When should I give up and call it a day?

[Joe-T]

Hello, my name is Joe and I am from Lancashire, for the past 12 months I have been training for the Royal Marine Commando's, I have already taken and passed everything that leads up the the PRMC, my original PRMC date was going to be the 25th of February but I had to cancel that date because I picked up a foot/leg injury.

I have lost count of the number of treatments I have received over the past 9 months and as always, after a few weeks of trying a new treatment, the pain returns and I am forced to stop training until I find a new solution once again.

After every new treatment I go back to square one and restart my running, I used to enjoy the thought of going out running, but now I dread it, knowing that I used to be able to run 10 miles without a problem and now I can barely manage 2, it is depressing not being able to advance and be a stronger runner like I used to be.

As I have said, I have been in this situation for 9 months now and not once have I lost sight of my goal of being a Royal Marine Commando,

Until now that is, how much more of this should I take? How much longer should I carry on trying for something that might Never happen? I am 21 and I want the me a Royal Marine more than anything else, but I have to be realistic, I can keep on trying new treatments for years to come, or I could call it a day and find a permanent job. One could almost say that is is like gambling, if you bet your next £10 away you could be rich!.... Or you could just be a little worse off than before, but you can always try again, maybe you be lucky this time!

I realise this is something I have to decide on my own, but I am asking this question because I need some advice on what I should do with my life. Thank you.

[stuelwell]

hello joe, give it a go mate. you have nothing to loose if you do get biffed again while in training there are loads of facilities in hunter troop to get you on your way again. if you get as far as recruit training you would have passed the prmc, where any serious past injuries should come to light. its better to have had a go, rather than look back and think "what if"

[Joe-T]

Thank you for your reply, although I should emphasize that I have Not done my PRMC and my "Training" for the Royal Marines is just getting my fitness up the the PRMC entry standards, Once I get my 1.5 mile time to 9 mins, I will try, but as I am now, I would fail without a doubt.

[AJtothemax]

I've been getting over an injury and surgery on my legs for over two years now and I haven't given up and I never will until I'm actually told to "f*ck off" by the Corps.
God forbid a medical discharge!!

If you truely believe in your heart that you can do it, then don't give up.
What ever you decide to do, I wish you all the best.

[AJtothemax]

I would fail without a doubt.

One more thing, get rid of that word and try you best not to use it again in your circumstances.
Trust me on that one. If you start along the "I can't" road then you never will.

All the best.

[Joe-T]

I know what you mean, I've tried to avoid saying "Fail" "Can't" and "Never" for so long, but when you think about it, I can run my 1.5 mile in around 11mins at this moment, It would be a shame to waste my one of my two tries at the Royal Marines (I do believe they only allow you to try for the PRMC twice). I would rather go when I know for fact I can pass the first running test.

Thank you for the replies so far, it is clearly something I have to think long and hard about.

[timex]

Joe, your injury is it the same one every time? When you get treatment are you giving yourself sufficient time to let your leg heal?

Perhaps it may be time to take a longer break from running, spend more time swimming or cycling, let your leg heal and build up the muscles and strengthen your leg at the same time. Then attempt the PRMC

[Joe-T]

Yes, it is the same pain, it is a pain in the right foot on the Metatarsal bone (right next to the largest metatarsal head)

I have been to see an Osteopath, x2 Podiatrists, Doctors and a Private sports injury clinic, I have been to them all multiple times, I have had x2 new pairs of running trainers, running socks, Sorbothane insoles, been to Hospital for an X-ray (everything was clear) and at the moment I am using Orthotics, the only option left for me is to keep going back to the podiatrist to get the orthotics adjusted, but how long it'll be before it's fixed is anyone's guess.

I know I sound very negative and come across as a defeatist, but like I said, at what point do I call it a day and decide to settle down with a permanent job?

If anyone has any advice on what more I can do to treat this problem I would greatly appreciate it.

[Hyperlithe]

Have you kept running even whilst receiving treatment?
And has anyone mentioned the possibility of a stress fracture?
You would expect with the number of different people you've seen that every different eventuality would have been considered, but noone's perfect.
If it's what you really want to do, don't give up on your dream, keep going back and asking the questions. You're young enough that you've got time to make sure you're 100% fit and healthy before you go.
I agree with timex about resting it though, you've got to give it a chance to heal before you're out running again.
Best of luck!
(If noone's thought of stress fractures, or they've ruled it out because the x-ray was clear, ask for a bone scan, apparently they don't always show up on x-rays)

[gunner75]

i know the feeling as i pulled my aductor and hip flexor muscles from overuse injuries i.e not resting up enough. i was out of training on and off for maybe a year and it seemed at times id make progress then take two or three steps back! keep perservering you will come good. plenty of time to fix yourself. just a question though, do you honestly stretch your lower legs prior to and after training? my problem was that i didnt bother and it led to a whole host of issues, but once i started stretching 4 or 5 times throughout the day it seemed to be a good defence mechanism against picking up injury!

[Seraph]

NEVER give up. Good luck.

[anglo-saxon]

Joe: I didn't get a real senese of what the problem was with your foot, etc., so it's a bit of a stab in the dark. But it occurs to me that if pain is coming back all the time, then perhaps you are trying to get back into training too soon and re-Knackering your injury.

You're young enough now that time is very much on your side. My advice to you would be: Take the time to address the injury intelligently (with a specialist if need be) and over as long a period as is required to get it done properly. Get it sorted once and for all , so it;sno longer an issue. Even if it takes several months or a yer or two, so what? I know you're champing at the bit to get your military career started, but you need to be able to start off on the right foot (especially if it's your left that's nackered! Sorry, couldn't resist ).

The last thing you want to do is either start basic training with a didgy physical condition (becaus eyou know it;s going to get worsein training) or have that at the back of your mind all the time. You need to be abe to get stuck in without worrying, so you need to start out at 100%. The training will take some of that away and you may even end up getting injured anyway, but don't start out half arsed. Give yourself the best possible chance!

Cheers and good luck!

[Joe-T]

Thank you for your replies everyone, I know coming here would make me stronger again, I guess you could say I had a weak moment, but I'm not going to give up, this is what I want to do more than anything else!

anglo-saxon, When I go running, I don't feel the pain right away, it will take about two weeks of running (3 runs a week) and I will notice that area in my foot is starting to get worse,, so I stop before actual "pain" comes through, when I went for my RMAD I tried ignoring it and gave everything my 100%, at the end of the day I was limping and I couldn't even stand up on both feet. So I don't want to let it get that bad again. Whenever this discomfort happens, I give myself around 2 weeks before I try running with a new "treatment" again, by that time my foot feels fine.

I think the problem is that I have bowed legs, I had a video gait analysis and my right foot tends turn inwards when I run and my arch collapses, this puts a lot of pressure on the metatarsal head, I had orthotics to correct this, but I have had return to the podiatrist to have them adjusted six times now.

gunner75, I always stretch before and after I run, maybe I don't stretch enough (even though it's enough in my opinion). I'll have to really try harder next time I guess.

Thanks again for your comments everyone, it has been a huge encouragement for me! Please keep any idea's coming in though, I am prepared to do anything to get this problem fixed!

[anglo-saxon]

Sounds like orthotics could do the job. You need to get in to see a specialist by the sound of it!

[faddius]

Joe-T sounds like the injury you could possibly have is Morton's Neuroma. I get this when I do extended runs of 3+ hours and there's not much you can do about it unless you go down the drastic surgery route. I'd suggest you find yourself a top notch sports podiatrist and get it properly dealt with straight out. It took 4 months after my last ultra for the circulationa dn feeling to fully return to my feet.

Basically Morton's Neuroma is where nevers inbetween the bones and metatarsal heads in your foot become enflamed when running and then get trapped inbwteen the bones, scar tisue forms and the cycle continues. Can feel exceptionally sore and feel like your ball of your foot has taken a massive beating and feels really internally bruised. Sometimes you can detect the oncoming of the neuroma with pins and needles int he toes and then eventually temporary partial or full loss of feeling in the toes.

There are a few non invasive alleviating things you can do:

stretching of the feet and toes, insoles which have special morton's neuroma foot beds around th metatarsal area, running on soft surfaces and anti inflams.