From Around the 'Net
1. Pacing
Yourself
You'll gain
a sense of pace at the same time you're developing the capacity to run kilometre
after kilometre in the time you need. It's actually detrimental to run the mile
repeats faster than your schedule prescribes (20 seconds faster than goal pace).
If you exceed this speed limit, even in the beginning of the speed session, it
becomes difficult for your internal pace clock to acquire the pace judgment
needed in the marathon itself. A fast start will either leave you struggling at
the end of the session or produce tired muscles which require a long recovery.
2.
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is
a common problem for women.
Osteoporosis can be
diagnosed using two basic tools: a physical exam
and bone density test. The bone density tests generally use X-rays or
ultrasound to measure the density of the bones. The bone density tests
are generally more accurate than standard X-rays for detecting bone
loss.
Treatment for
osteoporosis usually includes:
Increasing calcium
intake--1000-1500 mg recommended daily
Avoiding medications
that cause drowsiness--to reduce the chance of
falling
Quitting smoking
Increasing
weight-bearing exercise
Taking medications,
such as calcitonin and alendronate, that can
slow the bone
loss (ask about side effects).
Preventing falls by
wearing rubber sole shoes, using handrails, and
avoiding
slippery surfaces
3. Striding
“Striding is
relaxed, fast running. In other words, you move as quickly
as
you can without strain while concentrating on good form.”
-From Joan Benoit
Samuelson and Gloria Averbuch, Running for Women
4.
Glucosamine
for the Joints
Thousands of runners
who take glucosamine sulphate to help with joint and
arthritis pains received good news with the release of an Italian
study (published in the January 27 Lancet). The 3-year study of 212
patients with osteoarthritis of the knee showed that those taking
glucosamine sulfate (1500mg/day) had significantly less cartilage
deterioration
than those who received a placebo.
5. Plantar
Fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis is
the most common form of heel pain in runners,
walkers, and active individuals. It can result from over training or
contact with hard, irregular surfaces during walking, running or
exercising. It most often occurs in an individual with a rigid,
high-arched foot that tends to overpronate or roll to the inside. The
plantar fascia (a connective tissue structure) stretches from the toes
and
the ball of the foot through the arch and connects to the heel bone
in
three places. The most common sight of injury is the medial
attachment on the inside of heel, although it can occur directly
under the
heel or further forward under the arch. It usually makes its presence
known as you rise in the morning when you take the first few steps.
When
you walk around,
the pain may subside, only to return the next morning.
1. Rest. Once pain
starts and before severe inflammation develops rest and
ice that area
four to five days.
2. Support the arch
with inserts. You should bring in your shoes and try on the
inserts in order
to determine which works best for you.
3. Support the arch by
taping. This can be helpful, especially before a run or when you are going to be
on your feet for a long
period of time.
4. Purchase shoes that
stabilize the heel and help the foot resist overpronation.
5. Stretch the
hamstrings, calves, Achilles tendons, and plantar fascia before
and after exercising. Remember, when the calf muscles are tight
the motion in
the ankle can be restricted which can prevent the ankle from
bending up,
causing the foot to overpronate, creating a pull
on the plantar fascia. Several helpful exercises may be, wall stretching from
both a straight knee and bent knee position for
30 seconds each. Hamstring stretching, below the knee stretching by
placing the
toes on a wall and rotating the foot from big toe side to little
toe side for 20-30 seconds.
6. Icing the painful
area after exercising by submerging in ice water for up
to 10 minutes, or by simply placing an ice pack on the affected area can help.
Icing in the evening
with an ice bag, and/or rolling the arch of the foot over
an ice filled bottle for two 10-minute periods interrupted by 10
minutes of
warming.
7. Strengthening the
plantar fascia and supporting areas by:
1. Standing
on steps with
the heels below the toes and rising to a position where your
heels move
above your toes for several minutes several times a day.
2.
Rotating the
foot from big toe to little toe as mentioned above.
3. Picking
up or grasping a towel or other objects with the toes
on a daily basis.
Caution:
Starting these strengthening exercises
too soon after injury may only aggravate
the injury.
Most cases of plantar
fasciitis/heel spur syndromes will improve will with
conservative
self- treatment. If, despite these self-treatment
methods, your heel pain persists, seek help from your sports
medicine professional.
Orthotics prescribed by
a podiatrist versed in the biomechanics of running and
walking may allow the bones, tendons, and muscles to function more
effectively,
taking stress off of the fascia.
Chiropractic
massage and ultrasound
treatments may promote a more rapid “healing of the heel.”
6. Speed
Work
Long runs may be the
staple of a distance runner's training diet,
but it's the track where performance gains happen. Whether you're a
marathoner or a 5K runner, you'll improve strength, speed and
endurance by making speed work a part of your regular regimen. But
speed work isn't easy, and grueling speed sessions can be both
intimidating and difficult to get excited about.
Find a group to
run with.
Words of Inspiration
"No matter how old I get, the race remains one of life's most rewarding
experiences. My times become slower and slower, but the experience of
the race is unchanged: each race a drama, each race a challenge, each
race stretching me in one way or another, and each race telling me more
about myself and others."
-George Sheehan
About This Newsletter
Experts - we are not. Information presented here is a collection of research with a taste of experience and opinion added for flavour. We don't get upset if someone disagrees with anything that has been said or written. In our experience with runners, it is difficult to get agreement on most anything. If it works for you, then it works.
Neither Women in Motion nor the author of this newsletter provides professional medical advice. The information in this newsletter is intended to help you better understand running issues. It is not intended to replace the advice of a physician. If you read something in the newsletter that contradicts what your physician tells you in any way, always follow your physician's advice.
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Gordon Samson, Editor
Women in Motion
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Gordon and Fariyal Samson
Women in Motion
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"Practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect."
-Fariyal Samson,
B.PE, B.Ed
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