Eager to get back into running, but keen not to start too quickly and injure myself again, I started on the 100-Up training today.
100-Up is divided into two phases, the Minor and the Major. As the Minor is essentially a leg raising exercise that prepares your legs for doing the Major. I saw no reason not to start this now in advance of my own enforced deadline of waiting at least two weeks from when my ankle is feeling okay again.
Although my ankle feels completely fine now, this is only for walking. It’s too soon to run on it. I think the overall speed of my ankle’s recovery was probably helped over the past 2-3 weeks by alternating heeled shoes and barefoot shoes in my daily activity. Thus I took the strain off my calves and achilles one day, and stretched them out the next. All without actively doing anything, just getting on with my daily life. I was hobbling the first week though, as my achilles just didn’t want to do the push off at the start of a stride, but this soon abated.
The 100-Up is explained here by Walter George’s own words. I’m going to do this twice a day until I can do the Minor easily and without fault, then move onto the Major, then eventually get back into running.
I think like most newcomers to barefoot running, you start thinking that you will be forced to use good form by giving up your padded trainers, only to find that good form maybe doesn’t come that naturally after all. Hopefully doing the 100-Up will fix that for me.