Is that a plan that would make you happy?  I thought so….

As your physics teacher told you years ago, “energy is neither created nor destroyed.”  As it relates to your running, when your foot strikes the ground, the energy is transferred to the ground. Depending upon your running style, speed, body weight, shoes and ground surface, much of that energy is transmitted back into your legs.  The less absorption that takes place by the running surface itself, the higher the stress/force applied to your joint surfaces and soft tissue.

Minimizing Joint Compression

Changing the surfaces that you run on is a simple and very effective way keep your joint surfaces healthier and your entire body healthier.  Typically, the softer the surface the better, especially for the older runners.  In this era of minimalist shoes with very little shoe cushioning becoming so popular, selecting the proper running surface has never been more important if you want to avoid running injuries.

Here is a list of seven (7) different running surfaces and how each surface affects your body.  I’m not interested in which surface is faster or more responsive.  As your sports medicine resource, I’m looking at each surface and how it positively impacts your ability to stay healthy and avoid injuries.  That is the objective of MikeRyanFitness.com and a it’s a role that I thoroughly enjoy.

Picking the Best Running Terrain for You:

Ratings from 1 ( poor) to 10 (best)

1.  Natural Grass

Open grass parks, golf courses and sports fields are ideal for soft and leg-friendly running.   A well nurtured grass field can be your best training partner and a priceless tool to keep you healthy.
Pros: Grass is soft and very easy on the legs in terms of stress and impact.  The subtle unevenness of grass is an excellent way to add additional strengthening for the feet, lower extremity and core.  For the larger runners, grass is even more important.
Cons: Uneven and irregular surfaces may increase the risk of ankle sprains. 

Sports Medicine Rating:9.0

2.  Off-Road Trails

Running off-road, for me, is a dream come true.  The soft dirt trails are easy on the legs and the changing of directions is great for improving agility and lower extremity balance.  Including a sense of adventure with wildlife all around you and so much to see, running off-road can help pass the time faster during those long slow runs.
Pros: Usually easy on the legs and the mind as you get away from the crazy world for some “me time”.  Because of the altering terrain, your stride length is shorter and your turnover is faster.
Cons: Ankle sprains, bug bites and getting lost are minor risks for getting away on a “mini vacation” with Mother Nature.  Mud and slippery surfaces will increase the risk factors while they often prove to be helpful elements that slow you down by making you work harder.

Sports Medicine Rating: 8.5

3.  Cinder Track/Trails

These fine-rock and packed sand is an easy to maintain running surface that many of us grew up racing on in high school.  Rain, snow or sunshine has little impact on this type of surface and that’s a good thing when it comes to avoiding injuries.  The footing is often consistent and more energy absorbing than the harder surfaces found on roads and treadmills.
Pros: If they are well-maintained, cinder surfaces allow for a somewhat consistent footing and are much easier on the legs than roads and treadmills. Cinder tracks and trials will help keep you healthy if longer runs are in your plans.
Cons: Cinder surfaces can allow for softer areas if the drainage is poor so slipping is a concern.  The traction on the bottom of the shoe will greatly impact the traction when hills and turns are involved with cinder trails.

Sports Medicine Rating: 7.5

4.  Synthetic Track

Speed and consistency are the two major advantages to today’s modern track.  The ability of this type of track to absorb “the pounding” from your legs is very good but the tendency to wear a lighter and less cushioned shoe often leads to injuries for runners training on this type of surface more than two times per week.
Pros: Level, stable and consistent surface allows for a runner to control his/her biomechanics better than on an uneven surface.
Cons: The curves often made at faster speeds with an increased traction often contributes to arch, ankles, knees and low back pain.  Long distances run on this surface, if run in the same direction, will have a tendency to lead to over-use syndromes.  Larger runners will find this surface less appealing in regards to injury prevention when compared to grass or trails.

Sports Medicine Rating: 7

5.  Sand

All sand running is not created equal.  Depending upon many factors related to the sand, this surface can be ideal or concerning.  Soft and deep sand, lowers the impact while stressing both the cardiovascular system and the muscles of the lower extremity.  The view, the change of pace and the additional upper body involvement make a sand surface almost a must-do for runners at least 1 time per week.
Pros: Soft sand absorbs a higher % of forces, therefore, puts less stress on his/her lower extremity. Elevated heart rates and greater effort to run both add to the positive attributes with running on a sand surface.
Cons: Although it’s great for building leg strength, the softness of the sand means a higher risk of Achilles tendonitis and foot blisters. When running on the water’s edge at the ocean, the tilt of the surface puts uneven stresses on the body.  This bilateral asymmetry may lead to lateral leg, hip and low back overuse injuries.

Sports Medicine Rating: 6.5

6. Treadmill

“But I was only running on a treadmill” is a common explanation I hear from runners confused to why their legs hurt or an injury occurred.  The convenance of running indoors is a big plus for many runners for obvious reasons.  All the fancy feedback (heart rate, calories burned, incline, pace,…etc.) displayed is nice but it often comes with a price if the frequency is too high or the miles are too long.
Pros: The surface moves for you and you simply need to keep your legs moving at the same speed.  The smooth surface makes the risks lower and the weather is never a factor.  The less experienced runners can exercise for longer periods of time on a treadmill compared to running outside.
Cons: The surface firmness can be quite high (that’s not good) and that will vary with the type of treadmill being used.  It’s boring and the fact that the treadmill is moving for you will tend to make a runner strike the ground harder by over-striding.

Sports Medicine Rating: 6.0

7. Asphalt

Asphalt is the most common road surface in the modern world so it’s the most common running surface for most of us.  It is quite hard and not considered to be a friend of runner’s legs.  It’s difficult to avoid but if you want to stay healthy, minimize your mileage on this type of surface as much as possible.
Pros: It’s a fast and predictable surfaces.  A runner’s pace and footing is easy to maintain on asphalt.  Often well maintained and well-marked, an asphalt surface can make you look good and feel fast in both training and in a road race.
Cons: Ankle sprains, stress fractures, road holes, traffic/bike and road trash add to the risks of running on the road.  Traffic free asphalt will eliminate some of those risks but the hard black road is an unforgiving surface that put significant  strain on the body.

Sports Medicine Rating: 5.0

The Homestretch

I had running poster on my apartment wall during my freshman year in college with a picture of a solo man running up a massive hill.  The caption on the bottom of the poster read:  ”The race is not always won by the fastest of feet but by those that keep running.”

Keeping you healthy and running, that’s my job.  What you do with your running and your body, that’s your job.

I recently recieved a great question on Osgood Schlatters disease of the knee, a common topic for questions on MikeRyanFitness, that I wanted to share.

The Question:

Hello my name is Carla and I’ve had osgood schlatter since I was 13. Now that I’m 21 years old and I want to ask you a few questions. I have never had any problem with the knee lumps for years but now that I’m doing squats and weightlifting at the gym, my knees have become very sore. Can osgood schlatters persist as I get older and can have problems with it again? And can the lumps get bigger when your older because it looks like they have grown? Thank you Mike!

My Answer:

Hi Carla, Thanks for your email. You ask a great question that I get asked about often. 

Yes, the Osgood-Schlatter’s (OS) bumps can get bigger but it is typically not the bone that is enlarging like it did as a growing teenager. Your growth plates are closed now and the bone landscape remains as is. The soft tissue (tendon, bursa, fascia, muscle and ligaments) in that area can become inflamed and enlarged. I’m sure you’ve bumped or bruised the tibial tubercles (TT) where the patella tendons insert into your shin bones in years past and know how painful they can become.

Because of your OS Hx and knee pain, the angles of your patella tendons have changed. This makes the mechanics of your patella/quads/knees different and you need to account for that in all your activities. That’s not a real bad thing but you need to figure out:

1. What makes my knees feel better?
2. What makes my knees feel worse?

What you need to do is to change/stop the squatting and any weight lifting that is hurting your TT’s. Most athletes, young and old, with OS benefit from a conservative leg strengthening program with a majority of the work for the quads (muscle on the front of the thigh) being done with the knee not bending past 90 degrees. The reason for this is when the quads are loaded and bent past 90 degrees, two important factors take place:

• The compressive forces on the back of the kneecap become extremely high.
• The force angle at the tibial tubercle becomes very steep.

Both of these factors will not make your OS knee happy, therefore, need to be avoided. With that being said, I strongly suggest you avoid the following exercises:

• Lunges
• Deep squats
• Box step ups
• Deep leg press
• Leg extensions while bending the knee past 90 degrees
• Any strengthening exercises that create knee pain

With this in mind, restructure your leg program, add the leg roller and flexibility before and after your workouts and make ice on your knees a part of post-workout routine.

These two articles from www.mikeryanfitness.com will help:

http://www.mikeryanfitness.com/?s=osgood

Smile, Carla, because your sore knees will be happy again soon and your fitness plan is back on track!

With Healthy Regards,

Mike Ryan

NFL Draft Day is here and I think it’s safe to say that most football fans are tired of the Mock Draft-mania.  We’ve heard plenty of football “experts” give their opinions on why this or that player should or shouldn’t be Drafted based on their running speed, physical size and football talent.

Who’s asking the medical questions about these potential NFL players?

Forget about the specific injuries and the medical grades on these players.  I can’t disclose any of that info for obvious reasons.  It’s the “other medical issues” that often separate the players that come into the league for a quick drink of Gatorade and those that have long successful careers as professional football players.

Key Medical Questions Related to the NFL Draft

“How will the player hold up to a much longer & more demanding NFL schedule?”

A college season has 8 to 12 games.  Meanwhile an NFL season includes 4 pre-season games, 16 regular season games along with up to a 4 game post-season.  With an extensive off-season workout program, training camp and an additional Bye week practice schedule, a rookie can easily double the length of their season when compared to their college season.

Now when you add in extra special team reps, the stress of being a “new guy” in a new setting and the increased intensity of the NFL, a rookie season is tough indeed.

“What does a player’s medical history not tell you?”

With the player’s permission, we review hundreds of player medical reports, files and tests.  In doing so, we gain great insight into his medical history.  Those mountains of reports often give us more questions than answers about a player’s medical status.

How much did injury X limit their ability to play at a high level?  Did the player practice with this injury or did he simply rest the injury during the week and play in the game on Saturday?  Is a player’s injuries chronic problems all the way back in high school where most athletes don’t have complete medical records?

An inability to find the answers to medical questions such as these may hamper a team’s ability to have a clear picture of a potential employee.

“What will impact the longevity of this player career more, the volume or the intensity of his college career?”

Today’s college football player has an impressive resume’ often extending from their playing days as a young teenager.  Highly competitive youth football, high schools and colleges result in many long and intense seasons.  That often results in lots of hits and lots of miles on those knees, ankles and shoulders.

“How educated is this player with the sports medicine art of taking care of himself?”

A few years ago I called one of my fellow Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society (PFATS) colleagues with an NFL team.  He had 2 very old, by NFL standards, players who were playing at a very high level.  “How are they doing it?” I asked.  From both a professional and a personal perspective, I was very interested in learning how these dinosaurs were competing with the young bucks in this league.

“They work hard 11 ½ months a year” he said.  They knew that fitness and maintenance was their ticket and they knew how important it was to take care of their bodies TODAY.

When I see a young rookie come into the NFL with the knowledge and, more importantly, the appreciation for good nutrition, NFL athletic trainers and recovery, I see a young man who has already greatly enhanced his ability to stay healthy and to become very wealthy.

Show Time

 Each year NFL medical staffs get the opportunity to enhance our skills of assessing new players to help make our teams better.  The art of reading “between the line” is often the trick to strengthening our rosters heading into the fall NFL season.  As with most professions, there’s much more work than one would expect preparing for the big event but it’s necessary to be properly prepared.

Let the fun begin!

I received an email from a follower with a simple and important question:  “How to I determine how hard to exercise when I want to burn more body fat?”

I loved the question and I want to share my answer.

If your main objective is to reduce body fat, your target heart rate (THR) zone should be between 70 – 75% of your maximum heart rate (MHR).  There are approximately 7 different methods to calculate one’s MHR.  To keep it simple and avoid the all-too-often “paralysis by analysis” found within the world of Wellness, I’ll make it easy:

Max HR = 220 minus your AGE

Your Fat Burning Target Heart Rate Zone  =  70 to 75% of MHR or MHR x .7 to MHR x .75

Examples:

• 30 year old – MHR = 220 – 30 = 190 beats per minute (bpm)

Fat Burning Target Heart Rate Zone is 70 to 75% of MHR = MHR (190) x .7 to MHR x .75

190 x .7 = 133 bpm      190 x .75 = 142 bpm

The Fat Burning THR for a 30 year old is 133 to 142

•  55-year-old – MHR = 220 - 55 = 165 bpm

Fat Burning Target Heart Rate Zone is 70 to 75% of MHR = MHR (165) x .7 to MHR x .75

165 x .7 = 115 bpm      165 x .75 = 124 bpm

The Fat Burning THR for a 55-year-old is 115 to 124

Biggest Obstacle

Boredom.  When working in this fat burning target heart rate zone, you’ll find it to be moderately intense but not overly fatigued.  Dust off the iPod because if you want to burn off the fat, avoid injuries and get ready for the beach, you’ll have to win the battle against a little boredom of the longer workouts.

Interestingly, that 70-75% of the MHR intensity for most runners is at a point where the runner can still carry on short conversations without being too winded.  In other words, at approximately 70% intensity, an average runner can say 5-10 words without catching their breath but not be so exhausted while running as to not be able to talk at all.  I’ve found this trick helpful when I don’t have my heart rate monitor on but I’m still interested in burning off that bowl of ice cream that I ate the night before.

Benefits of Working Out Within the Body Fat Burning Target HR Zone

• You WILL burn the fat & drop the weight
• You minimize the risk of injury compared to the traditional high intensity “huffing & puffing” workouts.
• Your soft tissue (muscle & tendons) adapts to such workouts and tend to be more accepting to more work at any age.

Tips For Burning the Love Handles

• Buy a heart rate monitor.  It will prove to be your MVP training partner.  It doesn’t have to be an expensive heart rate monitor with all the complicated components.  A simple heart rate monitor watch with beepers to warn you if your HR has gone too high or too low along with a timer to show your progress will do.
• Find an activity that you enjoy doing and get busy doing it within your THR zone.  It doesn’t have to be running or lifting weights.  Whatever activity you can do to get your HR into the proper zone for an extended period of time will reduce your body fat.
• Hydrate, hydrate & hydrate.  A well hydrated body burns 50% more fat than a dehydrated body.  A 50%/50% water to sports drink ratio is my rule for anyone exercising over 30 minutes.
• Cardio exercise takes time.  The longer you exercise, within reason, the better.  45 minutes is better than 30 and 60 minutes is better than 45.  You get the drift.
• Get excited about your fitness and reward yourself for both your effort and your results.  Having an upbeat and optimistic attitude will significantly enhance your results compared to the “I have to do this exercise and I’m not looking forward to it” mindset.  You have so many wonderful things to do in your life and reducing your body fat and controlling your pain WILL improve the quality of your life!
• What you eat vs what you burn: It’s Simple Math. Decrease your fat consumption, avoid eating after 8 PM, create a habit of going for a walk after every meal, avoid all cream sauces on your foods, increase the amounts of fruits and veggies that you eat and master the art of ”listening” to your body.  Your body is much smarter than we give it credit for.  Listening to your body will help you do what is needed to let your body do it’s job.  It sounds crazy but those that “get it” reap the rewards of a strong and healthy body.

It’s time for YOU to make the changes that gives YOU the body you deserve.

by Paul Phillips – MudRunManiac.com

             900

As of today, 900 is the total number of burpees I have left to complete the 5K Burpee Challenge for March. This challenge has proved very difficult for me. Despite tweaking my approach each day and growing very efficient at the burpee exercise, my biggest hurdle has been setting aside the time to do them. In reality, I can do a couple hundred burpees in 25-minutes or less now. But, I’ve skipped a few days here and there that really dented my progress.

To compound matters, I slipped and fell on my ass this past Sunday. Actually, I landed on my hand and banged my knee pretty hard. The knee still works, but my right wrist is still a bit sore. I managed to eek out 300 burpees last night, but with the ABF 10K Mud Run this Saturday, I don’t have a lot of room for another slip-up (pun intended)!

Close But No Cigar

One thing I just won’t do is quit. I’m so close to completing the Challenge that, naturally, falling short would be a disappointment. But, whether or not I complete 5,000 burpees by March 31, the Challenge has been a great success. You see, I’ve learned to recognize that there is no shame in failing. In fact, failing at something is one of the most important things we can do to ultimately succeed…

Why Failure Rocks

Many people are good at what they do. But most people didn’t get good by being good all the time; instead, they likely failed several times along the way. You see, failure means that you tried something out-of-the-ordinary, outside your skill-set, or away from your comfort zone. If you failed at something, it means you tried something amazing and fell short. But that rocks!

In weight-lifting, “going to failure” means you perform as many repetitions of a given exercise with a given weight until you just can’t do anymore. In these terms, failure is a benchmark for putting forth an enormous amount of effort and skill in order to test your limits. Once you fail, you then have the opportunity to evaluate your journey, learn from your mistakes, and see how you can adapt or improve so that you can be even more epic the next time around. If you’re not failing, you’re likely not traveling too far out of your comfort zone. That’s when things get stale.

It’s easy to “succeed” when you don’t challenge yourself. Given enough “success,” you might find that you are no longer moving forward, evolving, nor growing. Have you peaked or have you just started to deteriorate?

Do Epic Work!

Hybrid Athlete Joe Vennare likes to use two simple words to motivate: “Do work!” I’d like to add a third: “Do EPIC work!” Do epic work and you are bound to fail. Fail so that you can learn, grow, and reach new limits. If at first you DO succeed, try to FAIL again.

Mike Ryan, Mud Run Winner

This past weekend’s big local mud run is the talk of the town.  With thousands of participants and so many wonderful stories involving the event, the MS MuckRuckus was a huge success.

I was fortunate enough to win this year’s Competitive Male race.  I’d finished in 2nd place the last two years, so the 3rd time surely was “the charm.” Watching the backside of the guy in front of me finish the victor the last two years was a real bummer.  I have to admit: the final 100 yards as the winner sure was a rush.

Be it my age (49) or my busy schedule (2 children under 4, married, work in the NFL & having a life), everyone seems to ask the same question: “How did YOU win the race?”  Amused and entertained by the inquiries, I decided to break my silence and have some fun with the topic….

Secret Tips to Win a Mud Run

1.  Fake It Til You Make It – As I squeezed my way to the front of the lead pack of Alpha Dogs in the starting corral before the race, I quickly noticed two things.  All the guys were 1/2 my age and none (0) of them were wearing shirts.  Sporting my new sleeveless Under Armour running shirt with my massive biceps glistening in the sun, I asked confidently: “Hey man, is it legal to be wearing a shirt?!”  A couple of guys thought I was serious and tried to reassure me that I would not be kicked out of the race.  We all laughed, I firmly shook hands, looked them in the eyes wishing each of them a “safe race – but not a fast race”.  I was confident and they knew it.

2.  Professional Humiliation – Two days before the race I was meeting with one of my bosses with the Jacksonville Jaguars.  When asked about the race and how I would do, I gave my standard “I feel great and I’ll give it everything I have”. I explained that I had finished in 2nd place the last two-year.  I was told firmly: “You better take it up a notch, Ryan!”

When Gabe Andrews and I were battling it out in the woods and mud, I was fading.  As the strong 23-year-old was putting a serious hurting on me by pushing the pace hard, I could hear the message loud and clear: “You better take it up a notch, Ryan!”  When faced with the risk of professional humiliation by someone farther up the professional food chain, suddenly the pain in my legs and lungs seems much less concerning!

3.  Humor & Humble the Competition – About 4 miles into the race, Young Gabe and I came upon “The Scooch”.  Appropriately named, the 12″ diameter plastic pipes had to be mounted like a horse saddle and we scooched along the 30 foot piping in a funky kind of manner.  After jumping off the first piping and feeling kind of violated, we had to straddle the next set of taint-haters.  Trying to fake that I wasn’t tired, I joked with Gabe “the ladies will like this one much more than we will”.  He laughed and suddenly slowed down.  I took advantage by quickly jumping off the end of the cruel toy and put in a hard sprint of about 80% effort.  I opened a 30 yard lead before the next obstacle.  Gabe never regained the lead.

4.  Bring Your Heart – Ten years ago this June, my best friend Rod Chaplin passed away training for the Long-Course Triathlon World Championships to be held in Nice, France.  Born and raised in South Africa, he was one of the nicest AND toughest human beings I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.  Since his death, I alway race with his small South Africa flag which his widow gave to me to carry on his passion for fellowship through fitness.  Whenever the tendency to feel sorry for myself starts to whisper in my ear during a race, I slap his flag, I think of Rod and I remind myself how lucky I am be exactly where I am right now!

5.  Be Comfortable Doing What Others Don’t Like to Do - No one likes to crawl in mud, dunk under dark brown dirty water or get mud pushed up your nose.  That’s why I love doing it.  A great mudder once told me that he attacks the obstacles.  He doesn’t just ease into or out of the obstacles, he attacks them.  That’s the approach I use and it saves me precious time.  If I trim off an extra 2 seconds in every obstacle by being excited to dive into the mud hole or race up the cargo net, I’m putting myself minutes ahead of the timid dude trying to keep his face clean.

BONUS TIP:  If all else fails…..simply run, crawl, run, climb, run, roll and run faster than everyone else!  How hard can that be?

The Many Wins to Follow

Like I told my friend last night at dinner, I’m not sure if I’ll ever win another big race again.  I’m grateful to be able to be involved in wonderful events like the MS MuckRuckus.  Being active and healthy is a gift that I give thanks for each and every day.  With MikeRyanFitness.com and my exciting profession as an Athletic Trainer and Physical Therapist in the NFL, I want to give others the opportunity to decrease their pain, enhance their health and improve their lives.  When that happens, each one of those individuals becomes a better wife, a better friend, a happier brother, a more loving mother, a more productive co-worker, etc.  In other words, everyone wins when the health of others is enhanced.

Those are the type of wins that I’m looking for!  

Will you help me share my dream with others? Please share with your Facebook friends, Tweet or Google+ so everyone can benefit from good health.

Yesterday at work, one of my co-workers told me that he was thinking about not racing in the race and “waiting until next year.”  ”Don’t even think about it” I said firmly.  Explaining how much fun it is, the fellowship associated with the event and the ability to raise $$ for a crippling disease was much more important than a few nervous butterflies.  He’s in.

This will be my 4th time I’ve competed in this event.  The first year I raced on a 5 man team with 4 local firefighter friends.  I was hooked 2 miles into the race.  I love running off-road and I’m a huge fan of total body challenges that include mental toughness to do well.  Hence the reason why compete in multi-sport events and why I don’t work in a cubicle in a high-rise office building downtown.

The Fun in the Mud

The sport of mud running is one of the fastest growing sports in the world.  Everyone talks about the popularity growth of mixed martial arts (MMA).  Mudders will tell you that they are very different sports for obvious reasons.  MMA is a sport that people watch dudes getting kicked in the head where mud running gets you off the couch and into the sport.  We have no shortage of reasons to keep people sitting on their butts.  We need more activities to get all of us off the couch and back into enhancing our health.

I’ve finished in 2nd place the last two years in the MS Society mud run’s individual race.  Each race has been very challenging, lots of fun and extremely competitive.  All three reasons are why I keep coming back.

Tips to Get the Most Out of the Mud

If you’re new to the sport and you’re nervous, it simply means that you’re human.  Here are a few tips to help make this race less stressful and more fun.  As the  Sports Medicine Advisor to the National MS Society, I enjoy sharing sports medicine tips to help the racers to stay safe and avoid running injuries.

Sports Medicine Tips for the MuckRuckus MS

 Last Tip

Have fun.  Having a healthy mindset is the best place to start for these type of races.  Enjoy the challenge, laugh with your fellow racers, thank the volunteers, acknowledge the fans cheering for you and be proud of what you’re accomplishing.  You’re stepping out of your comfort zone to make your body stronger, your mind dream bigger and the quality of life for those stricken with MS so much better!  I’m proud of you and you should be proud of yourself.

Let’s get dirty!!

We all know who “they” are.  They go by many names…..the ache, the twinge, the grab, the tightness, the cramp, the stitch or, my least favorite, the stab that feels like someone just shot you with a gun!  Call them what you want but their real name is “Pain“.

This morning the Pain Brothers made their arrival with a sudden tightness in my low back which quickly shortened up my stride.  A half mile later I felt a tweak in my right arch followed 1 mile later by a grabbing sensation in my left calf.  My mind quickly went to work thinking, “I need to get this running pain under control fast.”

When I mentioned my pains to Rushton at about 8 miles into the run, recognizing my sports medicine background, she challenged me with one stern question: “What are YOU going to do about it?”

Keeping little Pains From Being BIG Injuries

Here’s exactly what I did to combat my 3 running injuries to keep them from forcing me to walk home and/or to miss my big race next weekend:

During the Run

1. I slowed my pace while slightly shortening my stride to balance the sound and feel of my foot strike on both sides.  I noticed that I was striding too short with my right leg and too long on my left.  ”Balance my body” was my message to myself.
2. Every 3 minutes I did 3 Carriocca drills on each side while keeping my knees low to emphasize trunk rotation and loosen my hips and lateral thighs.  I do this during all my long runs and races as well.
3. I switched to the other side of the road to change the road angle to relaxed my legs.
4. I trusted my body’s ability to “work these problems out” instead of easily taking on the very disruptive “Damn, this is just my luck that I’m injured again!” mindset.

After the Run

1. I drank 15 oz of a water & Gatorade mixture to hydrate my inflamed tissues.   (1 minute)
2. I elevated my legs against the wall while pumping my ankles, wiggling my toes and setting my quads to emphasize the drainage of leg waste products produced during my run.   (4 minute)
3. I aggressively rolled out my quads, IT bands, hamstrings and calves.   (4 minute)
4. I performed Active Release Techniques on my right plantar fasciitis and left calf strain.   (3 minute)
5. I quickly stretched my hip flexors, quads, hamstrings, calves and toe flexors under the enthusiastic supervision of Marshall, my Flexibility Advisor.   (4 minute) 
   

   Marshall, Flexibility Advisor

6. I took 600 mg of Advil.  (30 seconds)
7. Finally, with my legs feeling more relaxed, my muscles more pliable and my mind at ease with my running injuries, I iced my calves and thighs with my 110% Play Harder cold compression sleeves.   (30 seconds)

Is It Worth 1.2% of My Day?

Do the math.  It took me a grand total of 17 minutes to complete all of my post-workout rehab to reduce my running pain by 80%!  That’s about 1.2% of my day.  The old “I just don’t have the time to take care of my injuries” is not part of my vocabulary.  I suggest that you adopt the same rule.

I have my big mud run race next weekend and I can’t afford to disrupt my training or to have running pain interfere with my busy schedule.

Take Home Points

• Taking care of a running injury quickly and properly is the key for the mature athlete if you want to stay in the game.
• You can never find time to take care of injuries.  Instead, make the time and it doesn’t have to take long.
• The first step to getting healthier below the neck is to get your mind healthy above the neck. Visualize yourself being healthy & happy then do what is necessary to make it a reality!

John Kelly and HowStuffWorks.com did a nice job of presenting the negative impact of overtraining syndrome for runners.

From adventure.howstuffworks.com

Many runners don’t realize that resting is just as important as working out when it comes to improving running performance. Running and other training put stress on your muscles and tear them down. Rest rebuilds them stronger. Hard workouts without enough recovery time can put you in danger of overtraining.

A condition generally referred to as Overtraining syndrome (OTS) occurs when prolonged, hard training produces negative physical and psychological effects. The effects include frequent overuse injuries, slower times and a sense that running has become all work and no fun.

You can experience OTS even if your individual workouts aren’t excessively long or hard. It’s the lack of recovery that’s the problem — there is no specific level of training that will result in the ailment. If you are getting enough rest and recovery time, hard training does not mean overtraining. OTS does not develop from a single workout or a few days of heavy work. Instead, it’s a cumulative imbalance in your training over weeks and months.

Overtraining in running can affect both beginners and experienced runners if they exceed their training capacity and neglect to schedule enough recovery time. The problem can be difficult to diagnose — some of the symptoms are similar to those that any runner experiences after bouts of hard training, such as soreness, fatigue and lack of enthusiasm for the next workout.

It’s important to remember that overtraining is an individual problem. Two runners can follow the same training schedule: One experiences the symptoms of overtraining, the other does not. Each runner’s overall fitness is a factor. So are additional life stresses — you are more likely to experience OTS if you are having a tense time at work or difficulties in a relationship. The same level of exertion that was fine for you a few months ago may be overtraining now. You may not be able to maintain the level of training today that you could when you were younger.

Author Source:http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/outdoor-activities/running/health/avoid-overtraining-in-running.htm

Fruits and Vegetables

How many times did your mother tell you to eat all your vegetables at dinner growing up? You may have been reluctant, but fruits and vegetables are a great fuel for your body. Fruits are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, which are needed during endurance races like marathons and triathlons.  Bananas, apples and pears are perfect to have before a long run.

Lean Protein

We all need protein, and the leaner the better. Chicken, turkey and fish should be on the top of your grocery list. Powerbar.com recommends the following when filling up on protein:

• If your training is mostly aerobic or for endurance, consume 10–20 grams of protein as soon as possible after you finish. This protein will provide the amino acid building blocks needed to promote muscle tissue repair and building in response to your training.
• For resistance training workouts, consume 10–20 grams of protein just before and just after working out, to help with the repair and building of lean tissue.

Pack on the Fat

Ok, maybe not literally, but there are foods rich in fat that are beneficial to an athlete. Many foods high in fat are high in good fat—meaning your body needs it. These healthy foods include avocados, almonds and peanut butter.

Power to the Berries

Eating a variety of berries such as blueberries, raspberries and blackberries are very beneficial to runners. These antioxidant rich berries also include high levels of Anthocyanins, which has been linked to help muscle repair (and who wouldn’t like getting out of their knee brace?).

Water

Hydration is a very powerful tool when training. If you are a long distance runner, you are losing a lot of water during the course of your run. According to teamoregon.com, “the average adult requires about 4 1/2 pints of water per day for normal metabolism. An additional pint per half hour may be lost during exercise. When exercising heavily in warm weather, you should be consuming fluids on a regular basis throughout your workout. Monitor your weight before and after the exercise and replace the fluid weight loss as soon after exercise as possible by consuming a about a pint per pound.”

Training for an event, whether it is a tennis tournament, or an Ironman race, proper nutrition is one of pieces for a successful event. Figuring out what works best for you might take some time, but with the proper groundwork, you are up to the challenge.

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Written by Abby Evans….an avid blogger and loves writing about fitness. In her spare time she is training for half marathons and finding the perfect knee brace for running.