Cortisone Shot for Runners with Plantar Fasciitis Heel Pain

Should you get a cortisone shot for plantar fasciitis heel pain? The short answer for most is no. While it is true that cortisone shots can temporarily remove inflammation and pain associated with an acute injury like plantar fasciitis, the reality is the often times cortisone shots do more harm than good. Research has been shown that cortisone shots can actually permanently weaken the tendon leading to reinjury and even worse, complete tearing.

Often times people with plantar fasciitis are desperate to fix it. In my experience it is usually runners I hear from, whose only outlet is running, and they can't stand not being able to run. The reality is that plantar fasciitis is an injury and your body produces pain and inflammation to protect itself. Masking pain is rarely a good idea because it gives us a false sense that a hurt is now healed. Getting a cortisone shot is just ignoring what your body is telling you. You need to stop doing whatever you are doing that makes it hurt and focus on letting the body heal itself

A better approach would be to stop worry about getting back to running and focus on what you can do. Find a pool and do some swimming or jump on spin bike / peloton. Find something that doesn't aggravate it as much as running. Plantar fasciitis can be a very nasty injury, especially if you have never had an injury before. Don't be surprised if it takes 3, 6, or even 12 months to heal. I will write a separate article about how I have healed from my own plantar fasciitis but in the meantime here are few things that may help:

Foot exercises designed to strengthen your feet
to both heal and prevent reinjury of plantar
picking up stones with your foot 
is a great exercise regardless
of whether you are injured or not

Heating pad - I liked to use a heating pad to heat the area. This can be done in the morning before getting out of bed when your foot is extra stiff or at night as you are winding down and watching tv, reading etc. In my experience ice is not as effective. Part of the goal of plantar is keep it relaxed, loose, and supple.

Buy Irregular marbles / stones - the best thing you can do is start to strengthen and rehabilitate your foot. Buy a set of marbles and stones, slightly irregular is better and dump them on the floor. One by one pick them up with your feet / toes and place them into a container. I like to do this twice a day for 5 minutes.

Foot Log Massage Roller - the following is a foot log backed by a simple money back guarantee. Buy two, carry it with you and put one under your bed. Before ever placing your foot on the ground from either sleeping or sitting, make sure you gently roll your plantar for a few minutes to warm it up and lighty break up any scar tissue without causing significant acute stress that you would get from getting up and standing on it. A soup can works too.

Plantar Fascitis Boot - the boot can be a great device that keeps the calf /achilles / plantar slightly stretched at night. Don't be surprised if you wake up and you removed the boot in your sleep. This can be especially important device for anyone that sleeps on their stomach and keeps their toes essentially pointed

Strassburg sock - same idea as the boot but in slightly less bulky design

Best Iron Supplement for Anemia & Low Ferritin Levels

The best iron supplement for low ferritin levels is going depend on each specific athlete and their nutrition views. Many smart and experienced people would say that eating a diet rich in foods, that provide good sources of iron, is the best way to raise your iron and ferritin levels. Some of those foods include meat while other include nuts, seeds, legumes, and vegetables.

Others might say that taking a heme form of iron is the quickest and most effective way of increasing your iron and ferritin levels. Keep in mind that heme iron supplements are derived from animals. Others that don't consume animals products might suggest a non-heme form of iron.

What I can say is that as a professional athlete I have had my blood tested numerous times to optimize my blood and my body for athletic performance. I use a super simple service called Athlete Blood Test to do this and here is a link to all my blood work posts where I post my actual iron test results, ferritin test results, and all my other blood biomarkers (testosterone, thyroid, you name it).

Heme IronGrass Fed Beef Liver

As you can see from those tests, I have been low on iron a few times and have used various supplements to increase my iron, sometimes almost too well. Too high of iron level can be just as bad or worse than too low so make sure if you take a lot of supplements to get your blood checked periodically. Regardless here are a few of my favorite iron sources that have proven to raise my own iron and ferritin levels effectively.

Heme Iron Supplement Recommendations - animal-based supplement, typically much more expensive but offers better bioavailability and is absorbed better to potentially raise levels faster.

- Proferrin ES Heme Iron Polypeptide
- Ancestral Supplements Grass Fed Beef Liver

Non-Heme Iron Supplement Recommendations - basic iron supplements not derived from animals. Less expensive but typically not absorbed as well heme iron.

- Amazon Elements Iron
- Nature's Made Iron

Iron Rich Foods

Best Swim Goggles For Triathlon Swimming

Best Swim Goggles
for Triathletes

The BEST swim goggles for triathletes are going to depend on the specific athlete, their specific face and the specific swim venue that they will be swimming at. One best pair of goggles that works for one athlete may not work at all for another athlete as each goggle has a specific fit.

As an uber-geeky and long-time professional athlete, that was also an adult onset swimmer, I have formed some strong opinions in terms of what you want in a goggles. These opinions have been formed using 40+ different pair of goggles from many different companies including: TYR, Speedo, Roka, BlueSeventy, Aquasphere, Swedes, and many more.

If you know me, you know I am a huge fan of cheap things, but cheap goggles is not one of my things. You want goggles that make swimming as enjoyable as possible. Many triathletes struggle to swim enough and bad goggles are just one more road block to more swimming.

Universal Basic Features I Require

The following are basic featureas I require for all my goggles:

- Soft gaskets that won't leave deep marks around your eyes and hurt
- Slim profile with good suction that won't fall off your face with the push off the wall
- Durable
- Won't leak
- Won't fog easily
- Good and easy adjustability 

Lens Options

Then there are some basic features of swim goggles that are situational. Not every lens is the right lens for every particular situation. Each lens has a purpose.

Mirror Lens of the Aquasphere Cayenne

Mirrored lenses - Mirrored lens swim goggles are best for swimming outside at the pool or in a race when you are swimming into the sun. However, mirrored lenses tend to be the least durable lenses and often times require frequent replacing.

Clear lenses - Clear lens swim goggles are best for low light visibility days, early morning racing, and night swims. Everyone needs a pair of clear googles.

Polarized lenses - Polarized lenses offer some of the benefits of mirrored lens in helping cut glare from the sun. They also allow me to see buoys more clearly and have the benefit of being more durable than mirrored lenses. You won't have to replace polarized lenses as often as mirrored.

Tinted lenses - I prefer to have polarized or mirrored glasses over tinted, but tinted work fine too. They are more affordable and still can meet all my other basic requirements. The idea is they bring down the level of light just like sunglasses.

Goggle Recommendations

Here are my top goggle recommendations. Keep in mind, I am actually sponsored by BlueSeventy. You can save 20% off all BlueSeventy products with discount coupon code: Gerlach2020. In my experience both personally, and talking to others, these are the goggles that work for the most amount of people and is a good place to start your goggle search. Many people with smaller faces will benefit from the small-fit version of goggles. Personally, my preference is for small fit goggles but I am definitely a tweener.

Aquasphere Cayenne Swim Goggles - This is hands down my all-time favorite goggle. First the field of vision is larger than most goggles but without being overly bulky. The field of vision is specifically helpful in open water when trying to site buoys. They come in mirrored, polarized, clear, and small-fit frames. Personally the small-fit frames are the perfect size for my face and is a big part of why this is my go to goggle.


TYR Special Ops Swim Goggles - Great goggles that come in variety of lenses and colors. Super soft gaskets that are durable. Come in a women's fit too.

TYR Special Ops

BlueSeventy HydroVision Swim Goggles - Comes in polarized and mirrored lenses that offer crystal clear vision. Great durability and easy adjustability. My only wish is they made this in a small fit version.

BlueSeventy Hydra Vision

Summary

Anyone that definitively says their goggle is the best is full of it. There is no one goggle that is best for everyone. Spend some time and money trying out different goggles and find what fits your face best. The best fitting goggle will often be the best goggle for you. Here are links to the following goggles that I recommend.

- BlueSeventy Hydra - Clear
- BlueSeventy Hydra - Smoke Tint
- BlueSeventy Hydra - Mirrored
- BlueSeventy Hydra - Polarized 

- TYR Special Ops - Polarized
- TYR Special Ops - Clear Transition
- TYR Special Ops - Women's Fit Clear
- TYR Special Ops - Women's Fit Polarized

- Aquasphere Kayenne - Clear
- Aquasphere Kayenne - Polarized
- Aquasphere Kayenne - Mirrored
- Aquasphere Kayenne - Smoke Tint

- Aquasphere Kayenne Small Fit - Clear
- Aquasphere Kayenne Small Fit - Polarized
- Aquasphere Kayenne Small Fit - Mirrored
- Aquasphere Kayenne Small Fit - Smoke Tint