Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Foot "Injury" advice.......

I am needing some advice from more experienced runners out there.
I had a good 14 mile run on Sunday morning... (as many of you know) .. I was sore for a day or so but bounced back pretty fast..
But.. Monday I began having tenderness in my left foot, on the top outside .. the row of bones and tendons that connect with the baby toe (at about the middle of my foot) It doesnt hurt to the touch (or squeeze) and only hurts on and off. I was also sore all the way up my shin on the outer side of the same leg... so this made me think it was a tendon or muscle issue..(praying its not a stress fracture)

I took Mon and Tues completely off from running ... tried to run a bit on the treadmill tonight but it still felt tender...
Heres my questions:
  • have any of you ever experienced this? and what helped?
  • I need new shoes.. how much do you think needing new shoes has to do with it?
  • how long do you think i need to take off?
  • My marathon is on Nov 16th.. is this something that could keep me from running it?
I am trying hard not to get upset or frustrated and think myself into something worse than it is..

Advice?
Thanks:)

Signed:
hop-along ruthie:)

9 comments:

Tall Girl Running said...

Hmmm... I've run the gamut of possible running injuries but can't remember ever having a problem with my foot. You're definitely heading in the right direction with taking some time off, especially if you have the means to cross-train while you recover. Other than that, I'd just suggest to ice, ice, ICE, then if think you've iced enough, ice some more. Hopefully it's just a wacky flare-up that will calm down given a little TLC. I think the majority of us who've trained for marathons have had to endure a little time off for one minor injury or another, so don't panic. Just be smart about about taking it easy for a little while but continue doing workouts that don't put any stress on your foot in order to keep up your cardio capacity.

Crossing my fingers for you!

Ruthie said...

oh thanks so much :)
Makes me feel better to know that most everyone has to take some time off. the race is still a while off so i am really hoping by then this will be a non-issue... its just frustrating and makes me a bit worried.

Liz said...

How strange- I had the EXACT same problem after my first 14 mile run last month. Outside of my foot and everything. I was told it could be tendonitis. I iced it like crazy every day, elevated it as much as I could, and took Aleve twice a day for 10 days. It was really sore for over a week, and after the 10 or 11 days I started some shorter runs again. A week later I was all back to normal. I hope that helps! It seemed to completely resolve, though I still really baby that foot after a long run (ice, rest, etc.)
Good luck!!

Charity said...

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this has happened to me on more than on occasion, and it's always ended up being a stress fracture. I would suggest taking a couple of days off, using lots of ice and taping your foot when you start running for the first couple of days or so.

Good luck! Keep us posted!

foxontherun said...

If you need new shoes go get them. It can make a huge difference. And just to reassure you I ran Boston in April and spent the latter part of Feb. and all of Mar. swimming and pool running because of injuries. If I could run a marathon with that much time off you will be just fine. I never did get a 20 miler in. I think my longest run was 18.

Ruthie said...

oh wow.. thanks for the encouragement, advice and info!
I will do it all..
today it started hurting worse than ever cause i taught art class all day and now i have to go teach tonight for 3 more hours.. being on the foot is not good.. so i am afraid because of my teaching i will have back slid a bit.. but will ice it etc when i get home..

thanks again for all this info.. your experience is so helpful to me!!!

blessings
ruthie

Anonymous said...

The part of your foot you say was hurt, on the outer part includes the 5th metatarsal bone and the peroneus brevis tendon.

These parts are usually hurt when you invert or turn in your foot. This can happen when you "twist" your ankle in and sometimes ends up as an ankle sprain.

The muscle that the tendon starts at begins up in your leg on the outer side, that's why it hurts up there. It could be either an injury to the tendon - (tendonitis, partial tear) and/or an injury to the 5th metatarsal bone - all the way up to a fracture of the 5th metatarsal bone, along with the tendonitis.

Ice, rest, an ankle brace, and possibly a visit to a local sports podiatrist would be a good idea.

Polliwog said...

This is weird, because last year I had the very same injury after my 14 mile run! I never figured out what it was precisely but it didn't hurt at all while running, then suddenly 2 days after the run I could barely walk. I was training for the Top of Utah marathon at the time. I was worried it was a stress fracture too. I babied it (ice, ibuprofin, etc) wore the boot at night for sleeping (the one for plantar fasciitis, which I am sure is spelled wrong), but most importantly I took time off. I trained in a pool for a full 10 days (ick). It didn't seem like it was getting better at all, but suddenly I could run on it and I never had another problem again. I still wonder what it was. Maybe tendonitis like people are saying.

Good luck to you!

Marybelle Perrigan said...

In that case, it would be better to go for low impact exercises for a while, and it the problem persists, consult your doctor for further check-ups. My foot was once been injured due to a bad fall, it was a totally vexing experience, since I've been sidelined for work for two weeks, but luckily, the hospital bills are being handled by my medicare supplemental insurance plan, so there won't be much loss in my part.

With me being vigilant about my well-being, I planned for a medicare supplements quote many months prior to my injury, so I am prepared for the worst.