Weekly mileage 33rd week of 2012

Don't use me as an example Lee... People around these parts may not like you suggesting that shoes might help sometimes... Honestly though, I think it's the heel drop and the cushioning of this particular shoe that I have that helps me feel better. I am starting to try to incorporate more barefoot and zero drop throughout my day, but when running I will wear the shoes. Do you have any sandals or huaraches you could use? I really suggest going as minimal as you can and only using as much footwear as necessary and nothing more. I've been contemplating how to make a huarache type sandal with a slight drop and seeing if that would work for me...
Oh I dunno, seems like most people here subscribe to the 'shoes are tools' paradigm. I wore Moc3s a handful of times last winter, and will use them more this winter if it's closer to normal temps. Jason's one of founders of this society, and he seeks out terrains where barefoot running becomes very difficult. So that's temps and terrain, and it seems to me you've added a third category to the shoes are tools rubic: therapeutic. We can call them the 3T tools: temps, terrain, therapy. But since we're dealing with different health issues, I don't know if your type of footwear would be best for me. I don't see how sandals would be much help, unless they had cushioning, and I've never really seen the sense in wearing sandals for running, but then again I've never tried it. And I don't think a bit of a heel lift would help with my metatarsal issues.

In any case, don't worry about me abusing footwear. Remember, I came to bfr more as a barefooter than a runner--a barefooter who runs, rather than a runner who goes barefoot--but now I'm wanting to become more of a runner, although I'm still a barefooter, so if a little footwear can help me become a better runner, that's fine too. If it turns out the only way I can run 20 miles is with some kind of cushioning, so be it. But I'm thinking of footwear as more of a possible intermediate step. To get me to 20 barefoot miles.

In any case, I'm just sounding out possibilities here. I was curious that scedastic did her longer run shod, and wanted to know the hows and whys behind that. I'm at least a month or two from experimenting with this sort of thing. The first step is to get my barefoot mileage back to where it was a month ago, and then try incorporating the hour-plus running more gradually (just once a week, I swear) and see if it can't all be done barefoot. If even after a more gradual build-up I still bump up against some kind of limit on how long or far I can run barefoot without stressing my left foot or worse, then I'll contemplate a shod solution.
 
How'd you feel later in the day Lee after your run yesterday? How do you feel today? I am contemplating shutting down a week earlier than planned so I give myself two weeks of down time from running instead of just one. I've got to think it could only help, right? I may just go to the gym this week instead of running. So hard though because I love running so much. Walked around the fair last night for several hours and felt fine, today I feel pretty good so far too, but Friday night I was having a bad day again.
 
How'd you feel later in the day Lee after your run yesterday? How do you feel today? I am contemplating shutting down a week earlier than planned so I give myself two weeks of down time from running instead of just one. I've got to think it could only help, right? I may just go to the gym this week instead of running. So hard though because I love running so much. Walked around the fair last night for several hours and felt fine, today I feel pretty good so far too, but Friday night I was having a bad day again.
I feel a little something in my left foot's mets, but no ache or pain. Pretty much feels the way it would after a longer run, even though yesterday I just covered a little more than two miles. If it's the same or clear by tomorrow morning, then I'll try something in the 3-4 mile range, see how that goes, eventually increasing up to six miles or so per run, three times a week, which is where I was four weeks ago. Then I'll begin adding a mile every 2-4 weeks to one of those runs and see how far I can go. Once I get up to 12 miles on the longer run, I may think about extending the weekday runs a bit, I dunno. I will also probably incorporate some version of the run-walk-run method on those longer runs, to avoid the build-up of stress on my mets.

But my problem with stress reaction is very different from your PF. I've read the only real therapy for stress reaction is rest, whereas it can be beneficial to walk or run through one's PF, presumably at reduced distances, and your wearing a supportive shoe has probably helped a lot too. Sorry I don't remember where I read that.

It's still not clear to me if the mild ITBS I felt two weeks ago was purely a product of increasing distances without enough recovery time, or if it was at least partially a product of my gait getting a bit off as my left foot became stressed. If I changed my gait, it was unconscious, as I only felt the pain in the foot after the run, whereas the ITBS was felt only during the run--as soon as I started walking it went away. So I'm tending to the foot stress right now, and am assuming the ITBS won't be an issue as long as I stay to shorter distances. Once I get back up into the 8-to-10-mile range, it should become clearer what was really going on. In the meantime, I'm incorporating some hip and butt stuff into my warm-up and weight routines just in case the ITBS was caused by some weaknesses in my 'core' that straight weight-lifting hasn't addressed. I'm also going to get religious with the foam roller and 'stick.'
 
I was curious that scedastic did her longer run shod, and wanted to know the hows and whys behind that.

My reason for doing the long runs lately with the huaraches is to give me more variety in terrain and areas. There is much rough chip seal around here, and some fairly rough dirt/gravel roads (enough that I was annoyed with them in the sandals) and I find it an unpleasant deterrent. Yeah, yeah, some get used to it and even like it. Not me, not right now.
The huaraches allow me to go into pretty country roads with fun hills and less weanie whining.
Also, as the runs get longer, and I start to get tired, a little rock stuck in my foot makes me waaaaay crabbier than it should.
I traveled to a larger town to do a 10 ish mile run bf on pavement last week, and it worked out fine, except again, I got very fussy and annoyed with stuff stuck in my feet as time went on.

In any case, after the long runs I do find it to be a relief to wear shoes and even socks for a day or so. Lately my legs feel fine even after the long runs, but the muscles in my feet are getting tired tired tired (mostly all over tired so it's not been much of a concern). What I SHOULD do is just rest everything until my feet are up to it. What I've been getting away with is running in shoes for a day or two afterwards.
 
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There is much rough chip seal around here, and some fairly rough dirt/gravel roads (enough that I was annoyed with them in the sandals) and I find it an unpleasant deterrent. Yeah, yeah, some get used to it and even like it. Not me, not right now.
Wish I could double like this statement. I do not like being uncomfortable on my runs. To me it's like trying to run on a massive blister or cut on your feet, just not fun. I think this more than anything is why I plan to get back to where I can run in my huaraches more than barefoot-barefoot-s-t-g. I have a long route that I really love to run but there is a couple of stretches that I have to run across out and then back and I just dread those patches. I would rather enjoy my whole run than have those two terrible patches make me tender for the rest of the run.
 
I feel a little something in my left foot's mets, but no ache or pain. Pretty much feels the way it would after a longer run, even though yesterday I just covered a little more than two miles. If it's the same or clear by tomorrow morning, then I'll try something in the 3-4 mile range, see how that goes, eventually increasing up to six miles or so per run, three times a week, which is where I was four weeks ago. Then I'll begin adding a mile every 2-4 weeks to one of those runs and see how far I can go. Once I get up to 12 miles on the longer run, I may think about extending the weekday runs a bit, I dunno. I will also probably incorporate some version of the run-walk-run method on those longer runs, to avoid the build-up of stress on my mets.

But my problem with stress reaction is very different from your PF. I've read the only real therapy for stress reaction is rest, whereas it can be beneficial to walk or run through one's PF, presumably at reduced distances, and your wearing a supportive shoe has probably helped a lot too. Sorry I don't remember where I read that.

It's still not clear to me if the mild ITBS I felt two weeks ago was purely a product of increasing distances without enough recovery time, or if it was at least partially a product of my gait getting a bit off as my left foot became stressed. If I changed my gait, it was unconscious, as I only felt the pain in the foot after the run, whereas the ITBS was felt only during the run--as soon as I started walking it went away. So I'm tending to the foot stress right now, and am assuming the ITBS won't be an issue as long as I stay to shorter distances. Once I get back up into the 8-to-10-mile range, it should become clearer what was really going on. In the meantime, I'm incorporating some hip and butt stuff into my warm-up and weight routines just in case the ITBS was caused by some weaknesses in my 'core' that straight weight-lifting hasn't addressed. I'm also going to get religious with the foam roller and 'stick.'
Just be careful with your mileage, sounds like you may be increasing it pretty fast at first to get back to where you were before your itb pain. Hate to see you having to take more time off.

As far as pf, I've heard the same thing about how running and walking can help ease and loosen things up, this is what makes me wonder if mine is not pf and was just a lazy diagnosis from my old pod. For me it seems running and lots of walking make it flare up really bad. I have to be careful about how I do things. If I go somewhere I have to be careful about the footwear I wear because if I walk to much in the wrong footwear I will be hurting for days afterwards. I wore flip flops the other night when walking around the mall so we could be in a/c and I felt like I was going to die by the time we left. I wished I had worn my running shoes. In any case, I am finally starting to be able to walk around barefoot again, but I cannot walk with a heel strike or I will be on the ground crying like a baby.
 
My reason for doing the long runs lately with the huaraches is to give me more variety in terrain and areas. There is much rough chip seal around here, and some fairly rough dirt/gravel roads (enough that I was annoyed with them in the sandals) and I find it an unpleasant deterrent. Yeah, yeah, some get used to it and even like it. Not me, not right now.
The huaraches allow me to go into pretty country roads with fun hills and less weanie whining.
Also, as the runs get longer, and I start to get tired, a little rock stuck in my foot makes me waaaaay crabbier than it should.
I traveled to a larger town to do a 10 ish mile run bf on pavement last week, and it worked out fine, except again, I got very fussy and annoyed with stuff stuck in my feet as time went on.

In any case, after the long runs I do find it to be a relief to wear shoes and even socks for a day or so. Lately my legs feel fine even after the long runs, but the muscles in my feet are getting tired tired tired (mostly all over tired so it's not been much of a concern). What I SHOULD do is just rest everything until my feet are up to it. What I've been getting away with is running in shoes for a day or two afterwards.
Interesting. Thanks for the feedback. Although it's not directly applicable to my issues, it's always good to know about other people's approaches. I can understand how you'd what to have more variety in your routes. For me that is key too, but unfortunately I'm right in the middle of the Twin Cities, so variety usually requires a drive. I mostly do out-and-backs through different neighborhoods, but there some lake and river paths along the way. The bright side is that I can do all my runs barefoot, because the harshest it every gets around here is mild chipseal.
 
Just be careful with your mileage, sounds like you may be increasing it pretty fast at first to get back to where you were before your itb pain. Hate to see you having to take more time off.

As far as pf, I've heard the same thing about how running and walking can help ease and loosen things up, this is what makes me wonder if mine is not pf and was just a lazy diagnosis from my old pod. For me it seems running and lots of walking make it flare up really bad. I have to be careful about how I do things. If I go somewhere I have to be careful about the footwear I wear because if I walk to much in the wrong footwear I will be hurting for days afterwards. I wore flip flops the other night when walking around the mall so we could be in a/c and I felt like I was going to die by the time we left. I wished I had worn my running shoes. In any case, I am finally starting to be able to walk around barefoot again, but I cannot walk with a heel strike or I will be on the ground crying like a baby.
Thanks, and that's the kind of warning I'm looking for in joining in on the mileage reporting. But the mets will give me pretty good feedback--either on the run, or soon afterwards--long before I get close to the distances that provoked the ITBS. And then once I'm up at those distances, I'll only be doing them once a week, so hopefully there'll be enough time in between for proper recovery and for getting a sense on how my feet/legs are adapting to the greater stimulus. I'm not going to be so greedy this time around. I want to solidify any gains before pushing beyond, and if it turns out there's a limit to how far I can push, I will be quite happy with three one-hour runs per week (one or two of which would be hills, fartleks, or trail), or perhaps two one-hour runs and one 90-minute run. That would be just fine for general fitness purposes--anything past that is gravy.

I don't know anything about PF, but if your pain flares up whenever you walk or run, then I would say complete rest is the way to go. And maybe stretch out your foot, Achilles, hamstrings, and back; I'm just shooting in the dark here, but perhaps that whole chain is tight and pulling on the bottoms of your feet.

How'd the anthro final go, by the way?
 
I don't know anything about PF, but if your pain flares up whenever you walk or run, then I would say complete rest is the way to go. And maybe stretch out your foot, Achilles, hamstrings, and back; I'm just shooting in the dark here, but perhaps that whole chain is tight and pulling on the bottoms of your feet.

How'd the anthro final go, by the way?
The pf hurts regardless, but it seems to be worst after I run. Sometimes it flares up even when doing nothing... I do stretch 2-3 times a day pretty good because I really do think I am pretty tight from my low back down into my hamstrings. I just found a sports injury place by my house and am contemplating going in there. They have some that specialize in helping "lengthening" muscles and trigger points and graston and all that. Might be worth it to check them out.

The anthro final sucked... My Discovery Channel knowledge helped me out more than my studying the books, so pretty worried that I failed it. I am not very good at memorizing time periods and the various species such as australopithecus africanus and such. I thought I had a good handle on it when I went in there but then during the test I couldn't remember which was which and during which time periods... For my final paper I did find an interesting study/article about some lizards that were moved from one island to another and during the last 36 years they have "evolved" fast to adapt to their new surroundings with amazing physical changes, although their DNA is still the same as the original species. It was a great tool to be able to refute someone else belief that evolution is a slow and gradual process ONLY. Anyhow, no one here except maybe you would want to read about that. ;) This class was mostly about physical anthropology.