New Personal Best!

Yesterday, I beat my personal best!! Yay!!

A 1m: 52s improvement from the last!! Small Steps! Everything can be done in small steps!

I owe a part of this improvement to Dr.Blake. I found his site while surfing around for advice on my foot condition (Accessory Navicular Syndrome, flat feet, collapsing arches etc.) and decided to write him in, and he replied with some advice which helped me tremendously during my workout yesterday. If you are having any foot or ankle problems, do go check out his sight because he addresses quite a number of conditions and gives recommendations. 

I did not feel the pain I usually feel when I run. 

So,the things he recommended and I attempted :

1.To heat up my insoles which are "Sole" brand for a more custom fit of my foot (though I knew these could be heated up, I didn't do this when I got them, cause it said you could either heat it up, or just wear them straight away and they would eventually form). 

These insoles provide me with the arch support I need, and I find these are the best insoles around so far, as I have tried many different types. I got them from Running Lab in Tropicana City Mall, the ones I got below costed RM169. These insoles have reduced the pain I feel in my foot by a huge margin. 

These are the pair which I got, they are called Softec Response Heat-Moldable Orthotic Arch Support Insoles which are for people who have plantar fasciitis ( a condition common for people with flat feet or low arches) or for people who need extra support.

2.As I was worried about the heel blisters I was getting which was getting to be quite painful ( a common thing to occur when you change your insole from the original one for support because it is thicker).He recommended to use BodyGlide on my heels, however I am not too sure where to find it here so I looked online for alternatives, and most of the results said to try Vaseline, which I tried and it work.

Of course in addition to this, I also bought anti-blistering socks. Which I picked up from Athlete's Circle in Jaya One. I believe they were call Wright Socks, as below. A pair of these are about RM50.

Double layered socks to prevent blistering.

3. He recommended taping my foot with either Kinesiotape or Rocktape, to provide arch support. I do not know where to find kinesiotape, but Rocktape can also be found at Athlete's Circle and costs about RM60 for a roll, which can last pretty long. There are a variety of patterns and colours, which I find quite cool as below :

But the shop didn't have the purple colour one, which I really wanted, so I decided to go with Black.If anyone sees purple RockTape out there, please do let me know where I can find it in Malaysia. 

Now, I am not too sure how this RockTape actually works, but it has something to do with the lifting of skin away from the soft tissue and it is supposed to accelerate blood flow, reduce swelling, strengthen muscles and other things. You can read more about it here. Once you apply this tape on your foot, you can leave it on for 5 days, if it doesn't come off before that. This kinesio type tape can be used for a number of purposes eg. Shin Splints, Knee pains, Thighs etc.

Anyway I followed Dr.Blake's method for taping for Arch Support as below :

There are many other ways to tape for arch support which I have watched on YouTube. I will slowly try these and see which one fits the best. 

But the taping really helped me a lot yesterday. My pain was almost to a point where it was non-existent during my run, and I didn't get the burning sharp pain I usually get after running. This I guess added together with the more comfortable fit of my insoles helped. 

So there, these three things helped me push myself yesterday, and it worked. Now, that I have sort of sorted out the issue of the pain in my foot, he has told me to try to find an every other day running distance that does not seem to push it too far and cause pain. And to stay at that distance for 10 runs and if all works out increase by 10% the next 10 runs, and so on. This I will definitely do. I find it so awesome that there are such helpful people out there, his advice helped me instantly boost my personal best time. 

Oh he also recommended to get either the Brooks Ariel, Brooks Addiction or Brooks Adrenaline shoes, which I checked out online are shoes that have really really good support, which is something I definitely need, however these do come at quite a high price and I am not even sure they have them here, the Ariel one seems like the one I need. Those shoes would be an investment. But anyway,  I shall make do with what I have now, and see how it goes. 

When you have a problem, find the source of it, and fix it. You won't regret going through the trouble or going that extra mile. 

The absence of the excruciating pain during my work out has really motivated me to keep going and keeping pushing myself. I admit the fasting month, did bring me down because I could not do the workouts as often. But now it is ending, and it is time to get back on track!

I feel motivated to give it my all again. Beating my personal best makes me want to beat it again, but slowly of course. Small steps! I will not give up on this, I will keep going. Today, I could fit into a skirt which I have been trying to fit into ever since I started working out. I have been trying it on constantly, and have never been able to close that buckle. 

Today, I could close that buckle and wear it to work.

Small steps.

Visit to the Doctor

So I have finally visited the doctor, an ankle specialist at KL Sports Medicine Centre which was conveniently located near my office, and I finally know what is wrong with me after so many years of  saying "my ankle is painful".

Verdict : Accessory Navicular Syndrome
Meaning : I have an extra bone in my foot that is holding my Posterior Tibial Tendon, it is quite uncommon and most people do not have it. Unfortunately however, I have been blessed with it.

 Above is what the doc drew out for me. 

The first image shows a normal persons foot. The navicular bone connected to the posterior tibial tendon.

The second image is  my foot. It has an extra tiny bone (the "accessory bone"), and that tiny bone holds my posterior tibial tendon, and connects to the navicular bone. The connection between these two (in red in the picture above) is now inflamed and irritated because I have been pushing myself with the walking and running. Below, the x-ray of my foot. In the circled part you can see the tiny accessory bone.

This has been the reason of my sharp pain! My previous post I circled the exact same spot, and now the x-ray and I finally know the cause!

Anyway, this condition is common with people who have flat feet and fallen arches, both of which I have.

So what is the treatment? Well the doctor told me I have to do a few things :

1. Wear my Arches CONSTANTLY! (something which I have not really been doing at all even though I have them)- I need to get proper arch support shoes for my daily use, and make sure I put the arches in whenever I run. These arches give relief to that area. 
2. As for the immediate problem now,he gave me this gel to rub on that area and also he told me to ice my foot to reduce the swelling. He told me to take it easy on the running for a few days and rest my feet. He said I can still run if I really wanted to (but I shouldn't), but I absolutely have to wear my arches. He kept stressing that they are incredibly important. 
3. I would need to go for some Physio therapy as well to strengthen my ankle etc. 

So yeah, these are the 3 things I have to do. The best thing tho, when I asked him if I would have to give up running for good, he said I don't have to!!! YAY!!!

He said I just gotta take it a little bit more easier and to not push myself too much and to wear arches.  

I am so relieved. :) I still have to take it easy the next few days, which kinda bums me out cause I got the jog for hope this Sunday which I am quite excited for. I will do that slowly, with my arches!

I was so scared in going to the doctor in fear of finding out that it is something extreme and I would have to give up running, but I am happy now that I know what it is and it is treatable.