medical report

When I started this blog, I was at the tail-end of the longest-running running injury of my adult career. It was a bit humbling; I hadn't been seriously hurt since I was 16, and that owing more to an uneven growth spurt than anything else. Now I was just another injured runner. Well, that experience had the silver lining of motivating the period of experimentation that I've been documenting over the last few months. I tried barefooting and Vibrams, and then when it got too cold I settled into a pair of Nike Frees, reconfiguring my gait in a rather dramatic way. All this was supposed to help me fulfill one of my listed goals: getting healthy. I thought an update on that would be appropriate, and I'm happy to report the result: about 98% there.

In late February, when I ran my Marathon, I was pretty sure I had it all figured out. My knee pain from the 2009 injury had gone away; my foot pain had vanished, and I could tell my foot muscles were a lot stronger. Many things did not work out on marathon day, but falling apart due to injury was not one of them. A week after the marathon, eager to hang onto all that hard-won endurance, I went out for a 20 miler. I ended up stopping at 19, feeling tired but mostly OK. But then! IT pain so bad I literally couldn't walk (inconvenient since I was still a mile from my house--fortunately after a rest I made it about 5 steps, and then things improved geometrically).

I recognized that episode as a signal to accept my body's inevitable inclination to take some down-time following my crest in February. I wanted to dive right into the next thing, but my body was not on board. So my summer of speed is to be preceded by a spring of loafing around (how clever of me not to call for a Spring of speed; I congratulate myself!)

Actually I think I'm through most of the loafing. I discovered a good stretch for IT pain, and then I discovered an even better therapy for it (although I haven't tried that trick with the 2L soda bottle yet). The therapy is just 2 barefoot miles on the track infield. I'm not sure if it's the barefooting or the soft, even ground, but whatever it is, it pretty consistently blows away the pain in my legs.

Yesterday I did 8 miles in Vibrams; today 12 on trails in the Frees (which are really falling apart in earnest now; I kind of like them like this--they've got credibility--but I don't think I can hang onto them much longer ).

My Vibrams, which I hadn't worn for a while and remembered to be a little small, actually slipped on pretty well. Only the pinch point on the side of my right foot is still there. I am considering "modifying" the offender (i.e., cutting a hole in it with an Xacto knife ). Drastic maybe, but otherwise I'm going to be going through bandaids at a ferocious clip (the Vibrams are too snug for socks).

That is all for now. See you out there!