runners: I seek your advice
So, I mentioned earlier that I was going to take up running. I haven't yet. Definitely because of inertia and fear of change, but also for a couple of very practical, physical reasons - I'm not sure how much they matter, but I've been terribly afraid of injury.
I have pretty bad plantar fasciitis - on and off for years, starting when I had to stand in line for a long time at the wake of a classmate of mine, but much worse since November, when I started at Burdick's. I should have gotten clogs or something, but fingers crossed I'll be done there in July. Nonetheless, now my feet hurt most days, even in thick sneakers, and I wonder how permanent that is.
I also have a bit of trickiness in one of my hips - I feel like I sometimes pinch a nerve or something - and pain tends to shoot down my leg, or linger in my left hip and knee. I think it's from the combination of standing too much and driving cramped too much, and neither helps the other.
PF, particularly, can afflict runners who haven't had problems with it otherwise; I bought one of those foot roller things to use for it even now, pre-running, but I don't use it much because it hurts.
I'm *already* nervous about running - I'm not an athlete, and I've always hated it, but I feel on some level like I need to do it, and that it would be a good habit to have. A lot of what I used was gift certificate, but I did spend a deal of money that I don't precisely have to make ready to run, even buying running shoes that I probably paid too much for. Now all my other fears about running have latched on to my legitimate concerns about physical condition... I guess I just need to know what's legit, what's not, what I can do about it, and how I can actually get psyched to change my life.
I have pretty bad plantar fasciitis - on and off for years, starting when I had to stand in line for a long time at the wake of a classmate of mine, but much worse since November, when I started at Burdick's. I should have gotten clogs or something, but fingers crossed I'll be done there in July. Nonetheless, now my feet hurt most days, even in thick sneakers, and I wonder how permanent that is.
I also have a bit of trickiness in one of my hips - I feel like I sometimes pinch a nerve or something - and pain tends to shoot down my leg, or linger in my left hip and knee. I think it's from the combination of standing too much and driving cramped too much, and neither helps the other.
PF, particularly, can afflict runners who haven't had problems with it otherwise; I bought one of those foot roller things to use for it even now, pre-running, but I don't use it much because it hurts.
I'm *already* nervous about running - I'm not an athlete, and I've always hated it, but I feel on some level like I need to do it, and that it would be a good habit to have. A lot of what I used was gift certificate, but I did spend a deal of money that I don't precisely have to make ready to run, even buying running shoes that I probably paid too much for. Now all my other fears about running have latched on to my legitimate concerns about physical condition... I guess I just need to know what's legit, what's not, what I can do about it, and how I can actually get psyched to change my life.