Finally Back In Training: Took One Year To Negotiate FitOldDog’s Plantar Fasciitis Roadmap

FitOldDog’s plantar fasciitis roadmap, v1.

8k Run: Age Group 70 to 74. Position 5/10

Bib 1369/2206 Morgan, Kevin M71 Carrboro NC 5 of 10 13:01 01:04:42.87. Slow but Happy!

Finished at 13:01 pace, which was fine with me. I could run again, after a year of struggles, thanks to Tara and Perry North. Photo by kind passerby.

I finally negotiated FitOldDog’s plantar fasciitis roadmap, and running again, thanks to:

Massage therapist, Tara (sent me to Perry).

Osteopath Perry North

Coach Pauline – easy does it.

In August 2013, I had a bike wreck, which resulted in some interesting outcomes, including another aortic surgery, due to a displaced abdominal aortic aneurysm stent graft. Unbeknownst to me, my pelvis was also displaced, which finally resulted in my second case of plantar fasciitis. Oh! Boy! Throughout 2014, I couldn’t run, which messed up all my Ironman training and races. Try as I might, as I attempted to run, my right calf would lock up, and my left leg would turn into a limp noodle. Then my massage therapist, Tara, said during a massage, “Kevin, maybe something is misaligned. Why don’t you go see my Ostopath, Perry North, he’s great – fixed me up a couple of times?“

So I did, and, as if by magic, Perry realigned my pelvis. After being unable to run without stopping every few hundred yards to stretch and shake out my legs, I ran a local 8k (5-mile) run, the Gallup & Gorge, without incident. Slow, but not surprising considering my enforced state of under-training.

Plantar fasciitis was one painful consequence of my displaced pelvis, but the day after the race, I made my early morning cup of tea in the absence of heel pain. What a treat! Fixed, finally, thank goodness.

You meet great people at these races, including Brendan, Susan and Keith, in the UNC Physical Therapy booth. Boy, when you need physical therapy, you really do – sure fixed my shoulder. Photo with permission, by FitOldDog

This experience led to the crude roadmap at the top of the page, which I created today in order to hone my thinking. You can follow my two plantar fasciitis recovery journeys on the map using the sequence below (click image for enlarged view):

Journey #1 (resulted in our first eBook):

A, B, F, H, I, K, O, Q1,O,Q2,U,W4 (map needs editing here – all suggested changes appreciated), GG,HH (Fixed) – time elapsed, about 1 year; cost, about $1,500.

Journey #2 (much more difficult, but I’m back in training now)

A, B, GG, II, U, W4, R (permitted subsequent fix), GG, HH (Fixed) – time elapsed, about 3 months; cost, about $200.

It feels great to be back, being coached for my next marathon by a real runner, Pauline.

I am one lucky old guy.