From Running Times…
Foot Loose and Injury Free
A game plan for fighting Plantar Fasciitis
By Mackenzie Lobby
As featured in the Web Only issue of Running Times Magazine
Running is 90% mental, right? Not always. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how badly you want to run, your body just won’t let you do it. Elite master’s runner Stephanie Herbst-Lucke is a classic example. After collecting five national championships at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she left the world of competitive running to work and have a family. Then, after running several standout races in her early 30s, she decided to make a comeback. She returned to Madison to train with a group of Nike-sponsored elites, and all factors indicated her joining the ranks of the top runners in the country.
“There were great runners out there to train with, great workouts and a great coach. There was nothing that should have inhibited me,” Herbst-Lucke remembers. “But, I had chronic foot problems.” Fighting multiple bouts of plantar fasciitis for five years, she was unable to race even once during that time. At 35, she hung up her running shoes once again.
She certainly wasn’t the first runner to surrender to plantar fasciitis. A nagging injury that causes intense pain, the rehabilitation and prevention procedures are complicated. It wasn’t until she reached 40 that Herbst-Lucke finally figured out what she needed to do to manage her plantar fascia issues and compete again. As she discovered, the key to overcoming plantar fasciitis appears to lie in the ability to persevere through the trial and error process. Discovering the most effective combination of healing and prevention methods requires commitment.
Read on here.
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