Run. Stop. Run. Repeat.

   Yesterday I really wanted to avoid another one of those days when I only got out there for a long walk. Due to the p-fash, it had been about two weeks since I actually ran in anger and I decided to give this another go.

   I started off walking my normal 5K route with the hills. I walked pretty strenuously as a warm-up. When I got to the 1K mark I started to run. Co-incidentally, this is the part of the route where the hills kick in so whether this was a good idea or not, I'm not sure. I managed to make it through this not too badly and then I stopped running at the end of 2K, walking the rest of the way in.
   Back home I stretched and iced again and, all in all, felt pretty good.
   Later on that afternoon, however, I was out running errands and the heel was hurting like hell. Not only was it hurting but there was also this strange new strained sensation down the right side of the front of my shin. It felt somewhat like a light sprain. Walking on my heel alleviated the shin but aggravated the heel. Walking on my forefoot alleviated the heel but aggravated the shin. Not a good situation to be in.
   As per usual, I tried to analyze the source of this new pain. None of the likely suspects raised their heads but the wildcard in all of this was the new orthotics. Yesterday was the first time I'd actually run in them and it seemed likely that the subtle change they presented might have been the most likely cause of this new painful sensation. By the end of the day the pain had lessened somewhat and once again I found myself waiting til morning. It was hard, though, not to be just a little discouraged last night.
   Today---slightly better news. There was very little unmanageable pain in either the heel or the shin. As far as the shin goes, the new exercises Dr. Dombroski has me doing might also have partly affected it. He has me doing a range of motion exercise which involves carving out the letters of the alphabet with my toes and forefoot. This helps stretch the plantar fascia. It also serves to provide a bit of a workout to several other tendons, ligaments and muscles down there which normally might not have received this. It has occurred to me that the shin discomfort might have had something to do with my whole foot being asked to do things it wouldn't normally be asked to do.
   Tomorrow I go in for my rescheduled GAiT assessment at SoleScience. I got a bit of a taste of what this was all about last week and I anticipate a pretty interesting blog post about it. Later this week, I've got follow-up with Dr. Dombroski wherein we'll discuss both the GAiT assessment and, basically, how the new orthotics are working out.
   It was nice to be out running again yesterday, even if it was only a kilometer. With the warmer weather (finally!) there are runners out there everywhere and I sure want to be joining them on a regular basis as soon as possible!