Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Working the Insoles

Those CIGNA 5K race people are mocking me! I am sure. I was checking out their race app/brochure and noticed the picture they used to showcase their new timing system. They used the number 1234. If you want to read the strange and unusual things that happened to me when they gave me the unlucky number 1234 a couple of years ago, check out this true story.




After one week of running with the insoles for functional hallux limitis, I have had mixed results. They feel great standing and walking and are absolutely awesome when riding my bike and kickbike. I do struggle to run with them. They feel good, but they slow me down. I feel like I am running in sand with all the support that I am not used to having. My legs and feet definitely need more time to adjust.

Last week's running
Mon. Mine Falls 5K Trail Race 20:18 (used cut-out insoles-hips were O.K. but lost balance a few times)
Tues. Lowell Classic T-Shirt night 19:55 (used brand new insoles that I got in the morning)
Gotta work on my race wardrobe! But at least I am ahead of Fil Faria, for a bit, who keeps beating me (usually by one place-twice a week!) I forgot to wear an old t-shirt. I was going to wear a 1981 Lowell Oktoberfest Marathon shirt (if it still fit).

photo Ted Tyler

Wed. Track night 6 miles including 2 X 2miles (hip was tight something like 12:15 and 12: 48) last one I almost quit after 1 lap as my hip hurt and I had a hard time moving-but I made a comeback.
Thurs. 8 miles slow with insoles
Fri. 8 miles slower with insoles but felt great otherwise.

Took out my Kickbike for the first time all year and did 8 miles (stride felt great-foot plant was excellent with the insoles),

then took out my Centurian Cinelli Equipe racing bike from the mid-80's- a great friend with all the miles and racing we did together) for another 8 miles (again felt great- I have never been able to get my left foot comfortable on a bike- and with the same setup of cleats and saddle I keep trying every year or two but it always feels off and hurts my foot and I can't balance on the saddle correctly-this time it felt excellent with the midsoles-my left leg was aligned, had power, and I could sit properly on the saddle-wow- that has never happened before even before when I started biking),

then I took out my mountain bike and did 8 miles including the trails off Gilson Rd.,

I was going to ride my black K2 but some spokes were broken (I have less than 50 miles on this bike-got it cheap-everytime I ride it something is wrong),

I didn't ride my Cannondale Triathlon bike but I need to get it cleaned up to sell.

I was still feeling fantastic so I took out my Kettlebell and worked the rest of my body. It was a great day playing with all my toys. I love days like that, but they are rare to find any more.
Sat. 8 miles- really slow-I knew I'd be sore-but my stride is real short and I ran 1 1/2 minutes per miles slower than a good day.
Sun. no running 14 miles of biking
Monday- heat! MineFalls 5K trail race 21:19 ouch. Started off great, had a hard time staying out of the lead, then my left glute spasmed up at about the 3/4 mile mark, making it hard to run for 1/4 mile or so and then it was a sort of limp home to the finish.

photo Steve Wolfe

Tues. Real hot 90+degrees! Reverse the Course 5k in Lowell 20:28. I was giving my feet a rest today from the insoles and decided to try the Cluffy Wedges in my shoe. I ordered these before I got the insoles for FHL and when they arrived I had put them aside because they came the same day I got the insoles. They work in a similar way by putting a wedge under the big toe to allow the 1st MTP joint to work. Unfortunately, after I entered the race I started to warm up and my left glute was still tight and sore from the previous day. I was limping and couldn't run. I did some quick  Postural Restoration stretches to readjust the left hip and stretched the quads a bit. This seemed to help. I got a good start in this race. Felt OK with the Cluffy wedges-more normal but my feet were beat up a bit and my right toe joint began to really hurt again after doing much better with the insoles.


photo Mike Stanwyck

I had another ART appointment today with Dr. Baroody. I explained how tight the muscles all around my hip and pelvis were: from the insertion of the hamstring to the muscles all around the hips. He gave my 5 dynamic flexibility exercises to do and will give me more stretching exercises next visit. There is so much readjustment being done that the muscles seems to be getting tighter and tighter almost like they are trying to protect my  hips from moving, so we'll see how that goes.


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for these posts on functional hallux limitis. After reading about it on your blog, I asked my doctor about it because I have many of the same problems you do with my left leg and hip. I also remembered feeling like my toe was "floating" in my shoe before I started experiencing hip pain. Before my appointment, I tried to focus on my foot while walking around and realized that my left big toe was not making contact with the bottom of my shoe. Anyway, I tried the cluffy wedge last night during a short run and felt the difference right away. After my run I got a terrible cramp in my left hip, but I did not have my usual amount of pain this morning. I'm hopeful that this could be a solution to my pain!

Jim Hansen said...

Any updates on how you are doing with the cluffy wedge?
Lots of videos on FHL and the Cluffy Wedge here:
http://www.sololabs.com/hc_cluffy.asp

Della Bardill said...

These insoles wont slip around when i run in them will they?

Jim Hansen said...

Hi Della,
No they did not slip around. I did get some blisters from running too much in them at first. I no longer use them however. #1 I had a undiagnosed labral tear in my hip- these straightened my stride a bit out of some compensations my body had created to avoid the hip injurty and back into irritating the hip. I ran a lot for a couple months before I could run no more due to the hip. #2 I got orthotics made from the doctor. They cost more, were comfortable, but had a leathery top and that was slippery while running (when I finally did run). #3 I had surgery for the labral tear- started using the new orthotics and didn't like them for running-everything else felt fine #4 I ditched the orthotics and strengthened my feet and toe muscles through Muscle Activation Technique (M.A.T.) work. I am now running without orthotics and building mileage up while still recovering from the surgery.