How Pete resolved Plantar Fasciitis, ran 3 PBs, and set new mileage records

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TRAINING BREAKDOWN

“Will the body you have always hold you back from achieving the goals you desire?”

By Emma O’Toole

Hello, happy Sunday!

In today’s newsletter, I want to do something a little different. I’m taking you inside a coaching call with Pete, a 51-year-old runner who’s been running on and off for the past 3 years.

If you’ve ever felt stuck, frustrated, or like you’re running in circles with your training, I think Pete’s journey will really resonate and whilst this is from a coaching call from a runner, the content equally applies to cyclists reading this newsletter.

Pete’s background:

51 years old.

Began running 3 years ago, (hadn’t run since college).

Progressed from Couch to 5K, then moved up to half marathon distance.

Stop-start training over the past 2 years due to plantar fasciitis and heel pain flaring after just a few miles.

In and out of physio appointments, no real progress being made.

Motivation fading fast.

The coaching call:

I really felt for Pete, he, like so many runners (and cyclists), found himself in a tough space where he was caught up in the same injury cycle, struggling to build consistency, and feeling like he was taking one step forwards and then 3 backwards.

His goal was to run a sub 1:45 half marathon. His current half PB was set back at the tail-end of 2022, before the Plantar reared its head. That PB was a 1:49:17 half.

When we first talked, Pete was honest and said:
“I’m not sure if I can get there. I don’t even know if my body can handle running 13 miles without pain.”

That’s a thought I hear so often, the quiet fear bubbling deep down that the body you have might always hold you back from achieving the goals you desire, regardless of how “hard” you work for it.

The work:

I knew that chasing times without fixing the underlying issues would only lead to more setbacks. So, we shifted focus from the clock and the miles to Pete’s body.

Pete had done 4 six week physio cycles and still did some of those exercises on and off throughout the week. Those physio exercises were great at helping Pete to get out of pain whilst he was barely training. But every time Pete tried to increase his mileage, or run intervals, his heel screamed back at him.

This is because there was a gap. A gap between the physio exercises getting Pete out of pain and the strength Pete needed to build resilience against this injury as his running volume and intensity increased. Targeted strength training plugged that gap.

A simple example was Pete was doing 3 sets of 20 single leg calf raises. Calf raises are a great exercise, but the problem here is that Pete could do them practically effortlessly. His body needed a greater challenge to match the challenge Pete was asking from his body. So we went from 3× 20 calf raises to 4× 6 single leg calf raises with Pete now lifting just under 65% of his bodyweight.

And it didn’t stop there.

The body is one unit and works as such when you run. Poor upper body strength will cause you to slow down and fatigue. So we zoomed out of looking at Pete’s lower legs, and focused on developing strength, endurance and power throughout Pete’s body.

We also had structure, progression and a strength training plan that ebbed and flowed alongside Pete’s run training.

The running work:

Pete had his goal of a sub 1:45 half marathon, but he wasn’t in any real rush to do it. He was playing the long game and wanted that to be the first of many more sub 1:45 halves. This patience allowed us to build consistently, to focus on training cycles, not just a marathon block.

Over 12 months, we build Pete’s weekly mileage from 20 to 40 miles with some cross training in there. We had a training cycle focused on speed where Pete set his current 5k PB, we had then build endurance so Pete was comfortable at the half distance, we then went into a 10k block (another PB here), before finally embarking on the half distance.

Each one of those training cycles gave Pete confidence, his weekly baseline mileage didn’t really change from the 35-40 miles (minus rest weeks and deload weeks), but the sessions themselves in those blocks changed drastically depending on the focus of the training cycle and this left Pete not only with new PBs to his name, but also the consistency and confidence in his training and his body to perform.

Race day came and as you can probably guess Pete broke that elusive 1:45 barrier, coming in at 1:42:54. Ready for more and on cloud 9.

So to recap that was 3 new PBs, consistent 40 mile weeks instead of hit and miss 20 mile weeks and no more sharp, stabbing pain in his heel.

I’d call that a worth investment into Pete’s running.

Why this matters to you:

Pete’s story isn’t unique to runners. Hundreds of thousands of runners and cyclists get injured every year over. So if you’re dealing with nagging plantar fasciitis, or any injury that won’t for want of a better word piss off, or if you feel like you’re at a standstill with your training, Pete’s story shows there’s a way forward.

It’s about strengthening the right places, pacing your comeback, and rebuilding your base. If this email resonates with you please reply to this email and I’ll be happy to help with some advice on how we can get you back running and cycling your best.

Also, let me know your thoughts:

Was it useful to run through a coaching call and see what really goes on behind the scenes?

Don’t forget to also check out our fantastic free community for ongoing support and help with your training.

Have a great Sunday!

Emma

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