Posts Tagged ‘running program’
2/27/11 – One Year Pictures!
Posted by admin in My History on March 10th, 2011
I cannot believe it, but, yes, it has been one whole year since I began this journey. I think you will see that the differences in my feet are quite noticeable. Without further adieu, the pictorial evidence:
Before 2/27/10
One Year 2/27/11
In picture one, you can see that my left foot is noticeably less thick just below the toes than my right foot. Also, the second toe on my left foot is very far away from my big toe, which is due to the inside sesmoid bone having been removed years ago. One year later, the left foot is not only noticeably thicker, the second toe is not nearly so far away from the big toe. Awesome improvement for me 🙂
Here’s the money shot:
Before 2.27.10
One Year 2/27/11
Holy crow! Are those even the same feet, Batman? YES, yes they are the VERY SAME FEET!!! I cannot believe it myself in looking at the pictures. Of note, the left ankle still looks a little unfortunate, but not nearly so everted (I think) as before. The ankle bone looks to be more toward the center, and, overall, the ankle looks stronger and more able to provide support upward.
THE FEET!
One Year 2/27/11
The first picture was from 2/27/10, and just look at the splaying of the toes on the left foot. Now, compare the 2010 splay to the 2011 splay – WOW! It has really been reduced.  I cannot begin to describe how good it feels to know that my feet are not without hope. The thickness of the left ankle has improved s has the definition of the muscles coming off of the foot and up into my shin. I’m not sure of the names of those particular muscles/tendons at present, but that is part of what is helping to realign my foot, I’m sure.
So, I’ve made a lot of improvement, but the journey is not over as I am still unable to commit to a full-time barefoot life due to continued weakness in my posterior tibial tendon. My next steps are (and I have already started the ones with a *):
*1. introduce the VFFs into my daily life for 2-3 hours each day with increased duration in shoes over time
*2. workout in VFFs as my body permits (i.e. I will not workout in VFFs if my tendon is still sore in order to help decrease the chance of inflammation. Sore is okay, but inflammation stalls workouts.)
*3. ease back into running using VFFs and a treadmill (currently walking 2 min, running one min, walking 1-2 min, running one min, walking until reach 10 min)
4. running outside in VFFs on softer surfaces such as grass or gravel using the alternating running/walking method
Here’s to freeing your feet! CHEERS!
7/21/10 – Run 2A – Exactly 1.0 miles with 0.5 miles running :-)
Posted by admin in Training (running, cycling, etc.) on July 22nd, 2010
So, I went with Option 3 (as proposed by my Physical Therapist, Travis): I kept the stability shoes and the prescription orthotics.He says, “The symptoms really might just be some increased soreness with breaking in a new pair of shoes and getting use to less support.  If you continue to have symptoms, again, you should not be increasing mileage, but rather staying at the same level until you are able to complete that distance symptom free.”
He also suggested that I continue the exercises for the “strengthening”, and I could also add stride outs (that he suggested a long time ago) with my Vibram Five Fingersâ„¢ after each run. “Stride outs are brief stints of running ~60-100 yards, where you slowly pickup your tempo until you are at or near top speed running on your toes.” Travis also said that the stride outs would increase strength, while the orthotics and stability shoes during the sustained runs will provide support to help my feet adjust to the impact of running for a longer time.
Ok. This totally makes sense to me, and I, thus, I opted for Travis’s suggested Option 3.
I am really excited about the stride outs, but I did not do them on Run 2A. Those will happen on Run 3A, and I will tell you all about them in good time.
Back to the run at hand. My friend and I had a limited amount of time. So, we found that we could really only squeeze in one mile total.
We walked the first 1/4 mile and ran the second 1/4 mile. Just like last time, this felt really good, but I was really winded. My body was definitely feeling good, and I now need to get my lungs up to speed.
Then, the second 1/4 mile walk, which is when pain will show. I didn’t have any!! None! Woohoo!!! My left foot felt fine, and my right foot was ready to keep going. So, onto 1/4 mile #2.
This one was just as good, and my breathing was getting better (as it does once you are a little more warmed up). At this point we had to stop and go home to get to a bellydancing class, which is a story for another time and blog.
On the way to class, I felt fine. All was well with feet, hips, back, shoulder, etc. I had a difficult time due to fatigued quads in bellydancing, but other than that, the running seemed to be just fine for my feet.
I am thinking that another go of just two 1/4 mile runs with three 1/4 mile walks. We shall see what the next few days bring!
7/16/10 – Starting the Running Program, Again – Run 1A
Posted by admin in Training (running, cycling, etc.) on July 18th, 2010
It is time to start running again because a friend and I have signed up for a 5k on September 12, 2010. That gives us roughly 8 weeks to slowly work up to the 3 or so miles required for this race.
Our initial run was the walk 1/4 mi, run 1/4 mi, walk 1/4 mi, run 1/4 mi, walk 1/4 mi. We did the two 1/4 mi runs and actually walked an extra mile with a total distance of 1.5 miles or so.
So far so good!
Run Day 2 – 5/3/10 In the a.m. too early to think about, sort of
Posted by admin in Training (running, cycling, etc.) on May 4th, 2010
So, having absolutely thrown the weekend to the wind, I decided that I simply had to run this morning regardless of what time I got up – I mean it’s only one mile.
Thus, I made it! I walked my 3/4 mile and ran the 1/4 mile. It was truly difficult. However, I noticed that maintaining a better stride was a little easier. My legs were doing much better, but the lungs tired very quickly. I also did not notice the foot slapping when I tried and was more successful with the mid-foot strike. Hmmm…could this improve with practice?
Also, I did get up later than normal this morning, which meant no morning gym session. Oh well, I’ll get back there soon!
Overall, I am beginning to feel healthier and stronger – finally!
All Clear for Running! 4/26/10
Posted by admin in Training (running, cycling, etc.), Try This! on April 26th, 2010
After my last Physical Therapy appointment on Wednesday, April 21, 2010, Travis declared that I am clear for beginning my running regimen! He also video taped me in shoes and my Vibram® Five Fingers. It was so telling and painful to watch for me. You can be the judge for yourself as soon as I get it up here 🙂
Anyway, I have been working out at least three times a week. I did do a walk 1/4 mile, run 1/4 mile, walk 1/4 mile, and run 1/4 mile on Thursday, but it was a little too much. So, the prescribed program below will, hopefully, work better:
Week 1
Day 1 – Walk (brisk) for up to 1 mile, within the mile of walking, run ¼ mile (1.25 total, 0.25 run)
Day 2 – Rest
Day 3 – Walk up to 1 mile with ¼ mile run within this mile (1.25 total, 0.25 run)
Day 4 – Rest
Day 5 – Walk ¼ mile, run ¼ mile, walk ¼ mile, run ¼ mile, walk ¼ mile (cool-down) (1.25 total, 0.5 run)
Day 6 – Cardio – bike, stairmaster, swimming, etc.
Day 7 – Rest