Done plenty of IT band stretches & used the foam roller twice a day, seems to have helped.
However, did a 20 mile cycle ride on Saturday & started to feel some discomfort returning to the knee, although no pain like I'd experienced before. Also did a run today which was quite comfortable. 35 mins cross country which was quite easy despite the fact i haven't actually ran for 4 weeks either.
Had my number through for the Norwich half marathon which is on Sunday 25th November.
Training begins for this on Tuesday. Planning to do 2 short runs during the week then a longer one at the weekends.Brings me on to the title of this blog, Barefoot Running. I have nearly finished reading a book called Born to Run by Chris McDougall.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Born-Run-Hidden-Ultra-Runners-Greatest/dp/1861978774/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1349624762&sr=8-1
At the heart of Born to Run lies a mysterious tribe of Mexican Indians, the Tarahumara, who live quietly in canyons and are reputed to be the best distance runners in the world; in 1993, one of them, aged 57, came first in a prestigious 100-mile race wearing a toga and sandals. A small group of the world's top ultra-runners (and the awe-inspiring author) make the treacherous journey into the canyons to try to learn the tribe's secrets and then take them on over a course 50 miles long. With incredible energy and smart observation, McDougall tells this story while asking what the secrets are to being an incredible runner. Travelling to labs at Harvard, Nike, and elsewhere, he comes across an incredible cast of characters, including the woman who recently broke the world record for 100 miles and for her encore ran a 2:50 marathon in a bikini, pausing to down a beer at the 20 mile mark.
Some great characters in the book, Jenn Shelton, Billy Bonehead, Barefoot Ted, Cabello Blanco, google them to find out more.
Anyway, it's a fantastic book which has made me think about my running & the constant having to deal with niggles. Shin splints, knee pain, ankle pain, blah blah blah. I've done the gait video thing & bought the extra padded shoes, but still have niggles. So i now intend to learn to practise running properly (no more heal stomping) & incorporate some barefoot training to strengthen my feet, particularly the arches where it would seem, weak arches could be an underlying cause for a bad running posture & overpronation .
From a bit of research on the internet it would seem a lot of modern day leg problems from running was a lot less years ago when running shoes were not so bulky & padded. I guess our feet get weaker due to all the assistance they get from our super Nike's or equivalent. Although i say barefoot, i don't mean I'm going to be running marathons with no shoes (some short no shoe runs is apparently good though) i do intend switching to a minimalist shoe. How successful this will be, will it work for me, who knows? Worth a try in my book though.
http://www.barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/5BarefootRunning&TrainingTips.html
So, that's the latest development, in my obsessive way, Ultra Marathons have now been added to my bucket list. Once the Ironman is nailed in 2013 I will look to increase my run distances. A 50 mile then a 100 mile run are great goals to aim for.
Training this week
Thurs - Bike 2.5 miles
Sat - Bike 19.22 miles
Sun - Run 3.54 miles
Not a lot done & will be similar this coming week, although a bit more running. Hopefully be back to a 6 day training plan in a couple of weeks.
Going to do The Great Barrow Christmas Challenge on 30th December. 26.2 mile hike for me, my daughter Arleya is planning on doing it as well. Burn off some of those Christmas calories.
http://greatbarrowchallenge.co.uk/sign-up/christmas-sign-up.html
Nearly forgot. Link to Trianglia's new 'Norwich Triathlon facebook page'
https://www.facebook.com/#!/NorwichTriathlon?fref=ts
This event was recently awarded the 'Triathlon England Eastern Region Event of 2012.'
That's it then
Happy Training
Join the Facebook Group - The Ironman Journeyhttps://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/287319678021088/
Say hello on the Fatman to Ironman forum
http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/forummessages.asp?dt=&UTN=191464&last=1&V=1&SP=
My charity page for event listings & making a donation
http://www.bmycharity.com/clearseaz
The allotment Journey Blog
http://allotmentjourney.blogspot.co.uk/
No comments:
Post a Comment