On my last long run, on August 22, I started developing pain in my right foot a couple of miles into the run. The pain only got worse and by the time I got home, it was excruciating. I could barely tolerate any weight on the foot. Fortunately, my plans for the rest of the weekend allowed me to rest and stay off of my foot for the most part, and by the middle of the week, the pain eased up a bit. J told me I should take some time off and rest until I was pain-free. I bought a couple of night splints and tried to sleep with those (nearly impossible), and I iced and stretched my feet each night. Three weeks later, I was still in a fair amount of pain, and a dear friend encouraged me to see a doctor.

So, after a full month of not running, to rest my feet, I finally went to the doctor yesterday. I saw a foot and ankle specialist. X-rays confirmed no stress fractures, no arthritis, and no heel spurs (yay, all good news!). However, I have Plantar Fasciitis (PF), which consists of micro-tears in the tendons running along the bottoms of my feet. He gave me a list of therapies and stretches to do on a several times daily basis and hopefully these will help. He also has me wearing little arch sleeves on both feet that should help (he swears by them). I am looking at 3 to 18 months for recovery – let’s hope it is closer to the 3 month time frame.

The best part (crazily enough) – he told me to start running again. I am not sure how I am going to run with this burning pain in my foot, but I’m going to give it a try tonight and see how it goes.