I stepped through the metal archway over the entrance to Newtown Park in Bristol. I didn’t jump up and click my heels together but I wanted too. I had just walked from Bath, along the old railway path. I had walked pretty quickly and beaten the rain! I felt great.
This was early last year. The day before Mikey and I had walked from Bristol to Bath. Sensibly they had ridden the bus back. After that first day my feet hurt. But I decided to walk back. That had been the original plan after all, why change it now?
My feet hurting would have been a very good reason to change the plan. I didn’t think so at the time. My poor feet.
This story about my feet reads like a parable. It is a true story about how I treated my feet. You can draw your own lessons from it, if you like.
In the weeks after the walk my feet continued to hurt. It seemed like plantar fasciitis.
A couple of months later I joined a week long walking retreat. The retreat was amazing. We walked in silence through the beautiful landscapes of the Devonshire hills and the Somerset levels. We meditated together in the morning, and chanted together in the evenings. I weed into a bottle, and my feet hurt. When they hurt, I covered them in Compeed Blister plasters and walked on.
After the retreat I bought a pair of cloud slippers and a foot roller. I did all of the right stretches and exercises. It helped.
When the plantar fasciitis improved it became clear that I had probably damaged a metatarsal as well. I booked an appointment with a foot doctor and then I cancelled it.
I wanted to run! I looked up how to do that with a metatarsal injury. “Don’t”, said all the advice. “Rest”, said all the advice. I bought a special pair of trainers to reduce injury. I carried on with the stretches and exercise. I started running.
I literally opened the door and started running. I hadn’t ran for ages. I was now middle-aged. What was I thinking? I guess I thought I was still the same person who used to run regularly, with the same body and the same feet.
I hadn’t been that person for some time.
I should have built up my distance and pace slowly. I didn’t.
After a few runs like this I the pain worsened. Of course it did.
I stopped running. I didn’t do any long walks. I kept up the stretches and exercise and I rested. It became clear that I probably have some arthritis in my feet as well.
After months of resting my feet started to feel better.
Sometimes there is still the pain of arthritis. Sometimes my feet ache. But they do not hurt. The metatarsal pain has gone.
I still want to run! This time I will be careful. I downloaded the NHS Couch to 5K app. I knew that a lot of what had caused my trouble over the last couple of years was not building up pace and distance slowly enough. Both with the walking and the running. I am determined to pace myself properly.
Last week I went for the first run. The app invited me to walk at a brisk pace for five minutes to warm up. Off I went.
“I don’t usually get this far in five minutes” I thought, “it must be the brisk pace.”
After another few minutes I checked the app. It said I was a few seconds away from one minute of running.
I started running. One song on my playlist ended. Another song started and ended. Were these short songs? I checked the app. It said I was a few seconds away from the end of the first lap.
I kept trusting the app.
I discovered new paths. I passed fields of sunflowers, and hedgerows heavy with blackberries. I ran though a herd of cows. I was supposed to be out for less than half and hour, but I was out for nearly an hour. The timer on the app was completely broken. It was a beautiful run. But I was worried about my feet.
I didn’t run again that week. I am determined to pace myself properly. My feet were okay.
This week I downloaded a new app. It worked perfectly. The five minute warm up was actually five minutes. One minute of running was actually one minute. I didn’t get as far as the sunflower field this time. But I trust that this is sustainable.
I’m looking forward to next time.
Thanks for sharing