Injured. Again.

Every time I start running again, I get injured. Every. Single. Time.

This is just getting annoying. It's not like I'm doing excessive amounts of training here. All I'm doing is going for walks every day, peppered with an occasional jog totaling about 8 minutes of running. I'm not training for some long-distance race. I'm not even breaking a sweat most days when I'm out for my walks.

And still I manage to get injured.

So. Frustrating!

It's always different, though. First it was my ankles. Then my IT band. This time I'm about 99.9% sure I have plantar fasciitis. I've had pain since I did my first jog a couple weeks ago, but after yesterday's jog it's just excruciating. I'm hobbling so much that Jason (who HATES doctors) is saying maybe I should go to the doctor.

So let's look at the symptoms, courtesy of coolrunning.com (the people who gave you the Couch to 5K program):

1. This is among the most common of foot injuries and is signaled by pain on the front of the heel or all along the arch.
Not so much the arch, but my left heel sure hurts a lot.

2. You probably have a lot of pain when you first get out of bed -- it's probably murder just to walk out of your bedroom.
Check.

3. Ditto on standing up after a long time of being seated.
Double check.

4. To make sure it's plantar fasciitis, as opposed to a heel spur (see below), press your thumb up hard on the middle of your heel. If you feel pain, it's plantar fasciitis.
Ow!

Likely Causes:
"In the ideal foot with the ideal stride, your weight during your stride rolls efficiently from your heel, through your arch, and off of the ball of your foot. The arch flattens a little bit to absorb your weight and then springs back. Plantar fasciitis is the all too common result of your weight moving improperly through your arch so that it is overstretched. In more extreme cases, the arch loses its flexibility altogether so that it no longer springs back.
Considering I have the flattest feet on the planet, I'm thinking this might be my problem.

The injury is aggravated, like most injuries, by running too much.
"Too much" in my case apparently means once. For 8 minutes.

Remedies:
First, ease off on the miles and cut out the hills and speedwork.
Of course, it makes you feel like less of a total running loser if you're actually doing miles and hills and speedwork to begin with. I am a total running loser.

Give it ice immediately after running -- ten minutes on ice, ten minutes off, and repeat. Take anti-inflammatories to reduce the swelling.
Noted. Hello, ibuprofen!

For that early-morning pain, avoid getting out of bed barefoot. Put on some thick socks or slippers first.
Yes, I've found stepping immediately into my squishy shearling slippers helps me not to collapse when I step on my left heel first thing in the morning.

I think I may just need to accept the fact that my body does NOT want me to be a runner. Or even an excessive walker. Maybe it's time to concentrate on that strength training...