Almost packed it in ...

[Barefoot YOW]

In September I felt like my barefooting days were over. I'd only managed 30km (18mi) for the first 9 months of the year. My right soleus just would not allow for barefoot running. It started January 3rd and even after a round of ART it would go incredibly tight. It even flared up running hilly trails shod. My plan was to rest it, but even after a couple months I could only run 2km before it went rock hard. I was all set to give up on running barefoot.

Not sure if it was the changing season, or the fact that I love to run in the Fall. I decided to run shod in September ... Oh God how dreadful it felt. Lead weights on my legs pulling me down to hell. I opted for another round of ART. This time he worked primarily on the sole of my foot and then the calf. He suggested using a wooden ridged roller to roll out my foot. There was lots of popping. After 4 sessions and daily rolling my calf was feeling 95%

Now I'm back to barefoot and managed to get 60km in so far this month. Oh how good it is to feel the dew on the autumn leaves or the warmth of the road as the sun peeks out from behind the clouds. I really missed running barefoot. I really feel for those on this forum that have suffered with long term injury. This Fall I will run with a greater appreciation.

To all those fighting injury including our faithful leader .... I wish you all a speedy recovery and the gift of running.

Take care,

YOW

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Lead weights on my legs pulling me down to hell.

Lead weights on my legs pulling me down to hell.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Awesome! I was wondering why you sort of disappeared on us. I am so glad you are making a good recovery and getting back out there...barefoot or shod.

 

[JosephTree]

I'll drink to that!

Welcome back to the fold and happy running!

 

[Noonie]

In September I felt like my barefooting days were over. I'd only managed 30km (18mi) for the first 9 months of the year. My right soleus just would not allow for barefoot running. It started January 3rd and even after a round of ART it would go incredibly tight. It even flared up running hilly trails shod. My plan was to rest it, but even after a couple months I could only run 2km before it went rock hard. I was all set to give up on running barefoot.

Not sure if it was the changing season, or the fact that I love to run in the Fall. I decided to run shod in September ... Oh God how dreadful it felt. Lead weights on my legs pulling me down to hell. I opted for another round of ART. This time he worked primarily on the sole of my foot and then the calf. He suggested using a wooden ridged roller to roll out my foot. There was lots of popping. After 4 sessions and daily rolling my calf was feeling 95%

Now I'm back to barefoot and managed to get 60km in so far this month. Oh how good it is to feel the dew on the autumn leaves or the warmth of the road as the sun peeks out from behind the clouds. I really missed running barefoot. I really feel for those on this forum that have suffered with long term injury. This Fall I will run with a greater appreciation.

To all those fighting injury including our faithful leader .... I wish you all a speedy recovery and the gift of running.

Take care,

YOW

Did you ever learn what was the source of the tight soleus?

I had similar issues, though not as bad, and I went to see a physiotherapist a month ago. My right side was always a minor issue, and while my left hadn't given me any issues, it did after one 'bad' run and ended up swelling, with tightness on the outside of my leg and the soleus. The issue with my left side was two-fold: weak glute, and running on the right of the road with my left foot collapsing in...this led to the overuse of muscles around the soleus and ankle. With my right side, I learned that my calf muscle was very weak when compared to the left. So I've been doing various strenghtening exercises and they've helped a lot, in particular the core exercises. I discussed running with my physio and she had some good ideas: while relaxing the ankles/feet is important, you can't just let them land wherever...as I was landing too far inward and I needed to work on this, so I would run thinking my feet are on parralel tracks with the foot landing under the quad/hip on that side. I've been building this motor skill while trying to remain relaxed, and my legs feel better after most runs. I'm up to 36 minute runs with 1 or 2 1:00 walks in there, running every 3rd or 4th day. So far so good. I mention this only because it took me a long time to get to the bottom of my issues, and I think until that happens, no amount of massage, tweaks, etc., will help (in the long run).

While I love the internet as a resource, I forget that when I post a question and get a tip, and follow through with that tip...while there may be some improvement, I forget that this is the internet and no Q&A online is really ever going to be as good as seeing a good professional. Food for thought

 

[Bare Lee]

While I love the internet as a resource, I forget that when I post a question and get a tip, and follow through with that tip...while there may be some improvement, I forget that this is the internet and no Q&A online is really ever going to be as good as seeing a good professional. Food for thought

I think this is true for some people, but for others, just rolling, massaging, stretching, and strengthening everything, without fail, takes care of a lot of these niggles and outright injuries. A lot of people just roll the calves, but you have to roll the feet and shin muscles too, for example. I'm not sure, but I also think deadlifts and squats are particularly important for runners, along with dynamic stretching like leg swings, front-to-back, and side-to-side. But basically, I think it's best to keep the whole body strong and loose, and not focus on any particular area.

In any case, glad to hear both Noonie and YOW are on the mend. Not running is sooooo frustrating.

 

[Barefoot YOW]

Did you ever learn what was the source of the tight soleus? ... I forget that this is the internet and no Q&A online is really ever going to be as good as seeing a good professional. Food for thought

Good point Noonie ... I think the pros can help fine tune your rehab and identify inherent biomechanical problems. For me, this issue has flared up in the pass, when I was a shoddie. Basically, I busted that same leg in 3 spots as a teenager. I don't have the best running form, and as I'm 50+ I'm more susceptible to injury (usually due to my ego vs biomechanics). Bare Lee has a good point too ... I think overall strength and conditioning is key. I tend to be reactive in my stretching and trips to chiro for ART. Something hurts then I better stretch and make an appointment. I plan on incorporating more strength training and a regular stretching routine.

I'm just happy that I'm back running. It rescues me from life's stresses.

 

[Bare Lee]

I tend to be reactive in my stretching and trips to chiro for ART. Something hurts then I better stretch and make an appointment. I plan on incorporating more strength training and a regular stretching routine.

I'm still reactive, and will forget to roll my feet, for example, until the muscles in my arches feel a little sore, and I sometimes still go a few days without doing any general maintenance work, but on the whole, I've gotten a lot better about it since I had a rash of minor running-related injuries last year. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, right? Plus, with general maintenance, you don't have to do the hard work of diagnosing once an injury or niggle appears; you just have to mindlessly do your stretching/strengthening/rolling/massaging routine on a regular basis. Not saying this will prevent all injuries, but I've been running pretty well since I got more serious about maintenance.

I'm just happy that I'm back running. It rescues me from life's stresses.

Amen, brother YOW.