You take the good, you take the bad...

You take the good, you take the bad. You take them both and then you have the facts of life, the facts of life. So, not only is this tune one of my favorite jingles from the '80's sitcom arena, it is also my current situation right now.

As you know from my "R.I.C.E" post, I have been battling some feet injuries for a while. I was able to go to the podiatrist last week and got some grim news. I was diagnosed with left achilles heal tendonitis and plantar fasciitis on both feet. Last week when the doctor had seen me, he couldn't believe that I had even been "R.I.C.E"ing for the past two weeks. He said that my feet presented as a very fresh injury. He said that the amount of pain I must have been managing before must have been unbearable and to be honest, he was right.

When I left his office, he put me on strict rest orders and an anti-inflammatory twice a day. Of course, like most runners when he asked if I had any questions for him, I asked when I could expect to be back running again? His response last week was a laugh. For the record, when your doctor laughs, it is never a good sign.

I went back for a follow up treatment yesterday and I got some mixed reviews. The good news is that I am healing properly. The not so good news is that I have a mandatory two more weeks of rest.

So what does this all mean? Well, the obvious, means that I have to drop out of the Philly Rock and Roll Half Marathon. My apologies Kimberly and David. I was really looking forward to doing this race. However, there is no way I will be ready for it in time without reinjuring myself. The good news I will be able to run again and I am still slated to do the Great Race 10 K in Pittsburgh with my friend David Rigo at the end of September. This will be his first race and I promised to run along side of him so we can cross the finish line together. :)

I want to give a shout out to all the fellow runners who follow me. Just this week, I was on a conference call with a bus company in NoCal and I was humbled to learn that one of the reps on the phone is an avid runner and loves this blog. In the electronic age, it is impossible to know who is reading and who isn't but I am moved by all of you and your stories and comments. I promise you I will be back very soon and will sign up for a more substantial race. Love to all my fans!