Last week I did my first 30-mile week since the 100. Yay me! The dorsal part of my knee is still a sad mess of damaged tissue, but at least it's a sad mess that I can run on (sort of). I've been diligent about cross training (Holy boring, Batman!), so I don't think I've lost that much in the way of fitness, but, if I want to run Leadville in the summer, at some point I need to start, well, running. This 30-mile week was pretty well encouraging, and, on Monday, I ventured to the point where I wanted to 80 minutes, or about 10 miles. Pre-October, 80 minutes was pretty much my standard daily run last year when I was fit. So I go on my 80-minute run along the bike path near downtown. All was well with the leg until about 60 minutes in when I felt a twinge in my right foot. What's that? Oh, crap. That kinda feels like plantar fasciitis. You've got to be kidding me? PF, on 30 miles a week? When I was doing nearly 100 last fall? Expletives abound.
Sure enough, the PF has been talking to me ever since. Still able to run/treadmill a bit, but like clockwork, the second I get healthy with the hammie, instantly the PF pops up. So it looks like I'll have to keep the gym membership active for a few more months of cross training.
I've been running since I was 11, and, up until this recent string of bad luck, I had probably missed 60 days of running total for anything besides hangovers and sheer laziness. I've probably missed the same number of days in the last four months. Not fun.
Do shoe differences make any difference for you in regards to the PF?
ReplyDeleteNot sure just yet. I've had the injury for about six days now and I've run four times in three different pairs of shoes. Each time the pain is manageable as long as I only run for 30-50 minutes, with the pain getting slightly worse the farther I go. It wasn't so bad today, but it wasn't pain free, either. It's just a bummer because I'm finally at the point where the back of my knee isn't hurting. Alas.
DeleteI've heard a few people say good things about the hoka one one, if you have PF. I'm tempted to get a pair; I'm just struggling to convince myself to pay 170 for shoes.
Any suggestions for shoes that have worked for you?
I found that certain shoes were more likely to irritate PF for me than others. Mine started to hurt a bit more post a hard half marathon in racing flats, where I then jogged the rest of a marathon (pacing with a buddy). All the miles in flats messed me up.
ReplyDeleteOver time, I found some shoes were better for me, others more of a hassle. I considered the Hokas, but it never got bad enough for me to shell out the big bucks.