Wow, week 7 brings us closer to event day and I'm proud to report that we have some amazing fundraisers that have already reached goal! Congratulations: Allison Brown, Brian Kraus, Erin Hartnett, Julie Chodacki and Lynne Turner. And, we have our fundraising leader, who is not only above goal, but far beyond! Way to go Janet Johnson for having raised $9,106 so far!
To minimize the impact of injury, or avoid it altogether, follow these simple standards:
- Run naturally. Imagine you were running through the air, how would your legs, arms and body move? When you’re on the ground, if you’re running in a natural form then you’ll be training in a natural way. The best way to check this: does it feel comfortable?
- Follow the schedule. As you get into longer mileage you become better at shorter mileage. Then, when you’re doing a shorter midweek day you might feel a tendency to go faster or longer and this can result in injury. Just stick to the schedule.
- If discomfort sets in after you start, but goes away within about 10 minutes you are simply experiencing a phenomenon called delayed onset muscle fatigue. If it doesn’t go away or feels painful then it may be a bigger issue so stop and walk back.
- Eat right. During the week you want at least 60% of your calories to come from carbohydrates. There are 4 calories for each gram of carbohydrates so either do the math on your own or just look at what you’re packing and is far more than half carbs? After your training, eat protein to help rebuild muscle. A power bar works well
Common Injuries and what to do:
- Shin splints - occur when the muscles in your calves are strengthening at different rates leaving one tugging more than another. Sometimes you can even ‘hear’ this tugging when you move your ankle around in circles. You can get shin splints anywhere on the shin, but many times they are nearest the ankle. To cure them you need to ice after every workout, decrease the intensity of your workouts and do a few special exercises like laying a hand towel on the floor and with your bare foot in one spot use your toes to scrunch the towel back towards your foot. When you've brought it all the way in then straighten it back out and do it again. Repeat three times on each foot twice a day regularly.
- Numb feet - likely occurs during the middle of a run because your quadriceps on your upper leg are getting strong and end up pinching the nerve that runs to your feet. The cure: stand on both feet, cross one leg over the other just above the knee, now do a one legged squat. Hold on to something if you have to. You’ll do it right if you feel a deep stretch in your glutes and hamstrings. Also do a simple forward fold, just let the head hang for 30 seconds, there is no need to push hard.
- Pain on the outside of the knee - is likely Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS). There is a band of tissue, not muscle, that runs from your hip to below your knee that helps hold your leg in place. With training, this gets thicker and end us rubbing the knee causing pain, sometimes very severe or debilitating. You can test if it ITBS by laying flat on your back with legs extended straight. Then take the affected leg and lift the heel about 3 inches and slowly bend your knee back to your chest. You’ll know if you feel it, trust me. Also, going down stairs, as opposed to up stairs, will make you feel it. The cure: you have to rest and ice more frequently. Because the IT band is not a muscle you cannot stretch it and using a foam roller may make it feel better, but not cure it.
Go TEAM!
- Jeffrey
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