So in my last post, I mentioned that I had signs of plantar fasciitis, and at the time I had taken a day off, taken some advil, and the pain had gone away. While that was true, I found that when I tried to run again, the pain came back in a short time.
Over the past couple weeks, I've gone through a couple cycles of days off until the heel felt pretty good, then running again, and having the pain come back. At first the cycle was only a couple days. Then I went just about an entire week without running (last week). Things were feeling good until Saturday, when my heel was sore again - even though I hadn't run in 6 days or so. But once again, I took some advil, and on Sunday things felt better. In fact, they felt better enough that I opted to try a quick 3 mile run. This time, I did a couple things differently: took advil immediately after to control immediate inflammation and tissue damage(hadn't done that before - duh), and reverted more to my older style of running, which uses the calf muscles less.
At that point, my new plan going forward changed quite a bit:
Running 5x Per week
Due to the fact that I'm behind on the build up to running 7x per week, the the apparent higher probability of becoming injured when running on a daily basis (due to no rest) - I ended up deciding that I'll likely settle on running 5x per week. This will provide both a mental and physical break, and provide opportunity for the occasional bike ride or swim session during this training season.
Revert back to my previous 'form' of running.
Since mid last year, I've been trying to make changes to my running form, with the two major items being cadence and limiting heel strike impact. Immediately upon trying the higher cadence, I had found my HR increased by about 3-5%. Doesn't sound like a lot, but when you consider that an easy run for me should be around 150 bpm, and a tempo run should be around 160 bpm (less that 10% difference) - 3%-5% is quite a bit. I initially thought I just needed to give my muscles time to adjust - but after going through the couch to 5k and subsequent build up - my HR was still higher. I've ended up deciding that while both Daniels and Galloway say that the fastest runners use a cadence of 180, that cadence benefits may depends naturally on speed. In other words - a cadence of 180 may impose a certain overhead in terms of HR - and at 9 min/miles, that overhead is more of a penalty than the cadence may deliver in benefit. Perhaps when you are able to throw down 7 min/miles, the equation changes. I'd be willing to bet that neither Galloway nor Daniels did much of their testing on subjects that were doing 9 min/miles.
Regarding limiting heel strike impact - last year I ran a couple times with no shoes to get an idea of the mechanics of barefoot running. I found that it resulted in a lot more landing and taking off from the front half of the foot, and that the heel barely contacted the ground at all. I then tried to emulate the mechanics while having shoes on. However, shoes have a natural slope to them - the heels are thicker than the front of the shoe. So when wearing shoes, your foot and angle is already at a greater than 90 degree angle. In order to have your toes touch first while in shoes, the angle has to be increased even further. I suspect that this had a part in why the plantar fasciitis started to creep up - trying to emulate barefoot mechanics with shoes resulted in an overcompensation condition.
So - with all that in mind, the current status is that I ran three miles on Sunday, followed by five on Monday, and yesterday (Tuesday) as a rest day. Tonight and tomorrow I'll run again, and Friday will be a rest. Even though I'm not going with Daniels 7x per week plan, I'm still going to follow the main aspects of his formula - train based on your current level of performance, and I'll probably have two quality days per week. It'll be very similar to the Galloway plan from last year, but without runs longer than 15 miles or 2.5 hours, with a phased approach to the types of workouts on quality days as opposed to mixing it all up throughout the entire season, and doing an easy run on non quality days as opposed to no running at all.
3 comments:
Here are some tips and stretches that will help with your Plantar Fasciitis -
Exercises
There are a few simple exercises that can bring relief without further intervention. These exercises include:
* Place a frozen bag of corn, cold beverage can, or tennis ball under the affected foot and roll the foot back and forth while applying weight. This method provides a stretch and ice massage simultaneously.
* Icing the bottom of the affected foot in the morning and evening can reduce pain and inflammation.
* Exercises that strengthen the foot and arch can also be helpful. This can include heel lifts or calf raises on the edge of a step.
* Another exercise is called marble pickup. With this exercise, put a handful of marbles on the ground and individually pick them up with your toes and drop them in a nearby box or cup. This exercise focuses on increasing the strength of your foot muscles.
Stretches
Proper stretching every morning and evening can help reduce the pain and/or inflammation. Suggested stretches include:
* Heel Dips. While standing, place your toes on the edge of a step and slowly lower your heel below your toes and hold for 15 seconds. This will stretch the achilles tendon and calf muscle. Repeat 2-4 times for the affected foot/feet.
* Towel stretch. The towel stretch stretches your arch. In a seated position with your legs stretched flat in front of you, loop a towel around the toes and ball of your foot. With your hands, pull the towel towards your chest while keeping your knee straight to stretch the bottom and arch of your foot. Hold for 15 seconds. Repeat 2-4 times for the affected foot/feet.
* Wall Stretch. Face a wall and place your hands against the wall. Place the affected foot behind you with the toes pointing towards the wall. While leaning against the wall, attempt to make the heel of the affected foot flat against the ground. This will stretch your calf and arch. Hold for 15 seconds. Repeat 2-4 times for the affected foot/feet.
* Night Stretches. For those suffering from more severe plantar fasciitis, wearing night splints at night can be used to stretch the foot. Generally, these night splints stretch the heel and arch while you sleep, keeping the plantar fascia from getting contracted during the night.
http://www.kurufootwear.com/plantarfasciitis
I suffered from PF last Fall and helped reduce the problems by doing the stretches described above, in addition to not running a step for 3 weeks and then building up the mileage slowly.
I will say that I have heard stories from people who have suffered from PF for years and that it can be difficult to treat. I still have a little pain in feet first thing in the morning a few days a week, but fortunately not much else during the day.
I would be careful about taking advil immediately before / during / or immediately after running. there are studies that indicate advil reduces the flow of blood to the kidneys and if taken when dehydrated can result in kidney failure. Make sure you are properly hydrated after running prior to taking advil.
Thanks for the comments!
I had started on many of those stretches (rolling something under the bottom of the foot, the towel stretch, etc) - but have only been doing calf stretches during the past week. I probably should go back to some of the other ones, just to be safe.
Thanks for warnings on taking advil. I really, REALLY do not like taking pain meds - I subscribe to the idea that people often use them to hide a problem rather than fix it. However, sometimes the problem can be inflammation itself. I am not a doctor, so don't trust that any farther than you can throw it. :)
Post a Comment