I was reading the latest US president Barack Obama Health report, the doctors certified him “fit to rule” but one item that caught my knee was this one : Obama suffers from occasional pain in his left knee. Medics call it chronic tendinitis.
Left knee pain is a very common injury in people who run. I remember my first year of marathon training, the left knee pain dogged me right to the day of the race. I still remember turning up at the start line holding an anti inflammation gel on one hand and the other hand rubbing the gel on the knee.
Why Left knee and not right knee?
My guess as to why the left knee and not the right knee is affected has to do with the fact that majority of humans are right handed. We use the right leg to kick stuff around and that effort makes it stronger. On the other hand, the left leg is never used seriously, leaving it a weak partner. Have you heard of the statement “USE IT OR LOSE IT!”? It makes sense to me.
Cause of Left Knee pain while running
Apart from my theory of “neglected left knee” medics say the cause of knee pain is due to excessive training; running too much. Another cause is when you suddenly switch from running flat routes to running hilly routes.
Prevention of knee pain
I believe prevention is better than cure. One way to prevent a sudden attack of knee pain is switch your running speed gradually. A sudden change of pace will be a shock to the system leading to injury.
Four step Treatment of knee pain.
- Icing – The first line of treatment, sometimes this alone is enough to fix it!
- If the pain is too much take a pain killer
- Rest – take a break from running.
- Strength training exercise, see my video demonstration of how to strengthen your knees
If you don’t get well soon (one to two weeks), see your Doctor/ physician.
written by Constantine Njeru
\\ tags: Barack Obama, Change Of Pace, Doctor Physician, Doctors, Exercise, Guese, Guess, Health Report, How To Strengthen Your Knees, Inflammation, Knee pain, Left Knee, Left Leg, Marathon Training, Medics, Pain Killer, Prevention Is Better Than Cure, Shock To The System, Strength Training, Sudden Attack, Sudden Change, Video Demonstration
Meb Keflezighi won the 2009 New York Marathon. Meb Keflezighi became the first US man to win the New York City Marathon since 1982. Meb has come a long way from being just a good runner to a great runner.
In 2000 summer Olympic games in Sydney he finished a disappointing 12th at 10,000 metres, a race that was won by Haile Gebrselassie.
After Sydney his coach, Bob Larsen realised if Meb is to compete with the East African runners he had to change his training tactics.
The Training Regimen That Boosted Running Speed and Power
According to an old New York times article of Meb Keflezighi, In 2001, Larsen persuaded Keflezighi to begin training at the 7,550-foot altitude of Mammoth Lakes to increase his oxygen-carrying capacity. Shortly after his first training regimen here, he set the American record of 27:13.98 at 10,000 meters.
Training at altitude took Meb from a good athlete to a great athlete
written by Constantine Njeru
\\ tags: Altitude Training, Athlete, Bob Larsen, Coach Bob, East Africans, Foot Altitude, Haile Gebrselassie, Mammoth Lakes, Marathon Training, Meb Keflezighi, New York City Marathon, New york marathon, New York Times, Olympic Games, Oxygen Carrying Capacity, Realised, Runners, Summer Olympic Games, Training Regimen, York City Marathon, York Times Article
Paula Radcliffe trains on an eight-day cycle, working for seven days and then enjoying one of complete rest.
Paula Radcliffe Daily Runs : Weekly Miles
She runs some 22 miles a day (12-15 in the morning and another seven in the early evening) with Lough (her husband and coach) at her side, on his bicycle;
Paula Radcliffe Gym Training
In between, she does an hour-long session of core strength exercises.
To Run faster and stronger – Rest, Rest & Rest
When she is not training, she sleeps – a lot. ‘I’m usually in bed by ten and I don’t get up until around nine,’ she says. ‘Then I have another two hours sleep in the afternoon. You really need that sleep when you train as hard as I do.
Sorry, instead of rest I should have said, Sleep, sleep and sleep.
Source : Paula Radcliffe Interview Courtesy of Guardian Newspaper UK.
written by Constantine Njeru
\\ tags: Amp, Bicycle Training, Coach, Core Strength, Early Evening, Guardian Newspaper Uk, Gym Training, Long Session, Marathon Training, Paula Radcliffe, Paula Radcliffe Marathon, Seven Days, sleep, Trains
Long time among ago I loved Nike running shoe but I fell out of love with Nike the day I bought my first Saucony Running shoes.
I still think Nike shoes are good for racing but when it comes to marathon training I prefer Saucony.
Latest Nike LunarGlide+ Shoe.
NIKE, Inc. have introduced the Nike LunarGlide+ Race Collection to celebrate the brave achievements of marathon runners worldwide.
The Nike LunarGlide+ Race Collection features nine shoes that combine city-inspired design touches.
The collection includes shoes for Beijing, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, London, New York City, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo along with a shoe for the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco.
Nike is celebrating the unique individual flavour of the world’s top marathons with color and iconic imagery that represent each city.
They have a Nike Lunarglide shoe for men and a Nike Lunarglide shoe for women.
If your city is not on that list, DONT BUY THE SHOE……off cause am kidding!!!!!!
written by Constantine Njeru
\\ tags: Beijing, Boston Chicago, Flavour, Honolulu, Imagery, Long Time, marathon runners, Marathon Running, Marathon Training, Marathons, New York City, Nike, Nike Inc, Nike Running Shoe, Nike Shoe, nike shoes, Nike Women, Rio De Janeiro, Saucony Running Shoes, Saucony Shoes
All good things must come to an end.
After 5 months of marathon training, I have brought down the curtain on my training and now am looking forward to Sunday? race.
In the last two weeks I have run three 10Ks, the first one was a slow recovery run, followed by a Sunday run which I finished in 43 minutes then yesterday morning I ran a final 10K run in 40 minutes flat. I feel lucky my legs are in great shape, no injury! I believe I have done enough to run a sub 2.45 marathon.
The only scare was a cold I suffered during the weekend. I made a mistake of going for an afternoon swim and I paid the price. I used alternative medicine to treat the cold before it got worse. A daily diet of soup mixed with hot pepper fixed the cold in 5 days.
With three days to go my plan now is to stay hydrated, eat plenty of carbohydrates, rest and most importantly stay physically fit.
To stay physically fit I will do two speed works on Thursday and Saturday morning. This will be in form of 1K runs around a track. I will also do daily stretching and massaging to maintain muscle flexibility.
I can only wish myself good luck. To everyone who is running 2009 Nairobi Marathon, GOOD LUCK!
written by Constantine Njeru
\\ tags: 5 Months, Alternative Medicine, Carbohydrates, Curtain, Diet Soup, Good Luck, Great Shape, Hot Pepper, Legs, Marathon Training, Medicine, Mistake, Muscle Flexibility, Nairobi, Running Marathon, Saturday Morning, Scare, Yesterday Morning
After 5 months of marathon training I finally did my last long run. It was a 37K run that took me over 3 hrs 15 minutes to finish. My initial plan was to do a 34K final run but when I got at the 17K turning point I was having so much fun and my inner voice said ¨Come on you are having so much fun, dont stop now” I guese it all started on Saturday, I spent the afternoon listening to the classic song ‘dont stop me now, am having such a good time’ by Queen
Am even thinking of making the song my official humming song when I run Stanchart marathon in two weeks time. Humming a song as you run can inspire you to run stronger and faster.
I had prepared well for this final run, I made sure I carried a bottle of water to keep me hydrated. Last year I finished my last run, cramping and feeling sore feet. I wasted a whole week without any training, recovering from the after effects.
Two days after the run am not feeling any negative reaction. Instead of the usual two days rest I have given myself an extra day of rest to ensure full rest and recovery.
My tapering plan is to do speed works to maintain (or even improve) my cardiovascular fitness.
written by Constantine Njeru
\\ tags: 15 Minutes, 5 Months, Cardiovascular Fitness, Day Of Rest, Good Time, Humming Song, Initial Plan, Inner Voice, Marathon Training, Queen, Sore Feet, Stanchart Marathon, Turning Point
Actor and longtime conservation activist Edward Norton will run the NY Marathon as part of a team raising awareness and financial support for the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, a Kenya-based conservation organization. Norton and 3 Maasai warriors will be leading 30 people from all walks of life running the ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 1st.
The three Maasais are Parashina, Parashi and Sunte. They usually run in sandals made out of off-road tires. They call them “Michelins” or “Thousand Milers.” While Parashina and Sunte will wear Puma running shoes Parashi intend to stick to his Maasai Running Sandals.
As part of preparation Edward travelled to Kenya where he ran with the Maasais. Most of the running was around Chyulu hills on the Northern slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Norton discribed the experience to runners world magazine: -
“We probably ran about 30 miles a week out there. It’s tough running. A lot of lava rock and rutted roads and thorn bushes. And there’s been a bad drought all this year so it’s very dusty right now, where normally it’s high green grass everywhere. I think it will make New York feel easy for these guys, as long as it’s not cold, which they are not used to.”
written by Constantine Njeru
\\ tags: Edward Norton, Green Grass, Ing New York City Marathon, Lava Rock, Maasai Warriors, Marathon Training, Michelins, Mt Kilimanjaro, New York City Marathon, New york marathon, Northern Slopes, Ny Marathon, Off Road Tires, runners world magazine, Running shoes, Rutted Roads, Thorn Bushes, Walks Of Life, Wilderness Conservation, York City Marathon
Week 19 was supposed to have been the week when I did my final long run (a 34K run) before I start tapering, but I canceled it. I woke on Sunday morning feeling like my legs were cemented on the ground.
The leg fatigue had built up during the week. I did a 28K run on Sunday followed by two 16K runs, on Wednesday and Friday. The two 16K runs were on high tempo. I guess with the 2009 Stanchart Marathon 3 weeks away am getting excited and running very hard and fast.
Although I had been stretching my legs I had not been massaging. Professional massaging isn’t cheap? I decided to give myself a massage. When I squeezed my calf muscles I felt like screaming. All the stress of running had accumulated inside.
When am walking or running I cant feel the pain but i feel the effect of fatigue in form of slowed pace. No matter how had I try to run I only move in a slow pace.
I suspended my Sunday log run and decided to spend two days massaging myself. I have been squeezing my calf and shin muscles and now my legs are feeling lighter.
As I head into the last two weeks of training I will pay more attention to stretching and massaging.
written by Constantine Njeru
\\ tags: Calf Muscles, Leg Fatigue, Legs, Marathon Training, Massage, Shin Muscles, Slow Pace, Stanchart Marathon, Stress, Stretching, Sunday Morning, Tempo
Last week I made a full recovery from my achilles tendonitis injury. I managed a total of 42K of running for the week. Two midweek trail running, 5k on wednesday and 10K trail run on friday. My original plan was to do a 21K run on Sunday but I ended up running 28K because my achilles felt fine.
The weather has changed Kenya has shifted from a cold season to a hot season. The shining sun is out all day. I could feel the change in the weather because what would have a routine non stop 28K long run, I had to stop once, around the 21K mark to drink water.
Am now entering the final stage of my marathon training and the biggest challenge will be overcoming the unfriendly weather. Training for a marathon when it is hot and sunny is never easy and I will require to ensure am well hydrated.
written by Constantine Njeru
\\ tags: Achilles Tendonitis, Change In The Weather, Cold Season, Hot Season, Kenya, Marathon Training, Midweek, Nairobi, Running, Shining Sun, Training For A Marathon, Weather Training
Team Vavi Running Clu, San Diego
Team VaVi Running Club (TVRC) combines social running with marathon training for beginners to advanced runners for around $100. The marathon program includes clinics, organized long runs, specialty runs, computer-based training, discounted race entries and social events.
The club also features a specially designed dual-season 31-week training program starting in October for $200 that trains runners for the half Carlsbad and full San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon.
West Coast Road Runners Club, San Diego
For the adventurous runner, this San Diego club, west coast road runners club offers a unique program designed to train runners for any race and all distances. The club offers five programs in Mission Bay, Carlsbad, Rancho Bernardo, Chula Vista and Temecula and includes 35 program coaches and assistant coaches, day-by-day training schedules, Saturday group run/walks, coached track sessions and educational seminars to train for any race, including all half or full marathons, from Vegas to New York.
San Diego Track Club
For the philanthropic runner, San diego track club (SDTC) is a non-profit organization and the largest running club in the county, with members who range from casual runners to elite athletes, with a mission to “support the development of distance running, track and field, and related sports in San Diego County.
written by Constantine Njeru
\\ tags: Assistant Coaches, Educational Seminars, Elite Athletes, Marathon Program, Marathon Training, Mission Bay, N Roll Marathon, Race Entries, Rancho Bernardo, Related Sports, Road Runners Club, Rock N Roll Marathon, Running Club, Running Clubs, Running Track, San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon, Saturday Group, Sdtc, Track Sessions, Tvrc
|
|
Recent Comments