Time Off Experiences

Hooped? 🙂

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Random number generation is too vital a task to be left to chance.

Wayne Conway said:

For the past five years I have been able to "run through" a variety of little dings and injuries.
However, the PF I developed in early summer isn't responding as hooped to the reduction of mileage
and intensity regimen that has served me so well in the past (there has been some improvement).
Gonna have to take some serious time off. Looking at 4-6 weeks minimum per my doctors directions.
After that, sloooow... return to anything but light walking. Please post your time off
experiences.

You didn't indicate if your achilles was also involved since tightening in the plantar region is
frequently, not always, also associated with tightness in achilles, calves, hams. I'll assume
it's only PF.

Has your doctor given you any recommended exercises to strengthen the muscles/tendons/ligaments
before you start up again?

rowing, pool running, versaclimber (but you might want to check if pedals would cause any grief with
your PF), bike riding, proprioceptive training (obviously need to select certain types of exercise
and it may be more helpful when you're closer to being allowed to do some things again)
sportsinjurybulletin.comproprioceptive exercises.htmlOpen ↗

The pedals on the versaclimber (different from a stairmaster, which has horizontal steps) can be
angled so they point down to relieve pressure on achilles or point up to get some dorsiflexion and
stretch calf - or flat like most people use them. Same thing with bike pedals. You might want to
keep effort easy to start. You can also get behind the versaclimber and just work the hand part up
and down for upper body workout that can be aerobic if you do it fast enough, although not same
muscles as running. pponline.co.uk0303.htmOpen ↗ I'm thinking a stairmaster might cause
some grief to PF, at least in early stages of recovery, but I could be wrong. I've only used them in
circuits, but have used versaclimber a fair amount in the past.

FWIW, I've had my share of down time between field work for much of summer and AT/PF 5 yrs ago and
some minor things in the past year.

Dot

--
"Success is different things to different people" -Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope

Yes, there is achilles tightness involved, allthough it was never much of an issue until the PF
occurred. I have a good stationary bike at home, however, the doc urges caution due to the
possibility of undue stress on the achilles area. Also recommends extreme caution while doing any
stretching or strengthening exercises until I can get out of bed and put my heel on the floor
without pain. Swimming was an option the doc smiled favorably on. He is being very conservative as
far as the use of any equipment that might stress the injured area. Fortunatly, my discomfort is
localized to the medial plantar attachment area (right foot) and the achilles attachment area and
does not radiate further up the arch. Thanks for the links. I think learning how to train is easier
than learning how to lay off.

Dot said:

You didn't indicate if your achilles was also involved since tightening in the plantar region is
frequently, not always, also associated with tightness in achilles, calves, hams. I'll assume it's
only PF.

Has your doctor given you any recommended exercises to strengthen the muscles/tendons/ligaments
before you start up again?

rowing, pool running, versaclimber (but you might want to check if pedals would cause any grief
with your PF), bike riding, proprioceptive training (obviously need to select certain types of
exercise and it may be more helpful when you're closer to being allowed to do some things again)
sportsinjurybulletin.comproprioceptive exercises.htmlOpen ↗

The pedals on the versaclimber (different from a stairmaster, which has horizontal steps) can be
angled so they point down to relieve pressure on achilles or point up to get some dorsiflexion and
stretch calf - or flat like most people use them. Same thing with bike pedals. You might want to
keep effort easy to start. You can also get behind the versaclimber and just work the hand part up
and down for upper body workout that can be aerobic if you do it fast enough, although not same
muscles as running. pponline.co.uk0303.htmOpen ↗ I'm thinking a stairmaster might
cause some grief to PF, at least in early stages of recovery, but I could be wrong. I've only used
them in circuits, but have used versaclimber a fair amount in the past.

FWIW, I've had my share of down time between field work for much of summer and AT/PF 5 yrs ago and
some minor things in the past year.

Dot

--
Random number generation is too vital a task to be left to chance.

Wayne Conway said:

For the past five years I have been able to "run through" a variety of little dings and injuries.
However, the PF I developed in early summer isn't responding as hooped to the reduction of mileage
and intensity regimen that has served me so well in the past (there has been some improvement).
Gonna have to take some serious time off. Looking at 4-6 weeks minimum per my doctors directions.
After that, sloooow... return to anything but light walking. Please post your time off experiences.

Hi Wayne. I lost 10 weeks to a stress fracture in 2001. It was extremely difficult for me, both
emotionally and physically. I never solved the former, I'm afraid. As to the latter, I swam and
cycled a lot. Instead of driving around town, I took the bike. Virtually everywhere. Additionally I
added several long, hilly rides on a regular basis. I swam several times a week, too, usually doing
300-yard repeats with 2-1/2 minutes rest in between (a mile or so in total each session). Once my
leg would permit it, I added long walks as well. So, basically, swimming, cycling, and walking.

Getting back into running went surprisingly well. I was really scared in the beginning but after
about a week I settled back into a rhythm and gradually built back up to my previous distance and
mileage which I then gradually surpassed. I now pay much more and closer attention to my body and
what it's trying to tell me.

I also prayed a lot.

Good luck.

Robert

I don't have time off experiences. I do have lost time experiences, though. I sometimes black out
when I'm drinking heavily.........Or time traveling, as I prefer to call it. You're at a bar. You
pass out. You wake up, and you're at another bar. You pass out again. You wake up and you're working
at McDonald's.............for about 3 years. You want to quit, but you're banging the girl on the
fry machine, later. They say she's retarded, but those boobies ain't retarded.

Both good advice to even the non-runner. Thanks

Robert Karp wrote: (snip) I now pay much more and closer attention

Quoted message said:

to my body and what it's trying to tell me.

I also prayed a lot.

Good luck.

Robert

--
Random number generation is too vital a task to be left to chance.

"Wayne Conway" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:zDcnb.7827$d87.2014@okepread05...

Quoted message said:

For the past five years I have been able to "run through" a variety of little dings and injuries.
However, the PF I developed in early summer isn't responding as hooped to the reduction of mileage
and intensity regimen that has served me so well in the past (there has been some improvement).
Gonna have to take some serious time off. Looking at 4-6 weeks minimum per my doctors directions.
After that, sloooow... return to anything but light walking. Please post your time off
experiences. I have some ideas on how to stay active, but I've never been down this long. Not sure
what to expect, mentally or physically. BTW-I run everything from 5K to Marathon. Currently in
about 21:00 5K condition and my last thon was 3:50 at Oklahma City. Last 15K was 1:09. Thanks.
--
Random number generation is too vital a task to be left to chance.

I took about three months off this summer, without a single run. I was too busy at the time to
maintain a proper schedule, and since I had a few nagging injuries that were bothering me, I just
didn't run at all until I had time to make a full commitment again.

I did absolutely nothing to stay active. When I went out for that fateful first run, I noticed that
I fell right into my old training pace for an "easy" run, but obviously I had lost the conditioning
for it to be easy anymore! After about 6 or 7km of a planned 13km easy run, it was starting to feel
like a tempo, and the urge to stop was very strong.

Before my 3 month running break, this 13km out-and-back was a standard easy run of mine. This
time, I found myself walking at 10km, overly dehydrated (another sign of conditioning loss) and
pretty dejected.

My plan of action to whip myslf into shape quickly was a low- mileage, high quality schedule, to get
some immediate results for some late fall races, then build up mileage and do it right once the
winter starts.

It seems to be working for me; I ran a 17:35 5k a couple weeks ago, which is pretty
reasonable for me.

cheers,
--
David (in Hamilton, ON) www.allfalldown.org

I had PF and it was very hard to get rid of. I tried everything short of surgery. I had cortisone
shops, used night splints, stretched religiously, and had orthotics made -- nothing worked. I
stopped running and when I started running again realized that that didn't work either. Frustrated
at not being able to exercise I bought a bike and started cycling. This enabled me to retain my
cardio-vascular fitness while not putting a lot of weight on my feet.

Long story short, the cycling helped me to get rid of some extra weight I had been carrying and
that was the key to my getting rid of PF.

So. If you are carrying extra weight, get rid of it. And a nice exercise to pick up when you
can't run - bicycling.

"Wayne Conway" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:zDcnb.7827$d87.2014@okepread05...

Quoted message said:

For the past five years I have been able to "run through" a variety of little dings and injuries.
However, the PF I developed in early summer isn't responding as hooped to the reduction of mileage
and intensity regimen that has served me so well in the past (there has been some improvement).
Gonna have to take some serious time off. Looking at 4-6 weeks minimum per my doctors directions.
After that, sloooow... return to anything but light walking. Please post your time off
experiences. I have some ideas on how to stay active, but I've never been down this long. Not sure
what to expect, mentally or physically. BTW-I run everything from 5K to Marathon. Currently in
about 21:00 5K condition and my last thon was 3:50 at Oklahma City. Last 15K was 1:09. Thanks.
--
Random number generation is too vital a task to be left to chance.

Wayne Conway said:

Yes, there is achilles tightness involved, allthough it was never much of an issue until the PF
occurred. I have a good stationary bike at home, however, the doc urges caution due to the
possibility of undue stress on the achilles area.

Exactly. I was cautioned to keep feet flat and use low gears.

Also recommends extreme caution while doing

Quoted message said:

any stretching or strengthening exercises until I can get out of bed and put my heel on the floor
without pain.

Yep. Let things heal before stretching and strengthening. When you get as far as strengthening, I
found some of those exercises to be good indicators as to when it was ok to start running gently
again, then longer or gentle hills or steep hills, etc.

Here's some more links, primarily rehab 🙂 pponline.co.uk0180.htmOpen ↗
pponline.co.uk0125.htmOpen ↗

Something I do also is barefoot walking in the lawn (not on hard, flat surface). In fact, the toe
walk / dorsiflex exercise in one of the above links is great on grass.

Quoted message said:

I think learning how to train is easier than learning how to lay off.

Amen to that! But I think I understand a lot of the physical mechanics better now and how different
things interact. And have definitely learned to listen to my body better.

Good luck and hope you're back running soon.

Dot

--
"Success is different things to different people" -Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope