. He says my calf muscles and hamstrings are really tight, which won't be helping. I guess the more intense running has then sparked the injury off, but why now? I didn't get this when I did my last half marathon a couple of years ago, and I ran a lot then. I can't work out if my knee issues will have contributed or not. And most of all I'm not sure how my foot will get better - I have rested quite a while now but still whenever I run the pain is there, just less. Will insoles really help?

Finally for this post... the latest on the compensation claim. Went to see a psychologist yesterday to get an assessment, which went fine. Getting there, bit by bit!

No half marathon for me

After a week's rest, I did ten mins onthe treadmill yesterday and... my foot started hurting again. I haven't had a problem all week, I've even done long walks (with my 6th toe) and felt fine. But I think the half marathon is a no go, unfortunately.

Hopefully physio/podiatrist will sort me out, I now have to decide whether to keep going with the running once I'm fixed and try and do one in the future or whether I should focus on other ways of keeping fit - maybe running's not going to be the best option for me. I'm torn between wanting to finish what I set out to do and wanting to avoid injury and enjoy sports other than the running...

Needless to say, I'm feeling quite deflated, can't motivate myself to get to the gym even to go on the bike - just can't be bothered!

Keep all fingers and toes crossed

I'm off to the beach for a week (week long birthday celebrations!) and will be resting more from the running. Upon my return I shall be injury free and ready to go (that's where the crossed fingers come in)

Will be back on the blog when I'm home...