The beauty of a 10K run is, it is an easy distance to run than the half marathon. It is not as easy as the 5k but it is challenging enough. One thing I love about the 10k is it is over with an hour.
10K Training program for a 40 – 60 minutes finish time
If you are a beginner runner and your goal is to run and finish a 10k race between 40 – 60 minutes then you might be interested in reading a PDF book by an Australian endurance coach.
There is a link between a runners knee pain and weak knees. In an article in runners world magazine two runners who suffered chronic knee pain recovered after they were put on a program of hip strengthening exercises.
Reed Ferber Hip Strengthening Exercise.
The article has a program demonstration by Reed Ferber, Ph. D., director of the University of Calgary’s Running Injury Clinic. He recommends doing them daily after you run. Start with one set of 10 reps and gradually increase sets so that you’re doing three sets of 10 by your fourth day. You should see improvement in two weeks. If you don’t, Ferber says to see a doctor because the cause of your injury may lie elsewhere.
Every amateur runner is ever seeking the answer to how many miles he should run per week. The answer to that question depend a lot on sex, age, years of training and a runners tolerance to pain.
The best answer I found was from a physical therapist and biomechanist Irene Davis, Ph.D., from the University of Delaware’s Running Injury Clinic. This was her take on the question when asked in a runners world article.10 laws of injury prevention.
“Your threshold could be at 10 miles a week, or 100, but once you exceed it, you get injured.” Various studies have identified injury-thresholds at 11, 25, and 40 miles per week.
To know how many miles you should run per week, just clock the miles and the level at which you start experiencing injury, thats your level. Your threshold is waiting for you to discover it!
The more you train the stronger you get, but when training gets too much it leads to fatigue. When fatigue builds up you experience reduced performance and risk sudden training injury. It is important to take breaks from your regular training to allow muscle recovery.
Tips for speedy muscle recovery
Take a complete rest from training – missing one or two days cant hurt?
Massage
Hot baths with bath salts,
Stretching properly
Stay hydrated day in day out
All the above will all add to the big picture of good recovery and reducing injury.
The tips can also be followed by runners who want a speedy recovery from a half marathon or a full marathon.
There is a lot of news flying around claiming that running barefoot is better than running on some fancy running shoes. Although am yet to try running barefoot there are many runners out there who swear by barefoot running, at least on grass. Running barefoot on tarmac is a big NO!
Research on Barefoot running
The latest research on barefoot running has been done by a team from Harvard University. The team studied runners from the United States and Kenya as they ran on tracks.
The researchers found that while people run in a variety of ways, most barefoot runners tend to “forefoot strike — land first on the outer ball of the foot before bringing down the heel.
Advantage / Benefit of Barefoot Running
By contrast, more than 75 percent of runners who wear running shoes land on their heels first. The study suggests this is more likely to cause running injury.
Detailed information is published on harvard univesity website on barefoot running.
Am starting my training for 2009 Stanchart Nairobi marathon. I have had a seven months rest from serious running. During that time I learn’t how to swim.
My running goal this year is to finish the 2009 stanchart marathon in a time of around 2.45. My personal best is 2.56. I will be a smiling runner if I can be able to shelve 10 more minutes from my PB.
Am confident I can run faster. At the finish line of 2008 Stanchart marathon my legs felt strong, no fatigue & no cramps. I had this feeling that I could still keep running another 10k.
Taking My Running To the Next level
This year I will build on the strength of my three years of marathon running. I believe my body is now physically strong and it can cope with stress of more weekly miles and faster running.
Advantages of many months of training
To reach to my goal am dedicating 5 months of serious training. More training time means, no over training, more rest and fewer running injuries. If I suffer the unfortunate injury at least I will have enough time to recover.
In the month of June I will focus on cardiovascular fitness. I will do this by accumulating as many miles I can at a slow pace. I will also assessing my physical condition to see whether I might be carrying a running injury that I might not be aware of.
In July, that is when I will start on speed work. Am yet to decide on my actual mileage and exact tactics so keep reading as I will keep posting my plans and progress.
Shin splints is a pain over the front of your lower leg, that part stretching from the knee to the foot.When you run you feel pain and when you touch the area on either side of your shin bone, it may feel sore and tender.
This injury was made famous by Lance Armstrong during his first marathon. At the end of 2006 New York Marathon he reported he had ran the distance wish shin splints. The amazing thing was that he still managed a sub 3 hours finish. Not bad in your first marathon!
Causes of Shin splints injury
Experts call it overuse injury, that is too much running. That is why Doctors recommend taking a rest from running as the first step in solving the problem.
Step One In Treating Shin SPlints Injury
Stop running and take a rest.
Step two in treating shin splints injury
Ice the area twice a day.
Step three in treating Shin splints injury
Use an anti-inflamatory spray. If the pain is too much you may take pain killers.
Step four in treating shin splints
Finally, when you get back running use a good running shoe.
Normal pain disapear after a short while but if you don’t see improvement consult with your physician.
Last Sunday I went for my first run of 2009. And it was one painful experience. I had not run since November 2008 and I thought I should try a 5k run round a track but I only managed to run 2k.
I tried to run fast but I felt as if my legs were tied with sacks of sand. My chest was on fire and it was hard to believe I was the same person who had cruised to a comfortable 2 hours 54 minutes finish at October 2008 Stanchart Nairobi Marathon. It was clear the partying over Christmas holiday had done lots of damage!
The purpose of the run was to assess my physical fitness in readiness for 2009.
1. Fitness of my knees
Sore and painful knees are a bad sign. Mine felt okay.
2. Ankle fitness test
Ankle wear and tear are inevitable in running. Mine were not aching so am assuming everything is fine.
3. Strength Test
I did pull ups – three sets of 8 repeats. The goal of pull ups was to assess my upper body strength. I did the three sets but I had to push harder than normal.
4. Vertical Jump Test
How high you can jump is a sign of how fit you are. The higher the better. I jumped the normal length but it has more to do with my improved jumping technique, a friend of mine taught me how to jump higher.
5. Leg Strength
Lack of speed and heavy legs during running is a sign I need to do stretching exercises.
6. Cardiovascular Fitness test.
Running is a cardiovascular exercise. As I was running my chest felt like it was on fire and when I stopped running my chest felt tight. The solution is to start running again.
The last week I have ran only twice, the first run was a Jog on Wednesday followed by another Jog on Thursday. By my standards this was very low but it was necessary because I suffered an ankle strain on my right leg during my last 35K long run and the last thing I need now (35 days to go before 2008 Nairobi marathon) is to suffer a serious running injury due to over training.
Over training causes serious running injury
A good example of how running injuries are caused by over training was the large number of injured marathon runners at Beijing Summer Olympics. In the women’s marathon Paula Radcliffe ran with a strained thigh, American Deena Kostar dropped out the race after 3 miles suffering from a foot injury. Japanese Mizuki Noguchi who was favourite to win the women’s marathon did not make it to the start line after she withdrew citing fatigue. In the mens event Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya was my favourite to win the gold, but he withdrew on the eve of the race citing a thigh injury that had refused to go away.
Having these facts in my mind, I decided to focus on injury prevention. This is what I did during the week
1. Cut down on my weekly runs.
2. Iced my ankles
3. Used an anti-inflammation spray to speed recovery
4. Massaged the ankles
Marathon runners are prone to suffer running injuries due to over training because the nature of the sport is that you need to accumulate lots of distance to be ready for an event. It is a volume business.
An interesting book I have seen on Amazon on this issue is
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