Step 1: Mission Accomplished

After yesterday's adventure at the hospital, I still had my appointment with the podiatrist this morning to see if he could help me out. And I feel pretty good about it. He gave some good explanations about what was most likely happening in my leg, and even some things that can be done about it. The bottom line that he noticed is that I do, in fact, overpronate something fierce. And the running all on one side of the road -- that was dumb. But I'm not in any acute pain right now, and it doesn't look like I've done any real damage.

And the most important thing? I can go back to running. Gradually. And I'm probably going to be even more cautious than he wants me to.

So, when I feel up to it (tomorrow or Thursday, depending on how the burn on my leg feels), I will be heading to the gym to run on the treadmill for a mile and reevaluate after that. I may be able to go up to two, but he told me not to go any farther than that. And yes, Chuck -- he told me not to run on roads if I can at all help it. And, in other news, I will be skipping the long run this week, also, to make sure that I'm happily ready to resume later.

The other outcome was that I'm getting orthotics. Nice ones. Way better than the over the counter ones. At least, for what they're charging me, it better be the best damn feeling in the world. But they should also be a big help. The only downfall is that the doc told me not to go get the new shoes until the orthotics come in (in two weeks -- my follow-up visit). I'm disappointed in that, but I won't be running very far until then, so it'll just have to do.

I'm just happy I can do something running-related again. Hooray!