Monthly Archives: April 2009

Treatments for Plantar Fasciitis

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Plantar fasciitis
Image via Wikipedia

This post is popular, but I also wanted to point out an updated 18 steps to get rid of Plantar Fasciitis.

I’ve been enduring the pain of Plantar Fasciitis in my heel for most of this training cycle.  When  I first started feeling the pain I took almost a week off.  While the pain has never gone away it does ebb and flow.  It hurts the most in the mornings and then kind of tapers off throughout the day, likewise at the beginning of a run it hurts and then loosens itself up. Some days the pain is worse than others.  I’ve been icing and popping pills throughout.

As the weather has gotten nicer and I’ve been biking, I decided to see what the research said about biking and Plantar Fasciitis.  I didn’t want to make it worse by biking.  Fortunately, biking seems to be okay – but running and walking aren’t.

One thing that the resources I present below don’t talk about is checking your shoes – ensuring that your shoes haven’t been overused, in mileage or showing excessive wear.  I also found previously that I needed to check all my shoes – even casual and business ones.  A few years ago my work shoes were really worn down in the heels and I couldn’t figure out why my heels hurt so much.  I switched shoes and the pain quickly went away.  We spend a lot of time in our casual/work shoes – ensure they are working properly as well.

I love some of the simplicity of these ideas and the humor as well.  There are plenty of good tips though.

I found a website called Heel Spurs that lists a few simple treatments for Plantar Fasciitis:

  1. Stretching,
  2. Ice,
  3. Tape,
  4. Rest,
  5. Arch support, and
  6. Losing weight

Another website for North Coast Foot Care provides some more in-depth ideas:

  1. Stop running, jogging or walking. Swim or bike instead.
  2. If you work out on a treadmill, stop! This is the worst activity for your heels.
  3. Avoid the stair stepper. The stair stepper puts a lot of stress through your arch.
  4. If you are up and down at work a lot, try to limit it, and get up only once an hour, or once every 2 hours.
  5. At home, avoid going up and down the stairs multiple times. Have your spouse, significant other or child run up or down for you.
  6. Try to avoid steep hills. Stairs are better than hills. Walking up the stairs sideways will help take the stress off your feet.
  7. Do not lift or carry heavy items. This adds to the total amount of force that goes through your feet. This also increases the total impact on your heel.
  8. Do not lift your kids and carry them. Use a stroller, have them walk, or let your spouse/significant other carry them.
  9. Don’t lift weights. If you do, make sure you are seated
  10. The EFX (elliptical) machine at the gym can also aggravate plantar fasciitis. If you must exercise with this, lower the platform adjustment to it’s lowest level.

As well as some specific ideas for athletes:

  1. The best approach is to rest the foot for 10-14 days.
  2. Cross train by road or mountain biking, swimming or weight lifting.
  3. Do all the therapy outlined on the about heel pain page.
  4. Be aggressive about this treatment, stretching as much as possible throughout the day and
  5. Icing or contrasting between hot and cold as much as your schedule allows.
  6. Swim for exercise, or bike at low resistance at the gym and avoid the recumbent bike. If you bike outside, spin up the hills (use the lowest gears). Of course it is better to avoid hills if possible. Do not drop your heel while cycling, this puts excess stress through the Achilles tendon and the arch. Wear cycling shoes, or rigid shoes while cycling.
  7. Consider weight lifting. Avoid standing while lifting weights. Avoid squats, calf lifts and quad bench presses. There are many areas that we tend to avoid when we focus on specific training, especially the upper body. Try to readjust your focus for a few weeks.
  8. If you have pain at any time during the return, taper your routine accordingly. If you have a small amount of pain, then don’t increase the mileage or intensity, or give it a day’s break to rest and ice and stretch. If you have a lot of pain when you return, then you should take a full two weeks off from the activity and see your physician to consider more aggressive therapy. Physical therapy and orthotics would be good treatments to add.

I will say I’ve felt the best on Monday’s after swimming and sitting in the hot tub on Sunday mornings and any day after resting.  I’ve continued to stretch and ice, occasionally taking some ibuprofen, but other than that I’ve not done a good job of taking care of my heel!  After the half-marathon I plan on taking some time off and letting it heel some more!!

What have you done to treat Plantar Fasciitis?

[tags] Plantar Fasciitis, Heel, Injuries, Running [/tags]

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Week 10: Half Marathon Training

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Last Year

Week 11 and the taper began.  You might recall that a group of runners were attacked by a swarm of bees and a suicide bomber last year.  Two incidents – one story.  Last year I began looking forward to by goal of racing my first marathon with this contemplative post.  Another compilation post of two great lists that every runner should read at least once.   Foto Friday was a picture of the infamous Grandma’s Saloon & Grill sign of Grandma’s Marathon Fame.

Mileage:

Running – 28.3 miles

3 m run + strength

4 x 1600
Race pace
3 m run + strength
55 min tempo
Rest
5 m pace
2:00 run (3/1)

Monday an easy 3.25 miles on the Metrodome loop.  I was very tight and sore for the first 1/2 mile or so then it seemed everything loosened up.  It was 43 with a 38 wind chill so not too shabby!  A pretty uneventful run and some core work afterwards.  I finished in 25:00.

Tuesday was a 4 x 1600 at race pace or 6:52. It was 40 and sunny when I set out along the Greenway for the interval workout.  I did a 5 minute warm-up (10 is better I’ve decided) and then the workout with 1/4 mile rest between each. The 4 intervals were 6:45, 6:46, 6:39, and 6:42.  Not too bad, though the purpose of the workout is to help your body remember what goal pace is – so on that note I failed!

Wednesday was a new random route through the Whittier neighborhood.  I just took off down 24th Street and made a left turn at about 1.5 miles and came back along 26th Street to my house.  There aren’t many options to cross over 35-W so I’ve got to be a little careful that I don’t mess one of these up! It was 40 and sunny.  My legs felt a little tight from yesterday’s workout.  I finished in 23:48.

Thursday was a nice day off.

Friday I ran my 55 minute tempo run along the Minnesota River on the Sibley trail.  This is a nice flat trail that meanders along next to the river through different scenery.  The out and back tempo was about 7.5 miles and I felt pretty good for most of it – the last few miles were pretty tired.  I kept trying to push the pace and got pretty close to tempo pace.  It was in the low 50’s and overcast for the run. When I woke up my Plantar didn’t hurt which was a nice change – too bad it didn’t last.

Saturday we met at Lebanon Hills again for a nice easy long run.  It was in the low-50’s with the sun starting to peak through the clouds and we did about 12 miles in 1:36:26 on the east side of the park.  This side is flatter but still has plenty of hills to make you tougher! It felt like a pretty relaxed pace for most of the run which was a nice change!

Sunday I did a nice easy 300 yards at the YWCA pool.  It was empty so I had a lane to myself and I actually swam most of it continously which is a good change.

Total Mileage:

Run: 32.2 Miles
Bike: 22.0 Miles
Swim: 300 Yards

Race Review: Fred Kurz 10 Mile

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Almost another perfect day for a spring race made for a pretty good race for me.  According to my race plan I was hoping to finish in 1:08 which would have been quite excellent.  I actually passed the halfway mark in 34 minutes (and change) but knew I was struggling so it was going to be tough.

I arrived pretty early and got my bib number and start time.  The first runners left the starting line at 8:30 and then every one else’s time was handicapped off of it in 1 minute intervals.  Based on their projections I started at 9:30 with the last runner starting before 9:40.  This gave me WAY too much time to sit around before the race started.  It is a low-key race but I still got pre-race nerves.  Not an ideal race if you have alot of anxiety.  I “gave” my wife the morning off so I didn’t really have anyone to talk with or to take wonderful pictures of me!

As I mentioned due to a bridge being redone on the Luce Line trail the traditional out and back course was modified.  They made up all of the missing miles at the beginning which was appreciated.  Though they added 3 180 degree turns which wasn’t cool.  They are planning on this only being a 1 year diversion so let’s hope that the construction stays on pace!

The Luce Line is a great place for a race because it is a limestone covered dirt trail (according to the DNR).  There is some shade off and on along the course and it is more scenic than many road races.  The course included 2 water stations which made for a total of 4 potential water stops (although the 4th was about 1/2 mile from the finish).  I took water 2x’s.  I maybe should have taken some more since it was sunny and a little warmer than we were used to mid-40’s.   The weather actually made for some difficult clothing decisions.  I didn’t pack 9 different choices like Joe but I had 3 shirt options to wear – long sleeve, short sleeve, or singlet.  I had trouble deciding and ended up wearing the short sleeve over the singlet.  This was a decent choice given some slight winds.

I was a little surprised by the elevation chart that my Garmin produced.  It resulted in a net elevation loss and most of the “hills” seemed like long slow grades not the sharper grades on the chart.  But it is close enough!  You can tell there are some inaccuracies because the elevation chart should be like a mirror.  This year’s turnaround point was at mile 6 so it should be a mirror on either side and it obviously isn’t. Hmmm.

In some sense the slow grades are harder than short quick hills.  They wear more on the quads.  I was impressed by the overall accuracy of the course measurement – especially given the changes this year.  My Garmin produced a 10.03 mile race which may be one of the closest measurements I’ve seen.

A few things of note during the race. Three of us started at my time and we went out a little quick but I stayed with them for the first 2 miles and never saw either of them again.  I “caught” the first runner between 4 and 5 miles and got passed for the first time at 6 miles.  I cramped up a little bit around mile 5 and it eventually went away.  I don’t really remember where the water stops were mileage wise but it seemed pretty reasonable.  By miles 7 and 8 I was starting to pass more participants which was a pretty nice feeling.  I tried to keep pushing the pace in the late miles – but wasn’t overly successful with that endeavor.

Here are my splits according to the marked miles:
6:48
6:42
6:44
6:59
7:10
7:07
7:20
7:07
7:22
7:06

Based on the results posted at Raceberry Jam I was 15th overall, 12th male, 2nd in my age division and an official finish time of 1:10:31.

For $5 you couldn’t have asked for a much better race. I would be willing to pay a few bucks extra to use a timing chip and potentially save the race director some post-race headaches, including faster post-race awards.

[tags] Fred  Kurz, 10 mile, Race Review, Wayzata [/tags]

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Week 9: Half Marathon Training

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Last Year

Last year I was driving home from Alabama, ran in Chicago and found 5 inches of snow in MN.  Week 10 didn’t go well last year! I was a little sick, my leg hurt, and more traveling.  My unscientifc poll showed that only 1/3 of my readers stretch before and after every run. You might recall that after finishing last year’s Little Rock Marathon, Adam Nickel died suddenly.  A month later his cause of death was announced.  This time last year was the London  Marathon – with lots of Ryan Hall hype I highlighted the Massai Warriors and their marathon attempt – before and after. Last year’s Foto Friday was the last of my memoribilia from my wall of fame.

Mileage

Run – 15 Miles
Bike – 8 Miles

3 m run + strength
5 x 800
10-K pace
3 m run + strength
30 min tempo
Rest or easy run
Rest
15-K Race

Monday since this is Spring Break I had hoped to have some fun with my training this week – going places I don’t usually get to go.  Today I decided to check out Pike Island.  We had walked around a little bit yesterday there so I knew it would be flooded – I wasn’t expecting what I found though!  I ran through 4 flooded areas.  The first was easily traversed with a fallen tree, the second went over my ankles in cold water, the third was a muddy mess that had me completely losing the trail and turning around, and the fourth was about to the middle of my shin (around 6-10 inches) deep of cold water.  I think it was about 3.5 miles and the time is pretty irrelevant.  Be sure to check out these videos that I created after running there.   I should also note that my Garmin is still at the repair shop.

Tuesday was interval workout. 5 x 800 at 10k pace was on the schedule.  The only local track that I know is open to the public is at the University of St Thomas so I drove over there and did my warm-up.  My goal 10k pace is 6:26 which would make a 3:13 800. I handled that pretty well – 2:39,2:53, 2:54, 3:04, 2:57.  I had about 200m active recovery time in between (all less than 2 minutes).  After a short break I decided to finish the workout off with a 400 and a 200.  I ran them in 1:13 and 0:35 respectively.  I had to share the track with some female track members and the football team was using their field in middle so that was a little different than I expected.  Obviously I felt tired, but I felt pretty good about the workout and enjoyed running on the track.

Wednesday I decided to try something a little different.  I had just been reading about recovery days and hard days in Running Times and it was saying that you could do two hard days back to back as long as you followed with two recovery days.  Since the schedule called for two off days before the weekend’s race I decided to give it a try and ran my 30 minute tempo run.  It seemed a little odd today given my schedule to drive 30 minutes to run 30 minutes so I just ran along the Greenway. I actually ran on the rocky section next to the Greenway which does have some nice flat trail (but not recommended).  I did about 4.25 miles (still no Garmin) in exactly 30 minutes, ok 30:06.  My legs were pretty tired from yesterday’s track workout (as expected)!

Thursday I didn’t run.  However, we did have a staff versus student basketball game.  We got ripped off – students reffed and the scorekeepers did a terrible job.  We lost by 3 points in over time.  Not too shabby for 7 “old people” who don’t play much against about 15 middle schoolers who play all the time.   This may have been a mistake because my foot was almost done hurting and it started back again.  I was also a lot more tired and sore than I expected to be – so maybe I ended up having 3 hard days in a row.  The game also ruined a lot of the benefits of the massage I received in the morning. I also stood around at a bonfire for a few hours which tends to make my heel hurt worse. Ugh.

Friday I didn’t run. I didn’t bike. I took the day 100% off.

Saturday I ran the Fred Kurz Memorial 10 mile run.  This was a time-handicapped race – with the handicap being assessed at the beginning. The first runners left at 8:30 and I left at 9:30 with several runner starting after me.  I ended up running the 10 mile race in 1:10:31 which was pretty close to my goal of 1:08.  I cramped about halfway through otherwise I’m pretty happy with my performance. My Garmin arrived which was great timing!

Sunday was a great celebration of Easter and the resurrection of Jesus.  We enjoyed time with friends and spending the day together.  We rode our bikes around the neighborhood hanging up flyers for an upcoming event and put about 10 miles on the bike.  It was all at a nice leisurly pace which felt good.

Weekly Mileage

Run – 23.5 Miles
Bike –  21.7 Miles