Anyone else on the zone into the sports?
Ever ran a marathon? half-a-marathon? Do you plan on doing so? I do.
Personally I go running (call it jogging if you will) three times a week (and I only began at the end of May), despite sometimes having quite nasty shin splints. It's the endorphin addiction forcing me to run... The longest distance I've ran is 15.9km, but at a mere "sluggish" 6min/km speed.
I'd like to hear experiences on how to avoid shin splints and other hyper-pronation related problems. I guess the first thing would be to buy a really good pair of proper running shoes? Second would be to fix any faults in running technique?
Now zoners don't let me down, I'd hate to assume you're all a bunch of no-good couch potatoes ;-)
Shin splints are caused by several different things.
Running on your toes (the ball of the foot), poor quality or worn running shoes, trying to run too far too soon on a hard surface and poor stretching exercises.
The remedies are obvious - make sure the whole foot takes the strain, buy new shoes as often as permits, make sure your training schedule is sensible and find out the correct muscle stretching exercises for your legs and feet.
I found the best cure for "shin splints", or medial tibial stress syndrome.
Don't run.
Short of that, the posterior muscles should be gently stretched. I recommend gentle stretching of the calf muscles and the hamstrings.
Shoes with too many miles on them should be replaced. Shock absorption should be a factor in selecting shoes in the individual with anterior shin splints.
Downhill running can aggravate this problem and should be avoided. Too long a stride can also delay healing. Most of all, DO NOT RUN ON CONCRETE!
After exercise icing can be done to lessen symptoms.
lots of cures (most of which i wish i'd known about before mine became 'part of my life') - i got mine from playing footie regularly on one particularly 'spongy' astroturf pitch ( i know - i'm 43 and should've given up years ago - it's the competitive thing)
1. rest - loads of it...if you get splints you need to rest them - from exercise for two weeks at least
2. make sure the shoes you wear suit the surface you're on - ie astros on turf, runners on hard ground, cushioned indoors
3. ice/heat you have to treat the soreness with 'opposites' - ie 15mins of ice packs, followed by 15mins heat wraps - daily
4. don't overstretch - the worst part of the splint injury is the 'fraying' of the muscle at the ending - overstretching places a bigger burden on already torn fibres
5. get your feet up - higher than your hips - get them up on the end of your sofa - and leave em there...an evening at a time - watching tv won't hurt...it improves the circulation to the fibres in the oppostite direction and helps the healing
6. finally - if all else fails - go to a Scholl shop and get measured for shoe inserts - this will help to fix the problem during daily- ie working life - walking about time in work shoes....
hope some of this helps
I have warming up and stretching taken care of, although I can tell if I've overstretched because the muscle will feel jammed/cramped. I stretch before and after and also lighter stretching even on the days that I don't run.
I have tried not running on any up or downhill terrain, but that doesn't seem to have any signifant effect on how often I get shin splints or pain in my heel. I ran only on flat surfaces for a while and the frequency of the same problems remained similar.
And I actually get pains much less often if I only run on asphalt surfaces, which others claim to cause problems for them. Whilst on the flat soft-gravel typed running paths I tend to find running much more difficult in terms of rhytm and the softer terrains really do seem to increase pain in the heel region (hyper-pronation? lack of support from shoe?)
I'll go and ask the local sports-equip retailers (and their shoe specialists) what they think of the situation. Naturally they'll try and sell me the most expensive pair of Asics or other name-brand. And this time I'll probably listen to them... Shame they don't let me try out the pairs in 3x/week training (before purchasing)
Maybe it would be an idea to have a chat with your doctor to see if there is an underlying problem that may need treatment and also he could recommend exercises to strengthen the specific muscle groups.
Not that I am any kind of expert, I was a sprinter in my day. I used to struggle doing the mandatory 3 mile cross country course that my school insisted everyone had to do at least twice a year - the bastards. At least when I did the hurdles or the 100m I could run, rip my hamstring, have my thigh bandaged and have a 6 week rest LOL.
deleted user 07.09.2005 03:18
Yeah I jog like 20 Km a week.
serious, gotta do something on sport
I play football, love to make some kilometres at my (race) bicycle... And over the summer months I run a lot. Never did a marathon or a half one. But I did 10 km (6,21 miles) runs several times. One time I was pretty fast. Did it once in 40 minutes and 20 seconds.
The shoes are very important to avoid injuries. I can't tell you much about techniques. I just try to get into a sort of deep concentration, and try to control my breath. It's all about a good cadence.
Another important thing is to have a good training schedule... Start with only 20 minutes and try to build it up slowly.
I got awful charlie horses that would wake me up from a dead sleep while I was pregnant with Anthony. Eating a banana before I went to bed helped. Something about the potassium in the banana is what helped me. My doctor suggested it. Maybe eat a banana 30 minutes before running pete?
:)
Lisser wrote: I got awful charlie horses that would wake me up from a dead sleep while I was pregnant with Anthony. Eating a banana before I went to bed helped. Something about the potassium in the banana is what helped me. My doctor suggested it. Maybe eat a banana 30 minutes before running pete?
:)
Errr, actually I try not to eat around 3 hours before the actual running to allow proper digestion to happen. Also taking a crap before running is never a bad idea. Taking a crap in general is NEVER ever a bad idea. Infact it feels great and shitting should have its own topic on the zone. This one's about running...