The moral of my story is: listen to your body

I started running this summer. In prior years, I have flirted with the idea of running, but these last few months I really stuck to a training schedule with a specific 5K race in mind. It has been great. We have had a relatively cool summer here in New York, so it has been glorious to run outside. My daughter loves the running stroller, and I usually take her with me. A few weeks ago, I was finally able to run 3.1 miles without stopping. Although I wasn’t thrilled with my time, I was feeling pretty good and proud of my progress.

Then, I got my new sneaker inserts.

I have previously written about the importance of proper footwear during exercise. Since I had been working out a lot this summer, I decided that it was time for a new pair of sneakers. I stopped by Foot Locker when I was in NYC and told the saleswoman that I wanted the exact same Asics sneakers that I had. Although she brought out the same shoes, she talked me into buying a new pair of inserts for them. I was in a huge rush to make my train back to the suburbs, so I agreed to buy the sneakers and inserts, without trying them on.

You can probably see where this is going.

My new sneakers were nice and clean and shiny, and I was so excited to start running in them. The first time I ran in them, they felt a little tight. I convinced myself that they just to be worn in. Then they started to hurt my feet. Again, I told myself that they would become more comfortable over time. I was too lazy to dig out my old sneakers and inserts. I continued to increase my mileage despite the discomfort.

After a long walk last week, I took off my shoes and had tremendous heel pain in my left foot. Ouch. I initially thought that it was plantar fasciitis, which I have dealt with before, but now I believe that it is some type of overuse injury. I have no pain unless I am active on my foot.

This is the problem with foot injuries: there is no way for me to rest my foot. I am on my feet all day long, and lead an active lifestyle. My sanity and much of my daily social interaction hinge on my ability to exercise.  Further, my daughter doesn’t sit still, ever, and I spend most of the day chasing her.  Clearly running is out of the question, which simply sucks. My race is in 2 weeks and I have no idea if I will be able to run it. I have been able to do some exercise with modifications, but it is limited. I never thought I would miss the sound of my feet hitting the pavement while out for and early run, but I do. I am trying to rest my foot as much as I can while keeping up with my daughter. The new inserts have been removed and put back in the box. My foot seems to be healing, slowly.

Injuries happen. I have been through this before, most recently last year when I broke my foot. What drives me nuts is that I knew that the inserts were hurting my feet but I continued to run on them. My body was telling me that I was hurting myself, but I completely ignored the voice screaming in my head.

As Nietzsche said, “there is more wisdom in your body than in your deepest philosophy.”  I have always believed this to be true, but my experience reminded me how important it is to actually listen to what my body is saying. I encourage you to do the same.