I’d Give My Right Foot…

… to have my right foot not hurt so damn much. It’s like the Gifts of the Magi, except with feet.

[insert inapropriate joke about foot fetishes here]

So, here’s the situation. About a week and a half ago, I went for a four mile run and at about two miles in, aka just about as far away from my house as I was ever going to get, I realized that my foot was killing me. I knew that this was probably not a good thing. So, I did what any responsible person would do and asked Kristian to come and pick me up. And then I ignored it. And then I bought some new running shoes. And then I ignored it some more.

Denial. It’s not just for Egyptians anymore.

I took about a week off from training and tried to keep off it as much as a person can do when they work a job that requires walking several hours a day. I also iced it and took ibuprofen. When I remembered to. Which wasn’t all that often. But, I most certainly didn’t go to a doctor. Who would almost certainly take x-rays and give me bad news.

Fast forward to today. When I finally went to the doctor. Who took x-rays.

** Cue ominous music. **

The bad news was… not so bad? I don’t have a stress fracture. I don’t have any type of fracture. My foot is not filling up with fluid. I don’t have anything hiding in my foot.

I got to see my x-rays. My bones are pretty sexy.

I didn’t ask for copies of my x-rays. In hindsight, this was a bloggy oversight of epic proportions. Oh well, there’s always the next time I hurt myself in some stupid way. Because we all know that there will be a next time.

The verdict is that I probably have tendinitis. Brought on by me slightly rolling my ankle at some point while running on the ice and snow. Because the people of Malden DO NOT SHOVEL. Not that I am INCREDIBLY, INCREDIBLY BITTER.

Ahem.

The prognosis is mixed. There’s not much I can do to speed up my recovery. But! There will be a recovery! That’s always a good thing. They didn’t forbid me to run, just told me that I need to stay to soft surfaces. I might not be 100% before my race, but they didn’t expressly forbid me from running in it. And I’m not going to seriously fuck my foot up like I would be if it actually had been a broken bone and I just kept running on it. Plus, I got vaccinated for both the seasonal flu and H1N1. And re-upped my prescriptions. How’s that for a productive visit? I’d say I got my money’s worth for that $15 copay.

Six x-rays, one shot, one nasal spray and three months worth of no-baby pills. Maybe next time I can sneak in an MRI or an EKG.

My foot? Hurts like a mofo, courtesy of all that poking and prodding. But it’s not broken. So really, it could be worse. I have a feeling that I’m going to finish my half marathon. Even if I have to do it all hepped up on ibuprofen.