Marathon: You Can Do It

I was reading the Sports pages of my newspaper this morning and they had an article about Tennis star Roger Federer who has just announced he has decided to take a break from tennis due to fatigue.

2008 was the year Roger Federer was supposed to win all grand slam tournaments but at the end he won only US Open. After winning the US open he admitted it was the only time he had felt stronger and fresher.

He then adds “I want to remain at the top of the game for many more years to come and go after the No. 1 ranking again,” he said. “In order to do that, I need to get a proper rest and get strong again so that I am 100 percent fit for the remainder of the year or next year.”

Signs and Treatment of fatigue.

The primary indicators of fatigue in athletism are reduced performance and frequent injury. Taking a rest from training is the best treatment for fatigue because it allows your muscle fibres to heal from the tears that happen during strenuous training.

Tags: fatigue, Marathon, Running, Running Injuries, tennis, Training

We know Haile Gebreselassie broke the marathon world record at 2008 Berlin Marathon but few runners know that the Ethiopian long distance runner arrived at the start line with a nagging running injury.

According to a BBC report “His achievement was all the more impressive given that his training had been interrupted by a calf injury.

“Two weeks ago I had a bit of a problem with my calf muscle, but I took a week off,” said Gebreselassie. “It gave me a few worries coming here, but I forgot about it as the race wore on.

When you suffer an injury, you should never over react.

Tags: Haile Gebreselassie, Runing Injuries, Running

I am yet to see scientific evidence that says those who run regularly suffer knee complications at a higher rate than those who don’t run. This means you can continue with your morning jog without worrying that you are wearing out your ligaments.

However, guard against overextertion. The trick is to begin your run slowly and give yourself rests in between. Driving yourself too hard may lead to injuries such as knee ligament tears.

As a precaution, get running shoes that adequatly absorb the impact of your feet hitting the ground. without proper foot support, you are only setting yourself up for knee problems.

Tags: Knee, Marathon, Resistance, runnign injuries, Running, Training

Last week of I missed two days of running after I suffered a groin injury. My The groin injury happened as I was doing my speed work. At the end of the speed workout, my groin felt sore, nothing serious because I was able to walk comfortably.

Groin injury are mostly suffered by sprinters, soccer players and football player. Running at high speed strains your adductor muscles which may result into a groin injury.

I decided to give the groin a rest for two days because I remember reading a Men’s health article that said the best treatment for a groin injury is rest. Beware of sit ups, which can exacerbate groin strain.

After two days the groin felt fine and I went for a Jog, no serious running. It’s advisable to do light running after a running injury to avoid sudden recurrence of an injury.

Am now back at full running

Tags: Marathon, Running, running injury, Training

The news from the Japanese Olympic team is that the reigning Olympic champion Mizuki Noguchi pulled out of Sunday’s marathon because of a lingering left thigh injury. Noguchi, the 2003 world championship silver medalist, was attempting to become the first woman to repeat as Olympic marathon champion.

Incidentally, Radcliffe, 34, She too has been bothered by a similar thigh injury.

Unlike Nogushi, Radcliffe has not yet given up on an Olympic medal especially after her major disappointment in Athens, when she collapsed because of dehydration after leading much of the race.

Dangers of over training

With elite runners doing weekly mileages of over 100 miles (160 kilometres) this carries a greater risk of running injury.

Overtraining is a condition that results from not getting enough rest to allow the body to recover from stressful training. It can result in lowered endurance and speed and place a runner at a greater risk of injury.

Some runners came out of the punishing training okay but for runners like Nogushi and Radcliffe they weren’t so lucky. Training is a lottery!

With Nogushi out of Sunday’s marathon and Radcliffe a wounded warrior, who is going to win the female marathon?  Catherine Ndereba maybe?

Tags: Marathon, Marathon Running, Olympics, Radcliffe, Running