I worked at the "Magnificent Mile - NC USAT&F Championship" in Raleigh on Sunday and got to see some amazing performances up close.
I arrived downtown at 10am and began moving tables, chairs, cones and road barriers in to position. It took about 90 minutes to get everything in position and after a quick snack, we put up some advertising banners for Jeff Witt (husband of Sarah Witt) and connected up the hoses for the water at the finish line.
When the roads closed to traffic at 12:45, we laid out the timing mats, plugged in the inflatable finish arch, marked out the start line and got the finishing chute organized. By 1:20, we were ready to go for the 2pm Men's NC USAT&F Championship race.
We checked that all of the volunteer course monitors had arrived, and unfortunately there were two missing - so I took one of their positions. There is a Clarion hotel in the middle of the course which has entrance and exit ramps on the main road of the course, so I was positioned at the exit ramp to hold traffic while the runners were on the course. The good thing about this was that I was about 300 yards from the finish line, and the runners would pass me in both directions, so I'd get to see the winners up close.
I had been excited to see local sensation Bobby Mack who recently won a USA title and had won the race for the last two years and held the course record of 4:10, and he didn't disappoint! 212 men entered the competitive race, with the USAT&F members fighting for the NC Championship title. As the starter shouted "runner set, go", the runners sprinted away from the start and by the time the lead police car and the runners passed me at about 300 yards, the top 8 or so runners had already built up a slight lead over the rest of the pack with Bobby Mack and team mate John Crews in the top five or so.
I waited patiently for the lead police car to reappear, and when it did, Bobby and John Crews had a decent size lead over Devin Swann. I then watched Bobby ease away from his team mate and pass me at an amazing pace - it is quite something to be passed by a runner that is going at 15mph (or prehaps even faster at that point) - to finish in 4:10 and equal his course record. John finished in second in 4:14 and Devin third in 4:22.
At 2:20, the Women's Championship race began and it was a close affair - only three seconds separating the top four runners with Angelina Blackmon taking the title with a 5:02 run.
The recreational mile, kids 1/4 mile and kids 100 yard races followed.
When all of the races were complete, we set about breaking down everything and cleaning up while the athletes received their prizes. I finally got to my car at 5pm and headed home for a well deserved beer and some food.
The weather was sunny and warm and there were smiles all around. The event had raised over $50,000 before the race had even begun, and was a great success.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Orthotics - Week 1
I have had my new custom made orthotics for a week now, so it is probably time for an update on my progress... well, I ran on Friday, Sunday, Tuesday and today (Thursday) and I am still pain free! It is great to be back running again!
I have kept to my plan of doing short runs (1.3 miles, 1.3 miles, 1.3 miles and 1.45 miles) and stretching extensively before and after each run, and so far, it appears to be working. I also added my upper body workout to my run warm up routine.
I did noticed a bruise had appeared on my shin on Saturday evening but it went away after a couple of days and I can only assume that I picked it up whilst volunteering at the 5K on Saturday. Other than that, I haven't had any calf or knee pain and have been able to run, walk and exercise without any discomfort.
All of my runs have been in my New Balances and I have been wearing my Nike Free's for all other outside activities (I am bare-foot when indoors). My orthotics are cushioned and comfortable, however, I have noticed that my foot sits further forward in my shoe, with my toes closer to the end. My toes aren't right up against the end, but they are much closer than they would have been without the orthotic. This seems to suggest that the arch placement in the orthotic is slightly further forward than where the shoe was designed for it to be. This isn't an issue so far, but it is possible that I might need a bigger shoe in future.
On non-running days I have been either cycling or swimming as well as doing my foot strengthening exercises and my core workout.
I am going to increase the length of my run to 2 miles starting on Saturday and see how that goes - hopefully I will be able to get through another 4 runs (every other day) without any issues!
I have kept to my plan of doing short runs (1.3 miles, 1.3 miles, 1.3 miles and 1.45 miles) and stretching extensively before and after each run, and so far, it appears to be working. I also added my upper body workout to my run warm up routine.
I did noticed a bruise had appeared on my shin on Saturday evening but it went away after a couple of days and I can only assume that I picked it up whilst volunteering at the 5K on Saturday. Other than that, I haven't had any calf or knee pain and have been able to run, walk and exercise without any discomfort.
All of my runs have been in my New Balances and I have been wearing my Nike Free's for all other outside activities (I am bare-foot when indoors). My orthotics are cushioned and comfortable, however, I have noticed that my foot sits further forward in my shoe, with my toes closer to the end. My toes aren't right up against the end, but they are much closer than they would have been without the orthotic. This seems to suggest that the arch placement in the orthotic is slightly further forward than where the shoe was designed for it to be. This isn't an issue so far, but it is possible that I might need a bigger shoe in future.
On non-running days I have been either cycling or swimming as well as doing my foot strengthening exercises and my core workout.
I am going to increase the length of my run to 2 miles starting on Saturday and see how that goes - hopefully I will be able to get through another 4 runs (every other day) without any issues!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
A day in the life of a road race course director
Even before becoming a member of the North Carolina Roadrunners Club (NCRC), Elizabeth and I volunteered to help out at races (Run for the Roses and Inside-Out Sports Half Marathon). After the Half Marathon, Elizabeth was asked whether she would be interested in taking some of the volunteer coordinating responsibilities for the club and she agreed to take over as volunteer coordinator for the NCRC races.
At a recent NCRC meeting, I was asked by Mike whether I would be willing to help out at a couple of upcoming races, doing the same kind of job that I had done at the Half Marathon (grunt work of moving heavy things from A to B before and after the race) - I said I'd be happy to help out. Mike has been a course director for many years and had mentioned to me in the past that he'd like to show me the ropes with the idea that I might eventually take some over some of his responsibilities!
The first race (Tunnel to Towers 5K) took place this last weekend in Wake Forest. Although this was not an NCRC race, Mike was acting as race day course director (he had only recently picked up the responsibility) and Aaron was acting as race director. Mike had told me before the race that the roads would remain open throughout the race and that there would be no police support at the intersections to help manage the traffic - he was concerned about this as the course crossed a number of busy intersections and Wake Forest residents are not used to having runners on the roads like the residents of downtown Raleigh (also, most races in Raleigh are on closed roads).
I met Mike at 6am (the race was scheduled to start at 8am) and we collected road barriers and cones, tables, water and trash cans for the two water stops from the Fire House and moved them in to position. We dropped cones along the busiest portion of course to help keep the runners away from moving vehicles, but didn't have anywhere near enough to cover the course. Mike had identified 27 locations on the course where we would require course monitors and we drove around the course and looked at the couple of dangerous intersections that had to biggest chance of runner/vehicle collisions.
We met the volunteer course monitors at 7:25 and found that only 22 had turned up. Mike explained their responsibilities and what to do in the case of an emergency. We then provided them with their reflective orange vests, thanked them for volunteering and sent them out to their locations on the course. We checked with Aaron about whether the missing volunteers had checked in at the registration desk (they hadn't) and managed to pick up one extra volunteer who was looking to help out. We shuffled a couple of volunteers to different locations and determined that we would have to take a location each.
There were two major problem locations on the course:
one where the runners had to cross a working traffic signal at the intersection of two main roads
the other where the runners had to enter a main road on one side, run for 100 yards and then exit on the other side.
A volunteer (who happened to be a fire fighter) took the traffic signal, and Mike and I took the other intersection.
I was positioned at the first intersection that the runners encountered (top of the map), at which point they would turn right and head Mike's intersection that Mike, at which point they would take a left turn. Both sides of the road had sidewalks, but they were uneven and not suited for safe running, so we wanted the runners to stay in the road. I positioned myself at the intersection looking along the road that the runners would be approaching on. I could see runners approaching me from at least 200 yards away, so I had plenty of time to stop traffic as the runners approached the intersection.
As the runners approached, I stopped the traffic on the main road on the side that the runners entered the intersection (traveling top to bottom on the map), I then directed the runners to stay to the right until the got closer to Mike's intersection, at which point he would stop the traffic traveling in the other direction (traveling bottom to top on the map, the didn't have to worry about vehicles traveling top to bottom, as I had already stopped them). This intersection was at 2.6 and 2.7 miles on the race course, and by the time runners and walkers got to this location, they were spread out. I timed the first and last runner/walker and the total elapsed time between them was 55 minutes!
The runners came in bunches, and I was able to allow traffic to pass in the gaps. For the most part, people were understanding and I smiles or nods of the head to my thanks yous as they passed me. It proved difficult to have Mike release and stop the traffic at the times that I wanted (as I could see the approaching runners) and I had to be cautious that I told runners not to attempt to cross the road until the traffic was stopped - this was impossible for the runners that were wearing headphones - but I guess they got the message when they saw the oncoming vehicles.
When the walkers began coming through, Mike suggested that we change our approach and have them use the sidewalks. I stopped traffic in both directions and asked the walkers to cross the road at my location and use the sidewalk to Mike's intersection. This worked smoothly, and I was able to allow the traffic to flow and not have to worry about whether Mike had his side stopped. Of course, this wouldn't have worked for the runners, as we would have been forcing them on to the uneven sidewalk.
When the final walker passed, we drove back along the course picking up cones and water stop equipment and returned to the start/finish line to thank our remaining volunteers.
I learned a lot about course directing on the day of a race on probably one of the more difficult course layouts that I will encounter. The majority of Raleigh road races have roads closed and a Police presence, but it was valuable for me to see what would happen if that wasn't the case!
This weekend I am helping Mike at the Magnificent Mile in downtown Raleigh. This race will be different again as it is only a mile long, will not have a water stop and the roads will be closed for the duration of the race. Last years winner ran a 4:10 mile, so I am looking forward to being able to see that!
At a recent NCRC meeting, I was asked by Mike whether I would be willing to help out at a couple of upcoming races, doing the same kind of job that I had done at the Half Marathon (grunt work of moving heavy things from A to B before and after the race) - I said I'd be happy to help out. Mike has been a course director for many years and had mentioned to me in the past that he'd like to show me the ropes with the idea that I might eventually take some over some of his responsibilities!
The first race (Tunnel to Towers 5K) took place this last weekend in Wake Forest. Although this was not an NCRC race, Mike was acting as race day course director (he had only recently picked up the responsibility) and Aaron was acting as race director. Mike had told me before the race that the roads would remain open throughout the race and that there would be no police support at the intersections to help manage the traffic - he was concerned about this as the course crossed a number of busy intersections and Wake Forest residents are not used to having runners on the roads like the residents of downtown Raleigh (also, most races in Raleigh are on closed roads).
I met Mike at 6am (the race was scheduled to start at 8am) and we collected road barriers and cones, tables, water and trash cans for the two water stops from the Fire House and moved them in to position. We dropped cones along the busiest portion of course to help keep the runners away from moving vehicles, but didn't have anywhere near enough to cover the course. Mike had identified 27 locations on the course where we would require course monitors and we drove around the course and looked at the couple of dangerous intersections that had to biggest chance of runner/vehicle collisions.
We met the volunteer course monitors at 7:25 and found that only 22 had turned up. Mike explained their responsibilities and what to do in the case of an emergency. We then provided them with their reflective orange vests, thanked them for volunteering and sent them out to their locations on the course. We checked with Aaron about whether the missing volunteers had checked in at the registration desk (they hadn't) and managed to pick up one extra volunteer who was looking to help out. We shuffled a couple of volunteers to different locations and determined that we would have to take a location each.
There were two major problem locations on the course:
one where the runners had to cross a working traffic signal at the intersection of two main roads
the other where the runners had to enter a main road on one side, run for 100 yards and then exit on the other side.
A volunteer (who happened to be a fire fighter) took the traffic signal, and Mike and I took the other intersection.
I was positioned at the first intersection that the runners encountered (top of the map), at which point they would turn right and head Mike's intersection that Mike, at which point they would take a left turn. Both sides of the road had sidewalks, but they were uneven and not suited for safe running, so we wanted the runners to stay in the road. I positioned myself at the intersection looking along the road that the runners would be approaching on. I could see runners approaching me from at least 200 yards away, so I had plenty of time to stop traffic as the runners approached the intersection.
As the runners approached, I stopped the traffic on the main road on the side that the runners entered the intersection (traveling top to bottom on the map), I then directed the runners to stay to the right until the got closer to Mike's intersection, at which point he would stop the traffic traveling in the other direction (traveling bottom to top on the map, the didn't have to worry about vehicles traveling top to bottom, as I had already stopped them). This intersection was at 2.6 and 2.7 miles on the race course, and by the time runners and walkers got to this location, they were spread out. I timed the first and last runner/walker and the total elapsed time between them was 55 minutes!
The runners came in bunches, and I was able to allow traffic to pass in the gaps. For the most part, people were understanding and I smiles or nods of the head to my thanks yous as they passed me. It proved difficult to have Mike release and stop the traffic at the times that I wanted (as I could see the approaching runners) and I had to be cautious that I told runners not to attempt to cross the road until the traffic was stopped - this was impossible for the runners that were wearing headphones - but I guess they got the message when they saw the oncoming vehicles.
When the walkers began coming through, Mike suggested that we change our approach and have them use the sidewalks. I stopped traffic in both directions and asked the walkers to cross the road at my location and use the sidewalk to Mike's intersection. This worked smoothly, and I was able to allow the traffic to flow and not have to worry about whether Mike had his side stopped. Of course, this wouldn't have worked for the runners, as we would have been forcing them on to the uneven sidewalk.
When the final walker passed, we drove back along the course picking up cones and water stop equipment and returned to the start/finish line to thank our remaining volunteers.
I learned a lot about course directing on the day of a race on probably one of the more difficult course layouts that I will encounter. The majority of Raleigh road races have roads closed and a Police presence, but it was valuable for me to see what would happen if that wasn't the case!
This weekend I am helping Mike at the Magnificent Mile in downtown Raleigh. This race will be different again as it is only a mile long, will not have a water stop and the roads will be closed for the duration of the race. Last years winner ran a 4:10 mile, so I am looking forward to being able to see that!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
New Orthotics
On Friday morning I went to Carolina Family Practice and Sports Medicine to see Dr Foreman and have my custom orthotics made. The process lasted about an hour from start to finish and went something like this...
I arrived at the Doctors office and was taken to the "orthotics room". The room had a typical examination room bed, a wooden "stand" with a foam base that had the heels and sides of two feet drawn on it and a bench with an industrial style grinder and a toaster oven (with a door) which looked something like this one.
Dr Foreman had asked me to bring my old orthotics and my new running shoes. He had looked at my old orthotics during my previous visit and noted that the wear pattern suggested I could benefit from some additional support along the inside of my foot from the arch to the big toe, so having the orthotic would make the process easier for him.
Dr Foreman arrived and asked what size my shoes were (a US size 9) and he then set about cutting the cushioned material that would make up the top of my orthotics to the right size.
Once the cushioned material was cut to the right size, he warmed it up in the oven and placed both pieces on the foam base of the stand in line with the feet markings and then had me stand on them (it didn't feel hot, just a little warm). This was the same process that I had been through with my other orthotics, so I knew that once the material was warm, it could be molded to fit my feet and when it cooled, it would retain the shape. I stood on the stand for probably 5 minutes and when I stepped off, the cushioned material had been molded to fit my feet.
Dr Foreman then went to his cupboard and pulled out what looked like two molded three-quarter foot length cups, one for a right foot and one for a left foot. These cups came in all different sizes, and Dr Foreman used the molded cushioned material to find the best match for my arch size and position. They look something like the ones shown here.
Dr Foreman then applied a smelly glue to the bottom of the cushioned material and the top of the cup for both feet and then left the room.
About 10 minutes later, Dr Foreman's assistant came in and she then attached the cushioned material to the cups and used the grinder to "make them look pretty".
About another 10 minutes later, Dr Foreman returned and glued a strip of cushioning to the underside of the newly made orthotics (to address the area along the inside of my foot near the big toe) and used the grinder to finish the edges.
With the process of constructing my custom orthotics complete, it was time to put them in my running shoes and try them out. I immediately noticed how much more cushioned the new orthotics were compared to my old ones, and also how my arch was supported (it felt like my foot was being pushed up from under the arch. I did some walking around the office, and was happy to report that I didn't feel any areas of discomfort or rubbing (which isn't a surprise given that the material is a cushioned material instead of a sturdy rubber like I had before).
I kept my running shoes on and left the office to head home, eager to try out my new shoes on the greenway!
Here are some photos of my old Acor Sports orthotics... in this first photo you can see the arch support sticking up from the right side. You can also see that the sides are hard and if you look closely, you can see where I have had to chop pieces off that have been rubbing against my feet and giving me blisters.
The photo below shows the underside of the Acor orthotic. The material is a hard rubber that was molded to my feet in the running store.
The photo below shows the top of the Acor orthotic. You can see that I have worn the upper material down in the heel and along the ball of my foot. This material provided no cushioning at all.
The photo below shows the side view of the Acor orthotic from the inside (arch nearest). It took me months of blisters and chopping to fit this hard rubbery material to my feet properly.
Now, here are some photos of my new orthitics...
This first photo shows the larger arch support. It is higher than the Acor's and starts in the middle of my foot.
The photo below shows how the cushioned material is easy bent. It also shows that the three-quarter cup doesn't bend at all.
The photo below shows the underside view of the new orthotic. You can see the where the cup meets the cushioned material around the ball of the foot area. You can also see the strip of additional support that I now have along the inside of my foot.
The photo below shows the a view of the top side of the new orthotic and the cushioned material.
I took my new orthotics out for a quick 1.25 mile run on Friday and they felt great! Hopefully, I will slowly be able to increase my mileage and pace back up to my pre-injury levels, whilst also working to strengthen my feet and eventually get away from orthotics all together... but I am happy to get back to running with them for now!
I arrived at the Doctors office and was taken to the "orthotics room". The room had a typical examination room bed, a wooden "stand" with a foam base that had the heels and sides of two feet drawn on it and a bench with an industrial style grinder and a toaster oven (with a door) which looked something like this one.
Dr Foreman had asked me to bring my old orthotics and my new running shoes. He had looked at my old orthotics during my previous visit and noted that the wear pattern suggested I could benefit from some additional support along the inside of my foot from the arch to the big toe, so having the orthotic would make the process easier for him.
Dr Foreman arrived and asked what size my shoes were (a US size 9) and he then set about cutting the cushioned material that would make up the top of my orthotics to the right size.
Once the cushioned material was cut to the right size, he warmed it up in the oven and placed both pieces on the foam base of the stand in line with the feet markings and then had me stand on them (it didn't feel hot, just a little warm). This was the same process that I had been through with my other orthotics, so I knew that once the material was warm, it could be molded to fit my feet and when it cooled, it would retain the shape. I stood on the stand for probably 5 minutes and when I stepped off, the cushioned material had been molded to fit my feet.
Dr Foreman then went to his cupboard and pulled out what looked like two molded three-quarter foot length cups, one for a right foot and one for a left foot. These cups came in all different sizes, and Dr Foreman used the molded cushioned material to find the best match for my arch size and position. They look something like the ones shown here.
Dr Foreman then applied a smelly glue to the bottom of the cushioned material and the top of the cup for both feet and then left the room.
About 10 minutes later, Dr Foreman's assistant came in and she then attached the cushioned material to the cups and used the grinder to "make them look pretty".
About another 10 minutes later, Dr Foreman returned and glued a strip of cushioning to the underside of the newly made orthotics (to address the area along the inside of my foot near the big toe) and used the grinder to finish the edges.
With the process of constructing my custom orthotics complete, it was time to put them in my running shoes and try them out. I immediately noticed how much more cushioned the new orthotics were compared to my old ones, and also how my arch was supported (it felt like my foot was being pushed up from under the arch. I did some walking around the office, and was happy to report that I didn't feel any areas of discomfort or rubbing (which isn't a surprise given that the material is a cushioned material instead of a sturdy rubber like I had before).
I kept my running shoes on and left the office to head home, eager to try out my new shoes on the greenway!
Here are some photos of my old Acor Sports orthotics... in this first photo you can see the arch support sticking up from the right side. You can also see that the sides are hard and if you look closely, you can see where I have had to chop pieces off that have been rubbing against my feet and giving me blisters.
The photo below shows the underside of the Acor orthotic. The material is a hard rubber that was molded to my feet in the running store.
The photo below shows the top of the Acor orthotic. You can see that I have worn the upper material down in the heel and along the ball of my foot. This material provided no cushioning at all.
The photo below shows the side view of the Acor orthotic from the inside (arch nearest). It took me months of blisters and chopping to fit this hard rubbery material to my feet properly.
Now, here are some photos of my new orthitics...
This first photo shows the larger arch support. It is higher than the Acor's and starts in the middle of my foot.
The photo below shows how the cushioned material is easy bent. It also shows that the three-quarter cup doesn't bend at all.
The photo below shows the underside view of the new orthotic. You can see the where the cup meets the cushioned material around the ball of the foot area. You can also see the strip of additional support that I now have along the inside of my foot.
The photo below shows the a view of the top side of the new orthotic and the cushioned material.
I took my new orthotics out for a quick 1.25 mile run on Friday and they felt great! Hopefully, I will slowly be able to increase my mileage and pace back up to my pre-injury levels, whilst also working to strengthen my feet and eventually get away from orthotics all together... but I am happy to get back to running with them for now!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Orthotics or no Orthotics?
As you know, I have been struggling with injury for a while and went to the Doctor last week. The Doctor recommended that I get custom fitted Orthotics for my running shoes due to my high arch. There are two schools of thought on running in shoes these days. There is one side that says that runners should take advantage of technology and get shoes that fit their feet as closely as possible to provide support where it is "required". The other side says that as humans, we are designed to be able to run without shoes and managed to run long distances at fast speeds for thousands of years until we started to wear shoes. The fact of the matter is that currently there has been no "real" research done that compares running efficiency and injuries for the same runners running with and without shoes. I feel that by getting custom made Orthotics, I am going to the extreme of using technology to provide support to my feet and I am not sure I want to go down that road...
While at a party over this holiday weekend I spent some time talking with a friend who runs ultra-marathons. She routinely covers over 200 miles a month, and even more when running a race. I explained the injuries that I have been having and the circumstances around them. I agreed with her that I most likely did too much too soon after my Achilles injury. When I explained that I have high arches and will be getting custom Orthotics, she raised her eyebrows and took of her shoes to show me her equally high arches! She feels strongly that Orthotics and shoes with lots of cushioning are simply a band-aid over an underlying problem of poor foot and ankle strength and that she has never come across an ultra-marathoner that wears custom Orthotics or cushioned shoes. She explained that for years she has done karate, and that her foot strength comes from her karate training and by avoiding shoes that provide too much support as they prevent the foot from working in it's natural way. She recommended that I look in to some foot strengthening exercises, spend as much time barefoot as possible and try to get away from running with the Orthotics as quickly as possible, cautioning that it will take significant time to build the foot strength and to very gradually make the change.
Given that I was already apprehensive about going down the custom Orthotics path, I am going to take the advice of my ultra-marathon running friend, and gradually strengthen my feet and move to a more minimalist running shoe.
Foot strengthening exercises were fairly easy to find - this page has the ones that I am now doing towards the bottom the page. The next step was to work out how to spend more time walking (and eventually running) either barefoot or with less shoe. Barefoot simply doesn't interest me, but there are lots of other options!
The current rage is Vibram Five Finger shoes. These are "shoes" in so much as they cover your feet, however, the material is light weight and provides no support at all - it really is just a protective rubber cover for your feet. Running barefoot can be dangerous for a variety of reasons and the Five Fingers provide some protection for the sole of the foot to prevent cuts and abrasions etc. I am not overly keen on these shoes for either walking or running, because, in my opinion they just look weird!
The next best thing are minimalist shoes like the Nike Free Run. The lightweight (7oz - half of the weight of my old Asics Kayanos!) shoes were developed by Nike to give the customer more control over the shoe as opposed to having the shoes control the foot. Like other styles of barefoot running shoes, these shoes are supposed to allow your feet to move more naturally, thereby strengthening the feet and lower body and preventing injuries. The cuts in the outsole of the shoe makes the Nike Frees extremely flexible, allowing your foot to move with similar easy and flexibility as if it were barefoot.
So, I have bought myself a pair of Nike Free Run's, just like the ones shown above.
I am still going to get my custom fitted Orthotics on Friday because I want to get back to running, and my change to a minimalist shoe will be a gradual one over the next few months, but I am excited about making the effort to change my feet and how I run.
I am changing a few things immediately:
1. Stop wearing my current Orthotics every day (I had been wearing my old running shoes with my over the counter Orthotics for walking) and wearing my Nike Free's.
2. I rarely wear shoes indoors, but I am going to make an effort to spend as much time barefoot as possible when I am indoors.
3. I am going to do the exercises shown here every day to strengthen my feet and improve my balance.
After I get my Orthotics this Friday, I want to run for a couple of weeks with them while I build up my foot strength, so running in my Nike Free's will have to wait a few weeks.
While at a party over this holiday weekend I spent some time talking with a friend who runs ultra-marathons. She routinely covers over 200 miles a month, and even more when running a race. I explained the injuries that I have been having and the circumstances around them. I agreed with her that I most likely did too much too soon after my Achilles injury. When I explained that I have high arches and will be getting custom Orthotics, she raised her eyebrows and took of her shoes to show me her equally high arches! She feels strongly that Orthotics and shoes with lots of cushioning are simply a band-aid over an underlying problem of poor foot and ankle strength and that she has never come across an ultra-marathoner that wears custom Orthotics or cushioned shoes. She explained that for years she has done karate, and that her foot strength comes from her karate training and by avoiding shoes that provide too much support as they prevent the foot from working in it's natural way. She recommended that I look in to some foot strengthening exercises, spend as much time barefoot as possible and try to get away from running with the Orthotics as quickly as possible, cautioning that it will take significant time to build the foot strength and to very gradually make the change.
Given that I was already apprehensive about going down the custom Orthotics path, I am going to take the advice of my ultra-marathon running friend, and gradually strengthen my feet and move to a more minimalist running shoe.
Foot strengthening exercises were fairly easy to find - this page has the ones that I am now doing towards the bottom the page. The next step was to work out how to spend more time walking (and eventually running) either barefoot or with less shoe. Barefoot simply doesn't interest me, but there are lots of other options!
The current rage is Vibram Five Finger shoes. These are "shoes" in so much as they cover your feet, however, the material is light weight and provides no support at all - it really is just a protective rubber cover for your feet. Running barefoot can be dangerous for a variety of reasons and the Five Fingers provide some protection for the sole of the foot to prevent cuts and abrasions etc. I am not overly keen on these shoes for either walking or running, because, in my opinion they just look weird!
The next best thing are minimalist shoes like the Nike Free Run. The lightweight (7oz - half of the weight of my old Asics Kayanos!) shoes were developed by Nike to give the customer more control over the shoe as opposed to having the shoes control the foot. Like other styles of barefoot running shoes, these shoes are supposed to allow your feet to move more naturally, thereby strengthening the feet and lower body and preventing injuries. The cuts in the outsole of the shoe makes the Nike Frees extremely flexible, allowing your foot to move with similar easy and flexibility as if it were barefoot.
So, I have bought myself a pair of Nike Free Run's, just like the ones shown above.I am still going to get my custom fitted Orthotics on Friday because I want to get back to running, and my change to a minimalist shoe will be a gradual one over the next few months, but I am excited about making the effort to change my feet and how I run.
I am changing a few things immediately:
1. Stop wearing my current Orthotics every day (I had been wearing my old running shoes with my over the counter Orthotics for walking) and wearing my Nike Free's.
2. I rarely wear shoes indoors, but I am going to make an effort to spend as much time barefoot as possible when I am indoors.
3. I am going to do the exercises shown here every day to strengthen my feet and improve my balance.
After I get my Orthotics this Friday, I want to run for a couple of weeks with them while I build up my foot strength, so running in my Nike Free's will have to wait a few weeks.
Exercising with the family
Last week I posted my Core Workout routine, and I have been doing the routine every couple of days. I typically do my routine in the mornings, however, we had a doctors appointment on Thursday morning (the baby is doing great by the way!) so I didn't have time for my workout and put it off until the evening.
Scout and Molly are much more interested in what I am doing in the evenings (they only care about their breakfast and playing with each other in the mornings!), so when I got down on the floor in the living room to do my exercises, they decided to join me!
The photo below shows Molly laying as close to me as she could and Scout with her head on my chest and her nose digging under my arms trying to find a hand to pet her!
Scout eventually gave up digging for a hand and switched to staring at me!
It was a fun workout and the dogs were as happy as I was when it was over - because I could finally pet them!
Scout and Molly are much more interested in what I am doing in the evenings (they only care about their breakfast and playing with each other in the mornings!), so when I got down on the floor in the living room to do my exercises, they decided to join me!
The photo below shows Molly laying as close to me as she could and Scout with her head on my chest and her nose digging under my arms trying to find a hand to pet her!
Scout eventually gave up digging for a hand and switched to staring at me!
It was a fun workout and the dogs were as happy as I was when it was over - because I could finally pet them!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Visit to the Doctor
I went to see Dr Foreman today at Carolina Family Practice and Sports Medicine to discuss my shin, calf and knee pains that have been preventing me from running. We spent a few minutes discussing the pain, when it started and when it disappears and reappears.
Dr Foreman had me remove my shoes and socks and said "ah, as I expected" with a little smile. He then had me sit on the examination bed and he performed some stability tests on my knee to check for ligament damage and was happy to report that there was none. He gently prodded the area that the pain typically appears in with his fingers and checked some points on my knee and high shin with a metal tool that apparently would have been painful if a stress fracture was present - which wasn't painful at all.
Dr Foreman took a look at my shoes, which happen to be a pair of old running shoes that I now use as day-to-day shoes. He commented that the wear pattern is uniform, suggesting that I have a good running gait. He then explained that as I have an (extremely) high arch and the start of bone build up on the top of my foot, I am prone to stress fractures and knee problems as the result of running and it is only my good running mechanics that have prevented them until now. This is because I lack the normal shock-absorbing characteristics of other runners who have lower aches and because at my age, male runners feet typically lose flexibility anyway. However, this doesn't mean that I shouldn't run again!
Dr Foreman recommended that I get custom orthotics made that are molded to fit my feet perfectly and provide support to my arches. He also recommended that I continue to cross-train, even when I return to running. He mentioned that he treats lots of runners and lots of triathletes, and it is the triathletes that experience fewer injuries as they don't perform the same exercise, with the same stress on the body day after day. I had already planned on continuing to cycle and swim at least once a week anyway, so cross-training shouldn't be a problem.
I am scheduled to take my feet and my running shoes to see Dr Foreman next Friday (Sept 10th) to have my orthotics made - a process that lasts an hour or so. He also said that I should be able to add cycling back in to my routine immediately, but to avoid running until I have the new orthotics in my shoes.
Dr Foreman had me remove my shoes and socks and said "ah, as I expected" with a little smile. He then had me sit on the examination bed and he performed some stability tests on my knee to check for ligament damage and was happy to report that there was none. He gently prodded the area that the pain typically appears in with his fingers and checked some points on my knee and high shin with a metal tool that apparently would have been painful if a stress fracture was present - which wasn't painful at all.
Dr Foreman took a look at my shoes, which happen to be a pair of old running shoes that I now use as day-to-day shoes. He commented that the wear pattern is uniform, suggesting that I have a good running gait. He then explained that as I have an (extremely) high arch and the start of bone build up on the top of my foot, I am prone to stress fractures and knee problems as the result of running and it is only my good running mechanics that have prevented them until now. This is because I lack the normal shock-absorbing characteristics of other runners who have lower aches and because at my age, male runners feet typically lose flexibility anyway. However, this doesn't mean that I shouldn't run again!
Dr Foreman recommended that I get custom orthotics made that are molded to fit my feet perfectly and provide support to my arches. He also recommended that I continue to cross-train, even when I return to running. He mentioned that he treats lots of runners and lots of triathletes, and it is the triathletes that experience fewer injuries as they don't perform the same exercise, with the same stress on the body day after day. I had already planned on continuing to cycle and swim at least once a week anyway, so cross-training shouldn't be a problem.
I am scheduled to take my feet and my running shoes to see Dr Foreman next Friday (Sept 10th) to have my orthotics made - a process that lasts an hour or so. He also said that I should be able to add cycling back in to my routine immediately, but to avoid running until I have the new orthotics in my shoes.
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