How to train

[Raginglynx]

The past two weeks the weather has been so awful here I have been running in the winter-shoes.

I haven't changed anything in my running stride recently, I always try to have a midfoot strike

Do you think I should try to run instead of resting these two days I planned to keep away from running?

rgds,
Christian

[TheEd]

you have to identify when this problem occurred, so you can avoid this in the future

you have to verify whether you went through a period of where your calf muscles are tight etc

you decide regarding the easy run and then let's see what is what

TheEd

[Raginglynx]

I'll take these two days off then to be cautious.

On Saturday I will try with an easy 30 min and if they feel good I will do the 1 min race pace 1 min easy for race preparation.

The only change was to start alternating between summer and winter training shoes since the beginning of May. And of course my increased pace at the 2k and 1k runs. But when I run those I never have the pain..

rgds,
Christian

[Raginglynx]

btw, I have a question about running shoes.

Since I was a kid my mother always told me that low shoes (just everyday shoes) are better for the back.

There's a lot of debate going on in the runners world about barefoot running, minimalist shoes and cushioned or supported running shoes.

What do you as a professional running coach think of all that?
And what do the elite mid-distance runners train vs race in?

Looking forward to the answer

rgds,
Christian

[TheEd]

times have changed so much and the lifestyle become so sedate that to run in minimalist shoes is for those of natural ability

if one was running on grass and firm but soft surfaces then .. hooray

unfortunately the surfaces runners train on these days is all to unforgiving

shoes may have gone too much towards fashion and lost a little focus however the shoes with minimal cushion are for the 'chosen few' who are natural and bi-mechanically sound

nothing more I can say [of course I could ]

have a good weekend

TheEd
ps.. do not test the fate of injury purely to follow the latest trend!!!

[Raginglynx]

Interesting

I thought as much of the surface.

But me as a forefoot striker, neutral runner. Maybe I would benefit by not having such a big difference in height between heel and forefoot.

Do you agree?

It's only on my racing shoes (Adidas adizero CS) I don't have the big difference.
On the other hand I haven't had many injuries since I started running in 2009.

rgds,
Christian

[Raginglynx]

I didn't run during the Thursday and Friday, but yesterday I ran. The pain in the heel (because it feels like it's somewhere in the back side of the heel) doesn't get better.

I can run without problem most of the time. But it doesn't get better. Maybe it's even getting a little, but very little, worse by every run.

To explain it with better details. Sometimes it appears when I raise my heel off the ground just a little. But just sometimes, not everytime. Very strange. And like I said before its located on the back of the heel, doesn't feel like it's "on" the tendon.

Race tomorrow - what should I do? Not run?

I did the 30 min with 1 min x 6 @ race pace after and when I run fast I never feel it.

This will be the last race before I go to china 7th of June. After this race I thought I would do a build up..

rgds,
Christian

[TheEd]

it does sound as though you need to see a physio or simply wait for the pain to disappear

racing tomorrow could worsen things

you must decide

I would not race, especially with issues concerning the achilles

TheEd

[Raginglynx]

You're right...

To be honest.. I really want to run, but I know I shouldn't even if it feels good most of the time..

Chance is I might worse things - and that would be a stupid risk to take.

It's like when you play golf (to draw a parallel), and are in the woods with trees in between yourself and the green. The urge to go for the green through the trees instead of taking a shot to the side on the fairway is VERY strong.. However, not especially wise

This time I will go for the fairway and hopefully win a few hits in the end..

I will try to see a physio next week

rgds,

Christian

[Raginglynx]

Were at an Orthopedic / Podiatry specialist right now.

He said that it was nothing serious, just a slight swelling, hardly noticable, in the heel. The healing process was already on, so he adviced me to half my running for two weeks. He suggested not to run half as long everyday, instead run my ordinary runs every other day so that I would have one day of rest in between.

He also said that it should be no problem for me to even run fast runs if I usually do that, but not at max effort, though.

It was very nice, because he commented my feet and ancles - told that they were very good and stable, suitable for running. Nice to hear, since I had no idea.

He said that I needed to be better at stretching my calves and achilles tendons, because as they are now I can't stretch them for total movement - that is, they are fully stretched the moment a put the feet on the ground on my running stride.

So.. Ordinary running every other day for two weeks.

Right now I will go for my lunchtime run happily knowing I'm not doing anything that harms me.

So, Coach, Build up now then, maybe?

rgds,
Christian