I reported a few weeks back that I’d been diagnosed as having either a cyst or “thickening of the sheath” of a major ligament on the top of my left foot. I got a cortisone shot and the problem went away. Until the other day, when it cropped up again after a fast 16 miler.
Enter the training diary. I looked back over my notes concerning when the problem first appeared (10 miles into another fast mid-length run), and when it had flared up over subsequent runs. The common factor turned out to be a certain model of shoe: the Asics Speedstar. I have two pairs of these that I don’t wear all that often, as they are just “okay” shoes. I have other lightweight models that I prefer (the current favorite being the Pearl Izumi Streak) for faster running, so the Speedstar tends to be the neglected stepsister who only grudgingly gets taken out every few weeks.
I hadn’t worn them since the cortisone shot until the other day, after which — wouldn’t you know it — my top of foot pain was back. So I’m going to stop wearing them until after the marathon, and even then I may retire them if they aren’t suitable for shorter recovery runs either (I hate to throw away perfectly good shoes before their time).
I track everything: resting HR, running HR, distance, speed, weather, calories, weight, sleep hours (and quality of sleep), mood, shoes worn (and mileage on each pair), pains/niggles, and the quality of every run. Some may say this is overkill but it truly pays off at times like this.
Races Like a Girl 
I hope the foot’s OK for Sunday. Do you always wear lightweights for speed sessions, or mix it up a bit?
I use the lightest shoes possible for everything. Here’s what I currently use:
Saucony Grid Tangent 3: Recovery runs and regular long runs
Pearl Izumi Streak: Mid-length runs, tempo runs, progressive/fast-finish long runs, races 10M and up
Saucony Fasttwitch 3: Intervals 800 and up, races 15K and down
Asics Dirt Diva: Intervals <800
I just started trying the Nike Lunar Trainer, which is so-so. I probably won’t buy it again. But I want to try the Lunar Racer.
Isn’t it nice to be able to pinpoint those kind of things?
If all else fails, you’ve got a pair of walking-around shoes … I’ve given up more than one “new” pair though. Sigh.
So glad you could track it down without much ado. Yay for training logs! Hope the cyst goes back into hiding.
I hope the foot feels better by Sunday!
I’ve bought odd stepsisters like that. Not wasted though – they’re put to use in the garden, or walking.
Have you tried the Nike Free? I think they’re the best shoe ever – light, flexible, fast and good for my feet!
Training logs are great for exactly this reason!
It’s good you were able to pinpoint the problem.