Saturday, December 18, 2010

Cross-Training

Along with my slow increase in mileage I have been doing some cross-training. I have found some great guides written at Kimme Fitness. I like the Deck of Cards workout for a in-home solution and the Back Yard workout for something more adventurous.

I am going to order this guys e-book and maybe try to touch base with him about barefoot running or running in general. Jason Robillard talks about him, so he must be good!



Friday, December 17, 2010

My First Winter Barefoot Run

Burr today was chilly. I had my heart set on running a mile and a tenth(10 percent rule) today. I looked at the weather and saw 30 degree temps and the snow symbol. I then looked outside and saw a bunch of cold rain. How bad could it be?

I bundled up, stretched, did some pushups and situps to warm myself up, and drove off to my spot. The first tenth of a mile were fine. I quickly started loosing feeling in my feet and by the halfway mark I could really only feel things on the tip of my big toe. About 8/10 into the mile my knee started to hurt. I walked for about five seconds and started running again to the finish. Toward the 9/10 of a mile point I started regaining feeling. I ran the remainder of my planned run, hopped in my car, and felt the sting of blood rushing to my feet.

The sting  was also the sting of success. Call me crazy, but I enjoy the cold puddles of water around my feet. I don't know how much longer I could have done it, but for the distance it was enjoyable.


I don't think the wearing on my left foot is from bad form, just dead skin.

During the run I wore my heart rate monitor. Being cold + running got my heart rate up nicely! I really dig my new Garmin 305.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Easing Into It

I haven't ran since my last post. My knee hurt a bit, so I took it easy. I am in no hurry and feel taking my time will be the best.

I have been doing the golf ball trick(rolling it under my foot to stretch the plantar fascia). Since I have started that pain has decreased. The bump on my heel has decreased and become less noticable, as well as the pain when I wake up in the morning has decreased.

I have also found a great use for running(besides running shorts). They have a really great video for strengthening the hips. It can be found here.
 
I have also been reading Jason Robillard's second edition of The Barefoot Running Book. I am already a fourth of the way done with it, but I am learning new things that either weren't in the first book or I forgot about. He is an excellent writer. A formal review will be posted once I finish. :)

Finally, my girlfriend and I ran in place today(I am writing this after the previous paragraphs). She was barefoot(I think unintentionally), as was I. We watched King of the Hill(~20 minutes), one of our favorite shows. Thursday I want to do a real run. She doesn't like running outside right now because it hurts her chest due to the cold weather. Anyone have any tips to prevent this?

Thursday, December 9, 2010

First Day Back

Today my girlfriend and I started running. We started at one mile and ran it at a comfortable pace. I really enjoyed it and I think she enjoyed it a little more than she thought she would.

About mid-way though the run my knee started to ache a little. I decided to run though it and see what would happen. It didn't bother me too bad.

After the run we played for a little bit...



Then made a short clip of me running so I can analyze my form. Doesn't look too bad. I can't really pinpoint anything wrong with it.


Monday, December 6, 2010

Healing

So a few weeks ago I had 2  main problems: my knee and my heel. For about a week my knee has felt better. I haven't ran and have been pretty sedentary . Today I had to run to get somewhere and it did not hurt, so that's a good sign!

On the other hand my heel still has a raised spot that is uncomfortable. After some research I have been lead to believe that it is a bone spur caused by plantar fascitis. So what is plantar fascitis?
"Plantar fasciitis occurs when the plantar fascia is strained as a result of increased or over activity, poor foot biomechanics, or in association with the normal aging process. The ligament is typically strained repeatedly, over time before the onset of plantar fasciitis. As the ligament stretches beyond its normal extension it causes the soft tissues of the fascia to tear, usually at the point where attached to the heel bone. This leads to inflammation, heel pain, and possible growth of a bone spur (calcaneus) at the heel bone attachment."1

The remedy for plantar fascitis is to stretch the calf, achilles, and plantar fascia.

One thing that I haven't done in months is massage my feet. I used to do this after every run, but became lazy. I massage them by rolling a tennis ball under them. It feels great, is easy to do, and loosens up the plantar fascia.


Since running did not cause me any pain I am going to start running next week or late this week. I am going to start at 1 mile and increase it 10% per week. A great thing about this is that my girlfriend will be running with me. When I asked her to run before it was intimidating because I was running 10+ miles per run. I told her we can start small and build up. I hope this is something that can build our already awesome relationship.

We also plan on hiking some over our Christmas break. I found a book at the library of North Georgia trails, so we should just need to pack our bags and hit the trails.

1. http://www.plantarfasciitisbraces.com/what_is_plantarfasciitis.html