I give in - lets try cycling!!

I can't rid myself of the curse of plantar fascitiis and several others have told me that I am doing myself no good by trying to run every few days.

Its because I love my running that I don't want to give it up but at present it is just not working for me. Even after a break of a week, if I run I am ok over a short run of a few miles but the next day I am hobbling and limping. The Scholl orthotic inserts will help but I was deluded if I felt this would provide a major wand cure. The spring is here and summer dawns and with it a great selection of road races but my winter training will now count for nowt. The 12th of April was my last proper week  of training and a month on from this my level of fitness will have slipped. I will have to start all over again from scratch when I eventually get over this injury.


So for now I am taking up cycling. This has the great advantage of not causing me any further damage to my foot.I have a road bike this was given to me and is very much an ordinary bike and definitely not one of those fancy Dan £2,000 jobs More's the pity!

Several folks have suggested to me why don;t you try cycling including Revrunner, Darren Baker and finally my better half said to get out there and do it
I am going to stop running for 1 month and then see if I am ok to run again. I think I will know if this is the case. Like a lot of people with plantar fascitiis I find my foot can be painful first thing in the morning when I stand up on it. Hopefully in a month perhaps this will have healed and I can run again but there are no guarantees with this and I know this can linger for many months .

So today I switched my garmin forerunner to the cycling function, got a back pack ready with a spare waterproof jacket , a map and a drink. Pumped up the tyres and set off.

Cycling isn't something I have actively tried before. I have of course used a bike to get from a to b , pop into town but as a form of exercise no apart from the stationary cycle machines in a gym. I have also been a bit wary of traffic and know that bikes always come off second best in a fight with a car, I am therefore a real novice - totally green so this makes this a bit of an adventure and something exciting to do as a temporary replacement for running.

I put on my ipod and listened to Mark Kemode and Simon Mayo's Film Review podcast.  The episode I listened to included a review of the latest Iron man 2 film. As a boy I was a fan of all of the Marvel Comics including Ironman, Spiderman, The Fantastic Four and the Silver Surfer to name a few  and this latest offering is definitely a precursor to the launch of the Avengers as a film.  The film introduced the Black Widow character played by Scarlet Johansson. The film is worth a watch if you like comic book character films.

The miles passed by on the bike fairly easily but at no great pace. My route took me through the villages of Fornham All Saints, Fornham St Genevieve, West Stow, Ingham and Timworth  all to the north of Bury St Edmunds. Obviously you can get a lot further afield on a bike and travel further than on a run. I stopped a couple of times for a quick drink but other than that I just kept going. I wasn't sure what I could do and how far to go and I wasn't prepared if I had of got a puncture.

But I did 14 miles in 1 hr 20 Min's for an average speed of 11 miles an hour.From what I can see this is very much an average speed for a complete beginner. Club cyclists spin the wheel at around 18 miles an hour.

Road-bike.co.UK indicates the following as a guide with all of the provisos concerning weather , hills equipment, traffic etc

• Beginner, short distance (say 10-15 miles): average speed 12 mph. Most cyclists can achieve 10-12 mph average very quickly with limited training
• More experienced, short-medium distance (say 20-30 miles): average speed 15-16 mph
• Reasonable experience, medium (say 40 miles): average speed 16-19 mph
• Quite competent club rider, some regular training likely, medium-long distances (say 50-60 miles): 20-24 mph

I forgot to take my camera so along with a puncture kit and a phone I will be better prepared next time. Did I enjoy it? Yes as a substitute for running it wasn't bad and I will want to make it competitive and give my self some challenges and improve my speed and the distance I cover.

Did I get bum ache? Yes my backside just isn't used to sitting on a bike.

The only other problem today was the amount of green fly in the air. There must be some outbreak of the pests at the moment and cycling meant keeping the mouth closed and wiping away the green fly every so often.

Orthaheel Gel Heel Orthotic for Plantar Fascitiis

After another week of no running I attempted to run on Saturday morning and I did manage 3 miles but with pain afterwards. In fact on Sunday I was still feeling enough pain in  my heel so that the walk in to town was only managed with a limp.

Real Food & Beer Festival

It was worth the mile limp to attend the 'The Real Food and Beer Festival at Greene King’ in Bury St Edmunds. This was a really good event and I hope is repeated on an annual basis . There were lots of local producers providing samples and selling their products including Suffolk Food Hall, Jimmy’s Farm, The English Whisky Company, Yum Yum Tree Fudge and Rodwell Farm Dairy.
A few pints of Greene King and the pain in my heel was at least temporarily relieved!

On Saturdays run I inserted 3 insoles in my left shoe to try and help obsorb some of the shock when my foot hits the ground. It didn't work but was slightly better. So after the festival a trip to Boots the Chemists resulted in the purchase of a Scholl Orthaheel Gel Heel Orthotic.








According to the promotional material Scholl Orthaheel is an innovative biomechanical solution made from the highest grade materials and technology available to help realign the lower limbs through to the hips, to restore the feet and body back to a neutral position just as nature intended. The soft flexible moulded gel reduces impact and fatigue.

I removed one of my insoles and inserted both of the gel orthaheels although I am only feeling pain in the left foot. I suppose this is the right thing to do so that I am balanced on both sides and don't cause an injury to my right foot.

I repeated another 3 mile run this afternoon and will now see if there is any reaction. Initially it did feel a little odd as if I was running on stitles and I wondered if the inserts would slip out of position.  The Scholl Orthaheel isn't cheap and cost £16.99 but if it works it will be worth every penny. Time will tell if I am limping tomorrow!

May blossom going over now!

Walnut Tree