Trying to Put it All Together (Read 836 times)

Ok I have been running outdoors since Aug, I am on my 3rd pair of shoes, from the off the shelf running shoes to Brooks Addiction 7, to now Brooks Beast, since Aug. My resting HR is 50 and Max is 176. Age is 58. I have been running at a HR of 151 right at 80%, made progress then started crashing. Rt Knee, groin, and hip have been a constant problem. The knee problem was, it seems to me, been caused by ITB, and developeing into runners knee, Groin a typical overuse problem, Hip I do not know, probably just over use. I have not been refreshed after any runs of late, and have been tired most days as a result of the run. Sounds like over doing things to me. Typical of me. Because I want to run I am committed to finding, and doing the correct thing. That is the short of it. I am now running at a HR of 145, and below, I am thinking about setting the HRM at about 141, I now walk when I feel the Knee acting up to give it a few mins rest. I have read that the cadance should be about 180 steps/min, so I have shortened my stride to accomodate the lower HR, but have not tried to count the steps as of yet. I will start at about 15 miles a week, and try not to add miles untill I feel comfortable about that knee. I have started to do some Straight Leg lifts lying down to strengthen the inner quads to help with the knee,I also added some situps. I wish to add some side leg lifts for the groin and ITB, but I am concerened that I may stress those things at this point, and add to the problem. I am looking for exercises that I can do to condition all the muscles in the legs to keep them balanced. I do not want them to be the resistance type, that is I do not wish to use weights or machines. I am trying to get past all the hype, not every run can be a great run. I am not looking to be an Elite runner ( as if I could ever be ), and yes someday I would like to run a Marathon, but right now it is important to me that I be able to run for the exercise. Your comments, suggestions, help. please.

Zoom-Zoom, That your own tag or did someone give it to you? I have to laugh it fits you. That DVD, Video is probably an excelent program. I studied the Martial Arts some 35 years ago, and if I had stayed with it, I'd not be in the shape I am in now. I'll have to try some of those exercises we did back then, but at a much slower pace. I should have thought of it myself. Lots of different leg lifts, and extentions, Swung those suckers around all over the place. Need to be carefull with the kicks though, you can hyper-extend and blow your knees out with out much trouble. Also be carefull with some of the twist and turns, be very warm, and stop and stretch in the middle before you attempt them, at least at first. If your planted to firmly you will pull those muscles. Oh I am way past the Girly-girly thing. My daughters, and wife have taught me a few things, and from the logs here many of you Girly-Girly types are way ahead of me! It's the Girly-Girly boys that I worry about. Thanls for the Ideas.

It's hard to top Wingz' advice here. To make a significant impact on your health, you need to make running a permanent part of your lifestyle, and to do that - it's got to become something that is, above all else, fun. And Wingz is right - you make it sound like work. And you definitely don't need to be hurting all the time, or using every gizmo and gadget you can find. So, a couple simple ideas: 1) Kill the heart rate monitor. I know, I know. It's a cool toy. But unless you're using it for a medical reason, you don't need it. Personally, I don't know why anyone uses them - unless they're reaching for a serious goal. All that stressing and worrying about the details is fine if you're looking to shave a few seconds off a PR. But (back to Wingz again) it seems to me that spending all that time thinking about those kind of details is keeping you from just enjoying the running. I don't have a clue what my heart rate is. And I'm glad. 2) Counting steps? Again - why? I get it if you're a serious competitor. But if you're just trying to "bring it all together," to make running a fun and beneficial part of your life for the long-term, sweating all those details isn't going to help. I'd toss your worries about cadence into the nearest dumpster, right next to your heart rate monitor. Just go run, man. Listen to your body. Get plenty of rest. Enjoy it. If you want to join the A-teamers someday, there'll be plenty of time for counting steps and sweating the details. 3) A serious piece of advice - run *only* every other day. As I've said before, there isn't much to be gained from running every day. You're more likely to injure yourself than improve. I notice from your log you often run 4 days in a row. And you're wondering why you have knee and groin and hip problems? Even if you keep the HRM and keep worrying about the technical stuff, you might want to just TRY running only every other day. At 58 years young, you just need more recovery time. I'd wager that you'll almost immediately lose a lot of the nagging pains if you run only every other day. Most of the research even suggest you'll also probably improve faster. Give it a try. You can keep your mileage the same - just run farther when you run. And you can cross-train on the off days, but it probably ought to be something either no impact or very low impact. If I were you, I'd make it swimming, using mostly upper body. I started out saying it'd be tough to top Wingz' advice - and I was right. I didn't. Just do what she said. Forget all those minute details you're thinking about - and go run. And you know what? Even if you can't take her advice every day because you're a type A sorta guy .... at least take plenty of rest days, and once in a while - just leave the watch and the HRM behind, and go have fun.

Well I guess it is hard to tell, but I do enjoy running, just disapointed in were it has ended so far this time around. In Dec of 2004 I was felling real bad, tired after 4 hrs at work, legs ached, body exhausted weighed 208 lbs. I decided then that I needed some exercise and diet, get back in shape. I started running in place, yea that is right, running in place 5 mins at a time, worked my way to 30 mins by Feb, lost about 20 lbs but was still feeling terrible, and noticed that my heart started skipping beats. Went for a check up, and the doctor said, High Blood pressure, high cholestrol, and diabetes. Continued with the running in place, but went to the rec center to use the weight machines twice a week also, they also had some TMs so I started on them at something like 3.8 mph. Purchased my own TM and continused on that untill I reached 6 mph for 3 miles. One of my daughters asked me to join her on a run, and so I did, and found out I could run on the street. That is when I got serious. I tend to push it sometimes, and so I purchased that HRM to keep myself under control, and it worked, but I had my goal set too high. I will still need it once things get back to where they should be. I can beat my head against a wall for a very long time. Some people think I am just Mr. stability. They just don't know the truth. For now 3- 4 days a week may do it, but I know me and I am going to want at least 5, but I was thinking of backing that down for a while. Put in some long walks instead. The important thing is to get daily aerobic exercise for control of the diabetes. So the hard easy concept may be a compromise, or hard, easy and easier may be even better. I'll forgo the cadence, didn't really want to count it anyway. I will slow down that HR, learn to relax, and stop pushing. Actualy, a couple of times the last two slow runs, I had to remind myself to pick up the pace a bit, HR dropped down to about 131, just got lost in the jog. Thanks for the encouragement, and the advice. Confirmation of what I was thinking, that I was over doing it at this time, helps.

You might also want to join the "Diabetic Runners" group here on RA - http://www.runningahead.com/groups/diabetic_runners.

One of the things we do not know is about low carb diets and recovery times, or running in general. I am on medication, but not insulin or anything that would cause me to produce more insulin. So basicaly I am controling the diabetes by increasing insulin sensitivity with the medication I am on, and through exercise. Currently I eat 30-35 grams of carbs a meal, snacks a couple of times a day of 15 grams or so. From what I read I should be carbing up before and after runs, impossible for me. If not doing so has any effect on recovery times, qaulity of runs, etc., I have no idea. There is just too much hype, speculation, and therroies, for me to pay much attention to. Besides there is nothing I can do about it anyway, so I am just trying to find something that will work for me, and the condition I am in. I suspect that I am just like everyone else, and need to take it easy and let the body adjust to the demand being made on it.

While I'm not diabetic, I am hypoglycemic and finding a way to balance my own carb intake with my running needs has been very tricky. Figuring out what I needed pre-running was MUCH easier. I was a strict low-carber for several years and had great results in terms of weight-loss, cravings, and stable blood sugar, but once I started running more than a few miles at a time it got tricky. I am eating probably more carbs most days than what I need, but I know if I eat too few that I will bonk badly. Mostly I am just trying to be careful with sugar and white flour as much as I can. My hat's off to you diabetics who are trying to find that balance--for you guys it's so much more crucial. k