Once Inspired

Posts Tagged ‘injury’

Runners are generally known to have stiff feet, hence their inability to swim (You can read more about foot flexibility and swimming here).

I used to run in full on motion control Adidas throughout school, until I eventually developed chronic compartment syndrome. I them had the operation, known as a bilateral subcutaneous fasciotomy which releases the overdeveloped muscles by cutting the fascia/sheath which encases them. Part of the reason for this is a muscle imbalance due to the raised heel on the common running shoe most of us know. Since my operation I have run in shoes with nothing more than a 4mm heel-forefoot drop; the Saucony racing flats and more recently the Saucony Kinvara.

The Development of Engineered Running

Strength training is severly underated by most triathletes. Here a great article by Matt Dixon.

Regarding the value of strength training as it applies to endurance sports, and to provide a valuable response I should clarify exactly what I think of when discussing strength training. I think there should be very little debate as to the value of strength training in improving endurance performance—this being specific exercises and movements that improve stability, mobility and functional strength that directly correlate to movements made in your core sport (swim, bike, run). Functional strength is one of the four pillars of performance I base my training philosophy on, with the other three being the core sport, recovery and nutrition.

A great article from www.runnersworld.com by Amy Burfoot, 2004

As a teenager, I loved to run barefoot on the Connecticut beaches, splashing through the waves. A few years later, I often ran without shoes while training for the college cross-country season, completing workouts that were the hardest, fastest, most puke-able, and yet most enjoyable of my life.

As athletes our training schedules, competitions, opponents, coaches and other related events and people form a very significant part of our lives. For this reason dealing with an injury is, on a smaller scale, similar to dealing with a significant loss.

An injury can be a traumatic time for an athlete when returning to full fitness becomes a waiting game. The lack of control and the uncertainty can get the athlete feeling depressed and anxious.

There can be 5 stages involved in the injury process:

• Denial and Isolation – Refusal to recognise the injury
• Anger
• Bargaining – I will do anything (Willing to risk further injury just to compete)
• Depression
• Acceptance