Skip to main content

How I Injured Myself Running

 



DON'T BE LIKE ME

I felt amazing! I was excited to see what my new “post-40’s” PR would be. Then it happened. At mile 11 of the Half, I felt a tearing sensation in the bottom of my left foot. “Crap! I may have torn my plantar fascia,” I thought. (It ended up being my Peroneal Tendon I had torn). I remember thinking, “It may not be totally torn yet. Maybe you should walk it out to the finish.” But, I was so close! The rest of me felt so good! AND I knew walking would only prolong the time before I could stop & rest it. (No, totally bailing & calling a for help NEVER crossed my mind ) So, I limped to the finish. Switching weight from one part of my foot onto another every few minutes. After crossing the finish line, there was no weight it would accept. “ME?!” I thought, “I’m the one who knows better. I’m the one that preaches prevention & keeps Olympic runners in the race. How did I injure myself?!” So, what went wrong? I blame 3 things: ❌ The Obvious - Not training the way I ended up running that day. I had been mostly run/walking my training miles with a friend to help her train. I hadn’t done many continuous long runs up to that point. ❌ Not Doing the Groundwork - I preach it… but I didn’t do it myself! I knew I had imbalances, but I didn’t take the time to manage them. I was running on an asymmetrical body. ❌Improper Heel Strike - I took the lazy route. I tell people to use their left leg more & be sure to allow the L heel to sense the ground. I was good at that… but my body wasn’t following suit (see cause #2). I was landing on my left leg without FULLY being over my left leg. LAZY. THIS is why, of all the things my “subpar training” could have affected, it was that left foot that went. Moral of the story? Don’t be like THAT me. PREpare, PREvent and stay ahead of your injuries. Learn from me… don’t take the lazy route. We will cover this and so much more in my Virtual Running Longevity Course! Live sessions start the week of April 10th. Recorded pre-learning all through March.

Details & Registration Here: Running Longevity Course

Missed the course and want to be in the loop for the next one? Email me to get on the list! prosper.kristen@gmail.com


"Set yourself up for running into your LAST days by what you do TOday"

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Those "Tricky" Hamstrings - Part 2

THE ROLE OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM This "epidemic" of recurring hamstring injuries is, in part, due to the under-valued role of the nervous system.  There is often too much focus on the structural "damage" and isolated limitations vs the overall dysfunction. I'm not saying that treating the damaged tissue is not important. But, in order to minimize recurrence, we must look beyond the isolated injury and seek to understand the integrated, "big picture" of the problem. IS IT ACTUAL DAMAGE OR SOMETHING ELSE? One interesting concept to understand is that the tension of our muscles are completely under the control of our nervous system.  Your brain is in constant awareness of the tension of all your muscles.  Unless you change your nervous system, you will continue to sense tightness.  As mentioned in Part 1, stretching isn't necessarily the answer to resolving tension. The relief felt by isolated muscle stretching only lasts for about 20 minutes.   ...

Those "Tricky" Hamstrings (Part 3)

So far, we have discussed the consequences of OVER STRETCHING and the role of the NERVOUS SYSTEM in treating and preventing hamstring injuries.  Now it's time to dive in to the ROTATIONAL component of our hamstrings.   We cannot treat the hamstring group in just one plane of motion.  Look at the diagram and notice that there are some hamstring muscles that attach to the inside (medial) side of the knee, and others that attach to the outside (lateral) side of the knee. When working together, the medial and lateral hamstrings will act in a coordinated manner to bend the knee and extend the hip.   Individually, the medial hamstrings turn the thigh inward (Internal Rotation or IR) and the lateral hamstrings turn the thigh outward (External Rotation or ER).  This means that the hamstrings are also a crucial player in side-to-side and rotational movements.  On the same lines, the hamstrings will act at the upper attachment at the pelvis.  The med...

Understanding the Pelvic Floor - GAMECHANGER!

WHY ARE YOU CARRYING THAT EVERYWHERE, MOM?  If you've bumped into me lately, you've likely seen this new "friend" poking out of my bag or sitting on my desk. I've had a "bones only" pelvis for a while now, but this one is a new addition. I've been under the wing of the great @hayleykavapt this month tackling a deeper understanding of the pelvic floor. I've understood how to INFLUENCE those deep muscles via the bony positioning and activation of the larger muscles surrounding the pelvis, but I didn't fully understand how to ACTIVATE and RELAX those muscles and when. I was pretty intimidated by those deep pelvis muscles, to be honest. I can say that adding this awareness and cueing to the exercises I've been giving out for years has made a huge difference in myself... and I'm excited to share this new appreciation with you! After just a few times practicing, my feet felt much more grounded when running today! Better hamstring and glute ...