26miler.com

Armed with a doctor’s prescription, I went to Kintec to have my feet checked. My family doctor thinks that I have a flat feet which contributes to the pain on my left foot. He thinks I need a custom orthotics fitted.

I knew it would be expensive and from what I hear, it’ll be somewhere in the region of $300 to $500, or maybe even more. Good thing my extended healthcare benefits covers that.

Yesterday, TS posted a comment with a link to a CBC Marketplace program (link here) that talks about some unethical practices in the orthotics industry. Pretty interesting stuff. That show made me feel somewhat wary going to Kintec thinking that they might just get me to get expensive orthotics that I do not really need.

Long story short, they could not conclusively find that I needed custom orthotics but did find other things about me … my left leg appears shorter then my right leg. LOL! Well, at least that seems the case from the rough approximation measurement they made.

Moreover, they also found that I had been using my off-the-shelf orthotics wrongly. You see, I should have removed my insoles before slipping in the Superfeet which I got from my physioherapist. They suspect that that might just be the cause of the pain on my foot I had when I run longer distances.

I like them, Kintec. At least they were honest people. So, they wrote an assessment and asked that I bring it back to my physiotherapist to check my foot and wait a few more weeks to decide if the pain goes away. If the pain does not go away, only then will they consider custom orthotics.

I feel like a ping-pong ball. Anyway, the foot felt much better today. I’ll try running again tomorrow. The 8K run is just 15 days away …

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

The right knee is doing very well the past few weeks but now I am having a new set of problem. This time it is with my left foot. The runs in the past two weeks had been particularly painful, some days more than others. The worse was when I laid off running for an entire week after having done 3.8 miles on the threadmill.

So, two days ago, I decided to go see my family doctor and he gave me a prescription to go see a foot doctor. I am going tomorrow. He thinks that the arch of my foot is too flat which really also what my physiotherapist was also saying. Well, I’ll see what the podiatrist say tomorrow. Looks like I am going to get fitted with custom orthotics.

I had never been running so much in my life. Maybe the constant pounding on the pavement the past weeks is really showing through my problem. I mean, it will never been a problem to me doing walking and all but running is an entire beast all together.

The only thing I am quite worried about is if I am ready for the 8K Harry’s Spring Run Off two Sundays from today. I am determined to make it to the finish line and does not really care for the timings seeing after all this is my first race.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

I actually started taking up running about 2 months ago. Back then, I know very little about running and running injuries. It was just running as long as I felt like and pushing to go the extra kilometer. I ignored the pain, thinking it will go away after a while.

It was 2 weeks after I started running when I felt a growing pain after each time I ran. It did not go away. So, I went to my family doctor who advised me to see a physio therapist. Oh, he also told me to stay off running and he seem very determined that I stop doing what I was doing. After all, he said, I am reaching my mid-40s very soon. He he he … I kept quiet and did not tell him of my desire to do the marathon.

I had never been to a physiotherapist before and was a bit skeptical what they could do. But after 4 weeks of therapies and lots of prescribed exercises at home, amazingly the pain went away. I used to hear cracks and felt a sharp pain on my knee cap each time I straighten my legs from a bent position. I also can feel grind under the knee cap too. That had almost all gone away. My last therapy was Thursday last week where I could do easily a 4 sets 3-min run plus 1-min walk on the treadmill.

The Physiotherapist put me on a 5-week run/walk program which I felt was too easy. She also told me NOT to think about doing something like a marathon and was even saying that the 10K Sun Run is a bit too much for a person like me.

Well, guess what … I am stubborn. I am going to prove my family doctor AND my physiotherapist wrong. I am still going to try to do it but I had learned one very important thing about running … and that is … the most important thing for me is to NOT get myself injured. In other words, it is more important for me to get to the STARTING line first than to think about the FINISHING line.

I felt great. As a matter of fact, today I did 7 sets of slow 3-min run 1-min walk. I felt my fitness level is a lot better these days compared to when I first started.

Tell me … am I foolish to aim for the marathon with a problem knee like that?

Bookmark It

Hide Sites