if you insist on running, how bout a good flexible treadmill?
Posted on 03/25/2012 6:01:19 PM PDT by mamelukesabre
I used to run a lot...in my younger years.
In the mid 90s I was running 20-25 miles every sunday afternoon, and around 10 miles the other days of the week. It all ended in '96 when I developed knee problems and iliotibial band friction syndrome, snapping hip syndrome, and chronic tendonitis of the iliotibial band, and also serious problems with the muscle attached to the iliotibial band...and a few other things like ganglion cysts in my feet and meniscus issues with the knees, and some other stuff. I went to doctors. I took pills, took supplements, did strengthening excercizes, stretching...nothing worked. I had to quit running. I ended up with ulcers from the pills I was taking.
I started back into running around '99-2000 but only mildly, like 2-4 miles 3 times a week, but I was overweight and screwed up a knee real bad on a steep hill after only 3-4 months back into it.
I decided then I had to quit for good. The knee problem appeared to be permanent.
Around the year 2009-2010, one day I noticed my knee had not been bothering me for quite a while. I kept testing it on stairs for several months. I would use it more when carrying something heavy. It appeared to be 100% healed for everyday ordinary activities. It seemed like a miracle.
So, after thinking about it for a very long time...I got back into running again in the spring of 2011. Very gently at first. I walked for a few months before attempting to jog. Then a mixture of jogging/walking. Then I jogged only very very slowly and only 1-2 miles. Then 2-3 miles. Never more than 3 times per week. I was content to just stay at that level indefinitely then something went wrong. I started getting unusually severe muscle cramps in my feet and calves so I quit...didn't even walk.
Then I got back into running again this January. Again, I started out walking only, and being very cautious. Then a mixture of walking and jogging. Then jogging only very short distances and only 3 times a week.
Well, something amazing happened. About a 4 weeks ago I started having incredible amounts of energy(and no, I am not taking pills or drugs or hormones). Towards the end of my 2 mile jog, I would get an overpowering urge to run very fast. So I did. It felt good. I started running every single day and sometimes twice a day. I started increasing the distance. I started running faster and faster. I had to fight the urge to run my jogging route a second time after reaching the end of the route. I started feeling like I was 20 years younger. My waistline started to slim. The veins in my arms and legs began bulging. I started running up steps two steps at a time whenever there were stairs in my path anytime during the day. My skin looks younger, tighter, smoother and more resilient. I have the color of a 20 year old now. I have a girlfriend that is technically young enough to be my daughter.
Then I went too far.
One day I got the stupid idea to go run 10 kilometers to see if I maybe could enter a 10k race sometime this year. I've been in pain ever since. The old iliotibial band problems came back within hours after running that 10k, and they came back with a vengeance. 6 hours afterwards, I could barely walk.
My question is, how the hell do I make this crap go away AND STAY AWAY! Its been over 15 years now and I am sick of it. I do not want to quit running again. I refuse to start taking pills for inflammation.
Ah, the story of my life! And I’ll be 67 next month!
But I’m now down to only a mile or two at a time, so many runner’s injuries over so many years.....
Go get the book on Barefoot Running......many believe that most runner’s injuries are actually from.........today’s running shoes! The more expensive the shoe, the more extensive the injuries!
God never designed our bods to run on our heels....the balls of the foot, the arch, the Achilles and the calf are all designed to absorb the shock of running - but one must learn it from youth as many Africans have. You can’t just jump into it.
Google the Harvard study on barefoot running.......and you’ll get the idea......many serious runners are headed this route.....with Vibram Five Fingers, or other similar minimalist shoes.....
Get a recumbant exercise bike for your cardio...no shock or pounding.
Large quantities of D3, hyaluronic acid, and fish oil.
I felt bad for myself because I could no longer run.
Until I met a man with no legs.
Chyea, I’ve seen it time and again. Stop running and switch to a less impact intensive form of exercise, like swimming or bicycling. Oh yeah, talk to your doctor about steroidal anti-inflammatories. You may also benefit from Celebrex for your arthritic symptoms.
if you insist on running, how bout a good flexible treadmill?
I bike every day in warm months and for some days for hours at a time. Some Saturdays I'll bike 6 hours. The rush I get and the long term affects are fantastic.
I think you'd enjoy it - and your knees thank you.
I run 2-3-4 miles, on M-W-F. More than that, my legs start telling me I’m 54 and pushing 55.
Bicycle the rest. All the gain without the pain.
Try swimming or get ready for weeks of recovery after knee replacements. Seriously.
http://running.competitor.com/2011/08/injuries/the-10-best-mobility-exercises-for-runners_36329
I recommend crossfit training and mobilitywod.com
Mobility WOD is a site offered by a very talented physical therapist who specializes in athletic performance (Kelly Starrett). He is a crossfitter who explains how to rehab common athletic injuries/problems, and how to correct underlying causes like range of motion constraints, strength imbalances, poor form/movement patterns, etc. IT band is a common problem, and rolling it on a foam roller is a common aid to many.
As a guy on the long side of 50 with a string of traumatic and overuse injuries (AIRBORNE!), I was losing a lot of function and conditioning, and experiencing progressively worse pain and early arthritis - until I started crossfit. It is a well rounded strength and conditioning program, along the lines of what olympic and professional athletes do, but geared toward general fitness and scalable to suit even the quite frail. My results have been lifechanging.
Running is so repetitive, that done too much it will eventually overwhelm the recovery capabilty of some body tissue (which declines with age). Rather than running more miles, crossfit emphasizes running shorter sprints (100-200-400-800 meters) mixed with strength and power exercises (including plyometric box jumps which emerged from East block olympic teams to revolutionize track and field training programs). A few 5Ks a year to test/benchmark capability. Cardiovascular endurance, VO2 Max, etc. are built up during constantly varied bouts of powerful functional movements like pull ups, jumps, weight exercises and sprints (on rowers as well as on tracks). Most people significantly improve their run times while running a hell of a lot fewer miles, and gaining impressive athletic physiques, power and speed. Compare how powerfully built sprinters are relative to marathoners. Just relying on distance running for overall fitness is pounding whatever the same weakest link is in your kinetic chain to its limits, while stronger elements are sub-optimized.
By varying the mode and duration of training stimulus you can develop a broad range of capability, and give each more recovery time before you pound the same thing the same way again. Crossfit is pretty time efficient as well - warm-up, hit it hard for 10 or 20 (maybe 30) minutes and hit the showers. There is more to life than just running - train to lift, carry, throw, climb, and jump as well. Be ready for anything.
crossfit.com
Did we have the same mother? 
--H.L. Mencken, The Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920
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