And the Sport Doc says...

I have a bio mechanical issue with my foot which is causing the problem. Basically, my heel and forefoot don't line up the way that they should. My right foot is pronating to the inside and flattening. Instead of  pronating on the outside and springing to create forward momentum. Basically I am twisting my foot/heel to compensate for the loss of natural function in the foot. Also, weakness in my hip flexor/joint and supporting muscle groups are not helping the situation. This is most definitely not what I wanted to here, but at least I have an answer as to what is causing the problem.

Now how do I fix the problem. First solution is to get fitted for orthotics to correct the misalignment allowing my body to correct from the foot up.  The second solution is to work on strengthening the hip and supporting muscles to fix the problem from the top down.  Either way poses its own set of challenges and problems.  With the orthotic route I will not be fixing the bio-mechanical issues to where I won't need the orthotic in the future which poses issues with the types of footwear I can use. The other issue is that a good portion of the time I am not in shoes or footwear which you could wear an orthotic.  Either that or I am not being active and on my feet, I work in an office at a desk most of the day. So I don't see a whole lot of benefit for that option. Strengthening the musculature to force my body to correct the problem seems more of a benefit now and into the future.

At least he didn't tell me I couldn't run. In fact he told me to keep running, just not to do any speed work, hill work, or intervals. I am supposed to keep my mileage where it is at and just run. Don't worry about time, speed, or pace just run what feels right. I think that I can handle that. So for now that is what I have to work with, and I am going to try my best to stay with in the distances allowed. I feel confidant that what ever he has planned to help will me get to my goals, which he wrote down and took notes on. I think that it helps that he has done the same things that I want to (marathons,tri, ironman, you know the usual) with the exception of the ultra-distance races. Time will ultimately tell, but I think I am off to a good start in the right direction.