BACK ON TRACK

Its been a dreadfully frustrating and at times depressimg 4 weeks since my calf muscle tear.
Two weeks into my recovery the muscle gave way again, setting me back once more.
I decided to look closely at my running style and decided my dorsi-flexed ankle and heel-midfoot strike had to go, almost by magic changing to a forefoot strike [ my natural style] brought about a very rapid recovery, so much so that I completed an hour and a half run over the big sand dunes at a good pace on Saturday without any problem.
So on Monday I decided to join in the club session on the grass track down at Greenbank high school.
Starting the session with great caution, by the end I was fair old flying round.
The next step is to get some light weight flat soled, flexible shoes as recommended by Gorden Pirie and Arthur Lydiard.
Barry Magee said sometime a injury can be a blessing in disguise, in this case I have to agree.
I'm enjoying my running much more now and I feel more like a proper Athlete as I run along on my forefoot.
Calf muscle massage tip
Not sure who told me about this but it works, to massage the calf's and to free up any tight or sore spots simply get a ROLLING PIN and roll it up and down the back of the calf for a minute or two, hey presto you now have one set of very relaxed muscles.
GORDEN PIRIE RUNNING FAST AND INJURY FREE 2007 Updated version with photos

RUNNING FAST AND INJURY FREE BY GORDEN PIRIE

READ ELITE BRITISH ATHLETE GORDEN PIRIE'S BOOK, on correct ball of the foot running and why modern running shoes are designed to injure you, a must read! Thanks to GMC for link.
READ IT HERE

2007 Updated version with photos

THE GREAT BAR ROOM DEBATE; WHICH IS BEST, TO HEEL STRIKE OR TO LAND ON THE FORE FOOT!

I had a heated debate [fueled by alcohol] last week with a friend on which is the correct and the most natural way to run; heel or fore foot landing!
I decided to ask Canutes efficient running site to come up with the answers.Canute was very kind and went to a lot of trouble to unravel the truth!
READ IT HERE

THE PAINFUL TRUTH ABOUT RUNNING SHOES, ARE YOUR SHOES A WASTE OF MONEY

CLICK HERE

RESULTS; NEW WORLD AND COURSE RECORD AT RUBBISH 5K, PLUS THE STORY OF A NAKED RUNNER

WORLD RECORDS AND A NAKED RUNNER!

I found myself multi-skill tasking at this months Rubbish 5k, timekeeper,results, roving marshal and lead bike plus reporter!
There was a clash of the titans with the two Robs coming head to head, heel striking Rob Mcgrath lead for much of the way until 2007 Anglesey Marathon winner Rob Ashworth put in a decisive attack with 400 uphill metres to go! Both runners smashed my June record with 17.28 and 17.40, all I could do was watch in amazement from the side lines as calf muscle problems have enforced me to rest up! Next in was Steve McLean with 18.16 followed by Doctor Simon Tobin who took a slight short cut, after much deliberation I decided to keep him in the results but add 20 sec.
Tracy Peters was first lady back in 21.31 missing the womens course record by just 43 sec.
Young Mathew Tobin set a new world and course record for under 11 year olds, Mathew has a fantastic smooth flowing running style and I think he is someone to look out for in the future.
Mathews mum Paula Tobin finished in 29.27 equal 12 th place with Sheila Marshal [L60 world and course record holder 29.11] The Tobin's had a great day out winning the fastest family award!
Brian Grice who had great form early in the year was the first D.N.F. in the short history of the Rubbish 5k. Once again most runners seemed to really enjoy the event.
Thanks go out to Sarah and Steady Eddie for marshaling duties, Cheers!
BREAKING NEWS!
We were one runner short at the event, it seems John Sprackland would have raced but for a bizarre accident at home, wearing only under pants John was doing his housework [ as you do!] when he stepped outside his front door to put some empty bear bottles in the recycle bin, it seems a sudden gust of wind blew the front door shut leaving John half naked and in a rather embarrassing position!
Banging on the door and window got no answer from his girlfriend who was upstairs wearing an i-pod listening to loud rock music.
So after an embarrassingly long time and dark looks from his neighbours John decided to sprint off along his road and down a back alley, before jumping a high wall to his rear garden, hitting and breaking his ribs in the process! Get well soon John!
Next 5k Wed 19th Aug.

RESULTS 15TH JULY 2009
1/ ROB ASHWORTH 17.28 NEW WORLD AND COURSE RECORD
2/ ROB MCGRAPH 17.40
3/ STEVE MCLEAN 18.16
4/ SIMON TOBIN 19.29 CORRECTED TIME
5/ GARETH 21.07
6/ TRACY PETERS 21.31 FIRST LADY
7/ DAVE 22.12
8/ PHIL 23.14
9/RACHEL THOMAS 24.15
10/MATHEW TOBIN 25.25 NEW UNDER 11 W/R AND C/R
11/ SUE STUART 27.42
12/= PAULA TOBIN
SHEILA MARSHAL 29.27
14/ JILL GILLISON 30.40
15/ SUE A 30.41
16/ BRIAN GRICE D.N.F. Over heated!

LIVESTRONG.COM .SUPER COOL WEBSITE, training,fitness,injury treatment, and even Ryan Hall

LIVESTRONG.COM

RYAN HALL VIDEO'S

THE RUBBISH 5 K RETURNS

RUBBISH 5K series
Second event 15th July, start 7pm,
The viewing stone circle [ highest central part of the park]
Bentham's way, new woodlands park, SOUTHPORT
Please come along and support the event.
MAP
RESULTS from June race

THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD

I set off from Parbold on a long hilly run, the first since I pulled my calf muscle, would it withstand the steep monster hills and the distance! Well there was only one way to find out and after a good warm up I set off up the first hill, thankfully apart from a slight tightness in the old calf I made it through, ending up running longer than the planned hour and a half, it was a massive relief to finish in one piece!
Talking to Jack Nirenstein of GRAVITY RUNNING he advised me to concentrate on lifting the knees higher and taking shorter faster steps uphill this worked really well on the climbs. I had a bit of a flash back to 2003 when I use to REALLY FLY up the hills using this sort of method, somehow over the last couple of years I've been thinking more about pushing into the ground when running uphill, which just is not efficient! Barry Magee also recommended concentrating on knee lift on the hills and running lighter. I kind of lost my way, gone round in a circle and eventually found the right path again! maybe I can become a good climber once more!
I'll leave you with this Beatles song, that reminds me of family summer holidays, back when I was a young kid in the early 70's.
Arthur Lydiard type long run, inc 4 climbs = 1.54

Free energy drinks, energy bars and vits, HERE!

Team mate Rob 'the funky chicken' Ashworth sent me this link, after applying Rob got a whole load of freebees, and so can you. CLICK HERE NOW!

Thur 9th
Decided to test the calf muscle out a bit today, ran down to the rugby ground and ran some stride outs, gradually increasing the speed on each one. The calf held up well so I finished off with a fartlek run over the sandhills.
Its always so frutrating being injured, so its a big releif to come out the other side, REGULAR STRETCHING, MASSAGE AND ANTI INFLAMMATORIES have all helped speed up my recover and hopefully I should be back to normal training next week!
6 x 150m plus easy fartlek run = 1.11

Managing injuries for a speedy comeback!

RUNNING LIGHT
Most injuries happen for a reason and the first thing to do after getting injured is find the cause, in my case I tried out a technique I'd seen on youtube, the idea was to drive your foot into the ground to increase energy return! Big mistake, all it did was increase impact and lead to my calf pull!
Talking to Barry about my injury he said I should be working towards running as light on my feet as possible, to accomplish this I should concentrate on knee lift!
ACTIVE TEST
Try this; Run on the spot, concentrate on your feet landing on the floor, now switch to concentrating on lifting your knees, feel the difference! Out on the road I've found just concentrating on lifting my knees a little really makes a hugh different to running lighter and my calf muscle is thanking me for it!
Jack Nirenstein of GRAVITY RUNNING said this;
Uphill running uses a different range of motion for your legs. They lift higher and come down less. The feet do not reach as far forward, which makes the stride shorter. Gravity is still the only force that moves you forward but the feet do not go behind as far for gravity to pull you as fast. The landing is not as hard because it is soft like running up steps and not hard like running down steps. The higher lift and more strides to go forward, make it harder on the muscles. You need to train on hills to get stronger for them.
I also found this bit of advise from elite women's runner Kara Goucher on running uphill; LEGS: "Push your legs off and up, rather than into, the hill," says Goucher. This helps you feel "light," as if you're "springing" up the hill.
Video on using knee lift for improved running
What is good running form
I've followed the advise from my chiropractor and run easy every day, trying to keep below the point where the calf starts hurting, I seem to be making good progress!
Sat 4th Calf quite sore, managed 36 mins of slow running with a few walk breaks.
Sun 5th Run with Jon, sandhill 6, worried that the calf might break down again but once running felt a lot better than yesterday! = 57 mins
Mon 6th Run with Niz for 21 mins then I set off for a run over the sandhill paths, again an improvement with my calf and finished gradually increasing the the pace at the end without any bad side effects = 42 mins + 21 mins
Tue 7th
Was able to run at an easy aerobic pace before reaching the pain barrier of my calf muscle, inc a few faster sections, another improvement. Sandhill 6 plus run down and back = 1.11
Wed 8th
Good improvement again today, was able to maintain my normal easy aerobic pace with no real pain apart from a slight niggle from time to time. ran with Tess over the big sandhills working on knee lift, felt good! = 1.30

LANCE ARMSTRONG, POWER WORKOUT

click here
Love him or hate him, whats amazing is that if he finishes first in this Years Tour it will make him the oldest ever winner, the honour of that position rests with Firmin Lambot who won the race back in 1922 at the age of 36 and 4 months!

Ghost caught on film, running in Africa, amazing!

WATCH IT HERE

Tour de France 2009: can Lance Armstrong win?

At 37, Lance Armstrong is attempting the near impossible by going for an eighth victory in the Tour de France, the world's toughest cycling race. Can he do it?

By Brendan Gallagher
Published: 11:58AM BST 03 Jul 2009

Focus: Lance Armstrong has been motivated since breaking collar bone Photo: AP

Long road to victory: Lance Armstrong is back in the saddle for the 2009 Tour Photo: AP

Why is he riding the Tour for the first time since 2005?

MORE

Back on the road to recovery

I visited Dr Scott Fullwood [ chiropractor] on Friday evening, he clicked my back then did some deep pressure and friction massage on my calf
[ oh man that hurt like hell!] , he told me to run easy for the next week keeping off the hills then build up my training again over the following week, he also told me to do plenty of massage and stretching on the calf!
His magic seemed to work and an hour later I ran easy for a good 40 mins with Tracey, I felt no pain and was ok after!

SIDELINED!

After my hill efforts on Monday I finished with 20 mins of steady running, after 10 my left calf tightened up and then started to lock, dam what a bummer, seems like my old sciatic problem has returned to haunt me again!
I rested Tue and by Wed I was pain free! I set off steady but after a mile the calf suddenly locked without warning, leaving me to hobble home.
I guess that's the end of the road for me! I've booked an appointment with my local chiropractor for Friday, usually one treatment is enough to sort me out!
I know its the sciatic nerve thats the problem, as there is no pain if I do deep pressure massage on the calf and also the pain was moving around my foot and shin before the calf locked!
HERE IS A GREAT ARTICLE ON RUNNING BY PETER MAGILL [check it out!]
Morning Read: The Older We Get, The Younger We Feel