After making the decision to take on
this challenge last October I started to think about running more. I was
running 2 to 3 times a week at that point and I think that was being generous
really as some weeks I didn't run at all.
I knew that running was the best thing
I'd found that kept my weight down, I could always lose weight if I really
forced myself to eat well, although I would rather omit foods from my diet
rather replace with a healthy option. This is a stupid way of losing the pounds
but it worked for me, the problem was it never lasted very long and after a few
months id be back to feeling uncomfortable in my clothes and complaining that
they'd shrunk in the wash again. So I started to up the running and by that I
mean just running more often, one extra to start with. I did this by reducing
the mileage and increasing the frequency, rather than running 5 miles 3 times a
week id run 3.1 miles (5k) 4 times a week. I ran through November and into
December until I was running at least 5 times a week. During Christmas I think
I only took Christmas day and new year’s eve off. It made sense to me to have a
go at running often as I could, not only to start to get my body used to the
amount of daily exercise I was going to be throwing at it but also to get my
mind ready too.
With the new year now firmly with us I
turned my attention to the challenge ahead so I kept up with the mentality and
ran as often as I could. I’d been a good boy and Santa had been kind leaving me
a few quid in my stocking. As the others had had it before I started in October
I was able to purchase some new running shoes and I began to look at how I was
running, was the style I used going to help me plough through 12 months of
daily exercise, or is going to hinder my progress? I have always been a
‘Heel striking’ runner and this was a very conscience thing. It involves rolling
on the foot from heel to toe as your shoe contacts the floor. The theory being
that it creates a smoother action thus producing less of a jolt in the joints
and back as you progress. I had to more or less teach myself to this as I was
naturally a flat footed runner and I knew that this was definitely not the way
to keep injury at bay. I have been ‘heel striking’ for years and it has worked
well but I found it had a tendency to limit my pace because the faster my pace
the more it was like putting the brakes as my heel contacted to pavement. It
also seems to make my body upright and almost forced me to lean slightly back.
Improving my overall times was going to
need a change in my running style. Now I’m not trying to become the next Bolt here because after all its going to be about
longevity and not speed but there is a lot to be said for leaning towards the
direction of travel and once I started to do that I found I was naturally
running more ‘midfoot’ I made a conscience effort to keep my heels off the floor
just enough to allow some spring, this helps to take the pressure off the
joints and makes for a quiet run as well. The downside to this new style I've
adopted is the amount of extra effort and strain on the calf muscles. I really
wasn’t prepared for the pain I suffered while I readjusted. I had to perform
various calf and hamstring stretches a lot more than usual for around 3 months
and the first months runs after changing my style were really hard. I’m through
it now and I now run just slightly forward on my foot (hard to explain), I
don’t get any pain from my calves or joints at all and over the last 6 months I
have shaved off at least 5 minutes on a 5km run which I think is pretty
incredible considering I’m not a real runner, I just run. Another great tip I
was given which really seems to work for me is breathing properly, Concentrate
on the getting all the breath out fast and on the breath in, try a double
breath as I was finding that I wasn't really using all of my lung capacity and
on the odd time I did it actually hurt a bit. I also find that if I time the
inhale with 2 strides it really helps get a rhythm going. After all if you
can’t get oxygen to the muscles what good is having them strong? I know this
all sounds stupid; learn to run – Learn to breath! Surely all this is stuff we
all know how to do right? Well I’m not sure it is, it’s like anything we do,
the most efficient way of doing things doesn’t always come naturally to us but
a little effort in the right areas can make a massive difference.
I’ve gone through a long period of
adjustment generally, I struggled with knee pain for a few weeks that came on
towards the last 2km of a 5km run, it worried me a little, so much so that when
it first came on I started looking in to different solutions to combat it. One
of the things I enquired about was the use of Aloe Vera, they put it in drinks
and market it as, well, it sounds stupid but they market it almost as a joint
lubricator, a WD40 for the body. They suggest that runners have gone from struggling
to walk to be being able to run marathons by using it, that is one hell of a
claim. Of course there is very little evidence to suggest any of this stuff
actually works, if any. I had a wedding photography client who just happened to
be a doctor who put it very well saying that, there is no money in attempting
to prove the authenticity of these claims and products, time is better spent in
finding cures for disease. so even if these things are working we are unlikely
to get any concrete evidence. That being said there is no telling of the
placebo effect, if it works in reality or in the mind, it still appears to work
and if it helps then why not. Anyway back to the actual issue, my knee pain, I
had quite a severe sprain on my ankle due to fall whilst running a few years
back and my weak ankle was always at the front of my mind whilst running. To be
honest it still dominates my thoughts on rough ground and grass.
The more I ran the more I spent time
analysing my body as I went and I started to get the impression I was
stiffening up my right ankle joint to try and protect it from twisting
unnecessarily. This had to be a contributing factor to my knee pain so I
started to relax the whole leg as much as I could, not completely I might add,
that would have been stupid, but just enough between strides. After a few runs I
found the point in which the pain started was later in to the distance until it
was completely non-existent. Thank god for that because once you start down the
road of self-diagnosis online you
end up with one week to live.
I’ve not had a lot of back pain really
either which has been great, although I do suffer from a stiff vertebrae in my
upper back at my shoulder area, this is quite common and has caused some severe
pain before I started the challenge. At its worst I can breathe in fully and it
stops me sleeping so I knew I needed to get to the bottom of it before I
started on the challenge. I dragged myself to the doctor after a particularly
rough week during a visit to 'Center Parcs' (I'm always ill there!) and he was
good enough to refer me for some physio. The appointment came through really
quickly which was more than an a welcome thought as I was now struggling to
stand for more than a few minutes without having to find a seat to puff, blow
and complain on, I could barely stand to wash the pots!... not a ploy I assure you.
I had 5 sessions with the NHS physio
who was amazing, I only had 15 minute session which mostly consisted of her
pressing her thumbs down hard om my back bone forcing the locked vertebrae to
move, not fun. I was also given advice not to sit for long periods, 30 minutes
was the maximum time suggested and I was give 3 exercises of twisting and
stretching of which I did 3 times per day. After the fifth session I was
discharged with a much improved spine and we had clean plates again, what joy
to be able to stand and even sleep for long periods without moaning. Mind you, I
still moan but for a whole host of new reasons that change almost daily.
Aches and pains come and go and
initially I felt as if all would be well as I did quite rudimentary static
stretching, but the more I ran, the more I hurt. I read a lot about Shin
Splints and was keeping my fingers crossed that I would be spared this ordeal
and to a degree I have been although the shin area of my legs don't need much
of a knock these days to make me yelp. The worst pain I have had has been in my
right calf, it has been a severe pressure pain inside my muscle and was worse
while walking. To start with I was convinced I was looking at compartment
syndrome (damn you Dr Google!). I'm
still not entirely sure what it was, but it has subsided and I'm relieved.
After a couple of months a living social email dropped in to my inbox as they do every 20 minutes, for
once I took the time to read it. It had details of a company offering sports
therapy in West Bridgford. The
voucher was £20 or you could buy 2 sessions for £38, I bought 2. Victoria the
physio I met was extremely good, I completed a medical questionnaire and we
discussed my reasons for coming along. She was quite taken by the challenge and
offered to support my on a regular basis at a reduced rate. Over the next
couple of months she worked with me to get my legs as good as they could be
offering some great advice on stretching, diet, what I could realistically
accomplish at home as far as self physio was concerned. I bought a foam roller
on her advice and its perhaps the best thing I did, as it is an amazing way to
get those knots out in my quads. there has been moments where I had pain in my
legs and the only way was to roll them on the roller on the most painful areas,
the problem was my brain just didn't want to let me, I couldn't bring myself to
inflict that sort of pain on myself. So the only way was to get someone else to
do it for me, so I lay on the floor on my left side and I Asked Lisa my partner
to roller a wooden rolling pin on the leg. I asked her to do it as hard as she dared, That woman has
no fear! it hurt so much I was sweating more after a few minutes of that than I
do on a run, mind you, it worked a treat because the next day the pain had almost
gone. The old adage 'No Pain, No Gain' really is true.
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