I am a 30 year old former Marine who sat behind a desk to long and got fat. Last year I became interested in running tri to fix that. I saw the xterra series and thought it would be fun so I trained a little in the late summer and did my first sprint distance in september. INSTANTLY HOOKED.
I tried to train during the winter preparing for this season. I figured I would stay with the sprint distance xterras this year. About January, I was diagnosed with a double hernia and had surgery in March. About 4 weeks ago, the doctor cleared me to train. I was excited and overdid my first few weeks instead of base training like I should.
I have been having heel and ankle pain since the first week back. I haven’t been to the doctor but all the symptoms match what I have seen on this board regarding Plantar Fasciitas.
I have been doing the stretching recommended in all the medical books. I also stopped running and biking a week ago today to rest. Although it has diminished a lot, the pain is still there if I don’t keep the Ibuprofen going. I have continued to swim and do upper body work at the gym.
My first race of the year, thanks to surgery, is on July 12th. My question is simply, do I need to go to the doctor? Can I train lightly with pain reliever if necessary in light of the fact that I am only training for sprint distance? Does it hurt to train on the bike, Swim and Gym if I lay off the run?
First off, I thought that there was no such thing as a “former Marine”
While not a doctor, nor do I play one, I disagree with stopping running with Plantar Fasciitas (PF). This is one of those afflictions that you can, and maybe should, run with. I’ve had this a few times before and have done a butt-laod of research on it. Here are a few things that I’ve found:
Check your shoes. You’ve probably over-ran your running shoes.
Calve stretches several times a day. About a minute on each side x 10+ times a day. Very important after a run.
Keep a water bottle in the freezer. After a run roll the frozen bottle under your foot for 10-15 minutes.
Base training is the key to preventing a lot of these injuries. Take a hard look at what you are doing in the off-season.
I feel your pain, well not entirly, but sorta, ok? The ankle makes things interesting. My first guess would be you sprained it, but having a background in the marines I’d tend to guess you would know if that was it. You may have seen an earlier post about a frustrated gopher, if so you know what kind of problems I’m having. What symptoms are you having? Plantar Fascia seems to usually bother the whole foot with pain sometimes in the heel but not in the ankle. Also If it is bothering you on the bike I would wonder if it joint related. Maybe? As for seeing the doctor, if you trust him, do so. If you are in my boat though, with an iffy doctor and already frustrated I would just try to slowly get back to running and biking, maybe try pool running. Upper body weights aren’t going to do a lot from triathlons, they may actually hurt your swimming. Try to do a few leg exercises that don’t hurt your foot, but that will help your biking.
I would recommend that you go see a doctor because, 1) you don’t know for sure that it’s plantar fasciitis and 2) if it is, she can prescribe you some major anti-inflamatories which will help it heal faster. I had that last year and with the prescription anti-inflamatories, new shoes, rest and lots of ice it healed up in just a couple weeks. The prescription drugs are stronger than otc, easier on your stomach and you only have to remember to take them once a day.
I and a another of my training partners have a developed a similar injury with pain behind the outside of the ankle and around the heel. Mine was diagnosed as a Peroneal tendonitis which is caused by overusing the tendons on the outside of your leg to try and compensate for pronation of the foot. If thats what you have, try cross-friction massage (rub across the tendons behind the ankle) and freeze a dixie cup of water and rub that on the area up through the calf to reduce the swelling. Good luck.
I suggest you post your question on the forum at www.julstro.com. The forum moderator is Julie Donnely, author of “The Pain Free Triathlete.” She is very helpful with this sort of thing. Good luck!
