About 10 weeks into my marathon training, I have hit a bit of a speed bump. My feet feel fine before and during a run, but end up sore and whimpering a few hours later. I can walk or run fine, but my poor puppies feel tired and sore in the arches. They calm down after some ice and rest, and feel normal again the next morning. I don’t have heel pain, but I’m worried that I have the early stage of plantar fasciitis (no no knock on wood no). My shoes are relatively new (less than 30 miles on them) and are the same Brooks Adrenaline 12 model I used problem-free to train for a half marathon last May. I suppose I could need shoes with more arch support as my mileage increases, but I don’t think that’s the issue.
After talking with friends and Dr. Google, my plan to ward off a worsening of the problem is (1) take three to four days off running by substituting low-impact biking and swimming, (2) ice packs and frozen water bottles for rolling on the feet, (3) ibuprofen as needed although I’m not in pain so it’s to treat inflammation, (4) slow return to running, without hill work or speed work for now, (5) choosing soft(er) surfaces for running when possible, and (6) stretches and strengthening exercises for the feet and calf muscles. Oh the things I will do for love of marathon training (see: (a) running 14 boring miles on the soft(er) surface of the track and (b) picking up pennies with my toes for foot-strengthening entertainment.)
Does this sound like plantar fasciitis to you? Have you ever experienced foot problems like sore arches, heel pain, and/or plantar fasciitis? What happened and what worked to stop the problem in its tracks, so to speak?
Fit Fun Mom 
You may as well have added “how is your foot feeling, Geli?”
Don’t take foot pain lightly! I had PF in my left foot last year. Took it easy, taped it up, iced, Motrin, took time off, ran Hood to Coast anyway, and got better by December. Then my right foot started. I thought I had it under control, iced, taped, took it easy, until during one run in early April it almost went POP… and my determination added bursitis to the mix. After a month of PAIN I went to see a foot doctor, he said “it’s only been a month” but offered the cortisone shot. That was lovely! But bursitis takes much longer to heal, so after canceling a quarter marathon, a half, and several other fun shorter races, I finally had to admit I couldn’t run H2C this year… 😦 Booo. 😦
Last Saturday I ran for the first time since April 9th. So far so good….
Take care of your feet!!
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Ugh, does that mean I’m in total denial? I was likening my feet feeling SORE to my legs feeling sore after a run — different from foot PAIN and the pain of a torn leg muscle, say. It has got to have been hard for you to be out of commission for so long Geli. I’ve heard that cortisone shot is really a doozy, too. I am glad to hear you are finally back to running!
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Now that they are healing, they feel sore. But since it’s the ligaments, they must still be slightly inflamed.
On both legs, I had IT band pain in the knee before it migrated to the feet. The main issue was too much of the same sport with too little stretching and cross training.
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I haven’t had foot pain probably because I am not primarily a runner (I bike and swim) but I have noticed for me using a foam roller for my arms and legs and a lacrosse ball under my foot keeps me relatively injury free. Not sure how often you do those but I try to do it twice a day for about 10 minutes. Just a thought. Hope your pain isn’t a injury that sets you back. Best of luck!
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Thanks Alyssa. Everything I’m reading says to do exactly what you do, rolling the ball under the foot. I will definitely start doing that.
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