My Foot Hurts

And I’m very unhappy about.

I went out for a run on Friday, trying to run off the seventy pounds of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, etc. that I mainlined on Thanksgiving. It was a good run, six miles, which ended up being one mile more than I had initially planned. Once I was out there, I realized I would let the road just sort of lead me, which is exactly what it did.

First time I’d run six miles on a few months. Around the beginning of September my knee started to bother me, and then my heel, then my whole foot. I did some reading and was starting to panic that I was developing the dreaded plantar facisitis. Which is exactly the time I discovered the Maffetone Method.

I’ve been trying the Maffetone Method for about two and a half months. I’ve got another update coming in a few days about how it went in month two. But for now, I’ll simply say that I went for a nice slow aerobic base building run.

Until yesterday all of my runs have been three miles, with a few at five. This was the first time I’d run six. And when I came back in, I felt great. Legs were good, I felt like I could’ve run another six.

An hour later, my foot hurt so badly I was limping.

Dammit.

I’ve been reading Born To Run. Riveting. I’m completely digging this book. And it makes a good case for barefoot running. Now, I’m not crazy enough to go completely barefoot. Not yet, anyway. Especially not heading into a New England winter. Aside from potential stress fractures, I’m not big into frostbite. So I’ve decided I’ve got to try a minimalist shoe. Because my foot shouldn’t hurt like this.

So I’ve ordered this little beauty.

This shoe should be in by Wednesday, which means trying it out in the cold dark of Thursday morning.