Glass Legs
I am a New EN member and this is my second ever post. Patrick suggested that I post to this forum about my running issues. 2011 will be my fourth season of triathlon. In 2 of the last 3 years I have had lower leg injury injuries while running. Really kills consistent training. If I could just go 1 season with being on the shelf for 2-3 weeks I would probably run much faster. Here's the outline:
2008: Started running in March for the first time in about 5 years. Pretty overweight and I had shin splints. Weight loss over that summer pretty much ended that problem. But in October I badly pulled my left calf muscle while doing a tempo run. It took about 6 weeks to heal completely.
2009: No injury issues, but I battled serious burnout by the end of June and my race times from July-October were slower than in March and May. After a month or so off from planned training, I started running regularly in November, trying to incorporate a quicker cadence (it was about 80 through most of 2008 and 2009) and a shorter stride.
2010: I got a bad cold in February, and then tried to do a mile at 10K pace at the end of a 90 minute run (pre-EN days) which was one of my first runs back from the illness, during which I strained my achilles tendon. That knocked me completely out of running for 2 weeks and I wasn't back to really running the same distance or pace for about 2 months. Then in August I came down with tendonitis, which set me back another couple of weeks. I switched to a new set of insoles and that went away. I took more than 2 months away from all training at the end of the season and am gearing up for the January 2011 OS plan.
I am a slight over-pronator and I have high arches, so I use shoes with mild stability control and arch support insoles. This seems to have helped. I also have a tendency to overstride, so I try to practice good form with a cadence meter and a short stride. My lower legs just seem to be very fragile. I have to build volume and intensity very slowly. I am starting the January OS plan and am worried that the intensity spike my cause another injury. So my questions are:
(1) Am I missing something in terms of running technique or equipment?
(2) Wil the OS plan risk injury and how should I adapt it to avoid such?
(3) Aside from the pre-OS workouts on the EN Wiki, should I be doing anything this month to prepare my legs?
Comments
Thanks for writing. I feel your frustration. I have had so many lower leg issues I could scream. I have been injury free since June of 09 because I adopted a disciplined recovery system. So I am wondering what you do between runs for recovery?
My tricks:
1.wear compression sleeves after runs, to work, sometimes while running.
2. Roll my calves, legs and hips with TP kit daily, pre and post runs
3. Stay hydrated
4. Change my shoes every 2 months
5. Run consistently, 3-4 days a week but only if I feel good. I won't force a workout- EVER! I often just run even when it is supposed to be fast. I skip the fast and just run if I feel tight or tired.
6. Stretch all areas while watching TV. Make it a habit.
I say skip intensity in January and just run. Do the bike as prescribed. Then Feb you can test your 5K for Vdot. Then maybe once a week in Feb do speed. Then in March try 2 days a week speed.
absolutely need to add recovery principles.
First, Michael welcome to the EN Haus. Everybody here is very helpfull and I am sure someone will have the right answer for any of your questions. Until this last year, running was by far my weekest sport. I haden't ran since high school over 25 years ago and even then I wasn't much of a runner. Anyway, when I first started with EN and started getting up around 6 miles in my runs I started having all kinds of leg problems. None that injured me, but painfull enough that I knew if I did not learn how to run better I was going to get hurt. I started learning the Chi running method. It takes time to learn, but I noticed a big difference right away. I have been using it now for 1.5 years without any issues. There are several other types of running methods that may be befeficial to you such as the Pos method but I am not real familiar with it. Also I would recomend finding a good Active Release Technique doctor. The do wonders for running injuries.
Welcome Michael,
Great advice already. I'm not a medical professional but I've seen quite a few for running problems.
I find that building frequency at lower intensity works for me. I built up to 5-6 days a week leading up to the Nov. OS. All the runs were 15-45 minutes , or so. I gradually added strides to get used to intensity, making them longer and more frequent each week.
I've been living in compression wear since the OS started. I often sleep in full tights and wear the calf sleeves or socks during the day.
One other thing I've done is a video gait analysis. I have two resources for those. One is a sports doctor I trust and the other is a physical therapist. Both have helped my technique quite a bit.
Hope this helps.
Some thoughts- repetitive lower leg calf/achilles problem = time to revisit your shoe setup and technique in my book. While the short stride/high cadence sounds great on paper, it also beats the hell out of your legs if you don't carry through in the back half of you stride (a part that is often overlooked completely by people switching to this form of running; cures one problem but creates a few others).
Let's start with basics-
1) Who have you been to that can help you out in this department?? Ever been to a PT?? Ideally, the best input will be from someone who can watch you run and can examine your feet/ankles to make sure you're in the right shoes for you. They'll also be able to examine your legs and give you some routines to balance out the muscles in your legs so that everything can work together instead of against each other.
I live in Southern California, and have been going to L.A. Sports Massage this year as needed. ART sessions got me back to running after my injuries.
I got my shoes at a Road Runner sports store after doing their test. I haven't done gait analysis or gone to a PT.
@ ;Leigh,
Can you describe more the back half of the stride problem that you mention? Do you mean letting the heel come back up higher or more hip extension or something else?
Thanks
Ian
good luck, and keep us posted ;-)
1) foot strike- the first part of your shock absorption comes when the foot lands and then flattens to the ground (that little roll from outside to inside is huge for this). whether your 2nd toe is longer (mortons toe), etc doesn't matter. coming over all the way to the big toe is huge as it centers your weight over your foot and keeps the large gastroc muscles engaged. if you come in too much or too little on your arch during this process, that's when the little muscles get fried (plantar fascia, post tib, peroneals).
2) mid stance- as you stand full on your leg through the stance portion you want your knee to go from bent at the front half to straight at the back half. This allows you to use the quad both for shock absorption but also propulsion. more importantly, it also allows the quad to RELAX as it will fully contract as you push off. if you have a shortened back half of the stride, you never get to that point and you lose out on that free energy ( the elastic recoil of the muscle as it swings through versus you pulling it through with your hip muscles).
3) push off- the big toe is a power joint. it has it's own army of muscles to move it (5+ to be exact) and two little "knee caps" (your sesamoids) to act as fulcrums over the bone. None of your other toes do. everything else down there is running off one skinny little tendon. as you come through the back half of your stride, the emphasis should be on pushing your knee straight (not pulling through with your hamstring). As the leg continues to come back it's all glute and hip (which is what you want! without it, the hamstrings are in overdrive trying to pick up the slack). by coming over the big toe and then pushing off with that knee straight, the calf is able to contract fully and then more importantly, relax.
Does that make more sense?? the relax part is huge in the running stride and its super easy to get comfortable in that middle ground and just pound away. It's a big part of the reason why people feel better at speed than running slow. the muscles are being stretched and then contracted and then relaxed versus being pounded step after step without releasing that stored up energy.
@ Michael- time to break out the roller and use it. athletestreatingathletes.com has plenty of vids and tips to teach you how to actually use it. find a good sports PT to help you with the rest! will be plenty in your area so ask your training buddies who they recommend.
@Leigh - Thanks for the detailed response. This is really helpful for me especially the points about pushing the knee straight as a focus and the explanation of why it sometimes feels better running at speed.