Running Man

Well, in laymen’s terms, there’s a ligament in the bottom of the foot, and when it doesn’t stretch properly, it tears. Mine, I surmised from tests and talking to others who had or have it, is a micro tear that I should be able to train through, as long as I care for it properly.
It means icing at night, stretching during the day, a few massages (my wife thinks I’m asking her to do it just because it feels good, but what husband would ever do that?) and, for the first time, I am wearing inserts when I run to help offset my high arches.
How I got the Plantar’s is another matter, and one I’m not sure of. I trained for four marathons in the past, and never had trouble with it. So all I can do is guess, and I have three of them.
First, I’m 20 pounds heavier than I was when I trained for Anchorage a year ago. Second, perhaps I started running too much, too quickly, but I really doubt it because I was running a few times a week for two or three weeks before training officially started.
Third, and this is the one I believe is the reason, is I’ve changed shoes for this race. I wasn’t getting much longevity from my previous shoes, so I went with a different brand. After talking to some of the marathoners at a running specialty store I frequent in Pasadena, they also believe this is the most likely reason for my Plantar’s.
But live and learn is what I say, and thankfully my first week of training is over, and my foot felt fine in running 8 miles Sunday. I am running five times a week, with my long run coming on Sundays, since that is the day of the Quebec City marathon. I found the schedule thanks to a quick google. I’ve used it before, and it worked. Yes, five days a week is a lot, as my thighs reminded me as I climbed and descended the hills at the L.A. Zoo on Sunday afternoon. The beginner schedules I used for three marathons calls for running four days a week.
Anyway, the highlight of my first week of training was running a 10k at Cal State Northridge on Saturday. I finished it in 59:38, which I was happy about. My wife and her sister, Holly Reilly (she asked for a shout out by name), walked the 10k, and claimed to be the winners. Their rationale was they were the only ones to walk the 10k (there was also a 5k), so they were the top finishers among the walkers.
Thanks for the responses to the blog, and the emails I received. I think it helps everyone when folks post.
This week’s schedule is 3 miles (Tuesday), 5 miles (Wednesday), 3 miles (Thursday), 5 miles (Saturday) and 9 miles (Sunday).
Look for my next blog entry May 8.