Now that my leg seems to be improving nicely, I’m looking for new races to run, mainly for charitable causes. My next race is scheduled for May 15 at 3:00pm: the Andrew Esparza Memorial 5k. Esparza was an Irving police officer who was killed on duty in 2007. This race raises money for a memorial scholarship fund in his name. It will start near Irving Bible Church, and a children’s carnival will follow. Jenny and the boys are planning to do the one-mile walk while I run. Want to join us? See below:

Registration

Carnival after the Race

More Info

On Saturday I ran my first official 5K race since October, and it felt great! This was only my second attempt at running that far since I began my new rehab program. My stamina still needs improvement, but I was able to meet my goal of breaking 30 minutes on a tough, off-road course with numerous hills and unstable footing. A bit of knee pain appeared toward the end, but I hope to prevent its recurrence once I start running in my new orthotics this week. Just being able to run a 5K again makes me happy.

The weather was gorgeous – mid-70s, clear blue sky, and a nice breeze. A beautiful field of Indian paintbrushes grew beside the course. About 175 runners finished the course this year, a record for the event. I was pleased to meet The Bartman, who posts comments here on occasion, and his family plus a few other mutual Internet friends for the first time. A surprising number of fast runners competed this year. By “fast”, I mean low-20s or better. The winner finished in about 19.37. He is 55 years old. I barely beat a man who was at least 65. He and I took turns passing each other for much of the race. If I make it to 65, I’ll be happy if I can run at all!

I plan to keep running three times a week for the foreseeable future, provided my legs hold up. I haven’t registered for any other races but will be looking. Thanks for all your support and prayers, and thanks to God and my medical team for helping me run again.

That’s exactly what my podiatrist told me, and she’s right. My long-awaited visit occurred this morning. Although I’m not healed yet, I think we have a solid plan to get there, and I’m very pleased.

I actually have a variety of problems (which I’m sure you already knew, but these are leg-related):

1. My feet are jacked up. I have some kind of foot deformity with a long, complex name that I couldn’t understand or remember. The outside bones aren’t connected properly to the rest of my foot, my feet are very flat, and they roll inward too much. When a normal foot hits the ground, the outside part hits first, and the rest of the foot rolls inward. That motion and the structure of the foot absorbs much of the impact. When my foot hits, it is already rolled in. I naturally hit the ground almost flat, which eliminates much of the shock absorption and causes problems higher in the leg. This must change.
2. My right leg is shorter than my left.
3. Perhaps as a result of #2, my right hip and knee make a weird twisting motion as I move.
4. Yes, I have been wearing the wrong shoes.

So what happens now? My treatment is threefold:

• Custom orthotics, which are special shoe inserts that help the foot work properly and correct any leg-length discrepancies
• New shoes
• Physical therapy to loosen up and align my right hip and knee

It might take several weeks to finish the PT and get the orthotics made, but I excited and hopeful. Time to go check out some races in May for my possible comeback…

Most of you have read about my love of running and my struggles to do it without pain. The last few years have been tough in that part of my life, full of pain, both literal and emotional, and much frustration. I repeatedly gave up on running, decided I couldn’t stand not running, figured out some new thing to try, tried again until it hurt too much, and gave up again. Seeing people running in the park or neighborhood always tweaked my heart and made me sad. I asked God over and over to fix it, asked Him why I couldn’t do the one type of exercise I most wanted to do, but never got an answer.

This week I decided to try something else and scheduled a visit with a podiatrist (foot and ankle doctor) who also runs marathons and is an expert in biomechanics. My appointment is scheduled for March 22. But as I did research and thought about my problem, I suddenly realized something, as if a veil had been lifted from my eyes.

A few years back, a guy at the running shoe store said I have a neutral gait, which means my foot rolls correctly as it hits the ground and absorbs the impact as designed. He based this assessment on the wear patterns on the bottom of my old running shoes and recommended a particular model for my foot type. I never questioned his assessment. Although my flat feet and the gradual increase in my knee pain with the new shoes should have raised red flags, I figured I just had a bad knee and had to live with it. My “sports medicine” doctor from about a year ago never bothered to look at my feet. He diagnosed me with ITBS based on my symptoms and assumed he knew the cause.

I think the running store guy was wrong.

If you actually look at my feet (which is hard to do to yourself), you can see that they badly overpronate, or roll inward too far, largely because my feet are so flat. Jenny confirmed this for me. I don’t know why I never asked her to check it before. With the shoes I’ve been wearing, my leg doesn’t line up properly and my feet don’t absorb shock properly, which can lead to pain and injury.

I think I’ve been wearing the completely wrong type of shoe for years now.

While I could be very bitter, instead I am filled with hope. The cure to my misery and answer to my prayers might be as simple as a different kind of shoe.

I’m trying not to get too excited in case I’m wrong. We’ll see what Dr. Crane says in a few weeks. I might also need special shoe inserts called orthotics or something else. In the meantime, I’m going to start strengthening my legs.

Hope is a good thing.