Programming Exercise for Navicular Stress Fractures

Rehabbing a broken foot is no small task, and navicular stress fractures (NSFs) are particularly challenging. My last blog covered considerations of deciding on surgery or going the conservative route. Today, let’s focus on the critical elements of a successful rehab program.  Key Principle One: Absolute Rest NSFs require absolute rest whether you have surgery or not. Complete non-weight bearing in a …

Navicular Stress Fracture Essentials

You feel a bit of soreness on your foot as you finish up your Thursday morning run. Nothing you haven’t felt before, probably just your stubborn plantar fascia acting up. You add a few stretches to your warm-up, roll your foot out with a massage ball, and hope the pain goes away. Unfortunately, it doesn’t. The pain worsens to the …

Navigating your identity as a runner

Beep! The alarm clock at your weekend hotel buzzes you awake. Traveling for work guarantees a night of less than stellar sleep. You’ve got a meeting that could’ve been an email at nine AM, giving you just enough time to sneak in a morning run. You lace up your Saucony’s, trudge down to the elevator, and slowly plod along the …

Meditating with Tom Hanks

The ability to sit in silence does not come naturally to me. I feel a consistent pull to be distracted by work, social media, a podcast, or another shiny device. Normally I can justify this as helping my professional career, even if that’s stretching the truth. Unfortunately, this approach often leads me to a poor understanding of my current situation …

How Do I Know if I’m Injured?

Running isn’t always a comfortable experience. Personally, I feel “something” during almost every run. Over a month of training, you likely have a couple of terrible sessions, lots of sessions that feel “fine,” and a few runs where you feel like Sara Hall or Eliud Kipchoge. It’s common (maybe expected) to have brief bouts of hip tightness, a sore knee, …

Are you eating enough?

That sounds like a question your Grandma might ask you at Thanksgiving dinner. As silly as the question seems, it’s something many runners should take serious thought in answering. The culture of running often preaches lowering your body weight and “training light”. The act of running can also be an appetite suppressant meaning it takes extra work to meet your …