This week, one RW member discovers the trouble with tootsies..."I recently changed my running shoes for a much roomier pair. However, two of my toes (next to the big toe on each foot) get numb each time I run, and the nails are getting blacker

to cultivate that nice mid-foot striking thing. (Coach has said so too.) But I've also heard that you shouldn't change whatever feels natural – and it's hard to maintain a new style. Anyone successfully altered theirs?" – LyraYour best answersChange will help

in the same place, just under my ribcage on the right. I've tried everything to stop it – not eating for 2-3 hours before a run, eating a banana half an hour before, breathing out when my left foot strikes the floor, ditto with my right, relaxing my breathing

?" – RutjosnabetYour answers...I couldn't get one foot past the other in the evening if I just had fruit for lunch! I'd suggest a mid-afternoon snack of meat or cheese sandwiches, and a banana or a couple of biscuits before your run. – VelociraptorAllsorts are just

. Then in January, I had a car accident and completely crushed my foot, and had to take several months off. I've now started to get back into running, but it feels so much harder than it used to! Am I literally starting from scratch? My body is a beginner but my

blood pressure is excellent, I have no foot or hand swelling, and my baby is healthy. My advice is just to go with how you feel, and remember that you may not be able to do what you could. – LozFI had my first child in August 2005. On the basis that I

for the off, by which time the efects of the warm-up are wasted. Secondly, and more personal to me, the effect of my nerves before a race are such that I can hardly put one foot in front of the other prior to the start of a race. If the race is 10 miles plus