Long Distance Running

[chris330 0]

Dear All,

I'm planning a massive run in the summer of this year and I would like some advice regarding training and diet and such like.

Since I packed in cigarettes in April 2005 after literally hundreds of serious attempts to quit and since I am now also 14 months completely free of alcohol after a similar number of attempts to quit, I am feeling a good deal healthier than I have for many, many years. In fact I would say that part of my life is going the best it ever has done.

So I've decided to take up running again. I actually used to run when I was a drinker and a smoker and it makes me laugh now at how easily I can beat my former targets!

I did a lap of my old course around our estate about four weeks ago and managed to discipline myself to run slowly so I would enjoy it and be able to keep up my interest in it. The result was I comfortably completed the two-mile lap and felt plenty ready to do it again.

So I've been running what works out to be an average of 25 miles a week over the last four weeks or so and I've just got in now from what is my 100th complete mile ran in the last four weeks!

Only problem is, the thing that limits my ability to run now are my leg muscles. I never, ever get out of breath anymore no matter how hard I work but my leg muscles are feeling the strain. In particular my groin muscle and the muscle just beneath my knee over my shin. I have no problems with my skin or my feet in general as they are holding up fine which is great.

So my question is, what can I do to bolster the strength of my leg muscles as quickly as possible? I've been eating lots of tuna and stewed steak to try and get some protein in there to help them repair faster and stronger but my groin muscle still troubles me. It's limiting the distances I can run which is frustrating me. Given that I did no running for a long time before four weeks ago, is it just something you'd expect to be a problem for a while before it develops through further training? I must admit any muscular pain rarely persists into the following day now. Normally when I wake up the next day it's either all gone or down to a level which I can train on again.

I'm planning to run the entire length of the UK which is from John O' Groats to Lands End (1200 miles) over a period of a number of weeks to raise loads of money for Cancer Relief. I think it's fair to say my lungs and my blood are up to it already, but my leg muscles are lagging behind the improvement made in other areas.

I noticed that cleaning up my running technique helped a great deal in easing the amount of muscular pain during runs. My feet don't slap the pavement anymore and I keep my body movements as symmetrical as possible which really helps.

So can anyone give me any advice on what else I can do or what dietary requirements I should meet to help my training? Or will these problems just iron out over time with more training?

Thanks in advance

[Billabong81 0]

This may sound silly, but it's a start. Do you stretch before you run? The groin pains may be solveable by doing the butterfly stretch before you run.

You put your feet flat against eachother and hold them with your hands as you use your elbows to push your knees towards the ground. Hold it for about 30sec, then relax for 10sec. Do it 2-3 times.

The shin pain may be shin splints, but your problem sounds like it's a little too high on your leg for that. Maybe someone else can help with that one. Good luck!

[chris330 0]

All advice is greatly received mate and I shall be doing that warm-up exercise exactly as you describe before every time I go running from now on.

Thanks for the help

[j w 0]

Oh, and try to get the heals as close to the groin as you can.

It's an ass to do it, but you'll get really stretched.

The only way to do good kicks in karate

But after a few months you'll probably be able to run longer w/o the problems you have now, you can't expect everything to work out after just a few weeks

[scary 0]

Don't over stretch before a run. Stretching actually temporary weakens a muscle slightly so make those stretches very short and gentle just to get the blood flowing to the muscles properly.

Stretch fully after the run, however, it stops the muscle tightness from forming. A deep tissue massage works wonders on muscle pain.

Rest days are important. It's not the running that improves fitness but the recovery from it so have two days off a week, e.g. Sundays and Wednesdays.

Mix up your running, so have 3 or 4 days a week doing distance and 1 or 2 doing sprints/intervals. One very important thing is to make sure you get some hill running in at least once a week, preferably twice - even though it's only half the distance, the Great North Run is much harder than the London Marathon simply because of the hills. Beach running is very good for the leg muscles and is much more knee friendly than pavement pounding. Increase your distance runs by 500m every two weeks until 10k is easy then start mixing up the length and type of distance runs you're doing, e.g. 5k beach run, 10k hill run, 15k road, 20k cross-country. Don't just do the same thing every week and once you've got a good base level of fitness try doing a run in the morning and one in the evening some days. A couple of medium distance and intensity bike rides a week will strengthen your leg muscles.

Do a bleep test once a month to monitor your progress; level 13 or higher is a good target to aim for.

With regards to diet, most people eat the wrong way round. By this I mean that peoples' meals get progressively larger through the day. You don't need to think about it too much to realise why a large meal after you've woken up is much more useful than one before you go to sleep.

A good breakfast would be: sausage and bacon sandwich, or scrambled egg on toast or a couple of mackerel fillets; a banana; a bowl of porridge (a spoon of muscovado sugar makes it taste good); half a grapefruit; and some bread or toast with jam.

Balance is the important thing but try to swallow plenty of carbs through the day and drink plenty of water. And take a bag of jelly babies with you when running.

Good luck.

[chris330 0]

Don't over stretch before a run. Stretching actually temporary weakens a muscle slightly so make those stretches very short and gentle just to get the blood flowing to the muscles properly.

Stretch fully after the run, however, it stops the muscle tightness from forming. A deep tissue massage works wonders on muscle pain.

Rest days are important. It's not the running that improves fitness but the recovery from it so have two days off a week, e.g. Sundays and Wednesdays.

Mix up your running, so have 3 or 4 days a week doing distance and 1 or 2 doing sprints/intervals. One very important thing is to make sure you get some hill running in at least once a week, preferably twice - even though it's only half the distance, the Great North Run is much harder than the London Marathon simply because of the hills. Beach running is very good for the leg muscles and is much more knee friendly than pavement pounding. Increase your distance runs by 500m every two weeks until 10k is easy then start mixing up the length and type of distance runs you're doing, e.g. 5k beach run, 10k hill run, 15k road, 20k cross-country. Don't just do the same thing every week and once you've got a good base level of fitness try doing a run in the morning and one in the evening some days. A couple of medium distance and intensity bike rides a week will strengthen your leg muscles.

Do a bleep test once a month to monitor your progress; level 13 or higher is a good target to aim for.

With regards to diet, most people eat the wrong way round. By this I mean that peoples' meals get progressively larger through the day. You don't need to think about it too much to realise why a large meal after you've woken up is much more useful than one before you go to sleep.

A good breakfast would be: sausage and bacon sandwich, or scrambled egg on toast or a couple of mackerel fillets; a banana; a bowl of porridge (a spoon of muscovado sugar makes it taste good); half a grapefruit; and some bread or toast with jam.

Balance is the important thing but try to swallow plenty of carbs through the day and drink plenty of water. And take a bag of jelly babies with you when running.

Good luck.

Thanks everyone for the replies. I'll try and get those feet closer to the groin J W

As for your post scary I'm printing it off and sticking it onto my wall. What you advised is exactly what I'll be doing from now on

I can run 6 miles now comfortably. I'm going fairly slow but the reason is I won't enjoy it if I over-cook that part.

Thanks so much for all the help.

[PainDealer 0]

Since I packed in cigarettes in April 2005 after literally hundreds of serious attempts to quit and since I am now also 14 months completely free of alcohol after a similar number of attempts to quit, I am feeling a good deal healthier than I have for many, many years. In fact I would say that part of my life is going the best it ever has done.

holy **** how the hell did you do that? I'm growing a bit worried of myself you know...

anyway, something I learned in the military: decide the speed you'll try to hold for the whole run. run 300m that speed and then walk 100m. then run 300m again the same speed and walk 100m. should get you somewhere if you're a beginner. and always remember low paced warm up and short stretches after that.

[chris330 0]

anyway, something I learned in the military: decide the speed you'll try to hold for the whole run. run 300m that speed and then walk 100m. then run 300m again the same speed and walk 100m.

Should I do that as a warm-up exercise? Is that what it's intended for?

As per the cigarettes and alcohol....

I quit both nicotine and alcohol using the Allen Carr method. Look up his name on the net and you'll find all the stuff you need. Unfortunately he died last week. It appears too many years on 100 cigarettes a day before he found how to easily quit did the damage.

That's all I'm going to say about it. I've so much confidence in the method I've tried to get others to use it too, but perhaps with a bit too much enthusiasm in days gone by and the reactions I got from people who's life I was trying to save were unbelievably hostile. So I'll say no more. You know how to find it now anyway.

Thanks again for the advice. I'm well interested in any techniques that come from the military

[chipper 0]

Goto a gym and do all the leg workouts you can find. Leg press, squats etc... Working on your core will also help your running/staminia

just some suggestions to use at your own discretion.

[chris330 0]

Goto a gym and do all the leg workouts you can find. Leg press, squats etc... Working on your core will also help your running/staminia

just some suggestions to use at your own discretion.  

I appreciate all advice thanks

[tankieboy 0]

As suggested, stretch before and after running. Have you thought about cross country running as well as pavement slapping? Going up and down a few hills will build your legs up.

[Billabong81 0]

I fully agree with Scary... do the majority of your stretching after the run. It helps a lot.

Another note, stay off concrete as much as possible. Major cause of shin splints and knee damage there .

[USSRsniper 0]

Also dont forget that running bare feet(I'm not joking) is far more healthier(depends on what surface you run), and also feet muscles develope better.   You might think i'm crazy, but this is actually true

[chris330 0]

Thankyou Tankieboy,Hooahman,USSRsniper

I'll make sure I do that stretching. Did it last night after getting back in and it helped a great deal. A good massge helped it alot too.

I've been getting pain just below the knee at the top of the bottom half of the leg,is that a shin splint problem?

Hmm.. if I can find somewhere safe to run in bare feet I'd definitely be game for it.

Thanks again