So, I really am starting to think that my whole foot trouble started when I switched to the Nike Air Zoom Moire shoes last summer. Since they were designed with a ton of cushion in the heel, and since I was picking up mileage, I let my form get sloppy – rolling heel to toe on each step, reaching forward with my feet instead of turning smooth circles under my body letting the ground drive each stride, etc.
Then, when I shifted back to Asics, shoes that complement good form instead of forgive bad form, the little bits got magnified. To top it off, I started running on the treadmill more, which forgives bad form even more than the Nikes do, and increased my mileage, leading to injury.
It recurred again in March, ’cause I wasn’t thinking about form.
This month, the foot pain hasn’t been there, but good, solid muscle soreness has. The kind that’s deep in the tissue, not right at the joint or ligament. The kind that gets better with a little bit of rubbing from a patient spouse. Hurts so good…
I’d dropped Jon Klink an email yesterday letting him know that I expected to be stuck in a phone conference over the lunchtime run, and that he ought to not expect me to run today. So, when to my surprise, the agenda passed exactly as planned and noone lead the conversation down any ratholes, and we were done in 45 minutes instead of the two hours I’d planned on.
Back at the desk, I called Jonny K, expecting to get nothing. He picked up.
“Hey, you wanna go?” I asked.
“Man, I just ordered a sandwich” he said.
“OK, well,” I began somewhat relieved that I could get a jump on my next task.
“Ah, screw it, let’s go”.
So we went.
Today started off grey, a global hangover after the worker’s holiday (By the way, I found a really funny but completely blue riff on “Workers of the World Unite!” that is totally inappropriate for a somewhat toned-down site like this). But about a mile in, the clouds just kind of evaporated, the sun came out, and WOW.
We opted for 4 again, and I was feeling great until the first section of heading up the hill back to the office. Dunno why, but I didn’t have it in my legs today, so I walked about a quarter mile. Jon kept running. It all came out in the wall, ’cause I caught him before the spot we usually knock it off.
So, that’s pretty much it. I’ve been stretching, but I think the big thing keeping me healthy is looking at form. I won’t pretend to offer any advice, but for me, what’s worked is concentrating on quick turnover, not being able to see my toes as I hit the ground, and landing on the ball of my foot.