how long can I take off due to foot pain?

pippacont

So I made it to W6D1 pain-free. Now that I'm supposed to be starting W6D2, I have horrible foot pain and I'm afraid to keep going and make things worse. From my internet perusing (read that as "haven't seen the doctor yet"), my guess is that I have tendonitis and a bone spur in my left foot. Pain started Sunday- I've been trying to be gentle on it since. I have not been running, I have been stretching, and I did take ibuprofen the first day. I guess my ultimate questions are these: have you taken time off from the program? how long did you take? did you have to backtrack?

bostonwolf

1. See a doctor
2. Rest it until it doesn't hurt any more.

Also, try to check your form and make sure you aren't heel-striking too badly. Ideally you want to land midfoot or on the ball of your foot.

likitisplit

People have taken time off from the program for various reasons. They've either done something else to keep them in shape during that time and started where they've left off, dropped back a couple of weeks, or started over.

If you want to keep going, you might want to try a stationary bicycle (or a regular one) while you work on seeing a doctor. Other than that, I second bostonwolf.