I had been running pretty consistently; running 4x/week and averaging 25 miles per week.   Then a couple of months ago I was  running with someone from our running group, pushing myself to keep up with them,  then afterwards we ran up a parking structure for fun.  After that I started to feel pain in the ball of my right foot.  Of course I kept running for 3 and half more weeks with my right foot feeling sore during and after my runs.  It felt like there was a small stone stuck in my shoe at the ball of my foot.   Now I was feeling pain even when I went for an extended walk.   I did some internet sleuthing and  discovered that I probably had something called Morton's Neuroma which is a pinched or inflamed nerve between a couple of the small toes of the foot.   I stopped running,  messaged my foot daily with a lacrosse ball, stuck my foot in ice water bath a few times, started taking Aleve, ordered something called a metatarsal pad for my foot and made an appointment to see a foot orthopedist which I couldn't get scheduled for another 2 weeks.  While waiting for my doctor's appointment  I  started doing short 20-30 min walks 3-4x/week for the next 2 and half weeks which my foot seem to tolerate pretty well without becoming too sore afterwards.   At my orthopedist's appoint I had x-rays of my feet , the doctor indicated there were no stress fractures, he felt around my foot and said that I probably do have Morton's Neuroma and gave me a doctor orders to have an musculoskeletal ultra sound to confirm the Neuroma, and another for a foot orthopedic.   The doctor tells me that I could have a cortisone shot to reduce inflammation of the nerve, or if the pain persists I could have a simple surgery to remove the neuroma (that hopefully doesn't result in any nerve damage).  He also says I should be able to run on my foot without any risk of permanent damage to my foot.   So I start run/walking 3 miles; 2.5 min run, 2.5 min walk  at  a time, building up 5 miles of run/walking with 4 minutes run, 1 minute walking, and a 5 mile easy run last Saturday.   I plan on running 8 easy miles (5 followed by a break then 3 more) this Saturday morning seeing how it goes.

I had the musculoskeletal ultrasound done and I am waiting for the doctor's review of the scans.  I had  foot orthopedics  made (shoe inserts) for my feet for $295, but the inserts are so thick in the back of the foot that I struggle to get my foot into my running shoes with the inserts.   My feet feel more sore with inserts in my running shoes since is the heel is so much higher and the shoe is so much tighter.   The person that made the inserts said they would make modifications if need, so I with probably go back to see if I can get them modified to be useable for running.

Morton's Neuroma can be cause by shoes being too tight and repetitive stress.   I have wide feet, but have been running in wide width shoes, and I also run with a forefoot strike.  In addition I supinate on both feet when I run, but much more severely on my right foot, and have had multiple cases of plantar's fasciitis on both feet.  I think that the supination may contributing factor and have been concerned about it and how my right foot running shoes have always wearing out on the outside quickly.   I have been thinking of how to correct the supination.  I have read that it is very difficult to make meaningful changes to your running form by trying to implement the changes while you are running.   That you need to do specific exercises to correct your form.   I  remember hearing about something called Egoscue therapy on a running podcast which is suppose to correct imbalances in your skeleton structure to relieve pain.   I found someone fairly close by that does Egosue therapy and who thinks it will help correct my running supination.  I have scheduled an appointment this Monday which includes; includes an evaluation in multiple movement screens (???),  and which results in series of corrective exercises. 

I am a little anxious about my foot since I have the following race events coming up;  the Cherry Blossom 10 miler in Washington DC on April 3rd,  the Bayshore half marathon on May 28th, and the Michigan Ragnar Trail relay June 24-25th.   I could always run/walk these to the best of my ability, but that would not be as much fun.