As much as it pains me (emotionally, not literally) it’s that time again…yes, it’s time to put away all my pretty, sexy high heels and stilettos and pull out all my flats (aka boring shoes).
As you girls know, frequent wearing of those leg-elongating, slimming, flirty shoes have some negative long-term effects on our bodies. These include the shortening of our Achilles tendons which results in Achilles tendonitis and the formation of bunions. Lucky, lucky me, I have a little of both…booo!
Since I started to really run I’ve tried to minimize the amount of time I spend teetering around in 4″ heels, I find the more I wear heels, the more my calf muscles scream at me during and after my run. My big rule in preparation for a lengthy race is to completely shelf high heels for at least 3 weeks prior to my run. Is this excessive or unnecessary? Perhaps. But it seems to help me, so I’m sticking to it. Well, that is unless there’s an emergency situation in which I have to look extra “leggy” in a micro minidress…which let’s face it happens almost never. 😉
So if you are plagued by achy, tight calf muscles and angry Achilles remember that stretching pre and post run is key! I can’t stress that enough. Stretch, stretch STRETCH, but be careful not to over stretch! Take your time pre-run and don’t rush through your post-run cool down stretch time, if necessary pull out those ice packs, elevate your feet on a couple of pillows and ice your calf muscles, and while you’re at it give yourself nice little pedi!
xoxo, MLL
Mile Long Legs 