Brian’s fitness journal after a brain stroke
I’m a little worried about my heel.
When I first woke up this morning, I immediately noticed that my left heel was unusually tender. Even my half-awake trip to the bathroom was considerably more uncomfortable than it had any right to be.
Since I still had another hour or so before my alarm, I went back to bed hoping that a little extra rest might magically solve the problem. Unfortunately, my heel hadn’t received that memo.
When I got up again, it was still sensitive. I considered skipping my run, but I decided to give it a try. I hoped the discomfort was just stiffness and that once I started moving, everything would loosen up and return to normal. That was optimistic.
I headed onto my usual trail, but instead of improving, the discomfort continued. After about three kilometers of what was becoming less of a run and more of a partially limping negotiation with my left foot, I finally admitted defeat. I turned around and stopped the run. I’m disappointed that I wasn’t able to finish, but I’m more concerned about whether trying to run on it made the problem worse.
Right now, one possibility we’re considering is that my running shoes had simply reached the end of their useful life. Running shoes don’t last forever, and sometimes they start losing cushioning and support before they look particularly worn on the outside.
Whether the shoes are actually responsible, however, I don’t know yet. For now, the plan is simple: give my heel some time to recover and see how it feels over the next few days. If it isn’t back to normal by Friday, I’ll skip Friday’s run.
Running has become such a regular part of my routine that skipping a run on purpose feels strange. But there is little value in completing one workout if doing so turns a minor problem into something that keeps me from running for weeks.
Today provided the other half of that lesson. Sometimes perseverance means continuing. Sometimes discipline means stopping.