After 6 Foot Track, my first long distance run (45k, 1,900m gain), I came back to training to eager, running 10k the Sunday after followed later that day by 90min of 11-a-side football (soccer). The result was serious knee pain that lasted 8 months. During that time I searched for answers and relief going to numerous highly regarded physios and osteopaths. Most of them determined I had weak glutes and tight ITB but they offered little in the way of effective rehab other than weekly or twice weekly hands on treatment. And at $120 a go you can imagine that wasn’t exactly sustainable. I asked for advice on what to do and it was all very generic, I didn’t feel like I was getting much of a dedicated service or in the case where I did get exercises, they hurt and that clearly wasn’t a good thing! More on that below… That all changed when I met Mike at Fix Physio. Recommended by my running buddy Andrea who after 6FT was in a similar situation, though he saw Mike earlier than me and hence at Tarawera when I was crying in pain (who can forget that sad face), he was fine, more than fine he was strong! That was all I needed to get me in to see Mike given 12 weeks out from Tarawera Andrea wasn't able to run much more than 6k pain free and there he was smashing out 50k without a slither of knee pain. Mike did a thorough initial assessment and immediately identified that I was significantly weaker on my left side from my stomach down to my ankle. He said there was effectively a hole in my left glute where there should have been muscle! Gulp! Hence why every time I've gone to the Chiro he's had to straighten my hips with them being lower on the left. Mike also used the ultrasound to show me my muscle density around my abdomen showing a notable deficit on the left hand side and performed basic strength tests showing my left was significantly weaker than my right. He told me it was fixable but I was sceptical, until he did a simple test where we forced my glutes to activate (faking what they should do normally) and had me redo one of the simple strength tests. The result was crazy (good) and I could actually see the results I would get if I could strengthen my core muscles and get them firing! But other than the diagnosis what sold me on Mike was the rehab program. He explained where I'd need to get to - single leg dead lifts, squats etc with weights but that I was a long way from getting there. In fact 3.5 months into the program and I've only just started these weighted single-leg exercises. This compares to one physio who had me doing these in week 2 and couldn't understand why I wasn't getting any better. Mike and his team build you up from where your body is at the start and my left side was at a pretty low place to begin with. So we've built the program and progressed the exercises as my body has been capable to deal with the extra load. It takes dedication - I do 25-30min of strengthening every other day and have just finished a 6 week program of small group Pilates in the Fix Studio. But mostly I'm doing everything at home with some light weights and other standard small equipment (therabands, gym ball etc). Of course it's still important to get regular hands on treatment to kneed out any tension & check for any imbalances. But this shouldn't be the bulk of your rehab it should support a comprehensive and targeted strengthening program. The team at Fix not only understand bodies but they understand that we're not all the same. If you don't have access to a gym (like me) they'll modify the program for you and they assess your progress in the Pilates sessions and regularly adjust your program to both your body and your progress. Finally after almost a year of issues, I’m feeling stronger and more confident about being (knee) pain free at UTA50. I’d highly recommend you check out the team at Fix Physio for any running (or non running) related pain.
I just wish I’d found out about them sooner! www.fixphysio.com.au
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This is my first time closely following a training plan (supplied by a coach) as I prepare for an ultra. When I first started running it was with little knowledge and little research. I just ran a bit and increased my distance as I could – which wasn’t very much given my running fitness at the time! From there I downloaded and followed a couch to 21k program for my first half marathon. It actually went quite well. But from there I just ran with little purpose or consistency. I entered trail races as I liked and with little structure to training for them. Going into Coastal Classic (my 6FT qualifier) I ran only 40ks in the 4 weeks prior!! Really I should have been running 40ks a week for the 4 months prior! But I didn’t know then what I know now. I remember training for 6FT and one of the runners asking me if I had a coach! I was dumbstruck to find out that people running at my kind of pace and level had coaches! What, why, how? I had so many questions. So when I was offered an intro coaching offer when I signed up for my first 50k I jumped on it. And so began my relationship with Squadrun. But injury from overtraining for 6FT had me pretty patchy on my training efforts in the lead up toTarawera 50k and I didn’t go into the race well trained. Luckily I got all of that sorted (well on track) with the help of Fix Physio – IMO the best physio in Sydney (and I’ve seen a few! I’ll do a separate post on these guys in the not too distant future). So now I’m training really well for UTA50 in May and following my Squadrun training plan pretty closely. So what does that mean? Well today that meant doing a half marathon rhythm run before work! Just 3 years ago I was training for my first half marathon, the thought of actually running that far terrified me! If my training goes to plan I’ll actually end up running three half marathons this week (2 more on trail this weekend). But this didn’t happen overnight. Each week I sit down and spend at least an hour mapping out my runs for the following two weeks (based on the suggested runs in the Squadrun program – you pick your runs from a suggested list of 7 based on how often you want to / can run). I have it all mapped out in Excel (I am a data nerd!) so that I can calculate my percentage increases each week – no more than 10% is the golden rule! Also the majority of my running is at a moderate pace – a lot slower than my 5k or 10k or even half marathon and marathon pace. For me my 5k race pace is around 4:35m/k and my estimated marathon pace around 5:10m/k but 90% of my training is around the 5:35-5:45m/k pace. This means my body isn’t getting smashed on every run and I’m actively recovering from the tougher sessions in the week (speed or hills usually). Since following the program of less is more in terms of speed (for most of your sessions) but gradually more is better in terms of distance and introducing weekly speed sessions, I’ve not only been able to keep injury free (and a lot of this is thanks to Mike at Fix Physio for his awesome strengthening plan) but I’ve knocked minutes off of my 5k, 10k and half marathon time trials and races. I’ve PB’d consistently in my trail races so far this year. So whilst I was certainly able to complete 6FT on the back of general plodding through the week and massive long runs at weekend I ultimately burnt myself out by not monitoring my overall increases (I went from 10k runs to 20k runs within a week and built rapidly from there!). This resulted in over 9 months of injury that I couldn’t get sorted. But coaching isn’t for everyone. Either it’s not affordable (though there is a range of prices out there based on what you get – high volume / low touch is cheaper versus individual one-on-one coaching) or it’s just not something you’re keen on. And whilst it really does help IMO it can of course be done without coaching. That’s the beauty of the internet and the massive amount of information that’s out there. Just make sure you’re reading information posted by reputable runners and not just googling “running program”. Find out who knows there stuff and listen to them – but most importantly listen to yourself and your body and find out what works for you 😀 Here are my top three recent blog posts on training for an ultra or just increasing your training load:
1. I Run Far – A guide to road running for trail runners! Some great tips on why it’s important for trail runners to also find time to train on the road. http://www.irunfar.com/2017/03/on-road-to-off-road-road-running-for-trail-runners.html 2. Running Science – Load management. Love this post from a 100k a week runner on his top tips for staying injury free (major jealousy on his shoe collection). http://blog.runningscience.com.au/2017/03/13/load-management/ 3. Talk Ultra – my favourite podcast and my running companion on today’s long run. The interview with Anna Frost was fantastic. She talks about balance in life and making sure running is something you do for the love of it and not because it’s become some commitment that’s expected of you. A great interview in a previous episode with ultra coach Mario Fraioli who’s top tips included running for fun and not signing up for too many races! Whilst marathon runners will usually race no more than 3 marathons a year, ultra runners seem to be racing every race available. Which is understandable with the amount of amazing races available but can lead to wiping yourself out! Check out the podcasts before. https://iancorless.org/2017/02/24/episode-129-anna-frost-james-stewart-and-fred-streatfield/ https://iancorless.org/2017/01/19/episode-127-mario-fraioli-and-stephanie-howe-violett/ In light of international women's day 2017 I thought I'd share my thoughts on being a female runner. Before I started running I ate conservatively, avoiding carbs drinking green smoothies etc on the bid for the "thin" body paraded in magazines as being healthy and idyllic. But when I started running I realised two things 1. I needed a strong body not a thin body for the longer distance trail running I was doing and 2. running bloody lots means you can eat a hell of a lot more. Woohoo! I am a firm believer that a strong runners body is primarily built from running. Long distance, hill work and short strides all build the muscles in your legs needed for running, much more so than pressing heaps of weights in the gym. Personally I also do regular body strength & light weight conditioning work in line with a plan from my physio to address imbalances in my body and I do yoga for some stretching and to strengthen my upper body (and because I enjoy it!). So I was a little taken aback when engaged in a conversation with a lady in our changing rooms recently who was off to the gym whilst I was off for a run. She was talking about her PT session and said “Cause you know I think it’s much better to be strong than skinny” I was all ready to high five her until she added (with a look) “no offence”! I paused, a little in shock at what wasn’t actually a back handed complement but was really a body shaming comment (intended or not), and so I responded with “I completely agree. I’m training for my second ultra-marathon so need to be strong”. The reality is we come in all shapes and sizes (particularly women), what is strong for one is not the same as another. For me I have an athletic physique, it’s from an entire lifetime of being active (I started Karate at age 5, football at age 10, hockey at age 13 and running at age 30!) and I’ve always eaten pretty well. Particularly now that I’m (almost 2 years) vegan and running consistently 50k+ each week it’s hard for me to be any bigger than I am. And to be honest I shouldn’t have to be. I shouldn’t be judged by others for the body that I have as result of my healthy and active lifestyle. This body lets me climb mountains, again and again. It lets me run for hours on end and it lets me see some of the most amazing things that mother nature has to offer. It also keeps me healthy, relatively illness free and gives me energy to get myself through a my full time job. My wife and I are both very active, we each have a BMI of 20.9 which for our age is in the 10th percentile. But we look very different. My wife has a rock hard torso, always has, never puts on flab on her guts. I on the other hand have the pouch (you know the one I mean!) no matter how thin I get there’s always a stubborn little fat pouch under my belly button and some love handles – it’s just my body shape. I also have way bigger thighs and butt than her but thinner lower legs and a narrower back. Women carry more fat than men, we need it to maintain healthy baby making organs, it’s how we’re built. At the Mrs’s training group she had a lady say that she was targeting reducing her BMI to 20 by the end of the 6 week program having looked up pictures of what a 20 BMI looked like and wanting to achieve that look. She was in shock to discover that the Mrs was closer to 21! She thought she was at least 15! Which is crazy. She had in her mind a picture of what she thought was a body she wanted (based on a number – 20) but when faced with the reality of what that looked like (and what she looked like – at least 3 breast sizes bigger for a start!) she realised it was probably an unrealistic target and achieving 22-25 BMI was probably going to get her the aesthetical results she desired. It’s unrealistic to pick a number or a body shape that you want to target when your body just wasn’t built that way. Think about what goal you have set yourself and ask yourself why you have set it. If it’s for someone else (so they’ll appreciate the way you look or envy your look) then I suggest you reassess and find a goal that will make you happier and will help you achieve something incredible. Maybe you’re just getting into fitness and that goal is losing some weight so that you can walk or run in your first 5k - great go for it. Or it may be like me, ensuring you keep your body strong and capable of running 50k. Either way focus on yourself and not others – both when judging yourself and more so when judging others. There’s plenty of people judging how women look we don’t need other women doing it too! #BeBoldForChange |
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