It's about time!

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Told you "I'll be back!" :)

Today's the first day of my comeback, after being struck by plantar fasciitis 6 months ago... I did have a few attempts during that time, but my foot just wasn't ready and the pain came back quickly. But after 3 months of complete rest and taking care of my foot, I feel ready and up to the challenge!

11am, I take my new pair of Asics I barely had the chance to wear out of the cupboard and slipped into warm stretchy clothes. Zero degree and perfect weather for a first run!

There is dust and cobwebs on my watch, which needs like 10 min to find a GPS signal. Has it really been that long? I take a deep breath, pray my lucky star to keep the pain away, and the game is on... God it feels good to be back on the trail! A few running steps and the whole pleasure hits me. I forgot how I loved running, how this may be the only thing in my life that helps me get rid of my stress and find solutions. The pleasure to be free!

I follow a path I like, mostly running on dirt, grass and snow, to minimize the impact in my left foot. I also try to put more weight on my right foot, knowing that it's the propulsive phase (i.e. when my foot pushes my body up and forwards) that harms my foot. All in all, no pain, just some tingling in my foot that I attribute mostly to my anxiety. Because yes, I really am anxious to feel some pain again, meaning that these last month counted for nothing... But no pain!

Time to head back home, after a lungful of nature and fresh air, and an amazing long run of... 2 km! Hey, don't laugh, I gotta start small and go easy on my foot. Besides, only 48 km more to achieve my goal, I have never been that close to be an ultra-marathoner :)

Next run on Monday, in the meantime I shall get some well-deserved rest after this exhausting run!

Best,

Cheeseman