Injury Update

So, I went to see the podiatrist last night - I really had no idea what to expect, but it was soooo much better than I thought it would be. He assessed my walk without shoes, with shoes and prodded around my shins to see if he could determine if I have a muscle injury, or a bone problem. At the start of the appointment he was quite upbeat telling me that his aim is to get me back in action for the half in two weeks, but after a poke around of my shins, he started to say things like 'well it's only a race, there are plenty of others you could do'. The prognosis isn't great - the pod didn't want to say I have a stress fracture until after we get xrays and bone scans, but it's what he was alluding to. He prodded both the muscle and the bone of my shins (it was quite excruciating in some places!!) and determined that the worst pain was along the bone of my left shin.

He also got me out on the footpath to assess my running style - no surprise he concluded that I run like an elephant! It's not the first time I have heard someone describe it as that - I tend to land very heavily and he thinks that has contributed to my injury. He wants to see me again next week and will give me some pointers on technique, which will be good!

So, the pod referred me to have some x-rays taken, which I did today at the local hospital. I have a referral to see the sports doctor at the clinic on Friday, so hopefully I will have a better idea about things then. I have read on the net that x-rays don't always show up the fractures, unless they are at an advanced stage - considering that I can walk quite normally, I wonder if it will actually show up anything. I guess we'll see!!

My left shin aches today after all of the poking and prodding - I can't decide if it's real pain, or just psychological because I can't stop thinking about it. You know when you just concentrate on one thing and it's all you can think about??? Well, that's me with my shins. I have pretty much talked myself out of doing the half now, which isn't great......if the pod says next week that I can do it, then I'm in a bit of trouble! Such a defeatist attitude, I know, but I really do think that I shouldn't run it - I think I could do the 10km - just for that sensation of running onto the G. It provides a bit of a dilemna, though - I really want to cheer on my husband who is running the full and my running buddy who is doing the half. A will probably take around 2 hrs for the half and S will take around 4ish hours for the full - what will I do at the G by myself for 2 hours until A finishes if I am not running?? I so want to see her start and finish, though - will have to bring a good book (and maybe a pillow!!).

This whole thing has made me rethink my running future - the easy way out (and the one I was going to go with on Sunday) would be to give up, but the truth is that I know I overdid it the weekend of that camp and I did know better than to not listen to my body, so this is something that just happened out of the blue because I abused my body and pushed too hard. I will be able to get back again and give this running thing a good try - oh and the other reason is that I have committed to the rather expensive treatment now (pod is talking about orthotics), so I will have to run my whole life now just to justify the expense! LOL