Saturday, May 10, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Running in bad weather.
I have delayed my running quest because of the recent bad weather. I will begin here shortly
Sunday, January 20, 2008
The 5 Most Common Running Injuries
The 5 Most Common Running Injuries
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Blaine_Moore]Blaine Moore
At some point in your running career, you are going to get injured. It is inevitable. These are the top 5 running injuries that you will hopefully manage to avoid:
Stress Fractures
Tendonitis
Plantar Fascitis
Runner's Knee
Shin Splints
Stress Fractures
Stress fractures are cracks in the outer layer of a bone from repetitive stress. It is most often caused through over training by increasing mileage at too rapid a rate. Stress fractures can be exacerbated by excessive pronation or supination, which is usually caused by wearing inappropriate shoes.
Stress fractures will usually hurt in a very localized place and will begin as a dull ache that can easily be misinterpreted as a sore muscle. Rest is the best way to cure a stress fracture, although you may want to consider taking supplements with calcium and cutting back on diet soft drinks. They can inhibit your body from absorbing calcium.
Tendonitis
Tendonitis is excessive inflammation in your tendons. It begins with a dull aching after you finish running, which gets worse if left untreated. The tendon will begin to ache first thing in the morning after getting out of bed, and then while you are in the act of running. The dull aching will become more acute, until you always feel at least the original dull pain even when you are not working out.
Tendonitis is usually caused by running too far and too fast when your muscles are not flexible enough to support such a workout. The problem can be exacerbated by shoes that have worn out and cause excessive pronation.
The most common form of tendonitis for runners is achilles tendonitis. The achilles tendon connects your heel to your calf, and will usually ache along the back of your leg just above your ankle.
Plantar Fascitis
Plantar fascitis is an inflammation of the plantar fascia, or the bottom of your foot. This tendon is very hard, like a ligament, and connects the heel of your foot to the ball of your foot.
Every stride that you take, whether walking or running, involves the stretching out of this tendon to absorb the impact of hitting the ground. Tight calf muscles can increase the stress on the tendon and cause increased micro trauma that can lead to inflammation.
The first symptom of plantar fascitis is the feeling of a bruise on the bottom of your foot. Left untreated, it can become painful any time that you are walking or running, and can also bother you if you stand for a long period of time. It will often hurt a lot first thing in the morning when you try to get out of bed.
Runner's Knee
Runner's knee refers to any pain in the knee cap and is usually the direct cause of over training and poor biomechanics. The two most common forms of runner's knee are patellar tendonitis and chondromalacia patella.
Patellar tendonitis is when the pain is localized to the tendon in your knee cap. Chondromalacia patallea means that scarring has occurred because the knee cap does not sit properly in its femoral groove, and the underside has worn down and become rough and deteriorated.
This can be caused by a lack of flexibility in any or all of the quadriceps, hamstrings, or calves. Most often, however, it is caused by a problem with the foot or ankle, usually due to excessively worn shoes and over training. The problem can be exacerbated by excessive hill work.
Shin Splints
Shin splints are any pain in the shins and is usually tibial stress syndrome. There are two types of shin splits, anterior and posterior.
Anterior shin splints are really an inflammation of the tendons that attach the front of the shin bone to the outside. It begins as a dull ache on the outside of your shin bone as you run and can get worse until it is painful to walk.
Posterior shin splints are an inflammation of the tendons that attach to the inner side of the shin bone and causes pain in the inner surface of your shin bone extending down to the arches in your feet.
Shin splints can often mask an underlying stress fracture, especially when there is acute pain and swelling. Unless it is really a stress fracture, shin splints are rarely caused by too much mileage. They can be caused by too much hill work or speed work before you are ready for it.
You can read more about the 3 common causes of these 5 injuries and how to prevent them by visiting http://www.runtowin.com/tips/common-running-injuries.html
Blaine Moore has been running since the early nineties, and regularly competes in distances between the 5k and the 50k. To sign up for Blaine's Running Tips Newsletter, visit http://www.RunToWin.com or http://www.Marathoning.org
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Blaine_Moore http://EzineArticles.com/?The-5-Most-Common-Running-Injuries&id=899440
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Blaine_Moore]Blaine Moore
At some point in your running career, you are going to get injured. It is inevitable. These are the top 5 running injuries that you will hopefully manage to avoid:
Stress Fractures
Tendonitis
Plantar Fascitis
Runner's Knee
Shin Splints
Stress Fractures
Stress fractures are cracks in the outer layer of a bone from repetitive stress. It is most often caused through over training by increasing mileage at too rapid a rate. Stress fractures can be exacerbated by excessive pronation or supination, which is usually caused by wearing inappropriate shoes.
Stress fractures will usually hurt in a very localized place and will begin as a dull ache that can easily be misinterpreted as a sore muscle. Rest is the best way to cure a stress fracture, although you may want to consider taking supplements with calcium and cutting back on diet soft drinks. They can inhibit your body from absorbing calcium.
Tendonitis
Tendonitis is excessive inflammation in your tendons. It begins with a dull aching after you finish running, which gets worse if left untreated. The tendon will begin to ache first thing in the morning after getting out of bed, and then while you are in the act of running. The dull aching will become more acute, until you always feel at least the original dull pain even when you are not working out.
Tendonitis is usually caused by running too far and too fast when your muscles are not flexible enough to support such a workout. The problem can be exacerbated by shoes that have worn out and cause excessive pronation.
The most common form of tendonitis for runners is achilles tendonitis. The achilles tendon connects your heel to your calf, and will usually ache along the back of your leg just above your ankle.
Plantar Fascitis
Plantar fascitis is an inflammation of the plantar fascia, or the bottom of your foot. This tendon is very hard, like a ligament, and connects the heel of your foot to the ball of your foot.
Every stride that you take, whether walking or running, involves the stretching out of this tendon to absorb the impact of hitting the ground. Tight calf muscles can increase the stress on the tendon and cause increased micro trauma that can lead to inflammation.
The first symptom of plantar fascitis is the feeling of a bruise on the bottom of your foot. Left untreated, it can become painful any time that you are walking or running, and can also bother you if you stand for a long period of time. It will often hurt a lot first thing in the morning when you try to get out of bed.
Runner's Knee
Runner's knee refers to any pain in the knee cap and is usually the direct cause of over training and poor biomechanics. The two most common forms of runner's knee are patellar tendonitis and chondromalacia patella.
Patellar tendonitis is when the pain is localized to the tendon in your knee cap. Chondromalacia patallea means that scarring has occurred because the knee cap does not sit properly in its femoral groove, and the underside has worn down and become rough and deteriorated.
This can be caused by a lack of flexibility in any or all of the quadriceps, hamstrings, or calves. Most often, however, it is caused by a problem with the foot or ankle, usually due to excessively worn shoes and over training. The problem can be exacerbated by excessive hill work.
Shin Splints
Shin splints are any pain in the shins and is usually tibial stress syndrome. There are two types of shin splits, anterior and posterior.
Anterior shin splints are really an inflammation of the tendons that attach the front of the shin bone to the outside. It begins as a dull ache on the outside of your shin bone as you run and can get worse until it is painful to walk.
Posterior shin splints are an inflammation of the tendons that attach to the inner side of the shin bone and causes pain in the inner surface of your shin bone extending down to the arches in your feet.
Shin splints can often mask an underlying stress fracture, especially when there is acute pain and swelling. Unless it is really a stress fracture, shin splints are rarely caused by too much mileage. They can be caused by too much hill work or speed work before you are ready for it.
You can read more about the 3 common causes of these 5 injuries and how to prevent them by visiting http://www.runtowin.com/tips/common-running-injuries.html
Blaine Moore has been running since the early nineties, and regularly competes in distances between the 5k and the 50k. To sign up for Blaine's Running Tips Newsletter, visit http://www.RunToWin.com or http://www.Marathoning.org
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Blaine_Moore http://EzineArticles.com/?The-5-Most-Common-Running-Injuries&id=899440
Saturday, January 19, 2008
My Goal
Here is a little bit of background about myself. I was in pretty good shape until I hit about 21. When I got out of high school, I weighed 148 pounds, I had only 2 percent body fat, and I was benching around 300 pounds.
Now here I am 30 years old 220 pounds, and more sluggish than I used to be. I have been pretty inconsistent with my running in the past. I have ran several 10 k's, and 2 half marathons, but I just can't shake the weight. Here I am setting my goals on a brand new blog that I am dedicating to running and health.
My goal is to lose 50 pounds in 6 months starting today, jan 20, 2008. On july 20th, I plan on weighing 170 pounds. I will track my progress on this blog. I will go on a high protein diet. My breakfast and lunch will consist of tuna and vitamins. My dinner won't be specified, but will usually consist of whole grains, protein, and some sort of veggie. I am going to allow an occasional cheat, I think that is is more about a lifestyle change than a diet.
I will have to experiment with my exercising a little, before I come up with a definite plan. I do know that running will be a major part. I need to get used to running only 2 or 3 miles at a time, instead of 5 or 6, in order to try to keep from burning myself out. I am committing to this blog, I will use it as a log on what I eat, and what I have done.
Now here I am 30 years old 220 pounds, and more sluggish than I used to be. I have been pretty inconsistent with my running in the past. I have ran several 10 k's, and 2 half marathons, but I just can't shake the weight. Here I am setting my goals on a brand new blog that I am dedicating to running and health.
My goal is to lose 50 pounds in 6 months starting today, jan 20, 2008. On july 20th, I plan on weighing 170 pounds. I will track my progress on this blog. I will go on a high protein diet. My breakfast and lunch will consist of tuna and vitamins. My dinner won't be specified, but will usually consist of whole grains, protein, and some sort of veggie. I am going to allow an occasional cheat, I think that is is more about a lifestyle change than a diet.
I will have to experiment with my exercising a little, before I come up with a definite plan. I do know that running will be a major part. I need to get used to running only 2 or 3 miles at a time, instead of 5 or 6, in order to try to keep from burning myself out. I am committing to this blog, I will use it as a log on what I eat, and what I have done.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)