PF Flares from TMTS

Let me start by saying that I am absolutely loving the VFF's! Having already spent a few months working on the calf and foot strengthening, I was definitely ready to give these guys a spin, but I actually did manage to start slow. I went to the gym and did 1.5 miles in my old shoes (but forefoot striking), then I changed into my flat Pumas for about 1.5 miles, and then finished up with 1 mile in the VFFs. Moving down the ladder of "support" and weight was definitely a good feeling. It felt like it got easier -- not harder -- with each shoe change even though I could tell my feet, ankles, and calves were having to work more. Somehow it just felt better.

After a couple of mixed-shoe runs, I decided my old shoes were just not cutting it. Too heavy, too stiff - and just noticeably uncomfortable when worn right before one of my other lighter, more flexible pairs. Unfortunately, though, I made the classic runner's mistake and tried doing too much too soon (TMTS). My marathon partner started training for her next marathon in early August, and since I was getting back into running, I agreed to help her kick off her training by running with her for the first couple of lower mileage weeks. That still meant an 8 mile run one weekend, and a 9 mile run the following, with 5-6 mile interval and tempo runs in between. After three months with virtually no running (except for my little drills and exercises), does this sound like a smart plan. Noooooo, of course not. Did I do it anyway? Yeeeeees. Yes, yes I did. Dumb@ss.

After the 9 miler my PF was really screaming at me, and I admitted what I already knew: that no amount of proper running technique was going to change the fact that I was running too far, too soon for someone trying to "slowly" (ha!) build up mileage during a rehabilitation phase. So I have slowed back to a more realistic rehab pace. I'm thinking three miles here, three miles there. Some in the VFFs. Some in my new flats. The Pumas, it turned out, were a little too narrow for my feet, and I'd started getting blisters on the tops of my toes. So I bought a pair of Asics (Piranha SP2).

So let's hit the reset button and try this again…