Over the course of the summer, I’ve been in training for my 2nd degree karate black-belt test
[two weeks from now 🙂 ]
which has entailed digging out of a deep, slothful hole – last year was a write-off in terms of fitness. Running has played a large part of my return to fitness and, as ever, I’m enjoying the process as well as the benefits.
A couple of years’ back I shared a number of videos that helped me improve my form and stamina.
If you read the post, you’ll know that, for the past few years, I’ve been wearing Merrell barefoot shoes for running – and most of the time casually – originally to address the lower back pain from which I suffered
[which turned out to be all about posture, some of which was foot balance]
Fast forward, to this last weekend, I was feeling a little twinge in my knee when I ran, so thought I’d step back into my ASICS running shoes (with cushioning) to give my tired legs a rest – they felt great on the run
[where I still focused on not striking with my heel]
so I wore them again on the next. But both yesterday and this morning, I woke up to a nagging lower back pain which I knew all too well. Also, I noticed some aching in the outer edge of my feet.
So  today, I went back to my Merrell’s and ran a longer distance while maintaining pace. And my back feels fine.
[though I’ll be monitoring closely for the next couple of days]
It’s amazing how something so simple as cushioning and heel-lift can show up in my back so quickly – and the fact that I knew what and why was reassuring. I’m interested to see how my back reacts to being back in the Merrell’s.
I am a commitment to earn my 2nd degree karate black-belt!
Onward,
Vincent Tuckwood 