How Hyden Got His Groove Back

I took three weeks off from running to rest my Achilles Tendinitis after a dumb 3 mile barefoot run came back to bite me after 2 months of running with pain and stiff ankles. So much can change in 3 weeks. I wore gloves during CrazyLegs in the end of April. Now they are considering canceling marathons this weekend due to heat.

So I decided my first run back would be with the newly formed Johnson Creek Running Club that was started up one town over. I chose 3 miles to start. The route was unfamiliar and filled with hills. I had to stop several times to stretch my calf and achilles. And sure enough, things started to loosen up. Of course it started to loosen up 2.5 miles into my 3 mile run.

I had a second run this week. Five miles. Nice and slow. I even got 2 dozen cows to chase me through my rural route. There's something I love about running past small family farms with old barns and curious cows.

I know I have some adjusting to do. The temps are rising and hopefully my mileage will be soon. The Ragnar Relay will be here before I know it. I'm hoping to get some more blog posts in, so stay tuned.

Adventures In Barefoot Running Part II

I wrote in a previous post that I went for a 3 mile run in my Vibram Five Fingers on a beach in SC. I also mentioned I had a stiff Achilles the following day. That day turned into a week, and the week turned into a couple months.

After turning up the intensity on my training, my achilles became more and more sore. While a good warm up took away most of the pain during my runs, the morning after was a-whole-nother story. After spending the day after my CrazyLegs Run in pain I reached out to a friend of mine that is a Physical Therapist.

She suggested a strict regiment of rest and ice. What!? Rest!? That's outrageous! It's a diagnosis most runners fear, taking time off. I've now gone over a week without running and I am going a bit stir crazy. Today we had a wonderful rain storm that made me want to throw on an old pair of shoes and go sloshing around in the rain.

Instead I am spending some quality time with a bag of frozen peas and a bag of frozen corn. I want rest and get over this injury but with my Ragnar Relay just a few weeks away I feel like I'm fighting the battle of rest vs. training. Hopefully any one considering a minimalist style of running will learn that taking it slow is obviously the most important thing.