Footloose

I went to the podiatrist yesterday. It was a good visit and I'm pretty optimistic that my foot problems will be gone before too long.

I have bunions. There, my shame has been revealed. Unfortunately, I've had them all my life as the biomechanics of your feet are inherited. You know, your feet will eventually look a lot like your parents'. Anyway, my right foot has been getting pretty bad and bothering me a lot on my longer runs. And it was my right foot that was killing me during Chicago.

The doctor said I have pretty significant damage on my right foot. Actually, I believe the word he used was "deformity." And my bunion is only mild! But, because I'm only 33, and it's so bad already, I should expect it to only get worse. He said that being a runner has actually helped the situation because the joints in my foot are good, I have really good range of motion and that will help me should I opt for surgery. So all you naysayers and anti-runners telling me it's because I'm a runner that i have these problems: :P

So, that brings me to my next decision. Should I have surgery? It's a 3-month no-running recovery. Three months! Can you believe it? He said I can swim after 2 weeks and bike after a month. I mean, I have to consider my job. I am a running coach! I run with people! But I would hope my clients would understand that, as I'm standing there in a cast, I just can't run with them right now. But it's my expert advice people need anyway ;)

In thinking about it, there is really no perfect time to do something like this. But now is probably the most optimal time. I don't have any races on my calendar for the next year, I'm in good shape right now, which will help with recovery, and it would be good to have this done and me be recovered before we have another baby. So, *gulp* I'm going to have it done. I'm going to call my doctor today to set up the surgical consult and we'll go over all the specifics. Then, next year, depending on the situation, we'll do my left foot.

I feel all right with this decision. I mean, I'm not going to do a cartwheel or anything, but this is something that is going to be needed at some point in my life anyway. There are ways to manage the pain now, but they won't prevent it. Surgery is really the only way to rid myself of the pain. And if I'm diligent in my recovery, my doctor feels I shouldn't have any recurrence for something like 30 years. We'll see.

Now I'm going to puke.