A running update

Filed in LifeTags:

One of my friends asked me how I was getting on with my barefoot running. I had to tell him about the cramps on my last run and how it turned out that they weren't cramps at all. The pain was actually an injury which you could say was caused by not wearing shoes. Does that mean that I'll go back to wearing shoes? No and here's why.

The injury was in the calves of my feet. I say "injury" and "calves" because both calves were injured but the left calf is the one with the serious injury while the right calf has already recovered. The injury was in fact a type of tearing; tearing at the point where the tendons from the base of the ankle connect to the muscle. The calves will need four to six weeks for full recovery. In the meantime, I have to stretch them regularly every day.

What caused the injury? Without shoes, there are no heels to lift my ankles off the ground. Without the heels, the angle between my shins and my feet becomes smaller. On flat ground, this doesn't pose much of a problem but the territory around my home is hilly and that poses a very serious problem. When running up a slope, the angle between the shin and the foot becomes extremely small. This in turn stretches the calf muscle to a length it's not used to. With the repeated bouncing of running, the calf muscle's tendon will eventually begin to tear away from the muscle.

There is one section of my short run where the road begins to slope upward rather steeply. It's a very short stretch but seemingly enough to cause the damage that I've experienced. If I had stretched diligently before each run and nightly before sleeping, the injury would not have occurred because the muscle would have been long enough to accept the full stretch.

Ankle angle flat

The angle at the ankle without shoes on flat ground.

Ankle angle shoe

With shoes, the heel is raised and the angle at the ankle is larger. The calf muscle is slightly shorter.

Ankle angle uphill

When facing uphill, the angle at the ankle is much smaller. If actually running, the leg would be leaning forward at the end of the stride, further reducing the ankle angle and further stretching the calf muscle.

So what now? Well I'll rest for another three or four weeks, stretching every day and then begin the running again. If you never get back on the bicycle after falling off, you'll never learn to ride. My calf injuries are just a learning step in the process of becoming a barefoot runner. I'll be back on the road again soon, although I may have to face the prospect of blisters again.

I promised an article about coffee. I'll deliver it soon. I promise.