No Turning Back
It’s worth stepping back and noting where this actually started.
Last October I saw Dr. Ray McClanahan in Portland. My heels were at their worst point in years — I couldn’t walk barefoot without Hoka slides. That visit was the turning point. I broke the Hoka slides habit, went barefoot at home, switched to Birkenstocks outside, then gradually added Escalantes for walking and 4mm drop Altras for running. That was seven months ago. What’s happening now — the zero drop running — is the latest phase of a foundation that’s been building since October. The running specific part is new. The adaptation has been building for seven months.
This week felt like a breakthrough. Not because of one session but because of how much running I actually did — a mile time trial, a mountain day at South Sister, two runs at Smith Rock, trails in Victoria. More volume than I’ve done in weeks and the heels held up. More than that, they weren’t the main feature. This week it was tired legs, heavy quads, breathing hard. The normal stuff. That hasn’t been the normal stuff for a long time.
With some hesitation – I think there is no going back now.
The Baseline Is Dropping
Morning stiffness is at 3/10 on waking and drops quickly to 2/10 with normal movement. A month ago 3/10 was the floor and it stayed there. Now it’s the starting point and the tissue clears faster than it used to.
Week 4: Day by Day
Monday — Summit Park, Victoria 40 minutes easy with stair efforts. Heels basically fine. Soleus tight at the start, loosened up. Started playing with heel lift and cadence — when I added cadence consciously it jumped to nearly 190.
Tuesday — Island Endurance Mile Time Trial, Oak Bay This week was a mile time trial and it was genuinely fun. I love this running group some much. Tuesday night was a blast.
5:41 in the Escalantes. Felt like I was holding back. My body wanted to go faster. For context, my 5k PR is 14:59 — 4:48 per mile pace.
Wednesday Easy spin bike. 60 min.
Thursday — Victoria Golf course and Summit Park. 6.87 miles, 70 minutes, 791ft of gain. Lower legs tired around 45 minutes. The pain sensation is shifting — more muscular, more soleus and peroneal, less insertion.
Friday Long drive. No running.
Saturday — South Sister, Oregon 8.57 miles, 3 hours 12 minutes, 2,687ft of gain into the snow. Pain 2/10 — lowest reading on a significant effort in the entire rehab. Felt strong on the return.
Sunday — Smith Rock State Park 7.11 miles, 79 minutes, 1,296ft of gain. Pain 2/10 overall. Mechanics felt smooth after 20 minutes. Feeling smooth is where its at.
What the Week Showed
The pain is changing character. Less insertional, more muscular. The posterior chain is doing real work and fatiguing out the way it should.
Seven months of foundation. Four weeks of running specific work. Things are shifting and clicking.
What’s Next
Hold volume steady and let the baseline continue to drop. Knee Knacker, July 11th. Fatdog 100k, August 9th.
And Sooke Hills 50k on May 30th is back on the table — as an easy trail run rather than a race. The proof is in the pudding, I guess.
Morning stiffness and pain: 1-10 scale. Running in Altra Escalante (zero drop) unless noted.
I’m using Claude AI as a daily training and rehab log — tracking morning stiffness, pain levels, sessions, and patterns in real time. These blog posts are written with Claude’s help, pulling from that ongoing log each week.
