Trouble afoot

Or, my experiences with physical therapy and impatience

My positive attitude has left the building. Had a great PT session this morning where I learned how to strengthen the interosseous muscles and increase my limited range of ankle motion. Discovered that engaging my toes results in nearly pain free walking. The therapist encouraged me to engage my toes more when running, and cleared me to run under certain conditions (if pain was below a certain level, I wasn't changing my gait to compensate, and pace didn't slow by more than 1 min/mile). So, I laced up the trail runners tonight and went for a test run. It was far shorter than I wanted it to be. Pain free walking does not yet translate to running at a manageable level of discomfort. So, I am frustrated and impatient, missing running, and not excited about getting in the pool on cold mornings for more water running.

I am still relieved this is not a stress fracture, I have a plan and support for recovery, and I'm seeing some progress. This incident has exposed some structural weaknesses and given me the opportunity to address them before they devolve into more serious injury. Nonetheless, I'm a runner and I miss running. It's clear that I overestimated my body's ability to adapt to increased mileage with minimalist shoes. I also can't help but wonder what impact six months of hiking has had on my body. However, I am choosing to trust that if I do the work, I will get to the start line of my race.

Time to do my toe curls.