My left foot

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Bo

I’ve recently been part of a team interviewing potential candidates for a position in the department. Scanning through CV’s and watching how different people use different skills to ‘sell’ themselves has been quite interesting to observe.

Some people pride themselves on their qualifications. Others attempt to impress with future plans of obtaining MBAs. But then there are those that have caught my attention just because they are so down to earth and ‘real’ that its easy to see how they have gotten to where they have, simply by having the right attitude.

I know everyone has heard the lessons about having the right attitude. But it’s when I came across some old photographs of my High School netball courts that some valuable lessons were remembered.

I’ll admit that I wasn’t exactly the strongest or best player in the team. I think for the majority of my high school years, I was the reserve for the B-side! But hey, I never gave up. I landed up playing quite a few games and that’s all that mattered.

We once played an away game at another school and I went with as reserve and landed up being asked to play. When we were changing in the locker rooms, I realised that although I had packed in my takkies, I had accidentally packed in two left shoes (yes, I had two pairs of takkies that looked similar).

My heart sank!

There was no going back and I had to play. The only person I told was my best friend and she giggled herself silly throughout the game as I ran around trying not to look like a total spaz with my two left feet. Nobody noticed (or if they did, no one said anything) and we went on to win the match.

In my humble opinion, sometimes the degrees and certificates you have are great. But often, it’s your attitude that determines how you approach life and see the world. It’s your attitude that makes you a winner.

Chatting to a Champ about my feet

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Bo

At the Jackie Gibson race on Sunday, I was strolling around the field, waiting for KK to finish his race when I happened to bump into top marathon runner and Comrades champ, Lesley Train. (LOL, I say it so casually, as if I know her!)

Lesley happened to be talking to KK’s bestie’s mom-in-law and as I walked up to the two of them, I was introduced to Lesley. I must admit, for the initial 10 seconds, I was a tad star-struck! I have watched Lesley on TV, I’ve heard the running commentators singing her praises, and here in front of me, stood this teeny tiny, bubbly woman.

Lesley was not running Jackie Gibson on Sunday due to a stress fracture and was expressing concern about the upcoming Two Oceans. I mentioned that I had pulled out of the half marathon race due to plantar fasciitis and it’s then that she told me about her experience with the crippling pain of PF that she too had suffered with in 2011.

She said it took her 6 months to get rid of her PF. In fact, she had to stop running altogether for 3 months because of it. I have been struggling with it for just as long so it was comforting to know that treatment and recovery wasn’t a quick fix.

She went on to give me her top tips which helped her get rid of PF:

Magnesium (and lots of it). She recommended a liquid form over the tablets.
Foot splint. She borrowed one from a friend and although it was uncomfortable to sleep with at night, it did help stretch her calf muscle.
Sitting in front of TV, Lesley would slip those toe dividers you use when painting your toenails to help stretch the foot open while she watched TV (such a girl!).

The obvious one to all of this is rest. I’ve been doing that!

But I’m definitely going to give these tips a go!

It hurts to take those bold steps but if you don’t then how can you heal?

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Bo

A very dear friend of mine is hurting. She is going through a really tough time after having made some big changes in her life. Serious decisions that are having major implications not only for herself but those around her.

But she’s made the right decision and as much as I see her struggling with the unknown, I really hope she knows just how much I support her.

Thinking about making those hard decisions has made me also re-think a foot injury that has been niggling me for a while now and which is slowly starting to have an impact on, not only my running, but my walking too.

In March this year, I visited a podiatrist to have my feet checked out. I was struggling with aching feet, especially plantar fasciitis in my left foot. I was given orthotics and simple instructions on how to use them, guaranteeing relief from the pain.

I was lazy. As we headed into winter and my running went into hibernation, I packed the orthotics away and ignored it. But as summer approached and I started running again, the pain returned.

Again, I ignored it. You know when you think something will go away but a voice in the back of your head tells you it never will? And you ignore it, making every excuse you can think of why it’s okay to just carry on. Because sometimes, making a decision is really the hardest thing to do?

Unfortunately, I have reached the point of no return. Not only is my foot pain affecting my running, but I am unable to walk normally. The pain is that severe. I have tried the early morning stretches, the arnica oils, the golf ball rolling under my foot.

But I have been forced to accept that the only thing that will help me is if I take a break and rest it. Give it time to heal. Unless I do that, things will not change but only get worse. And I need to start using those orthotics.

It’s frustrating, especially because I am in the beginning stages of my Two Oceans half marathon training.

But the pain needs to heal. It needs to go away if I want to continue with my running in the long term. Deep down inside, I know it’s the right thing to do. It’s the only way if I need to heal.

It’s the same with my friend.

Taking that first step is the hardest part. But it’s the first step in that healing process to doing what’s right.