Plantar Fasciitis

While it is fairly easy to write about your running and racing when everything is going fine it is a bit different when things go wrong. On 9/19/09 after the Ramsey Run 10K I developed a case of Plantar Fasciitis in my left foot that only got worse until I was forced to take about 10 days off after the Ashenfelter 8k classic on 11/26/09. Basically after the 8k I could not even walk, I had to hobble, hop, limp and do whatever just to get back to my car. It has been a long road back, but has been fun and could have been much worse. Anyway it is great to be back to running and racing again. My foot still tightens up when I sleep at night or I sit around too long, however, I just have to be mindful to stretch my calves and foot. Below are some of my recommendations if you find yourself with a case of Plantar Fasciitis.

Book – This book definitely helped. It has 30 recommendations which some are listed below.
http://www.amazon.com/Injury-Afoot-Relieve-Healing-Fasciitis/dp/0980172454/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276280239&sr=1-2

Rest - This was the hardest thing for me to do however, after racing on Thanksgiving Day 2009 and being barely able walk afterward, I finally accepted the fact that my body needed some time off. I ended up having to take 10 days off in a row. I rode my bike during this time period to not lose too much fitness.

Ice - The standard recommendation is 10 to 20 minutes several times during the day. The best times are right after a workout and right before going to sleep.

Stretching - Stretch calves, hamstrings, also stretch the foot that hurts you.

Shoes - I stopped using any old running shoes. I am now rotating 3 new pairs of different running shoes.

Insoles - Wear all the time (not just while running) at least until your condition is gone. I would try the superfeet insoles first because they are reasonably priced $30-$40. I have the blue type since I have flat feet however there are different types. Currently I use the superfeet for walking around and the custom orthotics for running.
http://www.superfeet.com/products/Blue.aspx

I also purchased new custom orthotics since my old ones (Langer) had cracked, http://www.langerbiomechanics.com/pg_2_2b.htm I would have just gone to a podiatrist to get fitted for another pair of Langer orthotics, however, when I inquired about them I was told that the company was out of business. So instead I purchased...
http://www.doctorsorthotics.com/shop/carbon-fiber-sport-running-orthotic.html

Sleep with Nighttime Splint - I liked this one the best, however, it feels kink of bulky and you have to take it off to walk.
http://www.runningwarehouse.com/descpage-NS.html
I also have this one, however, I did not like how it bends your toes up (annoying!), however, you can walk with it and it is not bulky at all.
http://www.runningwarehouse.com/descpage-STRASOC.html

Immune System - I think part of my problem with plantar fasciitis was due to a weaken immune system from too many miles and a diet that is deficient in certain things (I eat very little fruits and vegetables; also I do not have enough variety in my diet). Below is a link to a good article.

http://runningtimes.com/Print.aspx?articleID=9255

From the above article…

Signs that Your Immune System May be Dysfunctional
• Unexplained fatigue. Remember that aging is not a reason to feel tired.
• Craving sweets in the late afternoon or evening.
• Needing more time to recover from workouts.
• Recurring "itis" injuries, such as plantar fasciitis or Achilles tendonitis.
• Frequent colds and flu.
• Insomnia.
• Exercising makes you more tired. If instead of feeling energized, you’re exhausted after your workouts, you may be in an advanced stage of adrenal dysfunction.

LBI 18 Mile Run

1:54:49 chip Time
13th overall out of 746
Pace/Mile: 6:23
Age Grade: 77.5%
Age Group Place: 4th of 80
Date: 10/11/2009
Location: Long Beach Island, NJ
Comments: I kind of fell apart the last few miles. According to my Garmin my worst miles were 16 (6:41) and 17 (6:45). Mile 18 I was able to pick it up a little and pass one guy and run a 6:29 (Garmin).
Splits:
Official 9 mile split 56:16 (avg pace 6:15)
Official 12 mile split 1:15:19 (avg pace 6:17)

Ramsey Run 10k

36:03
3rd overall out of 183
Pace/Mile: 5:48
Age Grade: 81.2%
Age Group Place: 1st of 45
Date: 9/19/2009
Location: Ramsey, NJ
Comments: Set my new masters 10k PR and this is the highest age grade that I have received as a master. So I am happy with my time, however, I am a little disappointed in myself for not finding a way to win the race since first (and second) were only 3 seconds ahead of me. I should have tried to catch the leader earlier. I still might not have won but at least I think it would have been the better way to go. Complete results are available at http://www.compuscore.com/cs2009/sept/ramsey1.htm
Splits:
Mile 1: 5:50
Mile 2: 5:48 (11:38)
Mile 3: 5:52 missed this split so this is a guess
Mile 4: 5:51 approx. (24:21)
Mile 5: 6:01 (29:22) I think this mile marker was off (this mile I bet is long and the 6th is short)
Mile 6: 5:32 missed this split, however, based on the overall split it would have to be around this, since I would need to be around 34:54 at 6.0 to finish up in the time I did.

The 40-50 Workout

The University of Oregon does a well know workout called the "30-40" workout. "The 30-40 consists of this: Run the first half of a 400-meter lap in 40 seconds, the second half in 30 seconds. And repeat, as often as you can stand to do it. It requires repeatedly pushing into anaerobic territory, recovering slightly and doing it again." (from http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/sports/1224550533173210.xml&coll=7). There is also a message board thread about the workout and paces and conversions at http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=2724380&page=0

I converted the workout to paces that I thought would be appropriate for my current condition, 40 seconds for the quick 200 meters (5:20 pace for 1600 meters) and 50 seconds for the slow 200 meters (6:40 pace for 1600 meters). The quick pace of 5:20 is halfway between my current mile pace (5:06.5 on 6/8/08, the only all out mile I have ran recently) and 5k pace (5:34 pace, 17:17 chip time on 6/28/09). The recovery pace of 6:40 is approximately my current marathon pace (6:38 pace, 2:53:48 on 5/17/09, downhill so it does not really count) or (6:48 pace, 2:58:22 on 11/2/08, NYC). Also one other change I decided to do 6400 meters total (16 * 200 meters fast, slow) instead of stopping the workout after I did not hit a split.

Anyway I averaged 40.6 for the fast 200 meters and 50.4 for the recovery 200 meters. The range was 37.3 to 42.8 for the fast 200 meters and 44.3 to 53.5 for the recovery 200 meters. I completed the 6400 meters in 24:17 (6:00, 6:07, 6:14, 5:56) 1600 meter splits. All in all the workout was not as bad as I thought it would be. The recovery 200 meters felt relatively easy for the first mile or two, however, during the third and forth miles the workout started to catch up to me and even the recovery 200 meters were not much of a recovery. If I do the workout again anytime soon I would like to try to be stricter about keeping the splits under 40 and 50 seconds. My complete splits were 39.4, 48.2, 40.3, 50.0, 40.2, 49.8, 40.8, 51.2, 40.7, 49.6, 41.3, 50.7, 41.2, 51.4, 40.7, 51.5, 41.0, 52.3, 40.9, 51.9, 41.0, 50.8, 42.8, 53.5, 40.4, 51.6, 41.7, 49.0, 40.5, 51.1, 37.3, 44.3

The main reason I did this workout is because I am running a 10k on 9/19/09 (10 days from now) so I figured this would be a good workout to get my legs moving at a slightly quicker pace then most of my workouts have been. Since I am aiming to run mostly longer races this fall for my 'hard' workouts I have been concentrating on marathon pace runs of 10 to 12 miles, tempos runs of 5 miles at half-marathon pace and hill repeats.

2009 Mount Washington Road Race - 7.6 miles

1:24:47
78th overall out of 917
Pace/Mile: 11:10
Age Grade: NA
Age Group Place: 9th of 93
Date: 6/20/2009
Location: Pinkham Notch, NH
Comments: Because of the nature of this race I knew it was going to be tough, however, it was even tougher than I anticipated. The start is actually downhill and flat until 0.3 miles then once the road turns uphill the next 7.3 miles are all uphill. I had two goals going into this race, to break 1:20 and not to walk. I missed on both accounts.
Start to 1 mile (actual 0.9 since the mile markers are from the start of the road and not the actual start)Went out too fast and was right behind the women's leader when we hit the hill. This is by far the easiest mile because you are fresh, it has 0.3 downhill/flat, and it is 0.1 mile short. Hit the mile marker in 7:09 (goal based on split predictor for 1:20 would be 8:00)
1 to Mile 2 (1.9) Time 16:58 (goal 17:55) This was a hard mile, was breathing like a freight train, was totally red lining it and it was only the second mile.
2 to Mile 3 (2.9) Time 27:02 (goal 28:18) Started to settle into the pace and was more optimistic that I would be able to maintain my pace.
Halfway (3.8) 37:15 (goal 37:52) Lost sometime, however I was glad that I was halfway through and was still optimistic about my time.
3 to Mile 4 (3.9) 38:18 (goal 38:52)
4 to Mile 5 (4.9) 50:02 (goal 50:16) Lost more time, really struggling at this point, just trying to convince myself not to walk.
5 to Mile 6 (5.9) 1:02:02 (goal 1:01:30) Over goal time at this point, however too tired to care or even realize, just trying to keep running.
6 to Mile 7 (6.9) No split (goal 1:12:47) Not sure of the exact point however somewhere slightly after 6 miles I turn a corner and am confronted with another ridiculously steep section and I start walking. From this point on I walk the steep sections and run (if you can call it that) the rest. Even though I was redlining it most of the way ultimately it was my legs (and willpower) that did me in. The inside of my left knee joint (this has never bothered me before) and my hip flexors hurt so much that I thought my legs would "lockup" and stop functioning.
7 to Finish (7.6) Was very confused by this point whether I had 0.6 or 0.7 miles to go (it was 0.7), continue with my walk/run, walk the 22% "wall" and then see the clock and realize that I still has a shot of at least breaking 1:25 and run to the finish.

Things that I would do differently:
1) Run the first mile slower, try to stay as close as possible to goal pace.
2) Wear lighter shoes with good traction. I wore my Brooks Burn, which are about 10 oz. They are great shoes, however, since you are going uphill every ounce counts. Plus I think you could get away with light racing flats since you are not pounding your legs. Maybe something like the Nike Air Zoom Streak XC.
3) Do more specific training for the race. Yes I did the hilly runs and the hill repeats. However, I should have done the treadmill runs at 11.5% incline.

Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUR2qS4FgqI
I can be seen at 27-28 seconds in (green singlet), several places behind the women's leader Brandy Erholtz. I was in about 30th place at this point, like I said I went too fast.

The Course:
From http://www.mountwashingtonroadrace.com/
The Mt. Washington Auto Road is 7.6 miles in length, has an average grade of 11.5% with extended sections of 18%, and the last 50 yards is a 22% "wall" to the finish. There are mile posts along the course, but these posts represent mileage from the Auto Road office across Route 16. Mile one is thus actually 0.9 mi. from the start. And mile posts 2 - 7 are thus 1.9 - 6.9 miles. From milepost 7 to the finish is 0.7 mi. There will be a digital clock at the exact halfway point of the race (3.8 mi.). The course rises 4650 vertical feet from start to finish. Relax, there's Only One Hill!

Woodcliff Lake 10K

37:16
1st overall out of 172
Pace/Mile: 6:00
Age Grade: 78.0%
Age Group Place: 1st of 15
Date: 6/14/2009
Location: Woodcliff Lake, NJ
Comments: This is my first road race win since 9/11/04 so I was very pleased with the win. For those that have not run this course before it is fairly hilly especially during the fourth and fifth miles, however from 5 miles to the finish it is mostly downhill and flat. I did not get my exact splits, however, they were something like 5:55, 5:55, 5:55, 6:15, 6:30, 5:30. In typical fashion for me they did not have the correct award. They give me a medal with the word faculty crossed-out and promised to mail me a correct medal. However, I knew the awards for this race where just cheap medals since I ran this race two years ago, I mainly ran this time to collect points for the USATF-NJ Series. Complete results are available at http://www.compuscore.com/cs2009/june/woodcl11.htm

Run for the Red Marathon

2:53:48

12th overall out of 411

Pace/Mile: 6:38

Age Grade: 75.5%

Age Group Place: 4th of 104

Date: 5/17/2009

Location: Stroudsburg, PA

Comments: This is a FAST course, however, the downhills really pound your legs. According to marathonguide.com 30% of all finishers ran Boston Qualifiers and I would definitely recommend the race to anyone that is within a few minutes from a BQ or some other time goal.