TheOrange 0 Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Hi all. I've been doing my jogging for about 2 months now. Basically 5 or 6 km every night, with just 4 nights off in that 2 month period. Pretty good going hey? I'Ve lost a fair bit of weight and feel all the better for it. Just 1 problem. The last few days, I've been getting a pain in the area on the back of my leg, behind my knee. It's kinda hurting and I'm thinking I should take a rest for a day or two to let it get better. Any ideas on what this might be? Thanks! Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Orange, One thing you can check in regards to knee and leg problems are the shoes you run in. In general, people tend to either pronate or under pronate. Think those are the words that are used. If you have a bad/old pair of shoes that can lead to serious problems such as shin splints or tendon/ligament probs. Thats one thing to check. Another is where youre running. Running on streets is terrible for you. Best place is to be on soft trails but here in Hiroshima theyre a little hard to get to and often far. Dont know where youre at but you can run in the mts behind Yokogawa station behind Mitakiji. Nice scenery too. Best advice is to take it easy - if it hurts, dont run. Try icing too after running. If not, you can always take 1000 mg of Aleeve or Ibuprofin. You wont feel any pain Link to post Share on other sites
TheOrange 0 Posted June 24, 2003 Author Share Posted June 24, 2003 I run on roads, but have no choice on the matter really. That or nothing. Thanks for the advice, anyone elses most welcome. Link to post Share on other sites
TheOrange 0 Posted June 24, 2003 Author Share Posted June 24, 2003 What is this pronate thing too? Link to post Share on other sites
cal 6 Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Orange, perhaps you should be giving it a rest just a bit more than you are right now. Great to hear how motivated you still are though. I can't imagine hauling myself out jogging every single night. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 The frequency of your running is maybe part of the problem. I run about 4 nights a week and don't have any serious problems. Although the problems I do have, I don't enjoy. So I'm thinking of getting some of these; I figger they may be the go for older farts. http://www.kangoojumps.ch/pags.php?d=e2befc19670b465a963987f1f2bd0a30O417O414 What running shoes are you using? I have New Balance with sorbothane inserts, but if I don't actually get the hoppers, I'll be after something with better resistance. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 O11, LOL, I wonder how those things would be to run in?! Looks like those nike shoes that have springs on em or something. New Balance is a great shoe, if not the best. I use Nike cuz I have narrow feet and they fit me better - International Air Max Triax but seems they dont sell it here in Japan anymore. Too bad. Orange, I ran X-country and T&F in college so my legs have run to hell and back (100 mile weeks for years). You might wanna start running one day and taking the next day off. Or, why dont you try swimming or aqua jogging? I use to do aqua jogging twice a week for morning workouts and its just as good for you without the pounding. X-training is just as good - bike rides, swimming, rollerblading, etc... If ya wanna meet for a run in the city let me know. Your body needs time to recover after workouts, regardless of how fast or slow the runner or how thin or heavy you are. And, the heavier the runner the more stress and impact your legs take. Running everyday might not be good for you especially if you wernt a runner to begin with. Moderation is the key until youve built up a good base. You have a base now since youve been running the last 3 months or so but without having time to recover you may have stressed a tendon, ligament, muscle, or something else. Take a few days off and then try a short and slow run to see how you feel. The next day if it doesnt hurt go for a run the following day. Most important thing I learned from my coaches is to listen to your body. Pronate is the natural way your foot rolls. Either inside or outside. The best way to tell is to look at your current running shoes (which should be specifically for running and not walking around in) and see which way the wear and tear is. Too bad they dont have any good running stores in Hiroshima - theres one but its smaller than a Hoka Hoka Tei!! Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 I wonder too - I want to find out. They say to be careful when running down hills, not to get out of control... I've been thinking a lot about how my feet hit the pavement recently, trying to find ways of minimizing the impact. It takes a lot of concentration. Link to post Share on other sites
snowboard_freak 0 Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Those shoes look weird!!! The connection between the shoe and bouncy part looks kinda flimsy and you wouldn't want to roll your ankle in those puppies. Ouch! Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 UK size 12 shoes = ???? US or EU size?? Anyone? Link to post Share on other sites
miteyak 0 Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Do you stretch/have a good cool down period? Stretching (passive) can do much to relieve/avoid repetitive strain injuries, and tendon problems. Link to post Share on other sites
barok 0 Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 I think that running everyday is too much. I never ran cross country, but I have studied the cycle systems that marathon runners use and generally they go 2 days on, 1 day off, then 2 days on then 2 days off. 4 days a week total. They also increase their distance every week for 6 weeks then roll back down to the 4 week point, and then work back up. This kind of training will get you in great shape fast, and you can build without overtraining. a typical cycle set up looks something like this. week 1 - 3 mi, 4 mi, 4 mi, 3 mi week 2 - 4 mi, 5 mi, 5 mi, 4 mi week 3 - 4 mi, 6 mi, 6 mi, 4 mi week 4 - 5 mi, 7 mi, 7 mi, 5 mi week 5 - 5 mi, 8 mi, 8 mi, 5 mi week 6 - 6 mi, 9 mi, 9 mi, 6 mi week 7 - 5 mi, 7 mi, 7 mi, 5 mi week 8 - 5 mi, 8 mi, 8 mi, 5 mi week 9 - 6 mi, 9 mi, 9 mi, 6 mi week 10 - 6 mi, 10 mi, 10 mi, 6 mi and so on. running the same distance will make your muscles stale. Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted June 25, 2003 Share Posted June 25, 2003 TheOrange. I'd sit down with some beers (preferably a good heavy stout), some crisps and pizza and watch movies for 6 nights of the week - then do the jogging on the other night of the week. And bring that 6km down to 1km - you don't want to overdo it. Link to post Share on other sites
Goemon 0 Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 I've been using Asics running shoes for the past 17 years(!), including heavy use in x-country and T&F (although not very much since I moved to Tokyo...). Generally the Gel series only last a year, due to heavy usage. Even with that short lifespan, I still recommend them. I usually replace the innersole with a polysorbic liner though for extra comfort/protection. The best one I used was from Spenco . Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 The 7-week program designed by Lance Armstrong's trainer Chris Carmichael has only one day off a week. It mixes up the intensity a lot and uses a heart rate monitor to ensure you're not going at it too hard. He's written a book about it if you're interested. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 The trouble with the liners is that they often don't fit inside the shoe properly. If both the shoe and the liner have a built up arch (as they tend to do), you get a 'Princess and the Bowling Ball' effect. I had to cut my liners down with scissors, but it's hard to do a good job and not ruin them. I need to look at shoes this weekend... Link to post Share on other sites
Goemon 0 Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 NoFakie: I think that the "mix-it-up" school of running works best; we never ran the same length, route or "method" in consecutive days. Like Barok mentioned, your muscles get stale if you just run the same distance/route every day. One weird-sounding method is "fartlek" (I'm not sure of the spelling, but it means "speed play" in Swedish); basically you run different speeds/intensities within the same run. So, you might run 1 minute at 6 min/mile pace and then 2 minutes at 8 min/mile pace, etc. etc. Easy to do with a running watch. A google search turns up a surprising number of entries which will explain it better than I can. Ocean: I hope I did not misunderstand your post, but do you "double-up" with the liners? I take out the original liner and replace it with a better one. This makes me feel less like a princess and more like a gazelle. And they do sell a variety of types, with or without an arch. Cutting it is certainly tricky, but I usually just place the original liner on top of its replacement and outline it with a marker before trimming. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 As I was running my same old run last night (albeit varying the speed - here a sprint, here a jog, although always in the same places), I was wondering what it might feel like to have 'stale muscles'. I have no idea what it means... I like the feeling of pins and needles in my fingertips after a sprint. Goemon, with my current New Balance shoes, I took out the shaped liner but the bed of the shoe itself is noticably shaped, and with the great bulge in the sorbothane liner, it was very uncomfortable, so instead of springing gracefully around my course, I hobbled, making coarse remarks about Mr Sorbothane's mother. Link to post Share on other sites
Goemon 0 Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Anybody worth their salt knows that Old Mother Sorbothane's a whoring bitch. By "stale" muscles, I mean that they do not grow to their full power potential. If I run 7 miles every day at 8 min/mile, I will become very proficient at running 7 miles at 8 min/mile. Isn't that "stale"? I've gotten that pins and needles effect in my head from running before, but that is not "stale" at all. That is the elusive "runner's high" where it feels like your mind is flying effortlessly over the course. Link to post Share on other sites
barok 0 Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Yep, When you start running, the number of mitochondria in your muscle cells begins to increase. when you train with a variety of speeds, distances and routes (hills, stairs) and focus on builing. The number of mitochondria in your muscle cells continues to increase. If you stop, and maintain the same distance, speed, etc. Your muscles recognize this, and seeing as your body doesn`t want to use any more energy than it has to, and seeing as using energy is exactly what mitochondria do, your body will get rid of as many mitochondria as it can, leaving you with just enough to run your same old same old route, which is probably only a few more than what you started with. If you are running to burn calories, that is bad, because with less mito, you are burning less energy. (This is the reverse of the explanation for the "exercise increases your metabolism" statement you always hear). If you are running to get/stay in shape it is also bad, because when your body has reached an equilibrium with your same old same old route, you are not in much better shape than when you started with. You wouldn`t be in a much better position to say, climb a mountain, unless that is yer same old same old route. Link to post Share on other sites
Goemon 0 Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Barok: thanks for injecting some science into my lame layman explanation But now I'm thinking about midichlorians in my blood and whether or not I'm using "The Force" when I run... Link to post Share on other sites
TheOrange 0 Posted June 27, 2003 Author Share Posted June 27, 2003 This is all getting a bit technical and confusing now - but very interesting all the same. Keep it coming, I am learning! Thanks Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Thanks barok, I understand now. I'm just afraid of becoming a total mitochondriac now I know about the dangers involved... Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Orange, Have you taken time off and then tried running? How did it feel? Your leg hurt still? Goemon recommended fartleks which are great - you can even go 30 or 60 seconds hard with a 1 or 2 min rest. Basically, go as far or hard as you wanna go with a recovery. Also try tempo runs. Id usually do like 15-20mins w/up and then do about the same time at a 10k race pace and cool down. L.S.D. (long slow distance) is nice too just because I enjoy the scenery wherever I am its nice. But, away from cars/traffic/people is a must!! Its a good way to increase stamina and distance at a nice slow pace. I usually do mine on Sundays to end the week. Barok, Youre way to intelligent! U mustve had some sports med/anatomy phys. classes Link to post Share on other sites
base40 0 Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 That's it. No more jogging for me. You're put me off. I'll just watch the box. Link to post Share on other sites
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