Quote Originally Posted by OakLeaf View Post
All human body types are born to run. Some will be better at sprints, some will be better at middle distances, and some will be better at ultramarathons. Not everyone can be world-record fast at any distance. Individuals can have medical or congenital conditions that make running difficult or impossible.

The structural issues and status post foot surgery are what would concern me the most if I were you. Do you trust the podiatrist who did your surgery, or do you know another sports podiatrist, and/or do they work with a PT who knows something about running and can advise you?

For myself, I'm still searching for an unbiased qualified professional, although I've come to the place from impersonal information and exercise that I believe my foot issues are biomechanical and not primarily structural. I'm correcting literally 45 years' worth of bad advice and bad practices, so it's not going to happen overnight, but little by little.
So, Oakleaf basically said exactly what I was thinking. All of it including the idea of working to correct (in my case) 42 years of bad advice.

For the record, I came to the conclusion the other day that I have a sprinters body type (muscular, strong, short) but the cardiovascular system of an endurance athlete. I have to be careful to find the right balance in the activities that I do that will allow for injury free progression. And yes, the first time I started running after only cycling for 5 years, my HR sky-rocketed. That's normal. Same thing happened when I got into the pool for the first time, too. Your body is not used to that activity and it's 'harder'. It doesn't mean that you aren't cut out for it...it's just that you haven't adapted to it.