Blah, blah, blah. Moan, moan. Not running is stupid. The real killer is that I hate to cross train. I have absolutely no interest in cross training at all. I run because I love to run and I don't want to bike, swim, run in water or anything else. I don't want to take up a new temporary hobby just to maintain fitness. I just want to run. Or at the very least have a date so that I can obsess over the countdown until that day comes. C'mon. Moan with me brothers and sisters from the Land of Bench. Blah, blah, blah.

*moan* here we go again... I hear your moans, Claire, loud and clear, and I'm with ya. Cross training just isn't the same. It would be much more unbearable had it not been the occasional females that comes to this tiny office gym that I workout in. Yesterday, there was this cute runner girl on the next treadmill. I couldn't tell how fast she was running but I swear she takes 200 strides per minute. Mine usually hover around 178 to 186. It's weird that she was flying on her treadmill and I was limping along on mine, yet we both didn't get anywhere. Speaking about getting anywhere, I wondered if she's running in this year's Boston Marathon because that would be cool. If only I could muster enough courage to ask. I have no problem asking, 'cept I hate to have everyone else in the gym that are bored out of their minds waiting to eave drop to make the time go by faster. Speaking about bored at the gym, see, I side tracked again. As I was saying, cross training just isn't the same. I can peddle until the wheel flies off the stationary bike and my heart rate will still be low. My arms would burn on the elliptical and I would slow down. I slow down every time I pass a runner on the road these days, just to check them out, and reminisce that feeling I had when I was running. If I close my eyes, I can imagine myself running on a warm spring day. The leaves are just coming out so everything has a bright yellowish green hue to them, as opposed to the dark green covered in soot of the summer. The air is just warm enough to be in shorts and t-shirt. I'm running alone, by myself, with no water bottles or other silly-ness that I carry during marathon training. The sun's shining on my face and I can feel the heat. I jog along with no hurry because I have no worries. I am out there enjoying running for what it is. I could be in a sea of fair weather walkers and joggers but in my mind, I'm out in the middle of nowhere, with no one around. Just me, and my run.

moan moan moan..... I'm with you. The cortisone shot made the pain go away for exactly 1 week, and then it came back. My doctor now officially has no idea what's wrong, and trying to run through the pain (which he recommended) seems to be causing other problems like hip pain and shin splints, probably due to overcompenstating. I'm going to try custom orthotics out but can't get an appt. to get them for 3 weeks, plus I don't know if they will work and $350-500 is a lot to spend on something that's a guess. I wish we had NZ healthcare system, I've already spent over $500 trying to get better and haven't seen any progress yet!! I used to love to cross train too, but I find that if I can't run I don't really have the motivation to do anything... blah... plus biking still hurts afterwards too..... Eric, you said exactly how I feel. I also slow down anytime I drive by a runner and dream of being back out there..... moan

Eric - Shaunna: so sorry to hear that the cortisone didn't work as you had hoped. I wear custom orthotics that were hand cast by my PT - I am very happy with them. I don't even notice them anymore. They are full length, semi-rigid. Sherry: Happy Anniversary! Hope you feel better soon.

Shaunna - the orthotics situation is a difficult one. Especially if no one can say 'This is the solution, it will definitely help'. I know that several other poeple on the board have considered those 'off the peg' orthotics that you can buy in running stores in this situation. Maybe you could throw a thread out on the Health & fitness board and see what the response is, as to whether they helped or not.

Claire- Yeah, I got a nice pair of generic running orthotics at the running shop 2 months ago and they haven't done anything to help really. Although my pain is mostly in the toes and lateral arch, and they mostly support the heel and inner arch, so perhaps custom ones will be more supportive or have more cushioning in the toes. I'm just going to suck it up and get them. I hate not being able to run and train.That week and a half that I was running pain free was SUCH a tease, I cannot wait to get back to it. I ran a little this morning and I feel OK, it seems to come with longer runs, so for now I'm going to try short easy runs every few days and hope that the orthotics and calcitonan (to help strengthen the bones) will help me somehow and that without continuous pounding my foot will be able to heal whatever is wrong. I'm glad to hear that you are starting to feel better recently. I bet once it heals completely you will be ok to get back out there.