Wiivv insoles

Riding in the New Year with Wiivv Insoles...

"Riding in the new year..."

After running Long Haul 100 a few weeks ago, I learned I was selected as one of the first ambassadors for Wiivv. Wiivv is a company that makes 3D-printed insoles designed to prevent foot injuries and fatigue for runners, athletes, and anyone on their feet a lot. Being a runner who tore their Achilles once already, and someone who is on my feet all day every day I cannot express my excitement to support this company, and have the support OF this company. It is also super cool being able to order custom made, 3D printed insoles just for me, from the comfort of my own home is pretty neat.

The great outdoors never stop being great #KeepGoing

I tore my Achilles last January and after months of physical therapy (which I continue my exercises at home daily to keep strengthening my Achilles and hips). I am anxious and excited to try out these insoles which they claim helps with Shin Splints, Achilles Tendonitis, Plantar Fascitiis, and Runners Knee. 8 out of 10 people experiencing some sort of foot fatigue found relief after using Wiivv Base insoles. Base insoles were also seen to significantly reduce joint load on knees and hips at 30% gait cycle when the foot is fully loaded. Wiivv's initial Beta Tests have also seen the reduction of symptoms in plantar fasciitis, achilles tendonitis and flat feet... Wow! All of this may translate to reduced injuries and increased performance in endurance activities... I guess we will have to wait and see. I cannot express my excitement to be involved with the launch of this company, even on such a small level as an Ambassador.

Strength comes from within #keepgoing

In addition to all the other great things listed above the Wiivv insoles are supposed to help with, they are also engineered to maximize comfort, promote alignment and lesson fatigue. Your pair of Base insoles will closely follow your unique foot curves to give you support and stability that you need to keep on going. #keepgoing If that wasn't amazing enough, the top layer is made from 92% plastic bottles and moisture wicking material. They have been designed for increased comfort while out on those long runs #ultrarunner

I'll be putting these insoles to the test this year with a lot of big races on my plate. Looking forward to see how things pan out! These insoles are said to last 9-12 months on average, my current insoles are replaced every 3 months or so. Use my discount and receive 20% off your purchase of Wiivv Insoles!
(use toniy20 for your discount code)

 I'll keep everyone updated on how much I love them, and my experiences with them!

Achilles Follow-up - 50 mile training!

My Dr said my Achilles has the teeniest tiniest tear in it. I mean we are talking a minuscule, teeny-tiny-little-almost-not-there tear. That said he told me to continue going to physical therapy for 12 weeks (continuing after my race), and I will see him regularly (every few weeks) to followup and get more scans to make sure everything is progressing toward healing. After talking with my physical therapists, they are limiting my weekly long runs to 10-12 miles (rather than 20-22)... this has mentally been the hardest part for me. I want to trust them because I know they know what they're doing, but it's going against my training plan and that terrifies me. I want to be as ready as possible!

My longest weekend runs are back to back 12 and 10 milers right now. They reassured me those numbers will likely grow quickly as long as I continue with PT and regular icing/Advil (swelling reduction). Praying this doesn't derail my training too much. That's a drastic drop in my overall weekly miles (looking at 42 miles instead of 54 for example). I have been penciling in my "actual" numbers for each day of the week.

So here is the plan I have been following:

I'm having to make some tweeks on those long runs, they want me to keep my weekly mileage down a little more than I am but I am really scared to drop it too much more than I already have to. I'm hoping after a week or two of lower miles, PT and regular icing there will be an Achilles Miracle and I can get those 20 mile runs in again with no issues! I just don't feel like myself with 10-12 being my long weekly runs.

We use these stepper machines to warm up and cool
down my legs before and after each PT session. 

So far in PT I have learned so much about myself and my running form. I learned I waste a lot of energy swinging my arms a little too much so I have been focusing on trying to keep them swinging a little less. Also that I spend a lot more time on my right foot than I do my left. My push off is hard on my right with a long stride, my left foot hits and just rotates forward with minimal push off. I also am slightly knock-kneed. I have been trying to push off harder on my left foot, and keep my knees and feet separate. I never guessed I'd get so much
feedback regarding my form and looking at how I run. They verified all the feedback they gave me using my worn out running shoes showing me every strike and basically walking me through the fatigue of my runs and how I carry myself.

This is so difficult and my runs are making me more sore than ever! Hopefully all these little things will pay off in the end. They said strengthening my hips will help everything else straighten out as well. My hips are always "feeling the burn" in PT. Haha. I am learning so much about running and form, about all the different muscles and tendons and how they all work. It's crazy that working my hips will help so many other aspects of my running from correcting my knees to strengthening my Achilles. Hopefully all the "fancy footwork" they have me doing using an agility ladder, and the "hip-killer" exercises that burn my hips so badly will all pay off and I will be faster and stronger than ever.

Achilles Problems... and solutions I hope!

Remember back on my post from the Mississippi Marathon (See it here) when I mentioned cracking my ankle? Well, as it turns out I did a lot more than that. I realized when I ran the 26.2 with Donna (see here) it was not just sore, that I had actually injured it. I made an appointment with a Sports Medicine Doctor (on Monday 01/22) and after seeing my x-rays he ordered an MRI and Physical Therapy. 

He also told me that I cannot wear flip flops or sandals (umm hello, I live in Florida!) and absolutely NO RUNNING until he received my MRI results. I told him that wasn't an option, and explained my current training plan and how important it is for me to stick with it. I am so worried that I will not finish my 50 mile race (mentally) if I don't have a set "training plan" that I stuck with to fall back on. I know one week isn't going to make or break my training physically, but mentally I need to know I followed a plan and didn't miss work outs. I think that will help me stay positive and "sure" and give me the ability to finish. He promised me (depending on my MRI) he would have my ready for my race if I trusted him. That is so hard to do. 

Physical Therapy Room,
just like on tv!

On Wednesday 01/24 I had my first round of physical therapy. Oh my gosh it was intense! We started with a really hard massage on my calf. I have a bruise to prove how much it hurt! After that she had me do a bunch of exercises to fatigue my legs/hips. Using a resistance band and weighted ankles I spent 40 minutes or so just exercising my hips. Goodness they are so sore. After that she put me on a treadmill to run while she and 2 other physical therapists analyzed me. I was able to run a couple miles at a descent pace (yay for running!) but it was so awkward having them all standing around me watching my every move (literally)! Once they decided I was done, they hit the stop button and had me get off. They told me a few things about my running form which was really cool. They said #1 I run like a sprinter. They said I swing my arms quite a bit using my whole body as momentum for running which is great for shorter distances but not good for marathon running. On that same topic of sprinter form #2 they also said I cross my feet almost over each other in the front. My knees almost hit each other (sometimes they do) because I cross them so closely in front of me. #3 My stride for each leg is very different. I stretch very far with my left foot and my right foot just kind of steps down (about half of my stride). They feel I use my right foot for all the push off (favoring it due to my injury we assume) and just glide off my left. Let me just say, those are NOT easy things to just "correct".

They had me do some foot work/agility after that. They said working on my agility will help with my balance and in turn all that would help with my form... I did some fancy footwork with a ladder on the floor for 15-20 minutes, then got to sit in a cozy chair for 10 minutes with ice on my legs. After the timer went off they taped my sore foot up, and sent me off! My hips are pretty sore from PT, I am excited but not excited to go again on Friday.

Lots of taping during my
PT sessions. Trying different
methods to see what will
work for me.

I had my MRI this morning (Thursday 02/25), that was a really uncomfortable experience. It is so hard to stay perfectly still for 15 minutes! Haha! My results were faxed to my PT and DR so I'm hoping my Physical Therapist will give me some incite tomorrow morning so I don't have to wait until my DR appt Monday. I have a 20 mile run scheduled for Saturday that I would really love to do without feeling super guilty the whole time... I guess we will see!

To Be Continued...