Inserts

It's been a couple of slow weeks running around here, since I was pretty bummed about my right calf acting up most recently. A combination of that and schoolwork mean that I haven't hit the pavement much recently.

Today I went back to the therapist to hear what they had to say. Thankfully, the dry needle toteboard remained at five, but she did rub out my left calf and Achilles with a metal stick and some sort of scraper (didn't see what it looked like, only what it felt like) to help remove scar tissue.

Then I got to run on the treadmill for a gait evaluation, which I kind of wanted anyhow. I'm doing fine on the new and improved midfoot landing, but it turns out I am a very mild pronator. I learned that about 4 degrees pronation is OK, but my angle of pronation is at about 11 degrees. This means instead of my Achilles going straight up and down at footstrike, it leans in about that much. She showed me video of my brief running episode, and it's amazing what their technology does. She just recorded me on an iPad, played it back, and even showed me the geometry involved. I was wowed, but also happier that I knew something now that I didn't before.

So that means I need mild stability in my shoes. I panicked once the therapist told me this, since I have so many pairs of neutral running shoes. The good thing is that a Superfeet-style insert should work well, I'll just have to move them in and out as I cycle through my shoes. No worries.

This helps me better understand the concept of inserts, and it furthers my thought that just because you are 'getting away' with something (i.e. not getting injured), does not necessarily mean you're doing it right. I found out my biomechanics are different (not much I can do about that) but that there is equipment available that will help further minimize my risk of injury.

I'd been a big-time heel striker who didn't run with any inserts in my shoes, but now I've learned better ideas on staying healthy while running.

Knots

Dry needling toteboard: 5.

The last few weeks of running had been solid, by recent standards. 12 miles last week (3-3-3-3) and 13 last week (3-3-3-4). Since these were good weeks of running and my calves had been behaving, I ran 4.25 on Monday after work but my right leg was tugging at me a little. Not enough to stop, just enough to let me know it was there. I was going to rest Tuesday, anyway.

Wednesday I wanted to see what I could do, speedwise, on my 5K route. My half-mile splits were just under 4:00, which is booking for me. With a half mile to go, my right calf knotted up on me. The right one. Not the left one, the problem child. So I was pissed, even though I was able to run-walk the rest of the way home.

So I explained it to my physical therapist, who found knots in both calves. It was worse in the right than in the left. He decided to dry needle me after finding knots in both legs, even though my left calf has been OK lately.

That was Thursday morning. It's worth noting that I'm able to walk around better now after these dry needle sessions than I could before. This was helpful, since Thursday was a day full of meetings and walking.

I'm just back in on a Saturday morning from trying to run to the local YWCO but my right calf barely got me a quarter mile out and quarter mile back. So it's another setback. I feel I've been concentrating on form and hitting various checkpoints along the way, such as trying to run tall, 'pop' my knees out as I run, and focusing on landing just behind the ball of my foot. Midfoot striking is the key.

I thought I'd been doing OK, but now it seems as though more patience is called for. I'd wanted to run a fast 5K in January, then I settled for running well at Thanksgiving and Holiday races, now I'll just settle for running at all.

So it's a bummer.