Friday, January 30, 2009
You can't post about doing "nothing"!
Since I developed my little Runners Knee problem I have not been running. I have been limiting myself to just strength training; including my legs, since that seems to be part of the problem. My knees feel fine and I feel like I need to start the running again, however, I’m not going to! I think that for the next week I will alternate between the stationary bike and the elliptical machine. If I don’t have any problems with that then I will hit the streets again. My first encounter with the bike will be in the morning, so I will know by Monday if it was the right move.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Packaging is everything!
Some products should not be allowed, under any circumstances, to be packaged in similar containers. In my case, I can’t tell you the number of times I have reached into my shaving kit to apply deodorant only to realize that I was putting Body Glide under my arms. On the up side, I highly recommend Body Glide because I did notice my arms were swinging a little faster on those days. The other two products I have issues with are Tiger Balm pain relieving ointment and Carmex lip balm. Why would you put these in the same size container? Let’s just say; Carmex does absolutely nothing for sore leg muscles and Tiger Balm really irritates chapped lips.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Woes of the Pigeon Toed Runner
In the past, when I tried to get back into running, I had problems with my knees. I could run on a regular schedule for a couple of weeks with no issues, and then I would experience excruciating pain in my knees. Mostly right under my knee caps and it was so bad that I couldn't even walk, not to mention run, without pain. So this time I decided I was going to run with a purpose; not to get hurt. I got off on the right foot and set an easy schedule with lots of stretching and a 3 day a week walk/run that built into more of a run/walk over time with the end goal of being able to just “run”. I even changed my foot strike to try to put less pressure and shock on my body. I also set up a weight training program for the off days. On paper it looked good; don’t over extend myself, stick to the plan, be running like an old pro in no time! Right?
Wrong! It’s been 4 days since my last run and my knees are KILLING me. I tried to run 3 miles on Thursday and only made it a little over 2 miles and most of that was walking. So I came home and tapped into my best fitness resource, the Internet, to find out what was happening. I believe I have Runners Knee caused by three things.
1) I’m a knucklehead, because of 2 and 3.
2) I didn’t stick to my plan. I was feeling good and ran farther than I should have too soon in my program.
3) My plan was flawed! I was doing some weight training, but nothing for my legs. My thought was my legs were getting more of a workout than the rest of my body, so why punish them even more?
Runners Knee is a pain around and behind the kneecap. It is a common injury for new runners and even after taking a few days off it seems to come right back with a vengeance. And, as is the case with most sports injuries, the pain in my knees is just a symptom of other problems I am having. Runners Knee is not the Knees fault! It is usually caused by issues with the feet and thighs.
Your knee moves up and down in a groove in your thigh bone and you start to experience problems when your kneecap moves out of that groove or rubs along the side of the groove. So how did my knee get off track? The most likely cause; weak thigh muscles and a lack of foot support. It's your thigh muscles that hold your kneecap in place. Running develops the back thigh muscles (hamstrings) more than those in the front (the quadriceps), and the imbalance is sometimes enough to allow the kneecap to pull and twist to the side.
Your foot provides stability and it's likely that my feet are making a wrong movement every time they hit the ground. Given my past, it’s really likely, because when I was a kid I was pigeon toed. I don’t mean my toes turned in a little, I’m talking about being able to turn my feet inward so much that my toes were actually pointing behind me! When I walked the ends of my feet and toes actually passed over one another. I had a grade school friend that had the same problem and he had to have surgery to correct it. That surgery happened over two summers (one for each leg) and involved cutting his leg open, sawing the bones in half, twisting them until his feet were straight, and screwing the bone back together. I was told that I would probably have to have this same surgery if my legs didn’t straighten out. The last thing an 8 year old wants to hear is that he will be down for 2 whole summers, so I made a conscious effort to start forcing my feet to be straight while walking. It worked (kind of), because I was able to teach myself to walk toes forward and best of all, avoid summer ending surgery. The down side is that when I walk I pick my foot up, swing my legs out and then forward instead of just a forward motion (go to my January, 2nd post and watch the end of the video where me and my sister are walking up the street).
My Remedy:
First; to start including my legs in the weight training, lay off the running for another week (although, once my knees quit hurting I will start walking again), and follow my schedule even if I do feel like a super star.
Second; I am due for a new pair of shoes so this time instead of going to the Super-Mega-Every-Sport-Under-The-Sun-Store, I will purchase them from a “Running” store with a knowledgeable staff that can put me in the shoes I need, not just the ones they are pushing this month.
Wish Me Luck!
Wrong! It’s been 4 days since my last run and my knees are KILLING me. I tried to run 3 miles on Thursday and only made it a little over 2 miles and most of that was walking. So I came home and tapped into my best fitness resource, the Internet, to find out what was happening. I believe I have Runners Knee caused by three things.
1) I’m a knucklehead, because of 2 and 3.
2) I didn’t stick to my plan. I was feeling good and ran farther than I should have too soon in my program.
3) My plan was flawed! I was doing some weight training, but nothing for my legs. My thought was my legs were getting more of a workout than the rest of my body, so why punish them even more?
Runners Knee is a pain around and behind the kneecap. It is a common injury for new runners and even after taking a few days off it seems to come right back with a vengeance. And, as is the case with most sports injuries, the pain in my knees is just a symptom of other problems I am having. Runners Knee is not the Knees fault! It is usually caused by issues with the feet and thighs.
Your knee moves up and down in a groove in your thigh bone and you start to experience problems when your kneecap moves out of that groove or rubs along the side of the groove. So how did my knee get off track? The most likely cause; weak thigh muscles and a lack of foot support. It's your thigh muscles that hold your kneecap in place. Running develops the back thigh muscles (hamstrings) more than those in the front (the quadriceps), and the imbalance is sometimes enough to allow the kneecap to pull and twist to the side.
Your foot provides stability and it's likely that my feet are making a wrong movement every time they hit the ground. Given my past, it’s really likely, because when I was a kid I was pigeon toed. I don’t mean my toes turned in a little, I’m talking about being able to turn my feet inward so much that my toes were actually pointing behind me! When I walked the ends of my feet and toes actually passed over one another. I had a grade school friend that had the same problem and he had to have surgery to correct it. That surgery happened over two summers (one for each leg) and involved cutting his leg open, sawing the bones in half, twisting them until his feet were straight, and screwing the bone back together. I was told that I would probably have to have this same surgery if my legs didn’t straighten out. The last thing an 8 year old wants to hear is that he will be down for 2 whole summers, so I made a conscious effort to start forcing my feet to be straight while walking. It worked (kind of), because I was able to teach myself to walk toes forward and best of all, avoid summer ending surgery. The down side is that when I walk I pick my foot up, swing my legs out and then forward instead of just a forward motion (go to my January, 2nd post and watch the end of the video where me and my sister are walking up the street).
My Remedy:
First; to start including my legs in the weight training, lay off the running for another week (although, once my knees quit hurting I will start walking again), and follow my schedule even if I do feel like a super star.
Second; I am due for a new pair of shoes so this time instead of going to the Super-Mega-Every-Sport-Under-The-Sun-Store, I will purchase them from a “Running” store with a knowledgeable staff that can put me in the shoes I need, not just the ones they are pushing this month.
Wish Me Luck!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Thump thump..Thump thump......BPM
In my quest to get in some kind of shape (other than pear), I have been worried about my heart rate. It has been going up to 188 bpm. It seems kind of high for my age but I don’t feel like I’m straining myself and not having any problems. So, do I have anything to worry about? Here is what I found online.
There were three different formulas for calculating Max Heart Rate that seemed to be reoccurring from site to site; the first was the one that appeared on the most sites. 220 – Age = MHR. For me that would be 180. The second most commonly found formula was 226 – Age = MHR, mine would be 186. The last one came from a popular running web site and is the only one that had separate formulas for male and female. According to this site a male should calculate his using 214 – (.8 x Age) = MHR and a female should use 209 – (.7 x Age) = MHR. Using this formula my max should be 182. Not that big of a difference in the three, and my actual heart rate of 188 is not that much higher than any of them. I was surprised that not one formula I found factored in weight. That would just seem natural since weight has so much to do with a healthy heart. But what do I know?
If anybody has any other information on Heart Rate, I would like to hear it.
There were three different formulas for calculating Max Heart Rate that seemed to be reoccurring from site to site; the first was the one that appeared on the most sites. 220 – Age = MHR. For me that would be 180. The second most commonly found formula was 226 – Age = MHR, mine would be 186. The last one came from a popular running web site and is the only one that had separate formulas for male and female. According to this site a male should calculate his using 214 – (.8 x Age) = MHR and a female should use 209 – (.7 x Age) = MHR. Using this formula my max should be 182. Not that big of a difference in the three, and my actual heart rate of 188 is not that much higher than any of them. I was surprised that not one formula I found factored in weight. That would just seem natural since weight has so much to do with a healthy heart. But what do I know?
If anybody has any other information on Heart Rate, I would like to hear it.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Am I dead yet?
Congratulations to all those that ran the Disney Marathon this weekend. Me and the kiddos were watching your time on line. One day maybe I'll be able to make it 26.2, but right now I'm struggling with my 5k time. I will get there though.
Tonight was the first time I ran, that I wasn't sucking wind like a clogged up carburetor by the 1 mile point. I say again; Kids never smoke......Ever! Being able to breath sounds like it is a good thing, but there is a down side; In the past my lungs would give out long before my body did. Tonight's run was different. It was the first time my shins, calves, and sides started cramping. In the past, because my lungs would not let me run far, my max heart rate was only getting up to about 170. Tonight I could see it beating through my shirt! Is that OK? Actually, my heart rate stayed above 170 and maxed at 188 bpm. At one point I looked down and my monitor was reading zero. There was a brief moment where I was trying to remember if my life insurance was up to date but then I saw the strap hanging out of the bottom of my shirt. I guess it would be smart to actually find out what my max HR should be.
Tonight was the first time I ran, that I wasn't sucking wind like a clogged up carburetor by the 1 mile point. I say again; Kids never smoke......Ever! Being able to breath sounds like it is a good thing, but there is a down side; In the past my lungs would give out long before my body did. Tonight's run was different. It was the first time my shins, calves, and sides started cramping. In the past, because my lungs would not let me run far, my max heart rate was only getting up to about 170. Tonight I could see it beating through my shirt! Is that OK? Actually, my heart rate stayed above 170 and maxed at 188 bpm. At one point I looked down and my monitor was reading zero. There was a brief moment where I was trying to remember if my life insurance was up to date but then I saw the strap hanging out of the bottom of my shirt. I guess it would be smart to actually find out what my max HR should be.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Medieval Torture
It’s the most diabolical torture device ever created. If the Spanish had access to this piece of equipment during the Inquisition, Catholicism would be the only religion in the world today. Small and compact, yet able to render its victims completely exhausted in such short periods of time that every Dungeon Master would have been able to double his work load. Just the mere mention of this devise leaves certain circles of people shaking in their shoes. The constant, monotonous, never ending physical torture will eventually take any man down. It should be outlawed! Doom on you TREADMILL, doom on you!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Really? 4:30am? What were you thinking?
My legs were still killing me Friday from the New Year’s run so I decided to wait until Monday to start the strength training. Saturday it rained all day, but I did make an attempt to run this morning at 4:30am but after the first ½ mile it started to rain. I stuck it out for a while but by the 1 mile mark it was pouring and I headed back in. I only got in 1.2 miles so if it lets up later today I may head back out to get a few more miles in. If not I guess I will have to play gerbil and run on the tread mill. I hate the tread mill!
I noticed that some changes I made are producing results. The big one is in the way my foot makes contact with the ground. I have always been a “Heel Striker” and in the past when I ran my knees would be sore for days even when the rest of my leg muscles were fine. So I have been making a conscious effort to let my foot strike flat or more towards the ball and it seems to be working. I had no knee pain in this morning’s run. The other changes are in my posture; trying to stand more upright, and in how I carry my arms; I used to tuck them in and hold them up high on my chest now I am trying to let them be in a more relaxed position. Of course I have not run enough to notice if this is making a difference yet.
I noticed that some changes I made are producing results. The big one is in the way my foot makes contact with the ground. I have always been a “Heel Striker” and in the past when I ran my knees would be sore for days even when the rest of my leg muscles were fine. So I have been making a conscious effort to let my foot strike flat or more towards the ball and it seems to be working. I had no knee pain in this morning’s run. The other changes are in my posture; trying to stand more upright, and in how I carry my arms; I used to tuck them in and hold them up high on my chest now I am trying to let them be in a more relaxed position. Of course I have not run enough to notice if this is making a difference yet.
Friday, January 2, 2009
When you start at the bottom, you can only go up!
In my attempt to get back in shape I am going to have to make some dramatic changes. I recently quit smoking so that’s a start, but I have several goals that I would like to achieve.
Here is where I am starting from; I’m 40 years old, 5’8” tall, I weigh 175 pounds, my inseam is 30 inches but I am 36” at the waist line (that’s right….I am officially wider than I am tall). I have had no set diet and have never considered what was in the food I eat. I feel exhausted at the end of each day (even if I did not do anything) and usually sit on the sofa watching TV.
What I would like to accomplish is; Shed 10 pounds and several inches from my waist line, regain my lung capacity, stop being a couch potato, and just be in a general state of good health.
I started thinking about what I eat and drink after watching a video about how much sugar is in a can of soda (A can of coke has 7.5tsp of sugar and a can of Mountain Dew has about 11tsp!). That got me to think about how much sugar I consume in a day, and I realized I am not tired at the end of the day; I’m in a sugar coma. In addition to the large number of soft drinks that I was consuming, everything else had sugar in it; flavored coffee cream has a teaspoon of sugar in every tablespoon of creamer, my beloved peanut butter and jelly sandwich has 5 teaspoons, a ¼ cup of raisins has over 7 teaspoons, even milk has almost three teaspoons in every cup. I’m not going on some anti-sugar kick, I am just going to pay attention, and control my intake to see what positive effects I get. I have not had a soft drink in several days, and I have been cutting the amount of sugar (by half) that I add to things like coffee and tea.
On the fitness front, I plan on running 3 days a week and doing strength training on the off days. I have a plan to follow that will help build up my running ability. It involves a run/walk pattern that phases out the walk over time. I have yet to come up with or find a strength program that I like or that fits into my schedule (I need something that I will be able to do when I travel for work). Yesterday was a running day (the first running day) and my legs are very sore. Today I will be going to the fitness center for a “light" workout then I’m going shopping for some running pants because it is finally getting cold here in Georgia.
Here is where I am starting from; I’m 40 years old, 5’8” tall, I weigh 175 pounds, my inseam is 30 inches but I am 36” at the waist line (that’s right….I am officially wider than I am tall). I have had no set diet and have never considered what was in the food I eat. I feel exhausted at the end of each day (even if I did not do anything) and usually sit on the sofa watching TV.
What I would like to accomplish is; Shed 10 pounds and several inches from my waist line, regain my lung capacity, stop being a couch potato, and just be in a general state of good health.
I started thinking about what I eat and drink after watching a video about how much sugar is in a can of soda (A can of coke has 7.5tsp of sugar and a can of Mountain Dew has about 11tsp!). That got me to think about how much sugar I consume in a day, and I realized I am not tired at the end of the day; I’m in a sugar coma. In addition to the large number of soft drinks that I was consuming, everything else had sugar in it; flavored coffee cream has a teaspoon of sugar in every tablespoon of creamer, my beloved peanut butter and jelly sandwich has 5 teaspoons, a ¼ cup of raisins has over 7 teaspoons, even milk has almost three teaspoons in every cup. I’m not going on some anti-sugar kick, I am just going to pay attention, and control my intake to see what positive effects I get. I have not had a soft drink in several days, and I have been cutting the amount of sugar (by half) that I add to things like coffee and tea.
On the fitness front, I plan on running 3 days a week and doing strength training on the off days. I have a plan to follow that will help build up my running ability. It involves a run/walk pattern that phases out the walk over time. I have yet to come up with or find a strength program that I like or that fits into my schedule (I need something that I will be able to do when I travel for work). Yesterday was a running day (the first running day) and my legs are very sore. Today I will be going to the fitness center for a “light" workout then I’m going shopping for some running pants because it is finally getting cold here in Georgia.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Happy New Year! My legs are killing me!
In keeping with my “theme” I got up this morning and ran with my sister, her husband, and a few dozen people from the Macon Tracks Running Club. This was my first real run in a little over 12 months and the cold morning air, combined with my lack of lung capacity made it ugly (Kids, don't ever smoke......EVER). Our little group ran 4.65 miles. I should give a big thanks to Amy, Downtown D, Tim, and Steve for not leaving me for dead somewhere along the river.
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