Knowing the Path
Sometimes you know the path and other times your don’t. Sometimes it's just a matter of figuring it out and adapting to the situation.
Thoughts that passed my mind as I ran today
Today I did an easy assessment run in my super minimal Xero Shoes Hana’s.
I’ve been wearing my La Sportiva Helios 1.0 (trail running shoes) a lot more as of late.
Prior to that I was in my Hana’s the majority of the time for a number of months.
However, I then developed pains in my left heel. Specifically the Achilles tendon and bottom of my foot around the plantar fascia. Likely traced back to one run in particular that packed about 600+ feet of elevation gain and loss into about 2 miles, just by doing continuous hill repeats...
So I switched to my Helios after that run when the pain cropped up. Mostly in hope that a bit more padding and heel drop in the shoe (my Helios have a 4mm heel drop) would help. Also, just switching up my shoes in general to help. I used to be much better about changing up my shoes every other run, or depending on the terrain for a given run. However it was easier living near proper trails where trail running shoes would be for trail runs and road shoes for road runs, and I would mix up types of runs on an almost daily basis.
Though now I’m getting tightness in my hips and glutes, which could also be from running more but I likely attest to general calf tightness and the ongoing issues with my left foot. To which, I have been stretching more and trying to do more yoga.
Back to today’s run, I decided to drop back the mileage from the planned 5 miles and just get out there in my Hana’s, aiming for something around 3 miles. In general, I wanted to see if my Achilles and heel hurt when running in these minimal shoes again. Surprisingly, they didn’t. The only time I noticed pains in my heel was when something pushed or hit it just right on the bottom of my heel.
I was also just reading in my UESCA running coach training material today that a toe box with enough room for your toes to operate normally is important. Mainly to prevent bunions. Though, I also took this as a reminder to switch up my shoes, as my Hana’s have a great toe box while my Helios are on the narrower side (which also cause rubbing and bruised toenails).
In the end, I ran 3.6 miles and the legs and feet felt great. I also took things at a really easy, gentle pace and stayed mostly on a path/trail with wood chips. So I just went back and forth taking note of how my body was doing along the way.
Happy Running! ✌🏻😊