wierd foot pain

Oooh, this does sound familiar. I posted a similar response the other day to a "foot pain" thread, but Pooh what you described sounds like the way I would describe what affects me: achilles tendonitis. There seems to be no source for the pain anywhere in your foot, the reason being because there isn't! Are you experiencing any tenderness in and around your achilles tendon?? This was the diagnosis I got from a podiatrist back when I was in high school. Just a thought.

Thanks Scott. I had read that thread too, which is why I posted, cause I don't think it's the same thing.  My muscles all feel fine to the touch, achilles and plantar.  The pain is getting worse, shooting up my calf.   It is definately the TOP of the foot, but the person who started the last thread about pain on the top of the foot had just done a half ironman. And that's way out of my league, so I didn't think it was the same.  It probably isn't even running related. It's probably gout or something from all my rich eating this holiday

yeah if your pain is going way up to the calf, it definitely sounds like something different. certainly something that i would have checked out though. hope its nothing to serious.

The bottom line with stuff like this is it's better to see a foot doc sooner rather than later, as left unchecked you may miss a lot of training and racing time. Some things to consider:

One possibility that sort of goes along with increases in mileage: It could hurt only one foot if you had a metatarsal stress fracture, a hairline crack in the bone in your foot that occurs with overuse. The pain can radiate depending upon where the fracture is located. They do not generally show up on x-rays unless the healing process is fairly well underway. They can however be detected on a bone scan or MRI. One good clinical way to assess for stress fractures (if you can find a tuning fork) is to take a tuning fork, strike it on a surface so it begins vibrating, and press the base of it against the bone where you have pain. It will only take a second to know if there's a problem, because it's pretty painful. :-(

Another thing to consider is that your running shoes may be too narrow, causing the metatarsals to scrunch together when you run. Have you changed style of shoes recently? Anyway I'd recommend a trip to a podiatrist who is familiar with the training you are doing as opposed to one who rarely sees athletes. Good luck!

TOO NARROW!! hey - I've been using ice grips, and now that I think about it,  my left foot was a bit squished near the toes.   DUHHHHHH.  Hmm. now what do I do about it Thanks all for the advice!!

Don't feel bad. Last month I bought a new pair of running shoes and used them for a week before I realized they didn't fit! Thankfully the store staff took pity on me and let me exchange them. One of the few bennies of running on a treadmill...they were still clean. :-)