Trails!

Those are some quick times!!! It was a bit windy today in Boulder today too, which does not go too well with me. As far as I am concerned, there is nothing worse. To run into the wind at this pace is way good, and to do the next repeat up a hill is impressive. Keep up the good work!

Cody, where exactly does your foot hurt? Is it the heel area? Does it hurt when you get out of bed in the morning and start walking around, or just when you start running?

Paul,

It is hard to describe. For the most part, it hurts only when I run or put a lot of pressure on my foot. I do notice it walking barefoot some, but more-so in shoes. I can stand one-footed and move my foot around and cause the pain by that simple movement.

The pain is right in-front of the heel towards the outside of the foot but underneath. I need to find a picture of a foot to find the tendon/bone/ligament that is the cause. I am concerned about it though, as it is not improving.

Any ideas??

Anytime there's pain in the heel area of the foot at the beginning of the run (or day), and subsequently "goes away" when you get warmed up, I immediately think plantar fasciitis. However, PF is more common on the INSIDE of the heel, but I had PF pain on the outside of my heel as well. See pic:

http://www.tpmassageball.com/content/heel_pain_int.jpg

The most common symptom of PF is that the first couple steps you take when you get out of bed hurts the most, and the pain subsides after the foot warms up and stretches out.

But you might have something else, or nothing, I don't know. If it gets worse you should probably see a doctor to get it diagnose. If it seems stable or gets better, you may be able to just take care of it.

Whatever it is, if it seems inflammed, then try icing it after runs, and try a 2-3-week course of ibuprofin. That should reduce inflammation.

PF was my initial diagnosis, but again, the pain does not go away ever. It seemed to lessen over the course of the run to the point that it didn't hurt, but it never went away. I think the picture on this site points almost perfectly to the spot of pain.

http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/thefeet.html

I don't think the pain is that localized all the time. It does tend to show itself on the outside of the bottom of the foot too, but after poking and playing, I can conclude that the picture referenced earlier shows where the pain is 90% of the time.

My shoes have just under 400 miles on them so it might be time to retire them soon. I still think that it was caused during the striders 10K. Either the road conditions or the running full tilt down the hills caused serious heel pounding. I felt it later in the day Saturday and everyday since.

I am seriously condsidering purchasing the TP massage ball kit, but I have been rolling my foot over a racquetball and I can feel the foot stretching.

Sounds like PF. I got my PF after the Ogden NUTS half marathon, which had a lot of downhill. Your shoes definitely aren't helping either. If it's indeed a function of the pounding and old shoes (and not biomechanics), then there's a good chance of a fast recovery without losing training. Here's what you can do:

1)ice/ibuprofin (don't walk around after icing, but let your food warm up again first).

2)stretch the calves

3)stretch the plantar (put foot on opposite knee, grab your toes, and slowly pull back on the toes, and bring entire foot back too to put tension on the achilles). Do this before getting out of bed.

4)wear a night splint or sock. The Strassburg Sock has received really high praise from runners, but I have never used it. I have a spare split you can borrow if you want, but it's huge and cumbersome, and may prevent sleeping. The sock may be better.

5)If it gets worse, reduced mileage.

6)The thing you're doing with the racquet ball is good, keep doing it. TP Massage actually works over the calves, not the foot, so it's something different. Many people think the calves are actually the root of PF.

7)Google for low-dye taping. It's a pretty effective method. I actually have a butt-load of athletic tape you can have.

Again, it's not safe to do a full internet blog diagnoses, but if it IS PF, those are all good steps to take. We can talk more about it tomorrow, and I can show you some of this stuff.

err..."food" should read "foot"!

I will try that and see what happens. I would love to see this sock thing and see what it does. When you say ice it, you mean after the run only or multiple times during the day?