Have I got plantar fasciitis?

As I mentioned in my last post, for just under a week I've been experiencing pain in the heel of my right foot. It feels like a bruise just under my heel bone, but there's no discolouration of the flesh.

I've been doing some self diagnosis on Google, and the most likely culprit is 'plantar fasciitis'.  Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of your plantar fascia, a strong band of tissue (like a ligament) that stretches from your heel to your middle foot bones. It supports the arch of your foot and also acts as a shock-absorber in your foot.

You can learn more about the condition here http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Plantar-Fasciitis.htm, which is where I've taken this image from (thank you www.patient.co.uk).

I found a reference that a poor gait can cause plantar fasciitis, so I started paying special attention to my foot as I walk, and I noticed that I was crunching up my right foot, pulling my big toe in and rolling my weight around the outside of my foot, whereas on my left foot I'm was rolling laterally from heel to toe and distributing the weight evenly.  I also had more flexibility and control on my left foot that my right.

This is probably as a result of the very bad sprain I got which resulted in me being inspired to change my running style (or maybe I was already doing it to some degree which is why I injured myself in the first place - who knows!).

Most the treatments I found talked about stabalizing the muscle and arch using inserts or boots, or more severe cases having cortosone injections, but this didn't feel like the right answer for me.  If the plantar fascia is being shortened because I'm scrunching my foot up, then surely immobilizing it will compound the problem.  It seemed to me like I needed to stretch it out!  Shoe inserts and corrective measures have never run true with me, and I always pestered my parents about why do we need shoes as we didn't evolve with them, and when I was a teenager I remember disagreeing with Mum about the need to wear shoes as my feet wouldn't grow properly.  The result: I do have wide size 7.5's, which in my late teens and early 20's I regarded as terrible as my feet were too big for cute little stilettos, but now I'm glad that at least my feet developed as the should when I was a child.

I digress! On Saturday I had a massage, paying particular attention to my foot, Achilles and calves (as these were very tight and could have been a contributory factor to my possible plantar fasciitis), and have been going everywhere I can in my bare feet, or just socks in the office (where bare feet would definitely be frowned upon), and have been focusing on allowing my weight to be centred on the foot, allowing the arch to decompress.

For me, this has helped massively,to the extent that I went on my second barefoot run today.  I can still feel some slight sensitivity in my heel as I walk, but nothing when I run due to good running form meaning the heel isn't really weight bearing.  Maybe it will come back and bite me, but hopefully I'm on the mend.  I'm lucky - some people with plantar fasciitis suffer terribly for many months at a time.

I have self diagnosed and treated, and if you suffer from plantar fasciitis I recommend you get a professional medical diagnosis and treatment plan.  There is a lot of evidence out on the internet and in books that suggests barefoot running not only prevents plantar fasciitis, but can also be the cure for it, but then on the flip side others people have found it causes or aggrevates the condition.  Everyone's different. Maybe it will work for you, but always speak to a doctor or physio therapist to check if it is safe for you to try.

Can cycling improve you running technique?

The last couple of days I've been getting some heel pain in my right foot, it feels like a bruise when I put weight on it.  I don't know how this came about - I've not been running for a few days prior to this flaring up, but I think it's linked to a very tight Achilles and calf, and am getting a massage tomorrow, so will post more on this then.

Until my heel is better, to try to keep my cardio up, I decided to cycle the 7 miles to and from work today.  It was my first bike ride in over a year, so was prepared to struggle, but was pleasantly surprised that it was quite easy - although my quads did feel it at times!

On my way in, I started to wonder if cycling could be used to improve technique.  When I run, I'm very aware I do something odd with my right leg - I kind of 'kick' my foot out.  I've been working hard to correct this (and maybe this is what's causing my heel pain?), but it's tough to see what you're doing without a mirror.  Cycling forces your legs to move in a constant circle, with no 'kick out' anywhere (unless you want your feet to fly off the pedals). So for me, this could be great cross training.  Yes I work in the gym and go to yoga regularly, and occasionally swim, but cycling does seem like it would tackle my particular problem.

Barefoot Ken Bob was an advocate of cycling in his book - I didn't pay too much heed to this at the time, but having come home from work considering this question I re-read the chapter.  Now of course Barefoot Ken Bob advocates cycling barefoot, but he has some good ideas about spinning your legs at a 90+ cadence, and believes that all runners should also cycle.

I started doing some online research, and there is a lot of evidence to suggest that cycling can indeed improve your running - one article in particular stood out:

"Leg turnover will increase like whoa.

Pedalling a bike requires consistent motion and a steady, smooth cadence. Sound familiar? That’s because the exact same thing is true for running. The world’s best marathoners have a leg turnover rate of about 180 steps per minute. ChiRunning, a form of run coaching with a focus on efficiency and injury prevention, suggests a cadence of 174-180 footfalls per minute.

Your cadence on the bike can transfer to running. Start by trying to achieve a 90 rpm (or revolutions of both pedals per minute) on the bike in an easier gear. Once you can hit this rate, move to your harder gears while maintaining the 90 rpm cadence."

 I'm a massive fan of increasing cadence, and it's been THE thing to improve my performance, so this makes sense to me.  Even whilst I was cycling back from work I thought about cadence and timed myself, and I came in at 88 RPM, so pretty close.  

My conclusion? You have to go with what feels right, and for me, right now, this feels right. I'm going to build in a weekly (or maybe bi-weekly) bike ride, and we'll see what happens!

Fivefinger 5K Leith Hill, Surrey, 15/09/12

Whilst I was in the gym this morning I got chatting to a guy wearing Vibram Five Fingers.  I wanted to find out how he was getting on with them, and he was loving them! Now, Barefoot Ken Bob believes that whilst VFF's are miles better than modern running shoes AND other minimalist running shoes, he also believes that unless you have good form and experience running totally barefoot, they will teach you poor form. He does concede that they are a great tool for runners living in a colder climate to his native California, so they are something that I would like to try.  They are not cheap however, and as my second toe is a little longer than my first toe (I'm not a mutant - promise - it's something 10% of the population have) I'm worried about the fit.

Random gym guy hadn't experienced any discomfort between his toes, but did advise that the fit between styles can differ considerably, so he believed it was important to try them on before buying.

Over the course of the conversation, random gym guy told me about a barefoot 5K coming up in a couple of weeks (also open to minimalist and VFF runners).  It's more of a meet up event and is followed by a BBQ.  Looks like fun - I'm not sure if I'll be up to 5K yet, but I'll give it a go if I can!

The race is called the Fivefinger 5K at Leith Hill, Surrey on  Saturday September 15th, and is only a fiver. Bargain considering its a BBQ too.

Read more at:
http://shop.primallifestyle.com/saturday-september-15th---fivefinger-5k-leith-hill-surrey-1799-p.asp

Lengthen hamstrings to improve performance

Having been an avid Yogi for more years than I care to count, I've always thought that my hamstrings have always been fairly flexible. I've always known that its not my most bendy area, and that there's certainly room for improvement, but on the whole I've been fairly satisfied.

BUT!  I've recently learned that my hamstrings are short enough to impact a variety of excersizes, and that this wonderful Yoga flexibility where I can get my head on my knees has more to do with how bendy my back is.  It's great that I have a flexible spine, but shorter hamstrings is having a negative impact on my rowing technique, ability to do squats and burpies, etc.

When doing a squat, you should keep you back straight through the entire motion, but I'm finding at the bottom end of the squat my back is collapsing.  I thought this was down to a weak back, but evidently at the bottom of the squat when you knees are bent the most, the hamstring pulls on the seat bone.  If your hamstrings are not long enough the seat bone will be pulled too hard and so your lower back will become rounded as your bottom tucks under you.

So, what causes tight hamstrings?
In my case it's high heels shortening both my calf and hamstring muscles, sitting at a desk all day, and over-relying on yoga for all my flexibility.

So I'm going to embark on a two week 'lengthening' programme to increase the length of my hamstrings, and I'll keep you posted with a daily diary here.

Some stretching and lengthening I'll be including are:

Laying down leg lift:
Lie flat on the floor with your legs out straight.  Raise one leg as far into the air as you can and hold in lace with your hands behind the thigh (if your hands don't reach without your shoulders or head lifting from the ground, use a belt or towel held in each hand).  Hold for two minutes, increasing the intensity as the feeling of stretch fades. Gently lower the leg back to the floor.

Repeat with other leg.

Try to do this at least twice a day.

The 'Harry Potter':
This is one my trainer showed me.  Be warned - if you have tight hamstrings, the first few times you do this will be a bit uncomfortable, but it will ease off as your mucles loosen.

Find a railing (such as on a fence or climbing frame) or sturdy edge, such as the back of the chair.  It must be secure so that it won't fall off or over, or in a position that you could fall over the edge of a building or stairway, etc.  It will also need to be slightly lower than your pelvis (or lower still if you're very stiff) so you may need to raise yourself slightly by standing on a sturdy box, block or telephone directory.

Stand on one leg and place the other over the bar, so the bar sits just behind your bent knee.  Now, keeping your back straight, straighten the leg, hold for a moment and then relax.  Repeat 7 more times.

Now move your leg forwards by 2 inches, so your knee is further away from the bar, and the bar is closer to your bottom, and repeat straightening your leg another 8 times. Keep moving the bar up the back of your thigh by a couple of inches and straighten your leg 8 times until you reach the base of your buttock.

Carefully release your leg.

Repeat with other leg

Desk stretch:

Stretch your hamstring while sitting on a chair or at your desk. This is a comfortable exercise for those who already have Sciatica or back pain, and it can be done at your desk at work. Extend your left leg out, point your toes up and then down. Feel the pull at the back of the knee. Hold for a few minutes and then bring the leg back.

Stretch as many times as you can, and then repeat with the other leg.

Don't forget that trainers have padding in the heel, which will also encourage shortening down the back of your legs, so always try to do these stretches barefoot (this will also encourage stability in the ankle muscles too).

And remember - if it hurts STOP.  Pain is your friend - it tells you to stop otherwise you'll damage yourself. A bit of discomfort and a pulling, stretching sensation is OK, but don't hurt yourself.  Once of the main principles of Yoga is 'non-violence', and this means to yourself as well as others.

Hamstring Lengthening Diary

DAY ONE
OK, so I must admit, I forgot to take a photo first thing, so this pic was taken in the evening and I spent an hour this morning devoted to a warm up and full body stretch, paying particular attention to my hamstrings. At this point in the diary I can't imagine it  making a huge amount of difference!

I tried to keep my back straight, but as you can see my lower back is too rounded, which is something I'll have to try to improve over the next few days.  And of course my cat didn't want to be left our of the action!

AM
As part of 1 hours gym session including a good warm up:
Full calf and hamstring stretch - 2 minutes per leg
Heel on bar hamstring stretch (ballerina style) - 2 minutes per leg

PM
Full calf and hamstring stretch - 2 minutes per leg
Laying down leg lift - 2 minutes per leg

---

DAY 2
Today my quads, glutes, hamstrings and shoulders are killing me - thanks to the CrossFit "Fran" James had be doing Tuesday evening, so my flexibility is definitely less than it should be - that being said though, a good stretch should really help!

AM
As part of 1 hours gym session including a good warm up:
Full calf and hamstring stretch - 2 minutes per leg
Heel on bar hamstring stretch (ballerina style) - 2 minutes per leg
Laying down leg lift - 2 minutes per leg
The Harry Potter

PM
1 hour yoga class (no particular emphasis on hamstrings, but a good all round stretch)
Laying down leg lift - 2 minutes per leg

---

DAY 3

I'm getting some heel pain today - not sure why as not been running this week and not done any impact work on my heel.

AM
Following a 7 mile cycle to work:
Heel on bar hamstring stretch (ballerina style) - 2 minutes per leg
The Harry Potter

PM
Following a 7 mile cycle from work:
Laying down leg lift - 2 minutes per leg
Full calf and hamstring stretch - 2 minutes per leg

---

DAY 4

AM
An hours massage

PM
EPIC FAIL - A cider festival meant stretching was forgotten!

---

DAY 5

AM
Uh oh - cider festival making its presence felt!

PM
Laying down leg lift - 2 minutes per leg
Full calf and hamstring stretch - 2 minutes per leg

---

DAY 6

AM
Full calf and hamstring stretch - 2 minutes per leg
Forward Bend - keeping back straight and seat bones lifted - 2 minutes

PM
A yoga class paying particular attention to stretching the hamstrings, calves and Achilles.

---

DAY 7
Hmm - I can certainly feel last nights rather intense yoga class this morning (although in a good way)!


AM
Following a Sun Salutation:
Extreme side stretch - 2 minutes per leg


PM
Following a PT session:
Laying down leg lift - 2 minutes per leg

---

DAY 8

AM
Following a 300m barefoot run & 20 minute Yoga Session:
Extreme side stretch - 2 minutes per leg


PM
Following a PT session:
Laying down leg lift - 2 minutes per leg

OK, so we're just over the halfway point, and as you can see I'm definitely got more forward movement, although my hamstrings do still feel quite tight when I'm stretching them.  My buttocks are a bit higher here, but I'm definitely still rounding my lower back a bit more that I should be!

---

DAY 9

AM
Following a 7 mile cycle to work:
Heel on bar hamstring stretch (ballerina style) - 2 minutes per leg
The Harry Potter


PM
Following a 7 mile cycle from work:
Yoga Class

---

DAY 10

AM
Heel on bar hamstring stretch (ballerina style) - 2 minutes per leg
The Harry Potter


PM

---

DAY 11

---

DAY 12

---

DAY 13

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DAY 14

My first barefoot run!

So this weekend I did my first actual barefoot run!

It was only for half a kilometre at the end of a longer run, but as advised by Barefoot Ken Bob, it was on a rough gravel path.  Ken Bob recommends learning on the roughest gravel you can find, as you can't get away with sloppy technique, and once you're comfortable barefoot  running on rough gravel, running on any other surface is easy!

I've been doing lots of walking barefoot, so my feet have both become tougher and more sensitive to the surface I'm walking on, and I found that running on the gravel was easier than walking on it. I'm not going to lie here - there was the odd bit of sharp stone that made me flinch, but none did any damage and they they were forgotten about by the next step.

After a few metres hubby joined me my removing his shoes, and whilst he struggled a little more than I did (he's not been walking barefoot very much and his feet are quite tight and inflexible due to an old injury where he broke one of his heels, and he's never fully recovered from it), he enjoyed the experience too.

I loved the sensations through my soles.  I love my feet being massaged and stroked anyway, and most evenings in front of the TV hubby finds my tootsies in his lap demanding some attention - I'm very lucky  in that he obliges more often than not.  Running (and walking too) barefoot is like a massage: Sand, gravel, grass, rough stones, smooth stones, planks of wood, tarmac. Each texture offers a different sensation, each lump and bump on the ground activates a different pressure point, and making the transition from one surface to another is delightful!  Sounds mad, but its true!  I did worry needlessly about getting a splinter running across a wooden bridge though.

A couple of hours later I did find the balls of my feet itched oddly.  It wasn't enough to be uncomfortable, but it was very bizarre.  The only thing I can think it was that the slightly sharper or harder stones that I landed on slightly crushed some layers of skin or flesh - not enough to cause any noticeable damage, but enough to kick of a healing process.  Apparently after running barefoot for a while, the ball of your foot develops a fleshy, fatty layer to protect you, so it may have just been this process starting.  The sensation had completely disappeared by the evening, and was certainly less unpleasant than some aches and pains I've had after some shod runs, such as aching feet, calves or back.

I can't wait to try it again!

The importance of Cadence Training

I mentioned in my first blog entry that introducing cadence training into my weekly programme has had a massive impact in my overall speed.

The idea is that you reduce your stride length but increase your leg turnover.  This may seem counter-intuitive, and at first I found my legs were tiring and it was even harder work just to breathe OK!  After my first attempt (which exhausted me) I spoke to trainer James about it, and he advised me that I was probably speeding up to cope with the new cadence, when in fact it doesn't really matter how much distance you cover - you can almost run on the spot provided while practising a high cadence.  By increasing your cadence when moving slowly you will perfect technique, and once your technique is improved that will automatically translate through to longer and faster runs.

So, I've been doing my best to fit in a minimum of one, but ideally two, cadence sessions a week.  Sometimes I don't have time to do everything listed within the session, so I cut everything by half (other than the warm up and mobility). I think little and often is better than large and irregular (and this idealology applies to more things life than you may think)!

The cadence drills James gave me were:

WEEK 1  5 minute easy run  5-10 minute mobility  A Skip and C Skip - hundred meters on both  4x45 seconds at 94-96 Cadence  A Skip and C Skip - 100 meters on both  1x2minutes at 91 cadence Recover  Tabata sprint - 20 seconds on as fast as you can 10 seconds off. REPEAT 8 Times

WEEK 2  5 minute easy run  5-10 minute mobility  A Skip and C Skip - 100 meters on both  4x1 minute at 96 Cadence  A Skip and C Skip - 100 meters on both  1x4minutes at 91 cadence   Recover   Tabata sprint - 20 seconds on as fast as you can 10 seconds off. REPEAT 8 Times

There is also a B Skip that I don't do - mainly because I have awful co-ordination.

Also in case you didn't know when measuring cadence you generally only count on one leg, so a 96 cadence means your right leg touches the ground 96 times in a minute, so that's 192 times a minute for both legs.  The reason we do this is because often our legs are moving too quickly to count both easily.

Another problem I encountered was that I was counting as my right leg touched the ground. This had the effect that i was pushing really hard through my right leg, and was basically stamping it down too hard, resulting in sore shins!  I found the solution in one of Barefoot Ken Bobs visualisation techniques where rather than focusing on putting your foot down, think about picking it up, so now I count on when I lift up my right foot.

This technique has subsequently translated to my longer runs, and as a result I find I'm stepping much more lightly and quickly, and therefore am quicker too.

Is it OK to run twice a day?

Richmond Park is full of lovely old oak trees

Hubby and I ran around the edge of Richmond Park today - a beautiful run, stunning setting, great hilly trails, a bit hot even at 8 am this morning so we  had to stop a couple of times to let the dog have a swim in the ponds to cool down.  Never in my life has a dirty pool of water strewn with the type of stringy pond weed that I've always had a phobia of ever been so appealing.  I envied our dog lolling around, lapping up the cool clear murky brown water.

Anyway, the run itself transpired to be a couple of kilometers shorter than we'd hoped.  I was also a bit behind my weekly quota as I had not run on Saturday run due to a twingy hip that I mysteriously woke up with, and that just as mysteriously wet away overnight.  As I pondered how to make up a few more K, the obvious answer was to get another run in today.  

So far we've not seen any deer and  therefore not
had a 'Fenton' moment. Thank God!!

As I had to visit my mums place and water the plants while she's out of town, I seriously considered running  there and back, which is 3 miles each way, but the 30+ degree heat coupled with my ignorance about the bodies reaction to running twice in one day forced the decision to do some research first.

I Googled the question for a while, and there are a couple of schools of thought about this.

The first is, by running more often, you reap the same fitness benefits you get when you boost the duration and intensity of any one run: reduced body fat, increased VO2 max, and improved muscle tone. You just get those benefits sooner when running more than once a day.  Advocates of running twice a day do stress that one workout needs to be an easy, low intensity session, and you should build up to it slowly.  For example, go out twice a day twice a week, but at first keep the second session to 15-20 minutes long.

The second view is that its a bad idea, as once you come back from a run your body starts to rest and repair any damage. It then has a good 24 hours to recover (including a nights sleep) before you go out for your next run (assuming you go out each day). If you run twice your body will have less time to recover and could cause injury.

I personally believe this is one of those issues where listening to your body becomes the main factor.  For some one who's been running a while, who's fit and uninjured and has the energy, I can't see it being an issue.

 I run almost every day (even if its just a couple of kilometres) and also go to yoga at least twice a week, and the gym twice a week too, so am used to working out twice in a day, so I don't think running twice can hurt me,provided I'm sensible and don't overdo it.

  I waited for the temperature to drop to a balmy 29 degrees, and drive to a kilometre away from my mums place, and have a lovely little run along the towpath to her place and back.  It's upped my quota just enough that I don't feel I've under achieved this week.

I decided to do this extra 2K in my Merrells, and I'm not if it was poor running technique in these or the simple act of running twice in a day, but my shins really complained immediately following the end of the run. After a few minutes rest they're absolutely fine, but it's something I'll have to keep my eye on. I suspect the heat today has wearied me and I've been a bit sloppy.  I'll try this again and will see how I get on.

Don't barefoot run before you can walk

As I mentioned in a previous post, I made the decision to walk around barefoot as much as possible to try and toughen up my soles a bit and allow my feet to adapt and react to new sensations before starting to run barefoot.

Walking barefoot has not been nearly as uncomfortable as I anticipated it might be - with one exception: The Stares!

I suppose it does look somewhat odd, seeing some random bird sans shoes trotting about Staines town centre in her lunch break (I do draw the line at entering any actual shops with naked soles), and my emotions run from mild embarrassment to slight annoyance that society should dictate to me that my feet should be shod outside of socially acceptable shoeless situations, such as the pool, the beach, the garden and flash flooded festivals when wellies aren't an option.  I have even taken to carrying my sandals in my hand in the hope that people are more likely to think I'm saving my tootsies from a blister rather than being either A: mad or B: too poor to afford shoes.

My solutions was making some barefoot sandals, which was surprising simple to do, requiring some elastic and some beads.  Wikepedia defines barefoot sandals as:

Barefoot sandals are something of a misnomer, referring to straps or jewelry such as anklets and toe rings that have no sole; barefoot sandals originated in South Asia and are popularly worn at religious festivities and events primarily for decoration rather than protection

Whilst on closer inspections it is easily apparent that my soles are in a state of undress, from a distance it can appear that I am wearing a soled shoe of some description and therefore I can avoid the dreaded 50 yard stare!

There are dozens of sites out there offering a huge variety of this type of footwear, from crochet examples to bejewelled and dazzling, or you can do as I did and make your own. I used a pattern I found in a book, but it wasn't dissimilar to the instructions here: http://mandycrandell.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/how-to-make-barefoot-sandals.html

As for the sensations of walking barefoot, I'm really rather enjoying it - from loose gravel to sun warmed paving stones to cool dewy grass. Each surface differs enormously, and is a different sensual treat for my tootsies.  I do have the odd sharp bit of gravel make me flinch, but its not really painful.  The feet are hyper-sensitive for a reason: to give you good warning when you do step  on something sharp, or otherwise uncomfortable, so you don't put any more weight down and damage yourself.

Walking barefoot on soft grass is on of the greatest pleasures I've experienced (and my life has not been short on pleasure).  It's a treat for the feet, and also helps centre me and connect me to nature too.

Barefoot running is a pain in the ......calf

At least it has been for me.  Just over a week ago I purchased a pair of minimalist shoes on the recommendation of both my hubby and my personal trainer, and I've been slowly adapting to them by running a short 1-1.5KM circuit daily.  At least that was the plan.

By day 4 my inner calves were so sore and fatigued, I had to give them a days rest.  One days rest turned into two to allow me to do a longer run, but by day 6 I was ready to go again.

Alas, the sore calves were back again with a vengeance.  It felt like the 'flexor digitorum longus' and 'soleous' were hosts to hundreds of  pixies were hooking themselves into by means of red hot claws on their hands and feet, and once soundly attached were proceeding to bite with razor sharp teeth and then suck out all the energy from my lower leg, leaving it stiff and tired.

Now, I fully expected to have to build up muscle that had become lazy, but this felt like I was doing something wrong rather than just needing more practise or greater calf strength.

Reading 'Barefoot Running Step By Step', I've come across a few tips and tricks of barefoot running that translates well into running in general, regardless of what kind of shoes (or lack thereof ) you may be running in.

The key point that stood out for me was that co-author Barefoot Ken Bob, who has been running barefoot for decades, noticed that shod runners don't bend their knees enough.  If you bend your knees whilst running the ball of your foot automatically makes contact with the ground prior to the heel, therefore removing the painful and knee damaging heel strike from the equation.  Keeping your knees bent also automatically relaxes your calf, so when your heel does touch down its fully decompressed and entire leg (hips, knees, ankles, quads and calves) act like a giant spring.

Ken Bob also talks about focusing on lifting your foot up rather than pushing it down for a gentler gait, yet a faster cadence.

Whilst I've not yet had the courage to actually run barefoot, I've been using these techniques for my last few runs, and have seen huge improvements when wearing both my traditional Nike Pegasus running shoe and my minimalist Merrell Barefoot shoe.

For example - running down hill, rather than locking my legs out and braking, I've been bending my knees and letting gravity carry my down.  It's a little scary as without braking you end up flying down hills so quickly, but its just like being a kid and requires virtually no effort at all.  On a steep hill, by the time you get to the bottom your legs are moving so fast it feels like they're about to fall off! The momentum carries you halfway back up the next hill too - fantastic.

My cadence is up - I'm easily achieving a 90+ cadence, whereas before I was was struggling to reach the 80s, and as a result my speed has picked up by about 20 seconds a kilometre - that's quite a jump for a few days work!

And as for the the little energy-vampire pixies that were attaching themselves to my calves by means of red hot claws on hands and feet?  Gone!  I can still feel the muscles in my feet and calves working a bit harder than I was previously accustomed to, but there is no pain.

Another interesting side effect is I'm no longer having any shin pain.  I've always had some shin pain since starting running - most of the time it's barely noticeable, and I think I had just stopped noticing in general, but it's now become apparent by its absence!  Some time ago during some running drills, my trainer James Morris impressed upon me the importance of relaxing your calf and foot whilst running. I understood what he was saying and thought I was achieving it, but it never really clicked.  What I was actually doing was relaxing the calf as the my foot came up, allowing my toe to point, then flexing my foot back so that the ball of the foot would hit the ground first, and tensing the calf to do so.  The shock of a tensed foot and calf 'hitting' the ground caused a whiplash like reaction on the front of my leg, causing tenderness, and on some occasions, pain.

Barefoot Ken Bob and Robbo

Notice the word I used there: 'hitting' the ground. No wonder we injure ourselves due to impact when using words such as 'hit' and 'strike' to describe how our feet land!  Using Ken Bobs method of bent knees the foot is automatically at an angle to allow the ball of the foot to 'touch' the ground gently first, before the heel and toes also make contact.  By bending my knees more something clicked for me: Bent knees also means relaxed calves, and relaxed calves mean less impact, less potential for injury, and more 'springiness' in your step. For me, this resulted in reducing the tenderness in my shins and speeding up my pace.  Maybe it would help you with sore heels, knees or hips?

I'm not qualified or experienced enough to instruct anyone in running technique, so if this is something you want to try I wholeheartedly recommend it - but please be careful and don't just use the snippets of information I'm sharing here as a basis for experimentataion, so make sure you research the technique fully to be sure you understand it otherwise you could injure yourself. You can buy the book or visit Barefoot Ken Bobs website for more information.

Humans were made to run marathons!

Inspired by my recent read 'Born To Run', I wanted to learn more techniques for Barefoot Running, so I entered 'Barefoot Running' into my Kindle store search and was presented with an impressive array of results for what is still really a small niche market.

Scanning the results, one title popped out 'Barefoot Running Step by Step: Barefoot Ken Bob, the Guru of Shoeless Running, Shares His Personal Technique for Running with More Speed, Less Impact, Fewer Injuries and More Fun', co-written by Roy M. Wallack and Barefoot Ken Bob Saxton.

Although its a massive title, that isn't what stood out the most, but the name Barefoot Ken Bob. Barefoot Ken Bob was referred to in 'Born To Run' as the 'Guru' of barefoot running, and seeing as I had found that book so inspirational and education I had to download this book!

Ken Bob & Roy Wallack start the book by putting forward a really good case about what great long distance runners humans are - the best on the planet in fact.  There is quite a lot of evidence suggesting that the modern human species evolved to be the way it is today to be able to, quite literally, run it's prey to death.

Around two million years ago, our ancestors suddenly had access to far more protein which enabled our brains to grow larger and our species to evolve into the modern humans we are today.  As the spear was not invented until 50,000 years ago, and the bow and arrow not until 10,000 years ago, how did our ancestors manage to obtain this amount of protein without tools to hunt?

Undoubtedly there would have been some scavenging, but we were not fierce enough to keep other predators away, nor fast enough to escape them if they decided to take their kill back!

Evolution is all about survival of the fittest and fitting into a niche, so why would humanity evolve to be slower and less strong than the competition if it didn't get something back?

Well, we also evolved the ability to run upright.  An animal that runs on four legs may be faster, but essentially the amount of breaths it takes is limited to its stride - one breath = one stride.  The reason being its stomach and guts slam into its lungs with each leap, essentially emptying the lungs.  Humans can take as many breaths as they want, and multiple steps per breath, which is a massive advantage over our animal kin.

We can also sweat.  Most animals can only cool down by panting, which is really limited.  The ability to sweat makes us a really efficient cooling system.

Our prey may have been faster than us, but only in short bursts before they have to rest.  If you keep driving an Antelope, it will bound out of reach and rest, but if you keep pursuing it and keep it moving, not allowing it to rest for long or recover, it will eventually drop down dead from the heat and exhaustion.  This process takes somewhere between 3-5 hours, which, for healthy and fit people accustomed to running, is roughly how long it takes to run a marathon.

Interesting stuff right? You can read more about this discovery here.

Ken Bob is anti any shoes at all, including minimalist 'barefoot' shoes, and he has lots of evidence to suggest that introducing some totally barefoot running can reduce injury and improve running technique - even if you're not hardcore enough to go totally barefoot all the time as he does (but there must be something in it - he's run something like 65 marathons barefoot, with times most of us could only dream off!).

I do believe there is something in it, and I'm introducing many of the techniques Ken Bob describes into my running schedule, and will also try to introduce some time totally barefoot too.  Hardcore Ken Bob suggests starting on gravel as from there running on anything else will be easier - I'm not convinced that is for me, but I'll give it a go.

But I'm not going to 'run before I can walk' (excuse the pun), so for the next couple of weeks I'm going to walk as many places as I can barefoot.  It should help toughen up my feet a bit, as well as allow me to get used to the sensation of different textures underfoot so I can get used to reacting and 'relaxing' over sharp or uncomfortable objects.

Lets see how I get on.

Born To Run

A couple of years ago I bought my then fiance a book called 'Born To Run' by Christopher McDougal.  He absolutely loved it, and I added it to my 'To Read' list.

The book then started to make the rounds with then fiance's friends, and I promptly forgot about it, until my Personal Trainer, James, told me he was attending an event where he would actually get the chance to meet the author.

James returned from the event full of enthusiasm for Mr McDougals knowledge and techniques, which inspired me to actually finally read the book.  Now, the original copy that I gave my now husband was likely to take another two years before finishing the rounds and coming home to us, so I downloaded a copy to my Kindle.

It's one of the best reads I've had for a long time.  Rather than summarise it myself, I've pulled the below off from Christopher McDougal's website:

Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets off to find a tribe of the world's greatest distance runners and learn their secrets, and in the process shows us that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong. Isolated by the most savage terrain in North America, the reclusive Tarahumara Indians of Mexico's deadly Copper Canyons are custodians of a lost art. For centuries they have practiced techniques that allow them to run hundreds of miles without rest and chase down anything from a deer to an Olympic marathoner while enjoying every mile of it.

This book was such an eye opener for me.  It really helped me get back in touch with why I fell in love with running in the first place.  It's not about constantly improving my time, or just the work out.  Its for the pure love of being strong and free and alive!  And yes I want to continue getting faster and running for longer, but not at the expense of pleasure!

For my next run I left the iPod at home, and  listened to my own breathing, the birds singing and the foliage rustling in the breeze.  It was still hard work, but infinitely more pleasurable.

If you get the chance, beg, borrow or buy a copy - it's really worth a look if you're interested in running, anthropology or even just human interest stories.

Too many Barefoot choices....!

Whilst minimalist shoes are rife on the internet, there's non too many available in the running shops just yet - at least not in my locality.  My local Teddington SweatShop did carry the Nike Frees, and as I loved my Nike Pegasus shoes (and the brand in general) I decided to pop down the next Saturday and try them on for size. However, on the day I was thwarted by the Olympic bike road race effectively cutting me off from the shop.

Impatient to get started now I had set my mind to it, I decided to order online.  I couldn't decide between brands, and there was so much choice!  Hubby wanted to try the Merrel brand next due to a recommendation, so based purely on this I decided to try them.  Remembering hubby's bruised soles in the Saucony 3mm sole, I went for the Merrell Bare Access range that had zero drop, but with a slightly thicker sole (8mm).  You can read a bit more about the Merrel Barefoot range here: http://www.merrell.com/UK/en/Barefoot_Bareform.

During my research it had become clear that when moving to a minalmist shoe YOU MUST TAKE IT SLOW - having relied on lots of cushioning for years, calves and feet get lazy, and you have to build up strength in your muscles again.

Bearing this in mind I decided to run 1K - 1.5K in them every day for a week, then increase this by 0.5K - 1K per week until I was up to the same distance that I run in my beloved Nike Pegasus shoes, whilst staying in the Nikes for my longer weekend runs (at least until my legs and feet adapted).

The Merrell Womens Barefoot Run Bare Access Arc.

Excitedly I awaited my package, and when they arrived I was delighted in how light they were, how bendy the soles were, and that there was so much room in the toe box for my toes to spread and grip.

I decided to wear these shoes without socks to stay as close as possible to the barefoot principle, and off I go for a gentle 1.4K loop around my road.

My feet felt so light! My cadence automatically went up, and I focussed on landing on my forefoot, which in turn increased my cadence further.  This was easy peasy!

Hang on though - by the 1/2 kilometre mark my calves were burning and extremely tired, and in all honesty this took much of the pleasure away from what should have been a very gentle run in an extremely beautiful setting (I'm lucky enough to live on a road that is more trees and fields than houses and cars).  It was tough, but I finished my planned loop and went the rest of the day with aching, sore calves.

Its OK though - I expected this. I read in several places that you have to build up calf and foot muscled that have effectively atrophied having been overcompensated for in modern shoes.  It will just take some time.

A new way to run without injuring myself

I needed to find a new way to run without injuring myself.

A few months previously I had started working with a personal trainer, James Morris, in order to get wedding dress ready (which I succeeded magnificently at at, thanks to his training).

At this point in time, James and I had not worked at running technique, but he was a keen advocate of zero drop shoes. He had always maintained that heel striking when running was a bad move, and had been trying to coach me away from this, with limited success.

There's a movement at the moment transitioning away from cushioned heels in sports shoes due to the belief that, in the same way that a gymnast searching for stability automatically lands harder on a thicker, softer mat, we actually create more impact on our heels and up through our legs with a thicker, padded heel in our shoes. The heels of these shoes are also raised above the ball of the foot, forcing the foot into an unnatural
angle, creating a weakness in the calf and ankle, and as if this were not enough, arch supports prevent the decompression of the arch of the foot.  We all know that an arch is one of the strongest load bearing shapes there is, and the arch of our foot is a finely tuned structure to bear the load of our bodies and assist in 'springing' away from the floor.  The greater the load applied to an arch the stronger it becomes. Any engineer can tell you that if you then push up a support under the arch it looses its load bearing capacity.

So why do we do this to our feet?

Marketing.  Plain and simple.

I'm not going to go into the story of the running shoe right now, but will throw a statistic at you.  Anywhere from 65 to 80 per cent of all runners suffer an injury EVERY YEAR.

That's just a huge amount of people hurting themselves doing something we were designed to do.  But interestingly, this statistic has only become such a large percentage since Nike introduced the modern running shoe in the 70s.  Prior to this, runners wore thin rubber soled shoes, and the vast majority of common running injuries simply did not happen.

My injury-prone husband moved away from standard modern running shoes to zero-drop minimalist shoes in November 2011. Whilst I disliked the Saucony design, thinking they looked cheap and nasty, there was no mistaking that hubby had progressed from being in a situation where for months he had been unable to run a mile without his back going out or some other injury occurring, to matching my weekly distance and almost matching my speed.  His only concession to a pain free run was occasionally landing on a stone which the 3mm sole failed to protect him from, and he'd get a bit of a bruise.

Now my honeymoon was over, and I was less worried about being so toned, James and I started looking at my footfall and cadence, and with the help of some drills and his advice I really worked hard to make the transition to more of a fore-foot landing, which is supposedly far more natural, and how we run when barefoot.

There must have been something in it, as despite having not run at all for over a month before squeezing in two 5K training runs, I then entered my second Race for Life at the beginning of July, and I smashed my personal best, coming in with a time of 26 minutes and 36 seconds, and in the top 25 runners.

OK - I'm a convert.  Now I need to try out some of these minimalist shoes.

In the beginning....

Ok, new blog, first entry, where do I begin...?

I'm a 32 year old woman, recently married, and have been running for around four years.  I originally started as a way to get fit, and considering at the age of 28 the most excersize I'd had for years was dancing on a podium in a nightclub, or around a field at a festival or rave, whilst knocking back vodka shots and puffing away on 20 fags a day, it was pretty tough.

Two years later I had stopped smoking and could run a 5K comfortably, and a year after that I entered my first 5K race during July 2011, a Tesco's Race For Life, in Windsor, with my lunchtime running buddy Maxine.

That's when I got 'The Bug'.

For those of you new to running, or whom aren't runners yet, you have a great chance of catching 'The Bug', the desire to run faster, further and more often than ever.

Within days of my first 5K I had signed up for a 10K in October (the first Human Race Shock Absorber women's only 10K), which was a massive leap considering I had only ever run 5K before. I took myself down to Sweat Shop and purchased some new trainers, a very bouncy and comfortable pair if Pegasus 27's,  I threw myself into my training and ran my first 10K race.  October arrived quickly, and I had only covered the 10K distance in 57 minutes and 48 seconds.

From there I entered a number of 10K races and slowly but surely improved my time.  I just loved to run, and most of all I loved racing!  I never have been and never will be in contention to win, but I loved the buzz of a race day!

Two weeks before my wedding day I entered a local flat and fast road race, the Staines 10K, on May 14th. My PT and some friends were also running it, and I was eagerly anticipating how I'd do.  My training runs were now up to 10 miles so 10K should have been a walk in the park for me.

It was a warm morning, but I was loving the run. It was fun, and if I wasn't quite as quick as the guy dressed as a lion then so be it.  At around the 8K mark I noticed a slight twinge in my right foot, so slowed for around 1/2 a kilometre to check it was OK.

I'd not ever hurt myself running before, but sometimes would overwork a muscle or get the odd twinge, which a days rest would always fix.  This seemed to be one of those, so I sped back up and finished the 10K with a personal best of 54.46.  I crossed the line, queued for the bottle of water, and then couldn't walk another step due to the pain in my right foot.

Several ice packs and a couple of days later I go to get an X-Ray, and find there's no fracture, just a nasty sprain, and an instruction for two weeks total rest from running.  My wonderful physio, Martin, who I've been seeing for years due to a neck problem also found the joint had levered up into the joint casing, and needed to be manipulated back into place.

Two days before my wedding I'm still limping slightly, but on the day a couple of glasses of champaign helps to take the edge of so I can walk down the aisle in heels.  And a couple of bottles later I can also dance in them.

My foots well enough for the hiking and swimming on our Icelandic honeymoon, but my test jogs cause pain again, so I decide to leave it until our return home.

Back in Blightly I gingerly got for a gentle run.  There's no pain, but I can feel the weight isn't right in my foot, and know it will go out again if I continue running the way I have been.

I need to find a different way of running.