Back on the roads with only 8 weeks to go! Its been a tough week, the most depressing in my training. The sore heel after the Watford half just did not improve and I had to turn back on two runs after a few miles because of the pain. I worried a lot and really felt like a failure. But then Sue Stoker (thank you!) mentioned a technique she had heard about in her physio training - FFT. It was difficult to find someone who knew the techniques in the London area, but finally I found a brilliant physio, Robert Hawkins, in Enfield who could fit me in on Thursday.

Later that day, I ran 4 miles almost pain free, then 6 on Friday, 4 again of Saturday and Billy dropped me off 8 miles from home today, bringing my weekly total up to 30 miles. The taping I can do myself now and although my foot is less flexible, it feels almost like someone is holding my instep. Now I've got the confidence to step soundly as the pain is gone. I was doing this horrible shuffle gait trying to avoid the pain, even just walking up to the train.

Functional Fascial Taping - http://www.fft.net.au/ was developed by an Austrialian physio working with ballet dancers, and he developed this technique for taping to support the foot so that dancers with plantar fasciitis could continue training - and it really works! I'm not even taking ibuprofen anymore.

Tomorrow I fly to Seattle Washington to visit my Mom for a week. Both my sisters are also arriving and we're visiting my brother and his new partner, so I will feel a bit guilty asking them to plan their day's around my running schedule, but hopefully I can take advantage of the jet lag the first few days and get some long runs in before anyone wakes up. I hope to meet up with Tory (msteeshur from the PDIP board) next Sunday for a run before I fly home.

I was so sad today to hear that Petra has had to pull out of the FLM due to an injury - my heart goes out to her! But this would be her 6th, so she knows that she'll run a marathon again, once she gets the problem sorted.