The Walking Wounded

Did I mention that I think my long runs have been a little too hilly? Well they are. And my knees are telling me about it. They had been a little stiff, but after standing around for a few hours at baseball, and lots of quick movements while shagging balls, my legs really started feeling good. Good enough that I decided to pick up the pace a little bit on my run last night. As I started getting ready to leave the house for my run, I needed to get something out of the truck, so I walked outside barefoot to get it. I honestly don't know how it happened or exactly when, but once I got back inside, I started to notice that my right foot was really starting to hurt. I didn't really think much about it, so I finished getting dressed and headed uptown for a 30-45 minutes run. I felt pretty good for about 15 minutes and then things started hurting. My knees hurt, my back was hurting a little bit, and my foot was really starting to bother me. I still got in about 2 miles in 26 minutes, so the faster pace was there, but I was really paying for it.

I tried icing my foot for about an hour before going to bed, but it didn't seem to be making much difference. Ibuprofen didn't help either. It starting hurting so bad in the night, that I actually got up at about 1:30 and watched about 45 minutes of a Govt Mule concert on DVD to keep from waking Kary up.

It was still hurting pretty bad this morning, so at lunch today, I went and looked at new running shoes at the Athlete's Foot. I really like them because they do alot of measurements on your feet and they have a computerized pad that you stride across, and it tells you if you pronate, etc, with your stride. They actually give you suggestions instead of just letting you pick out a pair of shoes that you think look cool. I tried on a couple of different pair, and I still want the same shoes I did when I walked in the store, a pair of Asics Kayanos. If I had found an extra $135 dollars (plus tax) laying out in the parking lot, I would have had me a new pair. I talked for awhile with the salesman, and I mentioned my foot problems, and he said it sound like plantar fasciitis . I did a little research after I left, and it sounds like he was exactly right. I guess who would know better than some dude from the Athlete's Foot?

So I've started doing some of the stretching exercises I found online, and I'm using a baseball to roll around under my foot. I'm hoping that I can get out and have a short run tomorrow. I had planned on running at the track for awhile, but it sounds like the track is still locked up. I'm a littled worried, because considering the shape I am in right now, I don't have a lot of room for error while training for this marathon. One or two injuries that cause me to miss training time, and I can kiss this marathon goodbye. I know that I could probably do White Rock, Austin, or Little Rock instead, but I've spent too much time talking and thinking about this particular marathon to change plans. So hopefully I can get this straighted out pretty quick. It's very disheartening, though. Doubt is starting to creep in, and that can't happen....