Doctor's orders - no running!

Ok, after several months of increasing levels of discomfort I have got myself into a podiatrist this week to get this PF problem sorted. I was referred my my physio to Melanie Clarke at POD2 in Adelaide Arcade, and so far so good.
The initial consultation confirmed that I definitely do have Planterfasciatis, and she explained exactly how the ailment works and what I have been doing to myself over the last 5 months or so. Anyway, long story short and orthotics are required to correct the problem of my pronating to minimise & hopefully eliminate the PF problem.
She gave me a simple stretch to do before I get out of bed each morning and that is to lie on my back and tilt my toes back towards my shins for a minute or so giving the foot and pf muscle a good stretch. Apparently the first 20-30 steps we take each morning are important in terms of not reinjuring the muscle, as all the blood & mitochondria flow to the area overnight to do some repair work, and cause the muscle to constrict somewhat. If we then hop out of bed without stretching the muscle out again, it just does further damage. Anyway it has certainly made a difference to me as those first steps are generally the most painful of the day for me, but that stretch has reduced the pain by probably 20-25% over the last couple of days, so quite beneficial thus far.

So this morning I went in again and had my feet cast in Plaster of Paris in order to create the molds for my orthotics, and then dropped them off at the lab for a priority job. Good news is they can turn them around in 48 hours and I have an appointment on Friday to have them fitted. This means I can get used to them over Xmas and hopefully start to do some minimal running in January, because she has recommended no running until then as I will only do further damage/inflammation. It also means I can get a 2nd pair in Jan at reduced cost as my health fund allowance resets on Jan 1st, so that's good.
She is happy though with my intent to get back into running in early Feb and begin a 12 week program to get ready for the HM's in May, and feels I should be seeing some major relief by then. She is optimistic as I have responded well already to that simple stretch she has given me so hopefully the body responds well to the orthotics too. Early days but I certainly hope I am not one of those people who have to suffer with PF long term, half of this year has been more than long enough thank you.
So now that I am back in Adelaide and things have settled down on the job front I can now get back into the fitness program I had planned to strengthen my core and do some cycling, swimming, weights etc as well as some Pilates stretches my physio has given me.
To that end I have joined a local gym on a 12 month membership and plan to start the process tomorrow, so I will keep posted progress reports as i go.

Running wasn't it????

I vaguely recall posting something here occasionally, perhaps something 'bout running????

As you may have guessed, activity levels are far short of enormous at the moment. The last 2 weeks have seen about 2-3 runs of around 5k in length due to sore feet, working too many hours and drinking too much beer/scotch/bourbon etc.

So much for the best laid plans........

Struggling with pain in both feet now so have finally made an appointment with a podiatrist as it has been 5 months now with no significant improvement on the PF front and that is with a heavily reduced running schedule. Work has caused me to be off the boil a fair bit over the last 2-3 months but I will be back in Adel by Xmas and no more travel for a while so can get back into some type of routine again.

Can't see the pod until 18/12 so hopefully can have everything sorted out asap and orthotics etc delivered by late Jan in order to commence a 12 week training program for the Greenbelt HM in May. Still keen to get in good shape & moving well for both HM's in May, then all being well, an assault on the big one in August, but that's a long way off.
The last 3 months have been a bit of a write off in terms of my plan to maintain my base and improve fitness in other areas so will need to start fresh again in Jan.