So I've been waiting for months for the first running event to be allowed to take place under Covid rules, and I have painful foot for no apparent reason! It's been x-rayed and I have a suspected stress fracture. As a precaution, I have to wear this massive boot! Really upset - just waiting for a definite diagnosis so I'm really hoping it's just a soft tissue injury.
I had actually been resting a bit as we've done so many long runs and the 10k Chilly at Castle Combe was coming up on Sunday 11th April.
Drove to Uley with Saul and did a nice run to Dursley for a change last Tuesday 6th April. This was quite short too - about 7k.
Really sweet baby goat hiding behind the bushes along the way!
Then on Wednesday Saul wanted to go to Bath (our home town) so I thought I would do a run around where I grew up around Fairfield Park with the lovely view of Solsbury Hill. Didn't take long to get there at all from Vicky Park - really surprised!
I miss the views across to Solsbury Hill. It was such a familiar sight from our house.
Then headed towards my old junior school, St Stephens, at Beacon Hill and Richmond Common.
And that's when the nagging pain in my right foot (not my usual left foot problem!) got a lot worse!
I carried on running towards the town centre, still in pain but it was bearable. I didn't think it could be anything serious as I hadn't fallen, knocked it, etc. and I'd only run about 6k.
Decided I'd had enough by the time I got to the Abbey Churchyard because my foot was so uncomfortable. Stopped for a coffee at our usual baguette takeway and called Saul to arrange to meet and drive back home. My foot was REALLY sore walking back up to the car, but I still didn't think it could be anything serious, and I was definitely still going to do the 10k on Sunday no matter what!
Limped past The Circus and Royal Crescent, and met Saul at the car in Vicky Park. It was really busy as Covid rules had been relaxed a bit so the play area was absolutely heaving!
Took some painkillers when I got home and gave my foot a good rest with fingers crossed for Sunday. The painkillers seemed to work so I just did a very short, relaxed run the day before (Saturday) to see how it went. A bit sore, but not too bad. Definitely up for the 10k with Rory, even if I am dosed up with painkillers!
Bit nervous at the start of the 10k last Sunday - it had been a long time since we had been allowed to take part in an organised event. This was really important to me and I was determined to be there. My foot felt a bit sore at the start and I was really worried that it would gradually get worse. But it didn't - it just felt the same. Miraculously I lost three minutes off of my previous time at Castle Combe and achieved a personal best at just over 58 minutes! Very painful afterwards but I was expecting that and it was worth it!
I felt confident that it was just a bit of tendonitis or something and I just needed to rest. I was so glad that I had managed to take part and finish with such a good time! So nice to be out in the open air with other people!
Still very painful the next day so I thought it best to see if I could get it x-rayed just in case. Luckily I didn't have to wait to long at Stroud Hospital as I was the only one there when I arrived. Nothing obvious showed up on the x-ray, which was a relief, so imagine my disappointment when I got a message from the hospital this morning (Thursday) to contact them. They had found something on the x-ray. I was devastated. I knew that a fracture would mean at least six weeks of rest and I wasn't really in any severe pain. I'd run a personal best on it for goodness sake! Running had kept me going through Covid and Saul's depression, kept me in touch with Rory, and had given me something to aim for and focus on.
I'm now strapped into a 'boot' as a precaution, unable to drive let alone walk or run, and have to wait until next Monday when the fracture clinic will be able to confirm whether or not it is a fracture.
I really, really hope it isn't.
Please consider donating to my JustGiving Page at https://www.justgiving.com/team/Sues45mileultra . These charities provide life-saving support for so many people in crisis. Please also consider signing up to my blog as I would really appreciate some feedback.
Many thanks for reading. Sue
Comments