Category Archives: Therapy + Injury

Today is the first day I could walk again without limping, discomfort, or pain. I didn’t know how much I took walking (and running) for granted until now.

After 25 days of wobbling like Erap, I can finally say good riddance to my cane and meds!

– I had to buy a cane in Megamall just to get around during the first week of injury. Our rolling computer chair came in handy too as my makeshift wheelchair hah!. Yes, that’s how bad it was –

– Arcoxia – my best friend in times of injury –

– Fastum Gel – I’d put this on my foot after hot compress twice a day –

Next goal: Trying to run again. (Insert sign of the cross here!)

I should have been in Phuket today.  Right this very minute, I should be running towards the finish line.

Or, I could have been participating in my 3rd triathlon, Animo Tri at Ayala Alabang this morning.  Lord knows how hard I trained for the swim portion of that race.

Or, I could have spent my Sunday morning the way I usually do for the past five years, running long and slow in the company of friends.  By now, we should be finishing up a run and heading for a sumptuous breakfast. I can almost smell the coffee.

But, here I am at home patiently waiting for my house guest, Morton Schmorton Neuroma, to get his lazy butt off our couch and head back to wherever he came from.

It’s been 17 days since my last run.  Yes, I’m getting impatient and frustrated. Ako pa?! But, swimming has kept me sane for the past week.  I’m not freaking out because I’m getting some training in with the swim.  At least, I’m not completely losing fitness.  But, there’s also something about the water that’s keeping me calm. Maybe it’s about following nothing but black lines from end to end in complete solitude and silence that’s given me some sense of peace.  Maybe it’s the fact that I feel I’m progressing with a new activity (I can swim 1k now with ease. Me? Who would’ve thought?) that’s distracting me from this long road to recovery.  Maybe I’ve finally matured as a runner and accepted the fact that there will be set backs like this every once in a while.  Whatever.  For now, I’m just going to be following those black lines under the pool and hope it takes me somewhere.

I consulted a new doctor today upon the advise of a triathlete doctor friend. I entered his clinic expecting the worst. I had mentally prepared myself for terrible news: a fracture, a shoebox cast, and no running for over 2 months. (That’s what I get for scaring myself with my own “expert” xray readings. Now I know I can never be a doctor. Sigh.) All I prayed for was permission to swim. That’s all.

You can imagine my surprise when, after pinching and pressing on the injured left foot, the doctor tells me: There’s no fracture. My guess is that it’s Morton’s Neuroma.

I was ready to jump for joy and pop the wine bottle to celebrate along with the birthday boy hubby and swim squad buddies Adel and Bic who came with me, but then, I had to stop and ask: Wait a minute. What’s Morton’s Neuroma? And, is that better than a fracture?

WHAT IS MORTON’S NEUROMA?

Runner’s World describes it as a “pinched nerve between the metatarsal bones in your foot.” Yes, it’s a nerve problem, not a muscle or bone problem.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?

It could be Morton’s Neuroma if you feel a tingling sensation in your toes (which I used to feel periodically after long runs) and pain in the ball of your foot which can lead up to your toes (which I feel now every time I take a step!)

HOW DO YOU GET MORTON’S NEUROMA?

– Wearing high heels. (Occasionally guilty)
– Wearing tight shoes while participating in high-impact sports like running. (Frequently guilty)
– You’ll be more prone to this if you have bunions, flat feet, or hammer toes. (Bunions and flat feet. Forever guilty)

HOW TO TREAT IT?

My doctor did this:
– He injected steroids and anaesthesia to relieve the pain
– He prescribed Celebrex and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
– He advised me not to wear my shoes too tightly
– He ordered rest from running for one week. If his prognosis is correct, I should be well in a week. If there’s still pain, he will order an MRI next week. (Positive thinking, guys!)
– And best of all, he allowed me to swim! Woohoo!

I would’ve done cartwheels in the doctor’s clinic if I could when he shared the good news. Or, if the hubby was not around, I would’ve hugged that good doctor after calling him “my miracle doctor” (which I really did!) No words could describe how happy I was—and still am—over this news.

For now, I am in full bed rest—well, until this evening—which is truly a major feat for me. I am relieved. I am thankful. And, boy oh boy, am I blessed to have the chance to run again soon.

C’mon sing with me and Kanye…

As much as I detest Kanye for treating Taylor Swift so rudely, I would have to admit that his voice—and that song of his above—has been playing on my mind almost the entire day.

What doesn’t kill me will only make me stronger.

As soon as we arrived from Bohol, I headed straight for an xray, the results of which I’ll present to Dr. Canlas tomorrow when I visit him. I’m no doctor, but I am freaking out over what I’ve seen below…

Does it look like a fracture to you? I’m trying to be optimistic about this, but it looks like I fractured my middle toe, doesn’t it?  Well, I can tell you this, it definitely feels like it.

After seeing the results this afternoon, I gave myself 30 minutes to be completely worried and depressed over this as I binged on a Starbucks oatmeal cookie and tamarind candies. After that, I took control and allowed Kanye to win me over.

What doesn’t kill me will only make me stronger.

What doesn’t cripple me will only make me a better runner.

What keeps me from running for now will only make me want to run even more.

Let’s see what tomorrow will bring.

It was time to flip the family calendar last night from one month to the next, an event that my kiddos look forward to every month as they get to choose which stickers to apply for upcoming activities. They have stickers for family trips, haircut, sleepovers, and more while I just pull out a thick, black pentel pen, search for the Sundays, and scribble the races I’m joining on that month.

Last night, as I was about to turn the page to April, I got the shock of my life. On March 1, exactly a month ago, I wrote down the two words every runner in the world dreads: STOP RUNNING. And, only then did I realize that it’s been a full month since I had completely stopped running due to my injuries.

I yelled in horror to the hubby, “Aaah, I’ve had zero runs for one full month!” He replied nonchalantly “What about Condura Half?” Oh yeah, forgot about that. Perhaps I should’ve said “I’ve had zero training runs for the entire month of March.”

Training runs are the runs I live for. While I have goal races, such as dream half or full marathons here and abroad, I believe it’s the regular runs—those solo 10k runs on the road or speedwork at Ultra—that keep me happy. I never could relate to runners who cringe at another long run or those who run to get the program over with so they can reach their marathon goal. I run because I just want to. If I don’t, I am incomplete.

Hopefully, I don’t reach my 2nd month Zero Runniversary. After all, I registered for Greenfield City Run this April 19.