Hello everyone,,
I skied the birkiebeiner 50k skate race last weekend. Before I got to the power lines, by calves and arches were burning.
My arches tend to burn for the first 2-5 kilometers of any training ski late in the season (late January, early February), but it goes away eventually. I read somewhere online that 9 times out of 10 that arch pain when skate skiing is due to tight boots. So I loosened them up and it seemed to work.
But, Saturday it didn’t go away. It only got worse. And worse.
In particular, my right arch burned to the point where I almost quit. I winced every time I pushed off. I thought I was going to tear something. It burned. I could’t push off my big toe. It was debilitating.
I was able to finish. But I could barely walk. My arch was puffy, purplish and tender to the touch. The side of my foot is still tender now four days later.
My boots may have been too tight. I didn’t make them any tighter than usual, but it could be the issue.
My boots could also be too small. Although, my boots are a half size larger than my shoes.
The conditions were also pretty soft. It was snowed earlier in the week and it was snowing at the start. It was pretty warm, which made the snow heavy.
When I was describing the situation to friends in the beer tent, someone overheard me and said their arches hurt as well.
So maybe everyone’s arches were burning.
Maybe if I loosened up my boots, I’ve been OK.
Maybe my technique is garbage.
Has anyone dealt with extreme arch pain while skate skiing?
