I have not been running at all. Instead, I've been cross training at the Y using the elliptical, recumbent bike, rowing machine and arm ergometer for cardio. I have been doing some weight training, but not consistently. I meet with my 12 week jumpstart trainer on Monday. It's the YMCA jumpstart program available to all new members. I'm beyond a jumpstart, but seeing a trainer for free to get ideas is always a good thing.

I bought a brace for my foot from Walgreens that was supposed to keep my foot flexed at night to ease the pain of the plantar fasciitis. When I put the brace on, my foot didn't seem to feel flexed enough, and then I managed to wiggle out of it at night. Needless to say, I took it back. I want to buy one that stretches a tension band from the ball of the foot to just below the knee. I think that will be much more effective. In the meantime, I've been stretching regularly, cross training and icing my foot. Today it feels much better, and when I woke up the foot pain was not as acute. I just need to keep up on this therapy regimen and maybe step it up a bit in terms of frequency.

I want to begin official training for the April half a week from Sunday. If I start running again, and the pain comes back, I'm bagging the April half until I feel like I can run again. The hard part of plantar fasciitis is that running can make it worse, and you don't know if you're making it worse until you feel pain. Then you've just done further damage and delayed your training. It's a frustrating condition to have. I have hope though. A colleague of mine said she suffered with it for a few weeks and then it went away without the need for PT or surgery. The difference between us, though, is that she's not overweight. I am, which is the reason I think I developed the injury in the first place. With the calf injury, hip pain and now the foot thing, I am trying hard to resist the idea that it might be my weight causing these problems. I want to defy that notion, and prove that fat people can run too, and that running can help you lose weight. Not sure why that's so important to me, but it is.

I guess it's just that I love running so much, I don't want to give it up because of something that I want to change. It makes me mad to be fat. I guess I need to turn that anger into something productive.