Meeting at the bank
The 42 kilometres I had run in China hadn’t aggravated my injury. I had expected things would get worse and had calculated with this as an unavoidable cost. The tenderness still persisted after I got home, however, and I was most frustrated and upset that there didn’t seem to be a solution to the problem.
However, in mid-July I had a meeting at the bank and was wearing a jacket with a logo of the marathon on it. This led to an invaluable conversation with my bank adviser. He had been running for some time but had given up. He had stopped because of a foot injury but had found a quick cure for it at a sports clinic on Amager, the island south of Copenhagen. I wanted to hear more about that, and later in the day I received an e-mail with details of the clinic. I immediately called on the phone and got an appointment in the middle of August.
Holiday plans
In our family, we didn’t usually devote holiday to sport. My marathon trips were considered to fill the quota for that kind of thing. But in 2011, Karin thought we should go to Club la Santa, a holiday and sports resort on the Spanish island of Lanzarote. None of the children wanted to come, so we went on our own.
During the summer holidays, we usually relax, eat lots of good food with good wine to go with it, and we do not miss out on ice cream and sweets. But before this holiday, Karin told me that now we were going on sports holiday, so we should control ourselves. It took me a while to sink that one, but then I decided that it was now or never! I went into training mode the week before our departure and kept well away from alcohol and sweet things, went cycling, and ate lots of healthy food.
Club La Santa
On 24th July we left on a wonderful trip to Lanzarote. For one whole week, we got up early every morning and spent a lot of time doing sport. We got totally bitten by mountain biking and since then we have rented bikes together and been on a mountain-biking weekend in Sweden. We have now bought our own bikes and have found a sport; we can do together. We played tennis and squash every day, as well as trying a lot of the other things on offer at the resort.
I was very particular about my diet throughout the week, steering well clear of beer, soft drinks, crisps, ice cream or sweets. We usually swilled down supper with water, although we did drink a little wine on a couple of evenings. I couldn’t see any weight reduction on the centre’s scales, which rather frustrated me, although it didn’t put me off.
Kilo after kilo
On the other hand, I did continue to pursue my new lifestyle after we came home. At the same time, I went on so many bike rides that I began to lose weight. I gradually lost kilo after kilo. This motivated me to continue, and so did my weight loss.
Hydrodilatation
I also used the bike when I went to the clinic on Amager. It was a long ride, but that was no problem and the weather was perfect. I got there a bit early but then cycled round a bit until it was time for my appointment.
The doctor examined me and recommended that I be given a hydrodilatation. This involves the injection of an adrenal cortex hormone into the heel. This concerned me a bit because, as a devotee of natural treatments, I was not keen about this form of intervention. However, he convinced me that the dose was very small and very local, which meant that the risk of complications was minimal. I accepted the treatment and was given the injection before cycling home again.
I had been warned that the hydrodilatation might be painful later on but that this was perfectly normal. I wasn’t much bothered by it, but the tenderness abated and my optimism began to flourish.
Cured
A month later, I went back for a check-up and on this occasion insisted myself on another injection for safety’s sake. At a subsequent final check-up, I felt completely fit, and this was confirmed by a scan.
I cannot describe how glad I was. I began running again soon after, ten months having passed since I had run without a tender heel.
23 kilos lighter
My resolutely healthy lifestyle combined with my running and cycling activities help me lose 23 kilos in 120 days. I had now achieved my goal, and “all” I had to do was to keep my weight at that level. I have since discovered just how difficult that is; how you constantly have to watch your weight and your lifestyle.
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