Want to keep running into your,
say, eighties? Visit your podiatrist.
That’s what I did on Canada Day …
And it was time well spent.
I do go to some lengths to
continue running. As in, compression socks for shin splits, patella bands for
knee caps, snug-fitting $15-a-pair flexo-socks, $120 Brooks.
Still, though, I get some foot
pain. So last Saturday, I went to a new foot doctor in Brooklyn.
He was, in a word, awesome. He
diagnosed my pain (compensation for top-of-the-foot arthritis) that can be
addressed through orthotics.
I have orthotics, I say.
Well, you may need to have them
redone, the podiatrist says.
Tell you what, he continues.
Come back in two weeks in your running gear, with your orthotics, and we’ll go
out the park together. I’ll watch you run and then we’ll take it from there. I
will be able to tell what kind of orthotics you need by watching you run.
Really? I say. You’ll do that.
Yep, he says. I don’t see this
as a major problem. We get this done, and you start running in a cheaper,
neutral shoe, no more than three months for the miles that you do (current average:
17-20 per week) and you can run that kind of mileage and more for the next
twenty-five years.
Marathons?
Sure, why not? You want to run
for your life, don’t you?
Yep. You can say that again.
Next: Running for Your Life: Write Stuff
