First half marathon complete! - foot pain isn't getting better tho

So first off, after starting to run 10 months ago, completed my first 10k in may, I finally completed my first half marathon in 2h 10min!! I gained like 5 pounds in the last month on bad eating and less mileage for last 2 weeks too. I'm so happy that despite the fact I'm 20 pounds overweight according to weight ranges and bmi for my height I was still able to complete the 21km in my goal time. Wish I had of lost some weight with all that training lol. Anyway...

I did the Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon and it was awesome. I was really sore after, worse then the 10k in may (as expected) but about 15 minutes after the race my right foot started really hurting from just under the balls of my foot all through the side and arch and ending pretty much before my heel. It's been 9 days since the half and the pain was going away but now it's back and worse :( only hurts when i put weight on it. I plan on making a doctors appointment but was wondering if anyone ever had something like that after a big race. All my leg soreness is gone but it feels like my foot is bruised or something. I was looknig forward to getting back to running after tapering and finishing the half, but looks like I might be out another week. grrr.

You might have an acute ligament strain in the foot--plantar fascia is the most common site, but not the only one. I would definitely recommend early intervention.

I had the exact same thing happen to me after a half marathon. I won't go into the discouraging details, but, suffice to say, making sure you achieve a full recovery is extremely important. Also, make sure whoever you are seeing is experienced at treating running injuries. Otherwise, there is a very good chance you will not get proper treatment.

That's an awesome time for your first half!  Congrats on that!

I have no useful advice for you, but thought I'd throw that in. :)  Oh, and another forum I frequent had a discussion about running marathons faster after losing weight.  The generally accepted figure is 15 pounds = 15 minutes off your marathon time.  So there's your incentive to finish your weight loss!

Clint

Going to the doctor/physiotherapist is a must - could be a stress fracture. There are many injuries that can happen and if it's been 9 days and it still hurts, it's an injury of some sort so please get it checked out.

Original Post by pbear999:

That's an awesome time for your first half!  Congrats on that!

I have no useful advice for you, but thought I'd throw that in. :)  Oh, and another forum I frequent had a discussion about running marathons faster after losing weight.  The generally accepted figure is 15 pounds = 15 minutes off your marathon time.  So there's your incentive to finish your weight loss!

Clint

 Thanks and really good to know about the time difference, which I heard losing weight does help but didn't know what it translate to. About 15 pounds is what I'd like to lose too!

I've made an appointment at a sports clinic. Though the earliest is 2 weeks away :(   hopefully I can find something sooner.

while you are waiting (hopefully you'll get something earlier) --

take a water bottle and fill it and freeze it.  Whenever you are just sitting around, roll your foot on the frozen water bottle.  this should help regardless of the injury -- but you'll want to stay off it as much as you can.  My first thought was also stress fracture, however PF is a possibility, as in damage to any of the other tendons in the foot.  Taking an anti-inflammatory regularly would also help.