Happy when we are running!

[MoshiMoshi]

Hear ye! Hear ye! All those who want to liberate themselves from the shackles of their domestic and work lives, join us here in our continued bid to run and be happy and feel free !

Hi ladies, I need some advice,

I was just about to progress from c25k, when I seem to have hurt my right calf.

I definitely don't remember anything sudden, but it started about 1 min into a runabout 2 weeks ago,
I left it for a week and it seemed better, but ride again on Saturday and was agony.
I can't run on it at all and it even hurts going down stairs.

What should I do to recover as quickly before I lose my running mojo and the weather turns grotty?

Is it normal to feel beyond tired and really low after running big distances?

I fell asleep withds3 last buthhave woken feeling tireder than before

I also feel really down and emotional and hugely irritable. Feel slightly loopy actually

Are you eating enough popsy? Sounds like your body needs some calories to compensate for your excessive exercise. Also remember you have just run quite a distance.

Wohmum, have you tried giving the spot a good massage? How about some good stretching techniques? If it still hurts after that I wouldn't run on it for a week...

Hi folks,

I'm not much of a runner but have done a few 10ks in my time, and have just started running again after a looooong time out with a hip injury (I do lots of other sports too, some of which involve running around anyway).

Having finally got over the worst of the hip issues I'm now having to tape my patella on the opposite leg due to stabby stabby pains of death. Apparently it's all from tight quads which are pulling my knee caps out of place [resolves to do more stretching and yoga]. Being injured sucks.

Goldberry, I'm running Blenheim 10k - see you there!

The masters...probably not!
Will toddle off to shops....pay day today thank goodness!

Moshi, eek, your knee pain sounds exactly like mine - poor you. Am also a hockey player (county though, not international!) playing at a reasonable club standard at the moment. My physio has a theory that all hockey players have really weak glutes unless they cross train for something else. This means the quads/lower back do all the work the glutes should be doing.

In my case this has resulted in a bad sacro-ileac injury and tight hip flexors. I finally got the SI injury under control with lots of pilates and yoga and stretching and just started running again a couple of months ago. After a 12k run in hot weather three weeks ago I developed the most awful stabbing pain in my left knee which lasted for a week before I saw my physio.

He says my quads are far too tight, which is pulling and rotating the knee caps of both legs. All he did was tape the knee cap into a more natural position (by rotating it a little and pushing it back to the middle) and I walked away from the physio in no pain at all. I've been taping every day, especially for training and have been running and playing hockey with vastly reduced pain. Will continue to do so until I can relax the muscles with stretching and some glute strengthening exercises.

Can recommend the tape if you like and I think there are youtube videos on how to place the tape. Having said that, it's probably worth getting checked out by a physio as your diagnosis might not be the same as mine (given the sporting background though I bet we have similar problems).

Am of all the people with perfect biomechanics who can train to their hearts' content!

Thanks themasters I will give that a go.

Kylie "who" ran the GNR? Not "the" Kylie?

Kylie is Haile Gebrselassie....

I love it. It's another Murakami Boob/Harm Band moment isn't it?

calista - thank you for the info. I shall digest and consider. The knee has been righted by a physio with skilled hands and acupuncture needles. Needless to say my weak glutes are to blame. Oh for a more pert and muscular bottom... And I am still very rusty after a 15 year break from hockey during which they replaced mulberry wood sticks with composite ones, got rid of the offside rule and brought in the self pass rule, got rid of left and right inners so I never know who is meant to be marking who and nobody plays on grass anymore. Still re-educating myself and trying to find that sweet spot when hitting. Very frustrating!

Moshi, I just got back from a 2.5 hour hockey training session - got some funny looks for the tape but it's definitely working! My physio is a trained acupuncturist, but he doesn't use it on me. Good to hear that it worked for you though. I really like the self-pass rule after a year or so of playing it! Have you seen the gray's sticks with aero holes in them? They look like a recipe for broken fingers - see this page

Ooh - good luck on Sunday, Callista! If you've done a few 10k's in your time, you'll probably go whizzing past me at some point .
I'm really chuffed - I went to gp for my bp check this week and my blood pressure is lower than it's been since I was pregnant with ds (who's now 2.5). I'm so relieved because I get quite anxious about it being high (which in turn doesn't really help with the blood pressure!)The gp says it's probably mostly down to my running, and I might even be able to come off my meds if it stays down. Happy running, one and all!

Help :~

ok so it was probably not the best decision in the world, but after being goaded my my DH this morning that I should enter next year's GNR, I have entered us both for a 10k in a couple of weeks time...

I've been running 3 - 5 times a week since June and can now run for upto 10k on my longer runs - not the fastest in the world but on a flat course I can do it...

The race I've entered us in isn't too bad but certainly isn't flat. Its only a small race too - max 500 and I'm expecting to be in the tail end of the field somewhere

I've got 16 days to prepare - what should I concentrate on doing between now and then....

just quick drop by to wish Good Luck to those racing this weekend

I am happy to have been going out 4x a week over the last 3 weeks, fitness improving and unfortunately left knee going a bit sore, will be ignoring it for now

happy running

Murakami Boob/Harm Band/ Kylie
we are creating our own secret lingo/ quiche thingy

We are a quiche :)

mmmmmm quiche

hamster - sounds as if you are going to be fine for your race. 1) You can cover the distance comfortably. 2) You have been running 3-5 times a week so your body is used to the load required to race a 10K. 3) You have over two weeks to go to fine tune your preparations. I wouldn't try do anything other than what you have been doing as it is too late to introduce anything new and get significant benefits from it. Instead, taper down your sessions with the objective of letting your body rest in anticipation of the race fitting in a few key sessions eg one medium length run, one short speedy run to practice race pace and a simple leg turnover pootle. Panic not about covering 10K in a run now if you feel more inclined to rest. Good luck!

mmm more quiche :)

Good luck Goldberry, it's great to see that running is having a positive effect on your body. With all the injuries we see at hockey from overtraining etc it's sometimes good to be reminded that we are probably doing good things for heart and lungs even if our joints are suffering a bit!

Does anyone else have a stretching routine? I'm a bit iffy about it but have weekly pilates and yoga (am too lazy to remember to do these things myself!), and a little board I stand on to stretch my calves, plus a bit of foam rollering.

Callista you obviously fall into that proper athlete category along with Moshi, Twink and Hattie. I'm afraid I'm just a mere dabbler in comparison.

Pilates once a week for me.

A lovely 10k this morning in 54mins. I changed my shoes and the left knee twinge went away. Something to consider sfx?? I need to do some intervals tomorrow morning and then 16k on Sunday.

oh master - come off it. you're serious too. and my fb status says "giving up long distance running" and I haven't been out for 5 days. (still doing the race but taking it easy after that...)

Thanks Moshi

My plan was to run pretty much the same as usual for next week. I will cut back to no more than 5k each day at the beginning of the following week.

As I am away with work on Thurs/Fri before the race, I won't do any running after Wednesday morning - shall have a nice hotel breakfast instead Might do a short pootle on the friday evening to check everything still works, then relaxing day on Saturday, race on Sunday

Hopefully that will be enough of a taper...

hamster, sounds like an ideal taper, good luck!

TheM&M no no, even the most generous description of me as an athlete would have to be 'eager'! I can never get my head around why I can't run faster - maybe because I'm short, probably because I could stand to be about 15lbs lighter .

If only I could be as keen about not eating as I am about running around having fun

Wish me luck for the 10k this weekend! I have a big match tomorrow morning then the Blenheim 10k on Sunday, will be tired by the end of it!

However DH is just about to complete a land's end to John O'Groats cycle (over 900 miles in 9 days) so I guess he deserves more sympathy!

Hello Callista and Hamster !

Good luck for Sunday Goldberry and Callista.

Yikes then it'll be my turn the sunday after. I had planned to do 7K, 10K, then 8K this wk but the 10K turned into 8 as my legs felt a bit sore (and I was on the treadmill which is dreadfully dull...). So, 5 miles on sunday then 2 runs next wk probably of 7 and 5.

Sort of wishing I hadn't signed up for it now .

Am pleased to be part of a quiche - have been on MN 6 years and never been part of a quiche

Good luck for tomorrow racers!

Crazy week - again! Culminating in the school sponsored walk yesterday - around 1100 kids doing a 10k, off-road. I'd been asked to run as quite a few students were keen to run too, we had about 30 altogther which was fab and I chatted to quite a few on the way round. I felt it was quite a struggle at times but then realised that I ran it only a minute outside my road PB, despite the mud and the wind... I then spent 2 hours manning the finish line until a colleague recognised that I was rather colder than was normal & despatched me home for a hot bath!

I've got confirmed entry for Wimbleball much to miniT's disgust - Mummy, not AGAIN...

I'm a last minute entry for the Clarendon Half next Sunday, that'll be hard work but essential for my OMM plans. Hat, I think I should have followed your plan - I'm feeling distinctly under-prepared so far but I've still got 5 weeks. Yikes!