My aching foot!

[hawatc]

You obviously have tight arches, which may be developing into a condition called plantar fasciitis. There is a thick band of tissue on the bottom of your foot from your heel to the ball of your foot called the plantar fascii. If it gets inflamed or irritated, it is referred to as plantar fasciitis.
Anyway, the best treatment for this and keep training is to change your mechanics like already discussed and doing several stretches, both before and after activity. You can take a towel, hold one end in each hand, loop it around your toes and pull towards you. The tennis ball idea is very good to do in addition to towel stretch. A variation of this is to use a golf ball to further pinpoint smaller tight areas. You can even put the golf ball in the freezer so it gets cold, the cold will help with inflammation as well as be a pain reliever.
It would not hurt to do the stretches / ball rolls several times a day to really loosen up the structures in the arch of your foot.
Good luck!

[ironchick]

If you have been a cyclist or runner anfd are now trying swimming, a good coach will probably giggle at how inflexible your foot is. Most swimmers have great ankle and toe joint flexibility which enables them to kick efficiently.

A great stretch is to roll a towel up and place it under your toes as you kneel on your feet (some of you may sit like this for Yoga meditation) Let your weight gradually down onto your feet and you will feel the stretch in your toes. You can increase the size of the towel roll as you become more flexible.

Do these in conjunction with stretching your arches, and calves.

ALSO, if you are newer to swimming, you really only need a to develop 2 beat kick to race triathlon. As our legs use a huge amount of Oxygen and create more lactic acid; the more efficient your kicking is the more energy you will save.

[Lise]

ALSO, if you are newer to swimming, you really only need a to develop 2 beat kick to race triathlon. As our legs use a huge amount of Oxygen and create more lactic acid; the more efficient your kicking is the more energy you will save.

Helpful stuff, ironchick, thanks. Can you say more about the "2 beat kick"? I feel like my legs are just flailing around behind me when I swim.