Great job! That is one thing with running is that often it just takes consistent running over a time period for your pace to improve. And when it does, its an awesome feeling.
Question for any of you guys that have suffered through some plantar fasciitis. About four weeks ago I started to develop some pain in the rear part of my arch on my right foot, right where it ties into my heel. It hasn't gotten much worse yet the pain just lingers and is irritating. I have started to ice right after my runs and that feels great. I also started rolling my foot on a can so that my arch will stretch a bit. That feels pretty good as well. I don't have time for this to be hitting me right now as I have some serious physical obigations to attend to here in the next 6-7 weeks. Any other hints on how to reduce or remove this arch pain? Thanks guys.
Hooker, followed your advice and slowed down my intervals. Ran those same .4 mile runs. My goal was to do four like you suggested and finish between 2:25-2:35 which would put me right at a 6:20-6:30 mile time. Well I did them in 2:13, 2:13, 2:18, and 2:20. Those felt like times that pushed me but didn't crush me. I ran those suckers in 95 degree heat. I also jogged a mile and a half and walked a mile and a half. Even after taking in 20 ounces of water I still lost 3 lbs of water weight. Man it is hot.
ice..... fill up a dixie cup and put it in the freezer, once frozen just tear back the top and numb the heck outta the bottom of your foot. a golf ball works great for rolling it out. last if you have some marbles, dump them on the carpet and pick them up with your toes and place them in a container (helps streghten) some guys i've seen will try and tape the bottom of their foot, seen others just let it pull, doc told one guy to go out and play some pick-up hoops to just go ahead and tear em' ouch!
Just thought I'd give you guys an update. I'm still running 3-4 days a week right now and have seen a lot of improvement, though no real weight loss yet. After I got over the initial hump of getting back into running I did a couple weeks of faster paced shorter runs. I would run three laps (1 lap = 200 meters at my gym) at a faster gait, walk a lap, run two laps fast, walk a lap, hopefully run two more fast laps, another walking lap and finally finish with a one lap sprint and a two lap cooldown. After I felt that I had built up some strength and cardiovascular endurance I decided to slow it down for yesterday's run and see how far I could get in one shot. About halfway through my sixth lap (about 3/4 of a mile) my tibialis anterior grew fatigued and I had to walk a couple laps before it loosened up again. I ended up running more than a mile combined yesterday and about a half mile or more of walking. It feels good to be making progress and see changes even if my weight hasn't started to drop yet. If my leg hadn't gotten tired, I would have been on pace to finish a 10-minute mile too Not too bad for a 360 lb guy huh?
Nicely done. I would see how well you do next week, then add another sprint, or extend to 1/2 mile. I did a ladder work out the other day, and it about killed me. I went 200m, 400, 800, 1600, 800, 400, 200, all at 6:30 pace, with a 400m jog in between each. Brutal.
I fought plantar fasciitis this spring and what these guys have said is dead on. A couple other things I was told is to "write" the alphabet with your big toe in the air, sounds silly but it definitely helped me, I did it 3-4 times a day. The other thing they told me is to wear shoes with good support as much as possilbe, don't go barefoot.
Thanks Isaiah and Drenman. I will give it a go with those exercises. I just did my first alphabet air foot thing. lol. Will get onto the marble thing here in a second. I need to keep icing it as well. I am going to do some preventative exercises with my healthy left foot as well. Hooker, that workout sounds disgusting. I would fall over dead half way through. Bigstick, keep it up man. Your hard work is going to pay off. I bet by the end of the year you drop at least 20 lbs, improve your cardiovascular health, and gain muscle. Then it will all start getting a lot easier and your improvements will come at a quicker, more efficient rate.
Brett, I had it BAD...four cortisone shots over a span of about 5 years, only killed the pain for a spell. I did all the stretches, all the ice etc...nothing. It was brutal my first tour in Iraq on the sand/gravel stuff they have there, was really brutal with my body armor and such on. Only thing that helped me was getting orthotic inserts - like a switch it stopped. Fixed my paterllar issues in my knee also,
Sean, thanks for the info. I am going to press ahead with the "rehab" stuff/steching/ice until June 25th or so. If I do not have some noticeable relief I am going to set up a doctors visit and try to secure some orthotics. If things go the way I would like in terms of the job, I would have those orthotics a good 20-25 days ahead of the start date. That should give me enough time to get used to them and get that darn pain out of my foot. It actually hurts worse here today after I have done the rehab stuff the last few days. I just think it was extremely tight. I always had high arches my whole life until my current job kicked off 5 years. 8-10 hours a day on one's feet flattens one's feet out pretty good. My arches are still getting stronger after years of being weak. Worst case scenario I ask them to shoot me up so I can proceed with my goal. On a side note, I really do appreciate the commitment you have made protecting our country in really nasty conditions, and with injuries. Thank you. Brett
Brett, Sorry I have no advice/hepl in the PF. From everything I've read its an absolute B**** to deal with. Good luck that it doesnt affect you. I'm just kind of floating along right now with my running, not really training for anything in particular...yet. I'm transitioning more to the VFF (toe shoes). I went 7.2 miles in them last night, feeling great, I think I am just about there to almost exclusively swap over, save maybe my long runs. And since the marathon is done I have started back with my upper body workout routine, not that it's that much but it helps.
I just bought the New Balance Minimus trail for my longer runs. I absolutely love them so far. I ran 18 miles on a trail in the VFF, and that would be about as far as I would want to go in them. Every little rock or root started to feel 10x worse the farther I got. The Minimus seem like just enough shoe for longer runs.
Thanks Shadow. Did the same thing again today, but since the shorter strides were making my legs fatigue quickly I ended up running the last few laps straight out. Sorry to hear about your PF. Injuries are always a pain. I don't mind the idea of the forefoot running, but I'm not sold that it will reduce my risk of injury. I like the idea of not hitting the heel of my foot every time I jog though. I'll have to look into it.
I have been reading really good things about those & the merril glove trail shoes. I just have so many pairs of shoes right now, I am finding it tough to buy yet another pair. But I just might.
I gave my best effort in a 5K walk/race this past weekend and finished 4th in my age group (35-39). Small potatoes to the rest of you guys, I know, but I am happy with it. Looking forward to continuing in other events and improving my fitness levels.
I'm from outside of Pittsburgh, what 5K did you do? Don't be discouraged, the 35-39 is a VERY difficult age group. Generally there is a lot of us, and a lot of the guys are good. I did one a couple weeks ago, and the top 3 guys in that age group finished in the top 10 overall for the race, including 2nd & 4th overall.
Quick step. Meaning, you run at a faster pace and shorter strides. this will naturally allow you to land in just barely a forward position and will reduce the amount of impact. I'm a big guy (73" tall @ 265 lbs) and it makes a world of difference.
