Sorry if this is long.
I developed soreness in my feet, and in one foot in particular, after about 3 long runs (for my current level) and in wet, partially packed, slushy snow, ending with a long and gruelling run on Jan 9. (we're talking 5-7 miles each). I had been progressing quickly and with no soreness or pain in my feet up to that point, and was up to 20-28 miles/wk, bf when the weather permitted or in socks indoors, or in mocs outside in the cold (so mostly in mocs for december/january). All three runs that caused soreness were in soft star mocs, which I'm now thinking encouraged me to dorsiflex too much to grab the shoe and the snow (since the shoes are very wide and floppy on me), as well as general form issues and challenges from running in the snow/in shoes. The last run I should have turned back home from, since I wasn't expecting snowy sidewalks (I'm talking up to 1ft of snow), and I was already a bit sore from the day before.
Since that time, I have not run (.5 miles here or there, just to check, and bf or in thin socks), to try to allow the soreness to heal. At first, there was also some achilles tightness, which went away in about a week.
The soreness feels mostly like TOFP (from what I've read). It's a bit tight in the am, better as the day goes on, a little sore after exercise (I do elliptical and weights), but doesn't feel great to walk on. I'd say uncomfortable, but no shooting pain or throbbing.
No swelling, flexing feels good, no pain to the touch or massage. Standing on the balls of my feet feels okay. Walking is not usually great. Sometimes more sore than others.
The issue is that while things seem to be slowly getting better, it feels very slow (getting near 1 month and still not able to run) and I'm wondering whether I need to have this immobilized. I tried 0.5 mi bf on the track the other day, and it felt okay during the run, but was more sore the next day than it had been.
Is there any way it could be a stress fracture? If so, do I need a brace/cast? Can pulled stuff heal without being immobilized?
If it's not, can I just keep waiting it out, or do I need a doc? I want to avoid a boot, if I can heal on my own. I tried wearing some of my old 'regular' shoes from before my more minimal days, but they felt horribly uncomfortable and seemed to make my foot feel worse.
Also, there are no bf friendly docs in my area (from the map and from the ones I know of), so I'm reluctant to bother going to a doc unless I really need xrays/immobilization/etc.
Any thoughts??
I developed soreness in my feet, and in one foot in particular, after about 3 long runs (for my current level) and in wet, partially packed, slushy snow, ending with a long and gruelling run on Jan 9. (we're talking 5-7 miles each). I had been progressing quickly and with no soreness or pain in my feet up to that point, and was up to 20-28 miles/wk, bf when the weather permitted or in socks indoors, or in mocs outside in the cold (so mostly in mocs for december/january). All three runs that caused soreness were in soft star mocs, which I'm now thinking encouraged me to dorsiflex too much to grab the shoe and the snow (since the shoes are very wide and floppy on me), as well as general form issues and challenges from running in the snow/in shoes. The last run I should have turned back home from, since I wasn't expecting snowy sidewalks (I'm talking up to 1ft of snow), and I was already a bit sore from the day before.
Since that time, I have not run (.5 miles here or there, just to check, and bf or in thin socks), to try to allow the soreness to heal. At first, there was also some achilles tightness, which went away in about a week.
The soreness feels mostly like TOFP (from what I've read). It's a bit tight in the am, better as the day goes on, a little sore after exercise (I do elliptical and weights), but doesn't feel great to walk on. I'd say uncomfortable, but no shooting pain or throbbing.
No swelling, flexing feels good, no pain to the touch or massage. Standing on the balls of my feet feels okay. Walking is not usually great. Sometimes more sore than others.
The issue is that while things seem to be slowly getting better, it feels very slow (getting near 1 month and still not able to run) and I'm wondering whether I need to have this immobilized. I tried 0.5 mi bf on the track the other day, and it felt okay during the run, but was more sore the next day than it had been.
Is there any way it could be a stress fracture? If so, do I need a brace/cast? Can pulled stuff heal without being immobilized?
If it's not, can I just keep waiting it out, or do I need a doc? I want to avoid a boot, if I can heal on my own. I tried wearing some of my old 'regular' shoes from before my more minimal days, but they felt horribly uncomfortable and seemed to make my foot feel worse.
Also, there are no bf friendly docs in my area (from the map and from the ones I know of), so I'm reluctant to bother going to a doc unless I really need xrays/immobilization/etc.
Any thoughts??