Running clinics and my confidence level

Since getting the green light to run, I've done very little actual running. Coming back after an extended injury is as much -if not more- a mental challenge as it physical. Quite frankly I'm skeered to run because if I reinjure myself...I don't know...

[Bill told me he had a dream/nightmare that I hurt my foot again, and everyone's life was hell so he asked that I please not re-injure myself because he's not sure he can take another 8 months of non-running me. I didn't realize I had been such an ogre, but maybe I was in a chocolate and wine induced haze???]

Anyway, I run pretty high on the balls of my feet- thus the extremely tight calves and plantar problems, oh and that pesky stress fracture in my toe. I obviously need to change my footstrike to a more mid-foot strike before I lace up my kicks and hit the road again.
Monday night I attended a Chi Running clinic hosted by the running club I belong to. The instructor was our club Presidente Mark Lawrence, and it was a small group of about 6 runners. He spent almost 2 hours with us and since it was such a small group, he could give us each specific feedback. It was an excellent class and covered the basics of Chi Running - if you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it, and if you're local, take some time to hang out with Mark on Monday evenings.

Yesterday, after a completely insane afternoon of errands and dr appts, we made the trip to Shepherdstown so I could participate in a running clinic at Two Rivers Treads. The injury prevention clinic is typically led by Laura Bergmann but Mark Cucuzzilla was at helm instead.

My ortho's response to my questions is always 'you're an aging athlete.'

Ok, fine I'm old [I don't really think I'm "OLD" but whatever].

I can't undo aging, but I *can* change my form and properly strengthen my body to PREVENT injury, right??? What I love about Mark's clinics is learning that YES I can.  He [and Laura] explains things like how having feet that don't adequately dorsiflex pull on the plantar plate which in turn can cause calf pain and tightness and plantar problems.

I guess the average person is content with just getting better. I... athletes in general??... want to know HOW the injury occurred and WHAT can be done to avoid it again. Having access to knowledgeable people who are passionate about the sport and willing to answer those questions is a godsend.

Anyone who has attended a clinic led by either Laura or Mark could write pages about what they learned. The best thing to do is just attend one - if you aren't local, check out the running stores listed on the Natural Running Center website [right column].

After 4 hours of running instruction this week, I feel like I'm on the right track to smarter, stronger, healthier running. I won't be cranking out serious miles for a while and that's ok.

I have already considered this year a wash in terms of speed building or racing. It's about getting stronger and healthier and staying positive regardless of what comes.

I'm still a little nervous about reinjuring myself - but - I didn't get my big butt off the couch and across the finish line of a tough half marathon by thinking about it or reading about other people doing it. I'll be out there again....just a little more cautious and [hopefully] more in tune with my body.

Chris McDougall's Visit to Two Rivers Treads

Barefoot running rockstar, Chris McDougall, visited Two Rivers Treads in Shepherdstown this past Thursday. I'm on the TRTreads email list and was excited and surprised to read that he would be in town for a short visit and participate in the Thursday evening clinic.

If you ever have an opportunity to participate in one of these clinics, I seriously recommend that you go. Dr Mark Cucuzzella is extremely knowledgeable about minimalist running as well as running in general....being a 2:37 marathoner will do that for you.

Chris mentioned the importance and wide reaching affect of what Mark is doing at TR Treads. I'm not sure there's any other place in the country currently with a community of minimalist runners. Sure you may have a handful here and there, but in this area, if you're wearing a pair of Newtons, Vibrams or Evos, folks will ask you if you bought them from 'Dr Mark' and the answer is usually yes.

Mark and Chris talking to the group

My pesky foot fracture kept me from participating in the clinic so I sat at the edge and watched and listened. I also had Shane with me so I had to bail early. But I did garner some nuggets to share with you.

~ CaDeNcE- Why the magic number of 180? Stand on the balls of your feet and bounce up and down like you're jumping rope. You'll bounce about 180 times in a minute. It's our natural recoil cadence. And when running more naturally, you'll get closer to that number nirvana.

~ "Experts" resistance to minimalist and barefoot running - Mark talked about this. In the medical community, most lifestyle and health recommendations start at the top and trickle down. A panel of experts decide that something is good/bad for you; then the information flows out to the masses.

Barefoot running began from the bottom and trickled up. Runners realized they could run more efficiently and with fewer injuries (cept knuckleheads like me who do too much too soon) so they started telling other runners and so on.

Mark shared that he and Chris have participated in a number of high profile panels around the country, and there have been varied responses to their schpeal. In some places, their message was well received, the information fairly considered, and they were invited to participate in future panels.

Other times they have been treated poorly and not invited to speak again in future discussions. Sad reflection on the arrogance of some 'experts.'

I stink at estimating, but I think there were about 60 people there. Very cool

~ Nifty jump rope trick- Mark demo'd this and then had one of the older (~10-11 yrs old) kids do it. Run forward while jumping rope. You can't overstride and your foot has to land under your hip, otherwise you'll get tangled in the rope. It's a helpful trick when working on proper footstrike.

~ Your core is core, essential, central, foundational to proper running- Stand up straight, put your hands on your side just above your hip bones, and cough. That muscle is your transverse abdominis, and when it's strong, it's your best friend. Mark had everyone engage their abs and then try to hunch over forward (the way many of us look when we finish a long run). No can do, Kemosabe.

pc: http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Media/transverse.gif

He gave some practical tips like ditch your chair for a ball so the hours you spend hunched in front of your computer will be spent strengthening and engaging your core. Or move your computer to a counter top so you can stand...and then you can do things like stand on one leg and do leg lifts to strengthen your gluteus minimus.

I would have loved to hang around afterwards to meet Chris, but Shane was quickly falling apart so I had to skedaddle before they finished the clinic. It was very cool to see so many people there, all ages, shapes and sizes, and I look forward to future clinics when I can actually participate!

It's Complicated- Heart Rate Training

In our last Complicated episode, I told you about my transition from big, fluffy shoes to minimalist shoes and how I plan to progress to bare feet altogether.

Today we'll talk about Heart Rate Training.

But first I have to say that it's kinda cool to have a twin sister. We must have been separated at birth...and probably have at least one different parent because Amanda is taller and definitely slimmer than I am, and I think she's younger than I am, too... ok so maybe we're not twins, but there's a sympatico thing happening for sure!

We both have ITBS and injured ourselves on the same day. We were both at the Injury Prevention Forum in Shepherdstown, had our gait analyzed by the same people (different days though) and are both transitioning to barefoot/minimalist running. It will be more than a little spooky if she suddenly develops an urge to raise baby chickens in her backyard!

Aaaand Amanda just did a post on heart rate training earlier this week, but I was too lazy to get mine written before now. I promise I won't make you look at my midsection to show you my HR monitor strap. You can go look at Amanda's though because it's much nicer looking.

I had never heard of Phil Maffetone until a few weeks ago when I was surfing at Sock Doc and TR Treads (heart rate stuff starts on pg 2 of link). That led me to Mark Allen's website where I did some more reading. It's an interesting concept, this heart rate training stuff.

The (very) basic idea is this... subtract your age from 180, add or subtract ~ 5 points for different factors like illness, injury, being already very fit, etc and then train at that heart rate to build your aerobic base so that during those long runs your body burns your longer lasting fat stores instead of burning through the readily available yet much shorter lasting sugar stores.

After 4 months of whining not running much, I am essentially at square one in terms of fitness. It's sad and frustrating - but - it is what it is. So I can continue to whine or I can embrace this opportunity to start at the beginning and train for the long term.

And that is what I'm doing. Wearing my HR monitor for my runs fast walks and on my bike, and when I reach 134 bpm (180-41-5) I slow down until I'm back at 134. So easy even an caveman exhausted homeschool mom can do it.

Here is a post written by Sock Doc that explains how he incorporates Heart Rate Training into his training regime. Interesting stuff.

And he wrote an excellent post on how an anaerobic lifestyle can hamper your progress as an athlete and even lead to injury or illness.