April 2008 Newsletter

Hello Everyone!

I'm not sure where I heard it, or who said it for that matter, but I distinctly recall the moment when I was gifted a nugget of wisdom I carry with me to this day. Someone, somewhere, told me that, "everything you'll ever need to know you already know." Now don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be profound here. But for me it applies to an injury that found its way into my foot about a year ago. An injury that came as a result of doing what I love. Running. Sometimes love hurts.

My injury showed its face until when some typical post-race soreness subsided. To deal with the pain I tweaked my over the counter footbeds and found some relief (it's amazing what one can do with duct tape and neoprene). A friend saw my handiwork and shook his finger. "You can't do that! See a doctor!" So I did.

"It's a neuroma!" the doc said as he gave me some metatarsal pads. They didn't work. And you know why? Because it wasn't a neuroma. I then took the problem to my chiropractor who named it "bursitis". Hundreds of dollars later my pain persisted. Because it wasn't bursitis either. In the meantime I was in the midst of increasing mileage through technical terrain. I grew gimpy and yet I continued with my intense training. I'm stubborn, and there was no way I was going to allow a little foot pain slow me down. My homemade footbeds collected more dust as I wondered if a little rest might help. But the doctors never mentioned "rest", so I kept on.

I visited a podiatrist. He made me some custom orthotics. Fancy. He called the problem "plantar fasciitis" with a chance of some "posterior tibial tendonitis". It sounded like a weather report (and we know how accurate they are). Nothing changed. Next stop, the local witch doctor. Some called him a physical therapist, some called him a somatic practitioner. He had a sadistic reputation and laughed at pain. My pain in this case. He called my problem a "severe navicular drop". He ordered me to chuck my $500 customs then bent my body in unnatural ways. I desperately wanted these treatments to work, but they didn't. I tried yoga and increased my flexibility. And the pain and the pain along with it. A visit to the acupuncturist identified a "chi blockage". Fair enough. But no dice. It seemed hopeless.

Defeated, I remembered those homemade footbeds. I guiltily dusted them off and slipped them in my trainers. I ran. And ran. And ran some more. Sure, there was still some pain. But it was manageable. And as I more and more miles slipped beneath my feet, so did the pain. My world opened up. The answer had been sitting on my shelf the whole time. Right in front of my face.

So the lesson here has nothing to do with doctors or diagnoses or injuries for that matter. It has to do with the perception of what we deem problematic. In my case I intuitively knew what I needed to do and yet I refrained from doing it. Had I listened to my gut, a lot of money, time, and peace of mind would have been salvaged. Three things we all could use more of!

So while you're out there training or keeping fit, for crying out loud listen to your body! When it says stop, then STOP! When it says go, well have at it! Following your intuition will give you access to your life. I followed mine and have a healing foot (finally) and a fantastic store in an equally wonderful community. My intuition led me to you and I couldn't be happier.
Keep on keepin' on!

Tom Griffen
April 2008