Saturday, January 7, 2012

Back In The Saddle

Wow! It's the year 2012 and I have been running regularly since the year 1976. For those of you who are not that good at math, that is 36 years of running. The year 2011 was a turning point in my running. I stopped running for 60 straight days. It's not the 1st time that I've stopped for that long of a period. When I was a young junior high and high school student I rarely ran in the summer during the months of June and July because I needed a break from all the heavy track practices.

I stopped running in 2011 to give my plantar fasciitis a chance to heel.  I started wearing the Strassburg sock at night to keep the plantar fascii stretched.  I found a great ebook entitled "Plantar Fasciitis Secrets Revealed" and used the techniques to really put an end to this horrible ailment. The plantar fasciitis that once was so bad that I trip the bathroom was a painful experience.  Now the pain seem like a thing of the past.

Needless to say, I did not stop my exercise routine. I spent more time in-line skating and started the Beach Body Insanity program. I never knew that I was capable of working out as hard as I did as a freshman and sophomore wrestler. There was nothing ever is hard as a high school wrestling practice until I encountered Insanity.

I am still running on the trails once per week. When I'm on the trail it does not feel like I had ever stopped running. The Insanity program is such an excellent cross training regiment that I may never go back to running as much as I previously did. I sure do miss running for hours and hours. At the same time I realize that I need to work other muscle groups as well.

I tried barefoot running and totally loved it. Unfortunately it irritated my plantar fasciitis so bad that I thought I would never be able to run again. I will never badmouth barefoot running. I think my problem was that I jumped into it way too fast. I already was battling with plantar fasciitis. If I were able to reset the clock and go back 20 years, I would definitely be a full-time barefoot runner. I love the feeling of the road, grass, and trail on my bare feet. I think it's totally healthy and natural. I also understand my limitations and know that my previous injury will not allow it at this time.

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