It’s all right. I don’t need my left leg!

I have run for many years. I thoroughly enjoy it. Until recently, I ran no less than 10km and up to 25km about four times a week. I have been virtually injury free. It was my sanity. Then last July, I noticed a hard lump on my left foot, just below my big toe. The doctor told me that I had an unfused metatarsal, I was still allowed to run, but I was to try and think what might have caused it.
‘Oh, and by the way,’ he added. ‘Come back when your shoes no longer fit.’ I nodded and off I trotted.
Since then I have run regularly, but have found, that as I approach the ten mile mark, my toe feels like it is no longer attached to my foot. A slightly disconcerting feeling! This, coupled with the fact, I can now only fit into two pairs of shoes, (one of them trainers) I decided to go back and ask for further advice.
‘EWWW!’ was the doctor’s response when he saw it. ‘That doesn’t look very nice.’ I nodded.
‘That’s kind of why I have come back to see you.’ So now I’m awaiting an x ray and maybe an operation. Which, he assures me, probably won’t work. So I am still running. That is until four miles into my run today. It was lovely and sunny, the birds were singing in the sky and then ‘SNAP’.
That didn’t feel good, but hey, no pain no gain. My calf felt heavy and the pain was horrible. I hobbled to a stop, did some stretches and started to run. My calf was having none of it, and yes, I was at the furthest point from home I could possibly be. NOT HAPPY! So home I limped, pathetic and rejected. A hot water bottle, deep heat treatment and foot on a chair later, it’s still not working. I knew when I hit forty things might start not working as they used to, but when I then sprained my shoulder picking up the shopping I decided that perhaps I would be better taking up knitting!

~ by envisioningutopia on February 23, 2012.