One Week Later

It has been a little over a week since I fractured my foot.  I continue to hobble around, but with much greater speed and efficiency now.  I'm also getting in my biking, swimming and strength training and trying to substitute my running by doing the equivalent time on an elliptical machine.  I'm even wearing the special prescribed shoe as regular as possible.

Based on the pain, however, it looks like it will require the full six weeks of recovery before I can run. :-(

The Prognosis

So I go to the doctor yesterday about my foot.  I knew I was in trouble from the start when the assistant asked me the make and model of the shoe I was running in when the injury occurred.  "Well, ah, self made huaraches, sort of like barefoot running."  I get a stern look and get sent to X-Ray.  Mind you, I chose this doctor because she regularly runs ultras, so I knew she'd understand my compulsive behavior with endurance racing.

A few minutes later, the doctor (Dr. Stacey Bacon) enters the room and immediately starts to lecture me on how I should not be running barefoot.  It seems she was already briefed by a doctor/neighbor/friend of mine that morning about my background.  She even knew I had switched from the full Houston Marathon to the half.  I mean she went on for at least five straight minutes about how running barefoot is not a good idea.  Since I was in to see her due to barefoot running, I'm agreeing with her the entire time--yet, I had to endure the whole speech.  Now that wouldn't be bad, except my wife was in the room and loving every minute of having another women read me the riot act!

Dr. Bacon quickly reviewed the X-Rays, which showed nothing unusual (stress fractures won't show up until they start to heal).  She reviewed my foot and symptoms as well.  She said she's not sure if it is a stress fracture or something like a stress "response".  So I go back for more X-Rays in three weeks.  At that time she can determine if it is actually fractured or just bruised up.  Until then I'll be focused on cycling and swimming.

Train safe!

Don't Go Barefoot

Well, an end has come to my experiment with running in minimalist shoes.  Friday morning I ran a three mile warm up, planning to run an addition seven in shoes.  After about 2.5 miles my right foot really started to hurt, so much so that I really wanted to stop.  I pushed it home anyway. 

I then changed into shoes, even though my right foot really hurt.  I thought that maybe it was one of those types of pains that sometimes go away when you start running again.  Unfortunately that was not the case.  I could only go another 1.7 miles before I threw in the towel.

Since then I've not been able to walk on it.  Saturday morning the top of my foot turned black and blue.  Then it swelled up and I'm still having a hard time walking on it.  I'm afraid it is a stress fracture.  I see the doctor tomorrow morning.  As a result I've changed from the Houston Full Marathon to the Half Marathon, hoping that I can at least have a fun walk that day (today was the last day to make the switch, otherwise I would have waited until after the doctor looked at it).

Looks like my focus will be on cycling and swimming for the next six weeks.

So, in conclusion, I don't recommend following the barefoot craze.  I will not be prescribing this for my clients.  Nothing beats a good pair of running shoes for running.

Train safe (do as I say, not as I do)!

Sugarland 30K

I surprised myself yesterday with my performance in the 30K in Sugarland, TX.  As reported earlier, I've felt it difficult to recover from running "barefoot".  This was the longest race for me since the NYC Marathon and I did not taper.  I set my goal at 2:28, which would be at my goal pace for the Houston Marathon. 

I started out WAY to fast, but yet it felt so easy.  I kept going thinking my Garmin maybe lost its signal, so I was waiting for it to catch up.  By the end of the second mile I realized averaging 7:15/mile was just too fast considering I still had over 16 miles to go.  I just couldn't seem to slow down, though.  After a show bathroom stop at about mile 3, I was able to at least settle into about a 7:30 pace through the next 8 miles.  Unfortunately the damage had been done (going out too fast) and I paid the price.  I tried to accelerate toward the end and by the effort I felt I was giving it, I sure thought I was.  Yet, the pace continued to worsen. 

Nonetheless, I ended up with 2:23, way ahead of my goal.  I wonder what I could have done if I executed my race better?

Train safe!

Barefoot running update

I've been very patient in building up my mileage in my self made huaraches.  I ran three (3) miles in them last Saturday morning followed by three miles in shod.  Here is what I've experienced so far:

1. I can run faster in my huaraches, likely due to their weight compared to shoes.
2. Surprisingly my HR tends to be quite a bit higher than when I'm running in shoes.  I can't explain this one other than perhaps item 1 above.
3. My feet do need to get "broken in."  Not so much from the lack of cushioning, but due landing differently (on the toes) to more flexing during the toe off, the muscles in the bottom of foot get "workout sore."  I find I need to stretch the bottoms of my feet--this is new to me.
4. The biggest difference I have found is the amount of muscular soreness (again "workout sore") I experience in my glutes/hip region.  I feel as if I've done a TON of squats the following day.  Trying to assess this, I believe it due to the change in my gait needed to run without cushioning.  In other words, my legs have to be the complete shock absorber to avoid the shock of landing on concrete.  Just running 2-3 miles in huaraches seems to require about 2-3 days for these muscles to recover.

Although the weather in Houston is getting a bit less conducive to barefoot running, on warmer days, I will continue to build my mileage.  I figure if I need that much recovery, it must be making me stronger, right?

Train safe!