Giving Thanks… to the running Gods!
By: Dr. Erik DeRoche
11/25/09
Part 3 of several
On this Turkey Day’s eve I sit here giving thanks to not only a great family, career, opportunity in life, home, athletic success but also to running. What has running done for me? It has been the one thing that I can rely on as the “go to” exercise while travelling, when weather is poor, when my fantastic dog Hank needs to expend energy and most importantly the one thing that allows me to ponder new ideas and information to write about, talk about at seminars and to patients. I also have to give thanks that running has become something that no longer hurts and no longer brings about feelings of dread and resentment.
I used to be the guy who, every season, would be injured due to running. Injuries to my achilles tendon(s), plantar fascia, hip problems, knee pain, joint stiffness, headaches and the list goes on, were commonplace in my career as an endurance athlete. ‘What changed,’ you may ask? Technique!!! Some say that one should not change “how” they run as we should just allow nature to take its course and with increased training mileage we will settle into what is “natural.” Some would say that the only way injury occurs due to running was an improper running program ex. Not following the 10% increase per week rule, or not enough stretching. I say what we do “naturally” as runners only on very few occasions develops healthy, un-injured, fast, economical runners. I was, and I say “WAS” rather loudly, one person in particular whose “natural” way of running caused me injury repeatedly. I followed all of the perceived “rules” of running and still became injured. I sought out medical treatment when applicable and as a preventative measure but still became injured all correlated to how I ran. So, with that in mind I set out to change how I moved to stop the insulting movement patterns that were the direct cause of my many ailments. The result… running related INJURY FREE and faster!
If you are reading this and wonder how I did it please read the article written for Adventures Northwest Magazine on the home page of www.runwithoutlimits.com and also, attend one of my seminars. The next one is coming up, December 12th at 11:30AM (see Home page as well as Clinics/Seminars page) for details and how to sign up. It will be well worth your time!
Yours In Health,
Dr. Erik DeRoche
"The definition of insanity is to repeat the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome."
- Ben Franklin
What to do with the “off”-season
By: Erik DeRoche MS, DC, CSCS
10/22/09
Part 2 of several
As with any sport, a period of
down time is crucial to allow for recovery from a long, hard season of racing.
Rest, relaxation, getting caught up on reading, house work, family time,
actually having a social life not centered around your sport, are all
activities that should be a part of the post-racing season period.
Once this period has ‘completed’
and one begins to feel the urge to train again, what should be done? Should normal
training resume with emphasis on ‘building’ their endurance, speed, strength,
and race specific training? Or, instead, should they take time to think about
limiters such as, in my opinion the most important aspect of anyone’s training
program, TECHNIQUE?
Sit back for a moment and truly
think about when was the last time you took a period of time in your training
season(s) to focus on running technique? I mean really FOCUS. I would venture
to say that the vast majority of you have never really planned it but now is
the time to make changes.
By focusing on one’s running
technique the benefits are several fold: 1) injury reduction, 2) improved
running economy, 3) improved performance… all of which are what EVERY athlete
strives for. True, by emphasizing increased mileage of training, one’s running
economy and performance does see improvement. However, perhaps an overlooked
aspect of anyone’s training plan is this: what if the manner in which I am
moving is causing me injury? Overuse injuries typically are a result of your
body making compensations for ‘parts’ that are not doing their job… muscles,
ligaments, tendons, joints not moving/functioning properly or under greater
load/stress during running gate and they become ‘injured’ as a result. So, if
we are suffering from a movement pattern disorder and we continue to increase
mileage, intensity or frequency using movement patterns that are less than
optimal, it is just a matter of time when an injury occurs. This off-season,
take time to focus on “how” you are running rather than “how much” and you will
be happy with an injury free and speedy 2010!
Run Without Limits by Dr. Erik DeRoche (Erik@RunWithoutLimits.com) is your way to become the runner you always wanted
to be. Contact Dr. DeRoche for a one-on-one or a group coaching session(s), to
not only improve your performance but also to return the enjoyment into your
running.
Why am I not
getting faster? The never
ending question!
By: Erik DeRoche
MS, DC, CSCS
I’ll tell you why! Are you ready? Being consistently
inconsistent! Let me extrapolate before your eyes wander to another webpage.
Let’s talk about the basics here; the ‘very’ basics regarding run training and
how the body reacts/adapts to it. With a training stimulus, intervals for
example, knowing exactly how fast each should be performed, how long each rest
interval should be between and how many days are required for your body to
recover after a session is critical. By knowing these factors, you can train
the body (central nervous system, muscles, tendons, ligaments, mitochondria,
heart, lungs etc etc.) at just the ‘right’ or optimal intensity to make gains
but not to cause undo harm or damage to the body. Also, by not "earning" an injury you will not need a sustained
period of time off which allows for further training. Where am I going with
this you may be asking?
I do have a point I swear! And, here it is…
you may have read this old adage along the way or if this is the first time I
hope it hits home; “The” best training plan is one that you can perform
consistently. If you are one who heads to the local trails thinking about going
for a run without forethought about what that workout is to entail you are
leading yourself down a path of plateau, staleness, frustration and slower than
expected race times. If however, you hit the trails/road/track each and every
time with a goal in mind regarding duration, intensity, rest duration, number
of intervals to complete, paces to run based on current abilities you are assured progressive increases in fitness,
decreased chance of injury and less recovery time between sessions. The latter
will allow you the ability train intensely more often, train at greater volumes
and as we all know helps overall “fitness” levels. So if you are trying to set
a personal best in an event, just cannot seem to crack the top five or seem to
be continually injured, I implore you to take a look at how you are training
and attempt to be more consistent and to also train with “intent” not just
intensity.
Yours
in Health,
Barkley
Chiropractic www.barkleychiropractic.com
