I'm a 5K/10K runner training for my first marathon. The past few weeks I've been experiencing mild soreness in my left knee at 3-5 miles, causing me to stop running. Once I stop, the knee stiffens up quickly, making it difficult to even bend without pain. I've had knee injuries before (mostly hockey) that takes days or weeks to subside. This is different. If I ice my knee after running, I'm up and walking in a few hours, and mostly pain-free by the next morning, and ready to run.

I've struggled with plantar fasciitis for over 10 years. It all started with a broken foot and just never got better. Years of therapy, e-stim, varous ice and/or heat combinations, and even 2 surgeries didn't begin to touch it. I did get a night brace that helped, but it was cumbersome and made it difficult to sleep. Christine suggested a product called The Strassberg Sock.
WOW! What a difference! While I'm not exactly pain-free, I can at least get up in the morning with minimal discomfort. It's not cumbersome at all and wearing it actually feels very natural after a few days. Here is the link: http://www.thesock.com/ . I hope this helps some others with similar problems.

put this message over here and not clutter up the training log. Thanks to all the folks offering up gear to get me some sort of endorphin rush for a while. Karen, I did score a bike to use already but I'm not the same size as the guy who owns it. I may track you down if it's too much of a mismatch. And to answer your questions it was sudden onset, x-rays today, and they're not really swollen. (I'm one of those lucky people who don't swell too much, even when I have broken stuff.) Alyie I'd love to swim with you but I haven't touched the water since March. Don't want to hold you up. I also don't have a Y membership. I'll swim at Echo Lake with you sometime if you don't care if I dog it. : ) Tom, I'll get in touch with you today to see what toys you have for me!

I need advice. For the last three months (since the Boston marathon) my right knee has been giving me trouble. It is very often painful when I run. It is almost always very stiff feeling. Sometimes when it moves to one or another spot, I feel sick to my stomach. Things get a lot worse when I have to sit in a plane, train, bus, car (or some combination), for a long time. This is a knee that I really fouled up playing hockey when I was 14, four months in a cast, etc., but that was a loooong time ago. (it left my foot turning out, but, otherwise, I have had no significant problem for over 30 years.)

"Ow, ow, ow, ow" (shin splint discussion)

20 mile run yesterday in aging shoes, the last of a 55 mile week. Now the sole of my left foot is swollen and tender. I'm getting ready for the Sugarloaf Marathon. Anybody know what happened to my foot and what I should do about it? Thanks, Tim

Since I have been increasing my mileage, I have noticed soreness in my low back, especially in morning when I wake up. Has this ever happened to anyone? Any remedies? Amy

Well, after getting the worst and really first calf cramp during the MDI Marathon, I thought my use of Ibuprofen might be the cause. The cramp caused a nasty bruise in my calf that moved to my ankle in all sorts of funky colors. I continued to use Ibuprofen due to my lower ab injury after the marathon and continued to be plagued with calf cramps. To put this in perspective, I never got cramps in my calf before. I discontinued ibuprofen during December and January and did not have any problems with cramps. Yesterday, because of all the crosscountry skiing and related pain in my lower ab, I ran with ibuprofen ... the cramps came back.

I have a callus on my foot that just won't go away. I tried the callus remover stuff but it took away all the surrounding skin. I try trimming it myself (ewww) but it comes right back and is painful. Does anyone have any ideas? I really don't want to go to the Dr.....

Thanks,
Suzanne

This hip thing is slow going. It seems to be getting better, but not very fast and I'm really not doing anything other than snowshoeing on it, and most of that is hiking. I'm not so sure it's not a stress fracture. But I haven't really run in 5 weeks and those first couple of weeks I was like a drug addict going through withdrawal. I couldn't eat, sleep and was yelling at people I never yell at.

Cranky hamstring question
Posted by Kitty on February 18, 2004:

Hi everyone - do others of you have problematic hamstrings, and know of some effective and perhaps little-known strengthening/stretching routines for them? My stretching routine is becoming less helpful the older I get. As for strength training, I've never consistently included it in my workouts, partly out of ignorance but mostly because I'm lazy. I'd be delighted with any advice from you folks. Merci beaucoup! -Kitty