There are probably a lot of people who don't know (or can't believe) this, but I used to be a runner. My love of running started right after high school and continued for about five years, until a series of injuries discouraged me and I finally decided to call it quits.....until now.
On Friday I met with a physical therapist who specializes in running injuries. I told him about my high arches and my messed up knees and asked him if there was any way I could fix my problems and run again. So now I have a stretching/strengthening program that I am supposed to do 3-4 times a week, and some new arch supports that I LOVE ($30, I was worried they'd be more!) The PT believes that if I can strengthen my leg and back muscles, I can overcome the problems with my feet, therefore relieving the problems with my knees. I also have to focus on stablizing my "core" when I am running to balance myself out when running (apparently my right leg is longer than my left leg, I had no idea.) I am supposed to work up to it slowly, but hopefully in a month or two I should be able to run 10-15 miles a week. It's not a lofty goal, but a doable one where hopefully I can maintain a good level of exercise and not do long-term damage to my knees.
All I can say is I hope this works because I just love the freeing feeling of running and the endorphin high that I just don't get from any other exercise I have tried. Plus I need to improve my speed so I can keep up with Kate. Seriously, for anyone who wants a workout, feel free to take her for an afternoon to the mall or the zoo and try to keep up with her - she's the fastest 18-month-old I've ever seen!!
