The Blog of Jason “Jayce” Olshefsky

Since I got diagnosed with plantar fasciitis (damaged tendons on the bottom of the foot) last month, I’ve been taking it easy on running (and yes, still barefoot). I’ve added the calf-muscle stretches and have been building up my runs — both in duration and in frequency. When I was first diagnosed, I was running about a mile once a week. I’ve since built that up to twice a week, and today I went out for my “normal” run of about 2 miles.
My bad foot hurt a bit, but it didn’t flare up as it had originally. It’s a bit sore, but in that stretching/healing kind of way rather than the damaging/tearing kind of way. So far so good … hopefully I’ll be back to 3 times a week before the snow flies

Oh yeah, and I had to go back and edit this because I forgot the reason I thought to post an entry in the first place: that I find it so amusing that I make a wake in the air, causing the leaves to rustle behind me as I run past.

This morning I went out for another run barefoot. The last few weeks I cut back as my right heel was hurting — I felt it was indicative of an inflammation on my Achilles tendon and my chiropractor — Dr. Karen Santini at The Greater Rochester Chiropractic Office (30 Allens Creek Rd.) agreed. She used a cortisone ultrasound application and suggested I add calf muscle stretches. In a brief search I couldn’t find a description (or pictures) of what she had showed me, so I’ll have to explain.

She said there are two calf muscles: the gastroc (or, more formally, the gastrocnemius) and the soleus. To stretch the gastroc muscle, stand on a stair or step. Put one foot backward so your toes and part of the ball are on the edge of the step. Keep your calf relaxed as you shift your weight backward onto that foot, allowing your heel to drop below the level of the step. To stretch the soleus, put one foot on the next step as before with the heel hanging off. Keep your calf relaxed as you shift your weight forward onto that foot, allowing your heel to drop below the level of the step.

I gave it a go and it seems the run went fine — if I did shorten it to 15 minutes or so.

Just a brief update from the running file: I went out for a 15-minute run and did about half of it with water-shoes on then the other half barefoot. It was about 27°F outside and a light snow had made the ground damp. When I got home, the coldest part of my toes were still only around 50°F. It felt good to get back out there again after a wintry hiatus.

Yesterday I went out for a run and mixed between water-shoes and bare feet depending on whether the pavement was snow-covered or not, respectively. Due to the minor thaw I was even able to get out onto the canal path. It was around 25°F outside. I decided to run barefoot through the snow-covered sidewalk on the last 100 yards down the street. Naturally my feet got extra cold but I’m trying to get increased circulation and I figure the way to do that is to train my feet that they need it — not so bad that I get frostbite, but enough that it’s uncomfortable.

Anyway, this morning I got a sharp pain my toe. I figured I’d stepped on something yesterday, although it could have been around the house or any time since yesterday morning. It looked like a sliver of some kind so I dug around and cleaned it out. When I finally got it, I realized it was a tiny piece of glass. I was so excited: I finally got cut on glass! It’s usually the first thing anybody says when I say I run barefoot on pavement, “aren’t you afraid of glass?” Well usually I don’t run through it — I pay attention to the ground when I run. But I guess in the winter I can’t see it under the snow so I might get a cut now and then.

I got out to go for a run this morning. I figured I’d try going barefoot in the snow that still covered the ground. Well, I barely made it three houses down the street like that. I had read on the Running Barefoot Yahoo! Group that you can use some very minor foot cover (like water shoes or special footwear for barefoot-like running) in such conditions successfully. Figuring I wouldn’t be able to hack the snow I had brought along water shoes which helped a lot. I ended up running comfortably for 15 minutes or so (I took a short course to try things out) and found that my feet were a lot warmer than they have been.

I had thrown out the theory that, like the callousing from barefoot running in the first place which seems so counter to “conventional wisdom”, that humans might be able to adapt to the cold weather as well. I know this kind of running — well, running in general — does improve foot circulation so it’s not out-of-the-question to get to a point where I’m able to run in extremely cold conditions without danger or discomfort.

Just a quick note that I went for a run this morning. It was about 32°F outside (the ground was probably a little colder still), the ground was dry, and it was somewhat breezy, but I was much warmer than Wednesday’s run — when I got home the bottoms of my feet were around 60°F. I timed myself: 27:43 to run the 2.6 mile course. Although it’s slower than my estimates, 10½-minute-miles are not all that bad.

I went out for a run and it’s about 23°F outside. I figured I’d see how far I could get since there’s no snow and it’s calm. I ended up going down the block and back — about 6 minutes. My feet got really cold and the bottoms were numbed enough that I decided to cut it short before I injured myself. I got back and the bottoms of my feet were around 55°F and my toes were 52°F — just a few degrees colder than I’d experienced before, but cold enough. At least for now.

I also spent some time on Gmaps Pedometer which lets you draw on a Google Map, point-to-point and accumulate the distance. I did some measuring and the course I thought was 2 miles was really more like 1.8, so I’m not running as fast as I thought I was. Oh well.

I went out for a barefoot run this morning. It was about 42°F outside and wet from drizzle. The ground sapped away heat from my feet fast and it felt colder than dry pavement that was 10 degrees colder. However, I got back from 2 miles in 18 minutes and my soles were 58°F and felt okay — cold, naturally.

Now you may be wondering why I started doing this. I briefly touched on some of the benefits when I first started, but since then have mentioned only that my calves got sore from the workout and that I kept with it. Well, way back when I was running — in shoes — The Corporate Challenge back in 1999 and 2001, during the race and during practice I felt like I was beating myself up. All the joints in my body were sore, especially my knees, but also my back, and I would finish up wheezing like I was going to die right there. I quit running for a long time because of that — and especially because I started getting chronic knee and back problems.

So I happened to start reading about this “barefoot running” on and off. Once I heard that you use the arch of your foot and your calf muscles as shock absorbers, I was intrigued. I mean, running is a great way to lose weight, but if you end up spending more time on a chiropractic bed then doing it, then it’s probably not all that great. So I started — slowly at first — and now I feel like I can run a 5K race. Well, maybe with a little practice.

The best thing is that when I get home, I feel great. I’m tired from the exercise, but I am not sore at all. After today’s run, for instance, my toes were scolding met that they were really quite cold, and my calf muscles complain when I walk up the stairs, but that’s it. My knees feel great. My back feels great. And I certainly don’t feel like I just got beat up.

Now if only I can figure out a way to continue without actually getting a debilitating case of frostbite this winter …

So this morning I got out and ran my standard 2-mile course — this time in 16 minutes so that’s feeling really good.  The outside temperature was 37°F and breezy but the most exciting part was that I got to run in flurries.  Occasionally one would sting my tongue with its cold pinprick.  And yeah, once again, I ran it barefoot.  When I got back I checked the temperature of the bottoms of my feet and they were a chilly 58° but pink from adequate blood flow.  It didn’t feel too much different than when I ran last time in the cold weather, but this time there was some moisture on the ground from the rain last night and that made it draw more heat away.  I’ll stick with it and see what happens, ever watchful of how my toes are feeling.

I was very excited to get out and try running barefoot this morning. According to the thermometer on the side of my house, it was 28°F outside. I took my time to make sure I wasn’t getting frostbite or anything. I got back after about 18 minutes and covered 2 miles. My feet felt cold but not terrible … the non-contact thermometer I have said they were around 60°F but warming up fast. After a few hours they felt fine. I suspect I’ll only be able to run down to about 20° with no snow or wind, but we’ll see.