So you are three weeks away from your goal race and are in the shape of your life. You meet your pace group for a 14-mile training run on the Capital Crescent Trail and you are feeling good. Suddenly, you begin to experience pain on the top of your foot as your pass through the Dalecarlia Tunnel toward Georgetown. The pain intensifies as you hit Fletcher’s Boathouse and you have to stop. You have one of those “oh no” moments as you hobble off to wait for one of your running buddies to pick you up and take you back to Bethesda. The next day, you notice swelling and feel tenderness on the top of your foot.
There is a good chance that you just experienced your first stress fracture. If the pain does not improve after three to five days of rest, your next step is to seek medical attention. The key factors in diagnosing a stress fracture are pain that intensifies as your run progresses, and tenderness and swelling at a specific point on your foot, shin or heel.