When I first started running last summer I never foresaw that I would be blighted by injuries as regularly as I have. I used to get injuries at football, in particular muscle strains, which I just put down to getting old. This was the reason why I hung up my boots somewhat reluctantly. Once I decided running was the way forward I just assumed that this would keep me fit, healthy and injury free. I couldn't have been more wrong!
The first few months of running were fine with no problems whatsoever. I was on track with my training for Tough Mudder and the 10k Major Series obstacle race. On the wednesday before the Major Series race which was on saturday I thought I would just go out for a short run just to relax the nerves as this was my first competitive race since I competed in the Blackburn schools cross-country championships many moons ago as a kid. Everything was going really well on the run when, with my home in sight, disaster struck and I felt my calf muscle pull. I stopped immediately to minimise further damage. I knew it was a strain as I have had them before. This completely devastated me as I was so excited to be competing in the Major.
I got home and immediately RICE'd the leg and prayed that I would be fit in time for the race. It wasn't a severe strain as the next day it did feel better but still not enough to go faster than a slow jog. I carried on with the treatment and even bought some Kinesiology tape to try and speed up the recovery. I got to race day for the Major and felt that although I could still feel the injury it wasn't severe enough from stopping me from attempting the 5k version instead of the 10k. This was my first ever obstacle race and even if I had to walk around I was going to give it a go.
The Major Series Oct 2012
Making the decision to go through with race was one of the best things I have ever done. I managed to finish 45th out of 200 in the 5k with a time of 45mins and that was with a crocked leg. It was an amazing experience and I enjoyed getting muddy and attempting the obstacles as you can probably tell from the photos. If you have never tried an obstacle race then I would recommend you do as it is a brilliant experience.
What has all this got to do with Equinus you are probably thinking to yourself. Well from that race I never really got 100% fit again. Even for Tough Mudder I went into it not fit, as my calves kept getting strains even after periods of rest. I had to run the last 6 miles of the Mudder with a calf strain. Once I completed the race I gave myself a complete rest of two months and didn't start running until the new year.
Once I started training again everything was fine until my calves went mid-run on a route that wasn't particularly demanding. This was at the end of January. I went through the usual routine of RICE and they would get better and then I could run again. However, this time they started pulling on a more regular basis. Now I was starting to get really frustrated about the whole thing so I went to see a physio.
After the session with the physio I was still no nearer pinpointing what was wrong. We went through a series of exercises and all she could see that was wrong was that I was not very flexible. She put this down to be a team games player and not stretching correctly through my career. I was given a series of exercises to do and she said she would contact a podiatrist to see if he could spot anything wrong with my running technique.
Yesterday I got to see the podiatrist and after just 15 minutes with me he reckoned he knew what the problem was. It is a condition called Equinus, something I had never heard of before. If you click the word it will give you a more detailed description. Basically he reckoned that my ankles needed strengthening and needed to be more flexible as the heel was not striking the ground as it should. This put more strain on the tendons which caused them to weaken and tear just below e main belly of the muscle. He recommended some special insoles that he would make for me and said that this should hopefully put a stop to the frequency of the strains. Fingers crossed now that he is right!!
An interesting thing he said was that Asics running shoes would be perfect for me for treating this condition as the heel is raised higher. I was going to buy a pair of Inov8 for my ultra run but he advised against this as they are a flatter shoe. I have looked online and as usual there are loads of choices to choose from. The mind boggles at trying to find the right trainer to run in!!
My questions to you are these:
Does anyone use Asics for trail running and if so are they any good and what model would you recommend?
What is the best mud and obstacle race you have tried?
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