Like that of Constantine, my Arch Collapses!

Sometimes I am so clever, I amaze myself. And by clever, I of course mean glib. If Tom Cruise were here, he’d chastise me more than poor Matt Lauer on the Today show. But then I’d also be about 14 inches taller than Tom Cruise and wouldn’t be able to hear his squeaky dwarf voice from my height.

ANYWAY, my arch pain, which may or may not be plantar faschitis (according to WebMD I could also have a fracture or stomach cancer or fluid on the brain because the symptom checker hides your actual malady amongst the worst possible diagnoses), went away by yesterday morning. However, it was hella painful on Monday, and I could feel some twinging yesterday while running and then a little more before bedtime. However, I was good about icing it and I popped an Aleve for good measure. It’s felt fine today, so I’m confident that with the proper orthotics, things will be fine.

Problem is I went to Wal-Mart and bought some insoles only to discover that I had to remove the insoles in my shoes. Unfortunately, they don’t come out! So I put the new ones in anyway but my foot is cramped. So I have to take those back and regroup.

One option is to return to Wal-Mart and buy a heel insole that also provides support to my arch, but there again the problem of taking up too much space in my shoe comes up. I could go to a specialty running store up near Hopkins and get their input about removing my insoles, etc. However, I imagine that they’ll tell me “these aren’t the right show for you to be running 20 miles a week in. You should buy a new pair of shoes from us.” At which point I will probably buy the most expensive pair I can find because I’m an idiot. So, I think what I need to do is take the shoes up to the running store and try to get insoles for them. I don’t want to buy another pair of running shoes when I have a pair that’s comfortable and fit me well and that I just bought two months ago. They’ve got another 500 miles on them, I reckon.

But, if I can’t get insoles that fit properly, my only option may be to buy a new pair. The alternative is an increasingly painful arch after each long run and eventually after every run and for the day afterwards. At some point, my foot will start to have long term damage done to it and there’s little chance of being able to run long distances like a half marathon or full marathon with a hurting foot.

SO, I am debating whether it’s worth taking today off from running to go to the running store and potentially blow $100 on another pair of running shoes. Another piece of good news: because I registered for the Baltimore Running Festival in October, I get 15% off any purchase at the store. So, really a $100 pair of shoes would only be $85…but that’s still about $30 more than what I paid for my existing adidas shoes.
We’ll see how this works out. Annie works until 10 tonight so I have plenty of time to head up there and get this worked out tonight so I have comfortable shoes for this weekend.