Running

Key points to getting RUNNING READY

Do your ever drive past the tan or see people running on the road and think ‘I wish I could run like that?’ or ‘wow that’s an interesting running style?’. Well if you do …..you are not alone…… SO DO I!!!

As a sprinter I envy those people who can just put their runners on and go for a run or a jog or a ‘Cliffy Young’ shuffle.  I’m just not a natural!

However most recently after suffering some hamstring tendon injuries I have had to take a leaf out of these ‘joggers’ books and go for some slower runs.

Here are some of my tips have for getting ‘RUNNING READY’

*sidenote ….. You can run ‘like that’ and also there is no perfect running style so read below and get out there and as Nike says JUST DO IT!!

 

  1. GET SOME COMFY SHOES

Some people say that shoes don’t make a difference…. Well I’ll give you my opinion ….THEY DO!!! Could you imagine trying to run 5km in your work heels ladies?! Didn’t think so … Gents how about those steel capped boots?  Nope me either!

You want to head out for those runs with shoes on that make you feel like you are elegantly floating over the clouds! I suggest if those sneakers are looking a bit tattered or you’ve had them since your high school PE classes you need to upgrade.

I suggest finding a local athletic shoe shop near you, or jump on the google and suss out if there are any local shops that have treadmill analysis, if you are lucky there are some places that sell shoes and have podiatrists running video analysis on treadmills.

If you are in the West of Melbourne I highly recommend the crew at ‘THE RUNNING COMPANY YARRAVILLE’. They get you on a treadmill and video you running, then choose the best pair of shoes for you and video you again to show the difference!! HOW COOL IS THAT!!  These guys are awesome so get in there now !

Or head to your local Athletes Foot and get a nice fresh pair that you are comfortable in!

 

  1. START ON GRASS

As an Osteopath I see many running related injuries and they tend to follow a pattern.

  • Going too hard too soon (see point 4 below)
  • They have crap shoes (see point 1 above)
  • They have unmanaged injuries (see point 5 below)
  • They start on the foot path or road (see point 2 I’m just about to write it )
  • have a heavy running style (see point 6 below)

Be nice to those muscles bones and tendons by starting in something a bit softer like grass. The local footy oval, the local park or green grassy area. Those shins are going to thank you for it my friend.

 

  1. DO STRETCHES FIRST

People sit down wayyyyyyy too much these days.

We get up – we sit and have breakfast – we sit in the car on the way to work (Bloody Melb traffic … am I right?) – We get to our desk job and work through our lunch – we sit in the car on the way home (how are those west gate tunnel works??)  We get home we sit and watch some TV!

Then we go ‘RIGHT I’d better get some exercise in’   so we get up … runners on … out the door… start our jog and ‘omg my *back hurts’ (*insert any lower limb joint muscle here).

I suggest spending  5-10 mins giving those muscles a bit of love and limbering the body up before you head out and hit the *pavement (* grass if you listened to point 2).

 

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT ‘ L-JS FAV RUNNING RELATED STRETCHES’ – COMING SOON

 

  1. START SMALL

Rome wasn’t built in a day people; you know what I’m saying! It is very difficult to go from no running to running 5km. or from running a constant 5km to running your first marathon. You need to be smart with your transition and introduction to increasing your distance. I started with some jog walk jog sequences.  Due to my bias of being a sprinter I couldn’t run anywhere else except my local athletics ground….. obviously.   This is how I started

Each week I increased my distance jogging but kept my walking distance the same

WEEK 1

  • Jog 400m (1 lap) fast walk 200m (half a lap) x 5

This equates to 3km distance covered  or 2km of jogging.

WEEK 2

  • Jog 600m (1.5 laps) fast walk 200m (half a lap) x5

This equates to 4km distance covered or 3km of jogging.

WEEK 3

  • Jog 800m (2 laps) walk 200m (half a lap) x5

This equates to 5km distance covered 4km of jogging.

WEEK 4

  • Jog 1000m (2.5 laps) walk 200m (half a lap) x5

This equates to 6km distance covered and 5km of jogging.

WELL DONE you can now jog for 5km (with a few cheeky walk breaks). Now it’s time to progress you can do this by taking every second walk break out.

 

  1. GET YOUR NIGGLES SORTED

In The Osteopathic Clinic Altona I see many patients come in for a consult after they have tried running for a few weeks then can’t go on any further because of pain. Most commonly in the lower limb such as

  • Achilles
  • Calf
  • Shin splints
  • Knee
  • Hip and low back

So if you are currently nursing any aches or pains or start to run and then begin to get any niggles book an appointment with one of our FABULOUS Osteopaths and get it sorted!!!

 

6. GET A RUNNING ASSESSMENT 

At The Osteopathic Clinic we have NEXT LEVEL RUNNING assessment and gait retraining technology.  We use this system to assess our clients running gait and determine if they potentially have a style that is causing or aggravating their existing ache or pain. It is also very beneficial in preventing future running injuries  from occurring by tweaking a few points of their style.

Not only to we assess their running style on our super fancy treadmill we also do a series of tests for flexibility, stability, strength, balance and coordination all qualities that are essential for a good runner. We then develop a 6 week  individualized program with running intervals and specific exercises that may have been deficient from the assessment to help and improve our clients running efficiency. HOW. KOOL. IS. THAT!!!!

Now as i said before there is NO PERFECT STYLE , however there can be ways that we can tweak your style to reduce your impact that you are putting on your lower limb (Ie. the most common areas i see with running injuries in clinic).

These assessments are for everyone, not just athletes, they are especially good for children and those developing adolescents. Ps. we also do waking assessments for anyone who doesn’t fancy a jog but wants to learn to walk better.

 

So that’s my two bobs worth i hope you feel that you are now RUNNING READY!!!

GOOD LUCK!

Move well, move often

L-J

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