Run Run Run

Michael-

I put about 400 miles on my shoes, but if you have two pairs of shoes that you rotate then they will last longer.

Michael: lots of info in your entry and definitely a lot to have on your mind. As athletes, we never want to hear that we should decrease doing what we love to do. It's painful advice, but sometimes necessary. It sounds to me like there is probably a combination of biomechanical factors at work for which your body is trying to compensate. The body is a machine that requires all the parts to be working just right. It may be time to look at a more global approach to running form. There is a book called ChiRunning (see the fastrunning blog store) that emphasizes biomechanicaly correct and pain-free running. In short, running from your core, rather than relying on your legs to do all the work. I think there are some valuable concepts in there. Anyway, just to add a couple of thoughts on some of your questions: for crosstraining, try swimming. Like you, I'm no swimmer. But when I had ankle problems this summer, it became a huge relief and something I started to look forward to after I re-learned something resembling proper technique. Also, yoga may be useful to open up your hips. It is amazing how many sports injuries are related to tightness in the mid torso. When I had severe IT band syndrome after the Wasatch 100 years ago, yoga was a key ingredient in getting my hips to "unlock." The foam roller is also essential for treating IT band. For balance, a wobble board may be useful.

The doc is right on choosing proper shoes. I run most of my miles in the Asics Kayano, but there are many shoes that provide good cushioning and stability. You should probably choose a shoe with a medial post to stop the roll of the foot. An orthotic is another option to consider, or a decent over the counter insole like SuperFeet or PowerStep (which I wear). Don't underestimate the power of the shoes and rotate them often. I replace shoes or relegate them to occasional trail runs after 350-400miles. So I change shoes more than most, but I think it's a good thing to do. A specialty running store like Wasatch Running Center will help you choose the right shoe. Ask for Brad or Darryl.

Listen to your body as much as you listen to the doctors. Do what you feel comfortable with, not what you feel you "should." You're in it for the long haul and you want to be healthy as long as possible.

I think the young sports medicine guy gave you the most reasonable advice. I would have to disagree with him on the injury rate over 20 miles a week. Properly done, high mileage reduces injury rate. Sporadic and impulsive high mileage increases it. Same for taking days off from running. I cannot see how running 6 miles 3 days a week could be less damaging than running 3 miles 6 days a week, it would be the other way around - the sudden stress of the six mile run on the muscles and bones produced by a nervous system that is anxious to run, but forgot how to do it right, will be a lot more damaging than more frequent 3 mile runs done with a more relaxed nervous system that still remembers how to run from the day before. Cross-training is a good idea when your energy levels, fuel capacity, aerobic conditioning, and the neural drive exceed the running limits imposed by some bottleneck in your body. I would try the elliptical before anything else.

Moderation is a good idea - keep things sane and reasonable, you should be OK, the body has a tendency to heal itself.

Regarding sweet tooth - there a lot of things out there that are naturally sweet. You cannot possibly eat too much of them, your hunger for sweetness will be satisfied quickly, and you will receive other nutrients in balance. It is the stuff that is unnaturally sweet that perverts our sense of taste and tricks us into accepting things into our bodies that should not be there in those proportions. So stick to foods that are naturally sweet - dried dates, honey, bananas, etc.

Michael, Chad and Sasha have great running wisdom. I agree with Sasha on the weekly miles. If you slowly build up your miles, sometimes it takes years, you can handle higher miles when over 50 years old. But, running every other day works for many runners if they cross train the other days. My wife only runs 3 days a week and can manage 4 hour marathons. I have a running friend doing the Chi thing. He is trying it at St. George and not wearing a watch. I would consider some Joint Flex type product, it works for me. Rotating shoes is a must. I rotate 4 pairs of shoes and usually get 500 to 600 miles. But, after 500 them become my treadmill shoes for the last 100. Don't follow my miles on shoes, some people stop running in shoes at 300 or less. Much of this depends on how quick you break down the shoes.

Good luck, glad to see Chad and Sasha responded. Running is such an individual thing, what works for me, may not work for you, etc.

Lastly, as I mentioned before, be careful with the hype of races, do what you can handle. It is sometimes tough reading the workouts of the top runners on the blog or other runners who have been at the sport for sometimes decades. Why can't I do the same? Follow your own running trail.

Hang in there Michael! We are all pulling for you!

The last time James was seriously injured, he poured a lot of energy and effort into improving his diet. He was much less frustrated once he had something to work on that would improve his running. He ended up losing 30 lbs (and has kept it off)! He used online Weight Watchers. Since then, he has been SO much less prone to injury. So it turns out that the injury/recovery period helped him become a better runner in the end.

Now it is time for Sasha to say that Weight Watchers is stupid...:)

Thanks - really appreciate the feedback, it really helps and the blog is great. Yes its probably a combination of things I need to work on/with. I probably was trying to do too much. Ive always been a stong hiker so I thought I could do things easier but then I probably didnt take into account as much as I should that running is differant, my age, my weight. Not sure if the blog influenced me to run more than I was ready. I think the blog was more inspiration and I just found that running was something I really liked that was good for me. Too bad I didnt stick to running earlier, I had our high school record for the 2 mile but that was 40 years ago almost.

Ive ordered some of the stuff - Chirunning book, aquajogger belt, wobble board, foam roller. They used the foam roller on my IT band yesterday at PT and it was very painful. I stopped by Wasatch Running and met with Brad - he was great and took alot of time to get a better shoe for me - larger size (I was wearing too small), more cushioning and better stability. Will start doing a better job rotating shoes and keeping track of its miles

Once Im more healed will come with a more reasonable running schedule and work on improvement and increases slower. Will do more cross-training as I can. Am working on my diet too. I think loosing some weight will really help in the long run. Thanks again for sharing your ideas

Yes, Lybi - one should be able to watch his own diet without paying some organization a fee.

Michael, good to see how proactive you're being.

One more note, on the sweet tooth: a little bit of dark chocolate (i.e.,70%) goes a long way. The science suggests that in moderation it is also quite good for you. I like it straight, but melting a bit and putting it on blueberries is also great. Pitting strawberries, putting in a little dark chocolate and baking for a few min at 350 is also a good treat.