Plantar fasciitis= surgery

[Tri Girl]

I tell my pf folks who love flip-flops to wear Chaco flip-flops, and walk in them gripping the flip-flop with your foot and holding it close to you. That makes you flex your toes and lift your arch, which strengthens the muscles that aren't doing their job (and leaving all the work to be done by your pf, which just can't)

You can also strengthen the same muscles by curling your toes into a tight fist for 5 seconds, then splaying your toes out wide for 5 seconds, many times a day.

Thanks, Knot. That's great advice! I appreciate you suggesting those things. Crocs and Chacos. I'll look into those for sure. I am a warm weather lover, and the thought of wearing tennis shoes all summer again like last year bums me out.

I've pretty much laid off running. For 3 months I did NO running, then started to get depressed of sorts from not running. Since then, I've only "run" once a week for 2-3 miles for the last 8 months. That is a significant drop in my normal mileage. It's the most break I can give it while not completey losing my mind (cycling and swimming just don't do the same mentally for me and I can't stand the elliptical- I'd rather run in pain). When I do run, we're talking 12-13 min. miles with walk breaks, so it's not like I'm doing much more than a fast walk anyway. I don't think it could get much more rest.
Now that I'm IM training, I will HAVE to run (and run in pain if that's the case). There's no option for me. I figure the last 11 months of almost non-existent running didn't do much good, so I'm going to ramp it up since I'm in pain anyway. It may be foolish, but I can't stop living and doing the things I love (are you sensing the stubborness yet? ).


Thanks again, everyone, for your great advice/support. I just KNEW you'd understand and have lots of words of wisdom and such. You ladies are the BEST!
The PT is the next step.