Recovering from an Overuse Injury
The long, frustrating road of healing from plantar fasciitis
Whether we’re in the midst of training for a race or just going about our normal lives, sustaining an injury can be one of the most agonizing experiences we endure — especially for athletes. Injuries shatter our plans, sabotage our goals, and can even hinder our ability to live a normal life. Even when we’re not in constant pain, the awareness of the injury lingers at the back of our minds, haunting us as soon as we take the first steps out of bed in the morning. As my friend so aptly put, injuries are like luggage; we carry them with us everywhere we go.
After returning from a month-long trip to Mexico, relaxed and rejuvenated, I was ready to plunge head first into my training for a 100-mile race scheduled for this July. Just weeks into my first training block, I developed a case of plantar fasciitis — a condition I’ve heard many runners complain about, but had never encountered before. It began mild, with just a bit of soreness in my left foot, but as I persisted in running through it, the pain intensified. Eventually, my runs became almost unbearable, and the plantar fasciitis spread to my right foot as well. At that point, I made the tough call to end my +6-year run streak and hang up my runners up for a while, giving my body the rest it needed to properly…
