Wednesday, January 04, 2012

New Year, new shoes, and a new symptom

I bought new running shoes on Monday. Because it's a new year, and because I'm predictable, of course I've made fitness goals. You know, like everybody else on the planet. And with new goals come new shoes, because I've found that nothing is as motivating for fitness as shelling out a chunk of change for shoes. It's all about putting your money where your mouth is.

So yesterday I tried out the shoes. They are Saucony brand, which is the brand of shoes I was using previously. Those shoes treated me pretty well, except they started giving me blisters as they broke down, so it was time to get new ones. The store didn't carry the same shoe in my size, so I picked another type of Saucony shoe. I had my kids with me, so I didn't have time to put them on, but again, with experience, I knew I liked Saucony, so I wasn't too worried.

Last night, I gave them a spin on the treadmill. My socks were slipping, which I knew would give me a blister on my heel (it did, a small one), but other than that, they felt good.

And then my right pinky toe went numb.

I ignored it, and kept running, wondering if it had anything to do with my hamstring, which is STILL bugging me. It's been almost a year and a half, HOW can it still be bugging me? Sigh. But like I said, I kept running.

Then my 4th toe went numb, and then my 3rd and my second toe. Then the numbness spread across the middle of my foot. I slowed down to a quick walk/run, but it didn't help. I also realized that as it was going numb, I had started limping in an odd way, which I'm sure is the reason my whole body feels jacked up this morning.

But hello, what is going on? My other foot felt totally fine, so I don't think it's the shoes. And my feet have been going numb on and off all week, since Sunday, so maybe there is something else going on independent of the running, and I just exacerbated it on the treadmill. Maybe my spinal nerves are slowly getting shredded, and it will only be a matter of time before I lose feeling in my feet completely.

(Sorry, I'm kind of a "worst case scenario" gal sometimes.)

I'm going to hit the bike today, so see if that will help. But at this point, I'm wondering if I'm doomed to walk the earth, out of shape and numb.

3 comments:

Rob Monroe said...

Holy cow - that's just scary! Hope that it figures itself out sooner rather than later!

brookem193 said...

First let me say, I just love reading your blog! I'm 31 with two children of my own and I was diagnosed with PKD last year. I also am a runner. You are so positive and inspirational and FUNNY! If I start feeling sorry for myself I pull up your blog and you always seem to humor me!
But on the numbness issue...I had a similar issue while running. It was usually my pinky toe, fourth toe and middle toe, and just on one foot. My doc said it had to do with lacing my shoes too tight and it was cutting off circulation to a part of my foot. He recommended lacing them backward to prevent it. It always seemed to happen with an old pair of mizuno's I had. Switched shoes and made sure not to lace too tight and my problem was solved. Hope this helps!

Heather O. said...

Thanks, brookem193! Both for you advice, and for your kind words about my blog.